After tossing the task of designing a one-star building to Xuan He, Rora Starsea headed straight out.She planned to help the Python and Blackscale find a proper den. After all, they were now her little followers — she couldn't just let them wander around the garbage heaps. If they ran into something dangerous, they might not survive the encounter.
Leaving the settlement, Rora opened the location tracker on the Python's wristband and followed the route marked by the navigation system.
As soon as she entered the area, faint whimpering reached her ears — pitiful, trembling sobs.
Rora stopped walking, standing quietly at the corner, listening to what was happening ahead.
"Waaah… Boss, I'm so scared!"
"Quit crying! A real man bleeds but doesn't shed tears. Swallow them back!"
"B-but that giant python's too close! Waaah! Its tongue touched me! Ahhh! I'm dirty now! I'm unclean! Waaahhh!"
"Shut up! If you scare it, you'll be the first one it eats!"
"Hang in there, little bro. When it falls asleep, we'll run."
"Yeah, don't be scared. If it wanted to eat us, we'd be gone already."
"Or… maybe it's saving us as backup food."
"Waaah! I don't wanna be snake snacks! It'd be so gross to end up as snake poop! Waaahhh!"
For a moment, only the muffled sobs continued.
Rora could only sigh helplessly. From the conversation, it was clear these people had been caught by the Python.
She didn't bother listening further. Turning the corner, she found herself facing a fairly large open space — it looked like the Python had made this nest itself.
The moment she stepped in, the massive serpent uncoiled from where it had been resting with its mate, Blackscale, and those cold vertical pupils snapped open.But when the creature saw who it was, it immediately lifted its head, supporting Blackscale on its back as it slithered quickly toward Rora in a gesture of respect.
"Hsss~ My Lady, you've come!"
Rora nodded slightly, her gaze shifting to the five figures trapped within the loops of the Python's massive body.Her brows rose — of all people, it was Liam Zhao and his four underlings again.
"Hsss~ My Lady, you've come!"
Rora Starsea gave a short nod, her gaze sliding past the enormous serpent to the five figures trapped within its coiled body.Her brows arched slightly — familiar faces.
They were none other than Liam Zhao and his four cronies — the same bunch she'd taught a painful lesson not long ago.
When the five saw her suddenly appear, their expressions froze, caught between disbelief and confusion. None of them had expected anyone to show up here, let alone her.
But within moments, their faces filled with hope. After all, this woman had flattened them with ease before — dealing with one snake should be no big deal for her, right?
Yet the next thing they saw made their blood run cold.
That massive python slithered right up to Rora, lowering its head almost to the ground, its posture trembling with submission and reverence.
Their hearts collectively dropped into an icy abyss.
The looks they cast at her were no longer hopeful — only fear remained.Especially the four boys who had seen her eyes shift and shimmer back then — now they were utterly convinced she and the python were of the same kind.
Rora crossed her arms and looked at the python.
"What's going on here? Did they pick a fight with you?"
When she'd let the python go yesterday, she had clearly told it not to harm humans.She didn't believe it would disobey her — and since Liam Zhao and his crew already had a record, she quickly guessed the truth: these five must have provoked the python first.
Sure enough, the serpent's explanation confirmed it.
"Hsss~ My Lady, last night I was only searching for a place to rest. On the way, I ran into these humans. Remembering your command not to harm them, I turned away and left. But they chased after me — they tried to kill me and my mate and steal the wristband you bestowed upon me! I had no choice but to trap them. My Lady, you must believe me, I did not strike first!"
The python's cold gray eyes shone with sincerity — and fury.They had dared to covet the gift his Lady had granted him. Unforgivable.
Rora's eyes drifted toward the wristband still dangling safely from the tip of the python's tail.It didn't take her long to piece things together.
Clearly, Liam Zhao and his lackeys had seen the band — identical to their own — hanging from the serpent's tail, and decided to take it by force.Unfortunately for them, this python was far beyond anything they could handle.
Now, both woman and serpent turned their gaze toward the five trembling captives.All five shivered involuntarily.
Finally, Liam Zhao mustered the courage — or what little was left of it — to stammer,
"C-could you… maybe… l-let us go? We were wrong! We'll never come near y-you again!"
Rora regarded him quietly, a faintly amused glint in her eyes.Then, her gaze flicked to the four boys beside him — and in that instant, a memory surfaced: the terrified faces of these same youths from the last time she'd "disciplined" them.
