In the underground base of the Umbrella Corporation, a spacecraft sat waiting.
Twenty meters long, five meters tall, with a wingspan of fifteen meters, it had a savage, domineering shape. Heavy, sharp armor covered the hull in multiple places. Even without using its weapons, it could smash the world's most advanced fighter jet to pieces in a head-on collision and emerge without a scratch.
This was the spaceship Zod had built. The lack of key Kryptonian ship technology meant he'd had to rely on self-study to manufacture a craft like this.
When it came to alloys, Zod wasn't short on materials, so he used a triple alloy, a perfect blend of vibranium, raw Kryptonian metal, and adamantium.
Combined in flawless proportions, the resulting armor utterly crushed Captain America's shield in defensive power. Even if Thanos himself hacked at it with the warblade forged for him by the dwarf king from Uru metal, the ship likely wouldn't suffer a single mark.
Furthermore, thanks to raw Kryptonian metal's ability to absorb energy and repair itself, the spacecraft could regenerate as long as sufficient energy was available.
"…Engines, weapons, reconnaissance, communications—every system is in place…"
Zod admired the ship before him with satisfaction. It looked like he could finally head out into the universe.
The universe!
Just saying the name stirred the heart with longing.
Sure, Zod had followed the Kryptonian military and conquered plenty of planets back in the DC universe, but could the DC universe and the Marvel universe possibly be the same?
Or rather, the DC universe was far more dangerous. He'd spent that entire time on edge, nerves taut.
Just as Zod was about to call Yan Lingji, Esdeath, and Tifa aboard, he turned and saw the Ancient One.
Heart. Stopped.
"Ancient One, you… you know you could scare someone to death!"
Zod beat his chest. Every thump could have killed a Hulk, making the Ancient One's eye twitch.
Mm, she realized Zod had grown stronger again. If the Zod of a while ago was a candle flame, the Zod of now was the sun.
What on earth had this guy been eating to multiply his power that many times? Even exponential growth didn't look that absurd.
"Let me guess, you're here to stop me from going to space? Why, because I'd bring disaster to the universe?"
Seeing the Ancient One had something to say, Zod asked at once.
"No. I'm just here to give you a star chart, so you don't blindly crash into a black hole or a star," the Ancient One said with a smile.
A star chart was like a map that people used. The universe expanded and shifted constantly, so star charts needed to be updated from time to time. Otherwise, going the wrong way was the least of your worries—plowing straight into a star and destroying your ship along with everyone inside wasn't out of the question.
"In how many futures do I crash into a black hole or a star?" Zod paused, then asked.
"Out of ten million futures, you fly into a black hole five million times, into a star over three million times, and the rest of the time you fly into a supernova explosion," the Ancient One replied after a moment's thought.
That unlucky?
Zod was speechless. Utterly cursed. Hadn't he transmigrated into a Kryptonian? Shouldn't he be swimming in luck?
Zod didn't actually care about any of these three dangers. Yeah, as Doomsday, he could afford to be that arrogant.
But Yan Lingji, Tifa, and Esdeath couldn't. They were just ordinary Kryptonians. They would die.
Zod wanted a cosmic adventure, yes, and a honeymoon trip on the side. He did not want to become a widower.
"Actually, you've already gained the Space Stone's recognition. You can avoid those events yourself," the Ancient One continued.
"But I don't know how to use it." Zod opened his right palm. Embedded in its center was a deep blue, dazzlingly brilliant gem. If women saw it, they'd probably lose their minds.
The Ancient One looked at it, sighing with feeling.
"In this world, you might be the only one who can embed an Infinity Stone directly into your own body without being affected…"
What kind of freakish body did it take to withstand an Infinity Stone? The Ancient One knew that ninety-nine percent of all life forms, the moment they touched an Infinity Stone, would simply disintegrate into ash and vanish without a trace.
"No, there are actually plenty of others." Zod shook his head. Those beings played with Infinity Stones like marbles, no problem at all. And originally, Zod had wanted to eat the Space Stone.
He wanted to see if his Doomsday form could digest an Infinity Stone.
At the same time, the Milky Way had a hundred and twenty billion stars. Zod wanted to see what effect those stars might have on him. If he ended up unlocking some kind of magic Superman, thought-powered Superman, or something like that, it would be a huge win.
Even though becoming Doomsday Superman meant he had no weaknesses left, Zod still wanted more abilities.
"That's something you'll have to figure out on your own."
The Ancient One remained tight-lipped about the Space Stone. After all, if used well, that gem posed an enormous threat.
Many people believed the Space Stone could only be used for teleportation or energy charging, but in truth, it could also create spatial collapse, gravitational imbalance, and even generate a singularity that instantly annihilated everything around it…
"Please come back quickly, Zod Heath. Earth cannot do without you." The Ancient One handed the star chart, a metal container, to Zod Heath.
"Does Earth still need me?" Zod asked, puzzled. The Divine Sword Bureau he'd built should be enough to handle any danger, right? Even Thanos would probably come to grief.
"There are still many powerful enemies…" The Ancient One's words were meaningful, but she didn't elaborate.
I absolutely detest you cryptic, mystical sorcerer types. Zod complained inwardly. Why couldn't they just say things outright?
The Ancient One vanished. Zod paid her no more mind.
He placed the star chart into the ship's data port. Once linked and the star chart data imported, Zod put the metal container away, then had Black Queen notify Esdeath, Tifa, and Yan Lingji.
As for Ada Wong, it was best she stayed behind and helped Urd handle Umbrella Corporation matters. After all, when Zod had created her, she was only about twice as strong as an ordinary human.
"A honeymoon trip to the universe? That sounds romantic." Tifa was delightfully surprised. Zod hadn't mentioned this to her; she'd only learned of it when the ship was already complete.
"Wandering the great void—is this the ultimate pursuit of you people from the Central Plains?" To Yan Lingji, this so-called universe, the great void, didn't hold much appeal. If Zod didn't want to go, she would much rather return to the old lands of Baiyue and take a look.
"Just us? You're not bringing an army?" Once Esdeath understood the concept of the universe, she saw it as the most magnificent place of all—countless worlds, endless enemies and battles!
"Bringing an army is for later. Right now, we're just exploring." Zod understood Esdeath's mindset, but the Burning Legion's numbers were still far too few. Thanos threw hundreds of billions of soldiers into a single war. How was he supposed to fight that?
He piloted the ship, climbing rapidly and blasting out of the atmosphere.
Behind them, the earth shrank, clouds, oceans, land, a beauty so breathtaking it left them speechless.
/-\
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