Alien, Predator, Interstellar

At a luxury hotel in Bucharest, Duke stuffed himself silly, then took his keycard and prepared to get a good night’s sleep. He acted just like a genuine tourist—eating, drinking, and having fun as he pleased—leaving the agents watching him utterly speechless. They complained that their superiors were making a mountain out of a molehill.

But rank was everything!

To avoid being transferred to the Arctic to look for penguins and ** during their lifetimes, they chose to endure in silence.

The Avengers ultimately backed down. Before figuring out Duke’s purpose, they did not dare act rashly. If Duke really was merely passing through, would their relentless behavior not needlessly make an enemy of a potential powerhouse?

After Steve and Stark discussed the matter, they reported the whole incident to their superiors and then enthusiastically resumed their civil war. If the sky fell, the committee would hold it up. They decided to keep their feet on the ground and take things one step at a time. The first step was taking down those idiots on the other side.

That night!

Duke fell asleep in his room on the hotel’s top floor. When he woke up and opened his eyes again, he had arrived in the Unknown Space. As his strength grew greater, his awe of the Unknown Space deepened as well. The Space Stone had told him that the barriers between worlds were far harder to breach than he had imagined. Yet the Unknown Space could effortlessly shatter those barriers. The Dukes did not even need to do anything; all they had to do was sleep.

The Unknown Space was just as lively today, with three more newcomers joining the group. However, none of the Dukes seemed particularly enthusiastic. They hesitated, their faces full of disgust.

Marvel Duke immediately got angry. Every Duke was himself from the depths of his soul, closer than brothers. What was with those disgusted expressions? Did they have to start fighting before they would be happy? What good came from brothers fighting each other?

As he thought this, Marvel Duke saw the three newcomers. His expression changed again and again in an instant before finally settling into… utter disgust.

Even without receiving their memories, he could guess who these three newcomers were. Their appearances were far too recognizable—so recognizable that one could identify their species just by looking at their faces…

Species!?

That was right. These three Dukes were not human! Nor were they animals!

The Dukes surrounded the first creature on the left with disgusted expressions, pointing and commenting as they watched.

The creature was grayish-brown all over and looked much like an upright dinosaur. It had four legs, a long tail, and an enormous head. If it were painted entirely white, it could probably cosplay Frieza’s third form.

Its front two legs were vastly different from its rear two legs. It could run on all fours or stand upright on its hind legs. The most terrifying part was its head: long and pointed, with a frightening face. Two rows of pale teeth protruded from its mouth. As they opened and closed slightly, a long inner jaw emerged… a tongue lined with teeth!

"I bet a thousand bucks this guy is an Alien. Anyone want to take me up on it?"

"We’re not blind. Of course we can tell."

"I can barely accept transmigrating into an Alien, but what’s with the one beside him? Why is there also a Predator version of me? Can the same world be transmigrated into twice?"

Everyone looked toward Predator Duke in the middle. Beneath his unmasked head was an incomparably ugly face. The form-fitting suit of gleaming golden armor he wore showed that he possessed extremely high status in his species’ society.

"Alien Sentinel!"

"Predator Hunter!"

The two creatures, whose appearances had fallen beyond all hope and dragged the Dukes’ collective looks down by fifty percent, introduced themselves before falling into a silent staring contest. One bared its teeth while the other pulled back its lips, their gazes brimming with malice. They looked ready to start brawling at any moment.

"Don’t get worked up. We’re all on the same side. Fighting would look bad!"

"You two shouldn’t even be from the same world. There’s no reason for you to go at each other!"

"Exchange memories, and everything will become clear."

"…"

The Dukes hurriedly stepped forward to stop them. If they really started fighting, sulfuric acid would be splashing everywhere. How could they keep having their gathering then? Fortunately, Alien Duke and Predator Duke were more restrained than they had imagined. Surrounded by the crowd, they separated.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. After so many transmigrations, this was the first time a racial conflict had appeared. Then they looked at the final newcomer and could not help sighing. There was no ugliest, only uglier.

"Interstellar! Zerg! Hydralisk!" The infamous alien species of the universe, Hydralisk Duke introduced himself concisely before adding, "I’m not ugly. I’m badass!"

All the Dukes rolled their eyes. Hydralisk Duke looked somewhat similar to the Alien. Beneath his thick carapace were countless spine-like bone plates. His exposed muscle tissue was exceptionally powerful, and one look told them he possessed tremendous explosive strength. But his appearance had absolutely nothing to do with being badass. This guy simply did not fit human standards of beauty.

