Nine-Star Alignment

Nebula swept her emotionless gaze over the two powerhouses and calmly asked, "Judging by the look of you two, don’t tell me you came specifically to find me?"

Nebula was now basically certain that these two fellows had not come to deal with her, since their relationship with Thanos was equally terrible. As for their intentions, however, she could not tell for the moment whether they came with good or bad intentions.

Even so, instinctively, she still wanted to keep her distance from them.

"Space pirate Nebula?" Star Fox smiled faintly and spoke first. "You guessed right. We came here today specifically to find you."

Nebula froze at his words, but Star Fox continued, "We have only one purpose in finding you: to discuss how we can deal with Thanos together."

"No need." Nebula gently shook her head. "I’ve already found partners to work with."

"If I may be frank, Clark Li would indeed be an excellent choice as a partner. But as for working together to deal with Thanos…" Accompanied by an abrupt voice, another pale-blue beam was projected from the spaceship. A thin purple figure slowly stepped out of the light screen and said, "I feel that the few of us would be better partners than Clark Li."

The newcomer had the same skin color and chin as Thanos, but he looked much younger and considerably thinner.

Under Nebula’s wary gaze, the purple youth leisurely continued, "If I may be frank, I believe Clark Li isn’t afraid of Thanos. If anything happened to you, he might even fight Thanos without hesitation. But without any external conditions forcing him to, I guarantee he would never spend his energy dealing with that mad dog Thanos."

"In fact, if Thanos hadn’t provoked him first, he wouldn’t be willing to seek out that mad dog’s trouble."

The purple youth smiled faintly and said sincerely, "But every one of us has an irreconcilable vendetta against Thanos. So when it comes to opposing him, we are the best partners."

As soon as the purple youth finished speaking, Star Fox and Champion had also silently shifted their positions, faintly surrounding Nebula.

Their attitude was clear.

If Nebula dared say no today, these three men, as fierce as wolves and tigers, would never allow her—a woman who knew some inside information—to leave this place alive!

In Britain, inside a pavilion at Carter Manor, Li Congxin sat facing Old Pi. A pot of black tea had been brewed on the wooden table between them.

Li Congxin courteously refilled Old Pi’s cup and casually said, "Come to think of it, I really have to thank you for the Quantum Battle Suit this time. Otherwise, having to research everything from scratch would have delayed us for who knows how long."

"As the saying goes, one misstep leads to another. If I hadn’t made a breakthrough in another timeline before Hela appeared, dealing with her wouldn’t have been so easy."

"In any case, thank you."

Old Pi chuckled and shook his head. He lifted his tea and took a small sip before saying with a smile, "I thought that, as a Chinese person, you would love tea. But I’ve been the only one drinking it this whole time. If I’d known, I would have served you coffee instead."

"I do like tea." Li Congxin also lifted his cup and took a small sip before continuing, "I just don’t particularly like the black tea processed by the British. Chinese tea emphasizes intact leaves, an attractive appearance, and elasticity. But when the British process tea, they always like to crush the leaves. It doesn’t affect the taste much, but it does have some effect. Of course, more importantly, I’m not thirsty."

Old Pi merely smiled lightly at Li Congxin’s somewhat nationalistic evaluation and did not comment.

Li Congxin changed the subject. "I’ve never liked owing people favors. You’ve helped me twice, so I’m willing to offer some repayment within my abilities. Steve, if I’m not mistaken, Ms. Peggy’s body should be nearing its limit."

At that, Li Congxin paused briefly before winking at him. "Would you like to let her live a little longer?"

Captain America was stunned. "You’ve mastered a way to extend a person’s lifespan?"

Li Congxin gently shook his head and said, "There are indeed ways to extend one’s lifespan, but I can’t produce two of them at once right now. I can only let her live another ten or twenty years, like you. Basically, you can understand it as me being able to inject her with the Super Soldier Serum—and guarantee a one-hundred-percent success rate."

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Facing Captain America’s astonishment, Li Congxin continued, "However, when I went to another timeline, I brought Thanos’s corpse back after the battle. He was one of the few surviving members of the Eternals, and his genes are close to perfect. If Doctor Hulk succeeds in researching them, perhaps your lifespans can be greatly increased—possibly even to a level no lower than Thor’s."

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Despite the overwhelming shock in his heart, Captain America still gently shook his head. "Peggy and I have already spent our whole lives together. We should be content. Although she’ll leave before I do, we’ve lived our lives together and will grow old together. The Carter family has already used every conventional medical method available to extend her life. That’s enough for us."

As he spoke, a relieved smile appeared on Old Pi’s face. "Being able to share a lifetime of love is already Heaven’s blessing. Why pursue a longer life?"

Old Captain America’s refusal of Li Congxin’s goodwill was entirely within expectations.

But what he said next was not as pleasant to hear. "However, Clark, I heard that you brought back a great deal of alien technology from outside. This time, you even brought back Thanos’s corpse and had Banner study it. If I may be frank, what you’re doing could very well bring trouble or even disaster to Earth."

Li Congxin did not agree with the old man’s conservative view and argued, "Everything has two sides. We can’t refuse to make contact with something simply because it’s dangerous, much less shut ourselves away. Earth isn’t the only place in the universe with intelligent species. If we don’t develop, while others continue advancing, humanity’s ultimate fate is easy to imagine."

