Early morning. The first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, sprinkling over Frieza City—formerly known as Manhattan.
Although the renaming of the city was a bit arbitrary, perhaps even reeking of "nouveau riche" energy, who was going to argue with the guy with the biggest fist?
Top floor of Frieza Tower.
Frieza sat in an executive chair carved from a single piece of rare jade, holding a steaming cup of top-tier black tea.
It cost $10,000 a cup, but for King Frieza, who now owned the entire GDP of Planet 001, this was just chump change.
"Tsk, the taste of this tea..."
Frieza took a sip, frowned slightly, and then relaxed his brow. "It actually tastes a bit like that cheap cough syrup I had in my past life."
Standing respectfully before him was a row of beauties—different styles, but all equally pleasing to the eye.
Maria Hill, Natasha Romanoff, Sharon Carter, the newly joined Scarlet Witch Wanda, as well as Black Cat and the White Queen.
Good lord, this was practically the full roster of Marvel goddesses.
However, their current attire...
If the late Captain America could see this, he'd probably be angry enough to kick open his coffin lid and jump out.
They were all in maid outfits.
Although they looked down submissively and appeared incredibly obedient, Frieza's sharp vision could still catch the numbness and trembling deep within their eyes.
Especially Wanda.
This future wielder of Chaos Magic was currently wearing a pair of fluffy rabbit ears on her head. She stared blankly at the floor as if her soul had already left her body.
"Oh my, my. It's early in the morning, don't look so grim."
Frieza put down the teacup, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, making a crisp click-clack sound.
"Especially you, Ms. Wanda."
"Although your brother has turned into cosmic dust, you should feel honored."
"After all, he sacrificed himself for the great cause of the magnificent King Frieza, even if it was just as a background prop."
Hearing this, Wanda's body trembled violently.
Red energy flickered weakly at her fingertips, but it was instantly suppressed by the agonizing pain of the Soul Contract.
"Yes... Master," Wanda bit her lip, her voice as quiet as a mosquito.
Watching this, Frieza was in a great mood.
That's how it should be.
A villain should act like a villain. Trying to redeem everyone and play nice all day—isn't that exhausting?
Just then, the office doors were pushed open.
"King Frieza! Your loyal Ginyu Force is reporting for duty!"
Accompanied by a loud, full-throated roar.
Apocalypse strode in first, followed by Loki, Magneto, and the others.
These villainous big shots, who once commanded wind and clouds on Earth, were now all wearing tight white-and-purple combat suits with pointy shoulder pads. They looked...
Well, how should one put it?
It was quite the contrast.
Especially Apocalypse.
The big blue guy had completely let himself go. He walked up to the desk and skillfully struck a shameful pose—standing on one leg, hands on his hips.
"Salute to the strongest, most noble, and most benevolent King Frieza in the universe!"
Behind him, Loki and Magneto's facial muscles were twitching frantically, but they had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow suit.
"Salute!"
Looking at this chaotic dance of demons, Frieza nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Very good."
"Apocalypse, it seems your recent corporate culture training has been very effective."
Praised, Apocalypse's old blue face wrinkled up into a smile, grinning from ear to ear.
"It is my honor to serve you, my King!"
Apocalypse dropped the pose and immediately switched to a capable, business-like reporting face.
"Reporting to the King: all old government institutions worldwide have been abolished."
"The interim management organizations we established on every continent have fully taken over social order."
"All resources are converging towards us. Those Earthlings... heh, under your policy of 'Work 3 Rest 4' and 'Free Distribution,' they are now as docile as sheep."
"Some have even built shrines in their homes, burning incense and kowtowing daily."
Speaking of this, there was a tone of disbelief in Apocalypse's voice.
Why hadn't he thought of this trick before?
This was the difference in vision!
Frieza wasn't surprised by this.
"Human nature is just like that. Give them a bite to eat and a safe cage, and they'll feel secure."
Frieza stood up and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the city being reborn beneath his feet.
"Since affairs at home are settled..."
"It's time to think about how to leave this 'Tutorial Village'."
