The green vines wrapped everyone up like spider webs and hung them on the wall. They looked like green cocoons.
After the light in the center of the room slowly faded, a young woman came out of the giant egg.
It was Lyra, and she was still wearing her old hospital gown.
Time seemed to have been kind to her; after so many years, she was still beautiful. Her face looked a bit pale though, and she was thin and fragile.
She clutched her chest and breathed heavily, as if she might faint at any moment.
Despite being so weak, she had just used a mysterious power to control everyone who had bad intentions towards her in an instant.
Oren's face was pale. He didn't know what kind of monster Lyra was. Her power was much more terrifying than his superior's, making him and all his companions unable to resist.
In the silence, Sorren saw what was happening. He knew his savior had arrived, and he spoke in a flattering voice, "It's me, your dear Sorren!"
Sorren's hands and feet were bound, so he could only wriggle like a worm, trying to get Lyra's attention. He shouted, "I brought you here."
Lyra had just woken up from a long sleep, so her eyes still looked a bit dazed. She slowly looked at Sorren, "Oh, it's you."
Pieces of memory slowly came together in her mind. Lyra beckoned with her finger, and a green light brought Sorren in front of her. She sneered and said, "You really tried hard to sell me these past years. Your effort almost moved me."
Sorren had just felt saved, but hearing this, his face fell. "You... you were awake all this time?"
"I didn't need to be awake. Judging by the state of this room now, it's obvious."
She had indeed slept for a long time, but she woke up and slept again repeatedly. Whenever she woke up, she checked the egg shell's integrity and the outside for any danger.
Lyra then released Sorren. Under his fearful gaze, she gently tidied his hair and smiled, "Don't worry, I still remember my promise to you. I won't let anyone else kill you."
Even though Lyra was comforting him, Sorren felt like she was implying, "Only I can take your life."
Sorren wanted to ask why Lyra hadn't aged in seven years, but he swallowed his words.
Oren's eyes widened, unable to believe what was happening. Maintaining a elastic metal shell for seven years—the power needed was simply intimidating.
Thinking about this, Oren sighed like a deflated balloon and dropped his puffed-out chest. He said reluctantly, "This is all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding..."
He changed his previously aggressive stance, bowing and nodding to Lyra. "I am Oren, serving the biggest guild of Voidstar No. 2. May I know your name? Please come to our guild as a guest. Our boss always welcomes powerful individuals."
Lyra seemed to take a moment to think (or maybe her mind was still waking up). She replied, "Oh, sorry for the rudeness."
She let the green vines release Oren and his men. Then, she carelessly threw Sorren out the window as if he were garbage.
A scream was heard, followed by several pained "F*ck, f*ck, f*ck" shouts. Sorren seemed to have broken a leg, but he dragged himself away without looking back.
Oren knew he had messed with someone he shouldn't have. However, he had already extended the invitation, so he had to lead her to his boss.
At the same time, he was very confused. This young woman looked so fragile. In the past, Oren would have had no hesitation in knocking her to the ground, but this time, his instincts kept him from provoking her.
In the end, he attributed her intimidation to her unique superpower and strong psychokinesis.
Oren led Lyra out of Sorren's place and pointed to a towering building in the distance.
"That's the place. But I need to warn you, Snakehead is very tough. If you want to back out now, we can leave, and this never happened."
Lyra sneered at Oren, the contempt in her eyes making him uneasy. "Fine, fine, follow me," he said, leading the way.
Lyra followed him for a long time until they finally entered the building. There, she met the person who controlled Voidstar No. 2, Snakehead.
His name made sense. Snakes don't have hair, and Snakehead was bald. However, his body was the opposite of a snake—he was fat.
Snakehead was holding a cigar, using a right hand made from some black metal. This right hand had a strange, stylish look, making him appear more menacing.
"Who is this?" Snakehead asked without looking up, slowly playing with a rare mineral in front of him.
"Oren brought her, says her superpower is very special," Snakehead's assistant answered. He stood calmly beside Snakehead, both of them scrutinizing the strange young woman.
Snakehead looked up again. "Young woman, I guess you just landed on this planet not long ago," he said, his tone dripping with smugness and mockery.
He then put the cigar in his mouth and casually warned, "Whether you're lying or not, I can let you go now because you're too young. But if you don't leave and I find out you're trying to f*ck with me..."
"I'll make your severed arm grow back," Lyra interrupted coldly.
Snakehead squinted slightly, full of suspicion.
Lyra raised her hand, and a ball of healing energy formed in her palm.
"Want to try?" she asked, fearlessly meeting Snakehead's doubtful gaze.
...
Oren was squatting at the guild building's entrance when he saw Sorren limping towards him. Clearly, his leg was badly injured from being thrown out the window a couple of days ago.
Another colleague of Oren's happened to walk by and joked, "Oren, I heard you introduced the boss to a young pretty girl who's barely legal?"
"Go f*ck yourself, you perverted boar," Oren retorted.
