Mission Accomplished

After destroying Asgard, the two great empires charged into the Negative Space with the World Shaper. In just three days, the Arthrosians were slaughtered to the last, utterly exterminated.

With their vengeance complete, all living beings in the universe rejoiced and even designated that day as Universe Celebration Day.

Unfortunately, they celebrated too soon. The World Shaper had killed too much, causing its consciousness to develop problems. It eventually went berserk and targeted all life in the universe.

A year later, all life in the universe had been wiped out. The World Shaper punched through the universe and headed for the world beyond.

Wang Bert waved his hand and put away the World Shaper, then turned to Death and asked, "Want to go again?"

Death said resentfully, "Damn it. Everything I did was to maintain Universe Balance. Why won’t they understand?"

"Kill half the people, then tell the other half that you did it for their own good? Death, that’s disgusting."

Wang Bert sneered. "Death, people aren’t stones, nor are they data. People have feelings. They won’t forget the past, and they’ll seek revenge at any cost. Your method might work on primitive tribes, but against enlightened beings of the universe, it will only cause an even greater disaster. Let me give you a saying: where there is oppression, there is resistance."

Death shouted, "The problem is that the universe must regain balance. If we do nothing, the universe will eventually be destroyed."

"I never said we should do nothing. What I oppose is your method. Your method is too cruel and utterly absurd."

Wang Bert said, "Why does restoring Universe Balance have to mean slaughtering half the population?"

"How can Universe Balance be restored without killing people? Do you have a better method?"

Death asked. The gods all turned to Wang Bert, waiting for his answer.

"There are plenty of methods. For example, use the Infinity Stones to control reproduction, develop productivity, increase total resources, explore the Extraterritorial Void, and so on."

Wang Bert said, "Death, it’s not that you couldn’t think of other methods. You simply never cared about the living beings of the universe, so you chose the simplest and most direct method."

"We are Creator Gods. The living beings of the universe are merely lambs we herd."

Death thought for a moment and said, "Blood God, you’ve convinced me. I can abandon my duty, but you must take it over. In other words, you must help me maintain Universe Balance."

"Fine. Within five hundred years, I will restore balance to the universe."

Wang Bert said, "If I fail, I won’t stop you from restoring Universe Balance again."

"Good. It’s a deal."

Death nodded in satisfaction. The Living Tribunal said, "We will bear witness to this matter."

"We bear witness."

The other Creator Gods said the same, then vanished from Mind Space. This war was finally and completely over.

After the Creator Gods left, the Little Universe gradually faded away. The life within it vanished like a dream.

Wang Bert let out a breath and said, "Finally sorted it out. I won’t have to think every day about how to deal with you anymore."

"What kind of ‘deal with’ are you talking about?"

Death smiled. "For these five hundred years, I’ll keep a close eye on you so you don’t slack off."

Wang Bert understood what Death meant. He said, "Fine, but for these five hundred years, you can’t have any other men. After five hundred years, do whatever you want."

"No problem. Besides, I don’t mind if you have other women."

Death said. She had no love for Wang Bert. She simply found him interesting, someone who could help pass the time.

As for five hundred years, it was nothing more than a fleeting instant to Death.

Wang Bert felt no love for Death either. He simply lusted after her body. Besides, if Thanos really wasn’t dead, putting a green hat on him would be quite entertaining.

After the negotiation, Death turned her gaze toward the great ball of light and asked Wang Bert, "Are you really going to merge with Galactus? Galactus’s body is like a bottomless black hole. If you merge with him, you’ll become just as ravenous. When that happens, you’ll have to devour planets."

Other Creator Gods certainly would not care about that, but Death knew Wang Bert did, because he was a good person.

"I’ll merge first and worry about it later. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll just let Galactus regain his freedom."

Wang Bert said, "In any case, I’ll settle this completely first. I don’t want to drag it out any longer."

"That’s true."

Death thought for a moment and said, "Let’s enter the great ball of light and have some fun together. We’ll play villains. I love being a villain."

"You already are a villain."

Wang Bert mocked. After thinking briefly, he said, "Fine, let’s go in and have some fun."

Wang Bert was not afraid that Death would pull anything. The Living Tribunal and the other Creator Gods had all witnessed what happened earlier, so Death would not dare violate the agreement.

Death asked with great interest, "Excellent. Which movie are we choosing next?"

Wang Bert smiled. "A movie called Sheep Without a Shepherd. I think your figure is perfect for playing a villain."

