Chapter 357

"Crazy, crazy, you're all insane!" Payne finally lost his composed demeanor, and just as he was about to lose control, the deputy speaker tugged his sleeve and made a silent gesture.

"Oh, right! You can't expel me, or the Skrull Empire won't let you off!"

"The Skrull Empire?" Lan Ling looked at Pe'an and said: "Even if you're going to bluff, you don't need to drag in the three great empires of the universe. What connection do you have with the Skrull?"

Pe'an took a deep breath, gradually calming down, and spoke with a mocking tone: "Of course… you didn't know…"

"What?" Lan Ling stared at him, puzzled.

"Hmph, you only know that the Union civilization was built atop the ruins of a higher-level ancient civilization—but you don't know that this ancient civilization was none other than the ancient Skrull Empire…"

Lan Ling's brow tightened further. Pe'an continued: "It was a civilization once immensely powerful and prosperous. Even today, the Union civilization doesn't reach one ten-thousandth of their former glory."

"But a sudden catastrophe destroyed their homeworld, leaving only debris scattered around it—and the major races of the Union civilization all arose from these ruins."

"So what? The Skrull Empire left this place long ago. Their officially recognized territory doesn't even include the Andromeda Galaxy…"

"But I am a descendant of the Skrull Empire!" As he spoke, Pe'an's skin color gradually shifted from blue to a bluish-green, and intricate patterns emerged across his body. Green Spike turned to Lan Ling and said: "Those patterns really do resemble Skrull markings… Could he really be…"

"As the Cosmic Library, your symbiotes should know that races with the ability to freely shapeshift are exceedingly rare—and the Skrull are among the most prominent."

"Well?" Pe'an spread his arms. "Dare you strike me? If we fight here, you're effectively declaring war on the Skrull Empire!"

The symbiotes exchanged glances, hesitating. They didn't know if it was worth paying such a price—the Skrull Empire's strength far exceeded anyone's imagination, far beyond their capacity to oppose.

"He's lying."

Suddenly, a calm voice echoed in everyone's minds. North Star exclaimed: "Professor X?"

"Correct. I'm nearby, observing. I just scanned the memories of that blue creature—he's lying."

Professor X's voice also rang in Pe'an's mind—clearly, Charles had broadcast it. Pe'an suddenly panicked. "A telepath?? How is that possible?? That's the rarest ability in the universe! How could you possibly read my memories!"

"According to your memories, you're not Skrull—you're Kree. The so-called Serka clan are in fact Kree spies sent into the ancient Skrull Empire…"

As Charles recounted, the true truth behind the destruction of the Skrull homeworld slowly unfolded.

The Skrull were an immensely powerful civilization, created by the Celestials. Their deeper history need not be elaborated—only the period of their motherworld's demise.

At that time, they were a federated state ruled by an emperor. After the emperor's death, the territory fractured, warlords clashed, and for a long period, this once-great civilization descended into extreme weakness.

The Kree and Skrull had a bitter enmity—complex, but marked by centuries of war. Seeing the Skrull Empire in chaos, the Kree naturally sought to cripple them.

They dispatched a covert spy team into the Skrull Empire. Since the Kree could mimic other species, they were born spies. With the Skrull in disarray, the team infiltrated successfully—and accomplished a major feat.

They lured the Hungering Planet Eater, which devoured the Skrull's most densely populated and advanced homeworld, leaving only debris.

The Kree Empire's goal was to weaken their rival. Once achieved, they shifted focus to hunting down the surviving Skrull fleet. The spy team, fortunately, escaped unscathed.

The Planet Eater's unique energy signature severed their link to their civilization's rulers. No ship was sent to retrieve them. So the Kree team remained in this star system, calling themselves the Serka clan, ruling as local emperors.

Hearing this tale, the symbiotes exchanged stunned glances. They hadn't realized the history was so complex.

Seeing his lie exposed, Pe'an gritted his teeth: "So what? Even if I'm not Skrull, I'm still a Kree descendant. Dare you offend the Kree Empire?!"

Lan Ling opened his mouth, looking at Pe'an with a hint of pity. At that moment, North Star heard Charles's voice in her mind.

"Lorna, I need to confirm: the man before you just admitted he's Kree, correct?"

"... es. He said he's a Kree descendant."

"Then tell your father: capture him alive. Someone here wants to settle a debt with the Kree Empire."

North Star glanced at Magneto's helmet, shook her head, thinking their relationship was absurdly awkward—but she spoke anyway: "He doesn't seem eager to leave. No more talk. Just move."

Before Pe'an could respond, the mutants unleashed full firepower.

When Pe'an attacked the symbiotes with his sonic weapon, Shadow and Crystal had been holding back fury. After spending so long with the symbiotes, they'd come to see them as friends. Hearing the symbiotes' screams, their hearts clenched.