Old Pi said, "Of course I don’t oppose humanity’s development. I simply don’t want you to force it unnaturally."

"Force it unnaturally?"

Li Congxin was not surprised that Old Pi could make proper use of an idiom. After gently shaking his head, he said wistfully, "Whether this is forcing growth or helping humanity adapt better to the universe may require time to prove. How about we play a little game? I want to prove that your way of thinking may not necessarily be correct."

Old Pi nodded, signaling for Li Congxin to explain the rules.

Li Congxin once again lifted his teacup, only to discover that the tea inside had gone cold. He secretly activated a trace of divine power to heat it to a suitable temperature, then slowly took a small sip.

Setting down the cup, Li Congxin leisurely said, "I once heard a shocking story. Its title was ‘Girls Must Be Careful When Making Friends.’"

Seeing the interested look that had appeared on Old Pi’s face, Li Congxin continued, "The story was about a girl who made some friends behind her father’s back. Those friends wanted something that belonged to her father, so the girl brought them into her father’s home and decided to seize it by force."

By this point, Captain America’s brows had already drawn together.

Clearly, he felt that the girl had gone too far. And not one of her friends seemed like a good person.

Then again, perhaps the father’s education had failed as well?

Li Congxin continued, "When they broke into the house, the girl’s father was cooking. But her friends swarmed him and pinned him to the ground, scattering the freshly prepared food everywhere. One particularly hot-tempered fellow even chopped off her father’s left hand with an axe. Blood splashed everywhere!"

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Hearing of such shocking and vile conduct, Old Pi unconsciously clenched his fists, wishing he had been there to harshly teach those lawless brats a lesson!

"Only then did those people reveal their purpose and what they wanted. But because of certain special circumstances, that thing had already left the girl’s father’s possession several days earlier. How could he hand it over?" Li Congxin sighed softly before continuing, "As a result, the particularly hot-tempered one among the girl’s friends swung his axe without a word and chopped off her father’s head!"

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"Bang!" Old Pi slammed his hand onto the table, making the teacups and teapot tremble violently. "That’s outrageous!"

"You feel very angry, don’t you?" Li Congxin looked at Captain America with an ambiguous smile. "That only proves that when making judgments, you can’t calmly and objectively analyze things. You’re often influenced by someone else’s subjective description. I haven’t finished the story yet. There may be some hidden circumstances."

Old Pi stubbornly shook his head. "Even if there were hidden circumstances, that girl and her friends still shouldn’t have acted that way. What they did was not only illegal but practically inhuman!"

As he spoke, Old Pi stared directly at Li Congxin. "Tell me, what hidden circumstances could possibly make me believe that those lawless actions were right? If you can convince me, I’ll admit that my way of looking at things is flawed."

At his words, the corners of Li Congxin’s mouth curled into a faint smile. He was just about to speak when his phone suddenly rang. When he opened it, he saw a message from Old Pi:

The day of the Nine-Star Alignment is approaching. Dr. Erik has already made a series of accurate deductions, and Jane Foster has set off for the locations most likely to be affected to investigate the matter.

The Nine-Star Alignment has finally appeared?

But why did it feel like something was bound to happen if Jane Foster went to investigate?

Li Congxin quickly tapped on the screen for a moment and replied: I’ll be back soon.

He had just put his phone away when he heard another message notification. When he looked, he found that it had come from Nebula.

As it happened, the communications device in Li Congxin’s possession was advanced enough to far surpass every similar product on Earth. Like Captain Marvel’s pager, his device could also transmit messages across star systems, and it was even more convenient to use.

Nebula’s message read:

Mr. Clark, something unexpected has happened on my end. I’m afraid I won’t be able to return to Earth according to your instructions for the time being.

Li Congxin slightly furrowed his brows and immediately replied, "Did you run into danger?"

Nebula: There’s no danger. I encountered several difficult people, but they don’t bear me any ill will. I’ll only be delayed for a while. Also, I can’t answer calls conveniently here. After sending this message, I’ll shut off my communications device.

Don’t worry. I can handle things myself.

Nebula must have run into some trouble. But from her words, it was clear that he did not need to worry about her safety.

In that case, he should deal with the Dark Elves first, obtain the Reality Stone, and then go find her.

Seeing Li Congxin slightly furrow his brows and look troubled, Old Pi could only patiently say, "Clark, if you have something to do, go deal with it first. As for the hidden circumstances in that story, you can tell me about them slowly the next time we meet."

Next time? And slowly?

Li Congxin gently shook his head. "It’s something that can be explained in one sentence. Why make it so complicated?"

Explained in one sentence?

Captain America could not imagine what powerful justification could reverse such a horrifying plot in a single sentence, making people believe that the perpetrators were right and the victim was wrong.

Even if the girl’s father was a **… Ahem, I’m Captain America. How could I have such filthy thoughts? That’s wrong.

With a faint smile, Li Congxin finally gave Old Pi the answer he had been waiting for: "The girl’s name was Nebula, and her father… was Thanos!"

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Hearing Li Congxin say those two names, Old Pi felt his face burn intensely.

It hurt!

When he raised his head again, intending to say something, he discovered that Li Congxin had already used the power of the Space Stone to teleport away.

Old Pi was left alone, disheveled in the wind…

Because Captain America, the representative of justice, had also been one of those lawless friends who had stormed into the girl’s father’s home and chopped off his hand before cutting off his head!