Transporting a spaceship actually wasn't that troublesome.
The Dark Aster had enough fuel, and all the pilots had been captured. Su Ye used telepathy to extract a full set of piloting techniques from their minds.
With the knowledge, the ship could easily be flown back to Earth.
Moreover, years ago, Ronan had been to Earth and even fought Captain Marvel in outer space—though he'd been scared off.
Even though he never returned afterward, his ship still retained Earth's coordinates.
Clearly, he hadn't given up on the Tesseract or Captain Marvel, always thinking of g Just like the Power Stoneoing back.
Like the Power Stone, those were also prepared by Ronan, relying on them for his revenge against the Nova Empire.
But now, all of it had lost its meaning.
Onboard the Dark Aster, Su Ye left behind a clone who used telepathy to control all the pilots, guiding the ship toward Earth.
Meanwhile, his main body was holding a captive he had captured from the spaceship.
That person was Nebula.
In the Marvel movie series, she had the longest legs among female heroes—standing nearly 180 cm tall.
Of course, that's not the case now. Su Ye's female secretary, Sharon Carter, whose fantasy prototype is Princess Diana, is a little taller than Nebula.
Nebula was a tragedy.
She and Gamora, as Thanos' adopted daughters, had been pitted against each other since childhood.
Over the years, under Thanos' orders, they had fought countless times.
As the loser of each match, Nebula was forced to undergo mechanical body modifications to increase her strength and hopefully win the next duel.
But every time, she lost.
Gamora, despite being ugly and flat-chested, was still strong.
Even after Nebula was nearly fully converted into a machine, she couldn't beat Gamora—not even once.
Su Ye was almost tempted to ask the mechanic responsible for Nebula's upgrades if he had been sabotaging her on purpose.
Otherwise, why would Nebula be so unlucky?
Even if you gave her a Gatling mechanical arm, she shouldn't have lost so many times.
In fact, Nebula has a very good foundation.
Anyone who had seen Jumanji would know—slim waist, long legs, C+ cup, and a face that scored above 80. She was nearly a perfect fantasy figure.
Unfortunately, all of this was destroyed by Thanos.
Bald, blue face, mechanical body, from head to toe, no aesthetics at all. Even someone with the most bizarre tastes wouldn't be turned on.
Even someone with the most bizarre tastes wouldn't be turned on.
She's even worse than a cup...
"Who are you! Thanos will not let you go!"
In Su Ye's grasp, Nebula shouted coldlyShe couldn't beat Su Ye, and she didn't have much to rely on. Now she could only bring up Thanos, trying to bluff.
"Thanos?"
Su Ye laughed.
If it were Thanos with the full set of Infinity Stones, maybe he'd be a little concerned.
But what did Thanos have now?
The Sanctuary II? The Black Order? The Outrider army?
Without the Infinity Stones, these were no real threat to Earth.
In fact, Su Ye was even worried that, under these circumstances, Thanos might not dare to come to Earth.
What if he doesn't come? How will the secret of Wakanda be revealed, and how will the big destruction plans from the Americans proceed?
Thinking of this, Su Ye's mouth twitched upward. But then he paused.
"Wait... am I getting cocky?"
Thanos was only the Phase 3 boss of Marvel. In Eternals, there was a Celestial whose body was the size of a planet.
And in the future, who knew if Galactus or Death would show up—those god-tier entities who might become enemies of Earth?
If it's just one Celestial, Su Ye, holding two Infinity Stones, might be able to defeat them.
But what if a whole group showed up?
How would he fight them?
Also, on Earth, with the constant loading of DLCs, will powerful villain bosses comparable to the Celestials appear?
Not even talking about the future, in the DLCs of the girlfriend cards that Su Ye activated before, many powerful bosses haven't even appeared yet.
Orochi from the King of Fighters world, Kaguya Ootsutsuki from the Naruto world.
Just these alone would be enough to give the Americans a headache.
Hmm.
Once things on Xandar settled down, Su Ye planned to return to Earth.
The loose ends left by the previous DLCs need to be handled by him.
As for Nebula, a villain who had helped Thanos wreak havoc across the galaxy—by Su Ye's standards, she'd normally be killed on the spot.
But she was also a major 'contributor' in setting up the climactic battle of Avengers: Endgame. Killing her now felt like a bit of a waste.
Su Ye swore, he was definitely not interested in Nebula's looks—those long legs, big curves, and whatnot, ahem.
He just genuinely thought it was a waste, and besides, Nebula was undeniably a tragic figure.
So, he decided to give her a chance.
"I can spare your life," Su Ye said.
On the other side, Nebula's expression instantly became serious.
Not killing her meant the other side had bigger plans.
"I will not betray Thanos!"
Su Ye shook his head. "No one is asking you to betray Thanos. You can go back now and continue being his obedient adopted daughter."
"I..." Nebula was stunned.
What does this mean? She just wanted to show a little toughness and exchange some benefits from Su Ye.
I won't surrender, but if you give me some small favors, I'll submit!
This is Nebula's current mindset.
But Su Ye didn't follow the usual script and directly told her to go back.
Doesn't he know that she, Nebula, is a powerful assassin feared throughout the universe?
She previously said she would help Ronan destroy a thousand planets, and she wasn't joking—she really has the power to do so.
"If I go back, I will tell Thanos everything that happened here. By then, he will lead his army here and destroy this entire planet."
She quickly started setting conditions. Any condition would do; she was ready to surrender at once.
Nebula put on a tough face, but inside, she was desperately howling in frustration.
