Groups of Lingge Star residents, men and women dressed in work attire, walked into the factory with expressions of slight terror and unease. Standing on both sides of the road were their fellow citizens, who had ceased to be their kin and become enemies ever since the Teizene arrived on Lingge Star.
19-year-old Jenna, with her soft and beautiful blonde hair, lived in Durag, the city of her birth. Durag was the capital of the Yifu Republic Federation on Lingge Star, once a beautiful and vibrant city with a population of eight million, the largest metropolis on the planet.
Over a hundred years ago, the pioneers of the Yifu Republic Federation overthrew the despotic royal family and established the Yifu Republic Federation on the Lingge Continent. Within the Republic Federation, everyone was equal, and wealth was shared. The Federation confiscated the wealth of the Nobility, distributing land and means of production to the masses. Publicly-owned factories were established, united farms were founded, and no longer did the Yifu go hungry while the granaries of the powerful were full. Both the economy and technology of the Republic Federation made significant progress.
Although the Republic Federation had many issues, being inflexible and rigid in many respects, the people of Yifu took great pride in it, considering their Federation to be the finest of the four major countries on Lingge Star. Especially since the Republic Federation, along with its ally the Somai Country, had defeated the Severi Kingdom and Minonglu Republic, countries led by the capitalist Nobility, to win the World War, thus securing half a century of peace for the nation.
All seemed well, and the Yifu Republic Federation was the undisputed representative state on Lingge Star, until the Teizene invasion.
When the huge and fierce Teizene Warships arrived at Lingge Star, the planet's army, grounded in terrestrial warfare, was utterly incapable of fending off the offensive from the Lizard People, and not even the Teizene troops could be dealt with by any force of the Republic Federation. The people of Yifu fought bravely to their deaths against the Teizene, continuing to charge at the enemy despite certain demise, but in the end, they were overwhelmingly defeated.
Jenna felt depressed. She had two brothers who had sacrificed themselves on earlier battlefields, with one even being eaten alive by the Teizene. The young girl could not fathom why such a cruel race as the Teizene existed in the universe, nor could she understand why the Yifu had to suffer such a tragedy.
Immediately, Jenna recognized the owner of the voice: Sali Ji, a guy who wasn't bad-looking but had particularly poor background. Her face couldn't help but reveal a trace of disgust.
Sali Ji came from a bad background, his family was deemed illegal and banned for engaging in private commerce, and his parents had been imprisoned. In the strictly public-owned and private commerce-restricted Yifu Republic Federation, private commercial activities were a serious crime against state beliefs, with sentences starting at fifteen years.
Sali Ji did not learn his lesson, always up to some petty cunning deeds and spreading extremely reactionary statements, making Jenna find him very annoying.
However, as soon as the Teizene arrived, Sali Ji immediately switched sides and became an official of the Teizene puppet government. Many marginal dissidents previously ostracized by the Republic Federation, and those attempting to subvert the state, became the pawns of the Teizene, eagerly seeking revenge against the citizens of the Republic Federation.
The former officials were humiliated, tortured, and even killed and chopped up to be sent to the Teizene as food, while women faced even more horrific fates.
These people alone couldn't govern the vast Republic Federation, so the Teizene also brought a group of people from the enemy nations of Yifu, who oppressed the Yifu even more violently.
"Jenna, what about the matter I asked you to consider?"
Jenna expressed her disgust straightforwardly, "Sali Ji, don't bother, I will not marry you, much less become your third wife."
In the past, Sali Ji could only covet Jenna's beauty from afar, but after he became one of the elite, the beauties of the past became objects at his disposal. However, Jenna was much tougher than he anticipated and not so easily conquered.
Snickering maliciously, Sali Ji's face darkened as he said, "Your two brothers might be dead, but you still have two younger brothers and three younger sisters, as well as your father and mother. Aren't you going to think about them? Your father isn't well, is he? According to the current rules, he still has to work, to produce goods for our masters. Your young brothers and sisters, I bet the masters would love their flavor."
Jenna's face turned ghostly white with anger, "Sali Ji, you dare!"
Laughing loudly, Sali Ji retorted, "What wouldn't I dare? This isn't the era of your backward Republic Federation anymore. Now the entire Lingge Continent is our master's backyard. The Teizene civilization is the most powerful in the universe, crossing the sea of stars to bring their civilization and grandeur to us. Don't even think someone will come to save you. I advise you to obediently lie down, spread your legs, and let me test your S grade strength. If I'm satisfied, your father won't have to drag his old bones to work anymore. Heh heh, otherwise, I'll transfer your father to the most exhausting position, working 20 hours a day until he drops dead, and not one of your younger siblings will be left—they'll all be offered up as food for the masters. Hahaha, to become the masters' lunch is also their good fortune."
Pointing at Sali Ji, Jenna accused, "You villain, you will not die a good death!"
At this moment, the girl felt incredibly helpless; when her family was used to threaten her, she truly had no recourse. The workers passing by were filled with anger but no one stepped forward to speak up. During the initial days of the Teizene arrival, there was plenty of resistance, but those Supervisors with advanced weapons from the Teizene could swiftly kill hundreds and suppress any disturbance.
It wasn't the lack of courage they feared, but the sheer absence of hope. Everyone knew that even if all were to rebel, they could not vanquish the formidable Teizene, the gap was too vast. Thus, more people chose to live on any terms they could manage.
Tears fell like broken pearls from Jenna's eyes as she looked up to the sky, wrestling with the thought in her heart, "The universe is so vast, is there really no civilization out there stronger than the Teizene? Does the universe only harbor injustice and horror, without a speck of righteousness and beauty?"