In places that others cannot see,
Aaron's powerful X-ray vision can easily penetrate tens of meters underground.
The roots of the Celestial Flower still stretch downward, apparently reaching the Earth's core.
Once activated, it can instantly draw endless energy from the core, thus becoming the destructive "Pandora."
But now,
It sits there, completely unable to resist Aaron's smelting.
Placing his hand on the fragile bud of the Celestial Flower,
A black hole envelops the Celestial Flower, dragging out its roots as they are continuously being smelted.
[Celestial Heart (Brain): You now possess the Celestial race's formidable potential. All you need to do is bury yourself in the planet's core; after hundreds of millions of years, you would grow into a new member of the Celestial race (limited by Ego's potential, so the complete form would be a star-level energy being with an indestructible dimensional suit of armor and the power to command cosmic rules).]
[Pseudo–Celestial Body: You have gained the unique Celestial power of that race, granting you notable energy resistance, powerful magic defense, an immortal lifespan, and strong regenerative ability. Your physical body is further enhanced.]
[Psychic Power (Remnant): You have gained significant psychic ability and psychic resistance, but it is not fully developed yet.]
[Matter Manipulation: You possess significant micro-particle control, allowing you to rapidly reconstruct nearby molecules into different objects according to your will. (If you ever lose your mind, you could even create a small planet yourself and then bury your brain within it, becoming a living planet.)]
[Parasitic Pandora: You can create avatar seeds and implant them on a planet; once you activate your divine power, they will quickly destroy all life on the planet's surface, turning into another version of you (an avatar).]
[Life Seed (Harem King Seed): Your seed has mutated, inheriting one hundred percent of certain abilities, but you can control it. (Congratulations, you're now a "Harem King"!!)]
One has to admit, Ego truly is worthy of being in the Celestial race. Even if he's just a deformed child who's only been around for a few tens of millions of years, the title of "god" still suits him.
The five abilities gained are all astounding.
And as for the sixth? It also sounds pretty monstrous.
Swapping in a "Super Harem King" (a person with endless romantic partners), they could presumably found a kingdom of children and grandchildren bound by blood in just one generation.
If one were evil enough, they could even use their genes to corrupt the entire world.
In a few hundred years, the entire Earth might end up as one's own sons and grandsons.
Aaron pondered this and was quite shocked.
So, this last ability was actually the most outrageous!
He quickly cast aside that extreme idea.
"Such a pity. If Ego had been a fully developed member of the Celestial race, the extracted traits would have been even stronger, right?"
Aaron can't wait around hundreds of millions of years to hatch slowly. Even if, in the end, he might become a star-system-level god capable of smashing the sun with one palm.
Even so, by virtue of the Celestial traits, he can now roam freely in a planet's core and absorb its life force to power himself.
Plus, he already possesses decent psychic abilities and matter-manipulation powers.
He can absorb energy in multiple ways to raise his own life level to a complete Celestial form, letting him more quickly master the full might of the Celestial race.
He'd be able to catch the sun with his bare hands.
With a single thought, he could command the four fundamental forces of the universe.
He would hold the power of cosmic laws.
And possess an indestructible dimensional suit of armor, shrugging off stellar explosions like they were nothing.
Right now, what Aaron gained from Ego's traits is only a weakened, deformed version of Celestial power.
But it's already a tremendous boost for him.
He feels even stronger.
It's as if his strength never runs out.
With the power of the Celestials plus the sun's core feeding him, Aaron doesn't even know what his limits might be.
"I really want to have a good, hearty fight!"
"Right now, I'm terrifyingly strong!"
Aaron takes a deep breath and, with a mere gesture, gathers the surrounding molecules to form another Celestial Flower.
But this is no longer Ego's parasitic seed—it's his own.
He thinks for a moment, strips away the special traits, and the flower rapidly wilts.
He sets it down where it was and turns to leave.
"Let's go. We're heading back."
Norman glances at that alien plant, so different from those on Earth, watches it quickly wither, and can't help feeling pity.
If someone else had done this, Norman would have shown them what it means to anger a capitalist.
But right now—
"Didn't you hear me? Dismantle everything here. All research data is to be burned on-site!"
"Then every last one of you, get yourselves to the finance department for your bonuses. Double for everyone!"
"Oh yeah!!"
