Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 806 - 665 Tsuchigumo

Chapter 806: Chapter 665 Tsuchigumo

May 5th, year 151.

A new day, as beautiful and ordinary as ever.

Mizuiro Yoshioka sat in the waiting room of Shangjing City Port, her hair neatly combed, legs outstretched, black boots touching side by side, dressed in what she considered a relaxed and casual outfit—a blue denim jacket over a white skirt.

Today, she was meeting an old friend she hadn’t seen in a while and didn’t want to appear too serious.

Little Fool sat beside Mizuiro Yoshioka, holding a large bowl of milk tea brimming with tapioca pearls, coconut jelly, grass jelly, and red beans, a treat Mizuiro Yoshioka bought to pacify Little Fool on their way here.

Indeed, it had elevated Little Fool’s taste; she expanded her palate, sipping from the cold milk tea with a ’gulping’ sound, watching the level of the tea drop rapidly against the transparent walls of the cup.

"Happy!" Little Fool exclaimed after finishing her drink, and with a few indistinct sounds, tossed the empty milk tea cup into a distant trash bin.

Mizuiro Yoshioka noticed her aim was accurate, surpassing that of an average child.

Little Fool was only eight this year, yet already a Lower-rank Witch, about ten years earlier than usual. Could she really be a genius? Mizuiro Yoshioka was puzzled.

Regardless, Mizuiro Yoshioka was very fond of the child, especially enjoying the sensation of Little Fool sitting on her shoulder, a reassuring power transmitted to her.

"Just a little longer, she will arrive soon," Mizuiro Yoshioka said, as she conjured a tiny ink beast in the shape of a kitten from her palm.

Mizuiro Yoshioka and her ink magic power were the best of partners. Her technique for creating ink life forms had grown increasingly exquisite; they could be flowing keys, crawling shadows, or even the dark doppelgänger of another person.

The tiny ink kitten she now held was exquisitely lifelike, making her a creator in the truest sense, crafting life from ink.

Little Fool’s attention swiftly shifted to the ink kitten, playfully reaching out to tease it.

The kitten intuitively dodged her grasp, but due to its small size, it couldn’t escape swiftly and was soon caught by the tail, held aloft, its little paws fluttering in the air.

"Don’t worry about getting dirty, the ink can be reclaimed," Mizuiro Yoshioka reassured, stroking Little Fool’s hair.

"Quack, meow?" Little Fool examined the ink kitten, trying to befriend it.

Mizuiro Yoshioka subtly manipulated the ink kitten to show friendliness towards Little Fool, boosting her confidence in making friends.

Twenty minutes later, the long-awaited ship "Mantadi" finally docked.

This large cruise ship from the Hot Tree Continent halted in Shangjing Bay, being one of the few vessels connecting the Northern Archipelago with the Hot Tree Continent.

Passengers started to disembark, with the majority being Islanders seeking to return home from the war-torn Hot Tree Continent, along with a few wealthy black-skinned individuals, who dressed neatly and assessed the port environment, hoping to start anew in the Northern Archipelago.

The population homogeneity in the Northern Archipelago was extremely high, making black people stand out. Although locals didn’t reject them outright, many shops and streets had rules unwelcoming black people, and they often struggled to find employment, usually returning to New Taixi State or the Hot Tree Continent after a few weeks as tourists.

Little Fool stood on her seat, gazing at the black passengers from the cruise ship, then uttered a highly racially prejudiced word.

"That one?" she said.

"Where did you learn that?" Mizuiro Yoshioka, finding it funny, said, "That’s really rude, Xu Cheng."

"That one, that one, that one," Little Fool repeated softly.

Mizuiro Yoshioka looked into the crowd as the passengers descended from the ship. A striking woman dressed in a white tank top and high-waisted leather pants quickly donned a dark red coat to adjust to the cool climate of the high latitude area.

She had a black high ponytail, phoenix eyes, and was nearly 1.8 meters tall, looming above the other female passengers—an archetype of an Eastern Hemisphere beauty.

Mizuiro Yoshioka breathed a sigh of relief.

