Everyone successively stepped through the portal shimmering with golden sparks.
Thor walked at the very back; he turned around and took a look.
Homelander stopped in place and did not move.
The portal remained open, with sparks scattering in the air.
"What is it, Anthony?" Thor asked. "Is someone else coming?"
Just as he finished asking, a green figure hurried through the portal.
"Surprise!" Loki greeted everyone, trying to lighten the mood.
But seeing everyone's cold gazes, a smile that was awkward but polite immediately appeared on his face.
"You are such a coward!" Drax the Destroyer, who hated this kind of behavior the most, was the first to speak up and accuse him. "You actually abandoned your brother during the battle!"
"This is called tactical concealment, barbarian." Loki retorted righteously. "I was just observing the situation from a more macroscopic position."
Rocket sneered disdainfully, "Haha, look at you. I think you just found a trash heap and buried yourself in it."
Hearing everyone's words, Thor's face darkened, as if Loki had caused Asgard to lose face in front of everyone.
He strode forward, grabbed Loki by the collar, and lifted him up.
"You coward who fled from battle, I am simply ashamed of you!"
"Calm down, Thor. I did this to preserve my strength..." Loki defended himself.
"Shut up." Thor raised his fist.
Just then, Homelander reached out and pressed down on Thor's wrist.
"Let him go, Thor. Loki did the right thing."
Thor frowned. "He betrayed us!"
"Each of us has our own role." Homelander shook his head. "Loki is injured; blind fighting is no different from seeking death."
"And Loki knows how to assess the situation and didn't hold everyone back; that is the greatest contribution to the team."
"Well done, Loki!"
Hearing this, Loki looked at Homelander in surprise, clearly not expecting to hear this.
He had been playing tricks on others since he was a child and was used to being neglected and suspected; this was the first time someone had defended him in front of everyone.
Notification! Gained special popularity value +800! (From Loki!)
Homelander repeated the confirmation several times in his mind, making sure he hadn't missed a zero.
Eight hundred?
This God of Mischief really is a stingy miser.
Forget it, eight hundred is eight hundred; I'll just treat it as giving the God of Stories some face.
Thor snorted coldly and put Loki down.
"You're lucky, Loki."
"But Anthony, I'll take this bastard back to Asgard first. Mother will surely be happy to see this guy is still alive."
"I'll come back immediately to handle the onboarding procedures after I report that I'm safe. Boss, please make sure to save a spot for me."
Homelander made an OK gesture. "No problem, brother. V.G.D. welcomes you anytime."
Immediately, Thor raised stormbreaker high.
Seven-colored rainbow light descended from the sky, enveloping the two of them. As the light dissipated, the brothers disappeared without a trace.
After the two brothers left.
Homelander turned to the remaining people and said, "Let's go, welcome to my territory."
Then he led Valkyrie and the Guardians of the Galaxy toward the core area of V.G.D. Headquarters.
The corridors of the Headquarters were spacious and bright, full of futuristic technology, but the atmosphere was unusually quiet.
He didn't see the ubiquitous Superheroes, nor did he hear the roaring sounds from the training rooms.
Only security personnel and some logistics staff were busy with their heads down.
Star-Lord looked around and couldn't help but ask:
"Wow, this place is really big. But... where did everyone go? Is today some kind of statutory holiday on Earth? Thanksgiving?"
Drax said earnestly, "They must be hiding in the shadows; this is an effective defensive tactic."
Homelander frowned slightly, knowing something was unusual, but he didn't show any abnormality on his face.
"The work of a Superhero is always full of unexpected situations," Homelander explained calmly. "They might have gone on a mission. I'll arrange for someone to take you to rest first."
Just then, a logistics staff member from the Base walked over from a corner.
When she looked up and saw Homelander in front, she froze in place with excitement.
"Boss! Oh my god! Boss! You're finally back!" She covered her mouth and said excitedly.
Homelander was slightly stunned.
Looking at the emotionally out-of-control female employee in front of him, he was a bit confused.
"I only left for a little while, is it worth being this excited?" Homelander thought to himself.
Homelander didn't show anything, just reached out and patted the female employee's shoulder gently to comfort her.
"Yes, I'm back. Nothing to worry about, keep working hard."
The female employee nodded desperately, her gaze still excitedly fixed on Homelander.
"Take my friends here to the high-end suites," Homelander instructed. "Provide them with the best food."
"Yes! Boss!" The female employee responded loudly, then respectfully made a gesture of invitation to Star-Lord and the others.
Star-Lord yawned and stretched.
"Great, I need a soft bed and some beer."
Several people were indeed exhausted; even Valkyrie just nodded slightly to Homelander before leaving with the supervisor.
After they left, the smile on Homelander's face instantly disappeared.
The situation was very wrong; the female employee's reaction was definitely not how one should act when not seeing their boss for only a day.
That look in her eyes was like seeing a dead person come back to life.
He had to figure out what had happened.
Homelander opened his mouth, just about to call Skynet.
The air fluctuated slightly, and Miss Skynet's holographic image appeared in front of Homelander first.
"Sir, you're back." Skynet's voice was still gentle, but a rare look of excitement appeared in its eyes.
"During the time I was gone, what exactly happened?" Homelander cut straight to the point. "Where are the people in the Base?"
"First, you need to know a precise number," Skynet began to report. "You have been away from Earth for exactly thirty-one days."
Homelander suspected he had misheard.
Thirty-one days?
He had only spent less than a day on Sakaar, tops.
A month had actually passed on Earth?!
Suddenly, he slapped his forehead hard.
"Damn it... I get it! I get it all now."
Homelander finally retrieved that plot detail from the original film from the depths of his vague memories.
Sakaar was a Planet located at the intersection of a wormhole network, where the flow of time was extremely chaotic.
Spending a day there, a month or even longer might have passed in the outside world.
He was careless; if he had known the time dilation was so severe, he would never have gone so rashly. At the very least, he would have made thorough arrangements on Earth.
Now he could only trust his luck, hoping that Earth hadn't fallen into total chaos during his absence.
"Go on, what else?" Homelander rubbed his temples.
***************************
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