Hunger was one thing, but the dishes on the table were utterly unappetizing. Those two fruits, sourced from a grueling search across half the planet, were certainly off-limits.

Space technology had advanced to this point, filling tables with vegetables and fruits, yet who knew that on some worlds, people couldn't even afford such basic sustenance.

The old man chuckled, "You must be hungry, beautiful. Eat up, there's more when that's gone."

Ziye hesitated, then decided to eat.

She avoided the two fruits entirely, focusing only on the pale, white flesh, ensuring she maintained her strength at least.

Seeing her eat, the old man beamed, "Let me tell you, the rat meat here is truly plump and tender. Each one weighs thirty or forty pounds; catching one provides enough to eat for days."

Ziye: "..."

Chewing the meat, she tried to find some solace, thinking the taste wasn't half bad, certainly better than the rats on Silver Talisman Star.

She only sampled the dark green stalks once—dry and astringent—then gave up, returning to gnawing on the meat.

She left the two fruits untouched.

Watching her eat, the old man nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, a very easy-to-keep beauty."

Just then, a shrill voice cried out, "You found fruits and didn't share even one with me?"

Ziye looked up to see a woman entering who was as thin as a rail, built like a compass that might topple in the slightest breeze. Her voice was sharp yet weak. Spotting the fruit on the table, she immediately lunged to snatch it.

The old man roared, "What manner of behavior is that? This is for the beauty!"

The compass-woman grew angry in turn. "What beauty? Am I not beautiful?"

The old man huffed, "She is more beautiful than you."

The compass-woman grew frantic, "How could anyone be more beautiful than me?!"

Ziye kept her head down, continuing to eat the rat meat.

She heard none of it.

Worried Ziye might be offended, the old man quickly glanced towards her, but seeing she was entirely out of the fray, he relaxed, then darkened his expression. "Guards, drag her out."

Men stepped up from either side to seize the woman.

The compass-woman burst into tears on the spot. "Wanren, you lied to me! You promised you would always treat me well."

A flicker of embarrassment crossed the old man's face. Finally, he dismissed the others and personally dragged the compass-woman out. Before leaving, he gave Ziye a sickly fawning look. "Wait for me a moment, I’ll be right back."

Then, two people remained to guard the door, lest Ziye finish eating and slip away.

Ziye paid them no mind whatsoever. Having eaten her fill, she was ready to work.

The old man's current dwelling was the best available in this area; even if driven out, she wouldn't leave.

It was just that the lighting was a bit dim.

She sent her detection robot out to scavenge through the refuse heaps. The guards didn't stop it from leaving.

After all, men here were worthless, especially when no one knew the scavenger was a machine.

Ziye walked to the door and peered outside. It was pitch black, save for occasional faint starlight twinkling in the distance—it was hard to tell if they were using primitive firelight or electric lamps.

The guards saw her step out and assumed she was trying to escape, but she merely glanced outside and went back in.

The two guards exchanged glances, finally speaking in broken Galactic Standard: "Are you from outer space?"

Ziye turned back for a moment, seeing they were just boys around fifteen years old, and nodded. "Yes."

The boy asked, "Can you go back?"

Ziye had never denied this. "Mmm."

The boy wrestled with himself for a long moment, then suddenly blurted out, "When you leave, can you take us with you?"

Ziye was surprised for an instant, then understood: life on this garbage planet was far too harsh, and they yearned to escape.

But if they couldn't cope here, what could they possibly do out in space? They would still be struggling day and night just to secure three meals!

She couldn't bring herself to say words that would crush them, so she remained silent.

Feeling their hope dim, the boys mumbled, "We’re used to it, it’s fine. But if you're planning to escape, hurry up. The old man will be back soon, and our planet has fewer than ten women—he has five of them himself!"

Ziye raised an eyebrow. "If I leave, aren't you afraid he'll punish you?"

The boy whispered weakly, "We’ll run and hide in the garbage mountains. The mountains are huge; he’ll never find us."

Ziye countered, "If you dislike him so much, why work for him?"

The boys flushed with shame. "He has dozens of mechs; they can reach space or find valuable things in the trash. If we work for him, the fees to rent the mechs are lower."

Ziye nodded, standing by the door. When the detection robot returned, she told the two boys, "Come in and lend a hand."

The two youths looked terrified. "If he finds out, we'll be dead."

Ziye stated calmly, "It’s fine. If anything goes wrong, I'll take the responsibility."

The boys looked at each other, hesitated for a long moment, but finally yielded, following her inside. Ziye instructed the detection robot to place the salvaged energy equipment on the floor, and she began dismantling it manually.

One boy saw it and said, "We have tons of these things here; they're worthless."

Ziye smiled noncommittally. "You'll know if they're worth anything in a moment."

