Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 986 - 781: Design Qiongting System

Chapter 986: Chapter 781: Design Qiongting System

In an instant, Qing Yao felt as though she had been struck by a cannonball, shattering every bone in her body from top to bottom!

Boom!

After taking a kick from Pan Ruiyi, Qing Yao hit the ground in excruciating pain, rolling over the snowy terrain.

"Such heavy snow! Are you here in Silla to admire its winter?" Pan Ruiyi shouted.

"...Huff...huff..." Qing Yao’s consciousness was muddled from the beating.

Her internal organs were already ruptured, the unbearable pain coursing through her nerves like an unrelenting storm.

The Witch Armor automatically administered a medical injection to keep her alive.

Qing Yao could only manage to roll onto her back, staring up at Pan Ruiyi as she watched her smash the hovering cannons released by Qing Yao one by one.

After dismantling Qing Yao’s hovering cannon formation, Pan Ruiyi pounced, grabbing Qing Yao with one hand and lifting her into the air.

Qing Yao’s heart burned with frustration.

In the past, she had interfered in Silla’s affairs, going against the combined forces of 101, 102, and Wei Shiyue—and she had emerged triumphant!

But now, facing Pan Ruiyi, she found herself virtually powerless.

It was undeniable—Pan Ruiyi’s magic power was utterly unreasonable.

Once ensnared by her magic power, Qing Yao felt her limbs weaken and her reflexes slow, everything adapted to ensure Pan Ruiyi dominated in close combat.

This, too, was a manner of distorting reality.

"Ha! In this desolate land, even if I kill you, no one will notice!" Pan Ruiyi shouted as she lifted Qing Yao high.

"Once I become the Dominator Witch..." Qing Yao’s voice weakened.

Pan Ruiyi found this laughable.

Qing Yao was indeed powerful, one of the strongest witches just below the Dominator. Yet the insurmountable gap in strength remained undeniable.

Back in the military camp, when they trained and grew together, their matches were always close—Qing Yao frequently outmaneuvered Pan Ruiyi using her time-slowing magic.

However, since Pan Ruiyi became a Dominator Witch with Farosa’s assistance, losing to Qing Yao was no longer a possibility.

No matter how many times they fought, Qing Yao could never win against Pan Ruiyi!

"Just one step away?" Pan Ruiyi taunted, "Keep dreaming!"

"Dreaming... Yes, dreaming." Qing Yao weakly clutched Pan Ruiyi’s hand, kicking feebly with her legs suspended in mid-air. "Let me have a good dream, then move just a little further ahead..."

Pan Ruiyi suddenly realized Qing Yao had inadvertently revealed something extraordinary.

Her expression shifted instantly from arrogance to stern contemplation.

"A dream? You’ve started dreaming like a witch? Mazes, corridors, and monsters?" Pan Ruiyi pressed for answers.

"So what if I have?" Qing Yao sneered.

"Let me take a look!" Pan Ruiyi smashed Qing Yao onto the ground, then gripped her armor with both hands, attempting to tear it apart.

"What are you doing—" Qing Yao screamed in terror, "Da Pan! Don’t!"

Pan Ruiyi was intrigued, wanting to see if Qing Yao’s stomach bore the mark of the witch’s emblem.

The Witch Armor issued by Kyushu High Pavilion was designed to enforce strict loyalty among witches. Its built-in Noon Gate system could incinerate witches from within, ensuring the prevention of rebellion.

Pan Ruiyi hadn’t worked for Kyushu High Pavilion in ages, nearly forgetting she had narrowly avoided death from this execution system herself. Realizing the risk, she stopped what she was doing.

If things got out of hand, Qing Yao might end up eliminated.

Regardless, Qing Yao had unintentionally accepted the witch’s dream—perhaps unknowingly. Pan Ruiyi thought silently.

"Forget it, I got it wrong. Anyway, enjoy your dream," Pan Ruiyi said as she helped Qing Yao stand up.

"You—pervert!" Qing Yao roared furiously as she got up.

"Heh, heh," Pan Ruiyi always remained nonchalant. "Why did you head south anyway? The roads here are all destroyed by the locals, the mountains are loaded with bunkers, and inside, there’s nothing but ginseng and animals. Tell your boss to go target places with oil instead."

