While both Richard and Kaguya could fly, the rented sports car served as a convenient means of transportation for exploring Nova Prime. After leaving the hotel, Richard piloted the flying vehicle directly toward the city's busiest and most prosperous commercial district.
The shopping area wasn't far from their accommodations—they arrived at the tourist-filled bustling district in just over ten minutes.
Beyond native Xandarians, numerous alien visitors crowded the area. The local population appeared virtually identical to Earth humans, differing only in their relatively unconventional fashion choices. The off-world tourists, however, displayed remarkable diversity.
Colorful skin tones, bizarre anatomical features, and some beings that weren't even humanoid—resembling animals or insects instead. Though Richard and Kaguya had encountered many alien species in Knowhere, they still observed numerous races they'd never seen before after disembarking from their vehicle.
However, they paid little attention to the exotic visitors and walked toward a nearby shopping complex like typical tourists.
Just as they were about to cross the massive plaza and reach one of the malls, Richard suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on a fountain across the square.
"What's wrong?" Kaguya asked immediately, noticing his pause.
"Nothing," Richard replied casually.
Near the fountain on the plaza's far side, he'd spotted two figures he'd never met but definitely recognized. The dramatically mismatched pair not only caught his attention but drew stares from other tourists as well.
A tree-like being, three to four meters tall, was bent over the fountain gulping water greedily. Meanwhile, a raccoon slightly over one meter in height observed surrounding pedestrians with a tablet while complaining audibly.
The figures Richard observed were none other than Rocket Raccoon and Groot. More precisely, Rocket was a raccoon who'd undergone illegal genetic modification experiments, while Groot was the last descendant of the Flora Colossus species.
Seeing them immediately brought information about the Guardians of the Galaxy to Richard's mind. Additionally, this familiar scene made him think of the first meeting between Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Star-Lord, and Gamora.
Kaguya followed Richard's gaze and spotted Rocket Raccoon and Groot attracting attention from passersby.
"Do you know them?" she asked.
"No, I've just never seen similar tree-people before," Richard replied.
While he did know about Rocket and Groot, his statement wasn't entirely false—he'd genuinely never encountered other Flora Colossus tree-people.
The Flora Colossus represented a unique tree race from Planet X, possessing tremendous strength and remarkable regenerative abilities. Despite being tree-people, the Flora Colossus were notoriously violent, loving combat, advocating violence against violence, enjoying the conquest of surrounding planets, and capturing inhabitants to serve as slaves on Planet X.
They also conducted various experiments on these slaves in the name of "science."
Compared to other Flora Colossus members, Groot was a typical exception. While he also fought, his heart remained pure and kind, and he loved peace. After partnering with Rocket Raccoon, he'd been slightly influenced toward mischief. However, fundamentally, he remained a peace-loving and kind-hearted Flora Colossus.
Worth noting was that Rocket Raccoon and Groot had met in a cosmic prison. Initially, Rocket—like other prisoners and guards—disliked Groot, who seemed simple and only ever said "I am Groot." But after several months of imprisonment, Rocket gradually came to respect Groot and could understand every word he spoke.
Because Rocket recognized and understood him, they formed a two-person team after escaping prison and began their lives as cosmic bounty hunters.
While the Flora Colossus weren't completely extinct, very few tree-people remained. Otherwise, the Collector wouldn't desire Groot's body for his collection.
After observing Rocket and Groot briefly, Richard activated his super vision and began searching for Star-Lord and Gamora.
Though this wasn't the Marvel Cinematic Universe, current circumstances suggested Rocket, Groot, Star-Lord, and Gamora would likely cause a small riot here—just like in the movies—before being imprisoned in the Nova Corps' "Kyln High Security Prison."
Using super vision, Richard easily located Star-Lord, who was attempting to charm a woman. As for Gamora, he hadn't spotted her yet.
However, after discovering Star-Lord was flirting with a purple-skinned alien woman while carrying a cosmic orb containing the Power Stone, Richard knew his assumptions were correct.
"Let's go. Nothing interesting to see here," Richard told Kaguya.
Though the Power Stone was currently in Star-Lord's possession, he felt no urgency to claim it immediately. If events proceeded as expected, Star-Lord would later take the Power Stone to an intermediary, planning to sell it to whoever was behind the deal.
Then the intermediary would refuse the transaction, Gamora would attempt to steal the Power Stone, Rocket Raccoon and Groot would try capturing Star-Lord, and Star-Lord would resist fiercely.
In other words, neither Star-Lord nor the Power Stone could escape. Under these circumstances, there was no need to seize the gem immediately.
"Alright," Kaguya replied after hearing Richard's words, then followed him into the shopping mall to begin typical tourist consumption and browsing.
Time passed quickly, and noon arrived before they realized it.
Though Kaguya wasn't an ordinary woman, seeing the dazzling array of unfamiliar products in the mall ignited her shopping enthusiasm like any other female, leading to an extravagant spending spree.
Richard said nothing about Kaguya's approach. They weren't short of money, and he'd also purchased many interesting items himself.
Inside a mall restaurant, Richard and Kaguya enjoyed the food before them. After spending an entire morning shopping, Kaguya's face radiated happiness. Richard, while not as euphoric as Kaguya, was in a pretty good mood.