Death complained, "Does playing a villain depend on your figure?"

The next moment, the shameless pair entered the ball of light together, and Galactus’s reincarnation began once more.

"Galactus, I finally got Gamora to forgive me. Why did you have to come devour my planet?"

Looking at the enormous shadow in the sky, Thanos shouted in grief and fury.

"Father, perhaps this is our retribution. Let’s die together."

Carol was calm. Though her adoptive father had turned over a new leaf, he had killed far too many people in the past.

"I don’t care about myself. I care about you, my daughter."

Thanos gave a bitter laugh, then roared at Galactus, "Galactus, I curse you! I curse you to die horribly! I curse you to suffer for all eternity!"

Galactus did not care about Thanos’s curse at all and immediately began devouring the planet. Before long, Thanos and Gamora both became its food.

The millionth cycle officially ended. Galactus’s consciousness opened its eyes and roared furiously, "Galactus, I will kill you!"

Those words were filled with boundless resentment. Even Wang Bert and Death did not dare get too close.

"Kill Galactus… No, I am Galactus. Why would I kill myself?"

Galactus looked utterly confused. Hell’s Will, Adam controlling the Mind Stone, and Bald Wang Bert with Mind Power immediately interfered with Galactus’s consciousness, preventing it from escaping the resentment.

"Kill Galactus, kill Galactus, kill Galactus…"

Watching Galactus descend into chaos, sometimes suffering and sometimes viciously resentful, Wang Bert smiled. "It won’t be long before Galactus is merged into me."

"That move of yours is quite impressive."

Death nodded and said, "The outcome has been decided, so I won’t stay here. Come find me in Death’s Kingdom when you have time. I’ll be waiting."

With that, Death vanished cleanly and decisively. Wang Bert shrugged and quietly waited.

At that moment, Galactus regained a little clarity and roared at Wang Bert, "Blood God, you’re too despicable."

"This isn’t despicable. It’s called being smart."

Wang Bert said flatly, "Galactus, you lost. Hand your body over obediently. Don’t worry, you’re Lina’s father. I won’t kill you."

"I won’t lose… Kill Galactus, kill Galactus, kill Galactus…"

Galactus had only shouted one sentence before roaring again, looking completely deranged.

"I don’t need you to admit it, because you’ve already lost."

Wang Bert said. Half an hour later, Galactus’s consciousness collapsed. Wang Bert walked over and merged with it, while Adam embedded the Mind Stone in his forehead.

After an unknown amount of time, the fusion of Wang Bert and Galactus opened its eyes. Then his body began to change, shifting from Galactus into Wang Bert. This meant Galactus had been completely merged by Wang Bert.

Hell’s Will let out a sigh of relief and said ingratiatingly, "Congratulations, Blood God."

Hell’s Will flattered Wang Bert partly in hopes that he would keep his promise, and partly because it could not afford to offend him. The current Wang Bert was overwhelmingly powerful; even the Living Tribunal might not be able to defeat him.

Wang Bert asked, "Do you know how I feel right now?"

Everyone asked curiously, "How do you feel? Invincible under heaven?"

Wang Bert sighed. "No. I’m starving."

Everyone was speechless. On second thought, it made perfect sense for Galactus to feel that way.

"Hell’s Will, after we deal with the Eye Demon, I’ll have Adam leave Hell completely."

Wang Bert said, "Adam, think about what path you want to take in the future. Also, bring the Eye Demon and the Great Serpent to me. I want to devour them and replenish my nutrients."

Adam complained, "That really sends chills down my spine."

Wang Bert snapped, "I’m not going to swallow them alive. What I want is the energy in their bodies."

"Thank you, Blood God. I guarantee that Hell will not invade Earth within the next five hundred years."

Hell’s Will was overjoyed and immediately made the promise. Wang Bert said unhappily, "Only five hundred years? Isn’t that too short?"

"Blood God, Hell is filled with chaos and evil. I can only suppress the demons for five hundred years. If it goes on any longer, they will definitely rebel."

Hell’s Will smiled bitterly. "In fact, because of Adam’s actions, rebellions have already broken out in many parts of Hell."

Adam said arrogantly, "I know, but I don’t care. With their looks, they aren’t even worthy of carrying my shoes."

"I don’t know if this universe has a concept of narcissism, but if it does, it’s definitely perfect for you."

Wang Bert mocked. He waved his hand and said, "Enough of that. Hell’s Will, I’ve already merged with Galactus. Draw the resentment from his body. I don’t need it."

