DOTM: Chapter 505/507

Chapter 505: Large Group

The most convenient thing about Tony's new armor now is that it can be put away anytime, anywhere. That is how convenient the nanotech armor is.

Seeing that it was indeed Ethan and Peter, Tony changed back into his casual clothes, smiled, and greeted Peter, while also sizing up the others.

"Aliens... they don't seem much different from Earthlings. Is this a plant?"

Tony looked around, and finally circled Groot.

Groot watched Tony circle him and, as usual, said the only sentence he knew: "I am Groot."

"I'm Tony Stark." After greeting him, Tony looked down and found a raccoon standing in front of him. If this raccoon hadn't been wearing clothes and seemingly carrying a weapon on its back, he would have genuinely thought it was some alien's pet.

"Is this a Raccoonian?"

"This is Rocket."

Ethan immediately introduced Rocket Raccoon. He knew Tony too well. The guy was often sharp-tongued and unrestrained. If no one stopped him, he could offend everyone present in just a few sentences.

He had brought Star-Lord to help, not to bring Star-Lord and his alien group to Earth to start a war.

After a brief introduction, everyone learned that Tony Stark was a rather powerful figure on this backward planet.

This power wasn't just his strength, but also his fame, wealth, and so on. In short, he could grudgingly be considered a big shot.

Of course, given their personalities, this group wouldn't care about such things at all.

What truly mattered to them was that all their food, drink, and supplies on Earth were provided by Tony Stark, which made them show Tony a little more respect.

After a large meal was prepared, because there were too many non-human presences present, food had to be prepared first and then brought directly, and unrelated personnel cleared out before they could start eating.

While waiting, Tony pulled Ethan aside.

"How come you feel off right now?"

"What's wrong?"

Tony gestured with his hands, seemingly searching for the right adjectives.

"Ever since I started learning magic, every time I saw you, I felt like you were a walking source of magic energy. But this time you're back, I can't feel any massive or even terrifying magic energy fluctuations on you."

Tony had secretly used detection spells to check, suspecting this Ethan was an imposter.

However, all the spells he secretly cast were easily dissolved by Ethan. When Ethan dissolved his spells, he did reveal some magic power fluctuations, and it was through this familiar magic fluctuation that he confirmed it was Ethan himself.

"I encountered some things, and I've gained some new insights. My magic level has improved significantly."

Previously, Ethan's magic energy was relatively open. If he didn't deliberately hide his power aura, mages like Tony who studied magic and strong individuals sensitive to energy could feel the vast energy within him.

Even some more advanced energy detection devices could easily detect the massive energy Ethan emitted.

After completing the planetization evolution, Ethan's own magic power became more contained. Without actively using magic to cast spells, his magic power would not easily leak out, but instead form a perfect internal cycle within his spiritual universe. That is why Tony couldn't feel any magic power fluctuations on the current Ethan.

Similarly, like in the Transformers world, when Ratchet wanted to simply use a detection device to discover the vast energy contained within Ethan, that situation would also change.

Simply put, the current Ethan can usually disguise himself as a normal person. As long as he doesn't use magic, it's difficult for anyone, even beings stronger than him, to detect his extraordinary nature.

Only those much stronger than him or with considerable skill in magic would be able to sense Ethan's power.

Tony thought about it but didn't understand what this change meant. Perhaps he hadn't gone far enough on the path of magic yet. After all, he had only been practicing magic for a relatively short time, and his current achievements were already incredibly fast, like using a cheat.

The subsequent dinner proceeded without incident. Tony mobilized his resources to purchase a large amount of supplies to fill the Milano, which would take a few days.

Ethan also called Hill, notifying the commander who was still working for him to report back.

It wasn't until this point that Ethan began to explain the details of the commission to Star-Lord and the others.

Ethan's manor had a suitable conference room, even equipped with various holographic devices for explanations.

However, Ethan didn't need these things this time because he hadn't seen the target planet with his own eyes yet.

His explanation this time was mainly to make these people understand where they were going.

As soon as he started, the whole group was startled.

"You said the target this time isn't in this universe? What does that mean?"

