The other party sent a string of question marks and an angry reply: [Didn’t we agree on this from the start? I even showed you the photo. Why are you changing the price at the last minute?]

The man in the black trench coat continued: [The security on this spaceship from the Capital Star is much higher, making the job riskier. If it weren’t for your daughter, I wouldn’t even consider taking this mission. No price increase, no deal.]

The other party: [Wait. Another 1 million Star Coins.]

Seeing this, the man in the black trench coat replied with a satisfied "Deal" and leisurely returned to his place in line.

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door of a villa on the Capital Star.

The man sitting in the study frowned, deactivated his chip, and said, "Come in."

At his word, the person outside pushed the door open. Bai Rao, dressed in a long white dress, stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Her light-colored eyes looked hesitantly at the man. "Dad, there’s something I want to talk to you about."

Seeing that it was his daughter, his pride and joy, the angry expression on Mr. Bai’s face instantly vanished. He gave a gentle nod, but the smile on his face quickly froze.

It was because Bai Rao had taken a photograph out of her Space Chain.

"Dad, why does one of my classmates look so much like Grandma?"

"Ah, what? What a coincidence!"

Mr. Bai stared at the photo in her hand and nervously changed the subject. "The interstellar population is huge; it’s normal for people to bear some resemblance to each other. Maybe she’s a distant cousin of your grandmother’s or something. Or a descendant from one of her other Beast Husbands."

"Is that so?"

Bai Rao looked at him dubiously. Her first suspicion had been that her father was having an affair, but she quickly dismissed the idea.

In the interstellar age, adultery by a married male carried a minimum prison sentence of ten years. Besides, her father seemed to love her mother, and she’d never seen him with any other suspicious females. An affair was out of the question.

She wasn’t one to beat around the bush, so with a doubt in her heart, she had come to ask him directly.

Hearing his answer, Bai Rao recalled her father’s strange behavior on the day of her school graduation ceremony, and her suspicion lingered. In the end, however, she didn’t press him. Instead, she asked with concern, "Dad, are you not feeling well? You’re sweating so much."

"Ah? It’s nothing..."

Mr. Bai quickly wiped the sweat from his face. "The temperature’s been rising lately, I suppose. It’s just a little hot."

Bai Rao glanced at the robot in the corner of the study, then looked back at him with a helpless expression. "No wonder. You don’t have the air conditioning on."

With that, she commanded the household’s smart home system.

"Heh, I forgot..."

Seeing his daughter ask no more questions, Mr. Bai breathed a silent sigh of relief.

The spaceship departing from the Capital Star was far more luxurious than the one Shi Lan had taken before. For the same ticket price, every female in the females-only cabin had her own private compartment, complete with a window. A simple turn of the head revealed the deep, mysterious expanse of the universe.

Twinkling stars and the flowing Milky Way created a breathtaking panorama, as magnificent and vivid as a painting.

They were still relatively close to the Capital Star. Numerous patrol stations dotted the interstellar routes, keeping them clear of space junk and meteorite debris. It wasn’t nearly as dangerous as she had once imagined.

But that made sense. Spaceships had become a common form of transportation, much like the airplanes of old; accidents were an extremely rare occurrence.

Just as on her previous journey, the ship made multiple stops at different planets, waiting for passengers to disembark. Shi Lan, however, remained in her compartment, mostly sleeping. She would occasionally chat with Jiang Yan on her chip, updating her on her progress.

Just then, a knock came from her compartment door.

Shi Lan opened her eyes and, puzzled, opened the door. A male attendant from the females-only cabin stood outside.

He looked at her sheepishly. "My apologies, Miss. It seems we’re having an issue with the ship’s Energy Stone at this stop. We’ve already contacted a Space Supply Station, but it will take over an hour. The ship needs to be inspected, so no one can remain on board for now. Would you mind disembarking for a little while?"

"We will refund you double the pro-rated fare for the remainder of your journey to compensate for this incident. We are very sorry to have delayed you."

The attendant’s attitude was excellent, and since Shi Lan wasn’t in a particular hurry to get back, she nodded understandingly. "Alright, I’ll head down for now. Please let me know when we can re-board."

"Yes, of course! Thank you so much for your understanding."

He bowed repeatedly. Shi Lan took a step back. "It’s no problem." Then, she walked past him.

The attendant watched her walk away, covering his flushed face. ’What a kind, gentle, and wonderful female.’

Just then, a colleague emerged from the adjacent compartment, a bright red handprint on his cheek. A moment later, a female clutching her bag shot them an irritated glance and stormed off the ship.

The attendant and his colleague stared at each other. When the colleague saw him also covering his face, he thought he’d found a fellow sufferer. He clapped him on the shoulder comfortingly. "Don’t worry about it. When the females get upset, at least they only slap you. I heard over in the male cabin, some guys even started kicking. Now *that* hurts."

The attendant lowered his hand and shook his head. "No, it’s not that. I just saw a beautiful female... I think I’m in love."

His colleague glanced at his unblemished face and sneered. "Give me a break. Females from the Capital Star all have impossibly high standards. They’ve seen countless outstanding males. Attendants like us with such low spiritual power shouldn’t even fantasize about it."

Annoyed by the comment, the attendant turned and walked away.

After disembarking, Shi Lan saw that quite a few passengers were already gathered outside the spaceship.

She looked at the planet they were on and scanned it with her chip. It turned out to be a Deserted Star that had only begun development in the last two years.

It was said that mining had begun on this Deserted Star because of its numerous volcanoes. The volcanic pools contained an abundance of Energy Stones rich with Fire Energy. This type of Energy Stone could be used to power Mechas and could also be smelted with Mecha alloys to increase their durability.

There are many varieties of Energy Stones in the universe, and the type used by spaceships was different. Since mining operations on this Deserted Star were still in their early stages, it lacked the specific Energy Stones needed for the ship, forcing them to rely on the Space Supply Station.

’Still,’ Shi Lan wondered, ’why would the ship’s Energy Stone suddenly fail?’

’Logically, the Energy Stones prepared for a flight should be more than enough for a round trip. We’re only halfway through a one-way journey, and there’s already a problem. Was it negligence on the crew’s part?’

Several possibilities flashed through her mind, but she couldn’t reach a conclusion. Rubbing her temples, she decided to find a place to rest for a bit.

The wait was only supposed to be an hour or so, so Shi Lan didn’t wander far. She found a stone block a few hundred meters from the ship and sat down.

’Well, since I’m here...’ she thought, adopting the mindset of a tourist and taking a few photos.

The sky on this planet was unique, resembling fiery sunset clouds. The entire sky was blanketed in a hazy, rosy hue. There was no sun, and the ambient light was like a soft red filter, making skin appear more radiant and delicate in photos.

Shi Lan took several selfies and even posted a quick status update.

The guys in the prison must have been waiting, because a minute after she posted, they had all liked and commented on it.