"System… you… you're unbelievable… damn impressive…"
Karl was utterly defeated. He no longer knew how to describe this cursed system of his. Worse still, the thing didn't even seem particularly intelligent—there was absolutely no room for negotiation.
"This damn dog system…"
Karl muttered unwillingly, but there was nothing he could do.
"Fighting alien parasites? Karl, I've never begged anyone in my life, but now I'm begging you—take your good bro along with you~~~"
On the other side, the moment Tony heard they'd be dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms, he immediately grabbed Karl's hand with teary eyes.
Karl's jaw nearly dropped.
Since when had Tony become like this? This completely violated his character setting.
"Yeah, Karl, we're going too!"
Not far away, Gwen and Skye, who had been whispering among themselves, suddenly spoke in unison. Only Wanda stayed quiet, though the longing in her eyes made her intentions obvious.
"We already talked it over with Gamora."
Skye hooked her arm around Gamora's with an expression that clearly said refusal was not an option.
"We're going too. We already got Gamora's approval."
Karl instantly felt a headache coming on. Why were these three ladies joining the chaos?
He looked toward Gamora as if asking for confirmation. Quill and the others also turned toward her. After all, every extra person meant another split in the reward money.
"They said they don't want any payment."
The moment Gamora said that, Quill and Rocket immediately agreed.
No payment? Free labor?
Who wouldn't want more of that?
"I! I don't want payment either!!"
Tony practically launched himself into the air in excitement. He had zero interest in money—he just wanted to see alien planets.
Quill instantly approved.
Another free fighter.
This was the richest operation he'd ever run.
At that moment, Nick Fury, who had been observing everything from behind the scenes, contacted Natasha through her earpiece and instructed her to tell Tony to record everything he saw and heard. All of it would be invaluable information for understanding extraterrestrial civilizations.
Natasha didn't hide this from Quill's group and relayed Fury's request directly.
Tony happily agreed, and Quill's team didn't object either.
Tony excitedly rushed home to upgrade his armor. Since he had no idea whether JARVIS would function properly in outer space, he needed to optimize several systems immediately.
Afterward, everyone accompanied Quill to the home he had lived in before Yondu abducted him. The place already had new owners now—a farmer and his family.
Quill's eyes reddened.
He remembered his childhood, his mother who had died from cancer, and the father he had never met.
At the cliff where Yondu had taken him away, Quill sat silently for an entire day.
No one disturbed him.
Everyone knew he was immersed in memories—some of the few he still had of Earth and his mother.
After a brief rest period, Tony arrived at the base wearing his newly upgraded armor, and the group officially embarked on their journey to the Sovereign planet.
Inside the ship, Tony enthusiastically toured the already cramped vessel.
His genius-level intellect meshed perfectly with Rocket's.
Among the Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket possessed the highest IQ. Spending all day surrounded by idiots would drive anyone insane eventually, no matter how smart they were.
Tony's arrival perfectly complemented him.
One sat in the pilot seat while the other occupied the co-pilot seat, the two diving headfirst into discussions about physics, quantum mechanics, and spatial folding.
Other than those two, nobody else on the ship understood a single word they were saying.
Skye was a genius in electronics but only vaguely understood physics.
Gwen specialized in biology and likewise had limited knowledge in the field.
Wanda and Karl were both complete academic disasters.
The difference was that Wanda never had the opportunity to properly study, while Karl simply wasn't built for school.
He slept harder than anyone during class and played harder than anyone afterward.
Soon, the ship arrived at the Sovereign planet and reached the mission site: the Sovereign energy plant.
After landing, Tony was the first to step out.
Looking at the ultra-advanced energy facility, Tony marveled at the planet's technological level while simultaneously analyzing the Sovereign energy source.
"JARVIS, scan these materials."
Tony had already suited up in his armor and ordered JARVIS to scan the golden liquid.
"Sir, this is an unknown organic substance containing enormous energy reserves. Preliminary estimates indicate its energy output is several hundred times greater than your chest reactor."
"What?! What the hell?! Several hundred times?! If this stuff explodes, wouldn't the whole planet disappear?!"
Looking at the massive quantities of the substance before him, Tony's eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
"Sir, your concern is unnecessary. This organic material is significantly more stable than your arc reactor. It is essentially non-explosive."
JARVIS immediately dismissed Tony's fears.
"Hoo~~ That's good… that's very good~~"
Tony definitely did not want to arrive on an alien planet only to get vaporized instantly.
At that moment, everyone else disembarked from the ship, interrupting Tony's train of thought.
"Quill, where's this parasite?"
Gamora asked. Quill had accepted the job, so she didn't actually know what the parasite looked like. She had assumed it was some ordinary insect.
"Should be over there."
Quill checked the monitoring device in his hand. A red dot appeared on the nearby energy storage plaza.
"Then what are we waiting for? I'm already pumped!"
Tony excitedly blasted into the air and flew toward the plaza.
But moments later, his horrified voice exploded through everyone's communicators.
"Motherf***er~! THIS is what you call a parasite?!"
Tony stared at the gigantic alien creature before him, his scalp going numb.
The thing was impossible to look at directly.
Its entire body was made of exposed crimson muscle. Massive octopus-like tentacles writhed everywhere. Its oversized head had no visible facial features, only a giant maw filled with razor-sharp teeth.
Tony had become so shocked he forgot to breathe.
The others quickly arrived at the plaza as well, finally seeing the "parasite" the Sovereign Queen had mentioned.
Quill's group barely reacted. They had seen far too many alien creatures before. Compared to some of those, this thing wasn't even that disgusting.
But everyone else—including Karl—momentarily stopped breathing.
Karl had seen it in the movie during his previous life, but seeing it in person was an entirely different level of impact.
As for Gwen, Skye, and Wanda, the grotesque alien lifeform caused immediate physical discomfort simply because it was their first time seeing something so horrifying.
Still, the three quickly adjusted.
"So what are we waiting for? The bounty's right in front of us!!"
Rocket shouted immediately, charging forward with his gun raised.
At the same time, Drax followed close behind, leaping high into the air as he hurled himself toward the monster.
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