BATTLE FOR STARS

Ding Yufei glanced at Belina and gave a faint, helpless smile.

“Then… thanks.”

Ever since getting together with her, he had never even considered getting involved with another woman—let alone a slave girl.

“I’d like to see where slaves are created. Is that possible?” he asked Jill.

He already knew that in this advanced civilization, reproduction no longer relied on the human body. But after being here for so long, he had yet to see an artificial womb with his own eyes. Now that he knew slaves were born this way, curiosity got the better of him.

“Do you mean the nursery, or the artificial gestation facility?” Jill asked.

“The gestation facility,” Ding Yufei replied after a brief pause.

“The nursery is probably similar to what we have on Earth—just more advanced. But the gestation facility… that’s something I’ve never seen.”

“The nearest one is about three hundred kilometers away, located on the first underground level,” Jill explained politely. “However, due to work restrictions, I won’t be able to accompany you. I can arrange another attendant if you’d like.”

“That won’t be necessary. We’ll go on our own,” Ding Yufei said.

As long as he could visit, that was enough. Besides, having someone else tagging along might only make things more awkward between him and Belina.

After leaving the slave trading center, the two of them took a flying car straight toward the facility. Belina had seen such places before, but since Ding Yufei was interested, she didn’t mind going again.

On the way, Ding Yufei suddenly asked, “By the way, what exactly is a labor slave?”

“A labor slave is someone assigned to industrial work,” Belina explained.

“Even though most tasks can already be handled by machines, there are still plenty that require human involvement—either independently or working alongside robots. Some jobs are repetitive and dull, but still need human supervision.”

“Like what?”

“Planetary development, mining operations, large-scale factory construction and production, maintenance of artificial planetary environments… things like that.”

“Are there a lot of those jobs?”

“Not really,” Belina shook her head slightly. “They’re too monotonous. In our kingdom, very few people are willing to do them—even for high pay.”

“Then why haven’t I seen any labor slaves?”

“Because they’re usually underground, in the industrial zones,” she replied.

“The surface is reserved for entertainment, so naturally you wouldn’t come across them. And actually, many labor slaves weren’t originally trained for that role. A lot of them are converted from service slaves. Their training overlaps quite a bit, and with some additional instruction, the transition is easy. It’s just that service slaves receive broader training and are therefore more expensive.”

Every slave company maintained its own gestation facilities, nurseries, and training systems. The scale and quality varied, but the process itself was always complex.

In the Resk Empire, the first step in the slave trade was production. And producing a slave was no simple matter. Even with such advanced technology, raising a fertilized embryo into a fully trained slave required enormous time, resources, and carried significant risks.

Most slave companies were backed by powerful slave owners or consortiums. In recent years, due to the intensifying war, demand had shifted—female slaves were harder to sell, while male slaves were in high demand. But since slave production cycles began five or six years in advance, it was far too late to adjust supply.

Even so, while female slaves might bring in little profit—or even losses—the high prices of male slaves ensured the companies remained highly profitable.

The artificial gestation facilities were typically located on the first or second underground levels of the planet. Since the surface was dedicated to entertainment and tourism, industrial operations were all moved below ground.

But this “underground” was nothing like what Ding Yufei was used to on Earth. It lay over a hundred meters beneath the surface, and the descent alone took quite some time.

When they finally arrived, the space opened up before them.

Though there was no sky overhead, the underground level was vast, with ceilings towering thirty to forty meters high. Massive structures stretched from the ground all the way up, like pillars supporting an artificial “rock ceiling.”

Dedicated aerial lanes ran near the top, allowing flying vehicles to move freely. Following one of these routes, they soon arrived at the entrance of the gestation facility.

It was the largest building in the area, occupying an entire street.

What caught Ding Yufei off guard, however, was the presence of two mechanical guards stationed outside.

He called them guards because they were clearly armed—each machine bristled with multiple gun barrels. Their crab-like bodies patrolled the entrance, scanning every passerby without a word.

After scanning Ding Yufei and Belina, the machines moved on, continuing their patrol.

It was obvious—this place was heavily protected, far more so than any entertainment venue on the surface.

Inside the main hall, instead of the elegant servant attendants they had grown accustomed to, a round, rolling robot approached them.

“Welcome. Are you here to customize a slave?” it asked in a soft female voice, though the mechanical tone made it sound somewhat stiff and unnatural.

Combined with its clumsy appearance, it was far less appealing than the graceful servant girls above.

Still, it had correctly identified them as visitors.

Ding Yufei recalled the specially customized slaves they had seen earlier. Many of them were probably designed from the embryonic stage.

“Besides custom slaves, what other services do you provide here?” he asked.

“We can also gestate your offspring,” the robot replied.

“On this planet, anyone who wishes to have children entrusts the process to us.”

“Even a single person?” Ding Yufei asked, surprised.

“Of course. We can select suitable genetic material according to your requirements, ensuring the healthiest and most optimal offspring.”

Ding Yufei finally understood.

This place wasn’t just for producing slaves—it was also responsible for reproduction across the planet. No wonder it was so heavily guarded.

Just then, a nearby door slid open.

A house slave walked out, carrying a baby that looked only a few months old, followed closely by another service robot.