Nebula

Before stepping through the stargate out of the Imperial Capital, Alex stopped and turned to look at Lilandra, wearing a tragic expression. "I hope I make it back alive!"

"I’ll wait for you to return with supreme glory." Lilandra chuckled softly and waved her hand, showing no concern whatsoever.

Alex shrugged, about to say a few more words, when Warlord behind him could not help rolling his eyes. "Enough nonsense!" As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his foot and kicked Alex into the stargate.

Stargate transportation, from stargates spanning planetary systems to those crossing entire galaxies, was one of the Shi’ar Empire’s most closely guarded secrets. After studying and researching it for six years, Alex still did not understand how it worked. It always felt much like the teleportation arrays in online game novels, something beyond ordinary people’s comprehension.

After a baffling bout of dizziness, Alex found himself in an entirely new place.

Unlike Planet Feather’s ancient grandeur or the Imperial Capital’s lavish magnificence, the city beneath Alex’s feet possessed a refined, artistic charm, delicate and fresh in a way that made it especially pleasant and comfortable.

"Aren’t we going to Kyln Prison?" After looking around and confirming that this definitely was not his destination, Alex turned toward Warlord with a puzzled expression.

Warlord curled his lip and said helplessly, "Kyln Prison is managed by the Nova Corps. We need their approval before we can enter."

"Fine, I’ll do whatever you say!" Alex shrugged and simply stopped talking, focusing instead on the scenery around him.

There was not much to arrange. After registering at Nova Corps headquarters, Alex was temporarily detained in the headquarters’ prison to await the next ship bound for Kree Star Prison.

Seeing that he was about to be left here alone, Alex grew anxious and repeatedly sent Warlord Mind Telepathy messages at his retreating back. "Warlord, you’re just leaving like this? You’re not going to look after me?"

"Everything has been arranged for you." Without even turning around, Warlord quickened his pace slightly, yet his voice still secretly reached Alex’s ears. "As long as you uncover his whereabouts, it’ll count as a major achievement. With a little further maneuvering, you’ll become a two-star soldier in the Nova Corps."

Alex immediately complained in dissatisfaction. "Only a two-star soldier? For such a difficult mission, shouldn’t I at least get to be a centurion?!" Whenever he thought about the mission ahead and the dangers he might face, Alex’s mood instantly plummeted.

Warlord, who was already about to leave, nearly fell flat on his face when he heard Alex’s complaint. Too lazy to pay any more attention to the nearly crazed Alex, he left without another word.

By the time Alex recovered from his gloom, he could no longer sense Warlord’s presence at all. After muttering a complaint, Alex obediently lay down on the only iron bed in the cramped room and began considering his plans for the next six months. Danger Bird had only told Alex the background and purpose of the mission; how to carry it out would depend entirely on Alex himself.

"In the movie, didn’t this guy seem to have a mechanical body too?" Alex recalled the scattered fragments of memory remaining in his mind, and his mouth twitched again. "And this guy has a terrible personality!"

After muttering to himself for a while, Alex began seriously considering the mission. Yet as he thought, he unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

He did not know how much time had passed, but when Alex woke up, he discovered that he was no longer in that small room. Instead, he was sealed inside an iron box. Through a transparent pane of glass on the box, Alex determined that he was probably aboard a spaceship.

After attempting to search with telepathy, Alex finally discovered that he had already boarded a ship bound for Kree Star Prison and would arrive soon.

In fact, the iron box containing Alex was originally capable of blocking all abilities, including telepathy. But Alex’s Psionic Power was simply too powerful—he could perform interstellar Teleportation, after all—so his telepathy was likewise exceptionally strong. The iron box could not block it at all. Naturally, this was also the main reason Danger Bird had insisted on sending Alex into Kyln Prison.

Since things had come to this, Alex did not struggle any further. He even felt a trace of anticipation for Kyln Prison and for the person he was about to meet.

After passing through a field of interstellar dust, an enormous ring formed from several hundred connected spheres appeared before Alex’s "eyes." This was the infamous Kree Star Prison!

"Too bad I arrived decades too early. Otherwise, I could have run into Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and the others!"

After muttering to himself, Alex was finally released from the iron box. He was fitted with a tightly secured magnetic lock, then entered Kree Star Prison with the other accompanying prisoners under the watchful eyes of a group of heavily armed Nova Corps officers.

Just like in the movie, Alex was stripped of everything, doused in a round of "tomato juice," and forced to change into a yellow prison uniform before being driven into the prison.

Alex walked among the crowd, neither conspicuous nor eye-catching, which gave him the perfect chance to inspect the surrounding environment.

Just as Alex released his Psionic Power and prepared to "sense" his surroundings, his normally unstoppable Psionic Power seemed to be tightly suppressed. It could extend no farther than five meters from his body; beyond that, it was completely useless.

Alarmed, Alex secretly tested his other abilities and found that every one of them was suppressed as well.

"This Kyln Prison really is extraordinary!" Alex could not help praising it, though he was not overly surprised. Warlord had already warned him about this situation beforehand.

Fortunately, although most of his abilities had been severely weakened, his physical body could not be suppressed. His strength and physical condition remained intact, which greatly reassured Alex. At the very least, he still had the ability to protect himself in this perilous place.

As his thoughts wandered, Alex suddenly heard wave after wave of curses and shouts rising around him. Amid the clamor were scattered gambling terms.

"Perhaps this is prison custom?" Alex had watched plenty of prison-themed films in his previous life and knew that old hands in prison often gave newcomers a show of force when they arrived, with some even making bets over it. The East and West were surprisingly alike in this regard. It was the same in The Shawshank Redemption and Prison on Fire.

Just as Alex expected, a muscular man towering a full two and a half meters tall stepped forward like a giant tower. With his appearance, the piercing shouts abruptly fell silent. In Kyln Prison, where superpowers were heavily suppressed, the body was one’s greatest asset. Being tall and strong gave someone an even greater advantage in becoming the boss.

Clearly, this burly man was the boss of this prison—or, more precisely, of this section of the prison.

However, Alex did not pay attention to this boss. His gaze passed directly over him and landed on the blue-skinned woman behind him.

"If I’m not mistaken, she should be my target, Nebula!"

No one seems very enthusiastic. Why isn’t anyone guessing?