"She is an old friend of mine, Mishima Naomi, code name ’Tsuchigumo.’ We grew up together; we were so poor back in the days..." Mizuiro Yoshioka whispered to Little Fool.

"Quack," nodded Little Fool in understanding.

"She’s a very skilled Ninja, with more combat experience than most—she can guide you in some Ninjutsu training," Mizuiro Yoshioka nodded.

Hearing this, Little Fool wobbled up to Tsuchigumo and extended her hand in a friendly gesture.

Tsuchigumo, with her beautiful features and icy demeanor, glanced briefly at Little Fool, causing her to shiver, but then Tsuchigumo reached out to shake hands with her.

"Bax! Whose child is this?" Tsuchigumo asked amicably.

Little Fool was about to answer when her heart skipped a beat.

From a distance, she hadn’t noticed, but now that they were close, she saw the four spider-like claws on Tsuchigumo’s back; no wonder she was called Tsuchigumo, it was terrifying!

"Ah!" Little Fool quickly released the hand and hid behind Mizuiro Yoshioka, peeking at Tsuchigumo’s spider claws.

"Long time no see, Naomi. This is my friend’s daughter, Xu Cheng," Mizuiro Yoshioka embraced Tsuchigumo warmly, "Has it really been five years since we last met?"

"It has been five years," nodded Tsuchigumo.

"Shall we go have a drink somewhere?" Mizuiro Yoshioka invited.

"Please lead the way; it’s quite cold here" Tsuchigumo shivered, still underestimating the chill of the place.

"So... How have you been lately?" Mizuiro Yoshioka picked up Little Fool and walked side by side with Tsuchigumo.

"Great." Tsuchigumo pulled a medium-sized suitcase, "And you?"

"Living a life I never imagined before," Mizuiro Yoshioka sighed.

"Of course, Bax. You stopped dyeing your hair, don’t even dare show your tattoos now, and you’re with a girl next door, dressed like a college student. Where do you work now? As a corporate employee?" Tsuchigumo teased succinctly.

"My tattoos are long gone," Mizuiro Yoshioka didn’t know how to explain her changes over the years to Tsuchigumo.

"You shouldn’t become a corporate person. How much can corporate people earn?" Tsuchigumo asked with pity.

Mizuiro Yoshioka just smiled wryly and shook her head.

Following that, Mizuiro Yoshioka took her to an izakaya located 750 meters away from the airport, where they sat in a private room to rest.

The geisha robot came over with a tray, dressed in traditional clothing and with her face coated in white makeup. She set down a porcelain jug, cups, milk, and desserts, saying "Please enjoy your meal," before leaving elegantly at the same slow pace as she had arrived.

The music here was graceful, the air warm, and they were happy to stay for a while.

After a few drinks, they felt a gentle warmth rising within them.

"I’m now working for Renwang Security," Tsuchigumo said, taking out a business card from her tactical backpack and handing it to Mizuiro Yoshioka.

"...’N.I.O.H’ Renwang Security Company," Mizuiro Yoshioka read the name cautiously, "offering all private security, high-value target protection, corporate warfare services..."

"We’re a startup." Tsuchigumo took the card back, "Currently operating in the Hot Tree Continent."

"Do you make a lot of money?"

"A lot." Tsuchigumo looked at Mizuiro Yoshioka with concern, "I make over 300,000 a year, surely more than what your kind of clerical job at a company can offer."

"Yeah... certainly can’t compare." Mizuiro Yoshioka sighed.

"With the way you are now, it must be hard to return to that life on the knife’s edge," Tsuchigumo said.

"Yes, my hands haven’t touched blood in a long time."

"That’s a shame." Tsuchigumo glanced at a fly on the table and quickly pinched it up and ate it.

Little Fool turned her head to see this, mouth agape, startled.

"’Renwang Security,’ I thought you’d be active in the Northern Archipelago, with a name like that, most of your members must be islanders, right?" Mizuiro Yoshioka was curious.

"Competing with Nestor Corporation for security business in the Northern Archipelago? Impossible," said Tsuchigumo, leaning back.

They drank glass after glass, while Little Fool dutifully drank her milk.

