Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

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Street-side restaurant.

The establishment buzzed with lively and noisy voices as numerous guests, having just finished work, gathered here. They would order affordable yet delicious dinners, followed by low-alcohol chilled beverages to soothe their nerves and fatigue with a refreshing bite.

In a corner, two people sat quietly—one devouring his food with voracious appetite while the other barely touched the dishes, simply watching his companion eat.

The youth in the black shirt chewed on the scorching hot slices of meat with big bites, then washed it down with a gulp of cool beer. Only when the table was a mess did he put down his chopsticks, rub his stomach, and lean back in his chair.

"Full." He let out a contented sound, his expression relaxed.

In response, Valke nodded slightly and then stood up to pay the bill.

Grabbing their tattered coats, Gleid and Valke left the restaurant, wandering aimlessly along the street.

The two of them walked without much conversation. After a long silence, Gleid couldn't help but speak up.

"Aren't you going to ask why I was pursued by the 'Three Finger Needle Workshop' tonight?"

"I want to ask, but at the same time, I don't." Valke shook his head.

"If you don't want to talk, even if I asked, you'd make up various excuses." Having grown up together, Valke was well aware of Gleid's way of doing things.

"Heh, you've become quite smart and steady," Gleid remarked with a hint of sarcasm before becoming slightly more solemn.

He looked across the street at the brightly lit shops, paused for a moment, and then said,

"I took a job to spy on the business secrets of the 'Three Finger Needle Workshop.'"

"You." Valke stopped in his tracks as well, frowning.

"That's a death mission." In the defense and protection of such spying, companies always took stringent measures, ready to kill intruders outright despite the heavy financial compensations that might follow.

"I know." Gleid leaned against the railing of a bridge, watching the hover cars flit beneath.

"But there's only one chance." After saying that, he leaned on the railing and closed his eyes, tilting his head back.

"You won't understand how important this is to me." His tone was tinged with complexity.

"I might not understand, but I do know it will bring severe consequences." Valke replied.

"Once your identity is exposed, not only will the opposing company not let you go, but due to the issue with records, you might not end up in prison, but face execution instead. And because of you, many from the orphanage will be implicated and face danger."

"The orphanage? What does that have to do with me? I'm already an orphan, why would I care?" Gleid sneered, his expression twisted.

"Do you know, Valke, I've always been so envious of you, insanely so. Heh." He covered his eyes as if to hold back some emotion, speaking hysterically.

"I know. Priest Boise mentioned it to me once, warning me to be wary of you and not to associate with you."

"Heh, that old man really has a keen eye. Should have known not to let him live."

"You can't hurt Priest Boise. He's the one who saved us back in the day and took us in, provided us with education."

"Uh-ah, yes, you're right, he did all that, but I still despise him." Gleid's voice was cold.

"He's always so proud, taking pride in helping many, self-righteously enjoying that respect..."

The northern ninth district is an extremely impoverished area, lacking in industry and resources, with a cold climate and only a few mining cities scattered around.

Heisheng City, where the two of them were, discovered an azurite mine over twenty years ago. Unlike ordinary azurite, this mine's azurite was formed due to a special magical tide, possessing some transcendent properties, which made a piece the size of a fist worth nearly a hundred thousand Federation Coins.

This attracted countless people to the area, taking advantage of the official neglect or security lapses to steal the precious stones.

As a result, the local economy developed rapidly, although at the cost of lawlessness, with gangs and shady firms pushing each other for control, and almost daily shootouts in the mining areas.

However, such chaos eventually ended, as the mega-corporation 'Grey Dust Crystal' bought the entire mining area. The security forces directly under 'Grey Dust Crystal' then swept through the entire area, cleaning it up.

The military power belonging to mega-corporations is not something ordinary gangs can compare with. They not only have numerous autonomous defense units but also entire mecha battalions, calling in elite troops from different Star Domain divisions and so on.

Some might say that such powerful armaments among mega-corporations overstep the laws of the Rose Federation or could spiral out of control, but anyone familiar with history would understand the absurdity of this claim.

It wasn't under the Rose Federation's rule that mega-corporations emerged; rather, these mega-corporations compromised and collaborated to construct the Rose Federation.

In those barren times, each of these corporations, with its own technological innovations, was like a small state. They had their fleets, spaceships, administrative bodies, and so on, shuttling between abandoned or barren planets, hawking their unique products with little competition.

However, such growth ultimately has its limits; the market ceiling eventually caps the corporate ceiling. No matter how good the products you produce, if in the end only a hundred people can buy them, then at most, you can only earn the money of those hundred people.

After several technological revolutions, only the biggest nations can foster the strongest and most cutting-edge tech companies because only the biggest nations have the largest markets, can generate sufficient profits, and can support the ever-increasing costs of technology research and development.

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