Target

Tony’s heart stirred, and he suddenly asked, "Wait, why does this feel like a conspiracy aimed at Bert?"

Old Tony sighed. "That’s what Blood God said too. He said he was too powerful, and the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator couldn’t defeat him, so they chose to exile him from the battlefield."

"That makes sense."

Everyone couldn’t help nodding. No enemy wanted to face an opponent like Blood God. Exiling him first was perfectly normal—when Old Tony had turned evil, he had also sealed off the universe immediately to keep Blood God from entering the battlefield.

"The Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator really knows how to scheme."

Thinking of something, Black Panther asked in alarm, "Wait, with Blood God gone, what if Thanos comes back? Can Blood God get out of the Mind Sea in time?"

"No. Once he merges with the Mind Sea, it will take at least several hours for him to escape, because the Mind Sea will do everything it can to keep him there."

Old Tony spoke, and everyone’s hearts sank. Several hours were enough for Thanos to destroy Earth hundreds of times.

Just then, the Reality Stone on Old Tony’s chest flashed faintly, and a message entered everyone’s minds: "Blood God says he’s waiting for Thanos to return. This time, he absolutely won’t let Thanos escape again."

Everyone’s eyes lit up. Clearly, Blood God was turning the scheme against its creators. What was impossible for others might be as easy as breathing for Blood God, because he was Blood God! By mutual understanding, no one mentioned the matter again. Steve said, "Let’s solve the food problem first. We can discuss everything else later."

"The food problem must be solved."

Everyone nodded. Old Tony repeated Blood God’s earlier proposal, then said, "I have to stay on Earth. As for Xandar, I hope you’ll go, Steve. Though we’re enemies now, no one is more trustworthy than you."

"Saving Earth is my duty."

Steve did not refuse. He said, "The question is, how do I get there? If I take a spaceship, a round trip will take at least a month. Earth doesn’t have that much time."

"I’ll use the Space Stone to send you and Strange to Xandar. After that, Strange can open portals to bring you and the food back."

Old Tony said, "Also, Bert gave me some information on Xandar. With it, you’ll definitely earn Xandar’s trust and be able to buy food."

"There’s no need to make it so complicated. With the Guardians of the Galaxy around, Xandar will definitely trust you."

Star-Lord spoke boldly. The Guardians of the Galaxy were, after all, the Xandar Nova Corps’… temporary workers.

That was right. The famous Guardians of the Galaxy were actually just temporary workers.

"I think if you show up, Xandar might reject us outright."

Rhodey mocked them, and everyone nodded. They really did not think a bunch of goofballs held any status on Xandar.

The goofballs—cough, cough, the Guardians of the Galaxy—were furious. Drax shouted, "Even though what you said is true, I feel like you’re mocking me. I challenge you to a duel!"

Rocket covered his face. What was a terrible teammate? This was a terrible teammate.

Strange ignored the Guardians of the Galaxy and said to Old Tony, "Xandar is too far away. Bringing people back won’t be a problem, but I can’t keep a portal open to transport food indefinitely."

For interplanetary teleportation, aside from Blood God, only Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, could manage it.

Old Tony said, "I’ll use the Space Stone to help you. Also, don’t forget that we have a divine artifact: Pym Particles."

"That will work."

Strange nodded. Then, thinking of something, he asked Old Tony, "You still haven’t changed your mind?"

Everyone turned to Old Tony. Without any hesitation, Old Tony shook his head. "No."

"Damn it."

Winter Soldier and Falcon cursed at the same time. Old Tony was like a stone in a latrine—stinking and unyielding.

Should we try taking him out here?

The thought flashed through both Winter Soldier’s and Falcon’s minds at the same time. The next second, they clasped their fists toward Old Tony and sang loudly in unison, "I congratulate you on getting rich, I congratulate you on your splendor…"

Everyone froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. The grassland filled with a joyous, festive atmosphere.

In an unknown spacetime, a group of people were holding a meeting inside a gigantic spaceship larger than a city.

If you looked closely at them, you would discover something utterly horrifying—they mostly had the same face.

They were all called Kang the Conqueror. There was Female Kang the Conqueror, white Kang the Conqueror, neither-male-nor-female Kang the Conqueror, and most numerous of all, black Kang the Conquerors. They looked as though they had all been cast from the same mold.

