Allen: Actually, I’m Your Mother

Shi’ar Empire, border Star Gate control point.

A gigantic creature resembling both a centipede and a snake, with a body nearly one hundred thousand meters long, drifted through the vast starry expanse.

Inside the space station responsible for maintaining the Star Gate, the staff immediately discovered the incoming beast.

In fact, the radar had detected it from far away; it was simply too enormous to miss.

"Could it be a cosmic beast?" the station chief asked in horror.

There were indeed giant beasts capable of living in space, but none had ever been so massive.

Moreover, cosmic beasts usually lingered outside the territories controlled by cosmic civilizations, their whereabouts highly unpredictable.

"Chief, the beast is heading for the Star Gate. Should we close it to prevent it from passing through?" the deputy suggested.

"Don’t interfere. We’ll just report this."

The station chief clearly did not want to provoke the beast. Otherwise, everyone in the station might be buried here.

Yet things often went against one’s wishes.

Just as everyone held their breath, the Starship Bug’s side carapace opened, and tens of thousands of soldier bugs flapped their wings as they rushed toward the space station.

"Defensive positions!"

"Request Imperial reinforcements immediately!"

The sight filled every staff member with terror.

The defensive barrier activated instantly, and an energy shield enveloped the space station.

They hoped to buy time with it and wait for the Shi’ar Empire’s forces to arrive and suppress the threat.

The Three Great Cosmic Empires attached extraordinary importance to Star Gates. These convenient passages spread across most star systems and constituted a significant source of revenue. They would never tolerate any force showing designs on them; otherwise, it would face a devastating strike.

This represented the authority the Three Great Empires held over travel throughout the universe.

Among second-tier cosmic civilizations, only a very small number of top civilizations possessed interstellar voyage technology capable of expanding beyond their borders. For most, merely mastering warp travel was already remarkable.

Boom!

The Starship Bug spat out a high-concentration azure corrosive beam, striking directly at the space station.

The energy shield successfully blocked the corrosive beam, but the azure corrosive liquid clung to its surface, releasing thick white smoke as it continuously ate away at the shield.

"Increase energy output! The shield absolutely cannot break!"

The station chief roared his orders hysterically.

Through the video feed, they saw countless hideous insect soldiers, each roughly the size of an elephant, continuously squeezing and biting at the isolation shield, trying to breach the defenses and slaughter their way into the space station.

"Deploy the weapons systems! Eliminate the enemy quickly!"

The space station’s rudimentary defensive weapons consisted of two high-rate plasma cannons.

In an instant, dense ion energy rounds poured forth.

Clearly, the insect soldiers’ bodies could not withstand energy weapon attacks. Their advantage lay in their numbers and tenacious vitality.

As long as a soldier bug’s heart and head remained intact, it retained its full combat ability even after losing limbs.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The Starship Bug fired three corrosive beams in succession, finally blasting a huge hole through the space station’s shield.

The next moment, countless soldier bugs poured in through the breach.

At the same time, the same scene unfolded at space stations maintaining Star Gates elsewhere.

The Three Great Cosmic Empires received numerous distress signals. Faced with this sudden assault, they were somewhat caught off guard. This was a blatant challenge to the authority of the cosmic empires.

Of course, after receiving news that many space stations had fallen, the Three Great Cosmic Empires did not immediately launch rescue efforts. Instead, they first chose to communicate among their top leadership to determine the origin of the incident.

The ruler of the Shi’ar Empire was Swordmaster.

The ruler of the Kree Empire was the Supreme Intelligence.

The ruler of the Skrull Empire was the Skrull Queen.

The three parties held a video conference.

The Skrull Queen was the first to state her position. "The Skrull Empire has no intention of starting a war. We are also victims in this matter. Based on the video footage sent back, these appear to be biological weapons. Their technology does not match that of any civilization within our Imperial faction."

"The Shi’ar Empire disdains research into biochemical weapons. I hope none of you are pulling tricks behind our backs," Swordmaster said coldly and confidently.

Swordmaster had always been so confident that he bordered on arrogance. This was mainly because the more confident he was in his own abilities, the stronger he became; if he felt uncertain, his strength would decline.

All races born on Swordplay Star possessed similar abilities, though very few could compare to Swordmaster.

More importantly, one of the Shi’ar Empire’s ace forces consisted of Swordplay Star People. Their terrifying individual combat power made the other two empires deeply wary.

"I suspect an external invasion."

The Supreme Intelligence analyzed emotionlessly, "A database comparison found no cosmic civilization with similar characteristics. It is like a new force that appeared out of nowhere."

Within the territories controlled by the Three Great Empires, it was not difficult to collect information on the civilizations belonging to one another’s factions.

After all, the three sides conducted trade with each other, making it easy for spies to infiltrate and obtain intelligence.

"Could an ancient empire be making a move?" the Skrull Queen asked warily.

"Unlikely."

The Supreme Intelligence refuted her. "Based on the footage, this should be a naturally evolved biological race, while the ancient empires were purely technological civilizations. A thousand-odd years would not have been enough to develop a mature biological weapons system."

"No matter who is behind this, I, Swordmaster, will make them pay."

Swordmaster issued a harsh declaration, clearly determined to follow through.

In his heart, preserving the dignity of the cosmic empires came first.

If this matter could not be resolved satisfactorily, their prestige would inevitably suffer.

Knowhere.

Inside a tavern where bounty hunters gathered.

Suddenly, the mission display projection was taken down, causing widespread dissatisfaction.

"My apologies, everyone."

The bartender stepped forward to explain, "We have just received an announcement from the Three Great Empires. Star Gate travel is prohibited for the time being. Therefore, all missions have been suspended."

"What happened?"

"No comment."

Facing the bounty hunters’ questions, the bartender replied calmly, unwilling to reveal any information for free.

"One bottle of Brilliant Starlight. Don’t open it."

At that moment, Allen sat at the bar and ordered a bottle of premium vintage liquor.

The bartender brought over the drink and said respectfully, "Please enjoy."

"This is for you."

"…"

The bartender gave him a puzzled look. It was the first time a bounty hunter had bought him a drink.

In his impression, bounty hunters hovered on the edge of life and death, earning only a small amount of Energy Credits and living miserable lives. Naturally, they could not possibly be generous enough to treat others to drinks.

"May I ask why?"

The bartender naturally recognized the free-spending Guardians of the Galaxy, so his tone became much friendlier.

"Whenever I see you, I think of my child who was never born," Allen said wistfully.

"That is truly unfortunate, but I still appreciate your kindness."

The bartender gladly accepted the liquor. Its value was equivalent to a month’s salary.

"Dad, did I have an older brother who died before he was born?" Ayesha asked in shock, a trace of sorrow in her eyes. "Can you tell me about him?"

"Silly child, your dad is the president of the Singles’ Self-Reliance Association. I swore to remain pure and chaste for life. How could I possibly marry and have children?"

Allen lovingly stroked Ayesha’s head.

"Then where did I come from?"

Ayesha instantly thought of a crucial question.

You’re a damn single, so how could you have me?

"Actually, I’m your mother," Allen explained with a shameless grin.

The bartender beside them turned livid as he listened.

So the unborn child excuse had just been a way to mess with him.

What was even more infuriating was that he had thanked Allen for it.

"Mother!?"

Ayesha eyed Allen suspiciously from head to toe, then said firmly, "I don’t believe it. Mother definitely isn’t dead. I’m going to find her."

"Looks like I can’t hide it anymore," Allen said, pretending to be troubled.

"So you really were lying to me," Ayesha realized.

"…"