Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 909 - 733 District 24

Chapter 909: Chapter 733 District 24

November, a sudden snowy day.

When Xu Yang entered the dojo, Xu Cheng had just evaded Tsuchigumo’s fierce strike with a Blink Step, moving so swiftly that she skidded several steps on the ground before coming to a stop.

Xu Cheng was clad from head to toe in protective gear, and even though this hard plastic armor was worn, getting hit still hurt, so she exerted herself to dodge every blow.

As Tsuchigumo struck forward repeatedly, Xu Cheng, with a stick in each hand and two front legs working in concert, launched a pounce that brought a four-way assault, pressing Xu Cheng to retreat step by step until she was cornered against the wall.

"Got you now!" Tsuchigumo shouted, arching back like a bow full of tension, then her paired forelegs struck fiercely forward.

Xu Cheng crouched and covered her head. The giant claws swept mere inches above her head and slammed into the wall behind her, striking the specially made alloy wall panels, creating striking sparks, and embedding into the wall, unable to be pulled out immediately.

"And this!" Tsuchigumo swung her stick down toward Xu Cheng’s head.

"Pop pop!" Xu Cheng raised her hand, forming a barrier with the Repulsion Force that blocked Tsuchigumo’s stick, and then she quickly bent down, moving her legs swiftly, slipping out from under Tsuchigumo’s giant claws.

Tsuchigumo turned to chase after Xu Cheng, only to see her quickly rush towards the door and leap into Xu Yang’s arms, embracing her father.

"Daddy!" Xu Cheng held Xu Yang tightly.

"Seems like you’ve gotten taller every day..." Xu Yang lifted her onto his arm.

"Take off your protective gear, today’s training is over," Tsuchigumo glanced at the dojo’s clock; it was already 5 o’clock in the afternoon.

"It’s always a trouble taking care of this child, thank you," Xu Yang expressed his gratitude to Tsuchigumo.

"Oh no, you flatter me too much!" Tsuchigumo hurried to bow to Xu Yang, "It’s all thanks to everyone’s blessings that I can live in Shangjing and even build this dojo."

After leaving Renwang Security, she became a home tutor, while her former colleagues continued with public security enforcement in the Taiya Archipelago.

"Guabu!" Xu Cheng asserted that she was easy to manage and not troublesome at all.

"Then take off your protective gear and go rest," Xu Yang put Xu Cheng down on the ground.

Xu Cheng was now 1.3 meters tall, about up to Tsuchigumo’s chest, and Tsuchigumo pushed a basket towards her, directing Xu Cheng to throw her protective gear into it.

"She’s already a Lower-rank Witch, it’s incredible. Her Magic Power is no longer merely for creating small shields; if she wishes, she can block things or push them away," Tsuchigumo admired as she gathered the equipment.

Xu Cheng’s Power, similar to those from ancient times known as "Barriers," was named "Repulsion Force" as it proved to be somewhat stronger than the known types.

From the current tests, Xu Cheng could release Magic Power at will, creating an intangible wall within her range of sight.

The maximum area of this wall is 1 square meter, extremely thin, thickness is meaningless, or it’s only between 5000 to 7000 nanometers thick. It doesn’t penetrate objects and doesn’t cause a cutting effect when generated. Once the wall is formed, it can block or deflect any material or energy. If more Magic Power is expended, the wall can also move, pushing or compressing other objects.

"Guabu guabu." Xu Cheng puffed out her chest, very confident in her Repulsion Force. With this ability, she could also protect others.

In the temperature exchange room near the exit, they changed into warm clothing, then walked out from the transitional area, feeling a noticeable drop in temperature with each step.

Leaving the main entrance of the dojo, the clean and orderly new district came into view.

The snow slid away from the dome overhead, preventing accumulation. The streets were straight and orderly, with a rather ornate light rail system above, the trains whizzing through the high-rise buildings.

All around, the buildings were professionally designed, their exteriors unified to appear modern and exquisite, with the only variations being the posters and advertisements that were hung. Gardens, pedestrian streets, and sunken plazas were visible everywhere; the oppressive super-tall mall buildings became a thing of the past with the new architectural planning concept of pedestrian-friendly and sensibly zoned construction now evident.

This was the pit that Farosa had fixed.

In order to remedy the "Eclipse of the Star," four alternative solutions were proposed.

The first was to fill the pit with seawater, creating a new bay; the second to level the pit by moving mountains into it; the third was to rebuild it into a supernatural disaster memorial square; the fourth was to cover the pit with a giant metal structure.

According to the results of Shangjing City’s public referendum, the second plan "filling the pit" won with 65.54% of the votes.

More than half of the citizens still harbored a simple desire, wishing to fill in the ugly pit to smooth out the scar from the Shangjing Suburbs.

Nestor Corporation brought in large amounts of foundational soil from Xiangmao Mountain to level the surface, but they didn’t fill the pit up to match the rest of the city, which would require an astronomical amount of material. They only smoothed out the bottom.

After leveling the soil, the next step was to harden the surface and plan the construction of the new district to ensure it was habitable.

After half a year of reconstruction, Shangjing established the new "District 24" in addition to the original 23 districts.

Because only part of the pit was filled, District 24 is 50 meters shorter than other areas of Shangjing, which sometimes leads citizens to call this new area "Lower City District," highlighting its noticeable low-lying topography.

"Rustle rustle..." Xu Cheng went to a nearby convenience store to buy groceries, dressed thickly like a small animal, while Xu Yang was responsible for pushing the cart.

