Chapter 171 Assembly
The Earth, a water-blue planet, she says is her home.
This name sounds familiar. I seem to have heard of such a planet but I can't remember where I heard it. This is not surprising. In this vast galaxy, there are only hundreds of billions of planets. Homo sapiens is a very common race. Her hometown is probably just one of the remote and unknown planets.
But when she turned her head and said in a very restrained voice, "That's my distant hometown," I suddenly had a strong desire to send this lonely foreign woman back to her home.
But in a moment, this thought disappeared. In the conversation with other employees, I more or less knew her identity. The appearance of Homo sapiens is very popular with certain races, and some interstellar nobles with abnormal habits even privately buy Homo sapiens as pets. She is someone I cannot touch, and someone I can never save.
I am afraid that I will never be able to repay the kindness she has shown me.
"My family is there. I miss them."
I didn't speak.
"Do you have any family?"
"I am an orphan. I have no blood family. I grew up with Tita. Tita is my family."
"Oh. Sorry." She lowered her head with an apologetic look on her face.
"It's nothing."
"If possible, I would like to hear more of Lothar's story." She suddenly said, "Did you come up with this story yourself?"
"A friend of mine told me about it."
"Friend?" She narrowed her eyes and looked at me, but her expression did not believe it.
"Yes."
She looked as if she didn't care about my lies. "Can you tell me more stories about Losa in the future?"
"OK."
"must?"
"must."
I didn't dare to look at her expectant eyes and ran away.
A sound echoed in the empty room.
【Laziness is the root of depravity.】
I responded: “Struggle is the foundation of happiness.”
[Who saved you? ] Another dull voice sounded.
"It was the company. It was the company that saved me. It was the company that pulled me out of the rotten bottom dregs."
[Who guided you?] The dull, flat voice continued to echo in my ears.
"It was the company that guided me and led me onto this bright path."
What is the company's great goal?
"Sweep away all injustice and darkness in the galaxy, and benefit all intelligent life in the galaxy."
…
After dozens of questions like this, there was a brief silence in my ears.
Then an electronic sound penetrated the room, [Thought Review Passed]
The fourth voice sounded, "You have passed today's thought review. We approve your purity of thought. Now, go see your supervisor."
I left the thought review room. After entering the guard, in order to become a qualified guard member, we have to conduct thought purity review every day. The company's goal is great and arduous. There is no doubt that it will face countless doubts and challenges from evil people. As the guardian of the company, the first thing is to ensure that your thoughts are not polluted by the outside world.
My boss, the head of the company's security department, is named Ebet. He is a Gnus man, with fine tattoos on his blue face, which means that he is a Gnus monk who abides by the pure precepts. He looked at me with a pair of strict and sharp eyes: "How do you feel after being promoted to deputy captain?"
I straightened up and replied, "Thank you for the company's recognition of me!"
"I can tell that some of the employees in your area are slacking off."
I lowered my head in shame.
"Can you imagine? The company has given these scum such a good environment and such a great sacred goal, but they don't think about the well-being of all intelligent life in the galaxy, they don't think about working hard, but only think about how to be lazy!!" Ebert's voice was filled with anger, "This is a terrible degeneration!!"
"You are quite right."
"Some corrupt trends have appeared in other factories. Not only are some scumbags absent from work, but some even run away from time to time."
Recently, a new batch of employees came and soon after they were assigned to different factories, they escaped one after another. I didn't say anything.
Ebert turned his eyes to me. "How much have the fugitive losses been in your area recently?"
"About seven people are disposed of every cycle," I reported. "It's within normal attrition. I treat all the employees who try to escape as scrap. There won't be any problems."
Ebet nodded with satisfaction. "The captain position of your factory has been vacant. If you continue to perform well, sooner or later, the captain position will be yours."
I lowered my head in a humble manner.
As I was leaving Minister Ebert's room, he suddenly stopped me. "I've heard some rumors recently. Some employees who don't want to make progress seem to be holding some meetings and spreading some corrupt words that pollute people's minds."
I looked at him, his sharp eyes fixed on my face, and he asked, "Do you know anything?"
I shook my head.
He studied me, and eventually he gestured for me to leave.
"For the company's sacred purpose."
"For the greater good of the galaxy." I saluted him and left the room.
After joining the guards, I witnessed many things. The company has a complete set of procedures to keep employees' thoughts unified and clean. Every employee's thoughts are strictly controlled after joining the company. The company's former broadcaster once made a slip of the tongue and said the company's motto as "Laziness is the basis of happiness", but he did not realize his slip of the tongue at the time. After the accident, he was dragged out by the security team and thrown into the mining furnace alive with screams. Although he claimed that it was just a slip of the tongue, once a mistake in thought occurs, the company will never tolerate it.
I walked back to the low-level staff dormitory where I used to live.
When I walked into Liana and Tita's dormitory, I was surprised to find that there were more than ten people gathered in the dormitory. They were surrounding a man and listening to him seriously. He was Wu Haixi, a Leute, a newcomer who had just arrived here, and he was talking fiercely.
