Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 716 - 598: Breaking Out of the Cocoon

Chapter 716: Chapter 598: Breaking Out of the Cocoon

After a night of shocks and thrills, Kanako found the water had stopped running the next morning.

The municipal company claimed that the underground water supply lines had been deliberately sabotaged, with twenty alloy pipes, each over 5 meters in diameter, destroyed, causing a complete disruption of the water supply network.

Because the situation underground was unclear, the repair process hadn’t even begun, and all subway lines had also stopped running.

The rain continued to pour outside the window, and this rain would last for two more weeks. It was hard to say how much more disaster the heavy rain would bring. It was six-thirty in the morning, and, wearing a white bathrobe, Kanako gave up the idea of contacting Xu Yang, feeling it would be beneath her dignity. She wanted to prove something to Xu Yang, that Kanako no longer needed constant pampering.

She could make full use of resources, coordinate relationships, and complete strenuous and complex actions.

Kanako woke up earlier than anyone else, her robot brought her coffee and pre-mixed nutrient solution, and a chip monitored her condition, adjusting the nutrients in her breakfast for the next morning.

She saved time preparing breakfast so that she could concentrate fully on the upcoming major auction, which was her main purpose of coming to Jialong Slope—to purchase some good stuff.

Kanako noticed that Shallow Dream had woken up and summoned her par hazard.

Shallow Dream appeared like an apprentice pretending to be mature, dressed in a well-tailored black suit, but she looked like a child due to her short stature.

"Excuse me, I hope last night’s attack didn’t disturb you," said Kanako with a smile.

"Thank you for your concern. Actually, I’m not clear on it myself, as most of the time I was inside the virtual pod," Shallow Dream replied with some distress, not knowing the specifics of what had happened the night before, nor how dangerous it really was.

"Were you playing games in the virtual pod?" Kanako asked with interest.

"No, no... I was in class. I attended an online school—you know, the kind with ordinary girls of the same age. It feels amazing," Shallow Dream said with enthusiasm.

Very few witches ever experience the full process of personality development, thus they’re all quirky and cunning. Kanako thought to herself. Perhaps Shallow Dream could become a good witch. She has strong magic power and a not-so-bad personality, much better than those apocalyptic mad women.

"I’ve heard that the three of you—you, 101, and 102—have been granted a special authority because of your unique identities?" Kanako asked tentatively.

"Yes," nodded Shallow Dream, "Lady Farosa left some traces, and through interpretation, we obtained a completely new magic formula... a magic formula recently developed by Lady Farosa!"

"How does it work? I want to know the principle," Kanako persisted.

"A particularly powerful spatial magic formula, Lady Farosa compressed the power of one of her strikes into a tiny space, and with the proper guidance... it can be summoned," Shallow Dream said with a mystical tone.

That’s amazing. Kanako thought to herself.

"How strong is Farosa’s attack? Has she become... a ’goddess’?" If that’s really the case, how terrifying would a god’s full-fledged attack be?" Kanako asked.

"Perhaps it would level the entire Jialong Slope?" Shallow Dream said in an exaggerated tone, not wanting to be underestimated, nor wanting to lose face for Lady Farosa.

In reality, Shallow Dream didn’t know what exactly would be summoned. Everything depended on when they would cooperate to perform the spell.

"When do you plan to use it? How many times can it be used?" Kanako pondered.

"We’ll use it when we encounter a formidable enemy. Like... I don’t know, perhaps a giant monster? Perhaps the troops of Black Fire Innovation? As for how many times..." Shallow Dream took out a piece of white crystal that flowed like liquid fire from her pocket.

Kanako recognized it—it was a Star Crystal Stone, used to transform people into witches.

This piece was not large, apparently a remnant of a previous Star Crystal Stone, or perhaps excavated from a mineral.

"Is this the medium for summoning power?" Kanako asked curiously.

"Only the last bit left, Lady Farosa needs more mysterious materials related to the might of the stars. After she wakes up, we may have to mine all over the world," Shallow Dream said with a smile.

"If I come across it at the auction, I’ll keep an eye out. For now, take this and go buy some books," Kanako said, handing Shallow Dream a credit card.

Shallow Dream raised an eyebrow and discovered it was a friendship credit card linked to Kanako’s personal account!

Given Kanako’s ability to pay, this was equivalent to a credit card with unlimited funds. Shallow Dream was utterly captivated by Kanako’s wealth.

The Nestor Corporation Witch Department also paid salaries. Shallow Dream’s first contract was as a child laborer with a base salary of 10,000, which had risen to 45,000, which wasn’t bad. But big bonuses only came with missions, and that was an important reason why Shallow Dream was happy to travel thousands of miles. She hadn’t expected her dreams to indeed come true.

"Thank you, thank you so much," Shallow Dream repeatedly thanked Kanako.

"Go on," Kanako nodded and then watched Shallow Dream leave cheerfully.

The ultimate strike of Farosa, stored in space, sounded all too terrifying.

The presence of the Witch Goddess in this world was becoming stronger and stronger. Kanako thought to herself.

On reflection, the relationship between the Nestor Corporation and Farosa was akin to that between a cocoon and its pupa.

Now that the Nestor Corporation was on track, and Farosa was about to become truly extraordinary and divine, a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis! The Nestor Corporation was now concealing Farosa, preventing anything from disturbing her slumber, cultivation, and metamorphosis.

The moment Farosa emerged, it would also start the countdown to the end of the world. When the midnight bell tolled, there would be no way back.

To this day, Kanako had personally watched Farosa grow from insignificant, powerless, and manic to strong. She also knew Farosa wouldn’t be too lax with her, might even punish Kanako in some form, or attempt to control her.

Falling into Farosa’s hands would not be pleasant.

