Early morning, the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, scattering over Frieza City—formerly Manhattan.
The city's name change was a bit arbitrary, one could even say it reeked of nouveau riche taste.
But who could argue when the Master here was the one with the biggest fist?
Frieza Tower, top floor.
Frieza sat in his chair, holding a steaming cup of premium black tea.
Although it cost 10,000 dollars a cup, for Frieza, who now owned the entire planet, it was merely a drop in the bucket.
In front of him, a row of beautiful women, each with a distinct style but equally pleasing to the eye, stood respectfully.
Maria, Natasha, Sharon, and the newly joined Wanda, as well as Felicia and Emma.
This was practically the entirety of Marvel baddies.
However, their current attire...
If the deceased Steve were to see it, he would probably be so angry he'd flip over his coffin lid and jump out.
They were all dressed in maid outfits.
Although they all lowered their eyes submissively, appearing incredibly docile, Frieza's keen eyesight could still catch the hint of numbness and trembling deep within their eyes.
Especially Wanda.
This future wielder of Chaos magic now wore a pair of fluffy rabbit ears on her head. Her eyes stared blankly at the floor, as if her soul had left her body.
"Oh dear, it's early morning, don't all look so glum."
Frieza put down his teacup, his fingers gently tapping the table, making a crisp "da-da" sound.
"Especially you, Miss Wanda."
"Although your brother has turned into dust, you should feel honored."
"After all, he sacrificed himself for the cause of the Emperor of the Universe, even if only as a backdrop."
Hearing this, Wanda's body trembled violently. A faint red energy flickered at her fingertips but it was instantly suppressed by the sharp pain of the soul contract.
"Yes... Master." Wanda bit her lip, her voice extremely faint.
Watching this scene, Frieza's mood brightened considerably.
That's more like it.
A villain should act like a villain, why bother with all that reformative nonsense? Isn't it tiring?
Just then, the office door was pushed open.
"King Frieza! Your loyal Ginyu Force reports for duty!"
Accompanied by a powerful roar, Apocalypse strode in first, followed by Loki, Erik, and others.
These once-dominant villain bosses on Earth, now wore a white and purple tight-fitting battle suit with two pointed shoulder pads, looking... well, how should one put it?
They looked quite contrasting.
Especially Apocalypse.
This blue-skinned behemoth had completely let himself go. He walked to the desk and skillfully struck an embarrassing pose: standing on one leg with hands on his hips.
"Greetings to the strongest, most noble, and most benevolent Lord Frieza."
Behind him, Loki and Erik's facial muscles twitched wildly, but they could only force themselves to follow suit.
"Greetings!"
Watching this chaotic scene, Frieza nodded in satisfaction.
"Good."
"Apocalypse, it seems your recent corporate culture training has been very effective."
Apocalypse, receiving praise, grinned, his blue face wrinkling.
"It is my honor to serve you, Lord Frieza."
Apocalypse dropped his pose and immediately put on a shrewd and capable reporting expression.
"Reporting, Lord Frieza, all old government agencies globally have been abolished."
"Our provisional management organizations established on various continents have fully taken over social order."
"All resources are converging towards us, and those Earthlings... hehe, under your 'work three, rest four' and 'free distribution' policies, they are now extremely docile."
"Many have even erected shrines to you, burning incense and kowtowing every day."
At this point, Apocalypse's tone was filled with disbelief.
Why hadn't he thought of this trick before?
This was the difference in perspective.
Frieza, however, was not surprised. "Human nature is just like that. As long as you give them food and a cage, they will feel safe."
Frieza stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the city being reborn beneath his feet.
"Since matters at home are settled, it's time to consider how to leave this place."
Frieza turned around, his crimson eyes sweeping over everyone. "We are a real estate company, and our goal is the sea of stars."
"But!"
Frieza's tone shifted, carrying a hint of disdain.
"The transportation on this wretched Earth is simply too backward."
"Rockets? Those firecrackers that can go into the sky with a flick of a match, dare to call themselves spaceships?"
"Using such things to conquer the Universe? By the time we fly to the next galaxy, my ashes will be cold."
Everyone exchanged glances, not daring to speak.
Indeed, compared to Frieza's power to casually blow up planets, Earth's space technology was truly no different from primitives making fire by rubbing sticks.
"So!"
Frieza snapped his fingers.
"We must get some high-end stuff."
"I have decided, our next stop is Xandar."
"That is the capital of the Nova Empire. It is said that their spaceship technology is decent, and the environment is beautiful, very suitable for our second development project."
Upon hearing the word "Xandar," Loki, standing among the crowd, had his eyelids twitch violently.
As the Prince of Asgard, the All-Knowing of the Nine Realms (self-proclaimed), he naturally knew Xandar. It was a famous civilized center in the Andromeda Galaxy, the headquarters of the Nova Corps.
However, if it was just for spaceship technology, wasn't Asgard closer?
Although the spaceships there had a somewhat retro design, their speed was definitely top-notch, and there was also the Bifrost Bridge, a strategic-level teleportation gate.
Loki opened his mouth, subconsciously wanting to speak up and take credit.
"Lord Frieza, actually Asgard..."
The words were on the tip of his tongue when Loki suddenly shivered all over, forcing himself to swallow the rest of the sentence.
Wait!
What am I thinking?
Bring this demon to Asgard?
Loki secretly glanced at Frieza's elegant back, and the image of the moon exploding instantly appeared in his mind.
If he took him to Asgard and that old geezer Odin lost his temper and fought this monster, the outcome...
Although Loki hated Odin and Thor, he didn't want the home where he grew up to turn into a pile of dust.
More importantly, if Asgard was gone, how would he ever go back to being king?
Would he be a King of Ruins?
"Cough..." Loki pretended to cough, covering up his loss of composure.
"Asgard what?" Frieza turned his head, looking at Loki with a half-smile.
That look, as if it could see through people's hearts, instantly drenched Loki's back with sweat.
"Nothing! Lord Frieza!"
Loki immediately put on a fawning smile, bowing ninety degrees at the waist.
"I mean, a rustic place like Asgard is simply unworthy of your status, Lord Frieza."
"Xandar is good. It's prosperous and technologically advanced. Most suitable for you to inspect, Lord Frieza."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Frieza gave Loki a deep look, a playful smile present on the corner of his lips.
He naturally knew what this little fox was thinking but it didn't matter.
That piece of land called Asgard would eventually be redeveloped anyway.
As for the Space Stone? It was already in his hands.
"Since everyone is so eager."
Frieza raised his left hand, the blue Space Stone shimmering with an enchanting glow in the sunlight.
"Let's not waste any more time."
"Natasha, Maria, bring my red wine and sofa."
"Apocalypse, bring your people."
Frieza's voice held an irrepressible excitement.
The Universe!
That was where he belonged.
Playing house with a bunch of Earth monkeys here had long grown tiresome.
"We're going to give the Nova Corps a big surprise."
As Frieza and his entourage arrived at the top floor of the tower—
Buzz!
With a thought from Frieza, the Space Stone erupted with dazzling blue light. It wasn't an ordinary circular portal, but a massive spatial rift, wide enough for dozens of people to pass through side-by-side, tearing open on the tower's top floor.
The other side of the rift was not the dark Universe. Instead, it was a prosperous city filled with futuristic architecture of strange shapes.
Countless small spaceships shuttled through the air, and giant three-pointed star emblems were visible everywhere.
Xandar, capital of the Nova Empire!
"Let's go, my little ones."
Frieza, hands in his pockets, was the first to step through the portal.