"He really is pretty badass!" Alien Duke said.

"Not bad at all!" Predator Duke said.

"…" The Dukes from the other worlds looked at one another, unsure how to communicate with the newcomers. With different worldviews, how could they play happily together?

"Anyway, let’s exchange memories first! Something major happened on my end recently, involving the Space Stone. You need to take a good look." Duke from the Marvel World took the lead, pulling the three newcomers over to begin exchanging memories.

After the memory fusion was complete, Alien Duke and Predator Duke immediately began fighting on the spot. Everyone shook their heads and sighed in unison. Their memories were filled with scenes of slaughtering each other’s species. It would have been stranger if they had not fought.

In terms of pure strength, the three new Dukes could only be considered ordinary. Moreover, the highly distinctive ways they fought could not be learned by the Dukes from other worlds.

Take Alien Duke, for example. This guy’s greatest skill was sticking out his tongue. How was anyone supposed to learn that?

Still, they were not entirely useless. Perception, stealth, concealing their presence, tracking, hunting, traps… these three neither-human-nor-ghost oddities had maxed out every hunter skill. Hydralisk Duke in particular had been personally received by the Queen of Blades because of his outstanding military achievements, according to his memories…

Though there was plenty to mock, that also proved that his hunting ability was truly second to none.

"The Space Stone can only travel within the Marvel Multiverse. It looks like this is the only place we can meet!"

"If Western divine artifacts won’t work, let’s try Eastern ones. I remember reading Primordial Era novels before. There was an Innate Spirit Treasure that could freely travel through time and space, but I can’t remember its name… Kunlun Mirror or Haotian Mirror?"

"Primordial Era!?"

"Didn’t the power level suddenly jump way too high?"

"Don’t be stupid. Marvel is not much safer than the Primordial Era. You just haven’t noticed it on Earth."

"…"

Soul Society! Seireitei!

After waking up, Duke muttered about how unreliable last night had been. The Unknown Space was becoming more and more unrestrained. Who knew what kind of strange species would show up next time?

After tidying himself up, he followed behind Retsu Unohana to attend today’s captain’s meeting. It was said that Captain Commander Yamamoto was going to announce a major matter concerning Squad 10’s new captain.

The former captain, Isshin Shiba, had gone missing during a mission in the Human World. After many twists and turns, the Gotei 13 had still failed to find any trace of him. It was as if he had vanished into thin air, leaving behind not a single useful clue.

Captains were an important fighting force in the Soul Society, and Squad 10, responsible for patrols and security, was especially vital. The Seireitei could not keep waiting for Isshin Shiba forever, so appointing a new captain was only natural.

"Captain, how long will today’s meeting last?" Duke carefully asked Retsu Unohana ahead of him.

"Why? Are you in a hurry?" Retsu Unohana turned around with a smiling expression.

"Iba became the vice-captain of the 7th Division and invited me to celebrate with him. You know how long Captain Commander’s meetings usually last. I’m afraid the celebration will already be over by the time I get there."

"If that’s what you’re worried about, then you needn’t be."

"How so?"

"Although the captains’ meeting has little to do with you, none of the vice-captains may be absent. Your friend is no exception."

After Retsu Unohana finished speaking, she and Duke encountered Captain Kuchiki, who had recently taken office as captain of the 6th Division, and his vice-captain, Renji Abarai, at a corner.

"Captain Kuchiki!"

"Captain Unohana! Vice-Captain Duke!"

The moment the redhead saw Duke, he shuddered. Ever since he had offended Duke back then, every time he went to Squad 4 for treatment, he received an enthusiastic welcome. His injuries would be healed, but somehow there was never any painkiller available. What was going on? Was Squad 4’s barracks some resource-starved front line?

A man had to bow his head under another’s roof! On someone else’s turf, Renji decisively chose to admit defeat.

Because of the shadow cast by Squad 4, he did everything he could to avoid getting injured in battle. This misfortune turned into a blessing, and his personal strength improved at rocket-like speed. As his skills improved, the chances of injury naturally dropped sharply, and he had not seen Duke for a long time.

"Well, if it isn’t Vice-Captain Abarai? Long time since you came by for a visit!" The two captains walked in front, while Duke and the redhead walked side by side behind them.

"Hehe! Busy, busy…"