Star-Lord's eyes widened. Returning to Earth, his hometown, had kept his mood low because he was constantly wrestling with whether he should visit his home or not.

It was where he was born and spent his childhood. He should have a special feeling for that place.

But he had also lost his mother there, and he wasn't very sure about his other relatives now. Maybe if he went back, he would find that he had lost all his relatives, which would shatter his beautiful memories and turn into indelible pain.

In his struggle, he even hoped Tony would finish replenishing the supplies quickly so he could urge Ethan to leave soon.

Unexpectedly, the mission location Ethan gave was another universe. What did that mean?

"You've all heard of the concept of parallel universes, right?"

This wasn't some rare and profound concept. Ideas like the multiverse and parallel dimensions were commonplace. Although many people had never actually seen a parallel universe, and countless others doubted the existence of the multiverse, everyone had heard of the idea and had some understanding.

"You mean... you've found a way to travel to other universes, so you've gathered us to go to another universe to scout a certain planet to see if it's suitable for Earthlings to live on?"

Star-Lord's guess was based on the information he currently had. He had always thought Ethan was from Earth, and the current situation in the Milky Way indeed offered no space for Earthlings to expand.

If Ethan had discovered other universes, perhaps Earthlings could develop there? As for why Ethan was considering so much for Earthlings, he didn't know.

However, this guess of his made Tony laugh out loud, which annoyed Star-Lord.

"Is there something funny?"

Tony didn't answer Star-Lord but turned to look at Ethan instead. "You haven't told him yet?"

"I don't think so? I thought I had already mentioned it..."

Star-Lord was completely confused until Ethan's subsequent explanation made him realize what was wrong with his earlier statement.

"Actually, I'm not from this universe."

Ethan spread his hands. The planet I'm asking you to help me explore this time is a planet in the universe where I currently live.

With this explanation, questions like how to go to another universe became unnecessary. Since Ethan wasn't from this universe at all and could still stand here, the other party clearly possessed the technology or ability to cross universal planes.

"That's amazing."

Rocket Raccoon became increasingly excited about this commission. He was very curious about what another universe was like and what strange things might exist there. Maybe he could get some souvenirs to bring back.

Yondu, however, didn't fully believe Ethan's words. He still scrutinized them back and forth, trying to determine if Ethan and Tony were putting on an act.

Gamora and Nebula exchanged glances. Both thought of one thing: if one of the Infinity Stones was placed in another universe, then Thanos would definitely have no way of getting it.

Ethan himself held the Space Stone. Based on his earlier words, he wouldn't stay in this universe often, which meant it would be difficult for Thanos to obtain the Space Stone. He could only try to snatch it when Ethan came over.

Ethan, holding the Space Stone, was undoubtedly very difficult to kill. If things went wrong, he could completely escape using spatial teleportation.

Everyone had their own things to consider, while Ethan focused on explaining the situation to Star-Lord, including some details about his own situation in that world. Rocket Raccoon was also listening carefully.

Tony also offered some opinions on Ethan's situation, especially concerning the spaceship.

"Although I've mastered a lot of new technologies, there are still many things that haven't been sorted out. If I were to build a new ship now, it would be difficult to build a good enough one. Since you have a target, you can get that ship first to get by for a while."

Ethan had no objection to this. This was part of his plan all along.

Once everything was explained, everyone rested for a few more days. The Milano was also fully restocked with supplies, and they even crammed in some nanite repair robots made by Tony, though the guy took a repair nanite spray gun for himself.

After Maria Hill returned, Ethan didn't linger in the Marvel world.

His visit this time was very rushed. Besides Tony, he only had a hasty meeting with Thor and didn't see anyone else.

After completing his predetermined goals in this world, Ethan directly said goodbye to Tony, put the Milano into a container, and then activated a teleportation spell with everyone, arriving on the Prinz Eugen.

Because Ethan had roughly explained his situation beforehand, no one was surprised that their destination was a ship, and a backward surface vessel at that.

Compared to that, they were more interested in this training ground that resembled a small planet.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 506: Prince Eugen's Intelligence Core

An artificial celestial body the size of an asteroid with a complete ecosystem inside was not something easily found even in the Marvel Universe.