"Don’t let her look fool you, she’s a little ninja too," Mizuiro Yoshioka grabbed her cup.

"Quack!" Little Fool snapped back to reality and performed a hand-seal to show Tsuchigumo.

"I’ve heard that Shinobi Village has now transformed into a kind of genre film shooting base; no more students are truly learning Ninjutsu there," Tsuchigumo said.

"It’s all become commercialized, whatever brings money faster is better than the risks of painstaking cultivation and the danger of getting killed. So I thought, since you are back, maybe you could improve this child’s Ninjutsu skills; you are a high-level Ninja after all," Mizuiro Yoshioka said with a smile.

"I want to go back and take a look, I’ve left some stuff in my old apartment."

"The village of the past is no more," Mizuiro Yoshioka drank three glasses without a change in her complexion, "The Northern Archipelago we were familiar with has also undergone earth-shattering changes... You’d be very surprised if you went back now."

"So, all my stuff has been thrown away? The old room where we used to live..." Tsuchigumo asked anxiously.

"Everything has been taken into custody, stored in the community. None of your things are lost," consoled Mizuiro Yoshioka.

"Liar," Tsuchigumo could hardly believe it.

"Let’s go and see later. Also, many of those rich people we envied before are dead, many jumped off buildings. The villa we talked about buying, that glittery one priced at 98 million, is now only going for 15 million," Mizuiro Yoshioka gestured.

"But that’s still a price we cannot afford."

"I can afford it."

"What?" Tsuchigumo leaned forward.

"We used to think... some things, if not born with, were impossible to have in this lifetime, but now anything is possible."

"Where do you work?"

"At Nestor Corporation," Mizuiro Yoshioka finally blurted out, with the joy of a satisfied heart.

Tsuchigumo’s expression changed subtly, and she picked up another glass to drink.

"Nestor Corporation?" She struggled to say, "Really?"

"Really." Mizuiro Yoshioka flipped out her work ID from under her collar.

Nestor Corporation Witch Division Vice Chief: Mizuiro Yoshioka.

Tsuchigumo stroked her forehead.

"No wonder you earn so much... Nestor Witch Division Vice Chief, doesn’t that mean... you oversee all the witches in the Northern Archipelago?"

"Yes," Mizuiro Yoshioka nodded confidently, "their lodgings, their record filing, their appointments, promotions, exemptions..."

"That’s incredible, and you’ve changed your name too!" Tsuchigumo couldn’t help but say.

"Bax was too casual; it sounds like a dog’s bark. Just like how everyone on our street used to nickname you Tsuchigumo... those weren’t nice names, we’re not so lowly anymore, we don’t have to be that lowly anymore..."

"Back then we picked up trash to eat on the same street, and now you’ve become a wealthy person from Nestor Corporation; when did you attend high school?" Tsuchigumo asked with respect.

"I didn’t even finish elementary school. No, I’m still like before, mingling with gangs, joined a group of mercenaries called ’Boundless Organization,’ and then took a private job from Black Fire Innovation to dig up an Ancient Witch at the Bronze Titan Excavation Site, and then... my life changed. Eat, enjoy, Naomi, we never had the chance before; now we need to make up for this meal," Mizuiro Yoshioka said passionately, pouring more wine into Tsuchigumo’s cup.

"You don’t have to be trapped by money anymore, while I still have to work for a security company," Tsuchigumo hung her head.

"Come work for Nestor Corporation, you’re powerful; you’re an incredible Spider Witch, and a top-tier Ninja," Mizuiro Yoshioka urged with enthusiasm.

"Renwang Security has been good to me, and I have other goals for coming to the Northern Archipelago this time... Have you heard of Chainsaw Angel?"

"Mhm," Mizuiro Yoshioka frowned.

"If possible, please arrange for me to meet with her. The situation in the Hot Tree Continent is complicated right now; Renwang Security faces unprecedented opportunities," Tsuchigumo said earnestly.

Little Fool held her glass between two fingers, swirled it, and took a small sip. She felt as though she could already see the battlefield where good and evil waged their final war.