Witch Special

What was a little unexpected to Lin Zhenxi was that the target of the "organization"'s revenge was not her, but the city hero Hammer who was transformed by her.

However, there may be another possibility, that is, the "organization" actually wants to make trouble for Lin Zhenxi, but it really can't find the opportunity, so it can only use its strength against the wild hammer she released to increase her reputation.

As a qualified witch, Hayashi Maki had almost no social life, her days consumed by magical research. This wasn't her native world, and her social connections were practically nonexistent. Aside from frequent trips to Saitama's house with ingredients for hot pot, Hayashi Maki's activities were confined to her "home," a straight line between her magic base and the factory. Her daily presence at the factory was brief, and aside from checking the wear and tear on the machinery and recharging the magic-modified stamping press, she didn't do anything else there.

For her, exploring the unknown and seeking the truth is a very interesting thing. At least she is immersed in it and never gets tired of it.

She didn't pay any attention to the daily management of the company, but directly found a professional manager from City Z who understood corporate management... Well, at least he did this before, before the original company went bankrupt.

When Lin Zhenxi found this middle-aged man, he was washing recycled milk bottles with a water-dipped brush on the factory assembly line. His eyes were numb and his movements were mechanical, like a walking corpse with no soul at all.

With the interruption of urban development, almost all industries in City Z are facing the dilemma of natural death. Only agriculture and animal husbandry have survived tenaciously due to rigid demand. They have now become the main economic sources of City Z. These two economic pillars almost support all the people still living in City Z.

Although both industries are notoriously low in industrial added value and meager wages, at least they can provide stable jobs and keep workers on the industrial line alive.

Being alive is the greatest livelihood and the greatest need here.

Lin Zhenxi wasn't in the habit of discussing life and ideals with others, especially when the light in their eyes had faded. So, Lin Zhenxi resorted to Legilimency, accessing the memories of this middle-aged man, bent by the weight of life. In the sea of ​​memories, Lin Zhenxi saw a side of him that was completely different from his current self. In the past, he was powerful, passionate, full of energy and confidence, believing himself to be a distinguished social elite, destined to rise to the upper echelons of society and become a successful figure in the eyes of everyone.

But now, he has become humble and fallen into the dust, and all the light in his body has been covered up.

After assessing the middle-aged man's professional abilities and stimulating his already numb nerves, Lin Zhenxi cut to the chase by signing a soul contract similar to the one he'd signed with the bald man's subordinates, albeit without the harsh terms. He hired him as the manager of Baizhi Company and then, with a wave of his hand, handed the entire company over to him. Aside from retaining ownership of the company, Lin Zhenxi delegated all authority to the manager, even refusing to interfere with the company's profits or capital. As long as he ensured the company's positive development, Lin Zhenxi wouldn't interfere with anything he did.

It can be said that the smooth expansion of Baizhi in recent times has a lot to do with the selfless dedication of this manager who lives and eats in the company.

Not only was this guy capable, he also possessed a wealth of connections. A factory relying solely on hardworking, physically fit workers could only sell labor; relying solely on workers and excellent managers could only sell quality. But with workers, managers, and effective distribution channels, it could begin selling a brand. This manager recruited a friend who specialized in marketing to address the shortcomings of the industry upgrade, elevating Baizhi from a pillow and a highly effective online product to a higher level. While still selling pillows, the business operation transformed Baizhi into a high-end, understated, and luxurious brand, successfully establishing a brand image of high quality and reasonable prices.

After all, the production volume is there, and the market is fixed. If we continue to pursue a low-price, high-volume strategy, the market will quickly become saturated, and the company's profits will plummet. Only by shifting to a premium product line, packaging sleep-aid pillows as luxury goods, can [Baizhi] thrive.

Furthermore, the manager had no idea what new product Lin Zhenxi was developing. If the sleep-aid pillow didn't have a follow-up product, it might not have much staying power. Therefore, his decision-making was becoming more conservative, trying to delay the time it took for the market to reach a bottleneck.

