Nova Corps

News of Thanos’s eventual emergence was completely sealed off. Aside from a limited few who knew, no related information leaked out. The entire universe remained caught in an atmosphere of leisure and tension.

Xandar, Nova Corps Headquarters.

Alex, wearing a two-star uniform, walked through the spacious, brightly lit corridor. From time to time, he turned to look at the bustling city beyond the transparent windows. The faint curve at the corners of his lips gradually faded with each step, eventually becoming ice-cold.

Those who had lost their memories always wanted to recover what they had lost, and Alex was no exception. Over the past few months, he had tried many methods, but every one of them had ended in failure.

Even so, Alex had never given up. Now, he was going to see a master proficient in matters of the mind and memory, who was also a Three-Star Centurion of the Nova Corps. Perhaps he could offer some help.

After passing through the long corridor, Alex pushed open a door and entered.

"Alex, you’re here!" The moment Alex entered, a childlike voice rang out, filled with undisguised delight.

Looking at the small figure crouching atop the long table, a smile finally appeared on Alex’s icy face. "Hello, Mr. Blue Devil."

Most members of the Nova Corps were citizens of the Nova Empire—that was, Xandarians—but there were also quite a few aliens among them. Blue Devil before him was one of them. Resembling a blue Pikachu, Blue Devil looked small and cute, but his strength was not to be underestimated. He was a genuine Nova Corps Centurion. Combined with his race’s innate Psionic Ability, his combat power ranked relatively high among the Centurions.

"Alex, what did you need me for?" Blue Devil was a Centurion, but he had an excellent temperament. His reputation and influence within the Nova Corps were both extremely high, and he especially liked looking after newcomers.

Alex knew what kind of person Blue Devil was, so he did not hide anything and explained his wish to restore his memories.

Blue Devil froze upon hearing this. He stared at Alex with his huge eyes, examining him from head to toe for quite a while before nodding. "All right, I’ll give it a try!"

Alex’s reputation within the Nova Corps was considerable. Aside from his unimaginable rate of promotion, there was also his amnesia. At first, many people did not believe Alex had truly lost his memories, but after several overt and covert tests, everyone came to believe him. Then came all sorts of treatments, but every one of them ended in failure. For that reason, Blue Devil did not dare make any promises.

After chatting for another sentence or two, Blue Devil began.

In the span of a breath, Blue Devil suddenly let out a shriek. His small body toppled straight off the long table. Alex did not react at all to the unexpected accident until Blue Devil hit the floor and screamed again, finally jolting him awake.

"What happened, Mr. Blue Devil?" Alex hurriedly helped Blue Devil back onto the long table, his face filled with deep guilt.

Blue Devil kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with his short hands, feeling as if his thumbnail-sized heart was about to leap out of his throat. After panting for a long while, he finally recovered. Looking up at Alex, he said in disbelief, "Alex, your mind is sealed by an incredibly powerful force. I can’t reach your consciousness at all, so…"

Listening to Blue Devil’s somewhat awkward explanation, Alex froze slightly and asked in confusion, "I remember that when I first woke up, I didn’t seem to have this problem." In truth, after awakening, Alex had attached exceptional importance to his memories. He made sure to remember even the smallest details. Thus, he remembered very clearly that the physician back then had been able to enter his consciousness with ease. Otherwise, the physician would not have discovered the chaos in his mind.

Blue Devil’s expression stiffened. He looked at Alex with disbelief, pondered for a moment, then shook his head and slowly said, "Your situation is truly rather strange!"

Seeing that Blue Devil seemed to have sunk into thought after saying that, Alex knew this trip had probably been in vain.

With disappointment filling his heart, Alex said his farewells and left the room. Just as he was about to leave headquarters, a piercing alarm suddenly echoed throughout the vast complex. The Nova soldiers, who had been moving at a leisurely pace, immediately broke into a jog. Alex was stunned for a moment before he started running as well.

As he ran, Alex grabbed someone beside him and asked, "Brother, what happened?"

The person he had stopped turned to glance at Alex, shook his head, and wore an equally astonished expression.

Before long, the entire Nova Corps had assembled. At their head stood none other than the chief of the Centurions, the director of the entire Nova Corps.

"What exactly happened?" Seeing that even the director, who rarely showed himself, had appeared, Alex knew something major must have happened. His heart rose into his throat. It was not that Alex was afraid; he simply did not want any accidents before recovering his past memories.

Just as his thoughts drifted, the director’s slightly hoarse voice suddenly rang out. He delivered one clean, decisive sentence before turning and flying off first. "Nova Corps, all personnel, depart immediately!"

"All personnel?" Alex was stunned once again. The Nova Corps had expanded from its original five hundred members to tens of thousands. Several hundred Centurions were enough to handle many incidents. The Novas below Centurion rank might not participate in a major battle even once in more than a decade. Yet now, the director had ordered the entire Nova Corps out, including the medics who had just graduated from military academy!

However, Alex was given no time to think. At the director’s command, no one hesitated. Even the medics who had just joined the Nova Corps and had not yet earned a single star eagerly flew after the director’s receding figure.

Seeing this, Alex could only suppress the doubts filling his heart and follow the main force out of Xandar. Yet after flying for only a while, he unknowingly left the second echelon and barged straight into the first.

The Nova Corps drew its power from the Nova Force, a nearly limitless energy field generated by the super-living computer known as Worldmind. Its energy was distributed reasonably by the Centurions according to the ranks of the Nova members. Among all Nova members, most were "ordinary people."

Alex was clearly different. Empowered by the Nova Force, even though he was only a Two-star Nova, his actual abilities far surpassed those of most Three-Star Centurions. Naturally, this was also one of the key reasons he was famous throughout the Nova Corps.

Alex’s sudden arrival was like a beacon in the night, exceptionally conspicuous. He immediately drew everyone’s attention, and the director at the front noticed him as well.

After briefly learning Alex’s identity and strength, the director’s gaze toward him gained a strange hint of something. A trace of color appeared on his slightly pale face, as though he were somewhat excited.

Damn Qidian. It took twenty minutes just to open…