"Today I saw a worker being whipped in public. He had been working hard for several days and collapsed due to fatigue. The company ignored him and gave him a penalty of absenteeism. He went to his supervisor to seek an explanation, but the supervisor sentenced him to public whipping."
"And Uncle Toye, he worked so hard, but because his 'attitude was not correct' when reporting to Rubis, he was evaluated as unqualified and had half of his workload directly deducted. Is this reasonable?"
The employees looked at him in silence, some clenched their fists.
"Before coming to Asa, I worked in many large companies. There were some unscrupulous and black-hearted bosses, but I have never seen a company like this that wants to suck every drop of blood out of us."
"A formal company should have reasonable vacations, reasonable rest time, and reasonable performance evaluation. It's not like it is now! We are not even as good as robots!"
"Yes!" "Yes!!" Some employees began to respond in a low voice.
I walked into the room, "Don't incite the staff, new guy."
As soon as everyone saw me come in, they shut up and the room fell silent. Some people stared at the guard badge on my body with fear. But the newcomer Wu Haixi didn't. He stared at me and said disdainfully: "Look who came in !"
"You're doing something very dangerous," I warned him. "Don't put them in danger by saying these unnecessary words."
"Danger? You were also a low-level employee, but now you have transformed into a biting guard beast. Where were you when we were working hard day and night?" He glared at me, "When our brothers and sisters died of exhaustion and disappeared one by one, where were you?" He sneered, "I'm afraid you were clinging to the thigh of that noble pet."
He was not only humiliating me, but also Miss Muli, and I held my electric baton. In fact, I had never really used it since joining the security team.
Lianna said aloud: "You can't insult that Miss Muli."
“No, she can’t,” said another employee. “She’s a very good Homo sapiens.”
"Yes, she secretly distributed food to us low-level employees." An employee carried out a large box with a variety of fresh delicacies in it. "She also gave us some medicine."
"Yes!! She is a wise man of noble character. She has been secretly helping us."
Seeing the employees sighing, Wu Haixi stopped mentioning Muli. He still looked at me with hatred, "Then I'm only talking about you. You look so powerful because you've been supported by the company. Are you going to punish us dishonest employees now?"
Tita said angrily: "Don't insult my friend! What do you know?" Others also echoed: "Wu Haixi, don't you know not to talk nonsense!!"
"Newbie," I said aloud, "sometimes you have to use your brain and not waste your energy on things that are obviously impossible."
"What's impossible? You are just content with the status quo and watching your former brothers and sisters struggling to death in the mud! By the way, I heard that you have been punishing some employees who violated the rules. How many employees have died in your hands? Have you counted them?"
"Okay, okay, stop arguing." Lianna grabbed Wu Haixi and signaled that everyone could leave.
After all the employees left, Tita told me not to be angry, because he was a newcomer and didn't understand the current situation. I told him that I didn't care, but Wu Haixi's temper was too easy to cause trouble. I asked Lianna: "Were you guys having a meeting just now?"
"No." Lianna smiled mysteriously, "That was not the one just now."
"What's not?" I heard the subtext in her words.
"I'll tell you when it starts next time," she said with a smile.
Xiong Shi was injured.
This lizard man is the most standard and exemplary employee in the company. He works overtime, works hard, and strictly implements every policy of the company. I have always known that he longs to be promoted to a higher level and then pursue the slug man Nirou openly. But during today's work, the excavation equipment went wrong and he was injured in both legs, becoming disabled and unable to work.
According to the company's regulations, disabled employees who have lost their ability to work will be awarded the title of liberated persons and sent to paradise if they have performed well in their daily lives.
Xiong Shi was qualified as a liberator almost immediately.
But I know what the promised land is.
After I was promoted to deputy captain, since the captain position was vacant, I was actually the security captain of the 12th factory area. So I was introduced to the inner workings of the company and got a glimpse of some of the truth.
I still remember that scene.
The mysterious and grand hall was filled with engineers, operating various devices non-stop. But when I passed one of them, I knew they were not machines, nor could they be called real life. They were once scientists, technicians, and senior engineers, but zombies whose brains had undergone some kind of lobotomy. They were emotionless and tireless tools, replacements that would be thrown away once their bodies could no longer support them.
And in the lobby is the true reality of the company. They call it "The Heart of Asaph".
It is like a huge ball of mucus, resting in a huge incubator. Countless cables extend from the incubator into neatly stacked boxes next to it. The liquid in the boxes is all dissolved by the liberators. Those employees who have worked hard for the company and dedicated their lives will eventually be sent to the box to be dissolved into liquid under hypnosis. They are not a pile of dissolved flesh residue, but the driving fuel of the mysterious power of the Heart of Asgard, which is based on pure thoughts.
This is a huge solution tomb.
"This is a miracle!!" When I entered the hall, a company executive was exclaiming in praise of the Heart of Asaph. He was a fat, four-armed Goberian. Standing next to him was a burly giant dressed in luxurious, bright clothes. He had a pleasant voice and asked impatiently, "How long will it take?"
"Don't worry," the company executive said, "it will be completed within the time we calculated."