Anyway, Rocket Raccoon peered through the glass window for a long time and couldn't tell the difference between this place and a real planet. It looked just like a genuine ocean.

While Rocket Raccoon was peering out the window at the sea, Ethan had already introduced everyone. Although Logan and the others were surprised that Ethan had brought back so many people at once, they didn't find it strange after learning that these were Peter's companions. If Ethan could find companions everywhere, why couldn't Star-Lord?

Compared to Ethan, who had been adventuring on the ocean, Peter, who wandered throughout the galaxy, probably needed the company of companions even more.

As for the appearance of Yondu, Gamora, Groot, and the others, which differed from Earthlings, that was no big deal.

Most of Ethan's companions, except for the newly joined Mordred and Galahad, had seen extraterrestrial life with him, and besides their skin color, Yondu and the others were generally not much different from Earthlings.

The only one with a significant difference was Groot the tree-person, but a tree-person didn't look scary at all, especially since Groot always wore a friendly smile.

It could be said that the original members of the Prinz Eugen had no extreme reactions. Only Betty seemed a bit flustered.

It wasn't that she hadn't seen people of other races. The Empire was vast, and during its initial rise, it had conquered and absorbed many other intelligent races from the universe, though these races didn't hold high positions within the Empire.

"Where exactly did these people come from?"

This question bothered her for a long time, especially since Ethan had only left for a moment and returned with so many people shortly after.

Most of them were clearly not native residents of this training ground, as the native residents of the training ground were of a unified race, using the appearance of the Empire's core race as the basic template.

This made Betty doubt Ethan's identity again, until Ada on the side explained the situation to her briefly. Only then did Betty understand what was really going on.

Why Ethan could master technology and resources much more advanced than other adventurers, possess such an advanced warship, and have the confidence to declare his intention to venture into space.

All this was because Ethan possessed the ability to travel to different universes and acquire various resources to make himself stronger, which was the fundamental reason he could easily reach this point.

It was only then that Betty learned that, including Ada, all members on this ship were recruited by Ethan from other worlds (of course, there were also some who got on by accident), meaning they were not native residents of this training ground at all.

Betty could understand why Ethan hadn't explained the situation to her before.

At that time, Ethan was very likely to become an enemy of the Empire. If he had told her everything given her identity, she would have suspected Ethan of having ill intentions towards her.

Having appropriate precautions like this, and only telling her the truth after confirming that something was wrong with the Empire, actually made her feel relieved deep down. Telling her the truth proved that Ethan, or rather this team, had tentatively accepted her. Telling her these things at this time also proved that Ethan had no bad intentions towards her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to be wary of her. He could have just told her everything since he would have silenced her in the end anyway.

After understanding the specifics, Betty felt it was very magical and also became somewhat curious about other worlds. She wondered if she would have the opportunity to follow along and see other universes.

Ethan didn't know Betty's thoughts. He was currently showing everyone around. As for getting familiar with the environment, that wasn't necessary. The more troublesome situation now was that the Milano wasn't a very large spacecraft, and there were quite a few people on board.

"Yondu has another fighter jet."

"What? You want me to take out that fighter jet? I was planning to keep it as a collectible."

Yondu seemed to particularly like these small display items. He used to prefer dolls, but ever since Ethan put his fighter jet into a completely transparent glass container, Yondu had developed a new preference.

Ethan was quite speechless about this and could only promise that after this trip was over, he would help him put the fighter jet back into a new container, and guarantee that it would be a new, sturdier container, so there would definitely be no situation where it accidentally broke and the fighter jet returned to its original state.

"I knew you were a good person. I especially like cooperating with people like you."

Yondu was as happy as a child, and Ethan felt that the subtext of this guy was "Cooperating with good people allows you to take advantage!"

However, the supplies in Yondu's fighter jet had been emptied and needed to be replenished. Otherwise, it would be ridiculous if they flew for less than half a day and found that the people on board the space fighter were starving.

This kind of thing wasn't a difficult problem to solve. The Prinz Eugen itself carried a large amount of supplies. Now that they were preparing to go to space, the Prinz Eugen, like the Goddess of Dawn, would become one of Ethan's collectibles and would be difficult to use for real purposes again.

