Just when Star-Lord and the others were feeling desperate, a figure suddenly appeared in the middle of their spacecraft.
Several people startled and looked more carefully, only to find it was Jason.
He smiled casually. "Everyone, come with me to meet this Mr. Thanos."
After saying that, he waved his hand, and the figures of several people simultaneously vanished from the ship.
The next moment, Jason, Star-Lord, and the others suddenly appeared on the bridge of Thanos's flagship.
Their sudden appearance startled the crew. Someone immediately shouted that intruders had invaded and called for guards.
While everyone around him panicked, Thanos remained unusually calm on his massive throne.
He glanced at the light blue space barrier surrounding his ship and inwardly sighed. How had they penetrated it so easily? This stranger was clearly powerful.
He recognized most of the people before him, except for Jason, whom he'd never seen before. This teleportation was clearly his doing.
"Who are you?" Thanos asked directly.
Hearing Thanos's question, Jason smiled and replied, "My name is Jason. I'm from Earth. Pleasure to meet you, Thanos!"
"You know me?"
"The self-proclaimed Emperor of the Universe, an environmentalist and idealist intent on killing half of all life in the universe—of course I know you."
Thanos was slightly surprised. He deliberately ignored the terms "environmentalist" and "idealist" in Jason's response, which seemed to mock him.
He was silent for a moment. "So, all the anomalies in this star system were caused by you?"
Jason smiled and shrugged. "I guess so. It's just a little project I did to pass the time. I made some adjustments to space and didn't pay much attention to it. Never expected it would grow so extensive."
After hearing this, Thanos fell silent. Such a powerful ability to control space was just a hobby project? Was this man serious?
He decided to get straight to the point. "Since you know my associates, then I'm sure you know why I've come here."
"You're after the Infinity Stones. I'm aware."
Thanos nodded. "So, are you willing to hand them over to me?"
Jason smiled and shook his head. "What a coincidence—I happen to share a similar goal. I'm also collecting the six stones that were born with the universe. I have my own grand plan!"
Thanos frowned slightly. "And what might that be?"
Jason shrugged casually. "I'm not like you. You want to wipe out half of all life. I just want to eliminate all the sinners in this universe!"
As soon as he said this, everyone in the room had different reactions.
Everyone on Thanos's side tensed visibly. When it came to sin, none of them could claim innocence. Over the years, they had conquered and killed throughout the universe; either directly or indirectly, everyone's hands were stained with the blood of innocents.
The Guardians of the Galaxy looked much more conflicted.
Quill frowned, thinking about his life choices. Am I a bad person? Does stealing count? But I've never killed innocent people! Besides, I saved an entire planet from Ronan! And saved half the galaxy from my father! No matter how you look at it, my contributions far outweigh my sins!
As for Rocket and Groot, they exchanged uncomfortable glances. They had been wandering the universe for years and had taken many lives! Drax and Mantis, however, seemed confident they weren't evil people.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Rocket raised his hand. "Uh... Mr. Jason, I want to know about people like us... Should a reformed person be held accountable for mistakes made when they were, you know, ignorant in the past?"
Jason waved dismissively. "Don't worry, you're with me. Nothing will happen to you!"
Rocket breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, yes! We're your people, definitely your people!"
The most surprising reaction came from Thanos himself. After hearing that Jason also wanted to collect the Stones—though to kill all sinners rather than half of all life—he wasn't angry. Instead, he asked with genuine curiosity: "Why do you want to eliminate all the guilty?"
Jason paused. His real purpose, of course, was to complete the system task and get rewards.
What was the population of the entire universe? It was impossible to quantify. And how many were guilty? In the United States alone, there were three million criminals serving prison sentences. If you included criminals at large, those not formally detained, or even those who operated in legally gray areas, the number was staggering.
If scaled up to the entire universe, the number would be incalculable.
But of course, he couldn't reveal this to Thanos or anyone else.
He cleared his throat and said, "I'm a superhero respected by all the people of Earth. I've spent countless nights striving to eliminate evil, and I have zero tolerance for sin. But the power of one person is too limited. From what I've seen, there's so much evil on Earth alone—imagine how much exists beyond it! So, for love and justice, for universal peace, I've decided to use this drastic method—eliminate all evil people directly!"
His words were quite passionate, and everyone stared at him in amazement.
Rocket scurried up to Quill and whispered, "Damn! He must be the one you were talking about—the god from Earth!"
Quill just looked confused.
Thanos, still seated on his throne, heard Jason's speech and nodded with satisfaction. "If that's the case, then we are kindred spirits!"
"What?" Jason raised his eyebrows and asked, "I'm like you?"
Like hell I am! he thought.
Thanos looked at Jason with a sincere expression. "The reason I want to eliminate half of all life in the universe is because I, too, want to save the world. There are too many living beings, but resources are finite. One day, when resources are exhausted, all life in the entire universe will face extinction. This is exactly what happened to my home planet. On Titan, only a very small number of us escaped. But the art, culture, customs—everything created by that magnificent civilization ended with its collapse. A great civilization simply vanished into history, everything turning to dust!"
Thanos's eyes filled with nostalgia and emotion. "Every time I conquer a planet, I only kill half the population. Many call me cruel, an executioner who has slaughtered countless beings. But only I understand that I've given them hope for the continuation of their civilization! For a race, a nation, or a planet—is it more cruel for half its people to die, or for the entire civilization to disappear? The answer to this question is obvious. I simply act as the villain, making the hard choice they dare not or are unwilling to make! I've taken on this burden, yet they neither know nor understand my sacrifice!"
Star-Lord and his friends exchanged glances, seemingly unable to contain themselves much longer. What Thanos said might sound reasonable at first, but wiping out half of all life was something no sane person could accept.
After finishing his speech, Thanos looked at Jason steadily. "Join me to protect this universe. Together, we can ensure everyone in this world lives a happy, prosperous life!"