The magnificent giant sneered softly: "Remember your promise." He turned his head and looked in our direction, "Who is there?"
Chief Ebet quickly took me to salute the two distinguished adults, "My Lords, I am teaching my subordinates."
"Oh." The company executive glanced at me casually, "Remember, only employees with the purest thoughts can enter the fuel tank."
"Yes, sir." I lowered my head, not daring to look up.
"Ha, are you the one my pet mentioned?" the gorgeous giant suddenly spoke.
"Yes." I couldn't raise my head to look at him. It was an indescribable feeling of oppression. This giant named Diesel made me feel terrified. It was not just simple fear, but a fear that penetrated deep into my soul. If I could, I would even want to scream and run out of the hall right now. But my legs were too weak to obey me. I didn't even have the strength to run away. All I could do rationally was to try my best to stop my legs from shaking, that's all.
The gorgeous giant chuckled and turned his head to continue whispering with the company's senior executives. He lost interest in me.
From then on, I knew the company's final arrangement for the employees. But strangely, I was not very surprised when I got to know the truth. Maybe I had already sensed something in my subconscious.
I'm not interested in the ultimate purpose of the company.
I just don't want my friends to die.
Now, it's Xiong Shi's turn.
After Xiong Shi was awarded the title of Liberator, many employees came to congratulate him. After all, on the surface, this was a glorious and happy event. Xiong Shi's hard work was well known. He was the only one in our group who completed the unreasonable workload and was promoted to a regular employee.
Now, he was going to the paradise, the one where everyone talked about where one could live freely and happily.
Slugman Nirou seemed very unhappy. Most people thought she was sad about Xiong Shi leaving for the paradise. But I suspected that Nirou might know something. She was a senior employee with more experience than me and might know more secrets than me. Unlike the previous situation where all employees sent off the liberators to the paradise, some people did not join the team to congratulate Xiong Shi.
They are the newcomers and the employees from Liannatita's group.
The day before sending Xiong Shi to paradise, the newcomer Wu Haixi finally got into trouble.
After his performance was judged as unsatisfactory for several consecutive days, he had an argument with his assistant supervisor, Rubis, and fought with Rubis. During the fight, he even shouted out such outrageous words as "This company is a cannibalistic company."
I arrived with my guards and captured him on the spot.
I declare that I will personally carry out the execution of Wu Haixi.
I forced him to drink a bowl of poison. He rolled on the ground, pinching his neck, and died soon after.
Rubis still felt unsatisfied, and I assured him that I would throw the body into the furnace.
…
…
It was midnight.
I dragged Wu Haixi's body to the depths of the mine and kicked him hard.
After a while, his body burped, and he gasped and opened his eyes. When he saw my face, he showed his anger again.
I was too lazy to explain to him, "Go along the mine, go around the third bend, then go around the second bend and keep going. There is a stone there. Move the stone and keep going along the passage, and you will be out of the company's base."
Wu Haixi looked at me in surprise.
I threw a package to him. "This contains water and food, enough for you to eat on the road. Someone will pick you up after you leave the company base."
"What?"
"Don't you understand? Someone will pick you up."
"Could it be..." Wu Haixi said in surprise, "Did you secretly send away all those employees who were rumored to have died at your hands in the past?"
I didn't answer him directly. I just said, "The power of the company is far greater than you can imagine. I am just doing what I can. Now you are just a dead man to the company." I pushed a box to him and said, "This contains Xiong Shi. He is hypnotized. He also asks you for help."
“…” Wu Haixi silently carried the box on his back and said, “Lothar, I didn’t believe it at first, but you are just like what they said.”
"It was just a coincidence."
"No, those stories about you are all true." Wu Haixi said softly, "We are waiting for you outside, Losa."
Wu Haixi disappeared into the mine carrying the box containing Xiong Shi.
The fountain of stars in the sky is flowing and swirling again.
I walked towards the staff dormitory.
Lianna told me that there was a real rally tonight. I have never attended the private rallies organized by Lianna and Tita, and I don't know what they preach at the rallies.
I remembered what Chief Ebet had said to me. He had noticed the undercurrents among the employees. I had to go and warn Lianna and Tita.
The meeting place is located in the 17th underground warehouse of the staff dormitory. This is a very hidden place. Thanks to the mysterious force field of the Yasa star, most electronic technology products cannot be used here. The difficulty of monitoring is also relatively much higher.
When I pushed the door open, a meeting was being held. I saw many familiar faces, Lianna, Tita, Uncle Toye from the Gnus who used to work overtime, Ajin from the radio station, many familiar-looking employees, newcomers, and even... Miss Muli.
Miss Murray was sitting on a box, telling them a story in a very vivid way.
That comes from the story of my pen pal, Xingquan, and the story of Losa as written by him.
Those stories of salvation and resistance.
The story of that hero.
When did Miss Muli start telling them the story of Lothar and ignite the spirit of rebellion in their hearts?
The sound of me pushing the door attracted the attention of the employees. After seeing that it was me, they cheered and shouted my name: "Lothar is here! Lothar is here!"
"Lothar!! Lothar!!! Lothar!!"
