Muyuan Planet — Transport Fleet Administration Office.
Knock, knock, knock—
The quiet atmosphere of the office was broken by the sharp tapping on the door. Aoni (奥尼) looked up, frowning slightly.
Today was the day he was expecting his reassignment notice from headquarters. He had already instructed his subordinates not to disturb him unless it was absolutely necessary.
Suppressing the irritation rising in his chest, Aoni picked up the glass beside him — filled with shimmering source fluid— took a measured sip, and finally said,"Come in."
Click.The lock turned, and the door swung open from the outside. A man with short, wavy, gray-green hair stepped into view.
The moment Aoni saw the man, the anger on his face instantly vanished, replaced by an exaggerated grin that radiated smug self-satisfaction.
"Hey, Akes! You're here! What's this—coming to congratulate me on my new position as Interstellar Trade Procurement Officer? I'll be treating everyone tonight, so you'd better show up!"
Standing at the doorway, Akes didn't respond. His face remained utterly expressionless, as though the man before him hadn't been the very person whose new post he had snatched away through underhanded means.
Instead, Akes turned to the side and spoke respectfully to someone behind him."Sir, this is the one you're looking for — Aoni, the captain who was commanding the transport ship in that viral StarNet video."
With that, he stepped aside from the doorway.
A man in a dark-green military uniform entered the office. Behind him marched several armed soldiers. In an instant, the once-spacious office felt suffocatingly crowded.
Aoni's complexion turned ashen. Trembling, he rose from his chair, his mind blank — what were military officersdoing here?
He recognized the man in front immediately — Lieutenant Carlos— someone far above his rank, a man he would normally never have the chance to meet.
"Sir… S-sir, what brings you here?" he stammered.
Lieutenant Carlos glanced at him once, then gave a small nod to a soldier at his side.
The soldier tapped his wristband, projecting a holographic video into the air. As the footage played, the faint color returning to Aoni's face drained away completely.
He watched, horror-stricken — the recording showed the exact incident from a few days ago, during his last transport mission.
He didn't know who had uploaded that video. He only knew one thing.
He was finished.
Aoni collapsed back into his chair, eyes dull and empty — the very picture of despair.
Carlos walked up to the desk in front of Aoni. His eyes immediately caught the glass cup within the man's reach, filled with a dense green liquid. With just one glance, Carlos recognized it — raw source fluid.
"Tch. You think you're qualified to use something like this?" he said with a note of disdain.
Without waiting for a response, Carlos swung his hand sharply. The glass cup smashed against the floor, shattering into countless pieces. The green liquid spilled out, spreading in thin streams across the tiles, filling the entire office with a crisp, grassy fragrance.
Carlos gave the mess only a fleeting, contemptuous glance before ordering coldly, "Take him away."
Having said that, he turned and strode toward the door. Two soldiers stepped forward at once, seized Aoni by the arms, and hauled him out of the office without hesitation.
Outside the doorway, Akes stood watching. He followed them with his eyes until they disappeared down the hall, the corners of his lips curling slightly — the first trace of emotion to touch his expression.
He had no idea who had uploaded that video to the StarNet, but in his heart, he felt a deep sense of gratitude. That mysterious uploader hadn't just helped him remove Aoni; they had also handed him back his coveted position as Interstellar Trade Procurement Officer.
Lowering his gaze, Akes tapped on his wristband and replayed the video again. It didn't take him long to recognize the planet shown in the footage — the infamous garbage planet LX045. From the shooting angle, it was clear that whoever had captured the footage was a resident of that very planet.
After piecing this together, Akes couldn't help but admire the uploader's timing.
At this very moment, Muyuan Planet was in the midst of its once-in-a-decade celebration — a grand festival that would last for a whole year — and the ruling elites of Muyuan would never allow any negative reports to surface during it.
That meant the person who uploaded the video had chosen the perfect moment. The higher-ups on Muyuan Planetwould simply pretend not to see it, at least until the celebration was over.
With that thought, Akes silently memorized the name LX045. If that forsaken garbage planet managed to survive the incoming pressure from Muyuan Planet, perhaps, someday, they might even find a reason to work together.
On Planet LX045, Rora Starsea lowered her gaze to her wristband and refreshed the StarNet page once more. A new official announcement from Muyuan Planet instantly popped up.
The notice roughly stated that the transport ship captain, Aoni, had suffered mental instability after ingesting raw source fluid, which had led to the tragic incident shown in the video. It further claimed that Aoni had already been arrested and would soon face disciplinary action. Citizens were urged to "stay tuned for further developments."