"What? We came here to trade. We aim to compel the North Silla people to open their borders, yet you brazenly attacked me without question." Qing Yao said coldly.

Qing Yao opened the storage compartment on her armor and retrieved a separation chip containing the commercial contracts.

"Oh!" Pan Ruiyi exclaimed in surprise.

She had assumed an army invasion was coming—but it turned out to be business negotiations. The world truly ran on deals—congratulations and wealth to all!

"Now that you understand, you should heal me immediately, or you’ll find yourself in serious trouble! I harbor no ill intent, yet you... assaulted me!" Qing Yao gathered her strength and shouted sternly.

"Yeah, yeah! That’s just who I am—beat first, talk later." Pan Ruiyi embraced Qing Yao from behind, lifting her up and carrying her southward for transportation.

Pan Ruiyi scrutinized the Kyushu High Pavilion emblem on Qing Yao’s Witch Armor.

The brand logo was simple yet distinct—four gilded black bold characters in large font.

It was rumored that Kyushu High Pavilion had recently undergone extensive upgrades and iterations. Their operations had been streamlined further, the corporate structure downsized, many departments transformed into regional subsidiaries and branches, autonomously managing their business strategies, while the parent company itself became smaller and more efficient, seemingly pivoting its business tactics completely.

Maybe it was to adapt to competition? Pan Ruiyi wondered.

Xia’s economy was too colossal, with an unparalleled unified megamarket that made other companies envious.

In Xia’s corporate hubs, endless stories of fame and fortune played out repeatedly, tempting even those with the weakest ambitions toward the allure of the marketplace. With brains, luck, and the right moment, one could secure prosperity for life!

In recent years, companies like Hidden Dragon Technology, Djin Industrial, Zishan Bank, and Dragon Prance Group had all grown stronger, steadily increasing their influence within the East Union Faction.

New companies kept climbing the ranks of prestigious enterprises, pursuing greater profits and stronger monopolies. Many entrepreneurs riding the economic wave amassed fortunes, joining the ranks of the newly affluent.

Faced with so much change, Kyushu High Pavilion needed innovation to maintain its position—introducing new products and technologies.

The bustling world revolved around profit! The wrangling and clamor were all for gain! In this materialistic age, corporate battles were the cruelest—true life-and-death contests, devoid of mercy. Pan Ruiyi envisioned the thrilling scenes and felt a surge of adrenaline, wanting to crush some skulls underfoot.

"Are you standing guard here?" Qing Yao suddenly interrupted Pan Ruiyi’s train of thought.

"Yeah, I’m stationed here. Don’t forget—people with brains make decisions. We witches just get the dirty work done. I’ll carry you to Xin City, where you can... present your trade contracts to them," Pan Ruiyi replied as she carried Qing Yao to a safe location.

"You traitor. Shouldn’t you be far away by now? Honestly, seeing you here did surprise me." Qing Yao said coldly.

"So what? Think about it—the big bosses’ children spend years abroad enjoying life, occasionally coming home to race cars or amuse themselves. Why can’t I go overseas to rake in money, then return to Xia once in a while? They might even take pride in me." Pan Ruiyi dismissed her concerns.

"Is your salary high?"

"A hundred times yours!" Pan Ruiyi mocked. She was earning around 10 million annually, which might truly be a hundred times Qing Yao’s income.

"Huff..." Qing Yao couldn’t stand Pan Ruiyi.

Rude, savage, lazy, uncivilized—any man unfortunate enough to meet her would surely suffer.

She slumped against Pan Ruiyi’s shoulder, closing her eyes, wishing for this ordeal to end soon.

So, Qing Yao had come for trade discussions, but the big bosses likely weren’t interested in North Silla’s meager offerings—perhaps just planning to bring back some ginseng for health benefits. Pan Ruiyi mused. In this case, violently beating Qing Yao made her genuinely feel pity for her.

The entire economy of North Silla amounted to a mere few hundred billion, roughly the same as an average county in Xia.

Honestly, it was tragic.

South Silla’s economy was one hundred times larger than North Silla’s—that was a legitimate business partner. After suffering this setback, South Silla certainly wouldn’t let the matter rest.

...

Elsewhere, the interim administrators of Xin City convened a general meeting, hoping to accelerate the reconstruction of North Silla.

