"318: What Is the Meaning of Life?"

[Warning: Loyalty Agreement Activated] Conspicuous characters popped up on her retina, and a woman's whisper came from her cochlea. It was the Light Gold Priest imitating the voice of the Goddess Red King, repeatedly instructing her and cleansing her mind.

"You must not disobey orders."

Yes, as a product, its significance is given to it by the company, and it must fulfill the company's contract...

—What is the meaning? Nefes hovered in mid-air, one hand on her chest, feeling her heart beating.

Thump, thump, thump...

It's a very ordinary rhythm, a very calm cadence.

Yet this ordinary sound signifies that her existence continues to this day. Her life continues to unfold here.

—What is the meaning of life...? Snap!

The nanomachines in the cell suddenly activated, and streams of electricity shot outward. Nefes's muscles spasmed instantly, and he plummeted vertically downward.

Bang! Nefes knelt on one knee, his head drooping, his gaze unfocused, and characters continuously flowing across his retina.

[Correction Program Initiated] When an electric current passes through a muscle, it causes the muscle to contract instantly. The central nervous system is controlled by electrical signals. In a sense, living organisms are essentially electrically driven machines.

[Punishment: Muscle Group Electric Shock] Machines can be mass-produced. When technology advances to a certain level, mortals are also mass-produced on assembly lines. Everything is a machine. Machines are goods and can be traded. Mortals also often lose their freedom and are used for trade. Therefore, the essence of everything is a commodity.

[Return to your post immediately] No assets, no emotions, no freedom.

She raised her hand, looking at her palms stained with mud. The fragrance of grass and earth filled her nostrils—a scent of damp earth mixed with the aroma of herbs and cruciferous flowers. The aromatic compounds would trigger hormone secretion and produce various reactions.

In the group's narrative, those things, whether flowers and plants or ordinary people, are meaningless unless they are capitalists.

[Gabros, loyal to the company!] Stupid.

[Gabros, loyal to the company!] Yet weak.

[Gabros, loyal to the company!] He has no assets.

[Gabros, loyal to the company!] But, alive.

"Oh."

A flippant male voice rang out.

Nefes slowly raised her head. Logically, she should have immediately unleashed a barrage of punches, alternating between them to overwhelm and defeat her opponent with an impenetrable frequency of attacks.

[Gabros, loyal to the company!] But now, she simply raised her head, and in her purple eyes that had flashed countless characters, the image of a person was reflected: short hair as dark as night drifted slowly in the wind, and gray eyes as bright and clear as zircon, more composed than diamonds and clearer than silver.

As for his appearance, if the goddess of beauty has a prototype, then Star Abyss was probably modeled after him.

With his hands in his trench coat pockets, Li Aoz casually walked up to Nefes. He glanced at the dust and dirt on Nefis's clothes and knew that Nefis's mindset was unstable.

For a Zeta-rank (6), it only takes a little effort to improve one's luck and become spotless.

Since that's the case...

Li Aoz's eyes darted around, and he had an idea in mind.

Nalia used hostages to threaten him this time. Killing her twice wouldn't be enough. Given her status, even if he were reduced to ashes, someone would probably rescue her.

Moreover, even if you completely kill her, it will only bring you a lot of trouble.

But... that doesn't mean he has no way to deal with Nalia.

"She needs to pay a painful price."

Thinking it over, Li Aoz took action.

He walked two steps in front of the other person and casually asked, "Can't figure it out?"

[Gabros, loyal to the company!] Nefes raised her head, her eyes fixed solely on Li Aoz. She opened her mouth, forgetting their current adversarial relationship, and blurted out the turmoil in her heart:

What is the meaning of life?

"It's meaningless."

Li Aoz said calmly, "Life itself is utterly useless. You are the same as ants, tigers, dragons, and all other creatures; none of them have any meaning."

"Yeah..."

Nefes nodded.

The answer was... surprisingly...

For some reason, she felt empty inside; she had received the answer, but she couldn't find satisfaction.

It was as if she had something else she wanted to hear.

"However, I have a question for you."

Li Aoz stared into the other person's eyes. "Are you afraid of dying?"

When living beings experience fear, they secrete cortisol, endorphins, and adrenaline.

These things were removed from Nefes during her transformation. In their place were various mimicry chemicals and artificial organs, used to remove her fear.

Gabros was invincible on the battlefield, never retreating and fearless in the face of death.

It is precisely because they have no fear.

Therefore, the answer to this question is obvious—

"--Afraid."

