Chapter 335

"What did you say? The alien fleet lost its escort ships... dimensional leap? Peter, even if you've got your license, you still shouldn't be this drunk during the day..."

"... ine, but I'm an adult, you get it? And I haven't had that much... JARVIS says I'm drunk all day? JARVIS! JARVIS! You traitor! I've only had one bottle this month..."

"Alright, where did the fleet come from? Of course... I know aliens exist, but why are they here?"

"The Lone Path to Immortality"

While on the phone, Stark suddenly heard a sharp "zzzt" behind him; he turned to see a portal materialize in midair, out of which Strange and Nick tumbled first.

Nick landed hard on the floor, Strange crashing onto him; the SHIELD director let out a cry, clutching his waist as he staggered to his feet, shouting at Strange: "You incompetent wizard! Next time you open a portal, can you at least open it on the ground?!"

"Oh damn, my arm..." Strange groaned, holding his arm. "I've only been learning magic for a few months—you can't expect perfection!"

Then both stood up, Stark walked over, and the three stood together, staring up at the portal, waiting for the next unlucky soul to fall.

Shearer poked half his body out of the portal, glanced down at the three below, then dissolved into a cloud of gray mist that drifted down and landed smoothly; all three let out a simultaneous "pfft."

Next flew out Loki; Stark's eyes widened. He glanced around, but before he could speak, Loki opened her mouth first: "Don't be surprised—I'm Loki. Got a problem with that?"

"I..." Stark made a thinking gesture with his hand, then said: "No, you're really beautiful. Seriously."

Strange and Nick both shot Stark a look and let out a "pfft."

"Alright, the morally flexible are all here. Peter called you yet?"

"Hey, Mr. Shearer, I'm right here!" Peter's voice shouted from the phone: "Did you hear what I just said?! The Kree fleet!!!"

"We know. Your communications all pass through the Sanctum; Strange already heard your conversation."

"There's really an alien fleet?" Stark said, surprised. "Are the Kree like the Asgardians?"

"I thought you wouldn't be surprised—after all, an alien fleet is probably more in line with your idea of aliens than those 'gods' from Asgard, right?"

Stark nodded. "I'm surprised because why would an alien fleet come here? Did they all make an appointment? Either they don't show up for tens of thousands of years, or they all show up at once?"

"This is tied to recent major events in the universe. Didn't you already know? There's a war going on out there—the alien fleets are just caught in the crossfire."

Strange turned to Loki. "Tell us about the Kree. Who are they?"

Loki shook her head. "I don't know their history well. I only know they're a vast cosmic empire, ruled by the Supreme Intelligence. They're similar to Asgard—a militarized state, every citizen a soldier."

"Their Sanctum-class ships are famous across the universe, called planet-ships because each is built from an entire planet transformed into a warship. Even in economic terms, their technology is extremely advanced."

Stark rubbed his chin, posing a more technical question: "What race are they? Technology or magic?"

Loki sighed. "You still don't get it—there's never been a distinction between technology and magic."

"Imagine if you traveled back to prehistoric times and showed humans, still using stone tools, the power of electricity. Wouldn't they think your electricity was magic?"

"Asgard is the same. To you, we use magical energy—but it's not magic. The universe's primordial energy manifests in many forms, but human life levels are too low to directly extract and use it."

"Odin's lightning is one such primordial force. Because his life level is high enough, he can wield it directly. Wind and fire are the same. Humans use this energy too—but since you can't reach the primordial level, you need tools to channel it, which you call 'technology.'"

"So using primordial energy directly is more advanced?" Stark asked Loki.

"No, it's not that simple. Asgardians use tools too—we have starships, teleportation devices, even air conditioners and elevators, and household appliances just like yours."

"We divide it into two aspects: one is raising our life level to enhance our physical strength and control greater power."

"The other is using that power to create more efficient tools—for example, our elevators don't use 'electricity' or pulleys and ropes like yours; they just need levitation magic, which comes from the primordial force of wind..."

"I get it—you have a higher life level than your technology, so you can use more advanced energy to enhance your tech, right?"

