Celebration, Memory Hammer

At night, the Earth forces and Sovereign forces were celebrating enthusiastically. Having witnessed the strength of Earthlings, the Sovereign had set aside their arrogance and raised their glasses with the Earthlings.

Today was indeed worth celebrating. Not only had they defeated the Kree Empire’s main legion, they had also destroyed the Supreme Intelligence. It was nothing short of a miracle among miracles.

"These Nose-Hole People are so stuck-up even when celebrating. They act like drinking with us is some great honor they’re granting us. So annoying."

Rocket cursed irritably as he poured liquor into his mouth. Everyone nodded in agreement. These Sovereign really were unbearable.

"It’s already good enough that they’re willing to clink glasses with us. We’re primitive lifeforms, after all."

Star-Lord said with a dark expression. He had just tried to hit on a golden girl and received the same treatment as Tony Stark.

"That’s what you call a celebration over on Earth. Over here, the Sovereign are basically holding a banquet, and the kind of banquet boring enough to suffocate you."

Rocket’s eyes spun as he pulled a small bottle from somewhere on his body. "This is a special alcohol I got from some planet. No matter who drinks even a drop, they’ll get completely wasted. Should we add some to the Sovereign’s drinks?"

Star-Lord hesitated. "The Sovereign care a lot about appearances. Once they sober up, they’ll tear us to pieces."

"So what? We’ve got the Blood God backing us. I can’t wait to see what they look like drunk."

Rocket could not be bothered to waste more words. Like a rat, he stealthily slipped toward the Sovereign. Star-Lord and the others hesitated, but did not stop him. On the one hand, they also wanted to see the Sovereign drunk. On the other, with the Blood God protecting them, they were not afraid of causing trouble.

The Blood God was a terrifying being who could even kill the Supreme Intelligence. What were the Sovereign compared to that? In a Xandar Express warehouse, Tony Stark looked at the various high-tech instruments inside and said unhappily, "Bert, you should have let me help move these. You people have no idea which ones are more important."

"We don’t know, but you do? I have Ronan’s memories over here."

Wang Bert said irritably, "Forget that. You and Ivan should take these back and study them carefully to improve Earth’s technology."

"No problem."

Both Tony and Ivan nodded excitedly. Then Ivan noticed a small black hammer engraved with Kree writing at Wang Bert’s waist and asked, "Is that one of your spoils?"

"Yes. I took it from the research institute too. Touching it can erase someone’s memories. Better yet, you can set the duration, and their memories can be easily restored afterward."

Wang Bert smiled. "For example, if I screw you over someday, I can erase one day of your memories. Then you won’t remember it."

"That’s good stuff."

Tony and Ivan’s eyes lit up. Tony said, "Lend it to me for a few days so I can study it."

"Maybe later."

Wang Bert shook his head. "I’m considering whether to erase Thor and Loki’s memories and make them fall in love as strangers. With the ‘bond’ between them, without their old memories, they would definitely become a couple."

"You really are a demon, to come up with something like that."

Tony and Ivan complained at the same time. Wang Bert shrugged. "Forget it. There’s something I need your help with."

Ivan asked, "What is it?"

Wang Bert projected the Supreme Machine before them and explained the situation. Tony and Ivan’s breathing immediately quickened, not because of the Supreme Machine itself, but because of the Antimatter Reactor inside it.

Tony immediately said, "Bert, give the Supreme Machine to me. Within three months, I guarantee it’ll obediently listen to you."

"If the Supreme Machine falls into your hands, it’ll just turn into a sissy."

Ivan sneered. "Bert, let me handle it. I swear on the honor of my fighting people that it will be as mighty and masculine as before."

Tony mocked, "You vodka-swilling lunatic who drinks in the workshop every day thinks you can handle something this dangerous? If you handle it, Earth might be gone."

"What’s the problem? We can handle it on Xandar."

Ivan said carelessly, "Besides, at most I’ll break a few parts. When have I ever caused a major problem?"

"Does Xandar have some grudge against you? Why are you trying to harm it?"

Tony complained. Looking at the two men locked in a confrontation, Wang Bert rubbed his chin. Should he give them each a hammer? Wang Bert said, "Study it together. This is not something to take lightly. I’ll be there while you research it."

Ivan and Tony exchanged a look and nodded unhappily. Tony said, "Fine. I’ll make time to come study it. Things have been very busy on Earth and Resource Star lately."

Wang Bert casually asked, "Everything going smoothly?"

"Very smoothly. We’ve established the first settlement on Resource Star and repelled the monsters’ attack."

