Inside the rest cabin, Arthur was the only one left, lying on the rather uncomfortable bed, with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
After a long time, he couldn't help but sigh.
Whether it was escaping, fighting Yondu's mind-controlled Arrow, or making a deal with Star-Lord, none of it could change one reality... he was in space now.
Outside the window was an endless expanse of stars, vast and dark, with the occasional twinkle, but it still felt lonely.
Whether he went mad, insane, or had a mental breakdown, it wouldn't change his current situation.
The Perfect Serum experiment was incomplete, and he didn't know what would happen once he left.
Would the energy blast from the Tesseract destroy the data stored in the computer?
Even if there were emergency measures, the energy of the Tesseract was different from others...
And once he left, he wouldn't be able to return for at least six months. Even with a star map, the journey would take at least that long.
Before that, he would have to spend an unknown amount of time earning enough to cover the travel expenses.
"I hope it doesn't take too long."
Arthur rubbed his forehead, thinking about Dr. Connors and Banner.
When the energy explosion occurred, Banner's transformation into the Hulk surprised Arthur: "If the problem wasn't to be solved with the serum in the first place. What if we could have had a calm discussion with the Hulk from the beginning?"
He tapped his head: "In Thor 3, the Hulk already had a completely independent personality. He was a little silly, but he was communicative. If I had been willing at the time, could I have resolved the hidden dangers in Banner earlier?"
Although there was a risk of being turned into a pancake by the Hulk, it might have been possible.
"Ultimately, it's still a matter of insufficient ability."
Arthur rolled over: "If I had enough ability, there would be no need to suppress Hulk. Simply matching his strength would avoid such passivity."
He thought from Banner to Hulk and then to Dr. Connors.
What kind of situation would he face when he left? His expectations had been shattered into illusions; could he hold on? If the data wasn't corrupted, maybe it wouldn't be a problem. With his ability, he shouldn't have forgotten the Perfect Serum Formula, right?
But even if he remembered, how would he solve the last problem in the experiment?
After thinking about it for a while, he felt that it was pointless to think about these things now, as he wouldn't be going back any time soon.
But for some reason, he suddenly thought of Lily...
He had stayed with her for several months and hadn't paid any rent yet.
Now he left without a word. When he returns, will he have to explain himself? If she asks where he has gone, what should he say? Should he say that he went on a long trip to see the galaxy?
Damn it!
With Lily's temper... well, with her temper, there was not much you could do.
After all, she was a stubborn girl with a soft heart.
The thought of that made him smile inexplicably. Back on Earth, they used to talk from time to time.
She always talked about things that happened at school, all sorts of chaotic things... regardless of Arthur's interest.
But for some reason, hearing these unrelated things always gave him an inexplicable sense of peace.
Perhaps this was the comfort he had never admitted to himself, soothing the feeling of isolation and helplessness.
"A magical girl."
Arthur half closed his eyes and Carter's face inexplicably appeared in his mind.
"Still a bit square though..."
He muttered to himself.
...
...
In a hazy, half-dream state, Arthur suddenly opened his eyes, reached out, grabbed the front of the person in front of him, rolled off the bed, and pinned him down while drawing a knife, ready to strike!
"It's me!"
Star-Lord's panicked voice rang out.
Arthur then squinted, fully waking from his slumber.
Releasing his grip on Star-Lord, he frowned and asked, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"Huh? That's it? You almost killed me!" Star-Lord shouted in a low voice.
"Oh, sorry." Arthur said, "I guess it's the aftereffects of being a battlefield veteran. In a place where there's little sense of security, even in sleep, I might end up killing someone."
"Cool!"
Star-Lord adjusted his clothes and said, "But I don't like it!"
"Suit yourself... But if I were you, I'd answer the previous question." Arthur raised an eyebrow and looked at Star-Lord.
Star-Lord thought for a moment and said, "Right, I was going to make you a new mask. Yours... well, it's cool, but it's not very practical in space. It doesn't give you any protection."
Arthur nodded, sighed, and said, "Thanks!"
"Wow, you actually said thanks?"
Star-Lord exaggerated, "I thought you'd just say, 'And then? You have no idea how much that sentence hurt my soul!"
"...Probably about this much?"
Arthur gestured with his hand.
Star-Lord stared for a moment and then burst out laughing: "You, you're much more interesting than I thought. I can't even imagine what it would be like if you were cold all the time. It would be even more despairing than this 'prison'! This is great; you're a good buddy!"
Arthur blinked, tsukkomi-ing inwardly, "I really didn't want to hear it like that..."
"Come with me."
Star-Lord suddenly patted Arthur on the shoulder and said, "I'll take you somewhere."
Arthur, having been disturbed from a good dream, could only follow... Speaking of which, what exactly had he been dreaming about?
There seemed to be dancing, and Carter's face?
He couldn't really remember.
As he followed Star-Lord through the various corners of the ship, it was clear that, having grown up here, Star-Lord knew the place inside out.
There were many hidden passageways in unexpected places.
Arthur gained a lot of insight by following him...
He then began to draw a mental map of the layout, subconsciously planning how to hide and kill in such an environment!
As this thought came to him, Arthur frowned: "Why have I been thinking about killing so much lately?"
"We're here."
Star-Lord's voice suddenly reached his ears. He operated the keypad beside the door, which opened immediately: "Hey, this is the Raider's warehouse. Most of it is stuff salvaged from space. Some of it is valuable, some isn't. But many things here are useful. The materials for your mask will be found here. Yondu always guards this place with a password, but little does he know I've known it for a long time!"
Arthur blinked, feeling as if Star-Lord's every move was actually known to Yondu, but perhaps he was just allowing it.
Thinking this way, Arthur suddenly felt a bit envious.
### End of Chapter
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