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"Drax! Look at what a fool you are!"
The appearance of the yellow cube-shaped light door made Quill scream as well.
Drax hid from everyone's sight, subtly moving a little further away from the TemPad, then began to argue:
"It has nothing to do with me. When I was holding it, this… this thing that looks like a yellow cracker hadn't appeared yet."
"There's no such thing as a giant yellow cracker, and what exactly is this? This thing won't destroy my ship, will it!?"
Pointing at the 'giant yellow cracker' in front of him, Quill was extremely worried about his ship.
Everyone dared not approach the suddenly appearing yellow glowing cube, fearing it would cause harm to them or the surroundings.
Only Kevin, under everyone's gaze, walked to the TemPad and picked it up.
"Kevin!?"
Rocket's eyes widened as he called Kevin's name, seemingly wanting to stop his suicidal behavior.
Kevin ignored him. He opened the TemPad, frowned at the shattered screen, then opened the tablet to look at the buttons underneath. The messy buttons made Kevin's expression twist even more.
Finally, Kevin tentatively pressed a few buttons that looked like power-off buttons, then closed the tablet.
Swish.
The yellow glowing door instantly disappeared.
Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
"Wait, Kevin, you know how to use this thing?"
After relaxing, Quill asked in surprise.
Kevin looked at the TemPad in his hand and shook his head, saying:
"I don't know how to use it, but this thing should be simple to operate."
In the Loki storyline, it seemed like anyone who held this thing could use it. Kevin just tried it out with a 'let's see' attitude, and he didn't expect it to actually work.
"Do you know what it is?"
"Sort of, but what I'm more curious about is, who exactly hired you to find this thing?"
Kevin asked, puzzled.
It's normal for the TemPad to be in the Marvel World. Almost every Time Variance Authority squad member has one of these, so it seems reasonable that a few Time Tablets might be stolen and taken to other worlds.
What's unreasonable is that someone knows the TemPad is here and has entrusted the Guardians of the Galaxy to collect it.
Who is this person?
Is he a time traveler? Did he come from the future? Or did he simply come from another timeline?
Kevin really wanted to figure this out.
After all, the The Boys world he is currently in is facing the problem of intersecting timelines, and he really needs an organization that studies time issues to help.
The Time Variance Authority is undoubtedly the best place to ask for help.
Kevin thought that the one who hired the Guardians of the Galaxy was some Mysterious Man who had traveled from another world, but he didn't expect to know the Guardians of the Galaxy's employer.
Not only did he know him, but they had also dealt with each other before.
"It's Collector Tivan," Gamora said. "He's very generous. We've helped him get a lot of collectibles, and this is just one of them."
"…Well, why am I not surprised at all?"
Hearing Gamora say the employer's name, Kevin muttered to himself.
Collector, Taneleer Tivan, this guy who has always been dedicated to collecting all kinds of rare treasures in the universe, wanting to collect the TemPad, is very consistent with his established persona.
…
Given the matter of the TemPad, Kevin didn't have much time for leisurely travel.
He asked Nebula and the others to take care of Annie and the others, taking them on a 'tour' through the universe, while he followed Quill and Gamora to meet the Collector and inquire about the TemPad.
Arriving at Knowhere again, heading to the Collector's collection room, and meeting the Collector again, this guy, who could barely be considered Kevin's 'friend,' actually expressed his unwelcomeness towards Kevin.
"Why are you here! Damn it, Antina, see him out!!"
The Collector shouted loudly to the red-skinned maid beside him.
After his last maid died, he got another servant. He seems to have a soft spot for red-skinned people, as several consecutive maids have been red-skinned.
The maid heard her master's command and turned to send Kevin away.
Because of the Reality Stone, Collector Tivan disliked Kevin very much, so it was understandable to see Collector Tivan directly sending him away now.
But before the maid could speak, Kevin said to Collector Tivan:
"Are you sure you want to drive me away? Oh, what a pity, I was originally going to let you see the only Infinity Stone left in the universe."
Kevin finished speaking, shook his head, and was about to leave.
Collector Tivan suddenly reached out a hand:
"Wait!?"
Kevin stopped, looking back at him with a half-smile.
Collector Tivan stared, walked out from behind his desk, and in a few strides came before Kevin, asking very quickly:
"What did you say? Infinity Stone!? The Infinity Stones that you already destroyed!? You still have one left!?"
Kevin destroying the Infinity Stones was no longer a secret among the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Even the materials for the Infinity Stone Crusher were collected with the help of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
As the current gold-tier employer of the Guardians of the Galaxy and the former custodian of the Reality Stone, Collector Tivan naturally knew about this.
So he naturally assumed that all the Infinity Stones had been crushed by Kevin.
But he didn't expect Kevin to still have one.
Kevin turned his head, smiling at Collector Tivan.
He didn't speak, he just revealed the Eye of Agamotto he wore on his chest, cast a spell, and showed the Time Stone stored within it.
Collector Tivan's eyes instantly lit up, he trembled all over, his voice like waves:
"Oh—! Oh!! So… so beautiful!! The whole universe… only one left… Infinity Stone—!! Let me see it—!"
"No."
As Collector Tivan was about to touch Kevin's Time Stone, Kevin stepped back, closed the Eye of Agamotto, and refused Collector Tivan's touch.
