A People Enslaved
"What's wrong?"
The screen, which had suddenly lost its display, had reverted to the familiar bust of Woz. Beckett waved away the light from the screen and saw Zola's flushed cheeks.
Thinking back carefully, it seems that she blushed and her heart raced for no apparent reason while watching the video.
"No! It's nothing!"
Upon hearing the outside noise, Zola's voice instantly rose an octave, a sign of excitement.
She never imagined that she would actually watch such an educational film with the VIPs she was serving.
This was something unbelievable and unbelievable to her, something she was completely unaware of.
Who is she?
They are merely slaves under the rule of the Cosmic Auction House.
To think I would have the honor of meeting such a distinguished guest...?
Zola never imagined that something that only existed in their small circle of dreams would actually happen to her.
Zola, who was deeply insecure, went blank and didn't know what to say for a moment.
She had lived in the resource-poor Northern Hemisphere since birth. After growing up, she was chosen by the leader because of her stunning figure, beauty and potential. She left the extremely barren desert and came to the prosperous Knowhere Capital.
That was the first time in her life that she had witnessed what so-called prosperity really meant.
As a slave.
Zola didn't know why she was branded a slave from birth, nor did she understand why her ancestors had been slaves for generations. All she knew was that to survive, she had to obey the will of those rulers.
Back in her desert homeland, she and her family worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, contributing to the development of northern Knowhere, all in exchange for meager rations to survive.
In the Knowhere Capital, she was all alone and could only rely on her hard work and outstanding talent to stand out from the crowd of slaves and become a trainee VIP receptionist.
While others need at least two and a half years to practice, she completed all her studies in just one year and began her certified career.
Although he encountered a difficult and troublesome client, Beckett, on his first day on the job, he... actually seemed to be quite good-looking?
Zola, regaining her senses, secretly glanced at Beckett out of the corner of her eye.
The loose black Battle Suit couldn't hide his well-defined muscles, and although his wet hair after showering was messy, it somehow gave him a kind of disheveled handsomeness when paired with his cold and handsome face.
"Hey woman, what are you thinking about?"
The words from Beckett jolted Zola out of her reverie.
"Ah, no, I didn't."
She jumped to her feet, her long, wavy, wine-red hair flying wildly over her shoulders. The orange cat, who had been dozing against her chest, instantly lost its balance. It frantically tugged at Zola's collar to regain its footing.
"You should leave."
Beckett frowned, looking at the woman who had suddenly become so inexplicable, and pointed to the door, pouring cold water on Zola's burning heart.
"Yes, Mr. Beckett."
Feeling helpless, Zola glanced at the orange cat yawning on her chest and, while marveling at how human-like the pet was, quickly left Beckett's bedroom.
She still had to prepare the ingredients for Beckett's breakfast tomorrow.
[Ego, Jennifer, don't want to drag him down...?]
After chasing away the auction house staff member, Beckett began to ponder the meaning of what he had just heard.
The enigmatic Ego instilled great vigilance in Beckett, especially after Ego bluntly stated that he was not from this universe.
In Beckett's knowledge, up to this point, only his adoptive father Thanos knows this fact.
Beckett closed his eyes. The floating screen not far away was still looping images of Ego and Jennifer dancing, talking, and undressing. He racked his brains but couldn't deduce any useful clues from the limited information available to ascertain Ego's identity. Then...
Beckett fell asleep.
However, Beckett, who was fast asleep, was unaware that on the other side of the Knowhere Capital, a furious Ego was now contemplating murder.
He, Tamagami, was actually tricked by a visitor from another dimension?!
They even installed surveillance cameras?!
Ego's temples throbbed, and his ferocious expression startled Jennifer.
"Ego?"
"Ego, what's wrong with you?!"
"It's nothing, just that some fool dared to challenge the majesty of the gods."
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Ego, who had seen all sorts of storms, spoke up to comfort the frightened Jennifer.
It was his dereliction of duty to frighten the woman he loved.
The woman's genes were the best genes he had carefully selected.
Is it because of the Collector?
The perceptive Jennifer immediately thought of the terrifying being that had been hovering over their two races for tens of millions of years.
"I'm sorry, Ego, I shouldn't have seen you again."
Jennifer gently kissed Ego's cheek, then got up to leave, but Ego grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving.
"The Collector?"
"He's just a good-for-nothing, the only thing he's good at is living a long time." Ego said with a look of disdain.
Over the long course of history, they have not sought the path of evolution, but only know how to collect all sorts of strange and unusual things to amuse themselves. What else can they be but cowards?
"Ego?"
As Ego finished speaking, an invisible energy erupted from his body, and a sea of wine-red flowers bloomed out of thin air in the vast manor.
"I am God."
"With me here, you won't die."
At the Knowhere Control Center, the Knowhere Leader, who controlled the planet, suddenly opened his eyes from his sleep.
His heart felt inexplicably heavy.
[Why?]
Knowhere King touched his chest, feeling his beating heart.
He hadn't felt this way in a long time.
"Your Majesty, the slaves in the north have started to riot again!"
The Artificial Intelligence's prompt eased the furrowed brow of Knowhere King: "Is it the same group of people as last time?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"They really are a group of persistent guys."
Knowhere King squinted, stood up, and walked to the window, overlooking the bustling night view of the Knowhere Capital.
"Reinforce our forces three times over. This time, we must make that old bastard suffer a great loss."
With a cold snort, Knowhere King immediately issued the order.
How could a race that had become accustomed to submission, both in body and mind, possibly attempt to overthrow his rule?
Freedom and rights belong to all living beings?
What a joke!
"Yes, Your Majesty."
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