Planet Sakaar?
Hearing Calvin's explanation, Kyle paused for a moment. He looked around at the sprawling landscape of garbage and finally began to understand.
No wonder it looked so familiar. This was the so-called "Cosmic Junkyard," a lost place where both the Hulk and Hulk had fallen.
Calvin pointed to the scattered small colorful wormholes in the sky and added, "The spatial stability of this planet is extremely unstable. Countless wormholes surround the sky, and these unstable wormholes occasionally connect with different parts of the universe. Some civilizations use them as perfect garbage disposal sites."
"So, you're saying that when I was traveling through space and crossed the activated wormhole, I ended up here as discarded garbage?"
Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Kyle seemed to recall something. He extended his left hand and looked at it. There was a distinct burn mark left by the Space Stone, but the Infinity Stone itself was nowhere to be seen.
His mind quickly entered the Card Space to confirm but to no avail and a slight unease settled in Kyle's heart.
Not only had he lost Venom and his equipment, but he had also misplaced the Space Stone, which was crucial for traversing the cosmos.
Seeing Kyle's troubled expression, Calvin consoled in a soft voice, "Sir, don't be sad. All lost lives, from higher-tier gods to lower-tier lifeforms, can't escape the fate of exile here once caught in the vortex of the wormhole."
Was that supposed to be comforting?
Kyle glanced at the small creature with a slightly annoyed expression, shook his head helplessly, and then turned his attention to the miniature wormhole that had returned to its original state and the garbage heap he emerged from.
Feeling puzzled, he asked, "Wait. I had a friend with me when we fell into the wormhole vortex. Why did I appear here alone? Why didn't it fall with me?"
"That's quite normal." Calvin raised its paw, recalling the catastrophic scene when the gigantic vortex appeared earlier, and patted its chest with lingering fear. "That was the infamous Crimson Portal Vortex."
Calvin paused for a moment before continuing, "It's formed by the collapse of neutron stars in the universe. It's not always a pure spatial wormhole. Time wormholes are often intertwined with it below. Even if you both fell into the vortex at the same time, your final locations are not fixed here. It's impossible to predict who will arrive here first."
"Time and space wormholes?" Kyle's headache intensified. He asked calmly, "How big could the time difference be?"
Calvin extended two tiny fingers, "A week or two…" Kyle was about to heave a sigh of relief when it quickly added, "Or one or two years."
Kyle: "…"
A difference of one or two years and one or two weeks was quite substantial!
If Venom needed that long to arrive here, by then, without his genetic illness being cured, the grass on his grave would be three meters high! If he even has a grave and does not die a useless death!
"Enough of that. Although I didn't arrive where I intended to, as long as this is a habitable planet with extraterrestrial life forms, there's a chance of finding Ability Cards that could alter my fate."
"Now, let's first establish a foothold here and explore this planet."
As Kyle considered this, his mood gradually settled. His gaze fell on Calvin, whom he looked up and down.
Under his sharp scrutiny, Calvin's fur stood on end, and it took a step back, trembling slightly. "Um, I'm just a lower-tier modified lifeform. My flesh isn't really tasty."
In the vastness of outer space, there were all sorts of peculiar species, especially on a lawless place like Planet Sakaar. Survival and resource struggles led to widespread hunting and consumption of living beings.
"I'm not interested in eating you." Kyle shrugged and spoke, "Calvin, I'd like to propose a trade."
"What kind of trade?" Calvin raised its ears, looking at Kyle skeptically. "You've just arrived here, and you probably don't have the currency of Planet Sakaar. Besides, you're currently…"
Calvin scanned Kyle's nearly naked body, dressed only in a pair of briefs, and holding two laser firearms. It hesitated, not daring to say the phrase "broke."
It was as if Kyle had seen through its thoughts. He raised his chin and gestured to the garbage heap beside him. "I'll trade with you using this garbage heap."
"What did you say?" Calvin stomped its feet in exasperation. "I thought you were going to offer the spoils from killing those five scavengers just now as the trade."
"From just now until now, weren't you eyeing that heap of garbage? The new garbage heap hasn't been searched yet, and it holds quite a bit of value." Kyle looked calmly at Calvin, his words carrying a deeper meaning. "You didn't show yourself earlier because you wanted to wait until I left before coming back here to scavenge, right? You're also a scavenger, I assume."
"Well…" Caught red-handed, Calvin scratched its head awkwardly, thought for a moment, and then gritted its teeth, "A high-pressure laser firearm and the exclusive searching rights for this new garbage heap. I'll agree to complete the trade with you."
"No problem," Kyle replied cheerfully and tossed one of the laser firearms to Calvin.
Calvin effortlessly caught the laser firearm, which was bigger than itself, and hung it diagonally on its back. It pondered for a moment and said, "You're a good person. You didn't force me into anything. So, what do I need to provide in return?"
Kyle smiled and said seriously, "I need a guide who can help me understand this planet and assist me in settling here."
…
Somewhere in a garbage dump on Planet Sakaar at an unknown time.
As small wormholes in the sky sporadically rained down small bits of trash, a spherical object made up of a metal armguard, a peculiar ring, and an energy pistol fell, splashing a few drops of water as it hit the garbage stream below.
"Hmm?" A solitary humanoid scavenger not far away raised its head and witnessed this scene. It quickly dashed into the stream, disregarding the filth, and started frantically searching through the water.
In a matter of moments, the humanoid scavenger excitedly fished out the assembled items that formed the spherical object and continuously wiped them clean with its cloak.
With a slight effort, the humanoid scavenger pulled the Vibranium Bracer away from the spherical object. Along with it came several sticky black threads entwined around the armguard, resilient and impossible to break.
"There seems to be something inside?" The humanoid scavenger murmured in confusion. It held the spherical object in its hands, brought its eyes closer to the gap, and tried to catch a glimpse of what was inside.
*Swoosh!*
Black liquid surged out of the spherical object like an erupting volcano. It adhered to the humanoid scavenger's face, similar to the tentacles of an octopus. The humanoid scavenger didn't even have a chance to scream; it fell into the stream, struggling and flailing amidst the garbage and water.
*Gurgle…*
The humanoid scavenger's body sank to the riverbed, emitting a few bubbles. Then, it suddenly jerked upright again. Its entire body was covered by a layer of black horny membrane, muscles bulging, making it look much taller and stronger. Its facial features turned monstrously grotesque and terrifying.
"Finally rid of that man…" The humanoid monster grinned ferociously, letting out a hoarse and furious voice. "I won't be Venom anymore!"
"I am— Slaughter!"
(End of this chapter)
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