Life’s Greatest Opportunity

After Banner and Tony took a short break and finished the feast, they immediately threw themselves back into their research.

The Reality Stone’s abilities were incredibly overpowered, but clearly, this was not the right time to study it.

Although they had the cosmic thruster engine as a reference, developing an engine capable of self-production and self-repair was no simple task.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

At the start of 2013, Harvey returned to Xandar to celebrate the New Year.

After all, celebrating the New Year on Xandar was livelier than doing so on Earth.

Tony did not go to Xandar this time. If nothing major came up, he would be heading there soon enough anyway.

So, he planned to spend the New Year with Pepper on Earth.

However, in order to have a little more freedom, he took Pepper directly to Private Island for the holiday.

Banner also went to Private Island with them.

Steve and Peggy Carter were also invited back to Private Island, and the group celebrated the New Year together.

The only five Void Cult members on Earth had gathered together as well.

"How was Europe? Did you have fun?"

Seeing Steve return, Tony smiled as he spoke.

"Modern times have a lot of entertainment that didn’t exist before, but what truly made me happy was that public safety and the environment everywhere have improved so much compared to the past."

During this time, Steve and Peggy had traveled through various European countries on vacation.

Since nothing major had happened at S.H.I.E.L.D. during that period, no one disturbed them.

Steve and Peggy had spent several carefree months enjoying themselves.

"What about you two? Has your research made any progress?"

Steve then looked at Tony and Banner.

"We’ve developed relatively low-level thrusters."

"However, the acceleration time is too long, so they aren’t practical enough yet. They’re still far from the standard of a Cosmic Battleship."

"The fundamental issue is that Earth lacks many materials that can only be found in space."

"So after the New Year, I’m planning to find a time to head to Xandar."

"With the help of genius scientists from other civilizations there, we can speed up the research process."

Upon hearing that, Tony swirled the wine in his glass, took a sip, and spoke.

Knowing that the Unknown Great Enemy in 2017 could not possibly gather all six Infinity Stones had relieved much of Tony’s pressure.

However, Tony had never considered slowing down his pace.

Earth’s civilization was still far from the point where he could rest easy and wash his hands of everything.

Therefore, he was bound to go to Xandar to continue his research.

"You plan to go to Xandar next year. What about Banner?"

Steve was no longer surprised to hear that Tony was heading into space again.

"I’ll be going too."

"There is too much technology in other civilizations that I don’t understand."

"I need to go into space and study properly and systematically before I can work better with Tony."

Banner also laid out his plans for the coming year.

He had wanted to visit Xandar for a long time, but the incident in Asgard had delayed Tony and prevented him from taking Banner into space.

"What about you? What are your plans?"

Tony looked at Steve and asked.

"I’ll probably stay on Earth for a while. Earth can’t be left without anyone to protect it."

"Besides, I still need to improve my strength further."

"Only then can I survive better in space."

Steve wanted to go as well, but he had only been with Peggy for a short time. It would not be right to leave her behind and go straight to Xandar.

Moreover, if some enormous upheaval suddenly occurred on Earth while all of them were gone, it would already be too late to make up for it afterward.

Tony and Banner were both already immensely powerful and frightening.

Even if they were not heading to the Void Cult’s headquarters but to other, more dangerous planets instead,

their strength would absolutely allow them to thrive on those planets.

As for him, he had only evolved a little over a hundred times, and his starting point was far below Hulk’s, so he still needed time to grow.

"Fine. If you run into any trouble you can’t handle, contact the two of us."

"With my current Cosmic Battleship, it would only take a little over half a day to get back to Earth."

Tony understood Steve’s plans and nodded.

"Tony Stark is leaving Earth. Aren’t you worried?"

Peggy stood with Pepper on the balcony, letting the evening breeze wash over them.

"With hundreds of thousands of light-years between us, of course I’ll worry."

"But Tony has an extremely clear plan for his future."

"To the point that even I, who know him very well, often can’t understand what exactly Tony is planning."

"So all I can do is support him."

Hearing Peggy Carter’s words, Pepper smiled.

Given Tony’s flirtatious nature in his younger days, Pepper knew full well that he would certainly be just as flirtatious in space.

However, after Tony returned to Earth, he had been very well-behaved.

