BATTLE FOR STARS

“Let’s suppose you had a twin brother. Up to now, you’ve experienced exactly the same things. Can you be certain that in the future, he would make the same decisions as you in every situation? If not, can you still say he is you? And if you insist that he is you, then in a sense, immortality could be considered achievable at that level,” Belina explained her perspective to Ding Yufei.

“From another angle, the human brain’s storage capacity is limited. It can’t store information infinitely. That means new information will overwrite old memories. In reality, you become a ‘new person’ every day, because you no longer retain your past memories. Even if your brain cells never died, would that kind of immortality be what you truly want?” she asked.

“I understand now,” Ding Yufei said. He had gained a deeper understanding of the long-standing human pursuit of immortality. Over the past few days, he had already realized that beings like Belina could live for several hundred years. To someone from Earth, that lifespan was almost indistinguishable from immortality.

“Don’t dwell on it too much. Whether humans can achieve immortality isn’t that important. If there’s no purpose, no happiness, what’s the point of living forever?” Belina said.

“That’s true. There are plenty of people who choose suicide—they’d rather give up life than continue living. They certainly wouldn’t pursue immortality,” Ding Yufei concluded, bringing the discussion to an end.

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A few days later, during breakfast, Ding Yufei sat on the large terrace at the top of the hotel, admiring the beautiful scenery outside. Inside this massive dome, there was little natural weather variation—what existed was artificially created, even the wind itself was a product of technology.

However, the lakes and mountains outside were real, and the scenery was indeed breathtaking. Although many of the plants were unfamiliar to him, they were lush and vibrant, evoking a natural sense of comfort.

He had once asked why alien landscapes often resembled those on Earth. Belina’s answer was simple: once you’ve seen undeveloped planets, you realize that barren, monotonous scenery appeals to no one.

This was also why the Kingdom of Kramic had not made contact with Earth after discovering it—they treated Earth as a private recreational world for the royal family. A planet left in its natural state was far more interesting than one that had been “developed.”

Because of this, members of the royal circle occasionally visited Earth as “tourists,” which explained the strange phenomena that sometimes appeared across the planet. Yet overall, no one truly saw these visitors.

“What’s for breakfast today?”

As Ding Yufei spoke, a beautiful elven servant brought their meal. She had a stunning figure and a captivating face—on Earth, she would have attracted countless admirers.

But after several days of exposure to such attendants, Ding Yufei had grown almost immune. Of course, he and Belina spent their nights together, otherwise he wouldn’t trust himself not to get distracted.

“By the way, Weiyang, how about we go take a look at the slaves the Emperor gave you?” Ding Yufei suggested while eating. After spending several days in the Resk Empire, he had seen many service slaves, but never an actual slave market.

“Sure. Since we got them anyway, it would be a waste not to. We can take a look today and bring them along when we leave,” Belina said.

Although her kingdom did not grant slaves legal status or allow slave trading, she didn’t object to accepting the Emperor’s winnings. Even if she refused, their fate wouldn’t necessarily improve—and in any case, they were now considered her property.

“Will it be like livestock markets on Earth? I don’t know the rules,” Ding Yufei asked, worried about standing out.

“I’ve only seen slave trading online, never in person. But don’t worry—someone will guide us,” Belina replied casually. Slave trading was so common here that it couldn’t be too complicated.

“Then let’s go after breakfast.”

“Alright. We’ll go quietly today—no need to bring Saad along,” Belina said softly. She preferred being alone with Ding Yufei, without a third wheel.

“Sounds good. We’ll slip out from the side later.”

Less than an hour later, the two arrived at a nearby slave trading center. In fact, there were several such centers on the planet, and the one they visited was the largest.

Many slave companies brought their trained slaves here for trade. The slaves Emperor Hogan had lost could be claimed at any center—one only needed to submit a code to the facility’s AI, and the procedures would be handled automatically.

The trading center was a massive pentagonal structure. Walking around it would take at least ten kilometers. In front of it lay a vast open space where numerous hover vehicles took off and landed. Not far from the field stood an elegant gate, adorned with something resembling glazed tiles.

Their hover car landed near the entrance, and the two stepped out.

“Welcome, honored guests.”

Before they had even steadied themselves, a gentle voice greeted them. Turning around, Ding Yufei saw an elven servant standing on a small personal flying platform, bowing politely.

The platform was a disc about one meter in diameter, equipped with a few railings, which the servant held onto as she stood.

Without asking their purpose—clearly recognizing them as customers—she gestured lightly. Two more floating platforms approached, though these had comfortable seats.

“These are our transport vehicles. Please have a seat.”

“Do you have a two-person one?” Ding Yufei asked.

“Of course.” With another graceful gesture, a double-seat vehicle floated over. It resembled a small bumper car, with a sofa-like seat for two.

Ding Yufei and Belina stepped in. Given the immense size of the structure, these vehicles were the most efficient way to move around.

“Hello, I’ll be your attendant today. My name is Jill,” the elven servant introduced herself.