Norman remains there to ensure all the data is destroyed.
Aaron trusts Norman quite a bit.
Casting a look at the silent Helen Cho, he gives a mysterious smile.
"Want to study that plant?"
Helen Cho nods.
She blushes deeply. After thinking it over seriously, she decides: for the sake of truth and the advancement of science—she'll do it!
Next to them, Felicia remains expressionless, as if she's heard nothing, but her plush, stocking-clad legs quiver just a little.
…
Meanwhile, on distant Ego,
Ego wakes up from a nightmare.
"My seed!"
"M-Master?"
Mantis panics and withdraws her hands from Ego's temples. She's never sensed Ego so enraged before.
"My ability has failed?"
Ego shakes his head, looking anxious.
"No, it's not your fault. You did very well!"
Ego rises and walks to the great hall of the temple. With a wave of his right hand, a map of the Milky Way unfolds before him.
But these points of light aren't stars or planets. They're "life-bearing worlds" that he specifically marked.
Long ago, he spent millions of years crafting a planet for his own brain; afterward, he sank into boundless loneliness.
An undying urge to seek fellow life and kin drove him to traverse the stars, searching for other living things.
Yet when he encountered those lives, his joy and excitement evaporated, replaced by a deep sense of disappointment.
Those beings were too weak, too ignorant, too insignificant.
Compared to his greatness, their very existence merely wasted air and resources.
It was then that Ego understood:
What he sought wasn't to take human form and travel among them—
It was eternity!
He wanted to create a world of life equal to his own, every being just as wise, every being exactly like him.
That would mean everything in the universe being him!
And so he set out as a "Harem King," venturing to countless civilizations, mating with woman after woman on different worlds in hopes of producing offspring with his genes.
He hoped to produce a child who inherited his Celestial genes. The two of them together would activate the seeds on each life-bearing planet he had marked, converting them into himself.
That would be eternity!
But thousands of years passed—
Time and again, his offspring proved just as disappointing, as frail and foolish as any other mortal creatures.
So he ruthlessly exterminated them, discarding their remains underground.
Unable to achieve his goal, the anguish forced him to find Mantis, using her empathic power to manipulate his emotions, helping him sleep through the pain and anxiety.
Now,
He searches and finds a dim celestial body.
He touches it with his index finger, then zooms in with both hands to reveal a blue planet. A complicated look appears on Ego's face.
"This is…Meredith's world…"
She was his water lily. He once truly loved her, at least for that time, loving only her—an absolute, genuine love.
Then, once she bore Peter Quill, he personally planted a brain tumor in her and left to look for his new "true love."
Before leaving, he did the usual, implanting a seed on the planet and waiting for it to take root and blossom.
However…
"Who destroyed my seed?!"
Any feeling he once had for Meredith is swept away, replaced by blazing fury. Ego's eyes burn red as he glares at this planet.
This planet that once stirred faint emotion in him but was destined to be obliterated.
His rage resonates across his entire moon-sized form, triggering violent tremors as though the planet itself is quaking in anger.
"M-Master?"
Faced with Ego's abrupt fury, Mantis is at a complete loss.
Her empathic powers allow her to sense Ego's current anger with stark clarity—like a volcano on the verge of erupting, brimming with boundless energy.
Ego takes a deep breath, regaining calm.
"It's nothing—just some fool who doesn't know their place, trying to hinder my plans."
Ego doesn't actually care about a mere seed. If he wishes, he can create many more seeds to spread among the stars.
But he cannot tolerate anyone sabotaging his plans!
Whether or not it was deliberate, he must investigate.
"Meredith, my water lily, forgive my rudeness. I have no choice but to descend upon your world once again."
"You know how I've been fleeing my feelings for you all these years."
"But now…"
With a wave of his black cloak, Ego rises into the air, despite there being no wind.
A chain of blue light breaks through the planet's surface and merges into his body, as though providing him additional power.
Simultaneously, a colossal, oval spacecraft slowly lowers under his control.
"No one can stop my plan. No one!"
…
Aaron, meanwhile, has no idea Ego is about to arrive—
But in fact, he's somewhat prepared.
Returning to Oscorp, he finds Tony Stark has been waiting for quite some time.
Tony looks annoyed. "Buddy, you know it's usually everyone else who waits for me."
