Chapter 857

"It's you again?" Stark leaned against the doorframe, watching North Star filling out forms. "Are you here on Congress's orders to slow down our progress?"

"Tony Stark!" North Star slammed her palm against the wall, glaring at him. "You damn useless playboy, can you just shut up? If you don't leave right now, I'll tell Pepper you'd rather stand by the door staring into space than ask her out!"

Stark rolled his eyes, straightening up. "If it weren't for your actual usefulness, I'd never let a mutant touch this project!"

Before North Star could respond, Stark raised a hand. "Don't say I'm discriminating against mutants—how much chaos have you caused?! Did you even fill in that giant hole under Mercury Base?"

North Star tossed the documents aside in annoyance. "They're them, I'm me. Didn't I do transport just fine before? If you've got time to yap, go fix that ridiculous haircut of yours—dark brown curls? Seriously, I thought I saw my grandfather!"

North Star grabbed the documents and shoved past Stark. He turned to watch her, touching his hair. "Hey, that's authentic American retro—you unrefined little girl!"

North Star ignored him, left Stark Tower, got in the car, then opened the documents. They listed her next assignment—but as she read, she let out a startled gasp.

"Solar System traffic control?? … What even is that? Is there traffic to manage in the Solar System?? Is Stark messing with me?"

She lowered her head and opened the new gear she'd just been issued: a spacework suit, a safety manual, and an emergency communicator.

Confused, North Star skipped the manual entirely and began examining the suit.

She noticed an "X" engraved along the helmet's edge—clearly meant for mutants. The material was soft, like ordinary fabric, offering no visible protection. Only the helmet was rigid, vaguely resembling an astronaut's.

North Star made a disgusted face but put it on anyway—then realized it was uglier than she'd imagined.

It looked less like a space suit and more like an old-fashioned diving suit—baggy, shapeless, wasting her perfect figure. The helmet was especially hideous, hiding her trendy green hair and making her look like a lightbulb.

As North Star hovered above Earth, debating whether to go home and change into her own suit, she suddenly felt a sharp "thud."

Startled, she looked around and saw two strange devices colliding about twenty meters ahead.

She flew over and realized—two spacecraft had crashed.

At the wreckage, North Star picked up a fragment, examined it: one was Stark's transport unit, stamped with his surname; the other resembled a national experimental probe, containing a tomato and two string beans.

Staring at the tomato and string beans inside the capsule, North Star was baffled. She didn't understand space experiments, so she pulled out the emergency communicator.

To her surprise, Stark himself answered. Though annoyed, she said: "Stark, your transport unit just collided with… a tomato and string beans. Aren't you going to come see?"

"Tomato and string beans??!" Stark's voice was bewildered. "Lorna Dane, I get it—some people drink before work for inspiration. I do too. But you can't be this drunk before going to space!"

"How did my spacecraft hit a tomato and string beans???"

North Star opened her mouth to reply—then another "thud" shook behind her. This impact was farther—about two hundred meters away. She dropped the tomato and beans and flew toward the new crash site.

This time, the wreckage was stranger: one unit was still Stark's, apparently an antenna mounted above the base; the other bore the UN emblem and contained a single trumpet.

"What is this?" North Star reached into the debris, pulled out the trumpet, and pressed the button. A familiar voice emerged:

"Next broadcast: The Human Cosmic Heritage Inheritance Law… Earth is a rule-of-law society. We emphasize that humanity holds complete legal rights to inherit cosmic heritage. All inheritances are reasonable, legal, and compliant…"

"What's going on? Why does that sound like Nick's voice??" Stark asked over the line. "You haven't even launched yet? Are you at S. . . . . .? What fake script is Nick making you read now?"

North Star had no idea how to explain. She flew back to the first crash site, activated the suit's camera, and extended her arm toward the screen. "Look—this is the tomato and string beans I just told you about…"

Before she finished speaking, another spacecraft drifted past her—damaged on one side, drifting aimlessly like space debris.

North Star intercepted it. She realized it was identical to the tomato-and-bean craft—same nation, same capsule design.

She opened the capsule again—and was even more confused. Inside: potatoes, soybeans, wheat seeds, Chinese cabbage, carrots, broccoli, an unknown soil, foul-smelling fertilizer, and even a bale of hay.