The man, slightly annoyed, was about to leave when he noticed the bruises on Oren's arm. He rolled his eyes and said, "So, it wasn't a young pretty girl, but an old witch?"
Oren was about to argue, but when he looked past the man and saw someone behind him, his expression turned sympathetic.
A slender hand emerged from nowhere and slapped the rude man hard, sending him flying.
"F*ck! Who the hell..." the man jumped up, ready to draw his weapon.
Just then, a middle-aged man slowly walked out of the building. He seemed to be well-respected, as the guards at the door bowed slightly to him.
"Show some respect to Miss Shedd!" the bespectacled man said.
Oren immediately stood up straight and respectfully called him Mr. Todd.
Todd politely bowed to Lyra. "Thank you for the healing. We will fully prepare for your next visit."
Lyra nodded and said, "Once I find a place to settle down, I will notify you and confirm the schedule."
Lyra knew that if she couldn't leave this place soon, she would at least need to establish a business to support herself.
Sorren witnessed all this, still in shock. Lyra waved her hand in front of his face and said, "Time to go."
Sorren walked towards his rusty Lev. He opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to say anything. He was still afraid to ask the young woman behind him what had happened.
He felt like she had become even more formidable.
Oren snapped out of his shock, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he asked, "Mr. Todd, who is this young woman? Why do you respect her so much?"
"You don't need to know who she is. You only need to know that you might need her help in the future, and that's enough," Todd replied. He adjusted his glasses and turned to leave.
With Snakehead's secret assistance, Lyra's visit to the identity registration hall went very smoothly.
After registering her age and identity, Sorren led her to another room.
"This way for superpower assessment."
Hearing about Lyra's superpower test, Sorren's eyes lit up, and he eagerly moved closer to watch.
This young woman had just taken him and Oren down in an instant; he wanted to know what extraordinary superpower she possessed.
However, after Lyra demonstrated her energy, even the staff looked at her with disdain, let alone Sorren.
It was clear that Lyra possessed the power of healing, and it was only at level three.
She wasn't even considered an Adept Peculiar.
"This can't be," Sorren exclaimed, clutching his head with both hands. He urged, "Test her again! There must be a mistake."
Everyone knew that the power of healing was the most useless superpower.
Modern humans had medical devices that were faster, more portable, and easier to use. These advantages were overwhelming.
Moreover, the types of injuries that healing power could treat were also treatable by medical devices. For diseases like genetic disorders or radiation sickness that medical devices couldn't cure, healing power couldn't either.
Even if Lyra had the fastest cultivation speed of a real talent, it would still take her reaching at least the Master level to be considered noteworthy.
In fact, even Master-level instruments had already been developed. But currently, they were expensive and rare, so they hadn't yet replaced Master-level Peculiar Healers.
The staff member, though shocked, found Sorren's attitude somewhat offensive. She retorted, "This is our latest equipment. The stickers are still on it. How could it be wrong? Get out of here."
She then casually walked away, registering the test results on the report.
Sorren sneaked a glance at Lyra. To his surprise, Lyra seemed even calmer than before the test. Sorren asked tentatively, "You're a healer, that's all?"
Lyra slowly admired her brand-new identity card, then glanced at him sideways.
"Don't you trust the doctor?"
Sorren laughed awkwardly, "Well… Maybe…"
Lyra didn't say anything more and turned to leave the registration hall.
At that moment, a fireball flew towards her back. She turned and quickly conjured a green energy shield.
The fireball bounced off the shield, hitting a pile of documents nearby, which exploded into flames.
Voidstar No. 2 was known for its chaotic neighborhood, where fights were common. The bystanders quickly ran away, not even bothering to call the authorities.
Lyra emerged from the swirling papers. She looked up at Sorren and raised an eyebrow. "Can't wait to overthrow me already?"
"Pah, I'm such a fool for being tricked by you for so long. You're just a mere healer, pretending to be tough and making me look like a fool," Sorren sneered. "You wasted seven years of my life! Don't you think you should pay me back for that?"
Lyra brushed off the dust from her shoulders and replied coldly, "We'll see."
Sorren's vision suddenly blurred. He knew Lyra was about to attack. Panicking, he summoned two fireballs and threw them at her.
However, Lyra moved like a phantom, appearing right in front of him. She locked his throat with her elbow and kneed him, slamming him to the ground.
Crack!
Sorren heard something break. He didn't know if it was his bones or the floor.
As he trembled from the terrifying sound, he suddenly felt himself being lifted. Lyra gritted her teeth and threw him into the air, then turned and kicked him away.
Bang!
Sorren's mind went blank, all thoughts disappearing, including the notion of resisting Lyra. He slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood and a human-shaped dent.
Lyra had taken him down without even using her superpower.
The smoke from the burning documents made Lyra cough violently. She caught her breath, hands on her hips, then walked over to Sorren. She looked down at him and asked, "Still want to overthrow me?"
Her fierce tone reminded Sorren of their first encounter.
Blood oozed from Sorren's nose and mouth. His throat made a wheezing sound like a broken pipe. "No, boss..."