Lu Yulan stared at him without blinking. The young man smiled leisurely, as if he felt neither smugness nor guilt for exposing Lu Yulan's biggest secret.

"What do you mean?"

The gang leader put down his teacup and lazily crossed his legs. "It's nothing, just a memory from so long ago, I really miss it."

He started following Lu Yulan after she started making food online. After all, someone who was bold enough to eat insects and beasts, and had so many whimsical ideas, was really...interesting.

In your opinion, which of the two worlds is more interesting?

The gang leader snapped his fingers, and the bright red projection disappeared, allowing sunlight to stream in again. He basked in the sunlight, a look of satisfaction on his face.

In Lu Yulan's eyes, he was just a charlatan.

"Nature is the world I live in, don't you think?"

"Right?"

No matter how much you miss it or how much you hate it, it's gone.

The boy gave a soft chuckle, short and contemptuous. In fact, Lu Yulan disliked this kind of mocking laughter.

Sometimes, the feelings it expresses are too strong, and it's never good to misunderstand it.

"How is Miss Lan's knowledge of interstellar history?"

"Not so good. All I remember is human migration, the expansion of empires, and then now..."

She didn't even know the names of the people who migrated to expand the empire; she was hardly someone with much affection for history.

"Ha! Migration, to a place one never belonged to, can only be considered an invasion!"

The boy wanted to say something, but the air around them rippled, as if something had been startled awake from its slumber, glanced at them, and looked on with a chilling gaze...

The boy stood up from the wicker chair in shock for the first time, "He actually..."

But that aura passed quickly, as if it had only swept by lightly, proving that it had been there.

The young man looked at Lu Yulan, his smile widening. "It seems we can discuss our terms properly."

...

Outside the room.

Xiao Wu and Lü looked at each other, then looked away, bored. Lü continued counting her hairs: 13,151…

Lu Yulan walked out looking bewildered, and the three of them were taken back to their original room.

"Sister-in-law, where's my brother?"

Lu's younger brother stood up and looked back.

He needs a little time.

She now needs to sort out her thought process. The boy just said that when they leave the exile star field, he will take them with him and find them a place to stay.

This was the price, or rather the trade, for obtaining the spring water: the man told them how to use it, and she saved them.

Thinking of everything he had seen in that room, the boy gave a cold smile.

"Miss Lu, what do you think I am? Or rather, what do you think you are?"

"You are human, and I am a plant?"

The boy withdrew his ebony-like hand. "How about I tell you a story?"

The people here seem to love telling stories, but unfortunately, none of the stories are very pleasant.

He said he was human, the true master of this star system, and that the Empire was nothing more than an invading alien species.

He said that the human project that began in the 21st century is real, and he is both the spark and the end.

He said that the Queen's plan was not about killing any insects or beasts at all; those insects and beasts were just a crisis left behind by the Queen to strengthen the people.

Just like putting a loach in a sardine tank, a different species can cause crisis and enmity.

The Queen's plan is him, this spring, or rather, the essential power of this world!