A new thought began to form in her mind.
"You four — what did you see last time?" Rora Starsea asked.
The four boys flinched at her voice, faces going pale as they bowed their heads. Their voices were thin as mosquitoes: "N-no, we didn't see anything! Nothing at all!"
Rora watched them and felt her suspicion harden.
"Tell the truth."
Her tone wasn't loud, but the four still shivered. They jostled and shoved each other until the oldest of them was pushed forward to speak.
"We — we saw it. We saw your eyes turn into slit pupils, and the color turned gold… it looked like, like the python's eyes."
Rora looked at the python's vertical pupils. In the sharp daylight they shimmered and gleamed — clear and beautiful, unlike the clouded film she'd glimpsed the night before. If her eyes ever took on that look, it wouldn't be impossible.
She tried to sense what was changing inside her body. Something occasionally drifted through — like a small fish slipping through a narrow channel — but she couldn't grasp it clearly. Her intuition told her that whatever swam inside her was the cause of the changes. If she could control it, maybe she could control when her eyes shifted, and later any other bodily shifts as well.
Her gaze turned back to Liam Zhao and his four. Complex emotions flashed in her eyes: they'd learned her secret, and before she reached Level 1 as a Star Lord that truth must never be revealed. The thought chilled her look further.
Liam Zhao felt the shift in her stare and inwardly cursed. He'd only just found out the boys had hidden this from him. If he'd known earlier, he would have deduced she was the star's new Star Lord already. After all, he'd seen the strange weather the other day — and now that he knew her eyes could change, it would be an easy inference. With that information he could have bartered an immigration chance for himself and his friends.
But it was too late. They'd been caught by Rora, and she now knew they knew. She wouldn't let it go.
Sweat dampened Liam Zhao's back as her stare grew colder; he panicked, scouring his mind for a way out.
Suddenly his eyes lit up. "Do you… want to own Yiyuan Town?" he blurted, voice trembling as he stared at Rora.
Rora paused. "What do you mean?"
He licked his dry lips and, forcing himself, said, "The previous leader who controlled Yiyuan Town left. The town is leaderless now. If you spare us, we'll help you take control of Yiyuan Town. Wouldn't that interest you?"
Rora Starsea studied Liam Zhao from head to toe, her mind quietly weighing his offer.The settlement she was in now was pitifully small — barely the size of a village, nameless even. Compared to Yiyuan Town, the benefits of taking control there were obvious.
"Just you five?" she asked flatly.
Sensing the subtle shift in her tone, Liam Zhao quickly added, "No, of course not. I still have plenty of men in Yiyuan Town. I only stepped back because I didn't want to fight for the position of town leader. If I wanted it, I could've taken it easily. If you let us go, I'll make sure Yiyuan Town is yours — I'll hand it over myself."
He wasn't exactly lying. After being betrayed by his former boss, he hadn't wanted to stay in Yiyuan Town any longer. If he'd stayed and competed for the position back then, he might well have won.What he didn't say, however, was that all of that had been before he left. Now that he'd been gone for some time, he wasn't sure he could still reclaim any authority.
Rora felt a flicker of temptation — she could tell Liam Zhao wasn't being entirely honest, but that hardly mattered. As long as he could truly deliver Yiyuan Town, it was worth the risk.
"Fine," she said at last. "If you really pull it off, I'll make sure no harm comes to you."
Relief flooded through the five men; they exhaled in unison.
Rora arched a brow and smiled faintly. Did they really think I was going to kill them?Impossible. She was a law-abiding, civilized citizen — not someone who went around killing people at will.
She motioned to the python behind her. The massive serpent obediently loosened its coils from around the men, retreating to rest behind Rora. Its golden slit pupils glimmered coldly, the sheer pressure of its gaze making their skin crawl.
The five men helped one another to their feet. "Then… we'll be leaving now," Liam Zhao said carefully, testing her reaction.
Rora didn't respond. Instead, she lifted her wrist and tapped her wristband, asking Evergreen if there was a device capable of translating animal speech. When she received a positive answer, she looked up at the men just as they were turning to go.
"Wait."
They froze, shoulders tightening, then slowly turned back toward her.
Rora said evenly, "He'll follow you. If you try any tricks… you know the consequences."
Her gaze lingered meaningfully on Liam Zhao.
The man who'd thought he was about to escape with his life: …Well, so much for that.