From Idler to Tech Tycoon: Earth

Chapter 200 - 201: Dog Eat Dog
Richard listened to Shuha’dar’s chilling philosophy of harvesting, a faint, cold smile touching his lips, his eyes burning with an inner light that seemed to intensify with every word. ”Yeah, that may be true. Maybe we are hypocrites. The world, or the galaxy, is dog eats dog. The one who wins gets to write the rules. Gets to write their own history.” His voice was calm, almost amused, yet carrying an immense weight that belied his restrained posture.

As he spoke, a deep, resonant thrum vibrated through the air, growing louder by the second, shaking the very foundations of the ruined city. From the smoke and haze-choked sky, tearing through the lingering dust, an impossibly large, 150-foot mecha descended. Its design subtly referenced the iconic ”Gypsy Danger” from Pacific Rim, a colossal bipedal war machine of dark grey and glowing blue accents. It landed directly behind Richard with a ground-shaking CRUMP, sending a powerful shockwave through the ruined city that rattled even the distant, battered skyscrapers.

”Winners get to consume the losers. What you said is right. It is a natural right for predators to consume their preys. And you’re kind is about to become preys,” Richard declared, his gaze fixed on Shuha’dar, his voice hardening, each word a cold, precise strike.

Shuha’dar, the 50-foot titan, just gawked at the sheer size of the machine-human. His dark and silver scales, usually a confident, arrogant hue, visibly paled as the mecha’s massive right arm retracted, revealing a large, glowing plasma blade. The blade was colossal, easily three times the length of Shuha’dar’s own greatsword, and it hummed with raw, incandescent energy, piercing the ruined building it accidentally touched and melting anything it touched with a sizzling hiss and a plume of superheated steam.

It’s bigger than my blade... Sure, I have a plasma blade, but I didn’t really use it for fighting, just a design...just an artifact. The realization of his own weapon’s inadequacy, and the sheer destructive power of this new human asset, hit him with the force of a physical blow.

Internet Reactions (Live Stream Comments/Social Media Posts - after mech arrival):

@MechFanatic: ”IS THAT A JAEGER?! A REAL JAEGER?! OH MY GOD! I’M CRYING! #PacificRim #GiantRobots #MyChildhood”

@LA_Survivor: ”First the lightning god, now a giant robot?! What is even happening?! My therapist is gonna have a field day with this. #LA #Aliens #JustAnotherTuesday”

@UEDC_Intel: ”Unidentified bipedal combat platform, 150ft estimated. Energy signature consistent with TRC tech. This changes everything. Also, our intel budget is officially a joke.”

@Conspiracy_Central: ”They’ve been building these in secret! Santamo’s got an army of titans! And you thought the moon landing was fake. #BlackFilesConfirmed #WakeUpSheeple”

@Gamer_Girl: ”This is like a boss battle! Who else is watching this live?! I need popcorn and a strong drink. #Epic #FinalBoss”

@NoHopeLeft: ”Even with that, can we really fight them all? Look at the sky, the fleet is still there. We’re still screwed, just with cooler toys.”

@KrillWatch: ”That Krill just made a face like he saw his credit score. Priceless. #ShuhaDarDown #GetRekt”

@GiantRobotFan: ”This is the ’You vs. the guy she told you not to worry about’ meme in real life. Krill is ’you’.”

@JustHereForTheChaos: ”Someone tell that Krill he’s about to be a very expensive paperweight. #RIPBozo #GetThatWork”

@FutureHistorian: ”And this, kids, is where the ’Don’t Bring a Knife to a God-Fight’ meme originated. You’re welcome.”

Shuha’dar, momentarily stunned by the mech, began to formulate an escape plan, a flicker of panic in his eyes. It’s okay to fail now, and succeed later. He prepared to disengage, to use his psionic speed to flee from this overwhelming new threat.