Nefes said:

"I... I'm terrified. I don't know why, I shouldn't be afraid, but the thought of being destroyed makes my thoughts chaotic and my heart race. My blood rushes through my body, making me fast, and my muscles tremble and harden..."

She raised her hand, looked at her palm, and said as if talking to herself:

Why did this happen? Did the surgery fail to work?

As she spoke, she looked at Li Aoz:

"Is it because of you? Your bloodline makes me feel... fear?"

"Then it has meaning."

Li Aoz stated:

"Only free spirits feel fear; those who have nothing feel no fear."

What else do I have?

Nefes was bewildered. "I am an asset of the company. Everything I own belongs to the company. I was trained by the company, I killed for the company, and I consumed under the company's guidance. Everything I have owned so far will flow to the company, even after it is scrapped and destroyed."

When she said 'destroy,' her body trembled violently, as if she had been punched hard. She instinctively clenched her fists and continued:

"I have nothing, I shouldn't feel fear, my body doesn't even produce fear hormones..."

"You are not without anything, Nefthys Cleopatra."

Li Aoz said.

Nefes looked at him, Li Aoz pointed to his head, saying:

"Let me tell you, what else do you have?"

[Charm assessment in progress...]

[Specialty: "Compulsive and Autocratic" activated!]

[Passive Skill - Aura of Goodwill Triggered!]

Nefes abandoned its attack.

As he spoke, Nefes seemed to sense something, and she lowered all her defenses and listened quietly.

"First of all, you have a name. You are called Nefthys Cleopatra, a name and surname that surpasses many people in slave-owning civilizations. Judging from your name, you should be a Kolodilus Clan - True Crocodile Species - a race also known as Half-Tide People in the Abyss, a race that, like the C3 Luca-type Cosmic Human Race, excels in combat. Your origins are something to be proud of."

Li Aoz crouched down to look the other person in the eye:

"Secondly, you are very beautiful. Even though your body has undergone a lot of surgical modifications, by the standards of carbon-based life, you are still considered to be of superior appearance. This alone surpasses the vast majority of life forms. How many vulgar Freemen spend their entire lives pursuing beauty as their ultimate goal, while you were born with all of this."

Nefes looked at him, her body unconsciously relaxed. She didn't even realize that Li Aoz was getting closer and closer to her.

—No, she realized it. The scales on her body stood up, her serrated pupils focused on the other person, and her fingertips extended sharp, hooked nails. Instinctively, she wanted to tear the other person to pieces.

She can do that.

However, she was unwilling to do so.

whoosh—

The nanomechanical armor slowly retracted, revealing casual attire. This outfit, though inferior to even a single circuit in the armor, felt far more comfortable and pleasant to her.

"Finally, and most importantly."

Li Aoz knelt down and naturally raised his hand to place on the other person's shoulder. The other person's cold skin gradually warmed up under the touch of his palm.

Li Aoz said calmly:

Even if you have nothing at all, at least you have your own life.

"In the Galaxy Eye, Zeta-rank warriors can only survive for four hours. In just five months, Night Butterfly and Crystal, with a total of 5 million standing troops, were wiped out. In that meat grinder-like battlefield, nearly 97 percent of the warriors died."

[Disciplinary measures initiated] "Although you may think you are poor, stupid, a failure, and only good at messing things up, don't forget that you still have a life."

[The host does not respond to the electric shock, switch to language for instruction] "You are not without anything. At least this life belongs to you, and as long as you do not want to end it, it will always belong to you. Even if you want to commit suicide—that's fine too. It means that you are truly in control of your own life. You can live out the meaning of life, pursue your dreams, or you can die as a martyr to prove your freedom and innocence."

[Everything you have belongs to the company. If you lose the company, you will lose your last refuge!] "In conclusion, in my eyes, ' Silver Armor ' Nefthys Cleopatra is a powerful person, a free spirit, a beautiful female, and a... living being."

[Gabros, loyal to the company!] Li Aoz said, extending his hand to the other person. "I think now you should have a new understanding of the meaning of life."

Nefes raised his head and slowly extended his hand.

[Gabros, loyal to the Lord—] Clap.

Nefes roughly slapped Li Aoz's hand away, his jagged pupils flashing with a cold, sharp light. "Target located Lioz Dominate."

Silver-white armor quickly enveloped her entire body, and a sharp, inverted triangular helmet covered her head.

"Mission 0192, codename: ‘Star Hunt’."

Zheng—

She raised her fists, and the engine on the back of her armor burst forth with azure flames.

"Mission—begin!"