"What about me, what about me?" 102 looked at Farosa with anticipation.
"You will also receive your power, but not now," Farosa calmly tuned into the magic circuits within 102.
and 102 were manufactured witches, known as the Children of Phantom Light, which is why the configuration of their magic circuits differed from others.
The magic circuits of a normal witch are distributed in a manner akin to meridians, whereas 102’s magic circuits resembled the simplified circuits of a robot, halting at the limbs without extending to the fingertips, comparatively sparse. Similarly, Lila also maintained her magic using the simple wiring of her mechanical body. Battle-hardened and experienced, she managed perfectly fine but could not grow on her own. The growth of a Little Witch couldn’t stop there.
"What’s wrong?" 102 sensed Farosa’s moment of silence.
"Circulate," Farosa coached 102 on how to guide the magic to circulate over and over within her body. Like driving a clearing vehicle to sweep away obstructions and widen the path, it was necessary to continuously blast through key points in the magic circuit with focused magic power to enhance its expansiveness.
By the standard of a normal witch, 101 and 102’s magic circuits were incomplete, operating at roughly 70% efficiency, impacting their development of their own magic power.
This also meant their magic power could still be further expanded; the power they displayed now was far from their limit.
"Mmm..." Following Farosa’s guidance, 102 concentrated on manipulating her magic power, letting it circulate through her body in a continuous loop.
It was actually quite interesting, akin to sending a train through one’s own nerves, with the trick being to route it through every meridian track within the body.
"Now sleep," Farosa embraced them tightly. "You are both good children."
With that, Farosa left the bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Such actions greatly altered 102 and Shallow Dream’s perception of Farosa, accomplishing her goal. Their impression of Farosa started to shift from unlimited terror and torment to that of a protective guardian and guide, for which they felt genuine gratitude.
After the lights went out, Shallow Dream sat on the edge of the bed.
"You had better show me utmost respect from now on," Shallow Dream said seriously. "I am the master of time."
hugged Shallow Dream, pulling her into the blanket to lie down, wrapping her arms around Shallow Dream to sleep.
"I will tell sister how to operate magic power," 102 said.
"Aren’t you afraid of her?" Shallow Dream was puzzled.
"But that’s what family is," 102 sighed, "Family is... even though it’s strange, sometimes doing unreasonable things, but I still don’t want to separate from her for real. Alright, even if she tries to control me, let her, even if they offer me a new sister to replace her, I wouldn’t exchange her."
"Ah, you fool... But now it seems, Lady Farosa can really create a new future for the witches..." Shallow Dream whispered.
"As long as the witches are no longer bullied," 102 closed her eyes.
By the next noon, Anjiu City was still embroiled in warfare.
The assault troops of Black Fire Innovation had not yet been annihilated, that was the premise. According to third-party military intelligence estimates, Black Fire Innovation had invested two battalions, approximately 1200 troops, in their assault on Anjiu City.
The magnitude of this deployment effectively meant all of the ground forces from Martinez had been sent down, primarily to lighten the mothership’s burden of travel. In this way, should Martinez face a substantial threat, it could travel light, execute high-speed maneuvers and evade danger.
Blackfire’s assault troops were well-equipped, armed with combat implants and cutting-edge main battle rifles. But their morale was low, which diminished their combat effectiveness.
Being dropped into the middle of a city was something they were mentally prepared for. The issue was that they had previously been on Nangong Island, enduring excruciating weeks with Martinez, facing an increasingly hopeless escape plan. The soldiers’ morale verged on collapse until Martinez successfully jumped away; only then did their mental state start to recover.
To boost the troop’s morale, the commander of the assault soldiers promised leniency for their rampages; their discipline began to deteriorate with indiscriminate slaughtering and looting unfolding, and strict military control and measures were initiated.
As a result, Anjiu City was distinctly divided into four different zones.
The first zone resided under Blackfire’s direct control where various assault squads managed transport nodes, key industrial areas, and storage facilities. They captured and conscripted many citizens, coercing them to join the ranks and infusing them with a blind belligerent ideology. Those with neural interfaces had copious mental records directly downloaded into them, reducing their original minds to faithful but dull new recruits at the expense of their identity.
The second zone consisted of neutral corporate areas. These belonged to major corporations from Taixi, New Taixi State, and the Agave Continent which possessed several towering buildings, sheltering abundant corporate personnel. They had not engaged in conflict with Black Fire Innovation, adopting a policy of prudent neutrality. They announced a distance from the warfare and prohibited other citizens from seeking refuge, only inviting long-term wealthy clients and investors for protection.
The third zone featured security contract areas with personnel from the New Aizuwakamatsu Security Company and The Flying Birds Group stationed. Asa Katsuragi, invoking the security contractor’s stance and orders, invited other urban dwellers to join a city-wide safety collaboration law. Under the city’s state of emergency, they set aside conflicts to coordinate against the enemy, but due to lack of promotion and enforcement, the response was minimal.