How much bigger could it really get?
Luo Xinghai thought to herself that with her current body—barely one meter sixty tall and rather slim—the most she could possibly eat was about enough for two people.
She sat at the table, picked up a bag, and discovered that it contained a military-grade compressed nutrition block. She guessed it was probably similar to the compressed biscuits she knew.
Good. It looked like one block would be enough for her meal.
A quick glance showed that these nutrition blocks made up about two-thirds of the total pile.
She grabbed a bottle of water, opened it, and took a small bite of the block. After swallowing, she carefully waited to see if she felt full—nothing. So, she took another bite.
By the time she finished an entire block and emptied her water bottle, her stomach still felt completely empty.
She looked at the discarded wrapper beside her and frowned, beginning to suspect that this wasn't what she thought it was at all.
Maybe this "nutrition block" was just a glorified piece of dry bread.
Once she got past the first one, she didn't bother being cautious anymore. She ate quickly, greedily.
One block, two, three.
Then another one, two, three.
By the time she finally felt full, the wrappers around her had piled up like a small mountain.
Luo Xinghai stared blankly.
"Did… did I eat all of that?"
Star Spirit: "Yes. The Star Master is currently in a growth phase. Eating a bit more is nothing to worry about."
Luo Xinghai: …
Fine. Just a bit more than usual. Nothing to worry about.
So she'd eaten a third of her entire food supply. Still… nothing to worry about.
She rubbed her face and sighed.
"How long is this going to last?"
The little Star Spirit tilted its head.
"Your situation is different from other Star Masters. I'm not entirely sure how your evolution will proceed."
Indeed, Luo Xinghai wasn't from this world at all.
"Looks like I'll have to figure it out myself," she murmured helplessly.
But her immediate problem was clear—food.
With her current appetite, the remaining two-thirds would barely last her two meals.
And that was only the beginning. Once she reached the later stages of evolution, she'd probably need even more energy intake.
That meant she had to start storing as much food as possible right now.
The looming food crisis helped her temporarily forget the bloody scene from earlier.
She searched her inherited memories for ways to find and store food on this planet. Unfortunately, it turned out the body's original owner had survived by scavenging from the garbage mountains just like today—if she was lucky, she might find a dozen vials of nutrient solution, enough to last a week.
Then she remembered the vial that Acha had given her yesterday, and her eyes brightened.
Right! This was the interstellar future—food wasn't necessarily the kind of perishable vegetables she was used to.
She could survive on nutrient solutions. The vial Acha gave her had been barely the length of her finger, yet a single sip had made her feel full.
With that realization, she relaxed slightly.
From the body's memories, she knew that while solid food like today's was rare, nutrient solutions were dumped almost daily by the transport ships.
Most of them were odd-flavored or near expiration, but as long as she was fast after a ship unloaded, she could easily collect a decent supply.
And conveniently, several regular transport ships were scheduled to dump garbage tomorrow.
Once she made up her mind, Rora Starsea quickly cleaned up the pile of empty wrappers on the floor. After washing up, she lay down and drifted into sleep almost instantly.
The starlight spirit she had tossed aside fluttered anxiously to her side, ready to explain how she could enter the Interstellar Spirit Ranking, only to find that her breathing had already settled into a deep, steady rhythm. She was sound asleep.
The little spirit sighed softly. She'd been through enough today."Forget it," he murmured to himself. "We'll talk after my Star Master gets used to all this."
Rora slept deeply through the night. When she woke, her internal clock roused her right on time. She checked the hour — there was still plenty of time before the cargo ships arrived to dump the nutrient liquid. Relieved, she exhaled and stretched.
Gululu—Gululu—
Her stomach growled loudly, a hollow ache twisting inside her as if she hadn't eaten for days. She frowned. She'd eaten plenty of those compressed nutrition bars last night — more than enough for any normal person. Yet after just one night, it was all gone.
There was no helping it. Rora resigned herself to eating again.
When she finally felt full, she glanced at what remained of her supplies — and froze.Less than one-fifth of the bars were left.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, then she pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the weight of realization settle in. Her appetite was still increasing.
A sense of urgency spurred her into motion. After tidying up quickly, she stepped outside and went straight to knock on Acha's door.
They'd agreed yesterday that they could move freely today, but Rora still wanted to let Acha know before leaving.
A moment later, the door opened.Acha stood there, looking visibly tired. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Rora hesitated for a second before admitting, "I'm going to look for more nutrient liquid. I just wanted to tell you before I go."
