Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 644 - 543: The Infiltrator

Chapter 644: Chapter 543: The Infiltrator

In exchange for 40 years of his lifespan, Masasuke Hazuki learned a series of spells related to gas and lightning from the Gaseous Giant God.

Leaning against the inner wall of the dry dock, he silently uttered the word "disperse," and his body turned into an invisible existence, strand by strand.

Flesh, meat, and internal organs peeled away and dissolved until they were colorless, leaving his soul wandering in the middle of Black Fire Camp, dragging his gaseous body that now weighed only 30 grams.

Helping them could earn him ten million in bonuses to alleviate his pressing needs, Masasuke Hazuki silently considered. It might also make the squad trust him more, giving him a better chance.

And then there was the mysterious Nestor Corporation behind the team.

What exactly did they want, what shape did they want to mold the Northern Archipelago into? Is the new society they promise truly fair... or, for today’s civilization, is perfect justice and balance truly within reach?

Masasuke Hazuki moved in his gaseous form, and when a lower-level dock cleaner came down following the sound, he passed directly by the cleaner’s side, entering deeper into the encampment along the path the cleaner had come from, leaving only the cleaner searching around the damp embankment.

He cautiously entered the depths of the encampment, well aware that he needed to be doubly vigilant.

Black Fire Innovation was a veteran leader in the arms industry, constantly striving for improvements in warfare technology. The layout of this naval base was bound to be ingenious, drawing inspiration from the concepts of beehives and anthills, with docks, warehouses, airstrips, repair shops, and command centers interconnected in a staggeringly complex weave.

Such a broad and layered layout could be considered a form of military art. If it suffered an air strike or a focused demolition by a supernatural witch, at most it would lose facilities and manpower in some areas, without being wiped out in one fell swoop.

Masasuke Hazuki was quite familiar with related case studies, such as the "Durability Negation" Yudith from the Great Ocean Project. Ten years ago, she led a squad to storm a military base on the Taiya Archipelago during a corporate conflict, but the Blackfire fortresses were dispersed everywhere, each fortress a labyrinth, which significantly delayed her success. The Black Fire troops eventually wore her down and captured her alive.

Through torture and surgery, Yudith had since been transformed into a loyal Black Fire Witch, performing miracles on the battlefield—anything penetrated by her magic instantly had its "durability wiped," disintegrating and decaying. After Black Fire Innovation’s victory, they swept through the coastal area of Peaceland, taking all manpower, resources, factories, and machinery.

Just as they had done with these islands.

"Delicious synthetic canned food."

"Really tasty."

"Go back, finish eating and then sleep..."

"..." Several emaciated slave laborers with their food passed through the corridor, dressed shabbily, staggering along as if they were walking corpses, completely devoid of vitality.

Masasuke Hazuki tightened his gaseous form and floated to the top of the corridor to avoid being blown away by the air currents stirred up as these people passed by.

These workers were trapped in a specific state of deprivation— not starving to death yet still strong enough to work, but they had no energy to think of doing anything else. Masasuke Hazuki watched them go by like withered reeds, disappearing into the dark corridor, and realized there must be hundreds of thousands like them.

Masasuke Hazuki turned his gaze to a poster on the hallway wall, featuring Shangjing Bay.

On the beach, leaning against a dimly lit Infinite Kyoto trademark building, beautiful girls dressed in cosplay welcomed the approaching Black Fire Innovation fleet, as sturdy and valiant Black Fire Revolutionary Soldiers marched ashore, ready to receive services from them.

Below the poster was Black Fire Innovation’s slogan.

"Victory is power."

Crystal clear, Black Fire Innovation’s only product was arms; there was no need to cultivate a user base, merely instigate wars around the world, then dump their weapons, to make a fortune.

This had proven their business strategy; aside from a few large companies with complete industrial chains and independent military production capabilities, faced with the current Chaos Era, all other enterprises and individuals turned their attention to the weapons shops of Black Fire Innovation. Countless combat robots, fighter jets, firearms, and ammunition shipped from the Taiya Archipelago to all corners of the world, with their well-known brand "Arms Trader" earning a net profit of 270 billion in the first quarter alone.

A select few mega-corporations saw their economic trends rise, while Black Fire Innovation continued to expand its scale.

In the volatile markets of the Agave Continent, Hot Tree Continent, Near East Region, and other areas, Black Fire Innovation’s market share was nearly 100%.

Accordingly, the massive shipments from Black Fire Innovation also squeezed the profit margins of Kyushu High Pavilion and Northern Military Industry, which is why Black Fire Innovation is currently entangled with Xia in a battle over core business interests.

That’s right. Masasuke Hazuki suddenly thought of another hidden reason for Nestor Corporation’s expansion to the south.

