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After getting the Cosmic Orb, Darian felt no ripple in his heart.
It was too easy to obtain this item, and there was no sense of accomplishment.
Thinking back on Earth, even a casual daily mission to retrieve intelligence would have a few guards on duty.
This Infinity Stone, which seemed incredibly high-class, didn't even have a single minor monster guarding it, which felt a bit cheap.
Darian put away the Cosmic Orb and turned his head to see Quill looking glum.
"Quill, the mission went quite smoothly, why the long face?"
"I feel like I'm useless," Quill complained.
His combat power couldn't compare to Darian's, his brain hadn't even had a chance to shine before being limited by his cerebellum, and now even his professional skills were outmatched by Darian.
Quill felt like he was living in Darian's Shadow!
Darian comforted him, "How could that be? Even a pair of underwear or a piece of toilet paper has its use. For example, you... uh, at least you have an accurate self-perception."
Forgive him, he thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any of Quill's strengths.
Quill: "..."
"Don't be so gloomy. Go catch some local game. Anything alive will do. Tonight, we'll have a barbecue."
"Alright!"
The gloom on Quill's face instantly vanished, and he happily scurried off to catch game.
To be honest, Quill did have his advantages; at least he was very good at catching game.
In a short while, he returned with over a dozen pieces of game, just as Darian had already started a Fire.
Quill placed the game on the ground and scratched his head, "Are you sure these things are edible?"
"It's fine, just remove the heads and they're good to eat."
Darian pulled out Bear Grylls' knife and processed the heads of all these strangely shaped game, turning them all into chunks of protein-rich meat.
He casually whittled a few sturdy pieces of wood, skewered the meat chunks, and placed them over the freshly lit Fire to roast.
Under the influence of his barbecue skill, the meat chunks quickly transformed. The originally eerie-colored flesh gradually turned a golden-brown, sizzling with oil on the surface, and an aroma blending smoke and spices permeated the air.
However, strangely, Darian hadn't sprinkled any spices from beginning to end, only continuously rotating the skewers.
Quill watched in a daze.
It was magic! He added magic to it!
When the skewers were perfectly golden-brown from the Fire, Darian immediately took them down.
[Morag Beast Barbecue: Consuming this will slightly increase flexibility and speed in Water activities for a certain period.]
The effect was decent; at least it was a buff.
Darian gave Quill a skewer of barbecue, and the two happily began to eat.
With the barbecue skill's enhancement, the Morag Beast Barbecue was also incredibly delicious, and it carried a unique marine flavor, completely different from the barbecue made from Vanaheim game; each had its own distinct taste.
"You're saying that there are many humans like you on Earth?"
"Yes, although most of them aren't as strong as me, they are all like me, possessing a heart of justice, fighting to protect peace, and are therefore called Superheroes."
Quill's mouth twitched slightly.
If all the Superheroes on Earth were like you, then Earth would probably be doomed.
"And we've formed a Superhero alliance, and the alliance's name is very fitting."
"Is it called the Earth Protection Alliance?"
"No, it's called the Kick Nick Fury's Ass Alliance."
"???"
Darian and Quill chatted while eating skewers, one after another, unable to stop.
Anyway, this kind of game was everywhere on Morag, so they could just catch more when they finished.
And as they were almost done eating, a sudden engine roar came from the sky. Two ships with side wings passed through the atmosphere and landed at extreme speed not far from them.
The rear hatch of the spaceship opened with a roar, and a team of fully armed alien soldiers quickly rushed out, fanning out to surround the two who were eating skewers.
Leading them was a Black man whose half-head was replaced by machinery. He held a huge energy gun, and his cold gaze was firmly fixed on the two.
[NPC: Korath the Pursuer]
[Codename: The Pursuer]
[Favorability: -50]
[Evaluation: A member of the Kree Starforce. After being beaten up by a certain square-faced woman, he chose to abandon his sword for a gun and realized the weakness of flesh and the ascension of machinery, becoming a cyborg.]
"Don't move! Hands up!" Korath shouted sharply.
The alien soldiers around him all raised their weapons, pointing their muzzles at the two.
Darian chuckled, "There's a logical flaw in what you just said. Are we supposed to not move, or put our hands up?"
Korath was visibly stunned, apparently not expecting such a response.
After a brief pause, he was enraged and roared, "Hands up! Now!"
