It's Asgard's business done — Lock comes back to Earth.
Some things need to be prepared in advance.
In addition to purchasing some items, Lock also bought two bouquets of flowers and visited two tombs.
Although it was somewhat utilitarian, it was still better than doing nothing.
But Lock was not sure whether Star-Lord would accept it — that could only be decided when they meet.
After all preparations were completed, Lock transferred through the Asgard Rainbow Control Room without stopping, and was directly transmitted to the Xandar Star Territory.
Xandar Starfield. Meteor Belt. Kyln Prison.
Kyln Prison was a high-level prison of the Nova Empire. Built deep within a chaotic meteor belt, far from any civilized planet, and heavily guarded.
It was almost impossible for ordinary people to escape. Even if someone did escape, they could not fly out of the meteor belt.
The belt was full of meteorites flying on chaotic trajectories. There was only one hidden route for entry and exit. If someone flew randomly, they would only crash and die.
Today, Kyln Prison welcomed some special prisoners.
Star-Lord. Gamora. Rocket the Raccoon. Groot the tree-man.
The four of them had just been transferred from Xandar and were going to serve their sentence here.
When he came in, what made Star-Lord very unhappy was that his favorite cassette player was taken away by the prison guard.
Originally this was nothing, but the guard even played with his beloved Walkman. Star-Lord could not bear it.
He shouted at the guard and even wanted to fight back.
But he forgot that he was shackled.
The result was no surprise — he was shocked by a high-voltage baton, then his naked body was sprayed with a red disinfectant. Finally, he put on a prison uniform and was rushed inside.
This was a real prison!
When they entered, there was a huge lobby several stories high, countless criminals of various alien races making noise.
When they saw Gamora enter, many people immediately shouted:
"She is Thanos' daughter! The executioner!"
"Kill her!"
"You're dead!"
"Hahahahaha…"
For years, Thanos had pursued his theory of "cosmic balance." Everywhere he went, he killed half the population and spared the other half — creating countless blood feuds across the universe.
Almost every race here had lost someone to Thanos' slaughter.
As Thanos' adopted daughter, Gamora had participated in many of those massacres.
Naturally, many here recognized her and hated her.
Lock stood on the third floor, quietly watching.
Although the formula of the Dark Elf King's legend was incomplete, after these days of study, Lock had learned to slightly hide his figure by borrowing the energy of the Aether, the Reality Stone.
Everyone seemed to be able to see Lock, but no one truly noticed him. When they walked past him, they naturally walked around, as if avoiding a pillar — as though he had no sense of existence at all.
The transfer from Xandar had taken longer than Lock expected.
He had spent two days preparing to return to Earth, then used the Bifrost to reach Kyln Prison — just before Star-Lord and the others arrived.
A tall alien who looked like a hippopotamus wanted to challenge them.
But Groot casually poked a branch into the alien's nostril, lifted him up, and smashed him to the ground.
The entire room went silent.
Obviously, the one who had just been thrown was one of the bullies here.
He could not even take a single move.
No one else dared to step forward now.
Rocket stepped forward and shouted:
"Open your eyes and see clearly who's the boss here! Ow!"
Then he bared his teeth, showing four sharp fangs.
If it weren't for what Groot had just done, those fangs might have looked more cute than scary.
Under the threat of Groot's display, no one dared to move. Gamora was able to enter her cell safely, despite all the hostile stares.
She silently closed the door and ignored the noise outside.
But the others were not in a hurry.
Gamora would have to come out eventually — during meals or recreation. Then there would be a chance to deal with her.
Lock noticed a tall, strong man with red tattoos staring coldly at Gamora.
If Lock guessed right, this was the infamous Destroyer — Drax.
Drax seemed to sense Lock's gaze and suddenly looked this way, frowning slightly when he saw him.
Lock just smiled. Drax truly lived up to his reputation — able to see through Lock's half-hidden presence when no one else could.
But Drax did not think too much about it. With his stubborn personality, as long as it was not directly related to him, he didn't bother to care.
Star-Lord returned to his cell, bored, restless. He habitually reached for his Walkman — then remembered it had been taken.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the hard alloy door.
Star-Lord shouted:
"Go away! Don't bother me!"
But the knocking continued.
Then a calm voice came through:
"Handsome guy, do you want to buy a tape?"
Star-Lord froze, then jumped up.
In all his years in space, he had never heard anyone talk like that.
Those words could only be heard from shady vendors on Earth, selling pirated tapes on street corners.
Star-Lord had left Earth early, back when tapes were still used to listen to music and watch movies.
When he opened the cell door, he was surprised to see a man who looked exactly like an Earthling.
Not just "similar," but completely human — no alien traits at all.
After years among alien worlds, Star-Lord had seen countless races. Even Gamora, who looked human, had green skin.
But this man — this was the first time Star-Lord had seen someone who looked completely like someone from Earth.
"Who are you?" Star-Lord asked cautiously.
Lock smiled:
"I sell tapes. Do you want music or movies?"
He held out a handful of tapes — both video cassettes and music cassettes.
Star-Lord hesitated, then said:
"Music."
"Good choice. I have two here. Volume 2 of Awesome Mix… and an album by Redbone. Which one do you want?"
Star-Lord's eyes widened.
Awesome Mix Vol. 2 — the exact continuation of the only tape he had from Earth, the one he had listened to countless times whenever he was lonely.
He had always dreamed of having the full set, but his mother had been sick, and they had no money.
He never got to buy it before being taken from Earth.
As for Redbone — the band that made his favorite song, Come and Get Your Love.
That song had a magic rhythm — you couldn't hear it without wanting to dance.
This was too much.
"Who are you really?" Star-Lord asked again, voice low.
"I told you. Just a tape seller. You want it or not? If not, I'll offer it to someone else."
Seeing Lock was about to leave, Star-Lord panicked.
Even if it was a trap, he had to step into it.
"I want it! I want the Redbone album!"
Lock nodded, placed the tape into an old-fashioned Walkman, and handed it to him along with a pair of headphones.
"Buy the tape, get the Walkman free. Try it."
Star-Lord put on the headphones.
The familiar song began to play.
He nearly cried.
Just then, shouting erupted from the other side of the prison — the sound of Gamora fighting, then more voices joining in.
Lock tilted his head, then said:
"Talk about the price later. First we go check on the girl."
Star-Lord's expression hardened.
"She's the only one who knows who's buying the Orb. If she dies, we're done."
The two of them ran toward the sound.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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