Planet Ego, a planet originally lush and full of vitality.
But now, it looked like the end of the world. The entire planet was in chaos, with volcanoes and earthquakes everywhere.
"No!"
A massive voice echoed through space, appearing in the minds of Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Everyone turned to look at Star-Lord.
"If you're feeling sad, you can lean on my shoulder and cry a little."
Rocket spoke up, immediately earning an eye-roll from Star-Lord.
"I'm afraid if I lean on your shoulder, I'll flatten you like a pancake! If it were Gamora, though..."
Star-Lord said as he turned to look at Gamora.
But all he got in return was a cold snort.
"If you don't want to lose your egg-shaped reproductive organs, go ahead and try leaning on me!"
As she spoke, Gamora flashed the dagger in her hand.
Star-Lord immediately put on a hurt expression. "Come on, I just lost my father. Can't you show me a little sympathy?"
Gamora shook her head. "Your father was killed by your own hands. Strictly speaking, I should be congratulating you for avenging your mother."
"I..."
Star-Lord fell silent and turned to look at the remaining two.
Drax the Destroyer flexed his chest muscles. "My shoulders are only for my family."
"I'm Groot!"
Among the group, only Groot smiled at Star-Lord. His expression and tone were both friendly.
"Groot, you're the best. I knew I wasn't doting on you for nothing!"
Star-Lord moved toward Groot, but Rocket suddenly interjected.
"Groot says that if you're looking for a dad, he'd be happy to help!"
"..."
Star-Lord froze in place.
On the other side, Mantis suddenly spoke up, "He's cursing in his mind!"
On the sidelines, Su Ye crossed his arms and smiled as he watched the group.
By this point, the Guardians of the Galaxy were finally complete, and the whole team had inherited Star-Lord's goofy nature, making for a lively atmosphere.
It had been a week since he played around with a meteor hammer on the Milano.
Over the past week, they had gone to Sovereign to fight a boss and mine an energy gem, then battled the Sovereign fleet, and later encountered Star-Lord's father.
The massive planetary lifeform, Ego.
What followed was similar to the movie's plot. Ego was thrilled to discover a descendant who had awakened with the same bloodline as him and tried to manipulate Star-Lord into becoming his puppet.
However, with the help of the Guardians, Star-Lord successfully turned the tables and killed Ego.
Even though this meant that the powerful energy from Ego inside Star-Lord would disappear, he was still happy to have wiped out this cosmic plague and avenged his mother.
Throughout the entire process, Su Ye was just a spectator. Aside from helping in their final escape from Ego's planet, he barely participated in their actions.
Su Ye was there just to enjoy a live-action, high-definition, 3D spectacle. After all, planetary explosions weren't an everyday occurrence in the Marvel universe. Since he had the chance to witness one, of course, he had to be in the front row.
More importantly, as long as he was present, no matter how much he participated, he could still earn a [Girlfriend Card] reward.
Taking down Ego had even rewarded Su Ye with a Gold-tier Girlfriend Card.
With the various other cards he had collected, he could now exchange them for the highest-tier, Rainbow Girlfriend Card.
A Rainbow Girlfriend Card corresponded to the highest level—Legendary Girlfriend. Any character drawn from it would essentially be Goddess-tier.
A Goddess from another world, in the Marvel universe, would at least be Skyfather-level, or even a cosmic-tier powerhouse.
However, despite holding a bunch of cards, Su Ye chose not to use them yet.
The Girlfriend Card system had an annoying rule—single pulls had no guaranteed rewards.
If Su Ye converted all his cards into Rainbow Girlfriend Cards and did single pulls, there was a high chance he wouldn't even get a Gold-tier Epic Girlfriend, let alone a Purple-tier Supreme Girlfriend.
To ensure good rewards, he needed to do a ten-pull.
But collecting ten Rainbow Girlfriend Cards for a stylish ten-pull could take a long time.