"Fine."

Hell’s Will was more than willing to do so. The more resentment Hell had, the stronger it became.

After Hell’s Will extracted the resentment, Wang Bert said, "All right, you can all get lost. Galactus and I still have matters to discuss."

Adam and the Bald Clone were already used to Wang Bert burning bridges after crossing them. They gave him the middle finger and left Mind Space with Hell’s Will.

They were preparing to return to Hell and deal with the Eye Demon once and for all.

After everyone else left, Wang Bert had a thought, and the phantom of Galactus’s consciousness appeared before him.

Galactus was confused at first, then roared at Wang Bert, "Blood God, you’re too despicable."

"Can’t you use a different word?"

Wang Bert said irritably, "Galactus, you lost. I’m the only one who can save Lina now. Tell me, what exactly did you do to Lina?"

Galactus fell silent for a moment, then said helplessly, "Right now, only you can help Galacta."

Wang Bert urged impatiently, "Hurry up and tell me. After you’re done, I’m going to eat. I’m starving to death. Come to think of it, how did you endure being hungry for so long?"

"You get used to it."

Galactus said, "To stop Galacta from being hungry, I split her in two. One part was the main body, while the other was a clone cultivated from a small number of cells—the Lina you speak of. After that, I placed Galacta’s main body in Earth’s core, while Lina remained on Earth to live her life. Later, by chance, Lina became your disciple."

"Get to the point."

Wang Bert said.

"Earth is the Ten Thousand Realms Passage and is connected to the Extraterritorial Void. Based on this trait, I created a special device that can devour energy from the Extraterritorial Void."

Galactus explained, "Besides devouring energy, this device can convert energy into food for Galacta. That’s why Lina’s appetite isn’t very large. Her main body has another source of food. The food you gave her wasn’t even enough to count as snacks."

Galactus sounded somewhat sour when saying that last sentence. It was obvious that he was jealous of the bond between Wang Bert and Lina.

Wang Bert asked again, "If you have this device, why did you still come to Earth?"

Galactus answered, "Because Galacta has grown up and needs more energy. The current device cannot satisfy her, so I need to upgrade it."

"Upgrade the device?"

Wang Bert asked.

"To be precise, turn the entire Earth into a special device. Then Galacta will never have to worry about going hungry again."

Galactus said.

"Is that so?"

Wang Bert thought for a moment and asked, "What will happen to Lina if you don’t upgrade it?"

"If it isn’t upgraded, Galacta will go hungry and awaken early."

Galactus said, "When that happens, she will become extremely insane."

Wang Bert frowned and asked, "How do you upgrade it?"

"It’s simple. Turn Earth into a battleship, then sacrifice the flesh and souls of Earthlings to the battleship, solidifying the energy passage."

Galactus said, "Earthlings’ souls are very special and highly suitable for sacrifice."

"Should I say, on behalf of Earthlings, ‘Thank you for thinking so highly of us’?"

Wang Bert cursed, "Transform Earth, sacrifice most Earthlings, then turn the remaining Earthlings into slaves to serve Galacta? Galactus, if you weren’t Lina’s father, I would definitely kill you."

"I did all this for Galacta!"

Galactus roared. It devoured planets every day; why would it care about one insignificant Earth? "I won’t allow this to happen. I’ll handle Lina’s situation."

Wang Bert snorted. Thinking of something, he asked, "Wait, why did my Master allow you to place Galacta on Earth?"

"Your Master? Ancient One? She tried to stop me, but she failed."

Galactus said, "She did not fall out with me completely. She was probably trying to stall for time. If you had not existed, she would have been the one stopping me this time."

"So Master dumped the burden on me? She sure knows how to pass the buck."

Wang Bert rolled his eyes and waved his hand, dispersing Galactus’s consciousness. Then he returned to his body.

"Galactus’s body."

Feeling the vast power within him, Wang Bert could not help bursting into laughter. This powerful body of a Creator God now belonged to him.

The Four Heralds stared at Galactus in astonishment. Why was Lord Galactus laughing like that? It was nothing like its personality—laughing like that would waste energy.

"Could it be…"

The same thought flashed through all four minds. Other than the Silver Surfer, who was ecstatic, the others repeatedly shook their heads and kept shouting that it was impossible.

At that moment, Wang Bert stopped laughing. The reason was simple: he was hungry. He rolled his eyes, and his body rapidly shrank, changing from Galactus back into Wang Bert.