Enemy Confirmed

"Thanos? The one causing destruction on planets all over the place?"

After hearing the intelligence Lacey had provided, Tony directly ignored cosmic entities like Eternity and Annihilus. After all, Lacey had said that they rarely appeared in the world.

"Mm. But whenever he destroyed a planet, he didn’t completely wipe it out. Instead, he purged half of its population."

"What exactly he was pursuing was impossible to know."

"Although I couldn’t understand his actions…"

"Based on Thanos’s nature, the Chitauri, who were crazed and loved conquering and destroying planets, should worship him."

"After all, Thanos was an upgraded version of the Chitauri and also revered the destruction of worlds."

Lacey nodded at those words and spoke.

Hearing this, Tony recalled some of the things Harvey had explained to him before.

By 2017, Blue Planet would face a powerful enemy so formidable that humanity on Blue Planet would need to join forces with aliens from other planets to resist him.

With Odin and Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme, guarding the planet…

Even someone as powerful as Thanos would not dare come and cause trouble. The problem was that Odin and Ancient One would both die.

After the two of them died, if Thanos came to Blue Planet, it would indeed face a formidable enemy that would be difficult to deal with. One careless move, and the entire planet might be destroyed.

"Lacey, thank you for the explanation."

After confirming in his heart that Thanos was likely that great enemy, Tony said nothing about it and merely smiled.

Banner glanced at Tony without saying anything. He also knew that what Miss Lacey had said had confirmed who was behind the Chitauri army.

However, Blue Planet still lacked many things if it wanted to confront a top powerhouse renowned throughout the universe.

"You treated me to such a feast. This is just a small matter."

"Besides, Tony, remember that you’re not only one of the Nine Realms, but also a member of the Void Cult."

Lacey smiled at that.

"Mm. When the Chitauri army returns, I’ll assess the situation and ask you for support."

Tony understood what Lacey meant and nodded.

The successive deaths of Blue Planet’s guardian, God King Odin, and Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme, did not mean there were no other powerful people left to defend the planet.

At the very least, there were still Tony, Banner, and Steve. Thor and Loki counted as well.

Then there was Captain Marvel, whom he had only heard about but had never seen on Blue Planet.

He had Jarvis look into Captain Marvel, and she truly was an extraordinary powerhouse.

Captain Marvel was undoubtedly the main reason Nick Fury, that black bald egg, always acted so arrogantly, as if everyone present had never seen the world.

But honestly, Tony did not understand why Nick Fury always acted like he was the greatest.

Captain Marvel was indeed powerful. After all, she was someone Harvey had specifically mentioned.

But compared to staying on Blue Planet, Captain Marvel had spent decades traveling among other planets and showed almost no sign of returning.

Even if someone killed Nick Fury, based on Captain Marvel’s movements, as long as Nick Fury did not have time to notify her…

Even if Nick Fury died, Captain Marvel might not discover it for ten or twenty years. In the end, his death would simply go unresolved.

Still, Nick Fury could be arrogant if he wanted. It was merely an issue of attitude. As long as he did not go too far, Tony could not be bothered to interfere.

As long as Nick Fury could notify Captain Marvel to return and provide support when Blue Planet encountered a truly powerful enemy, that would be enough.

After that, neither Tony nor Banner mentioned the Nine Realms again, and the group began chatting casually.

After dinner, Tony directly took Banner to the Celebrity Hotel in Xandar City.

Since they had agreed on it, Tony naturally would not be stingy about bringing him here to enjoy himself.

Besides, only after truly relaxing could they devote themselves wholeheartedly to their official work.

However, compared to Tony’s first visit, Banner had never seen anything like this before. The sight of the incomparably luxurious Celebrity Hotel, along with the beautiful women standing throughout the lobby, left him deeply shocked.

Tony directly paid for Banner and explained that he would cover all expenses.

Banner and Tony each moved into separate villas and began living a decadent, emperor-like life.

A week passed quickly.

It was not until Tony called to tell Banner the date that Banner realized an entire week had gone by.

"After experiencing this kind of life, it really makes you want to earn a fortune."

After Banner sobered up and followed Tony out of the Celebrity Hotel, he could not help sighing.

After a week of experiencing it, Banner had not only enjoyed himself with beautiful women but had also spoken at length with the villa manager assigned to him.

He discovered that Tony had been right. These villa managers knew everything, and talking with them always made him feel respected.

The experience and his vanity had both been satisfied to the fullest.

"Once you help me develop the latest propulsion engine, we’ll work together on intelligent AI afterward."

"Money is just a number. You can enjoy this kind of life every day if you want."

Seeing Banner’s satisfied sigh, Tony smiled.

Research was not merely an ideal; it also required motivation.

That was why Tony had brought Banner to Xandar and immediately let him experience this, giving Banner greater hopes and motivation for the future.

That would allow Banner to enter a better working state.

"Mm. Once I go back, I’ll see what I need to learn and then help you."

Banner nodded.

Before joining the Void Cult and gaining control over the Hulk Power within him, Banner would never even have dared dream of a life with treatment fit for an emperor.

"I’ll have Jarvis see what books you need to study so you can understand the field we’ll be researching as quickly as possible."

Tony smiled at that.

Afterward, Tony and Banner took a Cosmic Battleship back to Void Island.

The two of them entered the research building and began their respective work.

Tony asked Lalatina about the current state of the Void wormhole jump technology. After learning that there were no issues, he began developing the propulsion engine.

His goal was to develop a top-tier propulsion engine.

One that could allow an interstellar warship to reach maximum speed in the shortest possible time.

Currently, the engines available on the market were all below sublight speed.

According to Tony’s understanding, only the Xandar Empire military and Kree possessed such technology at present.

So even if he wanted to develop a sublight engine, it was not something he could achieve in one stroke.

As long as they could develop a top-tier engine capable of rapidly accelerating in a vacuum, combined with spatial wormhole jump technology, that would already be enough to bring Blue Planet into the interstellar age.

The third update, two thousand words delivered.