323 Freedom

With that, she immediately put on her Space Helmet, turned around and crawled into the emergency exit, where she was launched out via Electromagnetic Ejection.

puff--

Nalia's figure flew less than four or five hundred meters from the ship when the intelligent ship behind her instantly bent and twisted, emitting a mournful sound. She turned her head and saw that the entire ship had been squeezed into a ball of iron.

Squeak, squeak, squeak—Boom!

The main engine, unable to withstand the pressure, exploded instantly, flashing a brilliant white light above the Tomb Stars. The intense radiation washed over the surface of the massive system, now reduced to scrap metal, before turning it into countless useless fragments that fell from the sky.

A weapon powerful enough to destroy a star was simply shattered?

Energy Shield, Intelligent Mecha Swarm, Drone Hive, Nanite Swarm...

Before it could be released, it was swallowed up by the starry sea along with the ship.

What kind of power is this... what kind of path could produce such terrifying strength against an enemy?! "Lioz... I'll remember this grudge. You'll be ours sooner or later!"

Nalia gritted her teeth and swallowed her anger. She turned her head, and the thrusters on her back continued to work, allowing her to avoid the splashes of the battle and land smoothly in a broken Underground Pipeline.

Tick-tock...

Water continued to seep down from above, hitting Nalia's spacesuit. She activated her communicator and contacted the last support team.

Step, step, step...

Her footsteps echoed clearly and continuously in the Underground Pipeline.

"Kleila, come pick me up at Tomb Stars D (1153, 2316) right now! The mission failed. The target was too strong. We have to reorganize the plan..."

She paused abruptly at this point in her speech.

Then, Nalia raised an eyebrow, her gaze falling on the tall woman in the shadows. She put down the communicator but didn't hang up. Instead, she crossed her arms and said irritably, "Ha, you still have the nerve to come back?"

"..." The woman in the shadows remained silent.

Nalia interpreted this action as cowardice. She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers and sneered, "You can't do anything, you piece of junk. You made me lose face in front of the company. All my forty years of hard work have gone down the drain—it's all your fault! Do you understand?"

"... It was your command that made the mistake."

A gust of cold wind blew, and the woman's hair was gently lifted up. Under the starlight, the silvery-white hair shimmered slightly.

Nalia was taken aback.

"... You're saying I was wrong?"

She spread her hands, looking incredulous. Then, her expression crumbled. She looked around, then at the woman in the shadows, her expression gradually breaking down. She grinned, "I was wrong? Huh? Aha? Hahaha, hehe, haha ...

She laughed wildly, tears streaming down her face.

"I was wrong?"

No, you're the one who's wrong.

"You say I'm wrong? Even if I am wrong, it's only a matter of fact. Your mistake is the mistake of your class!"

"No matter what, I'm still a noble capitalist! It's none of your business to point fingers at me, you piece of trash! Who do you think you are? Do you think you can replace me?"

"You're wrong, no matter what, you're wrong," Nefes said.

"Even if I'm wrong—so what? The entire company and the narrative are on the side of the capitalists, this world belongs to us! So what if I'm wrong?"

Nalia clutched her stomach, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes. She seemed to have heard the funniest joke, "That's why I'm a capitalist, and you're just a commodity. Capitalists are born to enjoy themselves and exploit others—no, little one, we don't take responsibility for our mistakes, because our existence is to oppress the whole world!"

"Countless people in this world have tried to destroy us—but so what? Our narrative is eternal, and as long as life needs money and desires, we will never perish."

Nalia spread her hands, her figure disheveled, her skirt catching fire, yet she still seemed superior. "No matter what kind of idealists they are, those who try to erase us will eventually become ours."

"Capitalists don't make mistakes; the world pays for our mistakes."

"And for products of poor quality, there is only one outcome—"

Nalia raised her index finger to her lips, her green-gold dragon eyes taking on a mesmerizing hue, and she murmured softly, "Destroy—"

*Thud! Nalia's head tilted to the side, spun around her neck several times, and then fell to the side. A clear red mark appeared on her face, her left eyeball popped out, and her whole body trembled as a stinging pain spread across her face.

"You... you dare to hit me?"

The dragonborn's life force saved her life. Her fingertips clenched incessantly, and her remaining right eyeball darted around, trying to focus on the approaching Nefes, but then her gaze fell upon the assailant who had beaten her—

A dark blue figure slowly approached, its armor rapidly crumbling and disintegrating into countless stardust that drifted away with the wind. It casually took out a spare bio-engineered head from its Dogmatic Spacetime Belt and pressed it against its neck.

Click, click, click— Guji!* The neural connection was complete. The next moment, his eyes lit up with a faint blue light as he looked down at Nalia on the ground.

"Le... Oz...?"

"It's me."

Li Aoz, hands in his pockets, subtly stood in front of Nefes, a gentle smile on his face.

"What, not awesome anymore?"

