At the restaurant table, Shiller glanced at the sneaky trio in the corner while explaining Yondu's plan to Loki.
Loki pondered and said, "So how should we respond now? To carry out his plan, Yondu surely won't back down. Killing a pirate leader is easy, but this could turn into a never-ending battle."
However, Shiller revealed a mysterious smile, "You don't need to respond, because I'm already prepared."
In the room where the Guardians of the Galaxy were, Rocket jumped in front of Quill and said, "Don't ask why for what I'm about to say. If you choose to believe me, do as I say. This is the only solution."
Quill slightly widened his eyes, unclear about what Rocket Raccoon was going to say. After he crouched down, Rocket Raccoon whispered in his ear for a good three to four minutes.
Quill's expression changed from shock to stupefaction. Finally, he stood up and slapped his thigh exclaiming, "Is there not a single good person in this universe?"
"Good guys don't live long," Rocket Raccoon pat his leg and said, "I have to make sure we all survive. The doctor was right, I can't endure another loss."
Suddenly, there was an angry shout from the empty hallway, "Anyone! Anyone! I'm hungry, get me something to eat, hurry up!"
The guards outside the door exchanged glances, and went over. They opened the door to an impatient Quill who, with arms crossed, demanded, "How much longer are you going to keep me in here? I am your king's own son after all, and ever since I've been here, I haven't eaten a thing. I'm starving!"
The guard showed an awkward expression. He dared not disrespect Quill, knowing full well he was the king's only son and future heir, but he didn't expect Quill, with Spartacus's lineage, to be hungry so soon.
After thinking a while, he finally said, "Please wait, I will get someone to bring some food."
"Hurry up...Oh, and don't give me any of those nutrient solutions; they're as disgusting as dog shit. I want pizza, buffalo cheese, large size, no basil leaves, less sauce, and don't bake the crust too hard..."
The guard showed a troubled expression, but he dared not outright say he couldn't fulfill the order. Thus, he reluctantly listened while Quill placed his order. With his mind occupied trying to remember all the specifics of Quill's meal, he didn't notice a small shadow sneak through the crack in the door and past his legs.
With a whoosh, a black tentacle stuck to the ceiling and Rocket Raccoon, with his paws covered in black goo, quickly climbed over the ceiling.
He went through the window to the outer wall, found an empty spot to crawl down, and as soon as he landed, began fervently rubbing his paws, saying, "That was absolutely disgusting. I swear this is the last time I'm working with you, Dirtbag!"
"Stop jabbering, stupid raccoon. Your beastly cleanliness instincts better not interfere with our mission at this crucial juncture. Hurry up and head to their research institute!"
"You're the biggest fool. We need to go back to the ship first to get that disgusting egg, just like you."
The small stature of the raccoon combined with the agility of Venom made their infiltration smooth and unimpeded. They quickly sneaked into the Star Port. On their way to the ship, Rocket Raccoon overheard the conversation between the Asgardians and discovered that things were indeed as Gamora had speculated.
But now, he had to complete his mission. He knew that this was the key to breaking the stalemate.
They quickly retrieved the egg, then promptly headed for the most conspicuous Royal Research Institute on the main star.
Every interstellar civilization has one common feature. After entering the colonial era, they no longer need to put functional facilities on the main star. Especially for facilities like research institutes that pose a certain degree of danger, they could be placed in remote places.
However, in order to manifest their strength and to enhance the cohesion and honor within the group, most interstellar civilizations treat their mother star as a holy land, making every building that embodies the civilization's strength exceptionally splendid. The research institute, which best represents their scientific strength, is no exception.
The Research Institute on the main star of Spartacus, in fact, doesn't undertake many important research tasks - most of what it housed were but scientific achievements. Still, this played right into the hands of Rocket Raccoon and Venom.
They first snuck into the institute, found a display glass cabinet, and put the egg in it, even sticking a label of an existing exhibit on it.
Then, they took the cabinet back to the ship and sneaked the ship out of the Star Port while the guards were unaware.
They moved the ship to a place that was a certain distance from Spartacus's main star, but still within the empire's territory. Rocket and Venom immediately flew out of the ship, and blew it up with a few shots.
The ship, the glass cabinet holding the egg, and the egg's shell were all shattered, and a tiny insect that didn't stand out much flew out from the semi-transparent shell that housed the Cosmic Locust.
This newborn insect displayed astonishing mobility. Guided by its instinct to feed, it started to gnaw on the shattered celestial bodies around it.
As it grew larger and matured, the information recorded in its genetic data became clearer. Then, just like its ancestors, it started moving towards the most enticing place in the universe.
In the depths of the cosmos, a massive figure in green armor was floating quietly in the emptiness of space. Soon, he heard an echo from the vast cosmos.
