Clockwork Bride

Page 148

No matter what, we need immense power!

I need power!!

The white-haired little girl roared in her heart, but she was powerless to do anything!

She was thus dragged back to the material world by Hayden, and today's live broadcast came to an abrupt end.

--------------------------

Opening the box

Exit

Leaving StarNet

Return to the material world

Pania opened her eyes and groggily found herself being carried out of the control room by the liches of the company's operations team.

Having done so many amazing things in the structural layers of the StarNet, so much damage and wear and tear is now taking effect on her body and mind, leaving Pania in pain all over, as if she had just been wrapped in a blanket and beaten up.

Hayden, on the other hand, glared at her fiercely. His gaze was like that of a parent coming home to find their child skipping school all day, not studying, and even using their credit card to spend money.

But Pania wasn't a child who was afraid of her parents, and besides, Hayden wasn't her father. Hayden glared at her fiercely, but her expression was like that of someone who had dreamed of becoming a winner in life but ended up handing in a blank exam paper on the day of their college entrance exam.

In short, it's hopeless!

She failed in a chance that seemed like an instant path to success, a chance that was hard to come by no matter where she looked!

It's impossible for her not to resent Hayden because of this. But what she truly hated was her own failure!

I need power!!

Never before had she so desperately craved power.

"...Hayden, why did you stop me from making one last desperate attempt?"

Therefore, although she didn't truly resent Hayden, Panya couldn't help but complain and shout angrily.

"I know you definitely want to save my life, but I knew the risks! I wanted to take one last gamble, to fight for that life-or-death opportunity. What right do you have to stop me? You climbed up from the bottom to where you are today, didn't you also risk your own life to get here!"

噫

Hayden was taken aback, momentarily unable to think of a rebuttal. After all, he had to be honest with himself; he had indeed fought his way up through sheer hard work. Why should he stop others from striving to climb the ladder?

That is indeed a good question.

However, before Hayden could figure out how to answer the question, something unexpected happened.

A chill suddenly swept through the company. In the next instant, the goddess Mikkuri—the blonde vampire, the dark goddess of eclipses—had already teleported into the room.

She glanced around, then walked up to Pania without a word. Before anyone else could react, Miktikashiva slapped Pania across the face.

The force was so great that the slap knocked Pania to the ground. If she had been a normal human and not a superhuman, the force would have even cost her a tooth.

"You have no right to waste our investment money."

The goddess Mikt said calmly,

“We’re investing our money in your life, so even if you die, you have to die the way we want, and if you live, you can only live the way we want. Don’t you understand this?”

Hayden was not a capitalist who worried about losing money on his investments.

But there are plenty of them in the world.

162: Favorability

The blonde vampire, the dark goddess of death from the eclipse, Miktikashiva, looked down upon Pania.

It's like watching when a pig is about to be slaughtered.

That's strange. Didn't she watch as [Magical Girl Pazuzu] was about to die without showing any anxiety, panic, or regret? Why is she teleporting over now to slap Pania in the face?

Even if Pania really gambled her life to death, wouldn't the company just use the backup of her personality memory data to create a clone of Pania II?

The answer is actually quite simple. It's because capitalists calculate "costs" and "losses" in a way that's different from what normal people do.

In Mikt's eyes, Panya was already doomed, with no chance of survival. Since death was inevitable, all that was needed was to calmly accept the loss. In any case, the value of Panya's reset was perfectly acceptable to Mikt.

(Replacement value is an economic concept. Simply put, it's the cost of buying or remanufacturing something new.)

To be honest, at that time, the goddess Mikkuri had already considered Panya's death as part of the cost she needed to comprehend the mysteries of death. She felt she had gained something, so she didn't care.

However, the situation changed drastically after Hayden threw the paper doll into the live stream. At this point, Pania could simply retreat and she would be guaranteed to survive, with a 100% success rate; on the other hand, if she continued to rush forward, although there was a 10% chance of ascending to godhood, there was a 90% probability of failure and a tragic death.