Fortunately, Su Ye had the Reality Stone and Projection Magic. So instead of gambling on Girlfriend Cards, he could directly manifest weapons and match them with the appropriate Girlfriend Card.
Su Ye's presence had actually been a good thing for the Guardians of the Galaxy, especially for Star-Lord. At the very least, Yondu's life was saved.
Yondu, who had once taken orders from Ego to kidnap children across the galaxy, had even fallen out with the Ravagers' leader, played by Sylvester Stallone, and was exiled.
Originally, Yondu was supposed to die here, sacrificing his life to atone for his past deeds and his half-life as a pirate.
But since he had pledged loyalty to Su Ye, the entire Ravager organization now followed Su Ye's orders without question.
A subordinate like this wasn't easy to come by—one who was both useful and had brains—so Su Ye naturally wouldn't let him die so easily.
Thus, Yondu, the space pirate who had only ever felt compassion for Star-Lord and had raised him like a son, had his fate take a small detour and managed to survive.
"Take your crew and continue your work across the galaxy. Any advanced technology you collect, send it to me. If you run into enemies you can't handle, you can call for my help, and I'll come as soon as possible."
After leaving this message for Star-Lord and Yondu, Su Ye opened a portal.
The magically created portal stood quietly in the center of the ship, unaffected by the Milano's high-speed flight.
Just as Su Ye was about to step through the portal, Star-Lord suddenly called out.
"I have a question. Why is this thing staying put inside the ship? My ship is flying—flying at high speed! Shouldn't the portal get flung away instantly?"
Su Ye paused mid-step, thinking this question was worth explaining.
"Have you heard of relative speed and absolute speed?"
"Huh?" Star-Lord frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Su Ye sighed. "Let me rephrase it. You think this portal should be fixed in space and not move with the ship, right?"
Star-Lord nodded. "I get that it stays fixed when you open it on the ground, but if you open it inside a moving ship and it still stays fixed, that's what I don't understand."
Su Ye chuckled. "Then let me ask you, is a planet stationary?"
Without waiting for Star-Lord to answer, Su Ye continued.
"A planet is constantly moving in space. Not only does it rotate on its own axis, but it also orbits its star, moves with that star around the galaxy, and the galaxy itself moves through the universe."
"If you take all that into account, then the portal should have already torn through the planet itself. It wouldn't remain stationary even on the ground, because the ground isn't actually still either."
"..."
Star-Lord hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright, fine. I guess that makes sense. That's all I wanted to ask."
"Then, see you later!"
Su Ye waved his hand and stepped through the portal without a hint of hesitation.
"So, Uncle Su just left like that?"
Rocket couldn't help but mutter.
Mantis shook her head regretfully. "From the beginning, I haven't been able to sense Uncle Su's emotions. Is he a robot?"
"If you want to sense his emotions, you've got a long way to go."
Gamora, being well-informed, knew that Su Ye possessed the Mind Stone and understood its abilities, which was why she said that.
On the other side, as Su Ye stepped through the portal, he was met with a scene straight out of hell.
Sulfuric fumes from erupting volcanoes filled the air, red flames blazed everywhere, and the surrounding temperature soared above seventy to eighty degrees Celsius, making it unbearably hot.
This was Muspelheim, one of the Nine Realms, the domain of the Fire Giants.
This was the same place from the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok, where Thor went on a rampage, beheaded the Fire Giant leader Surtur, and then had to flee like a scared dog when chased by a fire-breathing dragon.
Before arriving, Su Ye had already used the Mind Stone as a neural amplifier to extend his telepathic perception across the entire world, allowing him to precisely understand what was happening here.
Side note: when the Mind Stone was combined with telepathic abilities, it was a match made in heaven—like adding wings to a tiger.
With the help of the Mind Stone, Su Ye's telepathic range was no longer limited to Earth; he could now scan half of the universe.
Whether it was the Nine Realms, Knowhere, or Xandar, he could manifest his consciousness anywhere he wished.