Reading it, Rora raised an eyebrow. Well, that was fast. She hadn't expected Muyuan Planet to respond so quickly — barely an hour after the video was uploaded, and they already had a statement ready.
"Happy now?" Xuanxi asked with a faint smile, having read the same announcement. Seeing Rora's expression relax, his own heart lightened as well.
That's how it should be, he thought. A newly awakened young Star Lord shouldn't be burdened with worries — she should just live happily every day.
Rora nodded, then turned her sharp gaze toward him."Wait a second! I remember you saying that you know everything about Star Lords and could answer all my questions. But now you're telling me I have to figure everything out on my own — which means you lied to me!"
Her eyes glinted with righteous indignation as she glared at him.
Xuanxi rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking a bit guilty."Well… I didn't exactly lie. I do know a lot about other Star Lords' data, but—" he straightened, his voice rising dramatically, "—but you're different! You're special! The others are far too ordinary. Their methods don't deserve to be used by someone like you."
Rora rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll let that excuse pass… barely."
Just then—grrrrgle.
She froze, clutching her stomach. Only then did she remember that she hadn't drunk any nutrient solution all day.
With a thud, ten boxes of nutrient bottles were dropped onto the coffee table. She grabbed one, twisted the cap, and started gulping it down without pause. Anyone watching might have thought she was drinking water instead of dense nutrient fluid.
Xuanxi frowned as he glanced at the bottles before her. Even from a distance, he could tell they were low-grade — nearing expiration and produced for the poorest classes on marginal planets. They could barely sustain someone's health, and their taste was notoriously awful.
Before he could finish that thought, Rora had already emptied an entire box. He reached out quickly to stop her.
"You've already finished a whole box of nutrient fluid — and you're still not full?"
Rora, opening yet another bottle, replied matter-of-factly, "Of course not."
Rora tilted her head back and gulped down the nutrient solution, one bottle after another. She didn't stop until every last bottle on the coffee table was gone. Only then did the gnawing emptiness in her stomach ease a little—but true satiety still felt distant. After pausing to gauge her condition, she took out five more crates of nutrient solution from her wristband and continued drinking.
Xuanxi watched in silence. When Rora finally stopped, he asked, "Have you been drinking this much since you bonded with your Star Spirit?"
Rora thought for a moment, then shook her head. Seeing that, Xuanxi's expression softened slightly.
"At first, I drank about one-fifth less than now," she admitted. "But lately, I've needed more and more. My daily intake increases by about ten percent, and I feel hungry earlier each day."
Xuanxi's face darkened again. "That's not normal. None of the other Star Masters had this issue in the early stage. Wait—where's your Star Spirit? Hasn't it checked your physical condition?"
Rora reached into her pocket and pulled out her Star Spirit—soft and limp in her palm. "Here it is. It fell asleep because it doesn't have enough energy."
Xuanxi glanced at her empty hand. He couldn't see anything there, but he didn't doubt her. When a Star Spirit doesn't permit it, no one but its bonded master can perceive it.
"Not enough energy?" he muttered, and suddenly his eyes lit up with realization. "I see! That explains everything. Your body is evolving, but it's not receiving enough energy from your Star Spirit. So it's pulling energy from your own reserves instead."
Rora had suspected as much. That's why she'd been hoarding food whenever possible—she had no idea how long this would last. The Star Spirit was inexperienced, offering no guidance, so she had to rely entirely on herself.
Xuanxi calculated quickly in his mind. "Even if you switched to premium-grade nutrient solution, you'd still need three crates per meal," he said. "But it would be far better than drinking this cheap stuff."
He shared his suggestion, expecting Rora to agree—but to his surprise, she refused outright.
"No. I don't have that many star coins," she said frankly. "Yesterday I only managed to trade a few rare forest plants for some cash—barely fifty thousand. That's not enough to sustain me."
"I have star coins," Xuanxi offered immediately, activating his holoscreen to order the supplies. "I'll buy it for you."
But Rora stopped him with a firm hand. "Wait."
He assumed she was refusing out of pride. "It's fine—just treat it as a loan. You can pay me back later."
Rora shook her head. "No, that's too wasteful. Instead of buying, why don't we produce the nutrient solution ourselves?"
She looked at him earnestly. It wasn't a whimsical idea—she'd already considered it while drinking earlier. With her growing consumption, constantly buying from others was impractical. Producing it themselves would be far more efficient.
Seeing her serious expression, Xuanxi hesitated, then began to calculate again. He happened to have a formula for high-grade nutrient solution. If they bought enough raw materials and a small production line, self-sufficiency was completely possible.
"Well," he finally said, a small smile tugging at his lips, "it's… not impossible."