In this situation, how dare Panya disobey her supervisor's instructions and gamble with her own life—which is also the company's investment and the property to which it enjoys certain rights—for her own benefit?

What kind of behavior is this?

This is an act of daring to belittle capitalism!

So of course the goddess Mikkuri had to reward her with a slap on the ear!

You only lose your life, but we lose real money!

—This kind of thought process is something that even a kind-hearted person like Hayden can't catch up to, even in ten years.

"If this happens again, do you know what I'll do, little kitty?"

The goddess Mikt stared at Pania with her emerald green eyes, then reached out and lifted her chin with her fingertips.

"Do you think I'll fire you? Do you think I'll kill you? No, quite the opposite. You're an employee with a contract with me, so I'll do everything I can to make sure you give it your all."

“Perhaps I could threaten you and say, ‘Or I’ll make you wish you were dead,’ but that’s too cliché, isn’t it? I’m proud to tell you: whether you live or die, you will work until the contract you signed is fulfilled.”

The vampire goddess had a sweet and alluring voice, but the tone of her voice was chillingly cold, releasing a powerful sense of urgency that could make anyone tremble, as if she were saying, "I won't take your life, but you should reflect on your actions."

If Miktikashiva, as the god of capital, were to seriously unleash his power, it would clearly not be enough to simply subdue the human mind.

Now that things have come to this, Panya certainly knows what she should do. If she still doesn't understand after all this, then she's truly beyond help.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, boss. I was flustered and anxious just now, and I didn't think clearly about what to do, so I hastily placed the bet. There definitely won't be a next time."

She quickly lowered her head, feeling extremely apprehensive.

However, while looking down, Panya was also thinking—one day, she would be able to make others look up to her.

She won't give up just because of that.

"very good."

So the goddess Mikkelsen nodded slightly.

"The losses your rash actions cause to the company today will be added to your debts, and these debts will be deducted from your salary in installments."

She didn't beat Pania again, nor did she unleash any more painful curses upon her; after all, there was no need. This was the age of capitalism; the whips used by feudal slave owners were long outdated. Companies had far more convenient ways to exploit slaves than the aristocratic lords.

"As for the character from [Magical Girl Pazuzu]..."

The goddess Mikk was about to say that she should dismiss Pania and replace her with a new clone—

"To be on the safe side, wouldn't it be better to let Pania continue as the person in charge for now?"

But Hayden, who had been standing nearby since the beginning, seized the opportunity and interjected:

"The failure of this live-streamed dissection ritual isn't a huge problem; viewers might even be looking forward to it. But if the next live-streamed ritual fails again, viewers will probably think, 'What the hell?' That would be too disappointing. If we lose too many fans, the ritual will be inconvenient to perform. It's better to continue using Pania herself."

This argument is actually quite unconvincing. The goddess Mikkuri isn't hoping for a small amount of viewer donations with [Magical Girl Pazuzu]; she wants to refine new technologies through this experiment, and now she's even exploring the mysteries of real death. With good promotion, such virtual idol streamers can always find a way to fool fans and viewers, and it won't significantly affect the magical ritual.

But Goddess Mikkelsen glanced at Hayden twice, then turned to Pania and said, "Very well. Since Mr. Hayden says so, we will not dismiss you this time."

To Pania, these words were like an imperial pardon for death row inmates, making her heart pound!

She was not dismissed!

The company boss didn't take away her [Magical Girl Pazuzu] costume! He didn't create a clone of Pazuzu to replace her!

This way, she still has a chance to turn things around! There's no need to despair!

Of course, the goddess Mikt had no idea what Panya was thinking, and perhaps even if she did, she wouldn't care. To her, Panya was nothing more than an ant. What did it matter if Panya harbored delusions and resentment? What could she possibly accomplish?

“Mr. Hayden, thanks to your timely intervention, we were able to avoid losing important assets. Not only that, you also demonstrated truly remarkable skill.”

She turned to speak to Hayden, her eyes gleaming with a strange longing.

