[You ordered the databank to manipulate the fleet's sapient AI and open fire on the Corporation's ships in a simultaneous volley.]
[The antimatter field design from the Antimatter Legion gathered and distorted within the cannon barrels at the bows of the starships. Imaginary Energy, squeezed from the Stellaron, flowed into the chambers, transforming into an illusory and twisted fission thermal current. Imbued with the malevolent will of The Destruction from the God of Ruin, it was as if these were truly creations of Destruction forged in the very crucible of war.]
[Although this was the power of The Destruction, you paid it no mind... Power itself has no good or evil. Power is just power. Its nature depends solely on who wields it.]
[Now, under your command, this power faithfully performed its intended function... Under the scorching flames of the God of Ruin, the Corporation's fleet was instantly engulfed.]
[In that single moment, the Imaginary Domain itself trembled and collapsed under the assault of the cannons. You saw the branch manager before you, who had been so high and mighty, his face filled with arrogance, cycle through a thousand expressions in an instant—]
[From shocked rage to panic, from panic to begging, from begging to despair... You never thought a human's expression could change so many times in a single moment. It made you click your tongue in wonder.]
[But no matter how many times his expression changed, it was meaningless now... You clearly saw the Corporation fleet outside the porthole drown in the flames of ruin. The thin, sturdy alloy armor was instantly melted, disintegrating into soft, metallic lumps. Some parts were completely liquefied, becoming droplets of molten metal floating in the void of space.]
[The logos of the Corporation and The Preservation melted and twisted in the inferno. You saw the flames of calamity surge around the branch manager in the photonic projection. Death followed closely at his side. He panicked, scrambling desperately and slapping frantically at the consciousness upload device beside him—]
[The photonic projection before you descended into extreme chaos. A moment later, you saw the static stop. The branch manager's face was etched with endless terror as he stood, completely bewildered, in the meeting room.]
[The research vessel's databank sent you a message—it had accepted a complex stream of information from a Corporation ship. In the last moments of his life, the branch manager had been so panicked that he resorted to any means necessary, packaging his consciousness as data and uploading it to your vessel's database.]
[As your research vessel was also a product of the Interastral Peace Corporation, it had a compatible data interface with their starships. The branch manager's consciousness was completely unharmed and was now "surviving" as a data stream in the databank, appearing in his former likeness as a photonic projection.]
[Through the porthole, you watched as the burning flames of ruin gradually died out for lack of fuel. The deep black void was nearly empty, with only faint embers and scattered ship wreckage floating in the cold of space.]
[Our fleet has won a decisive victory.]
"I didn't expect these ships to be so powerful... Is it because they're equipped with antimatter weapons?"
Reading the text on the screen, Ron stroked his chin thoughtfully, quite surprised that his fleet could destroy the IPC's ships in a single volley.
Although he never doubted his fleet's ability to defeat them, annihilating them in one salvo was beyond his expectations.
One could only say that the Antimatter Legion's technology was incredibly effective, enough to go toe-to-toe with the starships of a top-tier civilization like the Interastral Peace Corporation...
If he had used his own self-developed conventional weapons, the missiles and lasers would have likely struggled to even penetrate the alloy armor of those ships. He probably would have had to sacrifice dozens of his own vessels to drag them down.
However, even accounting for the formidable power of the antimatter weapons, the gap between the current New Belobog and the Interastral Peace Corporation was still that of an ant to a dragon; they were not in the same league in terms of strength...
Ron made a simple assessment of his self-developed starships' combat capabilities. He looked at the screen before him as new lines of text continued to pop up:
[The branch manager's photonic projection flickered before you. You saw his expression shift between despair, fear, and bewilderment, before he finally calmed down. The jumbled emotions coalesced into intense anger. He looked at Ron, his expression twisted as he bluffed, "How—How dare you?!"]
["Do you have any idea what the consequences are for destroying Corporation starships? Madmen who destroy Corporation property will ultimately pay a price they could never have imagined in their lives. The value of these few ships and the compensation for the employees is a sum your entire planet could not repay even if you were squeezed dry!"]
["I advise you to treat me well and protect my consciousness. Then, I might be able to put in a good word for you, to lessen the debt for a fool like you..."]
["Otherwise, the Debt Collection Team will truly make you wish you were dead!"]
Reading the text on the screen, although the branch manager was speaking fiercely, trying to appear full of confidence, Ron could see the immense fear in his heart just from the words alone.
His only backing was the Corporation's name. As a mere stream of consciousness data, he was nothing more than redundant information that Ron could completely erase with a press of the 'Delete' key.
His ferocity was just an attempt to intimidate Ron with the Corporation's reputation, all to save his own life.
Ron looked at the screen, watching as the text faded and a golden option box appeared:
[Having destroyed the Corporation starships, you must naturally accept the inevitable consequences of this action—the Corporation's Debt Collection Team will arrive in the Jarilo system soon to investigate the "debt dispute" between you and the company.]
[As the Corporation's debt collectors, they possess the most advanced accounting methods in the universe and masterful debt recovery skills... Their strength is not something that a few ships from the Market Development Department can compare to. This is not an enemy the current New Belobog can face.]
[Faced with the impending arrival of the debt collectors, you fall into deep thought—]
[How will you face their collection? You must make a choice.]