The mutants struck with righteous rage—their power was extraordinary. Countless thorns surged across the ground. Pe'an tried to dodge, but his own shadow wrapped around his body.

*Boom! A golden lightning bolt struck the spot where he'd stood. He barely evaded as a violent electromagnetic storm swept over him.

When North Star rose again, sparks crackled from her fingertips and hair ends. She hovered like a thunderbird in flight, her smile widening. Amid the furious roar of the magnetic storm, her voice rang across the sky:

"Magnetism… generates electricity!"

Instantly, countless plasma masses surged forward like an army. The plasma blazed like the first ray of dawn. Particles danced, arcs leapt. North Star's hair floated in the air, her eyes filled with electric light. Then she heard Magneto's voice.

"Control it. Don't let it control you."

North Star focused, slowing her energy output. Magnetic forces surfaced in her mind. All destruction was precisely contained above ground. The hum faded. As she landed, she exhaled slowly.

"Harder than I thought," she said, shaking her head. "Secondary magnetic manipulation drains too much energy. How do I even control particle motion?"

Magneto glanced at her. He extended one hand—not with grand spectacle, but a glowing cage descended from above, enclosing Pe'an and the deputy speaker, both bound and charred.

North Star watched the cage intently. She sensed terrifying heat—like a stellar reaction—yet not a single blade of grass on the ground was scorched.

Magneto swept his cloak and turned away. Lan Ling led the other mutants toward the Speaker's Residence, saying as they walked: "There are others inside—the council members, etc. but they're irrelevant. Just expel them."

Sisu

"Also, some civilians who served them—I'd like to allow them to leave…"

As they walked forward, Eddie paused. He looked down at his camera, pulled out the hard drive, and handed it to Lan Ling. Lan Ling glanced at it, puzzled: "What's this?"

"I recorded everything he just said—including how he deliberately caused accidents to seize Union ships, and how he deliberately allowed defenses to collapse when the Union civilization went to war…"

"Earlier, Magneto said he used a gravity shield to preserve the central region of this star system. Other planets must still have countless confused civilians. The Speaker's Residence should have communication devices to transmit to other planets. Send this footage first."

"Later, I'll write a report. Help me arrange professional translators. The headline: 'Union Speaker Guilty of Heinous Crimes, Cosmic Agents Deliver Justice.'"

Lan Ling hesitated. Lei Ting stepped forward, snatched the hard drive, and said: "Thanks, Venom. Didn't know you were this sharp."

Eddie shifted, Venom's head emerged, grinning with a mouth full of fangs, offering a wicked smile.

They entered the Speaker's Residence. Magneto and North Star took the two prisoners away. Though this Kree descendant, Pe'an, was dim-witted, his physical condition was excellent. Even North Star's full power hadn't killed him instantly—and within minutes, signs of recovery reappeared.

Magneto could clearly sense his life signs returning. But this time, he wisely feigned death. Clearly, being held by a madman who could detonate black holes, it was better to play dead.

But soon, he couldn't sit still. Outside the Binary Island System, a massive portal opened. The prow of a ship emerged.

Pe'an stared at the ship. It felt familiar. Though its markings and colors were different, he was certain he'd seen it before… Wasn't this a Kree ship??

The Kree Empire came to rescue him??

Pe'an's eyes lit up. But then, he heard a voice from the portal—not Kree.

"Stuck! Someone tap the portal! Is it broken?" Shiler's voice rang out.

"I told you, giving a ship to someone who only knows how to twist lightbulbs is insane. Stark's the real racer—I'll take over!"

Magneto stood beside the portal, watching the massive ship roar violently. Engines belched flames. Wings sliced through red-and-blue trails—*whoosh*—and vanished.

Peter held Pikachu in one hand, gripping the hatch with the other to avoid being slammed into the wall. He shouted: "Stop him! The spatial stabilizer's collapsing!!"

Steve lunged forward, shoved Stark aside, and finally slowed the ship.

Peter exhaled in relief—then *thud! He slammed into the ceiling. The entire command room shook violently.

"Asteroid belt! Dodge!!"

"No need! Within safe range!"

*Boom! *Boom! *Crash! *... aaah!!

Ten minutes later, Lan Ling's group boarded the Radiance. Lei Ting sighed: "Even if the core zone's transit systems are down, you can't drive like this!"

"Illegal acceleration, overspeeding, damaging celestial bodies…"

"And no license," Lan Ling added.

"What the hell? Do you need a license to fly a ship?"

"Of course you do," Lan Ling cut off Stark before he could speak. "And Earth licenses don't count."

"But at least we weren't speeding…"

"Earth speed limits don't count either."