Acha blinked, then nodded. "Alright, I understand."
"I'll head out, then. You should rest a bit more," Rora said with a smile.
"Wait."
Rora turned back. "Hm?"
Acha slipped the round bracelet off her wrist and handed it to her. "Take this. There's a five-cubic-meter space inside. It'll make carrying things easier."
Rora's eyes lit up instantly. A space device!
She'd seen Acha use one yesterday — dozens of large crates vanished in a blink, making transport effortless.
"Thank you, Acha! I'll return it once I'm back."
Acha nodded slightly. "Be careful. There aren't too many people outside today, but don't let your guard down."
"I will."
After parting ways, Rora headed straight to the dumping site.
There were already people waiting when she arrived, scattered rather than clustered this time. Yesterday's chaos must've taught them a lesson — now, small groups and individuals stood well away from the drop zone. Blending in was easy.
Before long, a black transport ship appeared in the sky, descending toward the dumping area. The hatch opened, and a stream of discarded supplies tumbled down.
Rora's sharp eyes immediately spotted over a hundred crates of nutrient liquid among the falling debris. She locked onto their landing point.
As soon as the ship departed, she sprinted forward.
Dozens of others moved too. Some chased after other materials, but most — like her — raced for the nutrient crates.
Thankfully, there were plenty to go around. No fights broke out this time.
Rora Starsea moved fast — faster than anyone else.The moment her hand brushed against a crate, it vanished into the bracelet's spatial storage. Within moments, the entire five-cubic-meter space was filled to the brim.
Seeing there was no more room left, she didn't bother competing with the others. Instead, she turned and sprinted toward a different direction.
Just earlier, while she'd been snatching the nutrient crates, her eyes had caught something — a faint blue flicker deep in the junk piles. For some reason, that light tugged at her curiosity.
Fortunately, not many people were near that spot. Most were still busy fighting over nutrient liquid or scavenging small pieces of intact machinery.
Picking her way through the debris, Rora's luck held — she found a small box of energy stones.
Energy stones were the most common power source in the galaxy, used to fuel home appliances or domestic robots.Though these were low-grade ones, even they could be traded for useful goods back in the settlement.
Soon, she reached the place where the blue light glimmered — and froze in surprise.The source of the glow was a bracelet.
Her body's original owner had never owned one.On this planet, bracelets were rare treasures, usually scavenged from starship waste. Most were damaged and had limited functions, but even the simplest model came with a built-in storage space and minimal communication features.To people here, even a "single-player" bracelet — one that couldn't connect to the star network — was a prize worth coveting.
The other way to get one was by trading in town, but the cost was painfully high.
Rora crouched and picked through the nearby scraps, gathering a few parts that could help repair her room. Casually, she slipped the glowing bracelet into the one Acha had lent her.Even though it was already stuffed with nutrient crates, one small bracelet could still fit.
After that, she used the scavenged parts to piece together a makeshift pull-cart.When the next wave of transport ships came to dump their waste, she was ready — she grabbed another dozen crates of nutrient liquid and even scored a few boxes of nearly expired food.
By the time the little cart was full, Rora decided she'd taken enough risk for the day. She turned around and started heading home.
But halfway back, five figures suddenly appeared ahead, blocking her path.
They fanned out across the narrow road, smirks spreading on their faces — none of them friendly.
"Leave everything you've got," the leader sneered. "Otherwise, don't blame us for being rough."
He was a tall, wiry man, his skin dark and stretched over muscle like corded wire. Tattoos covered his arms and neck, and a jagged scar slashed from his cheekbone down to his chin, giving him a savage, almost feral look.
Behind him stood four teenage boys — lean, scruffy, and eager for trouble. Their grins were full of malice and amusement, as if they were watching a show about to start.
Rora stopped. Her brows furrowed slightly.These faces… looked familiar.
She searched through the original owner's memories — and found them.They'd once lived together.
Just two days ago, for some reason, they'd driven the original Rora out.That expulsion had directly led to her death.
A shadow passed through her gaze.She might not remember exactly how the girl had died, but these men… they were definitely connected.
And now, fate had delivered them right to her doorstep.
She'd taken this body — the least she could do was settle the score on its behalf.
Rora slowly reached into her cart, pulled out an iron rod, and smiled — a soft, pleasant, almost gentle smile.
Then she took a step forward.
It was time to collect a little interest.