Jiang Mian ignored Chi Lin.
After gathering her thoughts, she spoke again.
“From now on, let’s try to get along.
I won’t beat you anymore.
I know you probably won’t believe me right now, so I’ll show you with my actions in the future.”
She paused, her gaze serene as she looked at them.
“In the future, when the time is right, I can even let you go.
However, that will depend on your behavior.
Behave well, and I can grant you the status of Free Men.
Behave poorly, and you’ll just remain my Beast Slaves.”
The status of a Free Man meant a Beastman could shed the slave status they were born with, escaping a lifetime of captivity and gaining the freedom to marry and live as they wished.
“What do you mean by ‘behave well’?” Rong Fei asked softly.
Jiang Mian tilted her head to look at him, her eyes serene and beautiful.
“Be good to me.”
Rong Fei met the young woman’s serene, accepting gaze.
A strange feeling flickered within him.
His silver pupils glinted, his thin lips curved into a faint smile, and his eyes crinkled slightly.
“Alright, Master.”
“Just call me by my name from now on.” Jiang Mian glanced at him before looking away.
“Is this another new trick to get us to suck up to you?” Li Yan sneered.
“Your methods have certainly gotten more sophisticated this time.”
‘The original owner’s Beastmen were all incredibly rebellious and treated her horribly.
But the original owner had held back, never giving the order to detonate the chips in their brain areas.
She probably knew that if she went to Exile Star alone, without the protection of her Beast Slaves, she would die even faster.’
‘One side, knowing the original owner didn’t dare kill them, acted without restraint.
The other side, knowing that if she died, these Beast Slaves would die with her, tormented them with impunity.’
Jiang Mian heard the sarcasm in Li Yan’s voice and knew he couldn’t be the only one thinking this way.
The other Beast Slaves surely felt the same.
She continued slowly, “I’ve laid out the rules.
Whether or not you’re willing to try is up to you.”
Hearing this, the Beastmen all began to question the truth of her words.
Chi Lin’s lips curved into a bright smile.
“But Big Sister, I’d rather just be your slave forever.”
Jiang Mian immediately tuned him out.
There wasn’t a shred of sincerity in anything he said.
“Now for the second matter,” Jiang Mian began slowly.
“We still have half a month until we reach Exile Star, but we’re already out of food.”
She slowed down on the last sentence, seemingly a little embarrassed, as she knew it was her own extravagance that had depleted their supplies so quickly.
Rong Fei, standing beside her, watched Jiang Mian quietly, curious to see how she would solve this problem.
The exile Starship was a closed system, sealed until it reached its destination.
This meant that before they arrived, nothing purchased on the Star Network could be delivered.
“I don’t have a single bottle of nutrient solution left,” Li Yan said darkly, his cold black eyes fixed on Jiang Mian.
“You took them all.”
Jiang Mian had, in fact, taken all the Beast Slaves’ nutrient solution.
When she first transmigrated over, there were only ten units left in the original owner’s room.
But last night, she had taken five to give to Lin Yu, only for him to crush and waste them.
That left only five, and she felt a slight pang at the thought.
As she thought this, Jiang Mian glanced at Lin Yu.
As if sensing her gaze, he looked back.
His long, narrow red eyes were half-lidded, perpetually filled with a cold, weary indifference.
She silently averted her gaze and, instead of asking about the nutrient solution, asked, “Do any of you have any seeds?”
‘If not, I have another plan,’ she thought.
“No,” Li Yan answered bluntly.
Jiang Mian glanced at him.
The man’s black eyes stared back.
A row of red studs pierced his prominent brow, giving him an incredibly defiant and rebellious look.
Her lips twitched, but she said nothing.
‘His tone is so hostile,’ she thought, silently looking away.
“Big Sister, I don’t have any seeds for food, but I do have seeds for the Yun Meihua flower,” Chi Lin said with a smile.
“Do you want them, Big Sister?”
“That works,” Jiang Mian nodded.
“Give them to me later.”
The Yun Meihua flower bloomed and withered in the span of a single week, and edible nutrients could be extracted from the mature blossoms.
“Okay, Big Sister,” Chi Lin replied sweetly.
He blinked his charming peach-blossom eyes.
“Big Sister, am I behaving well?”
“Yes, that’s good.
Keep it up,” Jiang Mian nodded.
Rong Fei then added slowly, “I have a few ornamental potted plants in my room.
I can bring them to you later, if you’d like.”
A possibility occurred to him, though he wasn’t sure.
‘Does this woman really have the skill to extract nutrients?’
“Bring them all,” Jiang Mian nodded.
She looked toward the persistently silent Lin Yu and Zhao Ci.
“Lin Yu, Zhao Ci, you two bring me the potted plants from your rooms, too.”
Lin Yu was a man of few words by nature, but Zhao Ci probably just didn’t want to give Jiang Mian the time of day.
Jiang Mian suspected Zhao Ci hadn’t been listening at all.
She had called them out by name, but neither man made a sound or even looked at her.
Jiang Mian: …
Rong Fei broke the awkward silence with his gentle voice.
“Everything on this Starship belongs to Mianmian.
Whatever Mianmian wants, I’ll go with you to get it.”
Jiang Mian paused, turning her head to look at Rong Fei.
She gave a small smile and nodded slightly.
“Alright.”
‘No wonder Rong Fei gets beaten less,’ she thought.
‘The man knows how to play the game.’
But telling him not to call her Master, only for him to start calling her Mianmian…
it was a little strange.
She didn’t feel their relationship was close enough for him to use that name.
Still, Jiang Mian didn’t say anything.
A form of address wasn’t worth making a fuss over.
“Alright, Rong Fei, you’re with me.
The rest of you can do what you want.” Jiang Mian stood up from the sofa, grabbed Rong Fei’s wrist to pull him to his feet, and started heading toward the Beastmen’s rooms.
She glanced back at him.
“Let’s go now.”
When Rong Fei saw Jiang Mian grab his hand, another flicker of fastidious disgust flashed through him.
But when she looked back, the expression on his face was perfectly gentle.
Seeing her gaze on him, he even nodded lightly.
“Alright.”
‘I like emotionally stable people,’ Jiang Mian thought.
‘They’re so much easier to communicate with.’
‘He probably hasn’t turned into the future Beast Master who goes on a murderous rampage against humanity yet.’
The two of them made their way to the other Beastmen’s rooms and began moving the potted plants.
The expression in Chi Lin’s beautiful, deep cyan eyes—like mountains shrouded in thin mist—was unreadable.
A moment later, he chased after them, his voice bright.
“Big Sister, I’ll help you carry them!”
Jiang Mian glanced at him and nodded.
“Sure.”
The three Beastmen remaining in the great room had inscrutable expressions.
Zhao Ci watched Jiang Mian’s retreating back and let out a cold, sarcastic laugh.
‘It’s for the best if that disgusting woman doesn’t come and bother him.’
‘He didn’t care what kind of tricks she was trying to pull, as long as she stayed away from him.’