56: I! Don’t! Choose!

An ineffable courage surged from the deepest part of Lin Yao's body, washing away all fear and despair.

Don't you want a controllable genius?

Don't you want to treat me like a commodity?

Don't you think you can arrange everything for me?

Alright then.

I'll give you something you can never control!

Lin Yao abruptly closed her eyes, shutting out all the ugly faces and dirty dealings of the outside world.

She immersed her entire consciousness into that purple sea of professions.

Then, with unwavering determination, she made her choice.

Fusion!

But just as she reached out her hand, before she could touch any of the countless runes, a large hand suddenly grabbed her wrist!

"She wants to fuse!"

A sharp shriek broke Lin Yao's resolve.

It was Feng Rui, the Vice President of Fengxing Technology!

He gripped Lin Yao's wrist tightly, his face contorted with excitement and anger, the force almost crushing Lin Yao's bones.

"Don't move!"

This roar instantly stopped the arguments of all the bigwigs who had fallen into a frenzied scramble.

They all turned their heads in unison, and dozens of green eyes focused on Lin Yao.

In those eyes, there was no longer any appreciation or admiration, only naked greed and cold possessiveness.

"How dare she!" the Fat Man representative from Panshi Biology growled, his plump cheeks trembling.

"A little girl! How dare she make her own decisions!"

"Fusion? Does she not know how much her value will plummet if she fuses? Does she not know what a huge loss this is for us?"

In the short tens of seconds of argument just now, they had already gained a deeper, more terrifying understanding of Lin Yao's value.

Her value had long since surpassed her as an individual.

"This physique... we must find a way to replicate it!" A representative lowered his voice, quickly exchanging words with the person next to him, "Control her parents! Study her gene sequence! See how we can create another, no, a batch of mass-produced Lin Yaos!"

"Exactly! Breeding! We must conduct the most optimal genetic breeding! Her descendants must be in our hands!"

These powerful figures, who had once been high above and dictated the fates of countless people, now completely shed their disguise.

In front of a 'commodity' that could be controlled, had infinite potential, and infinite profit, they revealed their true, most hideous faces.

Now, this 'commodity' actually wanted to decide her own attributes?

It was an absolute joke!

Dream on!

"Stop!"

The school leader on the podium finally reacted. He rushed forward, trying to pull Feng Rui's hand away, his face full of anger.

"What are you doing! Let go of my student! She has the right to choose freely!"

The leader of the Municipal Education Bureau also stood up, his face ashen.

"President Feng! According to the law, no one has the right to interfere with an Awakened's autonomous choice! Your actions are a serious violation of the law!"

However, his warning was met with a contemptuous sneer from Feng Rui.

"Freedom? Director Wang, you're talking about freedom with me?"

Feng Rui released Lin Yao, but he and the other dozen people formed an even tighter encirclement, trapping Lin Yao, the school leader, and the Education Bureau leader in the middle.

The Fat Man representative from Panshi Biology took a step forward, his massive physique bringing a strong sense of oppression.

"Director Wang, let me do some calculations for you."

"Her 'free' choice will cause the total output value of a dozen companies present here to lose at least hundreds of billions over the next decade!"

"Her 'free' choice will cause the economic landscape of seven cities around Ninghai Province to regress by five years due to our industrial setbacks!"

"Her 'free' choice will even affect our material supply on the Abyss Front!"

The Fat Man extended a finger, almost poking Director Wang's face.

"Now, you tell me, is her personal freedom worth this price?!"

Director Wang's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He was completely stunned by these words.

"Freedom my ass!" another company representative cursed crudely, "In the face of absolute profit, rules are meant to be broken! Today, her profession must be chosen from the ones we need! No one can change that!"

"Exactly! She has no right to decide for herself!"

"Her future is for us to decide!"

The school leader trembled with anger, "You... you are bandits!"

"Bandits?" Feng Rui chuckled. He adjusted his disheveled tie and slowly said, "Principal, don't use such harsh words. We are making the optimal allocation of resources. It is her honor for a genius like her to contribute to the economic development of the entire Ninghai Province."

"As for her..."

Feng Rui's gaze fell on Lin Yao, a cold stare as if looking at a dead object.

"She only needs to obey, that's enough."

Lin Yao stood in the center of the encirclement, feeling utterly cold.

She looked at the faces of these people, listening to their talk of carving up her future, and her stomach churned.

So, this was the world her older brother once faced?

Her older brother was a Golden Epic profession, and a Card Maker!

He was a very well-rounded profession... with very high economic value!

Would he have faced less pressure than her?

That loneliness of not being understood, of being seen as an anomaly.

That despair of being abandoned by rules and profit.

She seemed to understand a little now.

Why her older brother would rather bear five years of infamy than walk his own path.

Because if you don't fight, you'll be swallowed whole, bones and all.

If it was truly for the sake of contributing to the world, then so be it.

But was that truly the case?

She raised her head, stubbornly looking at the group of 'sharks' surrounding her.

She remembered her older brother's calm and resolute back as he walked towards the podium.

Her older brother was coming for her.

She couldn't lose.

She couldn't kneel before her older brother arrived.

Lin Yao straightened her slender back, and with all her strength, she spoke, enunciating each word.

"I... will... not... choose."

"I choose... fusion!"

"What did you say?!" Feng Rui's expression instantly turned ferocious. "Say that again!"

"I said, I want to fuse!" Lin Yao's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly echoed throughout the dead silent podium.

"You're asking for death!"

A representative completely lost his patience. He directly reached out to cover Lin Yao's mouth, trying to forcibly control her!

But his hand stopped in mid-air.

A stronger hand grabbed his wrist.

At the outer edge of the crowd, at some unknown point, an extra person had appeared.

Lin Yu.

He stood there calmly, gripping the representative's wrist, his face expressionless.

"Who are you! Let go!" the representative roared.

Lin Yu ignored him, only looking at his pale but still standing-straight younger sister in the encirclement.

Then, he looked at Feng Rui, at the fat representative, at everyone surrounding his younger sister.

His voice was very calm.

"Let her go."