Cyber Era Witch

In a secluded meeting room, Xu Yang sat cross-legged on a cushion, with a television hanging on the wall that had its screen turned off.

Farosa stood in the shadow of a corner.

Asa Katsuragi stood beside it, fidgeting with the television, adjusting the signal without success, unfamiliar with the buttons and display devices.

Xu Yang wanted to remind her verbally several times, or manipulate it covertly with Digital Mind, but he was worried about hurting her pride. Her younger brother was a thick-skinned little rascal, and she was obviously quite strong-willed.

After Asa Katsuragi managed to turn it on, the screen displayed a middle-aged man's face, with scars and wrinkles, slicked-back hair, wearing a suit, and a stern, angry expression, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"Hey hey!" a rough voice came from the speaker, "Katsuragi! You're taking your sweet time! It took so long just to turn on a screen!"

"Sorry!" Asa Katsuragi walked up to the screen, gesturing to the boss, "I did my best! This is the person I mentioned to you, the one rumored to have the ability to help us break through the Toshiaki Family Group!"

"You," the middle-aged man pointed at Xu Yang, almost as if trying to poke through the screen, "I am the boss of the Suzuki Group, Suzuki Shinji. I heard you promised to help us win, but what exactly are your skills?"

"I'm a hacker, able to crack the encryption of the Cybernetwork, which means I can take control of the surrounding electronic devices. If your target is protected with smart security systems, I can handle it."

He spoke these words smoothly, as if Xu Yang had grown accustomed to his identity as a neural hacker.

This must also be the destiny of Digital Mind technology, Xu Yang mused. This was originally an exploratory technology, a by-product of the research into mind uploading over the network, intended to connect consciousness with the Cybernetwork.

Now that mind uploading has matured, executives retire after achieving financial freedom, sending their minds to servers on distant satellites and living worry-free, while the companies continue to generate wealth on Earth. The individual's control functions over the Cybernetwork have been replaced by integrated AI, only to be used for some unsavory hacking work.

If companies start to crumble one after another in the future, those neural network engineers with experiences like mine will engage in the same work. When the era abandons an industry, people have no other choice.

"They are holed up in a Robot Megastore," Suzuki Shinji said, "from the first floor to the top, the place is packed with sentry guns, laser traps, and cameras. The Toshiaki Family Group calls that place the 'New Age Heavenly Guardian Pavilion.' What a joke!"

"No problem, they won't be able to stop my intrusion."

"Well, my boy... what do you want in return? I've heard that your line of work doesn't come cheap."

"If I could have the friendship of your esteemed group, that would be enough."

"Ha! You already have our friendship. I am very happy to make the acquaintance of someone with special talents like you!"

"...That 'New Age Heavenly Guardian Pavilion'," Farosa suddenly spoke up, "we want it."

"Who's talking? Who are you, standing there in the dark?" Suzuki Shinji leaned towards the screen.

"She's my..." Xu Yang wasn't sure how to explain his relationship with Farosa at that moment.

"I'm his girlfriend." Farosa said, "Sir, since it took our help to capture that fortress, we hope to have authority over the place. In return, we will continue to provide more reliable services."

Farosa still did things her way, regardless of the plan. In her view, it didn't hurt to be bold.

Xu Yang was also surprised.

Forget about the girlfriend matter for now. He thought to himself. Although Farosa's request was abrupt, it was beneficial for us, now to see how the other side would respond.

"Aha, you want the Megastore..." Suzuki Shinji showed a smile.

Xu Yang knew the other party did not want to give up the Megastore, but there should be room for negotiation.

It's best to try anyway, after all, I too would like to secure a place for myself to settle down in peace.

"We don't wish to monopolize the spoils of war, really just looking for a place to stay," Xu Yang said, "If it's the Robot Megastore, you can have all the robots inside, we don't need them."

"Of course that's no problem…" Suzuki Shinji nodded, "Without the goods, it's just a big building, how can it compare to friends with unique skills like you? Defeating our arch-enemy is of paramount importance. Katsuragi! Take good care of them, after the Toshiaki Family Group is taken down, do whatever he wants!"

"Yes!" Asa Katsuragi nodded vigorously.

Suzuki Shinji waved at the screen, and it went dark.

Progress at last. Xu Yang let out a long sigh of relief.

"The boss's word is my command," Asa Katsuragi said, "Shall we depart now? Any problem with that?"

"Hmm." Xu Yang nodded.

After Asa Katsuragi left, Xu Yang hurried over to Farosa.

"What did you just say?" he needed confirmation.

"Bring back the victory," Farosa kissed Xu Yang's face, "Don't think about anything else, and definitely don't ask. My Magic Power isn't enough to help you, I'll stay here."

"...I'm off, but don't expect me to forget about this. I'll keep it in mind." Xu Yang knew it wasn't the time to dwell on this, so he suppressed his complicated emotions and set off.

Different strokes for different folks.

Corporations are profit-driven, the Witch is capricious, and ordinary people have a thousand quirks—none can be judged the same.

As Xu Yang set off with Asa Katsuragi, watching her rally the troops before the battle, a mix of emotions churned within him.

"We are warriors loyal to the Suzuki Family, now heading to the battlefield! We should be prepared to sacrifice our lives!" Asa Katsuragi called out to the large group of gang members in front of her.