Besides.
Ye Li's own conditions were so outstanding, and he even used spider-silk tentacles to do some crazy... but very comfortable things to her....
It was kind of like a man getting kidnapped and locked up by a stunningly beautiful Goddess, and then made to do naughty things....
Most likely, he wouldn't be unhappy about it.....
…..
Seeing Clea's serene, sweet sleeping face, Ye Li knew she was truly exhausted, and he couldn't bear to disturb her anymore.
Fu~
A petal carried by the breeze drifted over. He casually caught it between two fingers and flicked it away, with a wave of his hand.
The petal enlarged severalfold, more than a person in length, like a light gauze, covering the beauty's delicate body.....
"Sleep~...."
…..
In the blink of an eye, time passed.
Star-Lord and the others piloted the ship to Knowhere.
Drax had already made peace with Gamora; gazing from the window at that gigantic skull, he asked in a steady, curious tone, "What is this place?"
"They call it 'Knowhere;' it was originally the skull of an ancient Celestial...."
Gamora reminded everyone, "Enter carefully; There's no order here...."
…..
When Star-Lord and the others arrived at the buyer Gamora had mentioned, a pink-skinned maid who had been waiting a long time led them deeper into a museum-like place. "Our collection of treasures is the largest in this star system."
Rocket Raccoon craned his head around, discovering that the display cases nearby held all sorts of oddities, most of them living creatures.....
Chitauri, a weird-looking duck... and even a dog in a spacesuit.....
"Allow me to introduce————"
When they came up behind a figure draped in furs, the pink-skinned woman struck a reverent pose and introduced him to Star-Lord and the others.
"Taneleer Tivan—the Collector!"
"Very good, Mr. Tivan."
Star-Lord took the Cosmic Orb from his little backpack, tossed it in his palm, and said, "We brought you the goods—where's the money?"
"Don't be hasty; I still need to examine it."
The Collector turned around, reached out to take the Cosmic Orb, and set it on a device to inspect it.
Rocket and the others hadn't yet realized the deal was about to go south, and asked him, "What exactly is this thing?"
"Before the creation of the universe, there were six singularities...."
The Collector was not stingy in explaining to them.
However, he didn't know the secret history of Nemesis, so he only recounted what he knew—————
"....Then the Big Bang created all things, and the remnants of those six singularities condensed into gems, called the Infinity Stones. These stones seem... to require extraordinary power to wield. And those who successfully wield a stone can use that power to easily destroy a civilization..... as effortlessly as harvesting wheat...."
Wu-en~ ka-cha——!
As he spoke,
the Cosmic Orb gave a click as the device twisted it open.
"Alright! Now let us behold its incomparable beauty!!"
Hearing the sound, Taneleer Tivan, excitement in his tone, hurriedly lowered his head in delight to look————
Only...when his gaze fell upon the empty center of the Cosmic Orb, his expression froze instantly.....
"Are you toying with me?!!"
Tivan swept an unfriendly look over Gamora and the others, demanding an explanation.
Gamora and the others were stunned as well, and in the end, they slowly turned their eyes toward Star-Lord....
"Hey! Why are you all looking at me?!"
Peter Quill spread his hands innocently. "I don't know what's going on either! Don't look at me like that—if it weren't to deal with Ronan in case he showed up, I wouldn't even have come with you on this trip. I don't owe you anything!"
"Quill has a point... "
Rocket Raccoon, perched on Groot's shoulder, said, "He has no reason to do that."
He and Groot were able to tag along for a cut purely by serving as bodyguards like Drax.
Therefore, at this time it wasn't right to blame Star-Lord.
However.
Gamora wasn't too pleased and complained to Star-Lord, "We went through great trouble to escort you here, and it turns out what you're holding is just an empty shell!"
"What can I do? I didn't even know what it was before!"
Star-Lord felt he was really taking the fall for nothing... he figured the thing might have been empty originally...
After all, he had personally taken it from the great hall...
[Wait!!]
He suddenly remembered—
When he left the temple, he'd been knocked out once....
At the time he thought he'd triggered some mechanism.... Now it seems———someone else was the mantis stalking the cicada, with a yellow sparrow behind!
"I think I know what hap...." Star-Lord was about to explain.
But just then—
Huen————!
Huen————!
Huen————.....
One after another, oval-shaped warships descended.
Ronan had arrived....
"Oh, great..."
Gamora helplessly stowed the Cosmic Orb and shoved it into Star-Lord's hands. "Now you should think about whether Ronan the Accuser is going to listen to your explanation."