When Rora Starsea opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a glowing panel floating right in front of her.
If Acha hadn't spoken beside her, she might not have even realized someone else was in the room.
Once she was alone, Rora finally focused on the panel.
At the very top were the words "Interstellar Spirit Ranking."
Below that stretched a shimmering list written in golden runic letters—one hundred names in total.
In the lower right corner, a small line read: "Tap to view the full ranking."
On the far left, taking up only a sliver of space—barely a tenth of the screen—was an almost pitiful entry:
Planet Code: LX045
Planet Name: None
Planet Level: 0
Planet Spirit Type: Water
Planet Spirit Level: 0
Planet Spirit Status: On the verge of collapse
Planet Lord: Rora Starsea
Planet Lord Species: ??? (Evolving)
Planet Lord Level: 0
Planet Prosperity: –999
Interstellar Spirit Rank: Not listed
(Participate once prosperity reaches 10,000)
Planet Population: Approx. 500 million
Planet Area: About 1.53 billion km²
(Land: 30%, Ocean: 70%)
Achievements: None
Star System: Dahua System
(Warning: No brain-link detected. Unable to connect to StarNet.)
Rora stared at the panel, her mind blank.
The next second, her vision went fuzzy, everything turned dark, and she collapsed.
When she came to, the world looked just as it had before—same faint light, same pale sky.
Hovering above her was a tiny figure glowing in a soft blue aura.
The little creature's eyes widened the moment she woke up, and it darted toward her.
"You're finally awake!" it chirped.
"What… happened to me?" Rora sat up slowly.
This time, she didn't feel weak at all. In fact, her body felt stronger, almost brimming with power.
"My energy is merging with yours," the Spirit explained.
"Your body's still adjusting, so fainting was normal.
Also—your appetite's going to skyrocket soon. I suggest you start storing food."
"Got it," Rora nodded.
Then something clicked in her mind. "Wait," she said, "I remember seeing my 'species' marked as three question marks… and it said I was evolving. Does that mean I won't be human anymore?"
The Spirit floated upward, bobbing its tiny head quickly. "Of course! Once you're bonded with me, you're no longer human.
Everyone's soul is different, though—until your evolution's complete, we can't predict what form you'll take."
"I see…" Rora nodded thoughtfully.
Just as she was about to ask more, the door slid open.
Acha walked in.
Quick as lightning, Rora cupped her hand, hiding the Spirit that had flown close to her.
She turned with a calm smile. "Hey, Acha. You're back already? Forget something?"
Acha gave her a strange look. "I came back last night. I'm heading out again.
Here—your nutrient packs for today."
She placed three small bottles on the only table in the room.
Rora froze. Wait… last night?
So she'd been out cold for an entire day and night?!
As Acha turned to leave, Rora suddenly remembered what the Spirit had said about her appetite growing.
She called out quickly, "Acha, wait!"
Acha turned, puzzled. "What is it?"
Rora hesitated, rubbing her nose in embarrassment. "Um… would it be okay if I came with you guys to look for supplies?
I mean, I can't just keep taking your things for free. I'm feeling way better now—I won't hold anyone back."
Acha thought for a moment. "Let me check."
She raised her wrist and tapped the glowing ring there.
A translucent screen appeared, but whatever was displayed, Rora couldn't see it.
A moment later, Acha looked up. "You can come.
Get ready—I'll wait outside."
Rora's face lit up. "Okay!"
Once Acha finally left, Rora let out a long breath of relief.She opened her palm, and the tiny blue Spirit fluttered out, shimmering faintly.
"Be careful," Rora warned in a low voice. "If someone sees you, we could be in serious trouble."
Even if she didn't know much about this world yet, she understood one simple truth—when you have something valuable, everyone wants a piece of it.
This little Spirit clearly wasn't ordinary. If others knew she had it, who knew what they'd do?
The Spirit, however, didn't seem worried at all. It hovered higher and spun in the air, laughing softly."Relax, my dear Star Lord! No one can see me unless I want them to."
Rora's tension eased. "Good. That's… good."
After confirming that, she felt safer and followed Acha toward the gathering point.
As they walked, Rora glanced around curiously.The buildings here were strange—like someone had taken bits and pieces of old structures and welded them together at random.They looked ugly, uneven, like patchwork giants.
Yet as she stared at them, strange streams of information began flashing in her mind.It told her these buildings were made from scrap—parts salvaged from the massive trash mountains, reassembled by the locals to make homes.
Almost every building here was built that way.
She remembered the towering heaps of garbage she'd seen when she first woke up—mountains of waste reaching into the clouds.Never would she have thought the scenes she'd written about in her old sci-fi stories would turn real before her eyes.