"Okay, okay."
Darian and Quill finished the last piece of meat on their skewers before slowly raising their hands.
Wasting food is shameful!
Korath asked coldly, "Where is the Cosmic Orb!?"
"It's on him."
Darian pointed at Quill without hesitation.
Quill: "???"
Before he could argue, Korath suddenly waved his hand, and several alien soldiers immediately rushed forward to restrain him.
Such a familiar feeling, as if he had just experienced it not long ago.
However, the alien soldiers searched Quill's entire body but found nothing.
"Officer, nothing found!" an alien soldier reported to Korath.
"You dare to trick me!"
Korath was furious and raised his energy gun, about to Fire.
Unexpectedly, Darian was even faster. He grabbed an alien soldier next to him and swung him around like a sandbag.
In his haste, Korath had no time to dodge and was hit by this human cannonball. The two tumbled together in a messy heap.
Quill also made his move. His foot thrusters sprayed flames, and his body slid backward using the recoil. At the same time, he had already drawn two guns from his waist and opened Fire on the alien soldiers.
"Bastard!"
Korath pushed away the alien soldier on top of him, scrambled up in disarray, raised his energy gun, and pulled the trigger at Darian!
Bang!!
A scorching energy blast shot out from the muzzle, heading straight for Darian!
Darian didn't dodge. A dark frying pan appeared out of nowhere in his hand, precisely blocking the incoming energy blast. The powerful energy blast hit it, leaving no trace, only emitting wisps of smoke.
Korath looked incredulous, pulling the trigger repeatedly, disbelieving!
However, all the energy blasts were blocked by the frying pan in Darian's hand. The energy blasts, which could easily melt metal, couldn't cause the slightest damage to the frying pan, as if the game designer hadn't even implemented damage feedback.
The frying pan was indestructible and could withstand all firearm attacks, making it arguably more powerful than Steve's shield.
Its only drawback was its limited size, making it unable to block large-area damage.
If an energy blast several meters thick were to hit, Darian's fate would probably be like sunbathing on a beach in his underwear: everything would be Black except for that one White spot.
"You're asking for death!"
Seeing Darian charging at him, Korath came to his senses and sneered.
Although he had abandoned his favored dual swords for firearms, he was still a Kree who had fought in close combat with a certain square-faced woman and survived. After his modifications, his body had been further enhanced.
He wasn't bragging, but even if he encountered that square-faced woman again now, he wouldn't even flinch if she punched him while he stood still!
Korath put down his energy gun, and his right fist, carrying a fierce wind, slammed directly towards Darian's face!
If that punch landed squarely, it would probably dent even a steel plate.
Facing Korath's incoming fist, Darian didn't dodge. He also tightened his fingers and met it with a punch!
Bang!
Crack!
A dull thud mixed with the clear sound of bone breaking rang out.
The next second, Korath was sent flying backward as if hit by a hundred-ton truck, his feet leaving the ground, and he fell heavily to the ground.
"Ah----!"
Korath's entire right arm was bent at an unnatural angle, and he screamed in pain.
Facts proved that Darian was much more formidable than the square-faced woman, actually making him cry out.
Darian picked up the energy gun that had fallen to the ground and pulled the trigger at the alien soldiers who were entangled with Quill. He cleared out these small fries in a few shots.
Then he turned the gun on Korath, who was still lying on the ground, and said, "Hands up! And don't move!"
Listen, now that's a standard statement!
Korath's face was pale. Under the threat of the gun, he gritted his teeth and slowly raised his left hand.
Bang!
Darian stomped and broke his leg, cursing, "I told you to raise both hands. Are you trying to act cool by raising only one?"
Korath: "..."
At this moment, Quill jogged over and reminded him, "Buddy, his hand was broken by you. He can't raise both hands."
Bang!
Darian kicked and broke Korath's intact hand again: "Why didn't you say so earlier? Are you deliberately trying to make me look bad!"
Korath: "..."
Did you even give me a chance to speak!?
There was nothing to be done. Korath had disturbed Darian's meal and was full of malice from the start, with a negative 50 favorability. Darian naturally wouldn't show him any mercy.
"State your identity and purpose."
Darian saw that Korath's evaluation mentioned him as a Kree Starforce member, which seemed to indicate he had a significant background. To avoid being inexplicably hunted down by some interstellar power, it was better to clarify things.
