BATTLE FOR STARS

Jeff turned his head and smiled at Lina. Lina had been a mech gladiator under his command for ten years, and over the past few years, she had become his most profitable slave.

“Are you sure you want to participate in this mech gladiator tournament?”

“Yes, Master,” Lina replied without hesitation.

“Then take this,” the Master said, pointing to a pill on the table.

Lina glanced at it, and without any hesitation, she picked up the pill and swallowed it.

“Do you know why I’m giving this to you today?” the Master asked her.

“Yes, Master,” she replied.

“If you win this tournament, I will receive a huge fortune, and you will earn a large bonus. Then you could buy back your freedom and no longer have to stay by my side… So this may be the last time you serve me.”

“I understand, Master,” Lina said.

Two hours later, exhausted, Lina finally boarded the public train home. As one of the most ordinary slaves in the Resk Empire, aside from the fact that her life did not belong to herself, she was not much different from other humans in the Empire.

However, due to the nature of slavery and the type of work, combined with various other factors, the normal human lifespan of three hundred years was cut to less than half here. Many had already become incapable of earning for their masters before they could buy back their lives, leaving only death in wait.

It was said that many years ago, even the chance to buy back one’s freedom was forbidden. But as the Empire’s main industry shifted toward services, in order to motivate slaves to serve guests more actively, they were finally given this faint hope.

On the train, a person with a slave mark on his chest stared at Lina for a long moment. Eventually, he approached and made a gesture toward her. Lina recognized it as a gesture used to solicit favors.

If it had been another slave, they would have been delighted and agreed immediately, as this was an important means to earn extra income privately. Furthermore, a combat slave was a warrior of the Empire, earning much more than ordinary slaves, so their effort in such matters was never sparing—though they almost never had the chance to buy back their freedom.

Lina returned a gesture of refusal. She was too tired and had no interest in this. Moreover, the upcoming tournament in a few days was extremely important to her, so she needed to rest properly.

The combat slave considered saying something more but noticed the insignia on Lina’s chest, especially the six feathers—symbols of the highest rank among gladiator slaves, with each feather representing a hundred victories. Such a gladiator slave was not only top-tier in one aspect but also a prized possession of their master.

Hesitating, the strong combat slave finally gave up and moved on to another, less distinguished female slave. This time, the woman did not disappoint him.

Lina closed her eyes and began to rest. Not long after, her bracelet lightly vibrated. She knew her stop had arrived, and sure enough, the train gradually came to a halt. Lina got up and headed toward the door.

“C-Level, 5A Zone has arrived! C-Level, 5A Zone has arrived!” a booming announcement echoed across the platform.

Lina knew that such announcements were only made at the underground stations where slaves lived. The ground level and the first underground floor did not have them, as residents there generally had AI assistants that could provide retinal-projected notifications directly, making such loud announcements unnecessary.

As soon as she stepped onto the platform, several people with varying appearances surrounded her. They had spotted the insignia on her clothing and recognized her as a wealthy slave.

“Want some pills? Guaranteed to thrill you!” someone offered, showing a variety of pills.

“Want to try a hyper-realistic game? Be a cosmic overlord, a superpowered being, or a lone hermit—your choice,” another said, displaying game segments.

“Handsome men, beautiful women, trans—whatever you want, we can find for you,” yet another continued, flipping through holographic projections, trying to entice Lina.

“No, move aside,” Lina said firmly. She had seen this almost every day. Today, she was too tired to engage with them.

“Come on, just pick one. One gets you a 10% discount, two, 15% off,” someone persisted.

Lina waved her hand, pushing them aside. She knew that the purpose of these so-called entertainment options was singular: to trigger dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical substance in the human body whose main function is to produce pleasure.

Dopamine is one of the chemical mediators for communication between neurons. It has many receptors, each controlling different expressions, and each combination of transmissions produces a specific effect—basically, generating various pleasurable sensations.

Lina understood that the items in their hands, including the pills, were not only physically addictive but also mentally addictive. Many slaves never accumulated enough money to buy back their freedom because their earnings were spent on these pleasures.

Of course, some slaves thought saving was pointless; once they earned money, they should spend it. Enjoy a day while they could, as slave life was already filled with too much suffering.

Lina lived in C-Level, which was the second underground floor.

The surface was mainly for visitors and slave owners, while the first underground floor housed the industrial and office areas, with some minor slave owners residing there.

The second underground floor was where the slaves lived. A Zone was the best area, affordable only for the wealthiest slaves, those closest to buying back their freedom. That was why the vendors who had approached her earlier were concentrated here.

From C Zone onward, security and order started to deteriorate. Surveillance and robotic police were sparse. In these areas, the greatest concern was not the slaves with masters.

For slaves with masters, any harm done to them would result in their master stepping in to resolve it, punishing the perpetrator and obtaining adequate compensation. Few would dare to harm such slaves—it would be a self-inflicted misfortune.

In fact, there were a number of “freemen” in the residential districts—slaves no longer under any master.

While each slave was essentially a machine to generate wealth for their master, machines wear out or become obsolete. Many masters, deeming repairs unnecessary or impossible, simply discarded these slaves.

These freed slaves faced even harsher fates: without money for survival or medical care, they were left with only death or a miserable life. At this point, they no longer cared about rules or laws.

As for why masters did not simply kill these useless slaves, that was because of the regulations of the Resk Empire.