Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 643 - 542: Landing on the Island

Chapter 643: Chapter 542: Landing on the Island

As the submarine rose to a depth of 50 meters, Rinne entered the watertight chamber, manually opened the rotating valve below, and then jumped into the sea. The water backfilled into the watertight chamber, and she locked the door from the outside. She then saw the watertight chamber burbling as it drained, like thin columns.

With a push of seawater, her body floated upwards. Clad in the Witch Armor, Rinne swam through the sea, feeling a sense of freedom. She could shuttle about like a sprite of the deep, with the armor providing a 3-hour underwater breathing function.

As she approached the murky sunlight near the surface, she turned to see Hazuki Masasuke leaving the submarine in a diving suit, though he was on a solo mission, heading in a direction different from Rinne’s.

Something had just attacked Clares the Second, perhaps a Witch. Rinne pondered. A powerful force pierced through the water which in her observation seemed to be high-density "air," pushing away the currents in its path and forming a spear of air that drove Clares the Second back. Such attacks, carried out a few times, could create giant waves and deep-sea whirlpools.

A Witch that controls storms? Rinne speculated inwardly.

With caution against potential foes in mind, Rinne activated the navigational device built into her helmet and started swimming towards Sato City. After the previous raging storm, the seawater had become quite calm, so dark that not even a fish could be seen.

As she approached the shallower seabed, she saw a large accumulation of bodies, most of which had been gnawed to skeletons by fish and benthic creatures, with unsightly seaweed and black corals growing among them, and synthetic clothing clinging to the shriveled bones. From an external perspective, it was extremely grotesque.

It was like the remnant of a massacre. Rinne thought to herself. How bad were the conditions in Sato City? How many Black Fire Innovation troops were stationed there? Even after such long-term blockade, the city was bound to be in a dire state. As for Black Fire Innovation, a top military enterprise, handling even just a few thousand of their troops would be extremely difficult.

Therefore, she would have to use clever methods to solve the problem. Rinne kept speculating. If Du Qianqian were here, morphing into the enemy’s appearance for infiltration would be convenient. If 101 were here, teleporting in to gather intelligence would be easy. If Pan Ruiyi were here, even taking on a camp alone wouldn’t be an issue... The Witch Division was so powerful, but was the Disciple Squad utterly useless?

Rinne longed for the opportunity to prove the power of the Disciple Squad, to show Nestor Corporation that even the Secret Front could exert a strength no less than that of the Witch Division... She craved the chance to prove her courage and wisdom, to save the residents of Sato City, and to deal a heavy blow to a large corporation like Black Fire Innovation.

With these thoughts, she began communicating with the distant Hazuki Masasuke.

"Sato City... the city is directly ahead, with the beach to the side, and to the rear, the remnants of a dense forest; to the east there is a sizable military base. Which way do you plan to enter?" Rinne intended to coordinate with him.

"I’ll go to the military base," came Hazuki Masasuke’s response through the radio waves.

"Such a dangerous place? You’ll get in trouble!"

"I’m most suited for dangerous places, don’t worry. I’ll transmit the intelligence back," he assured.

Hearing Hazuki Masasuke’s words, Rinne looked back and saw his hazy figure about 300 meters away. He was not swimming quickly. Compared to Rinne, who moved swiftly, he might as well have been a motionless rock.

"Can you hold out swimming to the far side of the island?" Rinne asked unconsciously.

"That’s the most basic exercise for me," Hazuki Masasuke answered without hesitation.

His confidence and composure left a strong impression on Rinne. He seemed skilled in all fields; did Hazuki Masasuke have no weaknesses?

She turned and swam towards the beach. Rinne’s swimming techniques might not be top-notch, but with the Witch Armor at her side, she felt as if she too had turned into a small submarine, using its built-in high-powered propeller for movement and only needing to slightly adjust her posture as she swam.

She quickly lost sight of Hazuki Masasuke and approached the coastal area.

Sato City lay like a forsaken shadow on the other side of the bay, about 15 kilometers away. From this distance, traces of man-made structures were the only signs visible. Rinne hid in the sea, with the damp beach before her. She turned her head, scouting in all directions.

The arc-shaped beach, having endured years of waves, had a smooth appearance. The trees on the slopes had all been cut down, and the entire island was harshly ravaged. Everywhere she looked was desolation, a bleak abandoned landscape with not a single uplifting sight. Rinne couldn’t help feeling deeply disappointed; even if the island were retaken, Sato City seemed to hold no value anymore.

It had already been devastated by Black Fire Innovation into a large reef. Most of its resources were plundered; they had ransacked the place to its core, defacing it beyond recognition. Rinne confirmed the desolation before her eyes over and over again, merely sighing.

With no obstacles to obstruct the view and the risk of being discovered upon landing, Rinne had to quietly slip back into the sea, feeling like a timid dolphin unwilling to approach civilization too closely.

