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"Mr. Karl, thank you very much for your generosity and magnanimity…"
Gamora's attention was clearly not on Ronan's corpse. No matter how cold and ruthless she appeared to be on the outside, her concern for her sister Nebula was something she couldn't hide.
Now, hearing that Karl was willing to let her handle Nebula, her suspended heart finally relaxed, and she let out a long sigh of relief.
She knew that the 'favor' Karl had just mentioned most likely referred to the incident where she had Star-Lord send a danger warning to Earth.
Thinking of this, the smile on Gamora's face became even more sincere.
To be honest, she had only ever met one such understanding and approachable powerhouse in all these years: Karl.
The others were almost all like her adoptive father Thanos… crazy and inhuman!
"Oh my God, look, it's really Ronan's corpse?"
Rocket Raccoon, who was nearby, brightened up after seeing the corpse that suddenly appeared on the ground. He rubbed his small paws somewhat greedily, but still looked at Karl with a hint of suspicion and asked:
"Mr. Guardian, do you really want to give us Ronan's corpse for the bounty? But I'm a bit confused, why don't you go yourself if there's such a good thing?"
Star-Lord and the others couldn't help but nod. In their opinion, there was never such a good thing as a free lunch in this World.
If there was, it was most likely a trap!
After all, they had fallen for such tricks countless times.
Karl seemed to have already guessed their doubts and smiled meaningfully: "Because in my hometown, there's an old saying full of philosophy: 'Money is not earned by one person; you must give to gain!'"
Money is not earned by one person?
How many people earn it?
Star-Lord and the others were completely bewildered.
Such phrases that required deep thought to grasp their meaning were as difficult to understand as a century-old problem for these few clowns who couldn't even put together a normal brain!
"Oh, although I don't understand what you're saying, if you really decide to give us Ronan's corpse, then we'll be friends from now on…"
Rocket Raccoon put on a look of meeting a 'confidant' and said earnestly: "If you ever need our help with anything, just say the word."
After speaking, he looked eagerly at Ronan's corpse, constantly rubbing his small paws. If he could get Ronan's bounty, this time he would really hit the jackpot.
Star-Lord, needless to say, had already begun to calculate in his mind how to upgrade and replace the equipment of his beloved milano after getting the bounty.
Whether it was the Raiders or anyone else, the first priority to gain a foothold in the Universe was to always ensure that the spaceship's performance remained in optimal condition!
And to achieve this, it would inevitably require spending a lot of money on repairs and maintenance.
So, at least half of the money Star-Lord had earned through trickery and deception over the years was spent on his spaceship.
Among the group, only Drax kept staring at Ronan's corpse, sullen and even somewhat dejected.
Because he had always wanted to avenge his deceased wife and daughter with his own hands.
But in the previous direct confrontation with Ronan, even though the other party had not yet obtained the Power Stone, he was still easily abused like a dog.
This made Drax deeply realize the huge gap in strength between himself and Ronan.
But even so, he still hadn't given up the dream of personal revenge.
However, fate played a trick, and Ronan ultimately did not die by his hand.
He failed to fulfill the oath he had made before the tombstones of his wife and daughter.
This caused a strong sense of frustration and loss to arise in Drax's heart, as if his life had lost its purpose and direction from then on.
"Ronan was just one of the many vanguards under Thanos."
Karl, on the Golden Throne, seemed to have seen through Drax's thoughts and said indifferently:
"And the tragedy that once happened to your wife and daughter is still constantly repeating itself in every corner of the Universe today."
"In the past, you couldn't save your wife and daughter, but now you can choose to save more people…"
Drax suddenly looked up at Karl. Although he didn't speak, a fighting spirit was rekindled deep within his eyes.
That's right, although Ronan was dead, his 'revenge' path had not ended.
This matter would only be over after Thanos was dealt with!
Gamora, on the other hand, trembled slightly uncontrollably when she heard Karl mention her adoptive father Thanos's name, and quickly said:
"Mr. Karl, since Ronan is now dead and the crisis has been resolved, there's no need for us to stay here. We'll meet again if fate allows…"
After speaking, she bowed slightly to Karl on the elegantly moving Golden Throne, then raised her hand, pulled up the silent Nebula, and prepared to walk out of the office.
But just then, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Karl said to Star-Lord, who was about to turn and leave:
"Peter Quill, there's one thing I need to correct you on. Actually, you can't be considered a pure-blooded Earthling!"
"Huh?"
Star-Lord paused, looking at Karl with some confusion and said: "Mr. Karl, what do you mean by that?"
"Although I was captured by Yondu and taken to space from a young age, both of my parents were genuine Earthlings, so I should also be considered a pure-blooded Earthling!"
As the two spoke, Gamora and Rocket Raccoon and the others also stopped, not understanding why Karl would suddenly bring up such a boring topic.
However, to everyone's surprise, Karl said something astonishing: "Actually, you're only half right… Your mother was indeed an Earthling, but your father was a mysterious ancient being."
Star-Lord's biological father was Ego, the living Planet with self-awareness that could transform into a human avatar to interact intimately with other races and manipulate energy.
The reason Karl chose to contact Star-Lord earlier was to use him as bait to finally draw out Ego, that big fish!
Karl was very interested in this ambitious being who could exist as a living Planet and attempted to devour all life Planets in the Universe with his 'seeding plan.'
If he had the chance, he naturally wanted to capture him and bring him back to Subspace for a thorough study.