Stark saw it all. North Star shook her head. "Looks like the same country as before… just don't know which one…"

"China!"

」

Stark's roar echoed through space. "JARVIS! Connect me to S. . . . . . immediately!"

"Tell them to stop launching vegetables, fruits, seeds, soil, and fertilizer!"

"You can't grow crops in space!"

"You can't! You can't!"

！」

"... hat?... ow many billions? No amount of billions is acceptable! Mercury Base has no space for farming! Venus? Venus is worse! Mars?... es, I know Mars's climate is tolerable, but still—no… Okay… fine…"

"Listen, you can't keep launching random spacecraft—they'll wreck my transport ships… No, my ships don't have room for these vegetables either…"

"Seeds?? Hey, hey, buddy, listen—I told you, my transport ships are for high-tech cargo only…"

"You have high-tech seeds?? … But… how do I make you understand? … No, I'm not coming. I don't have time… Video conference? You're not going to teach me how to farm, are you?? … Okay, okay, wait a minute…"

Then North Star heard Stark's voice again: "Clean up the site."

"How?" North Star asked.

"Use your magnetism. Drag them into the Sun—or make them vanish. Don't let them block the route. More ships will be transporting resources along this path."

North Star was about to act—when Stark bellowed again: "Wait! Hold on!"

！」

His voice lowered—clearly speaking to someone else. "You're serious? You want me to send back the tomato, string beans, potatoes, soybeans, wheat, Chinese cabbage, carrots, broccoli, soil, fertilizer, and hay???"

"Do you have any idea how valuable my time is? What? How many billions? Saudi Arabia's paying? What does Saudi Arabia have to do with this? You mean this experiment's about waterless or low-water cultivation? And Dubai?"

"Alright, wait… Whoever you are—pack up all their weird vegetables and other junk and send them back!"

"What? Schiller, what did you say? Hold on—my therapist has an opinion… No broccoli? Why no broccoli? One of your personalities hates broccoli?? But they're paying top price!"

"Fine, no broccoli, Lorna—don't bring back the broccoli, or my therapist will lose it!"

North Star, floating in space, rolled her eyes and sighed, arms crossed. "So you want me to carry all this… vegetables, seeds, fertilizer, even a bale of hay… back by myself? Stark, I work for you, but I'm not your slave. Even slaves get carts and donkeys—you expect me to carry this?"

"You're telling me to carry all this—uh, vegetables, seeds, fertilizer, even a bundle of hay—back by myself?? Stark, I work for you, but I'm not your slave—slaves at least get carts or donkeys! You expect me to carry all this back?!"

Before Stark could reply, North Star felt another jolt. She turned—and saw two more machines collide.

No—this wasn't just two. The crash site was near the second one. First, a two-winged transport unit slammed into the two already damaged machines—then a chain reaction.

North Star flew over—but as she approached, more strange objects drifted past: two packets of English black tea, a Mexican banana, two Cuban cigars, three Sicilian lemons, two German sausages, a Russian black bread…

Beijixing flew over, but the farther she flew, the more something felt off—strange objects kept drifting past her vision: first two packets of English black tea, then a Mexican banana, two Cuban cigars, three large Sicilian lemons, two German sausages, one Russian black bread...

"JARVIS! Connect me to the United Nations!"

"Why are they launching this garbage into space?!"

North Star, floating in space, stared at the debris, utterly overwhelmed.

After a moment, Stark's weary voice came through: "Take one sample of each. Bring them back. As for transport—I'll send a shuttle up. Load everything into it…"

"Good lord! I thought they'd use my tech to start an arms race—build all kinds of space weapons… or at least improve transport efficiency, hauling resources into orbit. What are they doing? A space agricultural expo?!"

"I don't know if cosmic radiation affects crops…" North Star wiped her mouth. "But it definitely doesn't soften sausages or Russian bread. Still rock-hard. I tested it."

"Good heavens! I thought they'd use the tech I gave them to start an arms race, building all kinds of space weapons... At the very least, they'd improve transport efficiency and start hauling resources into space. But what are they doing? A space agricultural expo?!"

"I don't know if cosmic radiation affects agricultural products..." Beijixing wiped her mouth and said, "But it definitely doesn't work on sausages or black bread—they're still rock-hard. I tested it myself."

「You actually ate it??? …How was the taste?

「Not great, burp.