Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 92 - 92 75 The True Form of the Saint

92: Chapter 75: The True Form of the Saint 92: Chapter 75: The True Form of the Saint About three minutes had passed before it finally established a response.

“It looks like you’re nearby,” Matteo’s message came through, “You wouldn’t want to get yourself into trouble, right?

After gaining so many benefits, it’s time to call it quits.”

“Of course,” Xu Yang feigned agreement.

Meanwhile, to test the power of the soul-binding contract, he tried to imagine betraying Farosa.

But the mere fantasy stirred a heartburn-like sensation, as if a mysterious force was searing his soul, compelling him to discard the thought.

“That corporate guy Xu Yang is already dead, do you have any clue?” Matteo communicated.

This Matteo wasn’t the original one who had contacted Xu Yang; the previous one was still lying in the excavation site as scrap.

This Matteo had very limited information; it couldn’t be certain Xu was Xu Yang, so it was fishing for information.

“Who?” Xu Yang played dumb.

“Never mind.

I know you’re excellent, are you interested in serving Black Fire Innovation?”

“Your company is quite attractive.”

“Of course, Blackfire is the eternal flame that must ignite the old order.

Innovation is our ultimate goal, to completely bury the past, transforming the world into a completely new form, using force to establish absolute justice.”

“What’s in it for me?” Xu Yang continued to shoot the breeze with Matteo.

Since the other was a Synthetic Human, it wouldn’t take long to figure out its behavioral logic.

“Black Fire Innovation has its own arms design and production department, holding core competitive power among the giant corporations.

We’re equitable to all who come to us, not caring about any past deeds or errors, even if there had been a conflict with our company, we’ll let bygones be bygones.

We offer competitive salaries, with no upper limit for the capable, flexible working hours, and we strive with those who have dreams to build a New World!”

If this were mailed to Farosa, she would probably consider working there.

Xu Yang thought to himself.

Painting a rosy picture was what companies were best at.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Xu Yang replied, “Shenkong Tower is crawling with rats, what do you plan to do?”

“Rats aren’t a problem.

Stay where you are, we’ll be picking you up soon.

Once we confirm the Witch is in hand, we’ll wipe the slate clean of our past disputes, and we may even continue our cooperation.”

As far as this Matteo was concerned, the trouble caused by the previous unit was the previous unit’s issue; this Matteo had other problems to solve.

“Thank you for the opportunity,” Xu Yang responded, “We’re outside the south gate.”

“Roger that, wait there, brother.”

The communication ended.

“Matteo’s lost his edge,” Xu Yang analyzed, “It was all bluster before.”

“What makes you say that?” Farosa glared at him venomously, “One of you definitely wants to pull something fishy.”

“It’s been polite this time,” Xu Yang recalled, “We had a big fight in the streets before, and our relationship had utterly deteriorated.

But the communication just now was very cordial, it’s obvious that it wants to keep me steadied, which means it doesn’t have the capability to completely suppress me, there’s still something it’s wary of.”

“So, it was cocky before, and now it’s gone soft,” Farosa frowned.

“Because of Suzukawa Kiyo,” Xu Yang sighed, “Countless eyes around the world are watching this place.

Black Fire Innovation is the most restless among the giant companies, but they still need to keep a low profile before they actually have the ability to innovate the world.

Besides Black Fire Innovation, the Archipelago Continent still has Kyoto Infinity and Modern Entertainment, two other giants, and both Kyushu High Pavilion and Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing are not far off.”

“Looks like the ruckus we caused in that bad woman’s live broadcast room was effective.”

“Of course,” Xu Yang nodded, “Now it’s our turn to put the screws on the people from Black Fire Innovation.”

Xu Yang accessed Shenkong Tower’s external cameras, which sat within a subnet of the entire United Networks, able to trace upstream and crack the host’s encryption keys.

Shenkong Tower used ODC keys, the source code base for United Networks technology – for Xu Yang, it was as familiar as coming home, and he quickly hijacked control.

The building’s backend system was outdated and lacked a naming convention for cameras, seeming to have been installed in two batches.

The commercial center’s cameras were fitted first, then came additional cameras from another security company for the auxiliary buildings, the management was quite chaotic.

Xu Yang switched through a few camera angles, searching for hiding spots for Matteo or the Rat Witch.

Rooms, corridors, and squares had been ravaged by the rat infestation, with countless dead and injured.

The security team of Shenkong Tower must have mounted a defense, but they were quickly routed, abandoning their armor.

One corridor was filled with the remnants of security staff, the defenders trampled and devoured, with casings, empty guns scattered all over, and sentry guns left aside.

The Giant Rats were maintained as important strategic resources by the rat swarm.

Multiple Giant Rats lay in the central square area, with countless Ratmen running back and forth.

Grey ones were responsible for carrying human corpses for them to consume, strong black ones hurried other Ratmen to work, and the white, more intelligent ones maintained the chemical pumps and enhanced armor on the backs of the Giant Rats.

