"Thank you," Peter said to Mantis with a sincere and bright smile.
Seeing the smile on Peter's face, Mantis tried to force a smile herself, but it looked so unreal that Peter felt something was off.
"What's wrong?" Peter asked, somewhat puzzled.
The Mantis Woman, still forcing a smile, replied, "I am smiling."
Peter looked puzzled, but still patiently smiled at Mantis: "You see, this is what a smile should be like: sincere and happy."
The Mantis Woman lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I've lived on this planet since I was a child. Occasionally other people come to this planet, but they don't talk to me much."
Peter was startled and didn't know what to say.
A moment later, Mantis looked up and asked Peter, "May I come in and have a chat with you?"
Her face was filled with pure, pleading emotion, devoid of any other feelings. Peter couldn't refuse her, so he nodded and let the Mantis into the house.
"What are those two antennae on your head?" Peter asked curiously, looking at the two "little antennae" sticking up on the Mantis's forehead.
“This is an organ that assists my abilities.” Seeing Peter’s encouraging look, Mantis continued, “I have many abilities. For example, I can communicate with plants, and by touching other people’s bodies, I can sense their emotions and even hypnotize them.”
"Wow, you're amazing!" Peter praised sincerely.
The Mantis Woman's eyes sparkled. She opened them wide, looked at Peter, and asked, "Am I really that amazing?"
“Yes, you’re amazing. Being able to communicate with plants and sense other people’s thoughts is a really cool ability. Among the people I know, I don’t know anyone who can communicate with plants.” Peter said with a smile.
The Mantis hesitated before reaching out to Peter, finally placing her hand on his wrist. When she sensed Peter's emotions, a smile appeared on her face, but this smile was much more genuine than before.
"So this is what happiness is." The Mantis finally understood and withdrew her hand from Peter's wrist.
Seemingly realizing something, the Mantis hesitated for a moment, then finally mustered her courage and said, "I actually want to tell you that you are in danger."
"Is there danger?" Peter's expression suddenly turned to astonishment.
The Mantis Woman glanced towards the door, but still mustered her courage to continue: "Every one of the master's children who came here died, along with their friends. It seems the master was looking for someone with the same divine bloodline as him, but he never found one, so he was very angry. When he was angry, those who came died."
Although the Mantis's words were incoherent and not particularly illogical, Peter roughly understood what she was trying to say.
To Mantis's surprise, Peter wasn't nervous at all. Instead, he laughed in a rather strange way: "Dead? If your master really has some bad intentions towards us, then he's really in danger."
Outside the palace, Ego led Quill away from the palace, and finally, Quill saw something familiar—a statue of his mother.
Quill's body jolted, and then his expression became even more complicated.
“My mother told everyone that my father was an alien and that she had a brain tumor, so everyone thought she was delusional.” These were the first words Quill spoke after getting off the spaceship.
Igor's expression was also somewhat disappointed, but he still raised his head and looked at Quill with loving eyes: "So, let me make up for it, okay? Let me be the strong and upright father you envision."
Quill's eyes held an even more complex expression, one he couldn't conceal—he had met Ego and found that Ego truly resembled the father figure he had imagined, even more so, more endearing. This was the familial love he had always longed for; he desperately hoped it was real, hoped his father wasn't the terrible person Gel had described.
“Give me your hand, son.” Igor raised his hand to Quill, who hesitated for a moment before placing his hand in Igor’s.
Igor raised his hand, then released Quill's hand, took a few steps back, and said to Quill, "Close your eyes and focus."
Quill sighed inwardly, but still followed Ego's instructions and closed his eyes—let him deceive himself for a while, let himself wallow in self-pity for a while.
"Focus your energy on the center of this planet." Ego's voice carried a captivating power, causing Quill to unconsciously follow Ego's instructions.
Quill's mind carefully sensed his surroundings. At the same time, something different seemed to have entered his mind, and then an indescribable heat seemed to flow into his palm.
"Sizzle!"
A sudden soft sound made Quill open his eyes and look at his palm.
"yeah!"
The excited shouts from Ego nearby made Quill unconsciously look towards him. At that moment, Ego shouted with ecstasy, even gesturing wildly.
Quill looked around, then stared in astonishment at the green flash appearing in the center of his palm: "What is this?"
Perhaps he was distracted, for the green flash in the center of his palm suddenly disappeared. At this moment, Ego was still excitedly saying to Quill, "It's okay, it's okay, don't be nervous. This is our magical ability. Relax, refocus, you can do it again."
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