Tony said excitedly, "Also, the crop cultivation technology we bought from the universe has been successfully tested. We’re confident that within a few years, Earth’s food production can increase tenfold. By then, no one on Earth will ever go hungry again."

"Really? That’s great news."

Wang Bert said happily, and Ivan nodded as well. Food was the people’s heaven. No matter the era, food was always the most important thing.

"Of course it’s true. Sufficient food, cheap energy, all kinds of era-defining technologies, plus the City Circle Project, Super Highway, super skyscrapers, intelligent robots… Earth’s future will only get better and better. Also, within five years, the Earth Federation will definitely be truly established."

Tony said with longing, "Then Earth can truly begin its journey into the Sea of Stars."

"I hope that day comes soon."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. Thinking of something, he said, "Sovereign has a special technology. Do you want to bring it to Earth?"

Tony asked, "What technology?"

"Skin color alteration technology. White, black, yellow, red, purple, blue—any color can be changed."

Wang Bert said, "Lizard Doctor has examined it. This technology is very safe, basically equivalent to cosmetic surgery, and it does not affect genes. With Earth’s capabilities, you’ll master it soon enough."

"Changing skin color?"

Tony and Ivan were both stunned. Tony rubbed his chin and said, "This technology should help with Earth’s internal conflicts. Best of all, it lets people become all kinds of colors."

Wang Bert nodded. "All right. I’ll have Lizard Doctor make a copy of the technology for you to take back."

Tony glanced at Wang Bert and said hesitantly, "Bert, that Lizard Doctor is very dangerous. You need to be careful."

Ivan rarely agreed with Tony. He said, "Even if something goes wrong with me, I’ll at most destroy a few cities. If something goes wrong with that Lizard Doctor, humanity could be wiped out in minutes."

Tony complained, "You know you might cause problems?"

"Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on Lizard Doctor."

Wang Bert said, "Tony, there’s something else I need to tell you. It’s fine for you to develop intelligent robots, but robots and intelligent systems must never develop a sense of self."

Before Tony could say anything, Wang Bert briefly explained what had happened with the Supreme Intelligence, then said, "Tony, this is no joke. In fact, many planets in the universe explicitly prohibit research into robots with self-awareness."

"Actually, I’ve recently been thinking about creating a super-intelligent system to control the Drone Armor legion. There are more and more Drone Armors, and Jarvis is gradually finding it difficult to keep up."

Tony fell silent for a moment, then said, "I’ll put this project on hold until I can be one hundred percent certain it’s safe."

"Good."

Wang Bert nodded. Earth’s situation was looking excellent now, and with him protecting it, Tony was not as anxious or radical as he had been in the movies.

After discussing business, Wang Bert asked Tony, "Want to take a look around Sovereign? Maybe you’ll find a drunk golden girl and heal your wounded heart?"

"Would I, Tony Stark, need to pick up women that way? Hmph. You should take this bastard instead, so he stops staring at other people’s girlfriends all day."

Tony gave Wang Bert the middle finger and returned to Earth with some of the Kree instruments.

Wang Bert shrugged and said to Ivan, "Ivan, you should find a woman and continue the Vanko Family line. Old Master Vanko is so anxious that he’s preparing to set you up on blind dates."

"Me, Ivan Vanko, going on blind dates?"

Ivan snorted. "Come on, let’s return to Sovereign. We should still make it in time for the celebration. I’m going to have a drinking contest with Thor."

"Sure. Oh, and don’t reveal that I’m back. From now on, I’ll act under Gladiator’s identity."

Wang Bert gave him that instruction, attached himself to Gladiator’s body, and then returned to Sovereign with Ivan.

The moment they arrived at the celebration square, Wang Bert and Ivan froze. There was actually a massive brawl going on. Plates, food, table legs, chairs, and liquor were scattered everywhere.

The usually refined Sovereign, who always carried themselves like aristocrats, were now drunkenly using tables and chairs to brawl with Earthlings. The scene was incomparably fierce and lively.

"Hahaha, I’ve wanted to fight like this for ages! Hiding behind the control console every day was boring me to death."

"More than boring—it made me want to puke. I have to take medicine every time I get into a machine, or I can’t control it at all."

"I don’t want to be a guard anymore. Being a guard is so boring. Every day, I stand at the door counting ants."

"I don’t want to be a maid anymore. The High Priest scolds people every day and glares at me. Why do I have to be a maid? I want to be the High Priest."

"I don’t want to be a gardener. I want to be a driver, an experienced driver."

As they fought the Earthlings, the Sovereign loudly roared out all the frustrations buried in their hearts.

