"Where's the merchandise?"
Zola asked coldly.
He was wearing a black hooded cloak, his mechanical voice distorted through a speaker. Behind him stood several steel robots with glowing red eyes.
Across from him, Ulysses Klaue waved casually.
Soon, his men carried several sealed containers onto the deck.
Inside them—
Was vibranium.
The moment Zola confirmed the metal—
He made his move.
BOOM!
BANG!
BOOM!
The Iron Robots behind Zola instantly opened fire.
Energy beams erupted from their palm cannons.
Although these robots had originally been built by Hydra, their reactors were based on S.H.I.E.L.D. technology designed by Howard Stark.
After Zola's extensive modifications, they were now far more lethal.
Within seconds, Klaue's entire crew was wiped out.
Even Klaue himself died under a direct blast from one of the robots.
Zola had never intended to pay.
Earlier that day, he had noticed something troubling.
Two extremely powerful data monitoring systems were watching global networks and financial transactions.
He could no longer freely manipulate funds through the stock market.
So he chose the simplest solution.
Take the vibranium by force.
After all—
Free resources were always the best.
With the vibranium secured, Zola prepared to return to his base and construct a new physical body.
While searching the internet for relevant technology, he discovered a research project:
Regeneration Cradle.
The scientist behind it was Dr. Helen Cho.
However, the moment he saw her name—
Zola immediately abandoned the idea.
Helen Cho was Karl's lover.
Touching her would be suicide.
Even worse, Zola couldn't locate her laboratory.
Karl had already moved Helen Cho's entire research facility inside his manor.
Zola had no intention of ruining his revenge plan before it even began.
So he searched for alternatives.
Soon, he discovered another Hydra base in Sokovia.
Without hesitation, Zola sent his Iron Robots to the facility.
Everyone inside was slaughtered.
Hydra soldiers.
Technicians.
Scientists.
It made no difference.
After clearing the base, Zola discovered a massive activation device hidden deep within the complex.
Seeing it, he began to form a new plan.
Meanwhile, Karl's life had remained peaceful.
Except for one small change.
He now had a cosmic "little princess" living in his manor.
Ganata occasionally came to him asking for Infinity Stone energy spheres to eat.
With Tony's new element arc reactors, she was no longer constantly hungry.
The reactors worked surprisingly well as snacks.
Ganata had also explained something strange.
She didn't actually know how she arrived on Earth.
One moment she had been traveling through space.
The next moment—
She simply opened her eyes and was already on Earth.
Karl couldn't help twitching slightly.
Was this some kind of cosmic prank?
Did Galactus accidentally throw his daughter toward Earth?
Or was someone deliberately manipulating events to lure Galactus to Earth?
Karl thought about it for a long time.
Eventually he just sighed.
Earth in the Marvel universe truly attracted endless disasters.
If Galactus really appeared—
Karl's only option would be to run away with his wives.
Suddenly, Ganata spoke.
"Oh right!"
"I have something for you!"
She made a playful gesture.
"Ta-da!"
Then she spat out a glowing orange stone.
She handed it to Karl proudly.
"I ate this a while ago."
"It has the same energy as the other four stones you have."
"You can have it!"
Karl froze.
The moment he saw the stone—
He immediately recognized it.
The Soul Stone.
He had originally planned to obtain the Soul Stone from Thanos someday.
But he never expected to acquire it like this.
Directly from Ganata's stomach.
Thinking about it carefully, though—
It made sense.
Ganata was the daughter of Galactus.
Swallowing an Infinity Stone was hardly surprising.
The real Galactus probably had consumed countless cosmic artifacts across the multiverse.
Karl accepted the stone calmly.
"Thank you."
"I've been collecting these recently."
"I didn't expect you to have one."
He stored the Soul Stone in his system space.
Now he possessed five Infinity Stones.
Only one remained.
Once he gathered all six—
The Celestial Evolution Stone Tablet would fully activate.
And afterward, he could pursue the mysterious Self Gem.
Ganata smiled happily.
"I'm glad you like it!"
"I've swallowed lots of things before."
"When I visited other universes, people kept attacking me with warships."
"So I just swallowed them."
Karl felt awkward.
You casually swallow warships…
No wonder you're Galactus's daughter.
Now that Karl possessed five Infinity Stones, he began thinking about the final one.
The Power Stone.
It was currently located on Xandar, inside the Cosmic Orb.
Suddenly Karl remembered something.
He used telepathy to contact Heimdall in Asgard.
"Heimdall."
"Observe Xandar."
"If the Orb appears there, notify me immediately."
Heimdall agreed without hesitation.
Karl was an eternal honored guest of Asgard.
A short while later—
Heimdall responded.
"The Orb has appeared on Xandar."
Karl frowned.
That didn't seem right.
According to the timeline, the events involving the Guardians of the Galaxy should occur after the Ultron incident.
Yet the Orb had appeared already.
The timeline seemed slightly off.
But Karl didn't dwell on it.
He turned toward Ganata.
"Ganata."
"Do you want to visit Xandar?"
"I'm going there soon."
Karl didn't feel comfortable leaving her on Earth unattended.
If something went wrong while he was gone—
The consequences could be catastrophic.
So keeping her within his sight was the safest option.
Ganata's eyes lit up.
"Okay! Okay!"
"Take me with you!"
"I want to play!"
Karl was slightly surprised.
Ganata agreed immediately.
She behaved exactly like an excited child.
For someone capable of devouring planets—
She was surprisingly naive.
Soon after, Heimdall opened the Rainbow Bridge.
Karl, Dark Phoenix, and Ganata traveled through the Bifrost and arrived on Xandar.
At that exact moment—
A chaotic scene was unfolding in the city square.
Present were:
Star-Lord
Gamora
Rocket
Groot
Several Nova Corps officers
They had just secured the Cosmic Orb.
Then Karl appeared.
He wore his Gold Cloth armor.
The moment he arrived—
He unleashed his Skyfather-level aura without restraint.
The pressure was overwhelming.
Nova Corps ships hovering in the sky trembled violently.
People throughout the square were forced to their knees.
Many were pressed directly onto the ground.
Karl raised his hand calmly.
The Cosmic Orb flew directly into his grasp.
Star-Lord's eyes widened.
"That's mine!"
He had worked incredibly hard to obtain the Orb.
Now it had been taken instantly.
Refusing to accept it, he struggled to stand against Karl's pressure.
Gamora was even more determined.
She knew exactly what the Orb contained.
The Power Stone.
Her adoptive father Thanos wanted that stone to destroy half the life in the universe.
She couldn't allow it to fall into anyone else's hands.
She began resisting Karl's aura as well.
Rocket, annoyed at being crushed to the ground, started fighting against the pressure.
Groot tried to stand beside him.
But under Karl's overwhelming power—
Their resistance looked almost meaningless.