In this situation, the supplies on the ship naturally had to be emptied. Otherwise, would they just sit there and get moldy?

Transferring supplies wasn't too much trouble. Everyone on the ship had storage equipment, and Ethan still had some empty storage items on hand. Seeing how convenient this thing was to use, all the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy who came this time, including Star-Lord, asked for one—except for Groot.

Teaching them how to use it wasn't very difficult either. Yondu's ability to control the Yaka Arrow involved the use of psychic energy. Although it was released through a specific device, it proved that he had mastered similar techniques.

Moreover, Tony Stark had been researching products that combined technology and magic, and had gained some insights into adding technology to such magical items to make them easier for people who didn't understand magic to use. Ethan had also learned this knowledge and made some modifications to the storage items that Rocket Raccoon and Gamora took to make them easier to use.

Star-Lord did not choose the improved storage item. His contact with Ethan during this time had made him start to think about whether he should properly explore the potential of his bloodline.

Ego was indeed dead, and he no longer had energy he could control. But Ethan had told him: Ego is Ego, and Peter is Peter.

Ego's death didn't mean Peter's death. The blood flowing in his body was his own blood, and his extraordinary talent was right there. No one could take it away.

Basically, this time Star-Lord chose to have Ethan specifically make him strengthening potions and provide specialized guidance as compensation. As for resurrecting his mother, he struggled for a long time and really couldn't figure out if he should do it, so he put that choice aside with a similar sense of avoidance.

Ethan didn't try to persuade him or anything. He respected Star-Lord's choice and put the topic aside, no longer mentioning it.

After filling up the supplies, Star-Lord's fighter jet took off first, followed by Yondu's fighter jet.

Except for Ethan, everyone had already boarded the two space fighter jets. After ascending, the two fighter jets hovered in mid-air, and Star-Lord leaned out slightly, looking down at Ethan.

"Is he going to store that ship?"

Having witnessed Ethan storing his and Yondu's fighter jets, they all knew exactly what Ethan was going to do, but they were surprised that such a large warship could also be put into a glass container and carried around.

"What a convenient ability."

Actually, Ethan wasn't just going to store the Prinz Eugen. He also needed to shut down various systems, especially taking out the Prinz Eugen's intelligent system chip.

This chip was the core program of the Prinz Eugen's intelligent system. As long as this chip was removed, the Prinz Eugen would be just an advanced warship without an intelligent system, even if all the computer clusters were still there and hadn't been moved.

As for what to do with it after taking it out, Ethan hadn't made a final decision.

According to his previous thinking, such intelligent programs just needed to complete the tasks he assigned and shouldn't have any self-awareness, just honestly be a tool. So it wouldn't hurt to discard it when it was no longer useful.

But Ethan was a bit nostalgic. He had been using this intelligent program for so long that he was used to it, and he felt a little reluctant to let it become a display piece along with the Prinz Eugen.

So he took out the core program. Perhaps he would install this intelligent program on his new ship. At that time, maybe he would have to give this program a new name.

"It is said that once you name an item... even inanimate objects like sofas or televisions, people will unconsciously invest feelings in them. If I really give it a new name, maybe I'll have to seriously consider giving this program a better configuration."

Getting off the Prinz Eugen, whose systems were now completely shut down, Ethan stood on the surface of the sea and released a spell, storing the Prinz Eugen in a transparent rectangular container about thirty centimeters long.

The container had about one-third of its depth filled with seawater, supporting the Prinz Eugen on the water's surface.

Looking at the still very new Prinz Eugen inside, Ethan then glanced at the seemingly endless sea in the distance. Finally, he put both the Prinz Eugen and the intelligent system chip into his storage space, turned around, and flew towards the sky.

Ethan boarded the Milano piloted by Star-Lord Peter Quill. The Milano would be the flagship for this operation, while Yondu would pilot his own fighter jet, following the Milano.

"What should we do next?"

"Go straight up, fly towards the sky!"

Star-Lord had already learned what this world was like before and knew there was a lid in the sky.

However, since Ethan told him to fly this way, there must be a way to solve this problem, so there was no need to ask any further questions.

