Old Wang Lands on the Moon

Fitz’s guarantee was still worth trusting, Old Wang believed.

Unlike Tony, who was completely unreliable.

So he decided to move on to the next phase of the plan.

Since they had already made contact with aliens, Loki might or might not have encountered Thanos, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had secretly launched the second phase of research into the Cosmic Cube, it was practically the same as Earth having "prepared to make contact with advanced civilizations, or even go to war with them"—

Though in reality, Earth was nowhere near prepared.

But to those advanced civilizations, that was how it looked.

The logic was simple:

Earth had always been there, and it had always been watched by advanced civilizations.

But there were hundreds of thousands, millions, or perhaps even more civilizations at roughly Earth’s level in the Milky Way Galaxy alone, let alone the entire universe.

A low-level civilization that could not even leave its own planet naturally would not catch the attention of advanced civilizations.

It was like a high-ranking United States government official. He would never travel ten thousand kilometers to China just to pick on an ordinary person.

Especially when that ordinary person was a subordinate of some powerful figure in China.

The problem was…

One day, that ordinary person suddenly claimed to possess a family heirloom jade treasure—and it was fucking the Heirloom Seal of the Realm that had been missing for hundreds of years!

Who wouldn’t be tempted?

Once the Cosmic Cube was activated, energy of that level would draw the attention of every advanced civilization and powerful force in the universe. What awaited Earth then would be endless harassment and war.

Old Wang had considered taking the Cosmic Cube for himself, but there was not much point.

He was not Thanos. He did not understand the ancient knowledge dating back to the era of the Big Bang. Even if he got it, it would be useless to him.

Fitz and the others were fairly capable researchers, and Azeroth Laboratory’s research team was in no way inferior to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Science and Technology Division with Iron Man aboard. But researching the Cosmic Cube would take time.

It would require massive investments of manpower and resources.

They still had a mountain of unfinished projects on hand. They wished there were seventy-two hours in a day. Where would they find the time to study the Cosmic Cube?

They might as well let S.H.I.E.L.D. study it for now.

Once they got results, he could just take them and use them.

Thanos was not the only enemy.

Even if he did not come, others would.

For example, Accuser Ronan, who had long been secretly searching for the Infinity Stones; the Kree and Skrulls, who had once pursued the Cosmic Cube; and even Hela, who was about to break free.

Humanity’s thousands of years of peace had ended.

The curtain had risen on a spectacular new age.

Under such circumstances,

they naturally had to strengthen humanity’s overall power as much as possible.

Inhumans had originally been human—humans genetically altered by the Kree—and were humanity’s natural allies.

Though hatred between the two races had stretched on for tens of thousands of years, and the Inhumans had been forced to leave Earth for the moon because of humanity.

But no matter what,

when the lips were gone, the teeth would feel the cold.

There were no eternal friends, nor eternal enemies.

Only eternal interests.

When facing advanced civilizations and powerful enemies, humans and Inhumans could only join forces.

It was the best choice.

The lunar mission should begin as well!

Early the next morning.

After a night of passion, Old Wang felt thoroughly refreshed.

If they had not been so busy lately, then at this rate, they should have completed the baby-making plan long ago and made the greatest possible contribution to humanity’s continuation.

After breakfast, Old Wang opened a portal, and the two arrived at Afterlife Base.

After several months and a massive injection of funds, Afterlife Base had begun to take shape.

Following Jia Ying and the Council of Elders’ requirements, Afterlife Base was located on another mountain amid the range, some distance from the real Afterlife.

Afterlife had remained hidden for thousands of years, like the legendary Peach Blossom Spring. That tranquility could not be disturbed.

No matter how much the world moved toward globalization and uniformity, humanity should retain some uniqueness.

Variety was what made life colorful.

Old Wang looked out—

A mountain peak over five thousand meters high had been opened at its waist, and its interior had been hollowed out into an enormous space nearly a hundred meters tall, with a cross-sectional area exceeding one million square meters.

Such a feat could be accomplished through manpower and modern technology alone, but the difficulty was self-evident. The manpower and resources required would be impossible to calculate.

If it were truly completed, it would be hailed as the eighth wonder of modern architecture.

Skye had been the main force.

Quake’s ability was exceptionally suited to splitting mountains and shattering rock.

The vibrational frequency of a rocky mountain was far simpler than that of the human body. For Skye, pulverizing the mountain’s interior according to the blueprints had been effortless.