"This plan went extremely smoothly. All three objectives were completed."

A black Kang the Conqueror said, "The first objective was to test the parallel-universe traversal system. The experiment proved that the traversal system we developed was a tremendous success. Even Cosmic Storms could not stop us. Of course, that was mainly because we were in parallel universes, so there were loopholes to exploit.

"The second objective was to exile the super-powered Blood God from the Main Universe. By our design, Blood God had no choice but to merge with the Mind Sea and control everyone’s thoughts.

"As long as Earth’s crisis does not end, Blood God will be unable to break free from the Mind Sea unless he is willing to abandon Earth.

"We don’t need to make another move, because Thanos will help us complete the plan. Besides, without Blood God, the only way Iron Man can defeat Thanos is by using his trump card. Then, we’ll find out what trump card Kang the Conqueror left for Iron Man.

"Thanos is merely our tool. Hopefully, he’ll be useful.

"The third objective was to test the Super Heroes’ strength. Through the Hulk Legion’s efforts, we have fully grasped the data on those Super Heroes. Their strength is considerably higher than expected. They must have leveled up during the previous war."

"Very good."

All the Kang the Conquerors nodded in satisfaction. Everything had gone smoothly. As expected, they were the greatest. Even Blood God had to fall victim to their schemes.

"With these three objectives completed, we can begin the next phase."

Another Kang the Conqueror said, "The God of Anger plan!"

"To conquer all universes, we must cultivate a Creator God. Hulk is the most suitable candidate. He has enough potential, and he is stupid enough to be easily controlled by us."

A white Kang the Conqueror said, "The God of Anger and the Hulk Legion will be enough to let us defeat all enemies and conquer all universes, including the Main Universe where Blood God resides."

"Our target has never been one or two universes. Our target is every universe."

All the Kang the Conquerors laughed loudly. In the laboratory below them, countless Hulks floated in nutrient solution.

One Kang the Conqueror was not frightening. Neither were two Kang the Conquerors. What was frightening was a whole group of Kang the Conquerors. With their intelligence, there was no research they could not accomplish.

Kang the Conqueror’s intelligence was no lower than Tony Stark’s, and their intelligence could be "stacked."

"Begin the research. Let us create a Creator God of Anger that belongs to us."

"His name will be The Incredible Hulk!"

On Xandar, with the information Wang Bert had provided, Steve and Strange met Nova Prime without any trouble.

"Do you really know Richard’s whereabouts?"

Nova Prime asked impatiently. Richard was a legendary figure in the Nova Corps, but he had suddenly disappeared decades ago.

In the Main Universe, when Wang Bert had engaged in deep exchanges with a beautiful woman from the Nova Corps, she had once asked him to help find Richard. Men, after all, could not resist pillow talk, so Wang Bert had casually helped them locate Richard.

This time, Wang Bert had asked Steve and the others to use Richard’s whereabouts as a stepping stone to raise the Nova Corps’ favorability. The Nova Corps stood on the side of justice. Once their favorability rose, buying food would be a trivial matter.

"Yes. Mr. Richard once came to Earth, and we found his Nova Helmet there."

Steve took a rather old-looking helmet from a box beside him and said, "With this helmet, I believe you can find Mr. Richard."

"The Prime Helmet!"

Nova Prime was extremely excited. She took the helmet with both hands and carefully handed it to the adjutant beside her, asking him to use instruments to verify it.

A moment later, the adjutant nodded. It really was the Prime Helmet.

"Wonderful."

Nova Prime was overjoyed. She said, "The Nova Corps is deeply grateful for your help. If you have any requests, as long as they do not violate justice, the Nova Corps will gladly fulfill them."

"They really get it."

Steve and Strange were both delighted. Steve said, "Nova Prime, we did come here to ask the Nova Corps for help. We need a large amount of food!"

After hearing Steve’s request, Nova Prime smiled. "That is no major matter. We have always maintained large food reserves. Even with half the population returning, we still have more than enough food. In fact, several of our planets are dedicated to agriculture.

"However, you may not be able to eat alien food. Also, gathering and transporting it will take a great deal of time. Can you afford to wait?"

"Don’t worry. We have magic that can solve all of that."

Strange said, "Magic can not only verify whether the food is safe, it can also let us instantly reach another planet."