In her imagination, humanity's interstellar future shouldn't need garbage planets.Surely they'd invented cleaner ways to deal with waste by now.Using an entire planet as a dump felt… absurdly wasteful.
Rora's steps slowed. She glanced ahead at Acha, then turned toward the floating Spirit beside her.
The Spirit tilted its head. "What's wrong?"
Rora lowered her voice. "Why do I suddenly know things about this planet? It's like someone's feeding me data straight into my brain."
"That's your body syncing with your soul," the Spirit explained patiently."The more your soul stabilizes, the more of this body's memories you'll access.But you won't see everything—only what its previous owner is willing to share."
Rora nodded slightly. That was… comforting.At least she wouldn't expose herself by acting like someone who didn't belong here.
Soon, they arrived at the meeting point.
Four or five people had already gathered there, and one tall man stood out immediately.
"Acha, finally!" the man—Acat—called out, his deep voice tinged with impatience."You're late. Let's move! The garbage freighter's coming today. Maybe we'll score something decent this time."
Before Acha could even reply, he was already striding off, excitement in every step.The others chuckled quietly, then followed.
Acha paused long enough for Rora to catch up, then they continued together.
After about twenty minutes of walking, they reached the junk mountain.
Rora recognized it instantly—it was the same mountain she'd seen when she first opened her eyes.
While she was staring in daze, people began pouring out from all directions, rushing toward the same spot.
She looked up and saw it—a massive black spaceship hovering above one of the garbage peaks, its hull marked with a round emblem of three green trees.
Information surged again in her mind:this was a waste-transport freighter from another planet, making regular trips to dump trash here.
"It's a Woodsource freighter!" someone shouted nearby, eyes gleaming."There'll be food in there—move it, people!"
In an instant, the crowd surged forward, racing toward the descending ship.
Rora blinked. Food?Right—she'd come here to find supplies.
But then she looked at the mountain in front of her—reeking, slimy, dripping with foul, greenish fluid.The stench was so thick it made her gag.
Her stomach twisted. For someone who'd lived in a clean, ordered world, this was hell.
Still—she clenched her fists.
If she wanted to survive here, she had to let go of her old pride.
"Come on, Rora Starsea," she whispered to herself."You can do this."
As Luo Xinghai was busy cheering herself on, Ah Cha—who had just run toward the transport ship—suddenly came rushing back. Without a word, she grabbed Luo Xinghai's wrist and pulled her along, sprinting toward the ship at full speed.
Luo Xinghai stumbled forward involuntarily, quickly matching Ah Cha's pace.
With Ah Cha leading the way, Luo Xinghai decided to stop caring about appearances. When she realized she could actually run even faster, she immediately took the lead and began dragging Ah Cha behind her instead.
While running at top speed, she kept dodging sharp metal shards, puddles of strange-colored liquid, and the swarming crowd rushing in the same direction toward the transport ship.
Only now did Luo Xinghai realize—she could actually run this fast.
Inside the cockpit of the Muyuan Planet transport ship, a tall man in a green uniform stood by the observation window. He held a transparent glass filled with a green liquid.Lowering his head slightly, he gazed at the planet below. His excellent vision allowed him to clearly see the masses of people surging toward the landing zone. Disdain flickered in his eyes.
He took a slow sip from his glass, feeling utterly superior.
"Captain, we've arrived at the destination. Shall we begin dumping the waste?"A young crewman swiveled his chair to face the man at the window.
The captain looked down at the planet again, his expression that of someone overlooking a swarm of ants. Suddenly, his original plan shifted.It was just a dying planet on the verge of explosion—no one would care, and no one would ever find out if he decided to… make a little adjustment.
"Move to coordinates (13, 53). Dump the waste there."
The young crewman's hand, which was about to press the red button, hesitated.He turned his head to glance at the captain, but said nothing.Instead, he adjusted the ship's course slightly, shifting it a few dozen meters off the original position.
His ash-gray eyes scanned the screen before him, confirming that no other ships were nearby.Then, moving quickly, he tapped several commands on the translucent control panel.When the ship reached the designated coordinates, he pressed the red button.
Instantly, tons of expired food stored in the cargo bay poured out, cascading toward the surface below.
"Tch! Filthy wretches. Let me show a bit of kindness—delivering it straight to your hands."
The captain chuckled, turning away from the window as he muttered to himself,
"Used too much source fluid this time. Need to cut it down next round."
Without a glance at the chaos he had unleashed below, he calmly guided the ship away.
On planet LX045, the already noisy garbage mountains suddenly erupted with screams and curses.
"Watch out!""Those damn bastards!""Get out of the way!"