Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 712 - 322. Freedom

Chapter 712: 322. Freedom

Speaking, she immediately put on her spacesuit helmet, turned her head, and burrowed into the emergency passage, launching herself out through electromagnetic ejection.

—

Nariya’s figure had barely flown four or five hundred meters from the ship when the intelligent vessel behind her instantly twisted and distorted, emitting a mournful sound. She turned her head—only to see the entire ship being forcibly compressed into an iron sphere.

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak—Boom!

The main thruster exploded under pressure, igniting a brilliant white light above the Grave Star Cluster, where the intense radiation cleansed the surface of the now-worthless colossal machine, before breaking into countless, meaningless fragments that fell from the sky.

A weapon capable of destroying stars, just like that, was shattered?

Energy shields, intelligent mecha squads, unmanned drone hives, nanoworms...

They hadn’t even been deployed before they were buried with the ship in the cosmic sea.

What kind of power was this... what Pathway possessed such terrifying strength against enemies?!

"Leoz... I will remember this grudge; you are ours eventually!"

Nariya gritted her teeth as she spoke, silently swallowing her anger, turned her head, and with her thrusters continuously outputting power, she managed to avoid the combat debris and smoothly landed in a cracked underground pipeline.

Drip, drip, drip...

Water continuously seeped down from above, splattering on Nariya’s spacesuit. She activated her communicator and started contacting the last of the backup troops.

Step, step, step...

In the underground pipeline, her footsteps echoed unceasingly.

"Clara, hurry to Grave Star Cluster D (1153, 2316) to pick me up. The mission failed, the target’s strength was too strong. We need to reorganize the plan..."

She paused suddenly mid-sentence.

Then, Nariya raised her eyebrows, her gaze falling on the tall woman in the shadows. She put down her communicator, but didn’t hang up, instead crossing her arms, she retorted tersely:

"Huh, you’ve got the nerve to come back?"

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

Nariya interpreted this behavior as a sign of cowardice. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger, scoffing:

"You couldn’t do anything; inferior garbage. You’ve made me lose face in front of the company. My forty years of effort have all been in vain—this is all your fault! Do you understand?"

"...It was your command that was wrong."

A gust of chilling wind stirred and gently lifted the woman’s hair. Under the starlight, her silver hair shone slightly.

Nariya was stunned.

"...You’re saying I was wrong?"

She spread her hands, a look of disbelief on her face, followed by an inability to maintain her composure. She looked around and then at the woman in the shadows, her expression gradually deteriorating as she cracked open her mouth:

"I was wrong? Huh? Ah ha? Hahaha, hehe, hahaha ah ha ha ha!"

She laughed unrestrainedly, tears streaming down:

"I was wrong?"

"No, you are the one who’s wrong."

"You say I was wrong? Even if I was, it’s simply a factual error. Your mistake is one of your class!"

"No matter what, I am a noble capitalist! It’s not your place to point out faults, you piece of trash! What are you? Do you think you can replace me?"

"You’re wrong, no matter how you look at it, you’re just wrong." Nephis said.

"Even if I’m really wrong—what does that change? The entire company and narrative are on the capitalist’s side, this world belongs to us! Even if I’m wrong, so what?"

Nariya clutched her abdomen, wiping the tears from the corner of her eye, as if she’d heard the funniest joke:

"That’s why I’m a capitalist, and you’re just a product, born to enjoy and exploit—no, my dear, we don’t bear mistakes because our very existence is to oppress the whole world!"

"This world has seen countless people wishing to eliminate us—but what does that matter? Our narrative is eternal and immortal, as long as life needs money and there are desires, we will never be eliminated."

Nariya spread her hands, her stance awkward, her skirt catching fire, yet seeming still superior:

"No matter what kind of idealist, those who try to erase us will eventually become one of us."

"Capitalists make no mistakes, the world pays for our errors."

"And if the product quality is poor, there is only one outcome—"

Nariya raised her index finger to her lips, her draconian green-gold eyes casting a mesmerizing hue as she whispered softly:

"Destruction—"

Snap!

Nariya’s head tilted to the side, spinning around her neck several times before falling to the side, a sharp red mark appearing on her face, her left eyeball popping out, her body shaking, a burning pain spreading continuously across her face.

"You... you dare hit me?"

The life force of the Dragonborn saved her, her fingertips kept grasping, her remaining right eyeball rolling around, trying to focus on the approaching Nephis, but then, she looked towards the one who had attacked her—

A spectral blue figure slowly approached, his armored suit rapidly disintegrating into thousands of stardust particles, drifting away with the wind. He casually pulled a spare implant gear head from the autonomous space-time belt and fitted it onto his neck.

Click, click, click,—Gurgle!

The neural connection was complete, and the next moment, his eyes lit up with a soft blue light, looking down at Nariya on the ground.

"Leo... Leoz...?"

"It’s me."