Richard, seeing Shuha’dar’s subtle shift in posture, recognizing the intent to flee, acted instantly. With a surge of his Psi-Lux aura, Richard broke the energy binds holding him. The glowing chains shattered, dissipating into motes of light. Then, with a terrifying reversal of Shuha’dar’s own trick, Richard extended his hands. From the ground below, massive, glowing energy chains, crackling with pure white energy, burst forth. They wrapped around Shuha’dar’s colossal form, binding him tightly, holding him immobile, his struggles futile.

”What?! Impossible! How did you—” Shuha’dar roared in disbelief and fury as he struggled against the binds, his reptilian face contorted.

”Bet you didn’t see that, did you, Lizard?” Richard’s voice was cold, echoing through the city, devoid of the previous amusement, replaced by grim resolve.

”You speak of natural cycles? Of predators and prey? Of rights? You speak of hypocrisy? You believe you are the apex, the rightful consumer? You believe you are gods, to judge and to harvest?”

Richard’s aura flared, momentarily blinding the cameras, a radiant white supernova against the ruined city. The 150-foot mech behind him hummed with suppressed power, its plasma blade glowing brighter, a silent, menacing promise.

”Then listen closely, creatures of the Krill Empire,” Richard’s voice dropped to a chilling, absolute declaration, each word a hammer blow that resonated through bone and chitin. ”You have come to our home. You have slaughtered our kin. You have dared to call us prey. You have dared to call us food.”

He raised his hand, pointing directly at the Imperial Fleet now visible in the sky, a gesture of ultimate defiance.

”You want war?!” Richard’s voice rose to a crescendo, echoing across the vacuum of space, across the minds of every Krill listening, a thunderous, undeniable challenge. ”Humanity will give you war! Not a war of defense! Not a war for survival! This is a war of extinction! We will burn your fleets! We will shatter your worlds! We will hunt down every last one of you, from your highest King to your lowest drone! We will show you what a true predator is! We will show you the true nature of the cycle! You came to farm us, but you will be the harvest! You want war?! HUMANITY WILL GIVE YOU WAR!”

On Luna, in the Krill headquarters, the Krill operators and staff, along with Chancellor Shuha’dar’s remaining generals, watched the live feed in stunned horror. Richard’s voice, raw with power and absolute vengeance, pierced their very minds, bypassing their internal dampeners. Fear, cold and undeniable, gripped them, a primal terror they had never known.

Internet Reactions (Live Stream Comments/Social Media Posts - after Richard’s speech):

@GlobalCitizen: ”Goosebumps. He just declared war on an entire alien empire. And I believe him. #HumanityStrong #WeAreNotPrey”

@MilitaryStrategist: ”This is unprecedented. A direct challenge to a galactic empire. The implications are galactic. We are no longer just defending. We are hunting.”

@Krill_Observer (Quickly deleted): ”The human... he is insane! He challenges the Empire! This is heresy! (Why can’t I stop shaking?!)”

@FreedomFighter: ”EXTINCTION! YES! BURN THEM ALL! AVENGE OUR FALLEN! #Vengeance #NoMercy”

@PhilosopherKing: ”The ’natural cycle’ argument turned on its head. A chilling, yet powerful, redefinition of predator and prey. This is the birth of a new galactic order. Someone get me a pen, I need to write this down.”

@BytebullFan: ”Richard Santamo is not just a Co-founder, he’s a general, a warrior, a god. I’m buying more Bytecoin. This is the best marketing campaign ever.”

@HopefulFuture: ”This is it. The turning point. We fight back. We don’t just survive, we conquer. My kids will read about this in history books.”

@MemeLordSupreme: ”When you thought you were the top of the food chain but then the quiet kid from Earth pulls out the ’total extinction’ card. #Oops #KrillGotOwned”

@DeepStateAnon: ”They’ve been planning this. All of it. The ’invasion’ was just the trigger. Richard is playing chess, and the Krill are checkers. #CheckmateAliens”

@VeganActivist: ”See? This is what happens when you mess with the food chain. Karma’s a b*tch, even for aliens. #GoVegan #HumanityWins