2014

Pepper and Peggy chatted all night.

Meanwhile, Tony and Banner explained to Steve what had happened in Asgard not long ago.

"Why didn’t you call me when Asgard was in danger?"

After hearing Tony and Banner’s account, Steve spoke with some disappointment.

"We didn’t deliberately keep it from you."

"It was just that, at the time, you were sweetly enjoying your honeymoon with Miss Peggy."

"We had no idea how long it would take to go to Asgard and fend off Malekith’s invasion, so we didn’t disturb you."

Seeing Steve’s disappointed expression, Banner knew Steve might have thought they considered him weak, so he earnestly explained.

"If we’d really called you and waited for you to return from Europe—"

"During those few hours of delay, Malekith would have already invaded Asgard."

"By the time we arrived in Asgard, we wouldn’t even have had time to sit down before the battle broke out, and we barely had any intelligence."

Tony glanced at Steve and spoke.

"Fine. But if there’s ever a war related to Earth in the future, make sure to call me."

After hearing Tony’s words, Steve also understood that some wars erupted incredibly quickly.

Not every war was like the New York War, with ample intelligence and time to prepare.

"I know you want to see other worlds, show off your strength, and contribute, but going to Asgard isn’t exactly comfortable."

"You only get three meals a day. You could say you go hungry twice a day."

"Banner and I nearly starved to death."

Tony spoke after hearing that.

"Only three meals a day? Is it really that terrifying?"

After hearing Tony say that, Steve’s desire to uphold justice instantly diminished quite a bit.

In the past, he wouldn’t have cared how many meals he ate a day.

But after joining the Void Cult, in order to grow stronger and catch up with Tony, who had gotten an early start, as well as Banner, whose starting point was far ahead of his—

Steve ate not merely five meals a day, but seven.

Based on the few days Tony had spent in Asgard, Steve wouldn’t just be going hungry twice a day, but four times. Just thinking about it terrified him.

"But it was also because of that trip to Asgard."

"If I ever fight in another world as the away side in the future, I’ll definitely bring enough food."

Tony nodded after hearing that and spoke.

There had been nothing wrong with Asgard’s hospitality. They served three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the food was very lavish.

It was simply that three meals a day were clearly too few for members of the Void Cult.

Going hungry wouldn’t reduce their usual strength, but in a comfortable environment where they could clearly eat more, being forced to go hungry was an extremely unbearable feeling.

So even if Thor had not immediately given them an answer about whether he would lend them the Reality Stone, the two of them would have asked Thor to send them back to Earth sooner.

"Then how’s the food on Xandar?"

Steve asked curiously after hearing Tony’s words.

"The Void Cult’s headquarters is on Xandar, so Xandar counts as home ground rather than an away game."

"As for food, it’s even better than on Earth. There are different delicacies from all kinds of planets."

"There are over a hundred top chefs alone, and different food is served every day. It almost never repeats."

"And the evolution energy provided by that food is greater too, which can speed up evolution."

"As for the environment…"

Tony immediately became interested upon hearing Steve’s question and began talking at length, but Steve interrupted him before he could finish.

"Tony, stop. If you keep going, I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist wanting to go into space with you."

Hearing that there were different delicacies every day that could accelerate evolution, Steve also felt a longing rise within him and hurriedly interrupted Tony.

"You don’t need to rush. Void Island is currently in a stage of development."

"It’ll only get better in the future. Once you arrive at the Void Cult’s Void Island, you’ll be able to enjoy all of it."

Tony smiled and spoke.

The three of them chatted all night, but neither Banner nor Tony told Steve about the Reality Stone.

Steve could not act together with them for the time being, and they had not yet reached the stage of researching the Reality Stone.

So it was better to keep the Reality Stone hidden for now.

After all, the best way to protect the Reality Stone was for as few people as possible to know about it.

Tony, Pepper, Steve, Peggy, and Banner spent a pleasant New Year on Tony’s Private Island.

After the New Year, by early February 2014—

Tony did not remain on Earth for long. After kissing Pepper goodbye—

Tony took Banner aboard the Cosmic Battleship and headed for Xandar.

Once aboard the Cosmic Battleship, Banner was in a state of intense excitement mixed with nervousness.

Although he had already been to the divine realm of Asgard and witnessed the technology of an alien civilization—

Last time, he had been directly teleported through the Bifrost and arrived in an instant.

