Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 836 - 686: Inviting Zina

Chapter 836: Chapter 686: Inviting Zina

"Are you referring to..." 101 stuttered, already thinking of those closely entwined matters.

"Yes." Farosa looked directly into 101’s eyes, "Will you come? It’s at Jialong Slope, on a big cruise, where you can let yourself go, washing away all worries."

Hearing Farosa’s invitation to the grand event, 101 took a half step back, standing clumsily by the side of the huge bath.

"That kind of thing... sounds terrifying..."

"There’s Xu Yang, and many women, don’t you like them? Strange," said Farosa.

"I..." 101 stammered.

Farosa stood up from the pool, hot water pouring down, with steam continuously rising.

She touched the tips of 101’s fingers, feeling the severe tremors in her body.

"Are you very scared? Why?" Farosa asked while probing 101’s inner thoughts.

"I feel like I’m not worthy..." 101 paused before saying, "I’m just a messenger, your messenger, how could I do such things?"

Farosa realized that any form of boundary-crossing contact deeply hurt 101, who viewed affections as if they were strange objects beneath a veil. Before truly transgressing any boundaries, she neither dared to understand nor wanted to be involved in such matters.

stood in place with furrowed brows, eyes darting away, while Farosa kept observing her.

Through a profound insight into 101’s psychological activities, Farosa confirmed some details.

Firstly, 101 indeed had an interest in Xu Yang, cherishing the time when she was close to him as precious memories, which Farosa found particularly detestable.

Moreover, 101 had no understanding of the essence of sexual affairs, which Farosa found very amusing. 101 thought one would get pregnant just by holding hands with the opposite sex, which is why she always stayed with 102. Such superficial knowledge contrasted sharply with her mature appearance; by now, with 101’s physique, she was primed for this and that.

"Get me dressed," Farosa commanded from the rock-crafted rim of the pool, looking down at 101.

obediently nodded.

She used a 1.5-meter-long towel to dry Farosa, then helped her into expensive black undergarments, followed by a slip, white blouse, and trousers, and assisted her with socks and leather shoes. Finally, she styled Farosa’s beautiful brown hair, combing it into paired, intricate braids on her forehead.

Farosa delighted in listening to 101’s thoughts.

Her ability to listen to a witch’s mind depended on whether the witch held her in awe; the stronger the emotions of fear and obedience, the more Farosa could hear.

"Oh... If only I could always braid Lady Farosa’s hair... What if I were a dirty little slave, whipped by Lady Farosa, I don’t know if I’d cry out. Why is she so nice to me? I really like Lady Farosa, she’s so beautiful, she’s like a god to us witches. Why did Lady Farosa invite me to Jialong Slope? It’s too far, flying there is not worth it, I’d rather sleep, I like sleeping... Right, did 102 go to bed earlier? It’s 3 AM now, what time did 102 go to bed yesterday?" 101 mused.

"I really should promote you to my messenger, I will personally sew a ribbon for you to wrap around your body like a medal, so no matter where you go, people will hold you in high esteem," Farosa told 101.

"Understood," 101 said blandly.

appeared calm on the surface, but Farosa heard a totally different inner voice:

"Wow! I finally received acknowledgment from Lady Farosa! A ribbon? Like... hanging from the right shoulder to the left side, or from the left shoulder to the right side? What color? It wouldn’t look tacky if Farosa sewed it, right? What if I wear it backwards? What if it’s too conspicuous and enemies notice it? No, no, since it’s bestowed by Farosa, it wouldn’t matter if I died on the frontline wearing it! A ribbon, hehe, a ribbon," thought 101.

Farosa chuckled softly; she was surprised that 101 could maintain her composure while thinking of such nonsensical things.

"You’re an interesting child," Farosa said.

"Hm?" 101 looked at Farosa expressionlessly.

After the grooming, Farosa rose, taking 101 to meet Tenjouin Shino.

This villa was a property of the Tenjouin Family, vast in size, covering over 600 square meters, including an additional courtyard, garden, private gym, and swimming pool. However, all peripheral facilities were sealed off because Tenjouin Shino lived alone here, and she didn’t need those annexes.

No one else competed with her for this mansion; other branches of the Tenjouin Family had been killed by Farosa, and Shino’s nephew Kiriya was also disposed of by her, leaving only Shino residing here alone.

Most areas were as quiet as a haunted house, with only cleaning robots repeatedly wandering around, performing necessary maintenance on the big villa to prevent dust settling everywhere.

At this moment, Tenjouin Shino was sitting on the tatami mat in the inner chamber, staring at a giant screen anime.

Her eyes dull, motionless as if she had been watching for many hours, a huge ceramic empty bowl in front of her with only some residual chips at the bottom, and a 1.5-liter bottle of Nestor Ice Soda by her side.

Besides the screening canvas in front, to the left was a gigantic custom cabinet filled with comic books, light novels, and anime DVDs. On the right side, anime posters adorned the wall and a terminal connected to five monitors, while a giant glass cabinet with meticulously designed dust panels on the back wall was enough to protect thousands of delicate collectibles inside.

The entire room lacked a bed. Judging from a grey fleece blanket in the corner, Tenjouin Shino probably just slept on the floor when tired.

Sensing the approach of Lady Farosa and 101, Tenjouin Zina watched the screen intently, pushing an empty bowl towards them with one hand as if to offer them some, not realizing she had already eaten all the food.

Lady Farosa silently led 101 away, towards the nighttime courtyard, where beyond stone-carved railings laid an irregularly shaped large pond dotted with lotus flowers.

"With such a big incident happening outside, she’s still watching anime!" 101 couldn’t help but say.