Not only did Star-Lord not ask any more questions, but when he used the communication device to tell the other fighter jet, Yondu didn't ask anything either and directly followed the Milano as it flew towards the sky.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 507: Purple Star

Passing through the blue light gate, the Milano shot out of the training ground world and into space. The view outside the window abruptly changed from a clear blue sky to a boundless void of black dotted with specks of light, stretching infinitely in all directions.

Star-Lord had seen this scene countless times. Piloting a spaceship away from a planet and into the cosmic void was practically his daily routine.

But for Ethan and the others aboard the Prinz Eugen, this moment held a completely different significance.

"Finally... we've reached this point."

Logan stood behind Ethan, holding onto the co-pilot's seat as he looked out the window.

Although Ethan had said early on that their future goal was to break out of the planet and venture into the universe, back when Ethan was still piloting a sailing warship, and Logan knew this day would come eventually, he hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly.

Betty also felt a complex mix of emotions. She had previously thought Ethan's talk of leaving the training ground and flying into space was merely ignorant boasting.

She hadn't expected to be proven wrong so quickly. Although she now understood how Ethan was able to achieve this, the realization that she had truly left the training ground and was now in space still felt like a shock.

After all, deep down, her image of Ethan hadn't fully shifted from that of a training ground native, even though she clearly knew he was very different from the others.

The rest of the people didn't have many strange thoughts. Except for Mordred and Galahad, the others weren't new to space. They had already experienced their awe.

However, Galahad and Mordred turned into question machines, constantly asking about things they didn't understand. Their previous knowledge didn't include cosmic space. Although they had learned a lot aboard the Prinz Eugen, much of it was just dry information they had heard once without truly grasping the concepts. Now, they were finally connecting that information to reality, which also led to even more questions.

Fortunately, Annette was also on the ship. As the only scientist aboard the Prinz Eugen, she could effectively answer the various questions Mordred posed.

After flying forward for a while, the Milano stopped, adjusted its position slightly, and turned to face the direction they had come from.

Yondu, piloting his fighter, followed closely behind. Seeing the Milano stop, he also adjusted his position and stopped beside it.

Everyone gathered near the cockpit, looking out through the fighter's front window towards the distance.

That was the place they had lived for a considerable time. Even after putting some distance between them, the training ground still appeared very large.

From their position above the training ground in the Milano, they could clearly see the entire training ground's weather distribution. The storm seas, resembling walls, were particularly prominent from this angle, perfectly dividing the training ground into inner, middle, and outer regions.

"So that's what it looks like?"

From this angle, the training ground appeared like a plane, although in reality, the sea surface had some curvature.

"It looks like an ark ship."

Star-Lord had already understood the mission. They were to travel to nearby planets and survey them to see if they were suitable for life.

If they were habitable, all the people on this ark ship would be relocated to a real planet.

Of course, how to transfer so many people was not Star-Lord's concern. He was only responsible for surveying the planets.

"Is that the planet?"

The entire training ground was actually within the gravitational influence of the nearby planet, orbiting it like a small moon.

It was precisely because it was captured by the planet's gravity that the training ground didn't keep flying towards the star and eventually get swallowed by it.

One could say this planet was the savior of the training ground and all life on it. Now, they would see if this savior could truly persist to the end and accept the intelligent life from this training ground to settle there.

As Star-Lord shifted the topic to the current objective, everyone on the Milano also turned their gaze towards the planet further in the distance.

It was a planet that was mostly blue-purple. It wasn't clear yet whether this color was due to unique vegetation on the planet or some component in the atmosphere. They would need to get closer to find out.

The only thing they could confirm for now was that the planet was quite beautiful.

"Shall we head out now?"

"Let's go."

This wasn't the right time to stay here looking at the training ground and feeling nostalgic.

Determining the planet's situation sooner would also allow them to resolve the training ground's crisis earlier. Once this matter was handled, he could do whatever he wanted without any worries.

The Milano adjusted its direction slightly, restarted its engines, and flew towards the purple planet.

Yondu followed closely. At the speed of these two Ravager fighters, they didn't fly for long before entering the purple planet's atmosphere.