“What you just demonstrated was not unique technology, nor a brand-new theory; it was simply that you accomplished something that no one thought was possible—that is the greatest wonder. Seeing it this way, I am even more eager to have you.”

Hayden felt his scalp tingle under her gaze.

Fortunately, Miktikashiva knew that Hayden didn't want to be hers, so she wisely didn't persist. She then gave Ms. Eko a few more instructions before teleporting away.

Ms. Echo and the lich operators busied themselves dealing with the various negative consequences of the sudden cut-off of the live stream. Hayden, meanwhile, glanced at Pania, who had been left standing there, and carefully pulled her into an empty room nearby.

The two stared at each other for a while, and finally Panya lowered her head first and said honestly, "...Thank you."

Wow

"...If you hadn't given me a hand, the boss would definitely have replaced me. Then I would have been finished."

Pania kept her head down, so her expression couldn't be seen.

But Hayden could hear the deep fear hidden in her words.

This little girl isn't timid. She has a strong determination and a will to achieve her dreams. Although these dreams might be a bit mundane—living in a mansion and eating delicacies—frankly, there's nothing wrong with being mundane. Wanting a good life for oneself is always more legitimate than wanting to ride on someone else's back.

But Pania was still afraid.

Pain can be endured, because pain eventually comes to an end.

The fear of death can be resisted, because death is inherently unknown.

However, the terror of a destroyed future, the undeniable terror of despair, is fundamentally different from those.

Losing upward mobility and burdened with enormous debts that one could never repay even by working until death, with the company forcing them to cut most of their salary each month to pay off those debts—this kind of terror is an inescapable curse on a person's future.

Those burdened with enormous debt and forced to repay in installments every month have had their future robbed, yet are forced to continue living—because even if you die, the Smoke Mirror Company will use necromancy to revive you and get you back to work.

This kind of terror is the greatest terror in the world.

Therefore, Panya owes Hayden a huge favor.

"I wish my boss was a kind capitalist like you, Mr. Hayden."

Even a cocky and arrogant girl like Panya, who had just escaped death, couldn't help but thank Hayden with tears in her eyes.

Unfortunately, these words were not a compliment to Hayden.

"I am not a capitalist. And there are no benevolent capitalists in this world."

He couldn't help but frown as he spoke.

"Besides, do you really think it's a good thing if the boss is a little kind to the employees?"

Hayden glanced at the company where Mikt had just left, saying, "I actually think that Mikt Tikashiva's obviously ruthless and authoritarian traditional boss style is a good thing."

What?

Pania was taken aback by Hayden's words: "Uh, huh?"

"Think about it. What if your boss is the kind of guy who's always smiling and friendly, calling his employees 'brothers'?"

Hayden raised his eyebrows.

"When he forces you to work overtime or do things you don't want to do, wouldn't you feel a lot of psychological pressure if you resisted? That's what they call a sugar-coated bullet. He gives you small favors to cover up his real evil."

“Miktikashiva is terrifying. But I think that her kind of capitalist, who wears terror on her sleeve and paints an old god's image, is still better than those new god capitalists who make themselves look glamorous, pretend to be good people, and feign empathy for their employees. In short, a true villain is better than a hypocrite.”

Hayden bent down and patted Panya's white head as he spoke.

"As the weak in society, we absolutely must learn to see this clearly. If you want to climb up and become a god, then this is even more true."

Pania was speechless when Hayden said these words.

After several minutes of silence, she cautiously asked, "...Uncle, are you implying that you're doing me small favors because you have some sinister motive?"

Hey, don't try to apply what you've learned in a place like this!

However, before Hayden could even retaliate, someone else came to cause trouble.

No one knew when, but Angela had slipped into the room silently, like a sacred ghost, and said to Panya with a smile, "Miss Panya, would you like to have a child for your master?"

! ? ! ? ! ?

Needless to say, Panya's expression at this moment was one of utter despair.

Like a puppet stuck in a gear, she cautiously turned her head to look at Hayden, and nervously squeezed out a sentence: "...Uncle likes little girls?"