"You don’t understand, she witnessed the whole thing firsthand, the impact on her was heavier than anyone else, like a wounded animal that has to lick its wounds, she diverts her attention to anime; this is her way of healing," Lady Farosa said, gazing at the frogs proliferating in the pond while they croaked into the night.

"I never watch it," 101 complained, "She’s staying up late and watching anime, and it’s already three in the morning, it’s harmful to the body."

"Aren’t you also not sleeping?"

"But I can stay alert," 101 pretended to be strong.

Lady Farosa led 101 back to sit next to Tenjouin Zina.

She released a slight amount of the Power of the Law of Recovery, soaking them in it, reversing their bodily conditions back by several hours, and suddenly their energy was restored as if they had never stayed up all night.

Tenjouin Zina was struggling to stay awake and watch the anime, but at that moment, she suddenly felt invigorated.

Her damaged brain cells, her depleted blood vessels, all instantaneously restored! This Miracle made Tenjouin Zina exceedingly surprised.

"This...this is..." Tenjouin Zina noticed Lady Farosa in astonishment.

"I see you’ve been ’diverting’ yourself here, are you scared?" Lady Farosa asked gently.

"...Yes...yes I am." Tenjouin Zina’s gaze returned to the screen, where a light yuri love story between beautiful girls was unfolding. Those in the know understood that the best way to relieve tension was to watch pretty girls interacting in their daily lives.

"Please trust me, my power is not only for destruction, but also includes healing and repair. So, don’t worry about me harming the world, I am born to protect it," Lady Farosa said with a tender tone, placing her hands on their shoulders, one on each side.

"Thank you..." 101 said with gratitude.

With Tenjouin Zina’s wisdom, she could guess that Lady Farosa kept alternating between two different attitudes when interacting with others, aiming to make her mindset enigmatic, thereby instilling a fear of the unknown in people. But to this extent, Tenjouin Zina would rather be a happy fool and willingly enter Lady Farosa’s intricate web.

"...Hmm!" Tenjouin Zina said slowly, "With you here, I truly feel relieved."

Lady Farosa found that she hadn’t pierced through Tenjouin Zina’s heart; this middle-generation Witch had lived for 95 years and was indeed resilient.

Perhaps the countless fantasy works she had seen also played a part; in the comics Tenjouin Zina had read, those fictional mighty beings had shattered universes, breaking through limits in infinite dimensions. With such many conceptual frameworks as a foundation, she wouldn’t easily succumb to the mystery’s influence.

Young, with a dignified appearance, constantly a homebody, somewhat unkempt in appearance, wearing a T-shirt, without pants, a stark contrast to when she dresses for the office.

With this thought in mind, Lady Farosa smiled, the weight of her hands resting on the two’s shoulders increased.

"I will be good to you because... I am your mother, after all," Lady Farosa said.

Tenjouin Zina shuddered unnaturally.

In the recesses of her heart, Lady Farosa released an invisible chuckle; now, she was able to probe deep into Tenjouin Zina’s psyche.

Subsequently, Lady Farosa left her with an invitation.

Without opening the invitation, Tenjouin Zina, as the president of Kyoto Infinity, first slept for a few hours, then went to the company to preside over a routine meeting. She discussed how to deal with the Eclipse of the Star incident, and whether or not to fill in that big pit with others.

Currently, the edge of the Eclipse of the Star connecting to the bay has been sealed with a temporary dike, but it’s fragile. Before deciding whether to reinforce it or destroy it, people’s opinions differed.

The first idea was to let it be flooded by the sea, forming a new circular bay, then to perform urban planning around the newly formed bay’s terrain. AI analysis of the new bay’s topography had already been released online; setting aside the disrespect for the victims, this Eclipse of the Star pit-bay was quite lovely, and could serve as an extension to Shangjing Bay. The downside is that it’s akin to giving up on the victims’ homelands, insinuating a resignation to the Heavenly Tribulation.

The second idea was to transport soil from other regions to fill the pit, which would involve considerable expenditure and would be a large-scale environmental modification project. However, it could make up for the lost land, the Northern Archipelago is so small, filling any amount counts, and it doesn’t need to be completely flat, just stable enough to support buildings. The downside is that it would create a difference in elevation compared to the surrounding terrain and might need to be redesigned as a "Lower City District."

The third idea was to leave the pit as it was, as a site to commemorate the Eclipse of the Star, to rebuild homes along this huge pit, focusing on establishing many monuments. It’s also suggested to set a memorial day for the Eclipse of the Star, commemorating the Northern Archipelago’s first major supernatural disaster, and to serve as a continuous warning. The shortcoming is the lack of economic benefit and it’s frankly unsightly.

Tenjouin Zina was not very satisfied with these three ideas; thus, she proposed a fourth idea. It was to leave the pit underneath as is and overlay a metal foundation on top, like covering a pot with a lid, using this sturdy "lid" to block the great pit, then rebuild the community on top of the specially-made "lid." This is the most economical and would also restore the original landscape, but the residents in future would inevitably worry about the vast hollow pit beneath their homes, making it hard for land prices to rise.

Her idea also received some praise.

But with everyone firmly holding their own opinions, the discussions were in turmoil, with no consensus yet reached. Nestor Corporation was in charge of post-disaster reconstruction and would decide on the approach to use through a public vote.

Regardless, the Eclipse of the Star had already become a significant historical memory, incomparable to other fleeting online sensations, where just one look at the site photos could revive those terrible memories.

During lunch time, Tenjouin Zina finally opened the invitation left by Lady Farosa.

"...Yacht?" Tenjouin Zina found the contents of the invitation bizarre, "Jialong Slope... yacht?"