"After all these years, I've finally found you, my child."
The man looked at Quill with a warm, fatherly smile.
Meanwhile, Quill stood there holding both blasters, completely on guard.
"Who the hell are you?"
"You're practically the spitting image of me when I was young. Just look at my handsome face—that alone explains everything."
The man wasn't lying.
He really was handsome in the classic "distinguished European old man" sort of way.
"My name is Ego. I'm your father, Peter."
Ego accurately called out Quill's name.
Quill clearly remembered that he had never met this man before.
So how did this "Ego" know his name?
And now he was claiming to be his dad?
Quill didn't even know what his real father looked like.
At this point, he seriously suspected the guy was another child trafficker like Yondu.
"Wait a second—you're saying you're his father?"
Tony retracted his helmet and stared at Ego in surprise.
"Wouldn't there be reproductive barriers between aliens and humans? Just because you say you're his father doesn't make it true."
Tony immediately spotted the flaw in Ego's statement.
Human genes weren't particularly dominant. Most foreign genetic material would directly destabilize human DNA, eventually causing total cellular collapse.
Just like Tony said, even humans and Earth animals had genetic barriers, much less extraterrestrials.
But Ego merely smiled.
"You seem to be one of the smarter people on Earth."
"You're correct—genetic incompatibility does exist. However, I can alter my own genetic sequence, allowing it to adjust its aggressiveness according to the strength of the other party's genes."
"So your concern doesn't apply to me."
Tony was immediately rendered speechless.
Genetics wasn't his field.
He was a physicist.
So he turned toward Gwen beside him.
After all, she was the biology genius here.
The moment Gwen saw Tony looking at her, she understood what he meant and shook her head helplessly.
She had never researched anything like this either.
There was no way for her to know whether aliens could truly alter their own genetic structures.
While Carl's group was still debating alien reproductive compatibility—
Far away on an ice-covered planet, Yondu sat outside a tavern in the middle of a frozen wasteland.
This place served as one of the Ravagers' gathering points, where members from every Ravager faction gathered.
One of his subordinates waved at him from outside, prompting Yondu to put on his coat and head out.
The entire world outside was buried beneath endless snow and ice, as though trapped in an eternal ice age.
Everything on the planet was frozen solid.
Yondu's expression was gloomy.
Earlier, he had gotten into a heated argument with one of the respected Ravager leaders.
That leader wanted him expelled from the Ravagers entirely.
The reason?
Child trafficking.
Among the Ravagers, that was absolutely forbidden.
But Yondu had his own difficulties.
At first, he genuinely hadn't known he was helping traffic children.
He thought he was merely locating missing kids.
Then he encountered young Quill.
Later, someone used Quill's life as leverage against him, forcing him to continue participating in the outlawed trade.
What Yondu didn't know was that even his own crew had already split into two factions.
One believed he was no longer fit to lead because he had let the traitor Quill escape.
According to Ravager law, traitors were supposed to be executed.
Yet Yondu had secretly spared Quill.
The other faction remained fiercely loyal to Yondu, believing him to still be an excellent captain.
Yondu walked down the steps, but before he could speak to his men—
Solemn music suddenly echoed through the area, sounding almost like a sacred hymn.
Moments later, a group of golden-skinned people approached while escorting a woman dressed in flowing white robes.
Every time the woman took a step, two attendants immediately rolled out more carpet before her feet, ensuring she would never touch the filthy ground.
If Carl and the others were present, they would instantly recognize them as Sovereign.
And the noble woman was their queen.
Like a holy angel descending from the heavens, the queen slowly approached Yondu.
Her immaculate appearance formed a stark contrast against Yondu's rugged Ravager outfit.
Compared to her, Yondu looked like he had just crawled out of a garbage dump.
Yondu felt deeply uncomfortable.
The queen walked painfully slowly.
Only after the carpet was extended a little farther would she take another step.
For a rough man like Yondu, this entire process was completely incomprehensible.
When she finally stopped before him, the queen still wore that same arrogant expression.
"Yondu Udonta, I have a commission for you…"
The Sovereign Queen spoke with lofty arrogance.
As for the "commission," there was no need to guess.
It obviously concerned Quill and the others.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have traveled all the way to this frozen wasteland just to find Yondu.
She knew Quill's origins.
He had once been Yondu's subordinate.
And in the queen's eyes, Yondu would surely be more than willing to deal with a former traitor.
Meanwhile, on Carl's side, night had already fallen.
Everyone sat around a campfire while Ego recounted stories from the past to Quill.
"After your mother passed away, I hired Yondu to retrieve you from Earth."
"But instead of bringing you to me, he kept you for himself."
"I still don't understand why he did that."
Ego sighed regretfully.
He could fool everyone else present—
But not Carl.
Having seen the plot before, Carl naturally knew exactly why Ego wanted Quill.
Still, he said nothing.
Even if he exposed the truth now, Ego could easily talk his way around it.
It was better for Quill to personally witness what kind of bastard his father truly was.
"Because back then I was small and skinny."
"I could squeeze into places adults couldn't reach, which made stealing easier."
Quill looked downcast.
Ever since childhood, Yondu had constantly used him for theft.
As he grew older, he was gradually drawn deeper into Ravager operations.
But Quill didn't understand something:
Yondu was actually the person who treated him best.
The only one who truly regarded him as a son.
Everything Yondu taught him was simply preparation for surviving the brutal galaxy.
Ego sighed softly before continuing.
"From that day onward, I searched endlessly for you."
"Meanwhile, Yondu kept avoiding me."
"I always thought Yondu was your dad~"
Drax said while gnawing on the leg of some unknown animal, grease dripping from his mouth.
"What?! We've been together this long and you thought Yondu was my father?"
"You two look exactly alike."
Drax tore off another chunk of meat and sucked it into his mouth while speaking unclearly.
Quill stared blankly.
He and Yondu looked obviously different, alright?!
"Yondu is blue!"
Rocket finally couldn't take it anymore.
He knew Drax was dumb, but he hadn't expected him to literally be unable to distinguish colors.
"I know. But look at Quill's face. It's basically molded from Yondu's."
After hearing that, Rocket directly grabbed his own head in defeat.
He gave up.
"No, Yondu is NOT my father!"
Quill immediately denied it.
At the same time, he grabbed a large piece of meat and shoved it toward Drax.
"Just eat your food and stop talking."
Drax instantly tossed aside the giant drumstick in his hand and happily stuffed the new meat into his mouth..
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