"Analyst, I am the Collector. I need your help. A new piece of civilization data is being excavated. Please come here..."
The green giant opened his eyes, emitting a gentle glow as he slowly moved towards his companion who was calling him.
There were countless celestial bodies left in his wake, and as he navigated between the stars, he didn't notice a tiny speck of light that had been following him closely.
Not until the giant, named Analyst, slowed down, did the speck invade his light, and unbeknownst to him, infiltrate his armor and enter his body.
Less than half a day later, several giant holograms appeared above a small, shattered ship.
"Collector! What the hell is this all about?! Why has the Analyst been infected with plague?!!"
The full-blown rage, disbelief, and faint fear in the roar are all too evident.
"How are those damn bugs still alive? Haven't they disappeared from the cosmos long ago? What is the deal with this ship?!! Searcher!!!"
The giant known as the Searcher shook his head and said, "I have not seen them in many years. All I could do was trace their flight path to find this ship."
Several huge figures all looked down at the tiny spaceship, but none of them dared to touch it.
"This is Earth's script," a giant wearing pink armor spoke, "This is a ship from Earth."
The giants fell silent, remembering that the cosmic locusts hadn't been eradicated yet. The unfortunate one who had died on Earth left the remains and the locusts that parasitized his body there.
Why would an earth ship appear here?
Several giants looked at each other, clearly without an answer, so they could only do one thing: land on the closest civilized planet to ask what's really going on.
The moment the Celestials descended, it seemed as if everything paused.
Jason Spartacus, who was entertaining the Asgardians, looked up and saw a scene that filled him with immense fear. Several Celestials quietly floated above the planet's atmosphere, their gigantic silhouettes reaching the clouds and disappearing into the darkness of the cosmos.
He could not utter a word, but the Asgardians had even more intense reactions.
"Celestials!!!!!!" With a roar, the Asgardians recognized that the giants that descended here belonged to the Celestials group.
The Celestials group's visits to the Nine Major Kingdoms was not a one-time occurrence.
The God Clan generally had long lifespans. Some Asgardians may have seen the Celestials several times in their lifetimes, and they were very aware of the giants' strength.
Being seasoned warriors, the Asgardians, like all other martial races, reacted in only one way — they are here for me.
They might think like this because Asgard was often in conflict with the Celestials. The thinking was the giants could attack any time and challenge them to a fistfight.
But they were always the home team in those fights. Now they only had a few people here. The Asgardians might be reckless, but not foolish — they needed to call reinforcements! Now!
But they weren't the only ones that could call reinforcements.
Before the group of giants could begin to speak, two lightning bolts streaked through the sky. Following it were the massive iron shadow, the glowing female figure, a figure endlessly shimmering with magic glow, and a nebulous fog.
Odin and son, Iron Demon God, the Goddess of Glory, the Supreme Magician, and the Nameless Fog all descended together.
These were obviously brought by Thor, but Thor wasn't the only one that could summon allies.
Next came Morpheus, Dormammu, and Xeseon, the three brothers of darkness. Of course, to prevent them from causing trouble, Emperor Mount Wey had to come too.
Within a short while, the skies above Spartacus's Main Star turned into a gathering of monsters. Even the towering Celestials didn't stand out among these demons and devils.
The Celestials group was also flabbergasted.
What's going on? We didn't say anything about a meeting. Why has everyone gathered so promptly?
And what's with the one with goat hooves and the chubby one drooling?
"Celestials, what brings you here?" asked Thor, taking the lead.
The question left the Celestials group at a loss.
Isn't this place not Asgard? Or is there some expansion plan of the Nine Major Kingdoms in these centuries that we don't know about? Has the branch of the World Tree reached here?
What do you mean, "what brings us here"? What brings you here???
Obviously, though, those self-considered Celestials wouldn't openly ask this. The leading inspector sighed and spoke.
"One of the Celestials has contracted a plague. Following the trail of the cosmic locusts, we found this ship, which is clearly from Earth."
"Any evidence?"
The Celestials turned and found that it was the Iron Demon God who asked. They didn't need to explain this question because the ship was covered in human script.
"I mean, how can you prove that it was humans who brought this ship here?"
The Celestials were somewhat speechless. Just as the leading one was about to speak, Loki, radiating a glorious light, gently interjected.
"Please do not get angry, you may not know this, but the Galactic Congress has imposed a long-term diplomatic blockade on humans. Human ships cannot leave the Solar System, or they will be immediately driven away and destroyed."
"If you not believe me, you can ask the leader of this civilization. He should be a member of the Galactic Congress."
Suddenly, all the giant's and creature's gazes fell on Jason Spartacus.
Jason was nearly scared to death on the spot.