Cyber Era Witch

In order to obtain this Ancient Witch, the company spent a huge price.

Searchlights, sentry guns, small-caliber rapid-fire cannons, metal storms, Electromagnetic Pulse Blast devices, and countless cameras were arrayed around the site, lighting it up as bright as day, with strict defenses in place.

Faced with this level of defense, any aggressive attack would result in heavy losses.

Even from such a distance, he had already detected thousands of high-end company devices in the camp, but the signals were weak due to the great distance, making direct control impossible.

"Too far away," Xu Yang said, "I can't control it."

"We have a signal booster." Matteo led Xu Yang toward a nearby crevice, from which a dim light of emergency lamps shone forth.

Entering the rock fissure, Xu Yang saw a whole team of armed mercenaries, their expressions stern, and among them, a woman was tinkering with a high-power communication device.

"It's your turn to perform." Matteo said.

"Matteo? How did you bring a stranger in from outside?" The girl operating the equipment looked disdainfully at Xu Yang.

Her hair was dyed in shades of purple, of medium length, and she had pale blue eyes, a stern expression, and a tattoo of a bodhisattva on her right arm. She wore a black jacket and tight jeans, looking like a street girl who hadn't slept off her hangover.

"I said, there happened to be someone with a Digital Mind who was looking for work," Matteo explained.

"Someone who ran away from a mega-corporation? Those types are usually unreliable."

"Alright, alright... Xu, her codename in our squad is 'Bax'," Matteo introduced, "She's a Hacker Witch. Everyone, this is Xu, a freelance neural hacker."

Hacker Witches are a special category of witches whose neurological development is abnormally advanced, resulting in their innate potential being blocked. They are implanted with something similar to a Digital Mind and specialize in hacking activities.

However, the civilian technology replicas are still no match for the true mega-corporate creation on Xu Yang, and the training they received was also not as professional as Xu Yang's training at Kyushu High Pavilion.

"I've tried, the firewall of Kyoto Infinity can't be breached in a short time," Bax said, "It's like an electronic fortress, it's making my head explode."

"Give it to me, just one minute," Xu Yang said, "Their cyber security is third-rate."

Bax looked at Xu Yang for a few seconds, shook her head, and stepped aside.

"You're asking for humiliation," Bax said bluntly, "Besides, if we die, the Riot Control Mobile Unit will be here as soon as the security program is triggered."

"Tell him your darling's password," Matteo said.

"He can ask for it himself," Bax shook her head.

Xu Yang pulled out the wire from his wrist and inserted it into the communication device's port.

Bax was using an SIII key, an advanced encryption algorithm claimed to be unbreakable, hence its widespread application outside the mega-corporations. However, the major mega-corporations had already shared internally the technology to break it, and Xu Yang had also loaded a complete set of programs. He used his Digital Mind to crack the encryption key and gained control.

The communication device began to work, the lights flickering continually.

"See, Xu's skills are top-notch," Matteo said.

"..." Bax remained silent.

The device itself was also highly technical, which, when combined with Xu Yang's Digital Mind, was like adding wings to a tiger.

The united network technology is a double-edged sword; its advantage lies in its ability to coordinate and integrate the work of all facilities within the network, allowing them to interconnect and transmit all combat information synchronously, which greatly increases efficiency and also facilitates centralized management of the AI from the mainframe.

The flaw was all too apparent; as long as the interconnected network itself was compromised, all devices on the network would simultaneously succumb.

With Bax's equipment, Xu Yang's Digital Mind had already begun assaulting this formidable citadel. And, thanks to Bax's prior groundwork, many tricky joints didn't require Xu Yang to clear himself.

It felt... simple.

Just like routine work, Xu Yang thought to himself. From various nodes and subsystems to the command center, then from the main bus to extensions. This was an absolute venture of illegal activity. Originally in charge of hunting down and dealing with such cyber criminals, now, Xu Yang himself had become a grand thief. Due to professional convenience, he was intimately familiar with how criminals would crack corporate network security systems, and their tricks and experiences were borrowed by Xu Yang, making him move like a fish in water.

The hack was successful.

Xu Yang issued a unified command to them: Go offline.

Boom——

The prolonged sound of devices grinding to a halt conjured images of massive electrical currents ceasing to exist.

The mercenaries couldn't help but rush out to see; the entire excavation site's defense systems had all stopped, darkness enveloping them like a shroud.

"They even have this kind of technology?"

"...Kyoto Infinity's defense has been..."

"Not even a minute."

The mercenaries turned to look at Xu Yang, clicking their tongues in amazement.

"Hmph..." Bax was somewhat dissatisfied, "I've had no less training than him; he's just relying on advanced implants, and besides, not all the defenses here are top-grade, most are residuals from the Bronze Titan Excavation Company, and I took care of many of the tough ones..."

"He's a true master," Matteo said, acting as if he didn't hear, and handed a handgun to Xu Yang, "Brother, let's make it quick and dig out the Witch from beneath and get out."

"We succeeded thanks to her," Xu Yang took the gun, nodded to Bax, "You can't go it alone in anything."

Bax curled the corner of her mouth, nodding slightly.

"Interesting guy," she said.

Xu Yang closed his eyes to recuperate, restoring the weariness brought on by using his Digital Mind.

He would certainly prove that defecting from the company was the right choice, Xu Yang silently pondered. The world outside was indeed dangerous, but it also offered more opportunities to survive, to live better.

He had downloaded some shooting archives, knew how to handle a gun; Xu Yang opened his eyes, checked the condition of the gun and nodded to signal they could move out.

All the security devices of the entire excavation camp were under his control; within his Digital Mind, 1,522 electrical network devices were all at his command. Since he could shut them down, he could also turn them all on and take complete control.

Once inside the facility, it would be as if Xu Yang himself controlled the territory.

At the company, he was responsible for real-time control of all the devices in an entire building. Throughout his six-year tenure, he had dealt with 12 major-scale intrusions, all thwarted by Xu Yang's coordination.

He had great confidence in his skills, and he knew that Kyushu High Pavilion had innumerable subsidiaries, branches, departments, and assets. He was just one member of a sequence of elite engineers, a tiny part of a gigantic machine. The fundamental principle of corporatism was that everyone was replaceable.

Now, outside the confines of a giant corporation, the situation was very different; people here depended greatly on Xu Yang's skills, ability, and experience. Xu Yang turned to observe the expressions of the mercenaries; they were quite cautious.

Quietly, Xu Yang followed these mercenaries as they boarded an armed vehicle, its engine roaring as they quickly drove into the interior of the excavation site.

He knew that every trap within the excavation site was waiting for them to trigger. Infiltrating the assets of a giant corporation was not to be taken lightly.