"The immediate priority is restoring economic operations and figuring out how to lift the starving populace off the subsistence line."

"The snowstorms persist endlessly—many villages have been completely abandoned, numerous mines closed down, and half of the northern mountain roads are impassable..."

"At this rate, widespread famine and epidemics will surely break out!" North Silla’s interim representatives nervously exchanged opinions.

Long-term natural disasters and human atrocities had rendered North Silla a harsh, impoverished wasteland of despair.

Most of these representatives had received emergency notices and rushed to Xin City’s council hall to contribute ideas and support establishing the transitional government.

They themselves weren’t professional managers or politicians—many were farm owners, factory workshop supervisors, and others who had long been excluded from Yin Changmin’s inner circle. Now, they were tasked with determining North Silla’s fate.

"Here’s the proposal." Xu Yang spoke. "Nestor Corporation suggests exchanging your 20-year export rights for ore, coal, and other resources to secure grain, medicine, building materials, and cash urgently needed for reconstruction. We’ve presented this deal under terms that ensure no loss to our company’s interests, and we hope you’ll support Nestor Corporation’s efforts."

"That’ll have to do!"

"We trust in Nestor Corporation’s reputation. Let’s proceed. Our iron and coal will be crafted by Nestor Corporation into the tools needed to labor and reshape the world—hoes, hammers, shovels! That’s not so bad!"

"All the resources we produce will be sold to Nestor Corporation." They latched onto Nestor Corporation’s aid, agreeing to provide most of their output over the next 20 years, securing the urgently required rebuilding materials in return.

"Second, we’ll renew the peace treaty with Modern Entertainment Company, downsize military forces, and facilitate the reintegration of demobilized soldiers into civilian life. Nestor Corporation will offer transitional security services to ensure no rebellion or mutiny," Xu Yang explained.

"Ah! Wonderful!"

"This should’ve been done long ago..."

"Finally..."

"Our impoverished economy sustaining such a large army—it’s utterly unsustainable."

"Our people fear war and yearn for a few generations of respite. It’s time those defiant soldiers left their firearms behind and returned to farms and factories, turning their efforts toward production—excellent!" They agreed enthusiastically.

With Nestor Corporation’s military guarantees, even if North Silla’s troops were reduced, the disbanded soldiers wouldn’t be able to stir unrest. A large number of inactive army personnel was something North Silla simply couldn’t afford.

"Lastly, I plan to deploy the Qiongting System and attempt a test," Xu Yang stated.

"What kind of test?"

"I want to rebuild Xin City with coordination and planning from the Qiongting System. If the system proves capable of rapidly and accurately allocating human and material resources to complete Xin City’s unfinished development, it’ll demonstrate immense potential for broader applications. Ladies and gentlemen, North Silla will serve as the world’s first... ’test site’ to evaluate whether an economy entirely controlled by AI, algorithms, and computer terminals can operate efficiently. If you approve, I’ll personally optimize the Qiongting System before employing it to build Xin City," Xu Yang declared with seriousness.

"The Qiongting System... scientists proposed it years ago."

"I remember hearing about this on old broadcasts. They claimed it would bring genuine equity, true collective power."

"No more invisible hands—only visible ones!" The representatives discussed fervently.

Previously, the Qiongting System displayed considerable deployment potential, only to be unilaterally restricted by Yin Changmin’s army for three years. Now the representatives pieced together fragments of memory, envisioning the promises once made by the system.

"...Let’s give it a try."

"It was a solid achievement from a research team of hundreds—the Qiongting Project! No need for financiers or corporations anymore; computers make decisions, AI allocates resources!"

"Let’s test it—use North Silla as fertile ground. If our results prove terminal-machine-calculated economies outperform corporate-driven market systems... we’ll have made a global contribution to humanity! If we fail... how much poorer could we possibly become?" one representative remarked with fervor.

Though they wore gaunt faces, their spirit remained strong, still clinging to the shining ideals that inspired North Silla’s uprising years ago. Gathering their thoughts, they set their sights on Xu Yang.

"Then... let’s give it a shot!" Xu Yang resolved.

He committed himself to optimizing the Qiongting System.

A groundbreaking test—to see if humanity’s economic systems could be entirely entrusted to machines and AI.