Loki nodded. She found speaking with someone as sharp as Stark effortless, so she continued: "But humans are the opposite—your technology serves your low life level. Your bodies are too weak, so you need medicine to extend your lifespan. Your strength is too feeble, so you rely on machinery to build things..."

"Wait—is it possible..." Stark turned and sat down behind the lab bench. "That our heavy reliance on tools is why our physical evolution has been so slow?"

"No—at least in my view, your slow physical evolution may also be tied to Earth's environment. As far as I know, even across the infinite universe, Earth ranks among the most habitable planets."

"So we're all just sheltered flowers?" Nick shrugged.

"But aren't the Norse gods also from Earth?" Strange objected.

"Hmm... that involves extremely complex mystical history—even I don't fully know the truth. Only the Allfather might."

"Enough. Back to the topic," Nick reminded. "You haven't finished explaining the Kree."

"There's a common saying in the universe: if you see blue skin, you know they belong to a powerful empire—because besides the Kree, there's another race called the Skrulls, also blue-skinned and equally powerful."

"But we also hate those blue skins. We call every blue-skinned race in the universe 'cosmic locusts'—they're just so annoying."

"They swarm everywhere, disrespect local cultures, start wars at the drop of a hat, leave behind ruins, and never clean up—when our fleets arrive, we have to clear paths ourselves..." Loki's tone was impatient, clearly recalling unpleasant memories.

"To Asgardians and other powerful cosmic empires, they're merely annoying. But to less advanced civilizations, their actions are catastrophic."

"We'll talk about their history later. Right now, let's discuss what benefits they might bring us."

"Hmm..." Loki paused. "If Earth had Asgard's strength, you could easily devour this isolated, wounded fleet. But you're far too weak—I doubt you can manage it."

"Are Asgardians uninterested in them?"

Loki shook her head. "Same as before: Asgardians have a higher life level than technology. The Kree are the opposite—they're normal, like humans. Their technology exceeds their life level."

"So their most advanced techniques are of little use to Asgard."

"For example, they're extremely skilled at energy extraction. At the center of their capital system is an energy production device built from a supermassive black hole. If you must compare, it's like your wind turbines—but scaled up countless times."

"Just that one device supplies the entire energy needs of their galactic civilization."

"How clean is it?"

"Zero pollution, fully controllable, zero danger, fully automated, no human operation needed, permanently sustainable."

"Unimaginable," Nick commented.

"Indeed. For humans, reaching this level seems impossible. But in reality, it's standard for any cosmic empire with influence in interstellar society—unlimited energy is a baseline."

"Like the Bifrost. Even if it overheats, its energy is infinite, and it will last forever, no matter who rules Asgard."

Stark said: "Can't we somehow get some of their tech?"

Nick turned to him. Stark was serious: "Of all the major challenges facing humanity, energy and materials are the top two. This is vital for us."

"Oh right—the Kree are also strong in materials science. They turn planets into warships. What else needs explaining?"

Nick fell silent. Everyone looked at him—he was the official leader, and in some sense, represented human civilization.

He looked at Loki and asked: "Aren't Asgardians going to intervene?"

"Do we have time to intervene?" Loki said helplessly.

"Why don't you have time? Whose fault is that?" Strange shot Loki a glance.

Nick ignored them both and turned to Stark: "Your last state..."

"Don't even think about it," Shearer interrupted.

He knew what Nick was hinting at—that Stark become the Iron Demon God again. He explained: "Enough energy could push Stark to a higher level, but unless he fully accepts and permanently stabilizes that state, he can't achieve maximum output—or last time, he wouldn't have just created an army of machines."

"And another problem: even if he truly becomes a Cosmic Demon God, are you planning to let him fight directly in the Milky Way? Are you sure it won't endanger Earth?"

Nick thought it over and agreed with Shearer. Shearer continued: "If we use this method, we might win—but we'd be mortgaging our future potential."

"Once Stark stabilizes as a demon god, he must carve out and build his own dimension. He won't be able to return to Earth anytime soon. And if they fight in the Milky Way, they could destroy resources we might need in the future."

"If the Kree are already massing their armies, we'd have no choice but to mortgage the future to save the present. But right now, it's just one Kree fleet drifting near the Milky Way..."