"Magic?"

Nova Prime was somewhat astonished, but she did not ask further. She said, "Then that’s fine. I’ll prepare enough food for you. You’ll be responsible for transportation yourselves.

"As for payment, you may defer it interest-free for three years. But after three years, you must repay at least half the amount."

Nova Prime offered such generous terms not only because of Richard, but also because Earthlings had killed Thanos and saved half the life in the universe! To seize the Power Stone, Thanos had once invaded Xandar and caused tremendous destruction. Xandarians deeply hated Thanos.

"Thank you, Nova Prime. However, we intend to exchange technology for your food."

Steve was deeply grateful. No wonder even Blood God spoke well of the Nova Corps. Their character was truly noble.

"Technology?"

Nova Prime was stunned, while the adjutant beside her could not help laughing. A group of natives who could not even leave their own planet wanted to sell technology to Xandar? How was that any different from primitive people trying to sell technology to modern people? Nova Prime glared at the adjutant, then smiled at Steve. "May I see the list first? Xandar’s technology is quite advanced, so we generally do not need to buy from outside."

Steve was even more impressed. Nova Prime was truly a good person. He took out a button-shaped projector and placed it on the table. A holographic projection appeared, filled with Earth’s black technology.

"Nova Prime, for some technologies, we can only provide finished products. For example, Pym Particles, which can shrink and enlarge objects, and the Arc Reactor, which can provide massive amounts of energy."

Steve introduced them. "Uh, if you want cloning technology, we can package that up and sell it to you too."

Both Nova Prime and the adjutant were somewhat dumbfounded. Pym Particles that could shrink and enlarge objects, Arc Reactors, artificial intelligence, cloning?

Was this technology not too outrageous? Who exactly was the primitive planet here?

The adjutant could not help asking, "Are all these technologies real?"

"Don’t worry, they are absolutely real."

Steve smiled. "I brought some Pym Particles to shrink the food. If you need it, we can demonstrate them for you right now."

"I finally understand why you were able to defeat Thanos."

Nova Prime sighed. "It’s hard to imagine that a planet with so much black technology is still considered primitive."

"Perhaps it’s because we put all our energy into fighting among ourselves."

Steve shook his head and said, "Never mind that. Nova Prime, Earth’s situation is terrible right now. We hope to complete this transaction as soon as possible."

"No problem."

Nova Prime stood and said, "There is a major granary in our city. We can assign it directly to you. This will also be a chance to see your Pym Particles and magic."

Steve and Strange were both overjoyed. "Thank you."

After that, no one wasted words. They took a flying vehicle to the granary, where the warehouse staff, having received notice, used gravity devices to send food into containers for transport.

"Your efficiency is impressive."

Steve was increasingly pleased. He walked to a container, took out a coin, and flicked it at the container. The container rapidly shrank. In the blink of an eye, it became a tiny container only ten centimeters in diameter, looking like a toy.

"This is unbelievable!"

Nova Prime and the adjutant were both dumbstruck. Was this black technology not a little too black? The adjutant ran over to test the container’s weight and found it as light as a toy. He asked in shock, "Your technology can even break the law of conservation of mass?"

"I don’t know the principle, but it really can break it."

Steve said. Nova Prime and the adjutant repeatedly marveled. This technology was simply incredible. Forget Xandar—even the Three Great Empires could not develop it.

Earth was clearly a backward primitive planet, so how could it have developed such terrifying technology? "No need to choose. We want Pym Particles."

Nova Prime said, "If you are willing to sell this technology, Xandar can help you complete your technological tree and enter the interstellar age."

Steve’s heart stirred, but he still shook his head. "That really won’t work. Dr. Pym, who invented Pym Particles, is very stubborn. He would never agree to sell this technology."

Nova Prime smiled. "Understandable. A super scientist like that must be quite proud. If we can’t have the technology, finished products will do. These Pym Particles can solve many problems. Their value is immeasurable."

No, he’s just an eccentric, annoying old bastard.

Steve and Strange silently mocked him. Steve was about to say something else when countless Light Spears suddenly appeared in the sky and rained densely down upon them.

I ate too much during the New Year and got a little lazy. I’ll continue with one update a day for the next few days. I hope everyone will forgive me. I’ll get back into form as soon as possible.