If anything was unsatisfactory, it was today's lunch, which didn't particularly suit his taste. The restaurant's food wasn't terrible, but it was too sweet for his personal preferences—he didn't enjoy overly sweet dishes. However, Kaguya seemed quite content with her meal.
After finishing their food and drinks, they left the mall.
"Where should we go next? Another shopping mall?" Kaguya asked Richard.
"No, somewhere else first," Richard replied.
"Where?" Kaguya continued.
"Nova Corps Headquarters."
As Richard spoke, he started the flying sports car and drove toward Nova Corps headquarters.
Though he'd been shopping with Kaguya in the mall, he'd periodically used super vision to observe external events—specifically, Star-Lord and his companions' situation.
As expected, events had unfolded as he'd predicted. Star-Lord met Gamora outside the intermediary's establishment, where she attempted to steal the cosmic orb. They began fighting, and Rocket Raccoon and Groot—seeking to capture Star-Lord for bounty money—joined the conflict.
Unsurprisingly, the four caused a small disturbance that prompted Nova Corps intervention, resulting in their arrest.
While Richard didn't know whether they'd been transferred to Kyln High Security Prison yet, regardless of their current location, he was heading to Nova Corps headquarters.
Soon, he and Kaguya arrived outside the Nova Corps headquarters building.
The moment they exited their flying vehicle, a female Nova Corps officer approached with two armored soldiers. She wore a dark blue uniform, possessed attractive features, an impressive figure, and flowing golden hair.
Upon reaching them, the blonde officer and her accompanying soldiers immediately offered respectful Nova Corps salutes.
"Hello, sirs. My name is Nancy Eva, and I've been ordered to receive you both," the attractive Nancy announced.
After hearing her words, Richard asked, "Who sent you—Nova Prime or Queen Adora?"
Without hesitation, Nancy immediately replied, "Nova Prime, sir."
"Lead the way," Richard said without further questions.
When the Worldmind had granted authorization to himself and Kaguya, Richard had anticipated that Nova Corps leadership would immediately investigate their backgrounds and track their movements. In other words, Corps executives had known their hotel location before they'd even departed for shopping.
Additionally, their mall excursion had been monitored by Nova Corps leadership throughout. This explained why Nancy had arrived to greet them the moment they appeared at headquarters.
"Certainly, sir. Please follow me," Nancy said with an inviting gesture.
Following Nancy, Richard and Kaguya entered the Nova Corps headquarters building. Soon, Nancy led them to the building's highest-standard reception room.
As the reception room doors slowly opened, several Nova Corps senior officials, including Nova Prime Blanco, appeared before them.
Though Richard had never met Blanco or personally encountered the group of Centurions surrounding him, they weren't strangers to him. Among the assembled Centurions were several whose minds he'd telepathically searched.
While he hadn't obtained intelligence about the Worldmind from them, he had extracted information about Blanco and others from their memories. In other words, he'd known details about each of them long before this meeting.
When Richard and Kaguya entered the reception room, Blanco—Nova Prime of the Nova Corps—quickly approached them. Rather than saluting, Blanco greeted them politely.
Though Richard now possessed authority higher than Queen Adora's and could technically command all Nova Corps members, he wasn't Blanco's positional superior, so formal salutes weren't required.
After polite exchanges, Richard and Kaguya sat on a sofa while Blanco and others took seats across from them and in surrounding chairs.
Once everyone was seated, Richard spoke. "Prime Blanco, you specifically arranged for Nancy to bring us here and assembled other Centurions. This isn't just a social visit, is it?"
"You're absolutely correct, Mr. Richard," Blanco responded. "Besides meeting you both, we actually have what might be considered an unwelcome request."
"What unwelcome request?" Richard asked casually.
"We want to fight with you or Ms. Kaguya," Blanco stated directly without evasion.
A fight? The moment Blanco finished speaking, Kaguya frowned.
Just as she prepared to respond, Richard interjected, "Sure. I'm also curious about Nova Corps Centurions' capabilities."
As Nova Corps top leadership, Blanco and his team wouldn't oppose the Worldmind's arrangements. However, not objecting didn't mean they harbored no concerns whatsoever.
When the Worldmind appointed Queen Adora as Corps supreme commander, they could understand the decision to some extent. After all, Queen Adora was an authentic Xandarian with excellent leadership and political talents.
Recent history provided perfect examples. The fact that the Nova Corps had successfully negotiated a peace agreement with the Kree Empire and achieved temporary ceasefire was Queen Adora's achievement.
While the Nova Corps' mission involved protecting planets including Xandar, Corps soldiers were also human beings who suffered casualties. Years of warfare had not only cost the Nova Corps enormous manpower but consumed vast resources.
Continued fighting with the Kree Empire would eventually exhaust Corps capabilities. When that time came, both the Nova Corps and Xandar would face complete destruction.
After signing the peace agreement with the Kree Empire, the Nova Corps had gained precious recovery time and could use this opportunity to rest and replenish personnel.
After hearing Richard's agreement, Blanco quickly said, "Since you share this interest, Mr. Richard, let's proceed immediately."
"No problem," Richard replied calmly.
Though he'd never fought Nova Corps Centurions before, Richard was certain of one thing: defeating Blanco and his companions wouldn't be much more difficult than drinking water.