But this time, he was riding the Cosmic Battleship he had long wanted to board, traveling with Tony through one wormhole after another and crossing countless light-years toward Xandar.

Just over ten hours later, Banner saw a massive planet. In the orbital space around it, he could clearly see one Cosmic Battleship after another.

There was also what appeared to be an artificially constructed star ring, looking incomparably spectacular.

"It would be great if Earth had technology like this someday."

Looking at the enormous technological star ring, Banner’s eyes widened as he spoke hopefully.

"As long as we study hard and lead humanity forward, we’ll have all of this."

Tony smiled after hearing Banner’s words.

To scientists from underdeveloped civilizations, Xandar was practically a dreamlike scientific paradise.

In theory, the Kree Empire should have been a paradise as well, but during his years in the universe, Tony had heard plenty about the Kree launching attacks and invasions against other planets.

The Xandar Empire, on the other hand, did more to protect different planets.

Although its laws were also very strict, as long as one did not violate them, Xandar’s military would not interfere at all. It was a very free planet.

Tony’s Cosmic Battleship followed the space lane forward. After its identity was verified, it successfully entered Xandar.

At that time, it was still early morning on Xandar as Tony’s Cosmic Battleship streaked across the sky.

Before long, Banner saw a bustling island that looked almost like a city.

"That’s Void Island. There aren’t many rules on the island, but there are still some. I’ll give you a proper introduction in a moment."

Tony introduced it to Banner.

Banner’s eyes shone as he looked at the island, which covered several hundred square kilometers.

With Tony’s Cosmic Battleship returning, some members of the Void Cult on Void Island recognized the owner of the vessel.

"Tycoon Tony Stark is back?"

"This time, he wasn’t gone for very long. It seems like only about half a year."

"Maybe he just went back to visit his hometown."

Though it was early morning, many Void Cult members had already gathered in the cafeteria.

They did not go over to watch. Given Tony Stark’s personality, he would usually hold a grand banquet that night after returning.

So they would find out that evening what Tony Stark had gone back to his hometown to do.

Tony’s Cosmic Battleship flew directly back to his Laboratory Zone. As the ship’s doors opened—

"Banner, welcome to my laboratory."

"From now on, this will be your laboratory too."

Tony spread his arms and smiled.

"This entire place belongs to you?"

Banner’s eyes widened at the sight of the Laboratory Zone, so vast that even the parking area stretched beyond sight.

"Lord Kassadin let me freely design the plans for the laboratory."

"I considered the possibility of recruiting more research talent in the future, as well as the need to house all kinds of technological research equipment."

"So I asked for more space, just in case."

"Come on. Before I show you around the laboratory, I’ll take you around the island first."

"And I need to let Miss Sarah know that I’m back."

Tony nodded and smiled.

Banner also wanted to take a look around the island first, so he did not refuse.

Tony first took Banner to the Records Temple.

"This temple is called the Records Temple. You can call Miss Sarah the Recorder. She is responsible for recording the comings and goings of the other Void Cult members on the island."

Tony stood outside the temple with Banner and gave him an explanation before walking straight inside.

When Banner followed him in, he saw a beautiful and sexy red-haired mature woman, and a flash of amazement passed through his eyes.

"Lord Tony, you’re back from Earth."

"You returned earlier than the recorded date."

"Did you finish your business on Earth so quickly?"

Sarah looked up, recognized the visitor, and smiled.

"Yeah, I finished handling everything. Research is more efficient on Xandar."

"So I came back. Besides, I brought another member of the Void Cult with me this time."

Tony smiled in response.

Then Tony noticed that Banner seemed to be dazing off, so he bumped Banner with his shoulder.

"Hello, my name is Bruce Banner. I’m also from Earth."

Banner snapped back to his senses after Tony nudged him and politely introduced himself.

"So you’re Lord Bruce Banner."

"Hello, my name is Sarah."

After hearing Banner’s words, Sarah showed a charming smile and spoke in a pleasant voice.

At the same time, she recorded Bruce Banner’s name.

"Hello."

Seeing how approachable Sarah was despite being such a stunning beauty, Banner replied somewhat awkwardly.

"I’ll be holding a banquet tonight. We can chat properly then."

"We’ll be leaving now."

Watching Banner react like a block of wood, Tony felt embarrassed on his behalf, so he spoke directly.

"All right. I’ll definitely attend the banquet hosted by Lord Tony."

Sarah smiled after hearing that.