: If they weren't stupid, they wouldn't have been turncoats in the first place.
: As if the IPC would ever see them as equals… They're complete morons. Don't they get it? The only way forward is resistance!
: Honestly, I feel a bit hopeless. The situation seems impossible to turn around. The remaining families have already been subdued. Unless some miracle hero descends from the heavens…
...
The audience sighed in frustration, feeling utterly lost about how to resist the overwhelming power of the corporation.
Just as Penacony was on the brink of complete collapse— Mikhail finally returned...
------------------------------
Seeing Mikhail return, the audience finally felt a glimmer of hope.
There was no other way.
After Penacony fell, the images shown on the screen filled countless people with anxiety and anger.
Not to mention those hated lapdogs.
But these IPC employees from the Market Development Department— they treated the people of this land as nothing more than disposable tools.
In front of the main avenue of Penacony, large convoys stopped here every day, taking away the gathered people to the depths of the Memory Zone.
The IPC only provided them with simple protective suits before sending them down to mine Memory Essence.
Many who went never returned, forever trapped in the Memory Zone, falling into an endless, inescapable dreamscape.
"Hurry up!"
"Don't dawdle, there are many more behind you!"
"Time is money, my friend!"
The IPC employees, armed with weapons, watched over the densely packed crowd.
Among them were the elderly and children.
But in the eyes of these employees, they were merely tools to create value.
"Please, sir, my sister and I are starving..."
At that moment, a filthy little boy squeezed out from the crowd, kneeling on the ground, begging the employees for food.
"You already received your food rations this morning, didn't you?"
A few employees looked at the boy with caution.
"But... but it wasn't enough..." the boy said painfully.
"Heh, kid, this is a company—there are rules here."
"Instead of begging me, you should work harder to mine Memory Essence, prove your worth, and use that worth to earn more food."
One of the employees sneered, casually pointing to the board behind him.
There, contribution points were displayed.
Every day, the amount of resources mined was recorded, then converted into points to be exchanged for food.
Normally, an adult's daily workload was just enough to earn a full meal.
Of course, that was under "normal" circumstances.
In reality, inside the Memory Zone, with nothing but a flimsy protective suit and the ever-present threat of mental pollution, even a grown man could barely mine enough to keep himself fed.
Let alone a child.
And yet, if the mined Memory Essence changed hands, it could fetch an astronomical amount of credits from the Garden of Recollection.
Faced with despair, and his sister's worried gaze, the boy returned to the line.
He wiped his tears, clenched his fists tightly, burning with anger, but also filled with helplessness.
The "Stone Bosses" were too powerful.
He was still too young.
He didn't know how to fight back.
The massive crowd did not react to this small incident.
Countless people watched indifferently.
The audience, however, clenched their fists.
They wanted nothing more than to rush into the screen and hang those IPC scum from the streetlights.
Inside a building by the avenue, two senior executives were watching the scene unfold.
One of them asked in a low voice,
"I don't understand. Isn't sending these children to mine at such a young age a waste of potential?Early exposure to mining causes many of them to die young, which means we lose a lot of future labor resources."
"If we invested just a little time and some cheap carbohydrates, they would grow up to be much more productive, right?"
Upon hearing this, the veteran employee from the Market Development Department chuckled, then patiently explained,
"Of course, we understand. But even the smallest investment is still an investment, not to mention the added cost of time."
"And that wouldn't be expansion anymore— that would be an investment strategy. What we need is to erase all of Penacony's bad debts and deliver a performance that will impress the board of directors."
"So for us, time is the most valuable asset."
"As for Penacony's future— that has nothing to do with us."
"Remember, this kind of investment isn't our style. That's something the strategic investment department enjoys doing."
Hearing this, the new recruit suddenly understood, nodding repeatedly.
Now this—this was the true style of the Market Development Department.
They didn't even bother supporting the local crime lords, instead directly using the Six Families as a tool to control Penacony.
And then using weapons and destruction to control the Six Families.
No matter how righteous their slogans sounded, no matter how proper their contracts were written, it didn't change the fact that Penacony had already become nothing more than a colony.
"At certain times, humans are an even cheaper labor force than machines."
"As long as they have some carbohydrates and some simple nutritional paste, they can produce a hundred times their value."
"The cost is ridiculously low, and to obtain these, all they need to do is implement the so-called 'factory sentiment' from the original manufacturer."
These were words spoken by IPC employees joking around with each other.
It made the audience utterly furious.
...
: This is damn outrageous!
: I really can't imagine what it's like inside the IPC.
: On one hand, there's a strategic investment department, and on the other, a bunch of purely profit-driven market expansion people.
: They completely dehumanize people—this is total alienation.
: So what exactly is the Amber King thinking? What are these people even protecting?
: Mikhail! I'm begging you! Stand up and save Penacony!
: I really can't stand this kind of storyline. Every time I see it, I clench my fists even tighter!
: Are those damn traitors happy now that things have come to this? Damn it, aren't they mining too?
...
The screen was flooded with angry comments.
On the screen.
With the expectations and fury of countless people behind him, Mikhail found it difficult to change the situation in a short time.
This time, the IPC's control over Penacony was too strict.
However, fortunately— The excessive oppression had pushed the already numb civilians past their breaking point.
They began to revolt.
Although the six major families maintained a façade of balance, behind the scenes, the family heads, led by Little Oti, secretly handed over all their wealth to Mikhail. They were all doing their part to liberate Penacony.
These scenes left the audience in a daze, as if they were witnessing the Penacony of the past.
Regardless of status or position, everyone was united.
Even some of the traitors couldn't take it anymore and secretly wanted to join.
Seeing this, the audience couldn't hold back anymore. "If only they had realized this sooner, where was their conscience then?"
Just like that, a great force gathered in the shadows.
Under Mikhail's leadership, the first thing they did was rescue Hanunue from prison.
Yet the IPC's response was eerily calm.
After all, the IPC controlled all means of production in Penacony.
Without supplies, how could they possibly fight the IPC?
Not to mention, the starship was still stationed there.
But the audience— they were ecstatic.
They believed that with Hanunue, everything would turn for the better.
Under Hanunue's leadership once more, Penacony would surely be liberated.
However— the audience had no idea what was about to happen next.
What followed was the ultimate act of noble sacrifice, and the perfect embodiment of personal heroism...