"With such a rare item, if it were put into the pool for a lucky draw, would it be able to yield some good things?"
Looking at the Power Stone in a state of weightlessness, Artoria felt that surging power. Thinking about that pool that hadn't yielded any good items for a long time, Artoria suddenly wanted to try throwing the Power Stone in to see if it could yield some good things. But there was only one such item, and it was very rare. If such an item ended up only being exchanged for an explosive tag, then it would be too much of a waste.
"This is the object under the shell of the Cosmic Orb, the Infinity Stones."
Looking at the dumbfounded Star-Lord and Rocket, The Collector felt a wave of satisfaction. That's right! This was the reaction he expected. But turning to look at the unmoved Gamora, and Artoria, who was holding a drink and checking if it was drinkable while pretending to be indifferent, The Collector felt a bit depressed again.
Women! They are really hard to understand. Such a rare item, and you don't even look at it. Actually, this couldn't be blamed on Gamora and Artoria; both of them knew the function of the Infinity Stones, and it was their first time seeing the physical entity. Although the appearance of the Infinity Stones was stunning, it was just good-looking. Gamora's attention was that this Infinity Stone must absolutely not be given to Thanos, while Artoria wanted to use the Infinity Stone to pay for in-game purchases.
"The origin of the Infinity Stones is from the time of the Big Bang..."
In the end, The Collector chose not to look at Gamora and Artoria, and began to explain the origin of the Infinity Stones to Star-Lord and Rocket. Star-Lord's performance made The Collector very satisfied; this was the source of his motivation to show off. Watching others' surprised or dumbfounded expressions was the only way to let this heart, worn down by time, have a sense of satisfaction again.
"master, according to the system's detection results, there are abnormal fluctuations in no less than a hundred space nodes."
On this side, Artoria was quietly watching The Collector show off in front of the newbies, but soon, Saturday's voice came through her earpiece. Well! Even with her eyes closed, she could guess that either the Kree had come or Thanos had come, but the possibility of the Kree was the greatest. She didn't know what kind of effect this butterfly effect she caused could produce.
"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but we might have some big trouble here now."
Having received news of uninvited guests in the Knowhere just like Artoria, The Collector helplessly (and without finishing his posturing) used the Cosmic Orb to pack away the Infinity Stone. Without a hint of possessiveness, he tossed it directly to Gamora. Through his advanced technology, he had already identified the newcomers. He wasn't surprised in the least; having lived for so long, he knew that every appearance of an Infinity Stone was inevitably accompanied by strife or war. It was unavoidable that some would seek to use the stone's power for revenge or to satisfy a bloodlust—there were plenty of such individuals in the Universe.
"Ms. Artoria, I'll give this to you! My intuition tells me you'll be needing it."
Upon hearing the news of trouble in the Knowhere, Gamora didn't need The Collector to usher her out. She tucked away the Cosmic Orb and quickly left the room with Star-Lord, Rocket, and the Tree Person. Just as Artoria was about to take her leave, The Collector brought out the box he had shown her earlier, containing what he called a Divine Power Crystal. Having a good impression of Artoria, he directly gave her the crystal he had painstakingly excavated from the head of this Celestial. This left Artoria stunned. What kind of plot progression was this? Was she some 'Mary Sue' protagonist? How could she get gifts just by traveling far from home? Was the next step saving a heavily injured, dying, yet exceptionally powerful old man who would then give her some kind of cheat ability?
"Mr. Tivan, we only met less than four hours ago, and we're barely even acquaintances. I really can't accept such a precious gift from you."
Sensing a trap, Artoria didn't happily accept the box. Instead, she expressed that she shouldn't receive rewards without merit. She was someone who firmly believed there was no such thing as a free lunch, so she cautiously declined The Collector's kindness.
"Please, take it, Ms. Artoria. Consider it a token of our friendship. I Hope that if I ever need to trouble you in the future, you won't feel too embarrassed to help me."
Despite Artoria's refusal, The Collector insisted on giving it to her, stating it was a gift for making a new friend. Since he put it that way, refusing again would be disrespectful. After careful consideration, Artoria solemnly accepted the box from The Collector.
"Until we meet again, Ms. Artoria."
"Goodbye, Mr. Tivan."
Kree ships had already surrounded the Knowhere. Artoria's earpiece was filled with alarms from Saturday, urging her to board the hyperion immediately. Realizing time was short, Artoria didn't dally. She quickly bid farewell to The Collector and hurried out of his chamber. However, what Artoria didn't know was that under The Collector's table was a glass container filled with 'Divine Power Crystals' of all sizes, identical to the one in her hand, though most were slightly smaller. If Artoria had seen this, she would have definitely given The Collector the middle finger and told him, 'An old man's words are as deceptive as a ghost's.'
"The Kree are here—that terrifyingly violent cosmic race."
Almost everyone living in the Knowhere was a battle-hardened villain, pirate, or the occasional adventurer. Many had witnessed the might of the Kree, including their nightmarish black ships. Everyone watched in horror as more and more ships approached the Knowhere, forming a siege. At this point, even the slowest-witted realized the Kree had come prepared. Looking at their own shoddy equipment and then at the enemy's massive ships, the sensible ones began running toward their own spacecraft, aiming to leave this lawless zone amidst the chaos.
"Oh! Big guy, I didn't expect it was you who tipped them off. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Artoria, carrying the crystal from The Collector, headed toward the hyperion. On the way, she happened to witness this farce. The Guardians of the Galaxy quickly discovered the informant was actually the big guy. Rocket couldn't accept such a betrayal; he jumped up in a rage, grabbing Drax and questioning him fiercely.
"Beaked monkey, I came out for only one purpose: revenge. First on the list is Ronan the Accuser. The Universe is so vast; who knows when I'd find those bastards? Since I couldn't find them, I just had to make them come to me."
Drax the Destroyer easily plucked Rocket off him. He didn't feel a shred of guilt for selling out his companions—though, at this point, they weren't really companions yet. He was currently just a vengeful soul consumed by rage. He wanted to find his enemy and then slit their throat with his knives.
"It's too late for talk now. The Kree have arrived."
Gamora said with a headache. What kind of people had she run into? One after another, they were all insane. Especially this one who never used his brain—did he think he could handle such a massive fleet alone? He's truly mental.
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