Rocket's words might have sounded tough, but the system betrayed him.
Ding! Rocket Raccoon's trust level: 10%. Luck Sharing: 10%.
It wasn't much, but it was proof that Rocket at least had a little faith — enough to gamble on Lock's offer.
"Then start thinking about what species you'd want to be," Lock said calmly.
He turned his attention next to Gamora.
She avoided his gaze, voice cold. "I don't need anything. I just want my ten billion credits. Keep your tricks."
Lock tilted his head. "What if I offer to kill Ronan and Thanos for you? One billion credits is a pretty cheap price for that kind of work, don't you think?"
Gamora's eyes flickered, but she quickly smoothed her expression and replied just as coldly: "Don't bother. I'll kill Thanos myself."
She said the words, but there was no killing intent in her heart.
If she had the chance right now, she might not actually go through with it.
Her feelings toward Thanos were a tangled mess.
Yes, he had slaughtered her people. Yes, he had turned her into a weapon. And yet… he had raised her from childhood. She still carried the memory of him as a father figure.
Children didn't grow up with rigid ideologies — their hearts naturally leaned toward whoever raised them.
And Thanos hadn't been fake in that regard. He had poured real affection into Gamora, trained her, taught her, even if it was all for a purpose — the day he would throw that love away to claim the Soul Stone.
Because the only condition to obtain the Soul Stone was to sacrifice what you truly loved.
The Red Skull never specified whether that "beloved" had to be a person or an object, but the answer was obvious: only people counted.
A thing could be discarded without hesitation. A person you truly loved — that was the cost.
That was why Thanos could take the Stone. Their bond was real.
And that, Lock thought grimly, was what made Thanos terrifying.
Being cruel to your enemies doesn't make you strong. Being cruel to yourself? That's true power.
Since the subject was getting heavy, Lock suddenly grinned, turning toward Star-Lord.
"Forget all that. You and Gamora are destined to end up together anyway. How about I play matchmaker for you two? Consider that my fee for your share."
"ROLL!"
"ROLL!"
Star-Lord and Gamora shouted at the same time.
Lock just shrugged. "Fine, fine. Just joking. But when you two actually get together, you owe me a drink."
"Him? Pfft."
"Her? Pfft."
Gamora and Star-Lord turned away from each other with identical looks of disgust.
Gamora had no idea that later, her only real options would be a tree, a raccoon, a very literal-minded destroyer… and Star-Lord.
By comparison, Peter suddenly wouldn't look so bad.
Lock stopped teasing them. "Alright, last offer: I'll trade Nebula's restoration for your quarter. If I can help Rocket change his entire species, I can certainly repair Nebula's body."
Golden potions were cheap to him now. Fixing Nebula's cybernetic scars would be simple.
Gamora's eyes softened slightly — but she turned away. "Nebula won't accept it."
"That's her problem. I'm not asking her. I'm asking you."
Gamora stayed silent, but the system didn't.
Ding! Gamora's trust level: 20%. Luck Sharing: 20%.
Just like Star-Lord, it seemed her heart was easier to reach than she wanted to admit.
The last one was Groot.
Even with all his knowledge of the plot, Lock hadn't found any obvious "weakness" in the big tree — nothing that would make him open up.
"I am Groot," the tree said.
Lock still couldn't understand it. To him, every line sounded the same.
Rocket translated: "He asked where you think he stands in this deal."
Lock had been ready for this. He reached into his pack and pulled out a small object.
"What about this?"
It was a handheld game console, heavily modified by Tony Stark and packed with every title Earth had to offer.
Adult Groot had seemed indifferent in the original story — until his death. Then Rocket had nurtured a piece of him back to life, and when Groot regrew into a teenager, his one real obsession was video games.
Even if this Groot wasn't the same one who would later be reborn, they were still of the same essence. It was worth trying.
Groot took the console curiously, powered it on, and was quickly absorbed by the flashing colors and dozens of games.
Rocket, Star-Lord, and Gamora crowded in to see what Lock had offered that was supposedly worth ten billion credits — and then stared.
"A… game console?"
"That's it?"
Rocket threw his hands up. "Are you kidding me?! That's ten billion credits! Do you know how many consoles you could buy with that? A hundred thousand! No, a billion!"
"I am Groot," the tree replied stubbornly.
Rocket's fur puffed up. "Fine! Don't come to me for fertilizer money later when you're broke!"
Lock didn't understand what they said — but the system did.
Ding! Groot's trust level: 10%. Luck Sharing: 10%.
With all four shares secured, there was no reason to stay here any longer.
"Call Drax," Lock said. "We're leaving."
Star-Lord frowned. "Why call him? That guy's impossible to deal with."
A deep voice spoke from right outside the cell: "I am not a guy with just one tendon. I have over two hundred tendons in my body."
Everyone but Lock nearly jumped out of their skin.
How had Drax been standing so close without anyone noticing?
If he'd been an enemy, they'd all be dead by now.
Lock suspected it was a natural talent of Drax's — similar to the effect of the Reality Stone. Maybe that was why Lock had sensed him so easily.
The scene almost perfectly matched what Lock remembered from the "original plot."
Star-Lord and Gamora had been talking once and turned around to find Drax standing silently three meters away, watching them.
Only when he crunched on a snack did they even notice him.
"When did you get here?" Star-Lord had asked.
"I've been standing here for an hour," Drax had said. "I saw everything. Please continue."
Now, Star-Lord looked like he wanted to cry.
"Look, I'm not saying I don't like you, Drax. I'm just saying… we're a team, and you're not on it."
"You are targeting me," Drax said seriously. "You just admitted I am not on your team. That is targeting."
"Uh…" Star-Lord was completely speechless.
No one wanted to provoke Drax again. Gamora had learned that lesson earlier, and Rocket wasn't eager to repeat it.
Finally, all three looked toward Lock.
Lock smirked. "I think you'll all get along just fine."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Drax let out a laugh that sounded more like a battle cry.
Star-Lord winced. "Uh… why are you laughing?"
"He said we would be happy together. This is when I should laugh, yes?" Drax said, pointing at Lock.
"…Yes."
"Then why don't you laugh? Are you unhappy?"
"Ha… ha… yeah. Happy. Totally happy."
There was no choice but to let him come along.
With Groot satisfied, and the others still relying on Lock to fulfill his promises, they all began preparing for their prison break — with Drax now awkwardly part of the group.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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