Baizhi's development was proceeding smoothly, while the Wildhammer's heroic endeavors were equally vigorous. Throughout Z City, there were no formidable monsters. Under the Wildhammer's brutal iron fist, the previously active monsters in Z City were powerless to fight back and were quickly wiped out. The monster population was far outpaced by the Wildhammer's sweep.

But heroes and monsters are always like twin strands of genes, spiraling upward. When one rises, the other is bound to follow. Even if there's a delay, it arrives nonetheless. Previously, both monsters and heroes in City Z were weak, but now a powerful hero has suddenly emerged, and his nemesis will inevitably appear sooner or later.

That day, Lin Zhenxi was etching magical runes into a piece of translucent glass. This was the second part of her plan to expand her influence. As long as this product could be completed, she would have accumulated enough influence to attract global attention. Then, she could shift her focus and start searching for the damned time traveler who was hiding somewhere.

Just as she was concentrating on carving a "╋" on the glass, she felt that the outermost magic guard post of the magic formation was touched, but the magic trap responsible for expulsion was not activated.

She stopped what she was doing, shook her wand to get rid of the sharp magic pen tip, then pinched the wand and drew a circle in the air.

The ring flipped and transformed into a round mirror, reflecting the perspective of the Magic Eye near the Magic Outpost.

A large man, smoking like a roasted prawn, fell to the ground unconscious. Although almost all the exposed parts of his body were burnt black, his hairless bald head remained shiny.

Is this Wildhammer? Shouldn't he be the city's hero, the center of attention? How did he end up like this?

Although it was unclear what had happened to Wildhammer, Lin Zhenxi immediately ordered his familiar, Clayman, to carry him over. The Clayman merged with the wall, piercing through the soil, and appeared beside Wildhammer. It leaned over and swallowed Wildhammer into its body, then dove underground once more, squeezed out of the wall, and lay down in front of Lin Zhenxi, spitting Wildhammer out of its body.

Wildhammer's battle suit was heavily damaged, and judging by the signs of damage, it must have been sustained by heavy firepower. With the suit's overall defenses shattered, Wildhammer was nothing more than a massive, muscular figure. The intense heat that penetrated the suit nearly cooked him. His ability to escape wasn't due to his own strong willpower, but rather to the backup plan Lin Zhenxi had left behind.

Lin Zhenxi had the clay figurine pull back Wildhammer's eyelids, revealing his dilated pupils beneath his lids. Using Legilimency, a powerful technique based on close eye contact, Lin Zhenxi read Wildhammer's memories, practically experiencing what he had just experienced.

Those are two robots.

Sorry, Lin Zhenxi's ability to identify these kinds of machines is quite poor. If it were a magic puppet, she'd be able to tell what each magic circuit was used for, but robots... these two robots look just like ordinary household robots. Uh, what are these robots called in the Overworld... Oh, right, the NS-5, the fifth-generation nanny robot, a model that looks very human but isn't human at all. Because of the uncanny valley effect, it's even more terrifying.

But these two, like housekeeping robots, proclaimed that the Wildhammer, or "Hammerhead" as they called him, had stolen their "organization's" battle armor and that they needed to recover the data within it. They then launched a relentless barrage of explosive fireballs at the Wildhammer. Though his battle suit granted him immense strength, Wildhammer was, after all, a berserker skilled in melee combat. He had no real defense against such mid-range and long-range attacks, and could only charge forward, braving the fireballs. By the time he finally reached the robot, his suit ripped apart by several explosive fireballs, another robot, which had been passive until then, suddenly launched two probes into his body, unleashing a powerful electrical current that sent him convulsing and unconscious.

Wildhammer's memory faltered as he fell unconscious, but Lin Zhenxi could guess what happened next. The original personality of Wildhammer's body, the hammerhead, had been completely wiped clean. Now, Wildhammer's personality was a simulated one handcrafted by Lin Zhenxi. If this personality were to go offline, Wildhammer's body would trigger an emergency mechanism, unconsciously returning to a safe starting position. In that state, Wildhammer's body was unconscious, controlled not by neural signals from his brain but by a magical puppet mark imprinted on the outer wall of his heart. Therefore, even with the most severe damage, he could still move again like a magical puppet.

All drones now have this function. Lin Zhenxi just borrowed some mature ideas from others.