The energy device only had a short circuit; she had the detection robot find some substitutes, reconnected the wiring, reassembled it, and ran a diagnostic through the optical computer.

Diagnostic Result: Usable.

She instructed Butler W to remove the light bulb and install it on the energy device, then flipped the switch.

The bulb immediately flared to life.

It was a hundred times brighter than the previous electric lamp!

The two boys stared, their eyes wide.

Ziye explained, "Equipment in space has an energy recharge system; the energy can be recycled. You can try it out, and if you don't understand anything, come ask me."

The two boys moved to a corner and whispered amongst themselves for a while. Finally, they decided one would go fetch another piece of equipment while the other kept watch over Ziye.

Ziye waved them off, signaling they were free to do as they wished, and opened her optical computer to continue her work.

The basic design specifications for the battleship and the plunderer vessel were nearly complete; the next step was deciding on the alloy metals to use. The detection robot assisted nearby, and Butler W stood two meters outside Ziye, serving as a bodyguard against any sudden developments.

Fortunately, the old man was busy for quite some time; he didn't return until the boy managed to bring back another energy device.

The two youths squatted on the floor, beginning to dismantle the equipment manually.

They had witnessed Ziye's technique, but after taking it apart, they discovered to their dismay that the wiring was perfectly intact.

Ziye let out an unrestrained laugh. "Pfft!"

They flushed, scratching their heads, looking helplessly at Ziye.

Ziye instantly saw the root of the problem but didn't spell it out. Instead, she explained a few fundamental principles of the device to them, then returned to her own work, letting them puzzle it out themselves.

The boy sent to fetch the equipment proved to have an excellent aptitude for learning. After tinkering a few times, he actually managed to fix the device!

The youth was so excited he nearly cried, tears streaming down his face as he rushed before Ziye, almost dropping to his knees.

Ziye said coolly, "A grown man, aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

The boy wiped his tears away and bowed in reverence. "Goddess, you must be a goddess! My entire family thanks you!"

Ziye decided to ignore him and continue working.

The successful youth told the other boy to guard the door while he rushed home with the device.

The other boy hurried over, asking eagerly, "What was the problem just now? I couldn't figure it out?"

Ziye didn't lift her head. "Butler, explain it to him."

Butler W then repeated the principles Ziye had mentioned earlier to the remaining guard.

The boy deliberated on the spot for a while, unable to grasp the concept, so he too ran off to find equipment.

Butler W signaled he was unburdened and moved to the doorway to stand guard.

Before the two boys returned, the old man was back.

The old man rushed in, intending to find Ziye immediately. He didn't notice one guard missing at first, but Butler W blocked his path at the threshold.

Only then did he realize something was amiss, roaring, "Where did the people go? I'm firing him!"

Butler W stared at him with an expressionless face.

The old man grew angrier, pointing a finger at Butler W's nose. "Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come in."

Ziye emerged from the room. "This one is my subordinate; you have no right to fire him. I've already dismissed your two men."

The old man's angry face instantly melted into a blossoming smile upon seeing Ziye. "If you like them gone, send them as far away as you wish, it doesn't matter."

Ziye smiled faintly and returned to her chair inside the room.

The old man’s heart was entirely focused on her. "Beauty, let's go to sleep."

Ziye replied, "It's still early."

The old man chuckled conspiratorially, "It's not early; the night is only five hours long, it passes in a blink."

Ziye said, "Then you go to sleep first."

The old man insisted, "No, I want you to sleep with me."

Ziye considered for a moment. "Wait for me for five minutes, right here."

The old man, assuming she needed a private moment, pointed toward the door. "Go out and turn left, there's a place over there."

Ziye walked out the door. In a shadowy clearing behind the building, she deployed the Ping An-class vessel and released the little G-series girl from the Ping An storage bay. She then recalled the Ping An into her spatial button and led the G-series girl by the hand back toward the room, programming instructions into her optical computer as they walked.

"When you enter the room, you will see an old man. You will keep him company tonight, and I will come back for you tomorrow morning. However, you absolutely cannot let him touch you. If he tries, you must either evade him or hit him. Within these five hours, don't hit him too often—ten or eight times is fine. Control your force; the area of injury should be between ten and thirty percent. Don't injure him severely, just minor damage."

The G-series girl's eyes flashed with lines of code, indicating receipt of the information.

Ziye added, "You know how to sing and dance, and you know how to torment perverts, right? Using the same methods against him should be fine."

Ziye nodded with satisfaction, took the girl's hand, and stepped into the room.

The old man was waiting for Ziye on the bed, his shirt already off, every muscle in his body on display.

Ziye, having grown accustomed to the physique of An Junlie, found any lesser display unimpressive, much less this lecherous old man. However, since she was under someone else's roof, she said nothing. She merely patted the G-series loli's shoulder. "This is my younger sister."

The old man's eyes instantly lit up like bright bulbs. He sprang off