The sky was overcast, and as the sun set, Rinne felt a dreaded anticipation of the night and the various nocturnal creatures. With little regard for her concerns, she saw an area of dense, untouched forest along the coast and hurriedly climbed onto the beach, heading straight into the forest.

In the wooded area, even the last light was blocked by the dense foliage. Surrounded by towering trees, Rinne couldn’t help feeling suffocated. She feared encountering Black Fire Innovation troops, hostile Witches, or panic-stricken local survivors, which would surely bring a new set of troubles.

Rinne decided to use her magic power and climbed up the tallest tree, scrambling hand over foot to its very top. It seemed to be the highest point in the area, affording her a bird’s-eye view in every direction to gather intelligence.

In the distance, there was a sawmill connected to the barracks of Black Fire Innovation. The place was bustling with soldiers in armor, as well as slaves who appeared impoverished and miserable, ceaselessly processing timber needed by the troops, their figures looming in the shadows. Rinne estimated the size of the barracks and the number of vehicles, concluding that there was likely a force of not more than 50 soldiers stationed there. If Rinne were to attack, she should be able to annihilate this camp.

But within the sawmill were a great number of laborers, in ragged clothing, half-starved, their tattered tents spread over several miles. There were at least 2,000 such workers.

The forest she was currently in was probably one of the last few patches of woodland on the island. Rinne watched the laborers shuttle between the forest and the sawmill, society having reverted to a primitive state of survival of the fittest, of hunting and gathering for them. Rinne could imagine their suffering, having regressed from the Cyber Era to an age of slavery.

Rinne scanned the electronic devices in the vicinity and detected no threats. The nearest device was an internal communicator inside the small Black Fire Camp, secured with a Blackfire encryption key, and for the moment, inaccessible.

She relayed her position to the squad members.

An hour later, darkness had enveloped the sky, and Seeking Shadow brought the submarine to shore. The area was active with giant bi-headed monstrous fish that had grown legs, blind and ferocious, leaving massive footprints on the beach. However, killing these creatures was not an option as it could startle the grass and alert the island’s defense forces prematurely.

They concealed themselves among the trees in the forest.

Rinne pointed toward the direction of the sawmill and Black Fire Camp.

"There, the saw machines buzz through the night, and there’s a heap of timber. More than 2,000 people, and a maximum of 50 soldiers from Black Fire Innovation."

"If you ask me, we should strike now, give them a show of force." A999, restrained by Rinne, was not yet uncontrollable or recklessly charging forward, but was sufficiently belligerent.

"We would be annihilated," warned Seeking Shadow, silencing A999.

As the team captain, Seeking Shadow was conscious of the responsibility that came with her role. She considered all aspects of their situation and was also responsible for covering the whole team. When everyone was undecided, she was the one to finalize decisions, and her opinions made everyone willingly comply.

"What about the boat?" Rinne thought of the escape route.

"I’ve set the submarine to autonomic mode; it’s gone back undersea. Let’s take a moment to regroup and wait for news from Hazuki Masasuke," said Seeking Shadow.

They kept their voices as low as possible, hiding their presence. Rinne kept watch from the treetops; she could see all details, hear every movement.

Rinne’s vision and hearing, enhanced through modification, were exceedingly precise, far surpassing that of an ordinary person.

Visually, Rinne could switch between night vision, thermal imaging, magnification, focus, and recording capabilities. As for audio, she could hear a bug crawling on a tree trunk hundreds of meters away. Sometimes, when she heard her companions’ loud voices below, she would instinctively want to remind them to keep it down, taking a moment to restrain this impulse before adjusting her ear implants’ equalizers and sensitivity.

While the others shared meatballs, canned beef, and portable sushi, Seeking Shadow finalized the plan for the operation.

"This will be the most influential battle since our establishment. We need to go straight for the main force of Black Fire Innovation, take out their commanders and key figures. The rest will be of little concern."

Upon hearing this, Hosoda Yoshiyuki immediately voiced his concerns. He was always blunt, without prior consideration.

"We lack the manpower to take over cities and shelter refugees," he said. "This island is too big for the few of us."

"Xia will send support," Lu Jing nodded with conviction. "As long as we clear the threats from the island, Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing will deploy a mobile air assault camp to help us take control of the island, and afterward return Sato City back to Nestor Corporation."

"Are there agreements and contracts?" Hosoda Yoshiyuki scoffed.

"There is Miss Lu’s handwritten order. In the company, it’s more useful than many rules, commands, and formal agreements," stated Lu Jing earnestly.

"Then there’s nothing to worry about," nodded Seeking Shadow. "Alright... we wait for the news from Hazuki Masasuke."

On the other side of the island, Hazuki Masasuke peeked out from the military base’s deep-water dock, stealthily climbing onto the repair embankment.

Could he possibly complete the mission alone? Hazuki Masasuke surveyed the complex corridors around him; he was now embedded deep within the target of the mission, like a nail driven into wood.

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