The mages of Kamar-Taj had also provided considerable help.

In less than half a year, a secret base roughly the size of S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters—but ten times more magnificent—had taken preliminary form.

Supplies were continuously being transported in. One huge machine after another was at work, and thousands of laborers toiled hard. Workers from China truly were far more reliable than those from other countries.

And, of course, much cheaper.

Though it had little to do with this world, Old Wang had been Chinese in another universe two lifetimes ago. He still felt attached to it, so he helped where he could—for example, by lowering the price of Iron Soldiers to the minimum.

And by helping solve some employment problems.

After touring Afterlife Base, offering a few words of encouragement to its main officials, personally tightening a screw, and eating a rather pointless lunch, Old Wang brought Skye to Afterlife.

"Little Wang."

Gordon immediately came forward with Jia Ying and Carl to greet them, then turned and left without lingering for even a second.

Strange.

He was no longer obsessed with Jia Ying. Could he be…

Gay?

After nearly a year of living together day and night, Jia Ying and Carl both looked very well. Their life as a couple seemed to be going nicely.

What surprised Old Wang was…

Jia Ying’s belly was actually swollen!

This, this…

China had only recently relaxed its two-child policy, but weren’t they moving a little too fast?

Judging by how round it was, she was nearly due, wasn’t she?

"There are still two months until the due date. It’s a boy."

Carl said with a broad smile, "We discussed it. A daughter will take my surname, while a son will take his mother’s surname, Jia. What do you think would be a good name? How about Jia Baoyu? Baoyu—what a precious name!"

Old Wang: "…Wouldn’t that be a bad idea?"

Jia Baoyu might have had incredible luck with women, but his ending had not been very good. Did they want their son to become a monk?

"There are still two months. We can take our time choosing a name."

Old Wang quickly changed the subject. "I came this time to discuss the lunar mission with you. Fitz is researching a lunar aircraft, and we should be able to reach the moon within a month at most. We still need to discuss the relevant arrangements with you and the Council of Elders."

The moon?

Jia Ying and Carl exchanged a glance, then nodded. "Afterlife has been studying ancient records these past few months. Most things are fine. There is only one concern."

"Don’t worry. With me here, Attilan will never be able to annex Afterlife." Old Wang knew exactly what Afterlife feared.

They had been independent for thousands of years. Of course they did not want to suddenly be ruled by someone else.

"That’s good."

Jia Ying let out a breath of relief. "In that case, Afterlife is ready."

"What about the candidates?" Old Wang asked.

"Gordon, Lincoln, Lash, Hellfire, Yo-Yo."

Jia Ying looked at Skye. "And our daughter."

Old Wang frowned slightly. "That’s too many people."

There was no need.

This time, they were going to negotiate, not show off their military strength. Besides, in front of Black Bolt, having more people was meaningless.

The moment Black Bolt opened his mouth, everyone would have to kneel.

A show of force might be unavoidable, but there was no need to send so many people.

If a fight truly broke out, aside from him and Black Bolt, everyone else would be cannon fodder—utterly useless.

"Hellfire, Yo-Yo, and Lincoln won’t go."

Old Wang said, "I’ll bring Skye, Lash, and Gordon. That will be enough."

Skye was the head of Afterlife Base and the future queen of the Inhumans. She had already joined the Council of Elders and was responsible for Afterlife’s day-to-day affairs. Besides her, the council consisted of elderly men and women busy pursuing their second spring. None of them wanted to leave home and risk their lives.

Lash had already been quite powerful. After receiving Lei Gong’s personal training, his control over his own power had reached a satisfying level. Even among all Inhumans, he could firmly rank near the top.

As for Gordon…

If something really went wrong, he would make it easier to run away.

"Fine." Jia Ying nodded. She trusted Old Wang completely.

"Then it’s settled." Old Wang made the final decision.

With one month left, Old Wang decided to put the members of the Afterlife delegation through intensive training, ensuring that they would have some ability to protect themselves in battles at the Earth God level.

He would also have Fitz find time to design high-tech equipment for them, significantly boosting the three men’s strength.

Time flew by.

One month later, a modified Quinjet took off from Afterlife Base.

Thanks to "Book Friend 20190605023734373" for the 500 reward!

Also, I heard the chapter comments will be restored tonight. No idea whether that’s true or not.