That’s why Kanako had come to Jialong Slope. If she could establish a proper base here, Kanako would be able to avoid Farosa’s scrutiny, quietly raise her and Xu Yang’s child to adulthood, and meanwhile gather all of Xisheng’s resources remaining in the Eastern Hemisphere to rebuild her own unique power.

At 7:30, Kanako gathered her people to attend the auction.

She first headed to the security department, where Hosoda Yoshiyuki was engrossed in his oath-taking; he and Snowball had just returned.

"I am a honey badger!" Hosoda Yoshiyuki yelled, seemingly quite unhappy with the oath he was taking.

"Our sales champion!" Kanako called Snowball over.

Thanks to Snowball’s excellent performance at the exhibition sale, the Red Jade Robotic Dog became known as the "companion that pierces straight to the heart," becoming the leading sales product, surpassing all others at the event.

"Woof!" Snowball walked over to Kanako’s feet.

"Why aren’t you talking anymore?" Kanako clapped her hands.

"Woof woof." Snowball trotted around.

When Hosoda Yoshiyuki came out and saw Kanako, resentment toward the scions of entrepreneurs rose in his heart, but he did not show it. He quickly joined the others boarding the shuttle machine, taking Snowball with him, mumbling under his breath.

"Rich people, huh, rich people, a few families ruling over millions of families..."

"Woof." Snowball sat in Hosoda Yoshiyuki’s arms.

Kanako noticed the members of the Disciple Squad reuniting, Rinne was also there, only missing Lu Jing.

"Where’s Lu Jing?" Kanako inquired.

"She’ll be here in a while, she went to discuss something about wiring... it’s hard to explain in a few words, such a strange girl," Rinne shook her head; she was not one to trouble herself with caring for the poor.

The members of the Disciple Squad boarded another shuttle machine, while 101 and 102 stayed with Kanako, accompanied by Shallow Dream as well.

Kanako chose a high-altitude airway to head to the auction.

"There are a lot of shuttle machines below... Why don’t they fly up here?" 102 took off her helmet and peered down through the porthole.

The middle-level airways and surface streets were congested, while their own high-altitude lane was clear and smooth.

"Using the Jialong Slope high-altitude air lane costs 1.75 million for one year; that’s the price of road rights. Sometimes it’s allocated via city lotteries, but in any case, road capacity isn’t open to everyone," Kanako relished the joy of high-speed, unobstructed travel in the shuttle machine.

"Wow..." 102 looked down to see the traffic below jammed like ten thousand sardines squeezed into the same can, and to make things even more pitiful, there was a torrential downpour, causing many vehicles to be flooded.

"Logically, most people would use the network interface to remotely attend the auction to avoid the various troubles of physically being there. But the news of the Peacock Enigma Paintings must have captivated them," Kanako was well-experienced with such events.

"Do they all hope to find answers to some questions through the painting?" 102 asked.

"If it were you, what would you ask?" Kanako was curious.

"I want to know how to make the Children of Phantom Light normal," 102 said.

Kanako had never expected 102 to say something like that. She looked at 102 from the side, and 102 seemed much more mature than usual.

"How important is that?" Kanako murmured.

"I’m willing to lose all my magic power," 102’s fingers brushed against the window, "Even if it means becoming an ordinary life form... It would be great if the painting had an answer to this."

"..." 101 was silent, a bit overwhelmed, and even frightened by the thought.

wanting to become a normal person? The thought sent shivers down 101’s spine.

"That’s why people come in person, ready to see the paintings for themselves after the auction, to find out the answers to these things right away!" Shallow Dream nodded.

"Right! One painting, one answer, the power of the peacock, the messenger of the Great River Goddess. There are still twenty-two paintings to go at the auction!" 102 pulled Shallow Dream into her arms.

"However, the Peacock Enigma Paintings can only reveal memories that existed in the mind of the goddess," Kanako said with a smile, "The Great River Goddess existed before the Children of Phantom Light ever did."

"..." 102 knew the chances were slim, but still felt disheartened to hear Kanako say it outright.

Kanako wasn’t sure how many paintings they could acquire this time, so she had prepared over 26.5 billion in cash and 60 billion in reserve funds, ready to purchase Digital Mind and the Peacock Enigma Paintings after buying out the industry.

The shuttle machine roared as it neared the Jialong Slope International Trade Building, cutting through the heavy rain to park on the platform.

and 102 put their helmets back on, then they supported Kojima Kanako as she disembarked, with Shallow Dream following. Some soldiers had already been deployed in advance, clearing the area and guarding against assassins.

Following the navigational cues in her mind, Kanako headed towards the main venue. The torrential rain battered the glass canopy above them, creating almost waterfall-like scenes on either side.

From there, she could look down upon the orderly heart of the core city district. Below them lay the world-famous Cold Bay Industrial Zone, along with Little Sand Bay, the Cruise Terminal, the Great Plaza, the Southern Region immigrant district, the Coastal Business Center, and the Xia People Street, each district featuring its own landmark architecture.

Walking 150 meters above ground, she gazed down upon the masses.

Witch Jin Yuxiu from the Yongyi Group, the Dominator Witch, stood at the end of the corridor. She was dressed in cyan and golden Witch Armor with an open helmet, revealing her exquisite face. With her fine skin, petite nose, and sharp eyes, she was no less beautiful than other witches. Having previously served with Modern Entertainment and now bought by the Yongyi Group, she currently stood as the guardian of Jialong Slope.

"Her Iron Wings are so big, like a large golden bird. So cool, like an older sister," 102 admired.

Noticing 102’s gaze, Jin Yuxiu smiled back at them.

"In the latest Witch power report, she’s ranked 20th in the world. Her power is weapon creation; she can consume magic power to produce tens of thousands of kinds of weapons," Shallow Dream read a lot of magazines when bored.