[This is an Epic Choice. Please Choose—]
[1. Repay the debt.
This debt will eventually be paid... Even if all of this stems from the Interastral Peace Corporation's greed, who is to blame for New Belobog being but a tiny ant in comparison?
You know that no one can escape the IPC's debt collectors. To allow New Belobog to develop peacefully and not be turned into a barren planet squeezed dry by the Debt Collection Team, New Belobog must temporarily set aside its dignity.
You decide to use every means necessary, even if it means draining New Belobog of everything, to pay off this debt, satisfy the IPC's greed, and secure a future free from threats...]
[2. Resist with force.
Belobog has weathered the snow and wind for seven hundred years. The flames of The Destruction burned the land, and the fractures of the Stellaron corroded the world. The people of Jarilo struggled through hardship and ultimately bloomed from it, never once bowing their heads to suffering.
This is our home, and our only home... We will not accept any extortion or violent invasion. All hostile actions will be met with our frenzied retaliation.
Even if this resistance is like a moth to a flame, destined for a future of destruction, we do not fear facing annihilation.
We already faced it seven hundred years ago.]
[3. Abandon all pre-selected paths and enter your own course of action in the option box.]
Looking at the golden option box, Ron wasn't particularly shocked.
After making so many Miracle and Legendary choices, a lower-tier Epic Choice was no longer a big deal to him.
But even so, this choice truly demonstrated its importance... Different options would clearly lead New Belobog in different directions. Ron had to choose carefully.
"Attacking the Corporation... this is going to be a bit troublesome..."
Recalling the in-game descriptions of the Interastral Peace Corporation, Ron scratched his head in frustration.
The IPC was not the type to get slapped and then meekly offer their other cheek. These vampires, who frantically amassed wealth across the universe, were the most ferocious sharks in this sea of stars.
Although they might appear polite and civilized on the surface, they never hesitated to display their military might when necessary. By destroying the fleet sent out by the Market Development Department to establish a new branch, Ron had certainly invited the Corporation's merciless retaliation.
While the current New Belobog was by no means weak—its mass-produced fleet was even stronger than some of the Corporation's older ship models—it was absolutely impossible for them to contend with the IPC as a whole.
The Corporation's power was bottomless. As the civilization that controlled almost the entire universe's monetary system, the company constantly reaped profits from the entire sea of stars, accumulating endless wealth...
And this bottomless wealth naturally translated into unimaginable power.
An interstellar civilization like New Belobog was just an ant in the eyes of the Corporation. If they wished it, they had the ability to destroy New Belobog in an instant, wiping it from existence.
No matter how New Belobog developed now, even if Ron triggered several more miracles in this instant, gained the favor of Nous, was invited into the Genius Society, and truly obtained the power befitting an Emanator of Erudition, he would still be unable to truly stand against the Interastral Peace Corporation.
After all... the Corporation also had Emanators of The Preservation, and more than one at that. Below the Aeons, not even the Antimatter Legion could bring them to ruin. They could truly be called the number one civilization in this universe, beneath only the Aeons.
Therefore, resisting with force was clearly a terrible option. While making that choice would showcase New Belobog's spirit, it would also absolutely push it into the abyss...
However, that didn't mean Ron had to choose to repay the debt. As the largest mega-corporation in the sea of stars, the Interastral Peace Corporation's appetite was an absolute bottomless pit.
This debt could never be paid off... Only when Jarilo-VI was completely squeezed of its last drop of blood, its remaining value completely exhausted, would the IPC perhaps let out a satisfied burp and toss the desiccated planet aside.
Of course, even though both resisting and submitting led to the abyss, Ron felt no pressure.
Because long before the simulation reached the point of destroying the Corporation's ships, he had already prepared a plan for how to deal with them. Although the IPC was ruthless and incredibly greedy, they had one characteristic that created an opportunity.
That was, for them, all actions were the result of rationally calculating the amount of profit... Aside from their unconditional worship and fanatical faith in Qlipoth, The Preservation, all their other behaviors were no different from that of a giant capitalist corporation.
Therefore, as long as he could bring the Corporation sufficient profit—profit that outweighed their losses—they would immediately change their attitude and greet a super-client who could bring them benefits with a smiling face...
As long as he could prove his value, and control that value so that the Corporation couldn't drain it all at once but could benefit from it continuously, this crisis could be calmly resolved. He might even be able to cooperate with the Corporation and get a considerable return...
Having quickly made his decision, Ron clicked on the third option and wrote down his plan...
The option box on the screen faded, and a new scene emerged—
"I'm telling you, the Debt Collection Team is something even we internal employees fear. No one wants to get entangled with them. You'd better think carefully about what you should do..."
The branch manager was still trying his best to threaten Ron, attempting to mask his own terror.
But faced with the manager's bluff, Ron just shrugged nonchalantly.
"You're right... The Interastral Peace Corporation's Debt Collection Team is indeed famous. I'm afraid even a scattered and violent bunch of bastards like the Annihilation Gang would stand obediently when facing them, meekly offering up all the money in their pockets..."
He paused, then his tone shifted.
"But that's only for 'worthless' trash."
Ron said, casually snapping his fingers. The photonic projection before him scattered like sand blown by the wind. The redundant data trash was cleared in that instant, swept into the databank's recycle bin.
"My value... you cannot imagine."