The dark silhouettes enlarged bit by bit, revealing silver-black interstellar warships—nearly twenty of them in all.
Since a vibranium mothership is called a mothership, it must have sub-ships; these were the Ghost Spider's vibranium subsidiary ships.
Although they were sub-ships, their hulls were still much larger than the Nova Corps vessels; with just these twenty or so, they completely suppressed the aura of the densely packed Nova Corps fleet.
ka-ka-ka-
The cannons of the vibranium sub-ships opened, their barrels infused with the energy of the Space Stone, all taking aim at the Nova Corps and their armada—————
Seeing those massive calibers, the legion commander couldn't help swallowing… with guns that thick, one sweep could probably wipe Xandar out…
"Well? Do you still think I'm one of Ronan's men now?"
Ye Li spread his hands, the mighty vibranium fleet and the deep Divine Kingdom dimension behind him—"Do you think he measures up?"
Cold sweat beaded on the commander's forehead; his tone softened. "I think… perhaps there's been some kind of misunderstanding?"
As he spoke, he hauled over the reporting centurion and questioned him on the spot....
Learning that the whole thing started as an undocumented-ID issue, the commander silently cursed the centurion in his heart.
The procedure was correct... but the result was all wrong...
…..
"Since you know it's a misunderstanding, then take me to see your Nova Prime."
Ye Li said magnanimously, "I have a deal I'd like to discuss with her."
"This…..."
The legion commander hesitated; letting such a dangerous person go see the Nova Prime….
[Let him come… Xandar can't stop him anyway…]
The communicator in his ear suddenly sounded...
…..
Xandar, capital, council chamber.
"Not bad at all, though it feels like the setup isn't all that different from Earth's."
Under the reception of the Nova Empire's Prime, Ye Li took a seat at the conference table.
The Nova Prime was a woman—not a young beauty, but a steady, middle-aged lady.
Hearing Ye Li's words, she looked enlightened. "So, you're from Terra—no wonder…."
Naturally the Nova Empire knew of Earth, but since Earth has not yet integrated into the cosmos, Terrans aren't in our data registries.
"It's so rare for someone from Earth to come here; no wonder the people down the line misunderstood…."
The Prime offered Ye Li a slight bow in the Nova manner. "Please accept our apologies."
"No need to dwell on that. I'm here to discuss something else."
Ye Li got straight to the point. "I want to engage in a collaboration with you."
"What kind of collaboration?" The Prime was curious about what he proposed.
Ye Li explained it to her in detail; the general idea was———
The Nova Empire would proclaim his divine name and spread believers, and in return he would provide certain assistance to the Nova Empire.
And not only that—he planned to use space portals to let the Trifolium Era Biological Research Institute conduct some technological exchanges with the Nova Empire.
…..
After hearing Ye Li out.
The Prime pondered for a long while...
The terms Ye Li proposed were fairly balanced and not some overbearing demand; it was a friendly, mutually beneficial cooperation...
Thus, after consideration, she finally nodded and said, "These projects would indeed benefit both sides. I can have people get in touch with your side."
"I didn't expect Earth to produce someone like you…."
With business concluded, the Empire's Prime looked at Ye Li with some admiration. "Do you have time for a meal?"
Ye Li shook his head and stood. "I'll be going first. I'll send people to handle the liaison."
She wasn't a cute girl, so he had no desire to stay for dinner.
And while alien food is novel, it would surely be a bit off his palate.
…..
"Buddy, you really met the Nova Prime?"
Rocket Raccoon and the others were waiting not far outside the capital complex.
Seeing Ye Li come out, they all gathered around, showing more or less admiring looks.
Uh… except Groot.
That blockhead had run to a fountain again and was drinking with his mouth wide open.....
"It's just meeting a Prime—nothing worth making a fuss about."
Ye Li did a tiny bit of showing off, then bade farewell to Rocket and the others. "I just helped you out a little. No need to be too grateful. We'll meet again if chance allows."
Thanks to his face, Rocket and the others could now roam Xandar freely as long as they didn't resume breaking the law.
"Leaving already?"
Star-Lord wanted to latch onto a big shot's thigh. "We're fellow Earthlings after all, and we haven't even gotten to know each other properly yet. No need to rush off, right?"
'Get acquainted with what—your cringe dancing?'
Ye Li complained inwardly, then gave them one last farewell before flashing away.
"Hey!"
Gamora still wanted to say something more, but hadn't expected Ye Li to just leave like that.
Seeing her look, Star-Lord said suspiciously, "Hey~ don't tell me you've got a thing for him? But I don't think he's very interested in you... which is normal, honestly. We Earth guys might not be that used to your skin tone..."
Gamora's brow furrowed; she lifted her leg and kicked him—boom~!
"Ow!" Star-Lord's face twisted in pain.
Gamora certainly wasn't thinking about that; she was thinking that since Ye Li was so powerful… perhaps she could ask his help against her foster father—Thanos…
…..
Huen~
Ye Li returned to Cabin One of the Ghost Spider.
"Mr. Ye, you're back—come take a bath~"
Rachael and Iridia had long been waiting there, their fair bodies wrapped only in towels.
After slight bows, they each took one of Ye Li's arms and led him together into an artificial hot-spring pool————
Plop~
Rachel tapped the water surface with the tip of her toe, splashing up a few drops to test the temperature, then led Ye Li in to step down~
…..
'No wonder the Japanese love hot springs—it really is comfortable…'
Ye Li adjusted his senses and soaked comfortably in the clear, steaming water.
In truth... with his current body structure, soaking in magma would have pretty much the same effect...
But that would look way too strange, and Rachael and the others wouldn't be able to soak with him; it would lose a lot of the fun~
…..
"Is this pressure okay? Is it too hard?"
"Nice~ just like that~"
The cat-eyed girl and the butterfly-winged girl began wiping Ye Li's body for him, not using towels, but scooping up water with their smooth, tender hands and stroking it over his skin~
Ye Li's two hands, meanwhile, slid to their towel-wrapped waists...
Honestly... after feeling bare skin so much, the thin layer of a bath towel now actually gave it a different kind of sensation...
…..
"Mr. Ye, could you raise your hand?"
Rachael murmured softly, "Let me wash here for you~"
"No problem."
Ye Li cooperatively raised his arm, placing his hand behind her snow-white, tender neck, teasingly caressing————
"Ah~" Rachael breathed very softly, and even paused in her scrubbing for a moment.
Even if he was only touching her neck, Ye Li's master-level technique still made her body tingle as if shocked by electricity...
Seeing this, Iridia followed suit with her hands and said.
"We have to wash everywhere clean and not miss a single spot. Let me wipe here too~"
'If you soak in a hot spring, just soak properly... all this extra messing around is totally unnecessary...'
Ye Li righteously expressed his disdain in his heart, while his body very honestly spread his legs a bit, letting the palms resting on his thighs...