"Let me go, let me go..." Nalia said, her teeth chattering and her voice trembling. "I'm a capitalist, my brother is Red King's Chosen, I'm very rich, I'll give you as much money as you want—I'll transfer it to you right now!"

With lightning-fast reflexes, she immediately donated 940 million Ammonium Gold to White Candle Star through her foundation.

Li Aoz raised his communicator and confirmed that the funds had been deposited.

"Look," Nalia grinned, twisting her neck back little by little. She smiled and even pulled back her collar, revealing her fair skin. "Among the dragonborn, I'm considered quite attractive, and I still look like a young girl—to be honest, I'm already engaged, so I'm still a married woman. A dragonborn loli, a rich married woman, that's quite a rare sight! Even if the money isn't enough, I can spend the night with you. As long as you let me go, you can do whatever you want with me—"

"No thanks, I don't like the smell of money."

Li Aoz raised his hand to stop the other person from continuing, turned his head to look at Nefes beside him, but said to Nalia:

"Apologize."

"...What?" Nalia asked, puzzled.

"You just insulted this soldier, calling her trash, didn't you?"

"That's just a defective product—"

"If she's trash, then what am I, who fought her to a standstill?"

Li Aoz's words sent a chill through Nalia from her skull down to her toes.

"Apologize to her. If you don't respect my opponent, then you're disrespecting me."

Li Aoz glanced at Nalia and said coldly, "Do I need to waste my breath?"

Nalia's face stiffened.

You want her to apologize to a piece of junk? Are you kidding me... are you kidding me! She's a capitalist!

What kind of capitalist apologizes to their employees and products?!

They should be grateful to themselves, praise themselves, and offer everything to themselves.

Everything else is fine—but what if a dignified capitalist has to apologize to his subordinates?

What a disgrace, what a disgrace!

Nalia was about to refuse, but when she saw Li Aoz slowly raise his hand and summon a deep red, maggot-infested blade from afar.

*Snap! Li Aoz flicked his sword, and Priest Ailiya's head crashed down in front of her. Her exquisite and beautiful face was covered with maggots, which continued to devour and multiply.

"...I see."

Nalia obediently turned her head to look at Nefes and said:

"I'm sorry, Gabros. I misunderstood you."

"Call her by her name," Li Aoz said. "She has a name."

Nalia bit her lip, her eyes filled with resentment, as if her heart was being torn apart. With difficulty and grievance, she lowered her head to Nefes and said meekly:

"I'm sorry, Nefert..."

Nefes watched her quietly.

She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly couldn't speak anymore.

"You don't remember her name?"

Li Aoz looked at her suspiciously.

"Uh, this..."

"Never mind."

Nefes lowered her head and said softly, "Even if you make her apologize, she won't truly repent."

She stepped forward, grabbed Nalia, and twisted her head back around and around.

Taking advantage of the moment, Nalia quickly explained to Li Aoz, "You see, it's not my fault, Lord Lioz... This thing is really just a product."

"She has no self, no assets, and no emotions."

"She has nothing. Even her only status is given to her by the company. Even if you see her as a rival—there's nothing you can do about it."

Nalia's neck was straightened, and she said helplessly:

"Because she was a slave—"

Smack! Nefes grabbed her face, casually swung her petite body, and slammed it against the wall, as if cracking an egg, flinging out her brains and blood with one hand.

"Ah----!"

Nalia winced in pain, her head spinning. She gaped, shouting in disbelief, "You dare touch me? Gabros —you're just a product! What, you dare lay a hand on a capitalist!"

"... I am not a product."

Nefes lifted her by the neck, bringing her to his own eye level, and said coldly:

"I have a name... I am—"

"You're nothing! Hehehe! You're just a product! Scrap! Garbage! We can make as many as you on the assembly line! You think you can fight against the company? All the companies in the universe will unite! Our enemy is the entire universe, we don't need you!"

Nalia giggled and shouted wildly:

"We oppress the masses! Long live capital! Goddess Red King, your followers have come to see you!"

Sizzle! Nefes, expressionless, pulled her spine out, tossed it under his feet, and then stomped on it, crushing and grinding it to pieces.

"I—my name is Nefthys Cleopatra."

Nefes lowered his head and said to the headless corpse on the ground, "I am a commodity, not belonging to the masses."

"That's not the case now."

Li Aoz walked behind her, Nefes slowly turned her head. Starlight fell from the gap in the pipe above their heads, sprinkling onto their shoulders.

"Lioz Dominate".

As Nefes spoke, he knelt down on one knee, and the electronic collar around his neck slowly flashed red, as if it were sending out an alarm.

She lowered her head and said in a deep voice:

"You have defeated me—and now, as payment for answering my question about the meaning of my life, my life belongs to you."

"...Um."

Li Aoz raised the sharp blade in his hand above his head.

"I'll take it right away."

The next moment, the blade slashed down towards Nefes's neck.