If Black Fire Innovation were to achieve complete victory, then, their military weapons would monopolize the world market, and even Nestor Corporation would be forced to purchase weapons from Black Fire Innovation.

Those companies with vast human resources and large military sizes could still sustain their military industries with army orders, but Nestor Corporation definitely wasn’t among them. Taking the elite troop path, they could only support a few specific factories; the rest had to shut down because they simply couldn’t compete with Black Fire Innovation’s products on the intercontinental market, as their shipment volumes could never rise.

By then, things would be just like the propaganda paintings: Black Fire Innovation monopolizing military arms, fleets landing on the coasts, and the civilian productive capacity of the Northern Archipelago falling entirely into their hands...

By continuously instigating wars and devouring the essence of warfare, Black Fire Innovation had reached the pinnacle of the military-industrial complex, contracting nearly the entire world’s weapon and equipment needs. They even openly sold tactical nuclear weapons equipped with neutron radiation warheads; the destructive capacity of the nuclear artillery was self-evident.

And now, he had actually ventured into such depths, as if entering the belly of a monster.

Masasuke Hazuki thought of this, not frightened, but rather feeling a surge of excitement. If he could cause a setback for Black Fire Innovation, he would also consider it a contribution to all humanity.

He moved through the dark corridors, pondering Black Fire Innovation’s affairs, with only the emergency lights slowly flashing around him. The eerie green glow of the safety passage signs seemed not to guide to vitality but to a path leading to destruction.

Masasuke Hazuki heard a loud scolding voice and headed towards its source. An officer in a Black Fire uniform was cursing and advancing.

The Black Fire Innovation troop officers’ uniforms were quite impressive—exquisite pitch-black military caps, leather belts, and black flame medals all worth collecting. Most of the non-commissioned officers wore gas masks and protective goggles, breathing air unlike that of others.

Masasuke Hazuki discerned that the officer’s rank and medals signified a high position.

If he followed him, perhaps he would make some discoveries.

"Hiss... all of you, get out! You are all wasting water!" The officer shouted towards the direction of the showers. Almost within 2-3 seconds, the sound of flowing water ceased, and hundreds of barely clothed slave laborers crawled out, standing in a line like rats.

"A storm’s coming—get back!" The officer waved his hand forcefully, and they scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing towards the dormitories with their clothes in arms.

Water supply insufficient? A storm? Masasuke Hazuki pondered. Seawater has high salinity, unfit to drink or for bathing; freshwater supply on islands is a science of resource allocation.

He continued to follow the officer deeper into the base. The officer seemed tired as he pushed open his office door and entered, and the metallic door closing behind him created a gust that nearly scattered Masasuke Hazuki.

Masasuke Hazuki floated outside in the corridor, surrounded by darkness.

He didn’t know if there was a shortage of water resources, but electricity was definitely lacking. Everything in Sato City had been hollowed out, normal production order couldn’t be sustained, and the electricity was surely appropriated to maintain more critical things; even if they switched to torches and candles for lighting now, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Black Fire Innovation wouldn’t stay here permanently; perhaps they would leave by winter this year, and by then, the island’s slave laborers would likely be mostly consumed.

After 30 minutes, the officer emerged from his office, seemingly heading back to his quarters.

Masasuke Hazuki waited for him to leave completely, then slipped through the gap at the bottom of the office’s iron door. The efficiency of squeezing through the crack in a gaseous state was very low, and his perception was initially blurred and dim. Only when his volume inside the door increased did his vision and sensory acuity gradually return.

The office was quite spartan, with only a desk, chairs, filing cabinets, a fan, a chandelier, and a terminal, but no surveillance cameras or smart screens, giving Masasuke Hazuki a severe sense of obsolescence.

Assured that there was no monitoring equipment, he dispelled the spell and reverted to human form.

The flesh and skin returned; Masasuke Hazuki carefully landed on the floor, then gathered his dispersed "gaseous" parts with his mental force, ensuring his soul stayed intact.

Pain, fatigue, and significant physical exhaustion went without saying, but Masasuke Hazuki was long accustomed to them.

Sometimes he felt like a piece of decaying meat, awaiting an inevitable end.

He sat in the chair the officer had used; the residual warmth from the seat cushion made him uncomfortable, so he moved the chair aside and stood to browse through the documents piled on the desk. He also checked the archives in the small terminal next to him; most were encrypted, but the remaining contents were still valuable.

Masasuke Hazuki continued to peruse the information, gradually gathering quite a few important documents.

...So that’s it, Black Fire Innovation had launched a contingency plan for a military exercise against Nestor Corporation.

Looking at the military strategies, Masasuke Hazuki couldn’t help but feel vigilant.

He needed to send this information back to his squad headquarters as soon as possible.