If the power behind him was indeed very strong, then he definitely couldn't be let go. He thought Morag was a great place, very suitable for burying people.
Korath snorted, "Do you think I'll tell you? Even if you kill me, I won't reveal a single word. You won't pry anything out of me."
"Is that so?"
Darian turned to Quill and said, "Go, pry his mouth open!"
Quill, hearing this, quickly waved his hands and recoiled, "I can't do that. I only know how to pry open women's mouths. I'm not good with men's."
"What are you talking about? I mean for you to use your hand to pull his mouth open."
"Oh, oh!"
Quill finally realized, quickly stepped forward, and forcefully pinched Korath's cheeks, forcing him to open his mouth.
Darian pulled out a bean bun, and without a word, shoved the entire thing directly into Korath's mouth.
Strangely, after the bean bun was stuffed into Korath's mouth, he uncontrollably made a swallowing motion, thus swallowing the bean bun.
Darian spoke again, "State your identity and purpose."
Korath, who had just been so defiant, now had a blank stare in his eyes, his mouth opening and closing as if not under his own control.
"I am Korath the Pursuer, a Kree, a follower of the great Ronan the Accuser, My Lord. I came to Morag this time to search for the Cosmic Orb. Ronan the Accuser, My Lord, ordered me to bring the Cosmic Orb back."
He spoke these words quickly and clearly, but his face was filled with terror, his eyes wide open, clearly not speaking voluntarily.
Quill was shocked, "What did you feed him?"
"A Truth Serum Bean Bun."
[Item: Truth Serum Bean Bun (After eating the Truth Serum Bean Bun, one will uncontrollably speak the truth for one minute.)]
The Truth Serum Bean Bun was much stronger than a truth serum, but its effect only lasted one minute.
Darian didn't waste time and immediately pressed on, "Who is Ronan? What does he want the Cosmic Orb for?"
Korath immediately replied, "Ronan the Accuser, My Lord, is the Accuser of the Kree Empire. He is a fanatical Kree extremist who refuses to accept the recent peace treaty signed between the Kree Empire and the Nova Corps, attempting to destroy Xandar and its civilization."
Stop talking so fast!
Korath struggled to close his mouth, but he couldn't control it; it automatically answered Darian's questions.
He wanted to smash his own jaw to stop himself from speaking, but he couldn't. Both his hands and one leg were broken, leaving only one leg he could use, and it lacked the flexibility to perform a difficult move like kicking his own jaw off.
Korath could only continue in despair, "Therefore, Ronan the Accuser, My Lord, reached an agreement with the Mad Titan, Thanos. As long as he finds the Cosmic Orb for him, Thanos is willing to help Ronan the Accuser, My Lord, destroy Xandar."
Thanos?
Darian was not unfamiliar with this name.
This name had been mentioned in the descriptions of both Loki's Scepter and the Tesseract, like a BOSS living in the background to establish his presence.
According to the usual plot conventions, such a major BOSS would generally appear in the later stages of the main story, so Darian didn't need to worry about him.
While the Truth Serum Bean Bun's effect was still active, Darian asked several questions in quick succession, and Korath answered them all honestly.
The good news was that the seemingly intimidating Kree Starforce had long been disbanded. Korath said it was personally destroyed by a square-faced traitor woman in the team.
The bad news was that the power behind Korath was also significant. The Kree Empire was a vast and ancient alien empire, and Ronan, as one of its prominent figures, held substantial military power, with countless warships under his command.
I really want it. Oh no, it's so scary!
Darian was very satisfied with Korath's honesty, so he didn't plan to trouble him further and asked the last question.
"Tell me, how can I kill you without being discovered?"
Korath: "..."
Korath died.
He died from being too honest.
Darian sighed to himself, in this deceitful World, there was one less honest person like him.
He symbolically mourned for half a second, then waved his hand, "Quill, strip them of all their equipment. Today, we can finally make some money!"
"Woohoo!"
The two returned to their old profession, stripping Korath and the others of all their equipment, then going to their spaceship and ransacking all valuable items.
Darian wasn't worried about being tracked at all.
Because Korath was an honest man, he had already revealed all the tracking devices and countermeasures on the spaceship.
After doing all this, the two destroyed the spaceship and the bodies, took the Cosmic Orb and the dozen or so pieces of game Quill had caught, got into their own spaceship, and quickly left Morag.