Just as Su Ye stepped through the portal, a shadow in the distance suddenly flew toward him, intending to pass over his head and continue onward.
Without hesitation, Su Ye reached out and grabbed the shadow, instantly soaring into the air alongside it.
"Hey! Long time no see!"
As he flew, Su Ye greeted the object in his hand—a square-shaped hammer with a short handle. It was none other than Thor's Mjolnir.
"..."
Mjolnir did not speak, but Su Ye could feel its emotions—joy at their reunion, mixed with a trace of guilt.
It was the kind of awkward politeness you'd expect when failing to properly welcome an old friend.
"Thor is calling you, right? No worries, we'll talk later."
"..."
Mjolnir responded with contentment.
The hammer flew at high speed, quickly passing through vast underground spaces before arriving at a wide-open area.
There, Su Ye saw a man bound in chains and suspended in the air, a towering giant dozens of meters tall, a horde of creatures that looked like they had just crawled out of molten lava, and a massive demonic dragon with flaming horns.
The man was Thor, the giant was Surtur, and before Su Ye arrived, the two had been locked in an intense debate about Ragnarok.
Thor had come here to deal with the prophecy of Ragnarok.
He believed that if he killed Surtur, took his crown, and locked it away in Odin's treasure vault, Ragnarok would never happen.
Surtur, of course, thought Thor was talking nonsense and was about to kill him on the spot.
Just then, Su Ye arrived alongside Mjolnir.
Thor broke free from his chains and struck a heroic pose, ready to reunite with his most trusted companion, Mjolnir—only to almost get hit in the face by a flying dragon.
"Sorry about that, I was just hitching a ride. Didn't realize things were so intense over here."
Su Ye landed gracefully, positioning himself right between Thor and Surtur.
"Su! What are you doing here?"
Thor was first surprised, then overjoyed. When he was alone, he hadn't been too confident about defeating Surtur and escaping with his crown.
But now that Su Ye had arrived, Thor suddenly felt much more at ease.
Su Ye was incredibly strong, and Thor had personally verified this—using his own face as evidence.
"I was just out for a walk, and somehow ended up here. You guys having a debate? How's it going?"
Thor shook his head with a grin. "Not great. Talks broke down. If you hadn't shown up just now, we'd probably already be fighting."
Su Ye smirked and pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds. "How about you guys go ahead and start?"
"..."
Thor's forehead was immediately covered in metaphorical black lines.
Surtur, on the other hand, let out a cold snort. "Foolish humans! Do you think this is some playground? Muspelheim is not a place you can come and go as you please. Neither of you will leave here alive!"
At Surtur's command, the surrounding lava creatures began to converge, each one looking like they were ready to tear Su Ye and Thor apart limb by limb.
"Hahaha! Su, we finally get to fight side by side again! Come on, let the attacks come even harder!"
Thor shouted arrogantly.
Su Ye, still holding his sunflower seeds, simply raised his other hand toward Surtur.
"Stop!"
Hearing Su Ye's shout, Surtur let out a disdainful laugh.
"You foolish human, who do you think you are? What right do you have to command a stop? These are my warriors, they will—"
Surtur trailed off mid-sentence, unable to continue speaking.
Right in front of him, the lava creatures that had been charging wildly suddenly froze in place. Their twisted faces remained locked in expressions of rage, their mouths gaping open as if screaming—but no sound came out, and none of them could move.
"What is happening?"
Surtur shouted in confusion while trying to swing his massive sword, which was dozens of meters long, to personally end Su Ye and Thor.
But at that moment, he suddenly realized—his body was completely out of his control. An overwhelming force had locked his limbs in place. Forget swinging his sword—he couldn't even move his arms.
"Who are you?! What have you done to me?!"
Surtur roared furiously.
Thor was just as confused by what he was seeing.
"Su, what exactly are you doing?"
Su Ye shrugged with a smile. "Do you know how the Frost Giants are doing these days?"