At the very least, he had not brought women home in front of her. Restraining that behavior was already an explanation to her.

If she still nitpicked over everything, they would never be able to support each other through the long years ahead.

Peggy’s concern was not merely about whether Tony would be safe, but also whether Pepper worried that he would fool around everywhere.

"Hundreds of thousands of light-years… that’s truly an unimaginably distant distance for ordinary people."

However, after hearing Pepper’s words, Peggy understood what she meant and took the initiative to change the subject.

"Yes, that was a distance we could once only look up at, never cross."

"Even hearing that someone had set foot on another planet within our lifetimes would already have been a miracle."

"I never dared imagine that one day, I too would be able to step into space."

"But after joining the Void Cult, I don’t think it will be many years before we witness it with our own eyes."

Pepper spoke after hearing that.

Tony had told her that he wanted to lead Earth’s civilization into space.

With Tony’s talent and the help of other cosmic civilizations, that day would not be far away.

"My dream isn’t nearly so distant."

"More than anything, I hope to live a peaceful, warm, and happy life with Steve, without having to worry about the military or all sorts of important matters."

Peggy’s eyes had become clear and captivating once more. Hope appeared in them as she spoke softly.

She was the oldest person present. Though Steve was supposedly close to her in age, he had been frozen in ice for decades.

She, on the other hand, had lived through a full human lifetime, witnessed all manner of life, and experienced partings in life and death.

Now that she had returned to youth, Peggy no longer wished to dedicate her life to the military as she had in the past. She simply wanted to live for herself.

She hoped Steve could remain by her side, that they would not be troubled by money, and that they could eventually have children of their own.

"Steve Rogers isn’t the kind of cold-hearted person who gains power yet stands idly by when others are in danger."

"He has more of a righteous nature, one that makes him willing to protect others and take action."

"So that dream of yours may be somewhat distant."

Pepper’s gaze flickered as she spoke.

Tony was a futurist who often piled a mountain of burdens onto his own shoulders.

Even when he promised to settle down for a while, Tony’s nature still would not let him stay idle. He was always preparing for danger in times of peace.

It worried her at times, but it was also that very nature of Tony’s that had drawn her to him.

"I know. I was very happy during the time Steve and I spent on our honeymoon."

"But I can also see Steve’s desire to grow stronger and uphold justice."

"So no matter what, we may encounter danger in the future."

"But now that he has greater power, he probably won’t leave like he did in the past, with no one knowing whether he was dead or alive."

A faint smile appeared on Peggy’s face.

Because they had joined the Void Cult, both of them had become far more open-minded.

Peggy longed for an ordinary life, but because she had once been an ace female agent,

her personality was also extremely serious. After joining the Void Cult, she had a clear plan for her path of evolution.

It was not for the sake of helping the military or anyone else, but simply so that she could help Steve in the future.

When Steve encountered danger, she would no longer have to sit in the rear and wait for news as she had in the past. Instead, she could go into battle alongside him.

"It seems you also believe that joining the Void Cult was the greatest opportunity of your life."

Pepper smiled upon hearing Peggy’s words.

"Don’t let how I look now fool you. By ordinary standards, I’m already an old woman."

"Being able to see Steve return when I was near death made me happy, but it also left me with some regrets."

"Because I was already too old to spend the rest of my life with the man I loved."

"Yet after joining the Void Cult, I became young again and was given another chance at that."

"So joining the Void Cult truly was my greatest opportunity. It gave me a chance at a new life."

"It’s just a pity that I’ve only seen Lord Harvey’s photograph and haven’t been able to meet him in person to thank him."

"But Steve told me that we have a long time ahead of us, so there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Peggy smiled as she spoke.

"If you want to thank him in person, you’ll definitely have the chance someday."

Pepper smiled and nodded.

In the past, Tony often sought Mr. Harvey’s help, so Mr. Harvey would visit Stark Mansion from time to time.

But after Tony joined the Void Cult, he no longer dared to casually invite Mr. Harvey over as a guest whenever he pleased.

Of course, that was also related to Mr. Harvey often being on other planets in space.

However, after learning what kind of great figure Mr. Harvey truly was,

even though they had been close when they first met, almost like good friends,

Mr. Harvey might not care now whether they were disturbing him.

But now that they were all members of the Void Cult, they were inevitably somewhat restrained.