Su Ye smiled.
"That would be best. Go back, bring Thanos' army, but don't come to Xandar. I'll give you a coordinate, and you can have him go directly to Earth."
"I will be there, preparing the battlefield, waiting for his arrival!"
"I..." This time, Nebula truly didn't know what to say, and could only scream in her mind.
"Brother, why don't you understand? I don't want to be a space pirate anymore—I want to follow you, live in peace, and then take my revenge on him!'
Earlier, when Ronan said he would destroy Xandar and then go after Thanos, Nebula immediately surrendered. Now she wanted to do the same, but Su Ye never gave her the opportunity.
In the end, Nebula was thrown into a small escape pod and cast into space.
Before leaving, Su Ye used the Reality Stone to alter Nebula's appearance, turning one of her toes back to its original form.
"Go back and follow Thanos well. When Thanos comes to Earth as a guest, I'll help restore more of you."
After leaving Nebula, Su Ye directly returned to Xandar.
Nebula had traversed the universe for so many years; even in a small escape pod, she had a way to return to Thanos.
Meanwhile, Su Ye went back to help Aerith deal with the planet's aftermath.
At this point, the battle on Xandar was completely over.
Looking at the ruins in the city center, the people from the outskirts and slums couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
Thankfully, they were poor, thankfully they lived on the outskirts of the city. Otherwise, they too would have been among the charred remains in the wasteland.
Meanwhile, the poor living near the church had already started gathering around the church on their own.
They knew Aerith. During the prayer, they recognized who she was, so as soon as the war ended, they rushed to her.
And not just them—after some leaks, Aerith's identity and location were quickly spread by the media.
Soon, not just the slums, but all of Xandar knew where she was.
They knew the girl who had prayed, summoned the planet's power, and brought forth a powerful mechanical guardian to save them. They knew her name and where she lived.
By now, everyone on Xandar had forgotten the Nova Prime who failed so miserably during the war.
Aerith and Bumblebee had become their faith—the new symbols of this galactic civilization.
"Nova Prime can't save the Empire or Xandar. Only Aerith is our hope!"
"Make Aerith the new Nova Prime! Let her protect and lead our planet!"
"Nova Prime and the Nova Corps have no right to rule anymore. We need new leadership—we need Aerith!"
Just like the anti-royal movement after the London Black Fog incident, a similar movement began on Xandar and quickly spread throughout the Nova Empire.
The calls grew louder, spreading like wildfire. Just like in London, the anti-royalty faction rapidly gained momentum and launched mass protests.
Across the empire—even on planets Ronan hadn't attacked—people joined the movement.
Especially since Bumblebee didn't leave after Ronan's defeat. Instead, he shrank down and entered the church to stand guard behind Aerith.
The public's admiration surged even more.
"Aerith is the planet's emissary, the future of the empire, the guardian of peace. Only if she becomes Nova Prime can the empire move toward a better future!"
"Nova Prime step down—long live Queen Aerith!"
"Queen Aerith! Queen Aerith! Queen Aerith!"
The chants turned into armed demonstrations. With the people brainwashed and manipulated by opportunists, they began storming Nova Empire's institutions and troops.
Because of the heavy losses during the battle against Ronan and Shinra, Nova Prime's forces were spread thin and couldn't contain the unrest.
In the capital ruins, the last remaining command center became the target of the riots.
"Why is it that the entire city is destroyed, but this place remains unharmed?!"
"Why couldn't the city be built to the same defense standards as this place? If all buildings were the same, the city wouldn't have been destroyed, and people wouldn't have died!"
"Such officials who only protect themselves during war are unworthy to lead the Nova Empire. Nova Prime must step down!"
Outside the command center, if it weren't for the wounded Nova (Rhomann Dey)—missing a leg and an arm, standing at the door soaked in blood—it might have already been overrun.
The people, who normally showed affection to Nova Prime but had done nothing, were quick to offer their deepest animosity. However, for a hero like Rhomann Dey, they still maintained at least a basic level of respect.
"Commander Dey, please step aside. We need Nova Prime to come out and explain herself!"
"Commander Dey, you're a hero—we won't harm you. But Nova Prime no longer deserves to lead us!"
"We need a leader who truly cares for the people to lead our nation and guide our civilization forward!"
The voices of the crowd couldn't change Rhomann Dey's stance. He was a soldier, and his commitment to protecting Nova Prime would not easily be swayed.
Meanwhile, Su Ye arrived at Aerith's side.
"Cloud!"
The moment Aerith saw Su Ye, she leapt into his arms and wrapped herself around him.
"You're finally back!"
Clutching his neck, tears streamed down her face.
Though perhaps restrained by fear of Bumblebee's power and respect for Aerith, they hadn't stormed the church. But the sheer number of people created immense pressure.
Though Aerith wasn't a delicate noble lady, she had never seen such a scene in her life. For a moment, she was overwhelmed with fear.
But now that Su Ye was back, she felt grounded.
In just a few days, Su Ye had completely won her heart.
"It's okay—I've got everything under control."
Su Ye gently stroked her back while comforting her and turned to look inside the church.
Inside, besides Aerith and Bumblebee, there were two others—Zack and a woman Su Ye didn't recognize.
The woman looked around thirty, with a golden ponytail and a stunning figure that could capture anyone's gaze.
"Zack, who's this?"
Su Ye had a guess in mind but chose to ask.
Zack scratched his head. "This is Scarlet, head of Shinra's weapons development division."