"What the hell do your dreams have to do with us? We’ll beat the crap out of you Nose-Hole People."

The Earthlings were furious. They had been drinking peacefully when these Nose-Hole People suddenly came over looking for trouble. If they did not beat them up, the Sovereign would not know why flowers were so red.

"What is going on?"

Wang Bert and Ivan were dumbfounded. Did the Sovereign really have such terrible drunken behavior?

Wait, that was not right. Weren’t the Sovereign supposed to have no sense of self or emotions? Why did they suddenly seem so human?

"Blood God, Blood God, where are you? I want to fall in love with you. I want to be like the heroine and say to you, ‘Only when mountains crumble and heaven and earth unite would I dare part from you’…"

At that moment, Minister of Foreign Affairs Michelle held a bottle of liquor as she drank and searched everywhere for the Blood God. Wang Bert immediately pretended not to know her. Was that romance novel really this effective? Wang Bert did not want to hear lines like, "You’re heartless, you’re cold, you’re being unreasonable."

Annie walked over to Wang Bert and said, "Master, the one called Rocket secretly added alcohol to the Sovereign’s drinks, causing all the Sovereign to get drunk."

"Is that so?"

Wang Bert thought for a moment and said, "It seems the Sovereign’s genetic modification was not perfect. It did not erase their sense of self, only suppress it. It normally does not show, but when they get drunk, their true nature comes out."

"Genetic modification violates the laws of nature."

Annie shook her head, faint flames flickering in her eyes. Ivan glanced at her warily and said, "Bert, I’m going to have some fun. It’s been a long time since things were this lively."

Wang Bert smiled. "No problem. Pick up a golden girl while you’re at it. Tony will be very jealous."

"That works for me."

Ivan grinned, grabbed a bottle of liquor from the side, and headed toward the liveliest area while drinking.

A Sovereign saw Ivan and rushed over, intending to hit him. Ivan sneered and kicked the man flying three meters away. Though he was a scientist, his combat ability was not weak at all.

A fighting people who had also cultivated qi—did they look like a joke? Shuri, her face flushed red, saw Ivan and immediately staggered over. "Uncle, you’re here. Let’s drink together."

Ivan laughed heartily. "That’s the spirit. A woman who can drink is a good woman. Come, drink."

"What kind of standard is that?"

Wang Bert shook his head and asked Annie, "Where’s Rocket?"

"It slipped away to the back to steal things during the chaos."

Annie said, "Blood God, that little raccoon is too good at causing trouble. I suggest you fire it."

"It was just a prank. Its nature is still good."

Wang Bert shook his head unconcernedly. At that moment, Thor’s booming voice suddenly rang out. "Carol, dare you come out and fight?"

"I’ve wanted to teach you a lesson for a long time."

Along with Carol’s voice, two figures shot into the sky and began fiercely battling overhead. The people below cheered wildly, watching the spectacle while betting on who would win.

"Carol, go! Beat Thor into a pig’s head!"

Wang Bert shouted. This celebration was even livelier than he had expected. Thinking of something, he asked, "With things this out of hand, isn’t High Priestess Ayesha going to do anything?"

"High Priestess Ayesha is drunk too."

Annie pointed toward the flower beds. Wang Bert turned to look and found High Priestess Ayesha drinking there. Worth mentioning was that her skin was now yellow—the same yellow as Wang Bert’s.

"That woman kept saying she would never change her noble color, but the moment the battle ended today, she went to change it."

Annie sneered. "Master, she obviously wants to seduce you."

Wang Bert smiled. "When a man is handsome, people are bound to covet him."

Annie said frankly, "No, Master. She just wants your genes and protection."

"You’re going to get fired if you keep this up."

Wang Bert complained. At that moment, High Priestess Ayesha shouted, "I really want to find someone to study the science of natural reproduction with. I have to do everything as well as possible, as perfectly as possible. I’m so annoyed. The pressure is unbearable."

"So that’s what kind of High Priest you are."

Wang Bert was speechless. Star-Lord, who was nearby, immediately rushed over and shouted, "I can study this science with you. I’m very proficient."

High Priestess Ayesha glanced at Star-Lord and mocked, "A lower lifeform like you is not qualified to study with me."

"How am I lower? I’m a noble Earthling."

Star-Lord shouted angrily. Just then, a chair smashed hard into his head. He swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground with a bang.

Gamora tossed away the chair, dragged Star-Lord backward, and said, "You’re only half Earthling."

Wang Bert could not help laughing. He rubbed his chin. Should he make a sacrifice for science?