"Begin atmospheric composition analysis."

While piloting the ship, Star-Lord instructed Gamora, who was in the co-pilot's seat, to conduct environmental scans of the planet.

At the same time, he was observing the planet with his own eyes.

Although the planet's air conditions weren't clear yet, he could already see the purple color covering almost the entire planet below.

The plants covering the land in the distance were purple, and even the ocean below was purple. This planet had a large amount of liquid water, and from the direction the Milano entered, the area covered by liquid water was considerable, likely occupying about half of the planet.

"What's the situation?"

Gamora reeled off a string of data, which made Ethan feel dizzy. Fortunately, Gamora summarized it in simple terms at the end. "Based on the data observed so far, the planet's atmospheric environment is suitable for human life... I used Peter's environmental requirements as the baseline."

Star-Lord's requirements for a habitable environment were the same as an average Earthling, only his resistance to extreme environments was slightly stronger. For example, an ordinary person would die quickly in a vacuum, while Star-Lord could last for a few minutes longer.

Therefore, an environment where Star-Lord could survive normally was equivalent to one suitable for ordinary humans.

"That's good news."

Suitable air composition solves many problems. Combined with the planet's abundant liquid water, the basic conditions for life are present.

As for food... I wonder if those purple plants are edible?

By this time, the Milano had entered the planet and was cruising in the air at the lowest possible flying speed, while also conducting further scans of the planet's conditions.

"Are there any signs of life?"

This time, Ethan didn't ask Star-Lord, but Logan who was standing nearby.

Ever since entering the planet, Logan had closed his eyes and continuously sensed the planet's life force. As a druid, even a novice one, he possessed the ability to sense life.

"I can feel a very strong vitality, but I don't sense any true life."

Star-Lord didn't know what Logan had done to make that judgment. Anyway, Ethan and his group all possessed some strange powers, so he wasn't surprised by it.

However, after the Milano had flown for a while, it finally moved from above the sea to above the land, and at this point, Gamora's data showed some changes.

"Peter, decrease altitude."

Star-Lord lowered the flying altitude as Gamora instructed. The Milano was now flying at a low altitude, and the dense purple forest below seemed to be right under their feet.

At this altitude, everyone could clearly see that the purple forest was filled with a light purple mist, which looked ethereal and dreamy.

However, the scan results provided by Gamora were not so pleasant.

"The air in this area contains many special components. Since there's no corresponding data in the database, I don't know what effects these components will have."

This wasn't surprising. After all, it wasn't the same universe, and even within the same universe, different planets might have some unknown elements.

"Let's continue flying for now and observe the general situation in this vicinity. Then we can decide whether to land and conduct a ground survey."

The data obtained so far was generally ideal, but Star-Lord didn't rashly land the Milano. Instead, he had the two fighters split up and continue observing in different directions to collect more data before deciding on the next step.

Furthermore, considering that the dense purple forest and thick fog made it impossible to see clearly below, except for the initial descent to collect some data, the two fighters maintained a higher altitude at other times to avoid something suddenly leaping out from below and attacking them.

After over a dozen hours of observation, the two fighters regrouped and ascended back into orbit before stopping.

"Based on the data we just observed, we can definitely proceed with a ground survey. Why aren't we choosing to land directly?"

This arrangement was requested by Ethan. He didn't plan to have the two fighters land and stay on the planet.

"To ensure the fighters aren't attacked," Ethan made a gesture with his finger, "even if they stay here, I have a way to get onto this planet."

Star-Lord nodded. Ethan's suggestion was a precaution, and after hearing the explanation, he also thought it was a good choice.

"So, you'll take us to the ground next?"

"Yes, we'll go down to the surface to take a look. Then the specific surveying work will be your responsibility. I'll just be responsible for protecting you and ensuring I can bring you all back safely if necessary."

If things went smoothly, they might even establish a temporary camp on this planet.

This arrangement sounded fine, and Star-Lord thought so too. He also decided on the members for the first landing party, including Star-Lord and Ethan, as well as Nebula, Rocket Raccoon, Logan, Groot, and Annette.

(To be continued.)