Lila had been scanning the vast Shenkong complex for a while, finally capturing the location of the Rat Witch and Matteo’s group and passing it to Xu Yang, saving him a lot of trouble.

On camera RRT-049, Xu Yang quietly observed the scene within.

In a dirty, damaged office, Xu Yang saw the short, dark-skinned Rat Witch issuing commands to the Ratmen.

Due to her diminutive stature, she had to stand on a table to maintain her authority.

“Now!” she shouted energetically, “We still have the strength to fight humans to the death!

Let them see our resolve!

We will claim our new homeland!”

“Squeak Squeak Squeak!”

“Ohh!”

“The Saint leads us forward!”

“Fight!” the Ratmen cheered.

It seemed the Rat Witch was their supreme leader, the Saint, previously the mother Ratman holding a child had called her Sally.

After stirring up the Ratmen’s morale, Sally dismissed them, leaving only the strongest, most loyal black rats to guard the office.

She instructed them to keep watch over the office and then turned to enter a small room inside.

Following Sally’s movements, Xu Yang switched the camera.

Inside the small room, Matteo and the two Red Armored Witches were waiting for Sally’s entrance.

Upon entering the small room, Sally closed the door and immediately collapsed to the floor, weakened, her posture particularly pitiful.

“You’ve done well,” Matteo clapped his hands, “Come here, cute obedient Mouse Woman.”

Sally just sat there gasping for breath, her eyes bloodshot, her mind a jumble of chaotic thoughts and chemical substances eroding her brain, making it difficult for her to concentrate, her ears quivering.

“Stand up,” Matteo ordered, “gather your Ratmen, and accompany us to the south gate.

Once we get the most important goods, we’ll help you capture Aizu City.”

“No, no, no…” Sally’s voice sounded very weak, “…

my kin, they are almost dead, they are in pain, they have suffered many wounds, they can’t go out anymore.”

“You must do this,” Matteo said, “101, go get some stamps over here, Sally is out of her mind.”

The long-haired Red Armored Witch disappeared from the camera, and the next second she reappeared, holding a packet of a green, plastic-like substance in her hand.

The so-called stamps were addictive hallucinogens.

Seeing the stamps in 101’s hand, Sally couldn’t help but rush over, but 101 flickered her body again, moving behind Matteo.

“If you want the stamps, you must obey my orders,” Matteo said coldly, “Lead us out, catch the Witch, and then we can end all this.”

“My kin…

they need food, freedom,” Sally knelt on the ground, staring at the stamps, “they need a home and medical care, they need status and respect, they are not your slaves.”

“Forget about your kin, what you want are the stamps.” Matteo opened the package and took out a syringe, “Drink it, drink it, Sally, let’s leave this place, haven’t you always liked stamps?

After the first time you drank it, it was all you needed.”

“I can’t…

I can’t create more death, I don’t want to listen to your promises anymore, I’ve told too many lies to my kin,” Sally gasped weakly, “I want to go to the ground, I want to show them the sky that they have never seen.”

“When you stuck your heads out from the sewers, you’ve already seen it over and over, nothing special.”

“We once lived under the sky.”

“Yes, I know, the sky, amazing.

But it’s useless, you can only help us with tasks, we will keep the strongest and smartest of you, to go to Blackfire.

There you will get health insurance and paid vacations, leave this muddy pit, and you’ll see the sky every day.”

“You once said you’d give us more, give us a city, the whole Aizu City.”

“Yes, that offer still stands.”

“Lies,” Sally raised her voice, “where is Blackfire’s support, where is your army, your tanks, and Shuttle Machines, where are your Battle Witches?

Without your support, my kin can only shed blood in vain!”

“Like I said, we still have one dirty bomb,” Matteo said, “It can easily help us cover our retreat.

Now that your uprising has reached a hopeless dead end, you see no chance of turning the tables, you can’t be blind to that, can you?”

A dirty bomb, a kind of small nuclear weapon.

Xu Yang felt a shock in his heart.

Also called a radiological bomb.

“I see, in your eyes, I only see indifference, you are not human.”

“Drink it.” Matteo shook the stamps in front of Sally.

Sally painfully looked away, not daring to glance at it twice, fearing that doing so would reawaken her addiction.

“Then we’ll just have to resort to more primitive methods,” Matteo said, “102.”

The short-haired Red Armored Witch geared up and charged forward.

Sally let out a desperate scream as a large group of angry black rats rushed in from outside the door, overwhelming Matteo.

As he roared and fired his gun, 101 and 102 took out their weapons and continued to slaughter Ratmen.

The black rats fell one by one, but they desperately protected the Saint as she escaped.

Sally cried bitterly, crawling out of range of the camera.

“Where to next?” the Ratmen outside shouted, “Back to the nest?”

Sally lifted her head, looking through the layers of floorboards as if she could see the vast sky she once dreamed of.

“Anjiu City…”