151: Chapter 133 Arms Dealer 151: Chapter 133 Arms Dealer “`
“This is the mystery of the Reality Manipulator,” Lila felt a sense of hesitation.
Only those witches whose powers relate to reality manipulation can be considered the strongest, for they can achieve what defies common sense.
Lila’s body was destroyed by a Reality Manipulator.
She wanted to hear her own heartbeat, to think with her brain, to taste the flavors of food, but she couldn’t do any of it, she was nothing more than a Consciousness Chip residing in a robot, a two-finger-long circuit board constituted all that was Lila, upon which lay the data-transcribed witch’s spirit.
She still remembered that day, buried in the snow, concealing herself, enduring the extreme cold, all to snipe the enemy commander.
But an enemy witch riding a Shuttle Machine passed overhead, casually waved her hand, turned winter into spring, snow into mud, revealing Lila’s figure without a trace.
The next second, the witch released a space-tearing blade, cutting Lila in half at the waist.
The past was like a scar, time could only ease the pain, but could never smooth it out.
Now, witnessing the power of the Reality Manipulator once more, Lila couldn’t help but feel a profound sadness.
Another Reality Manipulator was by her side—Farosa, and Lila knew the gap between them would only continue to widen.
More importantly, the myriad lines of mental code saved in this Consciousness Chip were not her original self, “Lila” was just a hollow will striving to perform and imitate her past self, with no future to speak of.
The only certainty was that when the Consciousness Chip expired and was scrapped, that would be the moment of Lila’s demise.
“Lila, what are you thinking about?” Xu Yang saw Lila had not relayed new information for a long time, so he asked her out loud in reality.
“Nothing,” Lila replied with a calm smile, “Just a short circuit.”
Before that, Lila wanted to persist in serving the man before her, to make him joyful and happy, to relieve him of any stress and pain—Lila Nestor’s time accompanying her master was extremely limited, but she wished to give it her all.
The maids brought coffee and ethanol fuel, Xu Yang tasted it and seemed impressed.
They did more than simply charm with their manners—the quality of the final product was quite excellent.
The Sky Crane Robot that Lila utilized had no taste system, she could only use false actions to reminisce about life in the past.
A40 sent ethanol into its combustion chamber in the belly, making the body searing hot.
“The individual may well be a member of Black Fire Innovation,” A40 said, then cropped and enlarged the image of the previously blurred figure, managing to barely make out the armored form, “Look, this guy walks with arrogance, strutting around, only someone from Black Fire Innovation would act so haughtily.
For ordinary mercenaries and thieves on a stealth mission, they would be very cautious, surely at least bending down, but arrogance is part of the corporate culture of Black Fire Innovation.”
Upon closer examination, the witch indeed always strutted proudly through the corridor as if it was her own domain.
It was conjecture, but information about Black Fire Innovation could be sought out since they were the prime suspects.
Even if the Golden Branch wasn’t found, it wouldn’t hurt to diminish their bravado.
Especially under these unstable conditions, the isolating of Black Fire Innovation’s power was a precious opportunity.
Previously skulking about like a rat, even the slightest clash with Black Fire Innovation was risky, things are different now, and they cannot afford to remain so passive.
“Let’s go,” after finishing the coffee, Xu Yang got up and moved.
“Mhm,” Lila regained her composure, “Back at Sun Biotech, there seemed to be something off with that Yahara Masato.
In the future, we can investigate further as it appears to be related to some mysterious power.”
“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Xu Yang took Lila’s hand, “After this mission, tell me everything that’s on your mind.”
“…Yes,” Lila bowed her head, touched by the concern, “Yes.”
“If we’re to challenge a formidable enemy, where should we go?” A40 switched back to its combative mode.
“Follow me,” said Xu Yang as he left the café.
If you were to ask where the local power of Black Fire Innovation was most likely to hide, it must be the “arms dealer,” also known as the gun store owned by Black Fire Innovation, the last stronghold they left behind in Aizu City after their forces had consolidated.
Information previously collected from the Liu Zhizi archives also mentioned that a high-value Black Fire Innovation operative, “Huang Feng,” was operating near the arms dealer, but she was capricious and had a notorious reputation.
The archive’s descriptions of her were vague, making it difficult to define such a whimsical entity.
The “arms dealer” gun shop was located in a prominent position on Bird Wisdom Avenue in Hui City District, occupying a conspicuous two-story concrete building by itself, with its own garish billboard hung boastfully above, its lights glaringly bright.
Xu Yang subconsciously checked the public news from Aizu City Civil Service Company and found that this shop was complained about more than 700 times a year.
Disrupting the normal operation of other enterprises, violating Alliance laws, affecting residential land, they were up to no good, and could only continue operating because of Black Fire Innovation’s backing.
Any less supported establishment would’ve been decimated by mercenaries and ronin long ago, making them a public enemy locally.
The local biggest gang, the Chainsaw Angel Gang, was one of their important clients, with seamless cooperation between the two.
With Black Fire Innovation withdrawing from Kyoto Infinity’s influence for the sake of preparing for war, the gang members took over the day-to-day security operations.
Considering that the “arms dealer” chain of stores will completely exit the local market with the outbreak of corporate wars, the arms dealer is clearing out its inventory in a massive sale, offering unprecedented discounts.
Many companies are purchasing in bulk, and the volume of goods moving is immense.