Li Aozi stood with his hands in his pockets, unconcernedly blocking Nephis, a gentle smile on his face:

"What’s the matter, not feeling so mighty now?"

"Spare me, spare me..." Nariya stuttered, trembling as she spoke, "I’m a capitalist, my brother is Redd Gold - God’s Chosen, I have a lot of money, I’ll give you whatever you want—I’ll transfer it to you right now!"

She rapidly manipulated her gaze, immediately donating 9.4 billion Ammonium Gold through her foundation to Baizhu Star.

Li Aozi lifted the communicator, confirming the funds had been transferred.

"Look," Nariya smirked as she slowly twisted her neck back into place. She peeled open her collar, revealing her fair skin:

"I have a certain appeal among the Dragonborn, still looking youthful—not to deceive you, I’m already betrothed, so technically a married woman, a Dragonborn loli wealthy wife, it’s not common! Even if you’re not satisfied with the money, I can accompany you for a night. Just let me go, and you can do whatever you desire—"

"Forget it, I don’t like the smell of money."

Li Aozi raised his hand to prevent her from continuing, turned his head to look at Nephis, but addressed Nariya:

"Apologize."

"...What?" Nariya asked, puzzled.

"You just insulted this warrior, calling her defective, right?"

"That’s just a substandard product—"

"She’s a defective item, so what does that make me, who fought back and forth with her?"

Li Aozi’s words sent a chill from Nariya’s skull down through her body, all the way to her toes.

"Apologize to her. Not respecting my opponent is the same as disrespecting me."

Li Aozi glanced at Nariya and coldly said:

"Do I need to explain further?"

Nariya’s face stiffened.

Apologize to a defective item?

What a joke... what a joke!

She is a capitalist!

Since when do capitalists apologize to employees and products!

They should be grateful to her, they should praise her, they should offer everything to her.

Everything else aside—asking a mighty capitalist to apologize to her subordinates?

What a disgrace, what a disgrace!

Nariya instinctively wanted to refuse, but upon seeing Li Aozi slowly raise his gaze, summoning a deep red blade from afar,

Snap!

Li Aozi flicked his blade, and the head of Priestess Alia instantly fell before her, her delicate and beautiful face swarming with maggots multiplying and feeding.

"...I understand."

Nariya obediently turned her head, looked towards Nephis, and said:

"I’m sorry, Gabros. I misjudged you."

"Name." Li Aozi commanded. "She has a name."

Grinding her teeth, hatred in her eyes as if tearing at her own heart, Nariya awkwardly bowed her head towards Nephis and said with subservience:

"I’m sorry, Nephis—"

Nephis silently watched her.

She stopped speaking mid-sentence, suddenly unable to say another word.

"You don’t remember her name?"

Li Aozi skeptically looked at her.

"Uh, this..."

"Forget it."

Nephis bowed her head and quietly said:

"Even if she apologizes, she won’t truly repent."

She approached, seized Nariya, and began twisting her head in circles.

During this action, Nariya hurriedly explained to Li Aozi:

"You see, it’s not my fault, Lord Leoz... this creature is really just, a product."

"She lacks a self, properties, emotions."

"Nothing at all, even her only identity is assigned by the company. Even if you consider her an opponent—it can’t be helped."

Nariya’s neck was straightened, and she helplessly said:

"Because she’s just a slave—"

Snap!

Nephis briskly grasped her face, swinging up her petite body and smashing it against a wall, as if cracking an egg, single-handedly spilling her brains and blood.

"Ah————!"

Nariya cried out in pain, her brain reeling, her mouth agape in disbelief as she shouted:

"You dare touch me? Gabros—a mere product! How dare you strike a capitalist!"

"...I am not, a product."

Nephis lifted her neck, drawing it up to her eye level, and coldly said:

"I have a name... I am—"

"You’re nothing! Hahaha! Just a product! Defective! Trash! How many like you on the production line! Do you think you can fight against the company? The entire cosmic corporations will unite, we face the entire universe, you’re nothing special!"

Laughing maniacally, Nariya shouted:

"We oppress all beings! Hail to capitalism! Goddess Redd Gold, your believer comes to you!"

Zap!

Nephis expressionlessly pulled out her spine, threw it on the ground, and then stepped on it, crushing it thoroughly.

"I—I am called: Nephis Cleopatra."

Nephis bowed her head and said to the headless corpse on the ground:

"I was a product, not of the people."

"Not anymore."

Li Aozi walked up behind her, Nephis slowly turned her head, starlight falling through the gaps in the overhead duct to land on their shoulders.

"Leoz Dominet."

As she spoke, Nephis knelt on one knee, her neck’s electronic collar flashing red as if signaling an alert outside.

She bowed her head, deeply speaking:

"You defeated me—now, as a reward for answering the meaning of my life, my life belongs to you."

"...Yes."

Li Aozi raised the blade in his hand above his head.

"I’ll take that now."

The next moment, the blade descended toward Nephis’s neck