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Looking at this huge city, Gamora introduced: "Hundreds of years ago, the Typhon Group sent laborers in to mine the organic matter in this skull."
"Bones, brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid — these are all rare products. The high-priced items on the black market in the entire galaxy all come from here."
After hearing what Gamora said, Star-Lord and the others looked carefully at some of the factories where people were working nonstop, year after year.
"The work here is dangerous and illegal. Only criminals would do it."
Then they got off the spaceship and walked among the bustling crowd.
When Star-Lord heard Gamora mention criminals, he became more concerned.
"There are many outlaws on my planet!"
Thinking about the environment he came from, Star-Lord figured Gamora was just trying to scare him, so he brushed it off.
Then Gamora took them to a bar called *Jermaiah's Boots Bar*.
Looking at the bar, it had a strong cyberpunk vibe.
"Is your buyer there?" Star-Lord asked Gamora, curious to know more.
Gamora replied, "We'll wait for his agent here."
So it turned out they were meeting the buyer's agent — not the buyer himself.
Before they reached the door, someone was thrown out of the bar.
Drax sighed: "This is a filthy place where people live a life of drunkenness and debauchery."
Then came his doubt: "What serious business can we do in there?"
Gamora ignored him and entered the bar first.
Inside, a roar of noise filled the space. A crowd was packed around a large gambling table in the center, shouting and cheering wildly.
And Drax — who had just complained — was now part of the shouting crowd.
Rocket and Groot were also caught up in the frenzy, completely immersed.
Only Gamora and Star-Lord remained detached.
Star-Lord walked to the railing outside and found Gamora standing alone, deep in thought. Unsure how to start a conversation, he tried a casual line:
"Refueling their spacecraft is so expensive here! I've already lost money before I've even made any."
Then he stood beside her, both of them gazing at the stars.
Gamora didn't question his excuse and simply said, "My contact asked us to wait here."
Sensing an opportunity to talk, Star-Lord said: "This is the bargaining strategy. Believe me, I'm the best at it."
Then he leaned on the railing and glanced at Gamora: "And what you're good at is: 'Raid! Raid!'"
Star-Lord was teasing Gamora for being a little too intense.
Gamora chuckled and explained: "My father didn't teach me how to deal with people."
"Thanos?" Star-Lord asked.
The relaxed atmosphere shattered. Gamora's face went cold and serious. "He is not my father."
From her reaction, Star-Lord realized she loathed Thanos and didn't press further.
Gamora shared more of her past:
"Thanos took my home and killed my parents in front of me. He tortured me and turned me into a killer."
"When he said he'd destroy a planet for Ronan, I couldn't bear it anymore."
She shook her head slightly, her expression impossible to read.
Gamora stopped there, but Star-Lord already understood why she left Thanos.
Then Gamora noticed the music player on Star-Lord's waist.
"Why would you fight for this player?"
She took it from him.
Star-Lord replied, "My mother gave it to me."
"My mom shared all her favorite songs with me when I was a kid, and I happened to have it with me at the time, right there..."
He began to choke up. "That day, she..."
Not wanting to revisit the saddest moment of his life, he quickly changed the subject: "That day, I left Earth."
He gently took the player back and clipped it to his waist.
"What do you use it for?" Gamora asked.
"Use it for? Just music. Dancing."
Star-Lord answered, then took a step closer to her. Their connection seemed to grow with every word.
"I'm a warrior, a killer," Gamora said. "I don't dance."
She was testing him.
"Really? On my planet, there's a legend about people like you," Star-Lord said.
"It's called 'Full of Strength.'"
"In the story, there's a great hero named Kevin Bacon. Everyone in his town was uptight, so he taught them to dance."
"So, he's really amazing."
Star-Lord sounded confident, but deep down, he was nervous. He had just made it all up.
Gamora didn't call him out. Instead, she asked a follow-up question — catching him off guard.
Star-Lord stammered, trying to cover for himself.
Then he took the headphones from around his neck and placed them on Gamora's ears, letting her hear the music of Earth.
As she listened, her heart seemed to soften...
Clang!
The sound of a blade being drawn cut through the moment.
Gamora had unsheathed her knife and held it to Star-Lord's neck.
With a mix of confusion and anger, she snapped, "No!!!"
Star-Lord froze. "Whoa! What are you doing?"
"I know what kind of man you are, Peter Quill," Gamora said firmly. "And I'm not some naive girl falling for your... your..."
She struggled for words before spitting out: "Your sweet talk!"
"You must've misunderstood me," Star-Lord said quietly.
Gamora lowered her knife and let him stand. The moment was over — for now.
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