Behind the counter were two young clerks, both good-looking, probably because of their inexpensive faces, and they greeted customers with smiles. They wore green work clothes; one handled the checkout while the other dealt with prepared foods such as barbecue, oden, and soymilk.

The convenience store was originally promoting automation and unmanned services, but Shangjing City Employment Promotion Association passed a decree two months ago, banning all convenience stores from using machines in place of human labor. Other similar bills were also implemented in other cities, gradually restoring human activities in various industries and expanding the supply of job positions. This way, a convenience store now employed four people, which was unimaginable before.

Xu Yang, however, still preferred vending machines and automatic checkout devices, which could settle the bill in a flash.

During the voting, 80% of the citizens requested that machines be shelved, which showed the severity of the unemployment situation. Xu Yang contemplated. Now, protected by law, humans had the chance to return to the industries they were driven out of.

Technology had advanced too far, but social and cultural forms had not caught up, resulting in an imbalance. Now, by intentionally reducing efficiency, it ironically restored vitality to society on another level.

Not every human could be an engineer or an artist; there were always people who preferred manual and simple labor. It was unfair to eliminate these individuals from society using machines abruptly.

Like the balance between urbanization and de-urbanization, automation and de-automation also became a contradiction.

"Guabu, Guabi, Guaba." Xu Cheng picked up bags of ingredients in the fresh produce area and placed them into the shopping cart.

She was going to cook for her father, which was of utmost importance to her. Since moving back with Xu Yang to Shangjing, she found that her father had irregular life habits and ate haphazardly, so she taught herself to cook and was eager to prepare meals for him.

Xu Yang, now 34, had decided to fulfill his childhood dreams of eating whatever he wanted—fried chicken, pizza rolls, hmm creation. But after just a few days, Xu Cheng put a stop to it, and he could only let her take over.

The cart was already half full. Xu Cheng added 2 liters of milk, and Xu Yang added 2 liters of cola, then they went to checkout.

Now, there are many currencies to choose from when paying, because within Nestor Corporation’s jurisdiction, many new cryptocurrencies are emerging due to the endorsement of cryptocurrency. Currently, there are about 700 currencies circulating in Shangjing.

The Taixi Dollar is the most dominant. Backed by the Western Seaboard Treaty Organization, it has become the settlement currency across the Western Hemisphere, with a ratio of approximately 7:1 against funds.

The value of funds is also constantly changing. Originally showing signs of depreciation, it has stabilized due to Nestor Corporation insisting on settling oil and gold transactions in the Eastern Hemisphere with funds. Moreover, given its convenience and large user base, there has been a recent upward trend.

Now, Nestor Corporation has become a major supporter of the original currency, prompting intercontinental corporations that suffered from currency predation to start shifting their business to the Eastern Hemisphere and coming to operate in Shangjing. Many aspiring individuals trying to resist the hegemony of the Taixi Dollar are shifting from the Western Hemisphere, and some scholars are actively criticizing the adverse effects caused by the Taixi Dollar.

After making a transaction with a familiar cash card, Xu Yang, carrying two eco-friendly large cloth bags, returned to the nearby Shuttle Machine.

"How was work today, Dad?" Xu Cheng sat in her seat, pouring water to drink.

"No different..." These days, Xu Yang was using his own computing power to assist in the development of quantum computers.

The current achievements include the first machine "Hundred-eyes Demon Queen Nest" and the second machine "Golden Heavenly Guardian," which have been preliminarily utilized, respectively supporting the work of the Hundred-eyes Demon and the World Earthquake Forecasting Association. These two machines are comparable to the technological levels of other giant corporations.

The development of the third machine, "Heberon," is the real top-secret technology, with technical content far exceeding the first two machines. Once Heberon makes a key breakthrough, Nestor Corporation will technologically surpass the top giant corporations.

However, due to changes in diplomatic situations, the New Taixi State enterprise "Star Ring Technology," which had previously supported the construction of Heberon, announced the cancellation of its advanced technology cooperation with Nestor Corporation, thus Heberon’s development was also stalled.

"Dad must be very busy..." Seeing Xu Yang’s expression, Xu Cheng probably understood that things were complicated.

"Although busy, it’s an impressive goal, so I still have the motivation," Xu Yang nodded.

"Daddy, hug!" Xu Cheng liked being with her father.

She and Xu Yang lived in a 100-square-meter apartment in District 24. After parking the Shuttle Machine in the apartment’s docking layer, they took the elevator home.

Xu Cheng turned on the induction cooker and performed a magic trick with eggs, seaweed, curry, and rice in the pot, humming a tune while making a meal for Xu Yang. Xu Cheng also woke up early every morning to prepare lunch boxes for Xu Yang to take to work; she was really diligent.

Xu Yang had ongoing messages to reply to, so he ate slowly; Xu Cheng finished quickly and then went to watch interesting live streams. She recently enjoyed a show where a pink-skinned pig built a car for a green-skinned pig.

After the meal, Xu Yang instructed the drone to clean the table.

When it was time to sleep, they laid out bedding on the tatami mat.

"Ah... Dad, you were so busy before and barely paid attention to me. Why do you take care of me now?" Xu Cheng turned her head and acted coquettishly.

To give you a complete childhood... Xu Yang thought silently.

"Because you’re the cutest," Xu Yang stroked Xu Cheng’s hair.

"Huff huff..." Xu Cheng rested on Xu Yang’s arm, turning to look at the night sky, the flying snow, and the stars outside. Ah, what a beautiful night it is.