If he remembered correctly, it seemed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe had changed this guy's set up from an Elder of the Universe to a member of the Celestial Race?
Then that made him even more valuable for research!
"What did you say… My father isn't an Earthling?"
Star-Lord was a bit confused, but then he became somewhat smug. He turned to Gamora and the others behind him and boasted, "Did you hear that? My father is some ancient being. Just hearing it, you know he's super awesome! So... I'm super awesome too!!"
This idiot.
Gamora and the others couldn't help but take a step back, distancing themselves from Star-Lord.
There was no other way; being with this idiot was truly as embarrassing as it got.
But Star-Lord remained oblivious, looking at Mr. Karl with an eager expression and asking, "Mr. Karl, how do you know about my father?"
"That's not important."
Mr. Karl smiled mysteriously, then used the power of the Reality Stone to conjure a small device that looked like a pager. As he handed it to him, he said, "What I want to tell you is that it won't be long before you two meet. When that time comes, if you encounter any unsolvable danger, you can use it to send me a distress signal."
"Of course, I only provide paid rescue, but for new clients, there's a first-time half-price discount."
This pager was naturally a replica he made based on the one Captain Marvel left for Nick Fury, but its functions were far more powerful than the latter.
Under the power of the Reality Stone, it could almost ignore distance, instantly transmitting a signal to Mr. Karl.
In fact, even without this pager, Mr. Karl could monitor Star-Lord through the Mental Imprint he had previously placed on him.
However, Mr. Karl always aimed for absolute certainty in his actions.
"Huh? Mr. Karl, what did you just mean?"
Star-Lord looked at the pager in his hand, his face full of confusion.
The amount of information was so vast that his brain hadn't processed it yet.
However, seeing that Mr. Karl didn't seem to want to continue, Star-Lord, full of questions, reluctantly followed Gamora and the others out.
Soon, the milano once again ascended into the sky, flying towards the Jump Point outside the atmosphere.
However, just as Mr. Karl was about to tally the gains from this incident, he seemed to suddenly sense something. He looked up in a certain direction outside the window, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Oh, she's here?"
...
A few minutes later.
Carol Danvers followed the blonde secretary into Mr. Karl's office with a complex expression.
"Miss Danvers, I've heard a lot about you."
"Huh?"
Carol Danvers looked at Mr. Karl in surprise, pointing at her broad face, and said with some disbelief, "You know me?"
"Of course."
Mr. Karl teased with a half-smile, "In the entire Universe, who wouldn't know the famous Captain Marvel?"
"But I wonder why Miss Danvers is here this time..."
"Could it be that Nick Fury sent you to kill me?"
Carol Danvers's eyes widened upon hearing this. "You... how do you even know that?"
But then she realized the flaw in her words and quickly tried to mend it: "Ah, please don't misunderstand, what I actually wanted to say is that I'm not here to fight you this time!!"
Then, Carol's gaze fixed on the familiar war hammer Mr. Karl was toying with in his hand, and she said with a complex expression, "I'm just a little curious, how exactly did you get rid of Ronan and his fleet?"
"After all, he had a powerful Power Stone in his hand. In the previous battle, even I was easily defeated by him."
Mr. Karl naturally couldn't explain the specific process, as it involved his own secrets, so he said with absolute dominance, "Perhaps to you, Ronan, wielding the Power Stone, is very strong..."
"But to me, a small character like Ronan doesn't even count as an opponent."
Mr. Karl was absolutely not boasting.
After all, his true identity was a 'Dimension God' who 'didn't like to go home'!
Also, Mr. Karl had deliberately not put away Ronan's war hammer just now, because he had already guessed Captain Marvel's purpose for this trip.
However, with his current strength, there was no need to pretend to be weak and hide anything anymore.
Even without the power of the Subspace, fighting Captain Marvel with only his own strength, he had at least a 70% chance of winning.
Carol Danvers stared at Mr. Karl for a while. If it were in the past, if anyone dared to say such arrogant words in front of her, she would definitely beat them until they begged for mercy on the spot before stopping.
But now, although she couldn't tell how strong the man opposite her was in a short time, one thing was certain: what he had just said was definitely not an empty threat.
So after a moment of silence, she uttered a few words with a serious tone, "I can feel it, you are very strong..."
Then she changed the subject, "Since Ronan is dead, does that mean the Power Stone is now in your hands?"
However, Mr. Karl did not directly answer her question, but instead asked meaningfully, "I don't need to tell you, Miss Danvers, you must be very clear about the true power of the infinity stones, right?"
Although Carol Danvers didn't know what Mr. Karl wanted to say, she still nodded truthfully.
"I know, that Black guy... Oh, sorry, it just slipped out. Nick Fury has always regarded me as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s biggest threat."
Mr. Karl looked at her, and continued with a half-smile, "But actually, the person he should truly be worried about isn't me... but a Titan madman who intends to erase half of all life in the entire Universe."
"What did you say?"
Carol Danvers's eyes widened abruptly, her broad face showing surprise and astonishment, 'You said someone wants to erase half of the lives in the Universe?'
"Don't joke around, how is that possible?"
"And even if someone really wanted to do that, it would be completely impossible to succeed..."
"Is that so?" Mr. Karl asked unhurriedly, "What if someone could gather all the infinity stones?"
Mr. Karl extended his finger and lightly snapped it in front of Carol, continuing, "At that time, the other party would only need to snap their fingers like this, and half of the life on every Planet in the Universe would randomly disappear in an instant!!"