Frieza turned around, his scarlet eyes sweeping over everyone.
"We are a real estate company. Our goal is the sea of stars."
"However!"
Frieza's tone shifted, carrying a hint of disdain.
"The transportation on this broken Earth is simply too backward."
"Rockets? You call those bottle rockets that go up when you light a fuse 'spaceships'?"
"If we use that kind of junk to conquer the universe, by the time we fly to the neighboring galaxy, this Emperor's ashes will be cold!"
Everyone looked at each other, not daring to speak.
Indeed, compared to Frieza's power to destroy planets with a wave of his hand, Earth's aerospace technology was practically no different from primitive men rubbing sticks together to make fire.
"Therefore!"
Frieza snapped his fingers.
"We must get our hands on some high-end goods."
"This Emperor has decided. Our next stop is Xandar!"
"That is the capital of the Nova Empire. I hear their spaceship technology is passable, and the environment is beautiful. It's very suitable to be our second development project."
Hearing the word "Xandar," Loki's eyelid twitched violently in the crowd.
As the Prince of Asgard and the Know-It-All of the Nine Realms (self-proclaimed), he certainly knew about Xandar.
It was a famous civilized center in the galaxy, the headquarters of the Nova Corps.
But...
If they just wanted spaceship technology, wasn't Asgard closer?
Although the ships there looked a bit retro, their speed was top-tier, and they had the Bifrost, a strategic-level teleporter.
Loki opened his mouth, subconsciously wanting to speak up and claim credit.
"My King, actually Asgard..."
The words were on the tip of his tongue when Loki suddenly shuddered, forcefully swallowing the second half of his sentence.
Wait!
What am I thinking?
Bring this demon to Asgard?
Loki stole a glance at Frieza's elegant back, and the image of the exploding moon instantly flashed in his mind.
If he brought him to Asgard...
If that old man Odin lost his temper and fought with this pervert...
The outcome...
Although Loki hated Odin and hated Thor, he didn't want the home he grew up in to turn into a cloud of cosmic dust!
More importantly, if Asgard was gone, how could he, Loki, go back to be King?
King of the Ruins?
"Ahem..." Loki faked a cough to cover his slip-up.
"Asgard what?" Frieza suddenly turned his head, looking at Loki with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
That gaze, which seemed to pierce right through one's heart, instantly soaked Loki's back in sweat.
"Nothing! My King!"
Loki immediately switched to a fawning smile, bowing ninety degrees.
"I was saying, a backwater place like Asgard isn't worthy of your status, my King!"
"Xandar is great! It's prosperous! The technology is advanced! It's perfectly suited for your inspection tour!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Frieza gave Loki a deep look, the corner of his mouth curling into a playful smirk.
He certainly knew what this little fox was thinking.
But it didn't matter.
The plot of land known as Asgard would face demolition sooner or later.
As for the Space Stone? It was already in his hand.
"Since everyone is looking forward to it so much."
Frieza raised his left hand. The blue Space Stone shimmered with an enchanting halo under the sunlight.
"Then let's not waste time."
"Natasha, Hill, bring my red wine and the sofa."
"Apocalypse, bring your men."
There was a suppressed excitement in Frieza's voice.
The universe!
That was where King Frieza belonged!
He was long tired of playing house with a bunch of Earth monkeys here.
"Let's go give the Nova Corps a big surprise!"
As Frieza and his group arrived on the roof of the tower...
HUM—!
With a thought from Frieza, the Space Stone erupted with brilliant blue light.
It wasn't an ordinary circular portal.
It was a massive spatial rift, wide enough for dozens of people to walk through side-by-side, tearing directly open above the roof.
On the other side of the rift was not the darkness of space.
It was a bustling metropolis filled with futuristic technology and strangely shaped architecture.
Countless small spaceships shuttled through the air, and the massive three-pointed star logo was visible everywhere.
Xandar, Capital of the Nova Empire!
"Let's go, minions."
Frieza put his hands in his pockets and was the first to step into the portal.