"Commander-in-Chief? Universal Demolition Office?"
Thanos repeated these two terms, completely foreign to him.
On his purple face, his brows knitted tightly into a frown.
As a conqueror who had swept across the universe, he had heard countless titles.
Leader of the Black Order, Mad Titan, Lover of Death...
But this "Director of the Demolition Office," why did it sound so... degrading?
And this "Frieza Group."
Was it some emerging cosmic mercenary organization?
"Don't understand?"
Frieza looked at Thanos like he was a country bumpkin, a graceful smile curling his lips.
He extended a finger and shook it gently.
"The current you is like a frog that just crawled out of a well; it's normal not to understand the vastness of the sky."
"But it doesn't matter."
Frieza clasped his hands behind his back, pacing on the cracked deck.
"Once you join our big family and become a glorious employee of the Frieza Group."
"Naturally, someone will be assigned to train you for the job."
At this point, Frieza stopped pacing, turned around, and put on that unique, hypocritical yet "sincere" smile of a capitalist.
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"Rest assured, Thanos."
"This Emperor is a widely recognized good boss, and the most benevolent ruler in this universe."
"I am always outrageously generous to my subordinates."
Frieza patted his chest, his white suit looking particularly glaring in the dim hall.
"Forget about Earth's 'five social insurances and one housing fund'."
"As long as you do a good job, this Emperor will pay for a hundred insurances and a hundred funds for you!"
"Even..."
Frieza leaned in closer, a tempting light flickering in his scarlet eyes.
"Following me comes with a benefit you cannot refuse."
"After all, we are doing legitimate cosmic real estate business."
"Your team's future task is to clean up those stubborn holdouts and reclaim the land for this Emperor."
"Trust me."
Frieza held up five slender fingers.
"For any planet your team conquers."
"I can give you a five percent commission!"
"Meaning, if you conquer a hundred planets, this Emperor will be merciful and grant you the... usage rights to five planets!"
"These five planets, whether you want to sell them, plant potatoes on them yourself, or use them for retirement, I won't ask."
"How about it?"
Frieza tilted his head, his smile growing brighter.
"Isn't this condition very tempting? Is your cold Titan heart starting to beat?"
Thanos fell silent.
He looked at the eloquent blonde man before him. Although he remained wary, he had to admit...
This proposal indeed had a strange allure.
Owning his own planets?
No longer killing for the sake of killing, but for assets?
But he quickly shook his head, the confusion in his eyes replaced by determination again.
"No."
Thanos's voice was low, carrying the persistence of a martyr.
"You misunderstand, strong one."
"My goal has never been territory, nor wealth."
"Those things mean nothing to me."
Thanos looked up, a fanatic flame burning in his eyes.
"What I want is balance in the universe."
"The resources of this universe are finite, while life expands infinitely."
"If left unchecked, eventually everyone will march towards extinction!"
"What I want to do is eliminate half of the life in the universe! Random, fair, dispassionate to rich and poor alike!"
"Only in this way can the remaining half continue in this universe with ample resources!"
Thanos stated his grand wish in one breath, his chest heaving violently.
This was his destiny! His lifelong pursuit!
However.
The expected shock did not appear.
"Pfft..."
Frieza looked as if he had heard the funniest joke in the universe.
First he covered his mouth and chuckled, then his shoulders shook, and finally he threw his head back and laughed aloud.
"Ohohoho..."
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Laughter echoed in the empty hall, filled with undisguised mockery.
"What are you laughing at?" Thanos frowned, anger rising in his heart.
"I'm laughing at your stupidity, Purple Potato Head."
Frieza wiped a non-existent tear from the corner of his eye, looking at Thanos like he was looking at an idiot.
"This is your lifelong pursuit?"
"Kill half the people, and the universe is balanced?"
"Oh my, my. Although your muscles are well-trained, has your brain atrophied?"
Frieza extended a finger and tapped his own temple lightly.
"Have you ever thought about a very simple elementary school math problem?"
"Even if you work hard now, toil to death, snap your fingers, and eliminate half of life."
"Then what?"
"With the astonishing reproduction speed of these lower life forms..."
Frieza spread his hands, his face full of mockery.
"How long do you think it will take to return to the original population count?"
"Fifty years? Or maybe not even a hundred?"
"You might die one moment, and the next moment they've bred back up."
"Then, when resources are scarce again, kill half again?"
"Then what is the meaning of your so-called balance, your so-called salvation?"
This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, striking ruthlessly on Thanos's skull.
Thanos froze completely.
In those deep eyes, his pupils trembled violently.
He stood stunned in place, mouth slightly open, wanting to refute, but found his throat blocked as if by a stone.
Reproduction...
Recovery...
Yes.
The most stubborn instinct of life is reproduction.
He had always been immersed in the self-righteousness of "sacrificing half to save half."
But he ignored this most basic, simplest biological common sense.
If the fundamental problem of resource regeneration or controlling the source of desire isn't solved.
Pure slaughter merely postpones the time of extinction by a brief moment!
"My... My destiny..."
Thanos staggered back two steps, his tall body seemingly hunching over in this moment.
In that instant.
He seemed to age thousands of years.
The conviction that had supported him through countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
In front of a few words from this blonde man, appeared so pale and powerless, so laughable!
"What? CPU fried?"
Frieza watched Thanos falling into self-doubt, laughing inwardly.
This was like suddenly explaining evolution to a fanatic who had believed in religion all his life.
Cruel, but effective.
"Seeing how pitiful you are, this Emperor will show you a clear path."
Frieza adjusted his collar, resuming his lofty imperial posture.
"Instead of engaging in that slaughter that treats the symptoms but not the root cause."
"Why not turn the entire universe into our private property?"
"Unified management, unified distribution, mandatory resource rationing."
"As long as everyone becomes my slave, then how much they eat and use is just a matter of this Emperor's word, isn't it?"
"This is the true eternal order."
Thanos looked up sharply, the look in his eyes towards Frieza changing.
No longer hostile, nor confused.
But a sudden realization like seeing a lighthouse in the darkness.
Absolute rule.
Absolute control.
Is this the "real estate" this man spoke of?
Although it sounded full of the stench of capitalist copper, this was indeed more feasible and more eternal than his plan of simply killing people!
"Phew..."
Thanos exhaled a long breath of turbid air, casually tossing aside the double-edged warblade in his hand.
He looked at Frieza, a bitter yet relieved smile appearing on his purple face.
"It seems... I truly was a short-sighted madman."
"Since my path of balance is a dead end..."
Thanos slowly knelt on one knee, his proud head finally lowering.
"Then Thanos is willing to serve you."
"Willing to offer my loyalty to the grand ambitions of the Frieza Group."
Looking at the cosmic overlord kneeling before him.
Frieza's grin almost reached his ears.
Awesome!
This is called winning people over with reason!
"Very good, a very wise choice."
Frieza stepped forward, patting Thanos's bald purple head like petting a dog.
"Since you're hired, don't be idle."
"Now, this Emperor gives you your first task."
Frieza pointed outside.
"Follow me down."
"Go find that old man named Magneto, the one wearing the red helmet."
"He is responsible for building spaceships for me, but his craftsmanship is just at the level of rolling iron balls."
"Since you can build such a huge spaceship, you must be an expert in this field, right?"
A sharp glint flashed in Frieza's eyes.
"The task of supervising those ten thousand battleships is handed over to you."
"I want the strongest firepower, the hardest armor, and the most luxurious interiors."
"After all..."
Frieza glanced at Thanos.
"Professional matters should be left to the professionals, don't you agree? Commander Thanos."