Watching the Time Stone slip away from his grasp, Collector Tivan's breath hitched, and he nearly fainted.
When Kevin thought it was enough, he continued:
"I can leave the Time Stone with you, but the premise is that you tell me why you want to collect this thing."
As Kevin spoke, he took out the TemPad and placed it in front of Collector Tivan.
Upon seeing the TemPad, Collector Tivan's excited emotions gradually cooled. He looked up at Kevin, then at the Guardians of the Galaxy behind him.
Then he straightened his appearance and calmly said:
"So you're also here for this thing. Since you're asking me why I want to collect it, and not what it is, that proves you also know its purpose, right?"
"You really know."
Kevin narrowed his eyes.
Collector Tivan replied:
"Of course I know! The TemPad, the Time Variation Administration's tool for time travel! In this timeline, it's a precious item, the only one of its kind in the entire universe! Just like your Time Stone! No, it's even more precious than your Time Stone!
"If you want to exchange your Time Stone for this… while it's not impossible, allow me to refuse!"
Facing the TemPad, Collector Tivan surprisingly showed a rare firm attitude.
Even the Time Stone seemed unable to pique his interest.
Hearing Collector Tivan say this, Kevin's gaze turned unkind, his maintained kind smile gradually disappeared, and he said in a flat voice:
"I was just making a deal with you because I wanted to resolve this peacefully, but if you don't want to resolve this peacefully, I can also be a bit forceful."
As Kevin spoke, he revealed the Time Stone again: "I think you should be clear about how terrifying time can be."
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Seeing that Kevin seemed genuinely angry, Collector Tivan quickly said:
"Damn it, you barbarian! Don't you understand the principle of bargaining!? Alright, alright, quickly put the Time Stone away! I'll tell you what's going on!"
It turned out that Collector Tivan just wanted to raise the value of the TemPad to gain an advantage in this 'transaction.'
But unfortunately, Kevin didn't care that much and just wanted to quickly know the reason why the TemPad was here, which rendered Collector Tivan's little scheme completely useless.
In desperation, Collector Tivan could only begin to explain:
"It was a time traveler, a time traveler from a long time ago."
"He left a note saying that he had brought the TemPad to this timeline but lost it for some reason, and then sadly died in this timeline."
"Then the notes he left behind were auctioned off by who knows how many generations of his descendants, and finally fell into my hands. That's how I learned about the TemPad."
A staff member, possibly from the Time Variance Authority, for some unknown reason, came to a very distant past in this timeline, lost the TemPad, and was thus trapped here.
After he died, the notes he left behind were treated as useless by his family and auctioned off with other items.
Perhaps because that time traveler had told his family about being a time traveler, during the auction, 'relics of a time traveler' were used as a gimmick.
This caught Collector Tivan's attention.
The relics of a time traveler, although they looked fake at first glance, Collector Tivan is a Collector who collects all kinds of rare treasures, so even if it was fake, he would buy it to take a look.
After all, the Tivan Group is quite wealthy in the universe.
Just a mere collectible, it wouldn't cost much.
However, after buying all the relics and notes, Collector Tivan discovered that this thing was actually real, and the TemPad recorded inside was probably also real.
That's why he entrusted the Guardians of the Galaxy to search for the TemPad in that ancient ruin.
That's how the whole thing happened.
It wasn't as complicated as Kevin thought; it was simply a case of some unlucky person from the Time Variance Authority losing the TemPad here.
The only question was why the Time Variance Authority hadn't recovered the tablet.
Such an important item, shouldn't they have sent someone to recover it as soon as it was discovered missing?
Could it be…
Kevin thought of the ending of Loki Season 1, where He Who Remains Kang died, and the Time Variance Authority fell into chaos.
If someone escaped at that time, wanting to escape the outcome of time collapse, then choosing to escape to an earlier timeline would also make sense.
After all, the time this unlucky person who lost the TemPad ran to was hundreds of years ago, which is very consistent with the psychology of fleeing.
"I've told you everything I know, so the TemPad…"
Collector Tivan saw Kevin still thinking and couldn't help but prompt him.
Kevin held the TemPad, looked up at Collector Tivan with a slight smile, handed the TemPad back to him, and said:
"If this thing isn't used properly, it could very likely lead to the collapse of the timeline. You must be careful with it."
Collector Tivan carefully took the TemPad from Kevin's hand, protecting it as if it were a rare treasure, and replied:
"I know, don't worry, I will only protect it, not use it… Speaking of which, your Time Stone…"
"?" Kevin's gaze instantly became dangerous: "Collector Tivan, don't be too greedy."
"…Alright."
Collector Tivan, helpless, could only reluctantly watch Kevin leave with the Time Stone, then began to settle the payment with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Kevin waited outside until Star-Lord and Gamora finished their business and came out.
Not long after, the two finished their transaction and left Collector Tivan's place to meet up with Kevin.
When Star-Lord saw Kevin outside, he couldn't help but ask:
"I say, old man, you just left that thing with him? Didn't you say it was very dangerous?"
"Yes." Kevin said with a half-smile, looking left and right to make sure no one was watching them, then slightly turned his body, revealing a corner of his pocket: "So, of course, this thing has to be with me for me to feel at ease."
From Star-Lord's perspective, inside Kevin's pocket was precisely the TemPad that Kevin had previously left with Collector Tivan!
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