Aaron remains indifferent. "Oh, really? Not anymore."
Seeing Aaron's calm demeanor, Tony seethes. He's waited two whole hours!
He's Tony Stark!
Politicians, the military, CEOs—nobody makes him wait.
At banquets, he's always last to show up!
Isn't the main character always last to arrive?
When it comes to wealth and genius, who can surpass him?
But today, he's been taught a lesson!
Waiting around is miserable; all one's anticipation fades over time.
(Aldrich Killian shouts in rage: "Dammit, I waited all night in the rain for you!")
"Yesterday, we had a scheduled meeting…" Tony's full of complaints.
"Well, I'm here now."
Aaron casually hands his suit jacket to Felicia and takes a seat behind the desk.
Pepper Potts speaks up quickly, "Mr. Aaron, about what we talked about yesterday…"
"Hold on."
Aaron flips his right hand, and a test tube materializes out of thin air. Using his "Primordial Forge" ability, he infuses it with anti-radiation and anti–heavy metal properties.
He presses a button. "Have Connors come in."
Tony and Pepper both look perplexed.
Before long, Dr. Connors knocks and enters.
"Boss, you wanted me?"
He glances at Tony, a bit surprised.
Aaron sets the test tube on the table. "Set aside your current experiments for now. Test the effects of this. See if it can solve nuclear radiation and lead poisoning."
Connors' eyes light up. He immediately takes the test tube for analysis.
Tony Stark suddenly reacts. "—So, you just whipped that up out of nowhere?"
"Exactly. Last night, after I got back."
!!!
You jerk, where on earth does someone like you come from!?
If being stuck in a cave for three months, building an arc reactor and a primitive Iron Man suit from scraps, already qualifies me as a legend…
I sure didn't expect someone even more extraordinary!
Just that morning he'd had the idea, and by evening he'd already created an anti-radiation, anti–heavy metal solution—
Not to mention he also took a trip to Missouri in the meantime!
Tony checks his watch, lips twitching.
He has to concede. Tony Stark, the master of time management, pales in comparison.
I, Tony Stark, officially admit you're a genius.
Almost as good as I am, that is.
Tony is at least no longer furious.
"All right then, actually I've basically solved my lead poisoning issue."
"I won't be dealing with it long-term now—just some time and proper care, and it'll be done."
Aaron nods.
Tony can't help asking, "Aren't you curious how I managed to fix it?"
"Not really. So, do you still want this or not?"
"Yes! Of course I do!"
Tony nods, deflated.
Aren't you going to ask me how I did it so I can show off?
"You know I'm a genius. I solved the palladium-poisoning problem in the arc reactor by introducing a new element—an unknown one, not on the periodic table!"
"That boosted my arc reactor's capacity a thousandfold at least, and saved me from death!"
Tony lifts his head, hoping to see admiration on Aaron's face.
"That's all?" Aaron is expressionless.
Tony refuses to give up. "The little thing on my chest can put out three billion joules a second, for 15,000 minutes straight!"
"Pretty good. Keep it up, and maybe that tiny gadget of yours can power New York City for a whole year."
"…"
Fuck!
Why does his compliment leave me so frustrated, as if it's full of veiled contempt?
Tony shuts his mouth and stops seeking further attention.
Soon, Connors hurries back with the test report, elated.
"Boss, the solution you created is unbelievably effective!"
"After injection, it effectively prevents the damage caused by nuclear radiation and significantly strengthens the body's defenses, preventing genetic mutation."
"At the same time, it drastically removes heavy metals—far beyond any existing treatment!"
"My god, this is yet another invention that will shake the world. All those suffering from nuclear radiation will have new hope!"
Tony takes a copy of the results, still skeptical.
He's not an expert in biology or genetics, but he knows enough to follow the basics.
And by drawing parallels to his own fields, Tony's knowledge in these areas outstrips many biological scientists.
"Darn it, how do you pull this off?"
If Aaron hadn't already created several other world-class breakthroughs, Tony would suspect this entire report was faked.
From now on, though, Tony can give up that nauseating "green juice." In a week at most, he'll be back in prime shape.
"If not for the fact that nuclear radiation affects only a limited number of people, this one invention could make you the world's richest man!"
Tony's voice is tinged with regret.
"Really? I don't think so. Believe me—this is bigger than you realize."
Aaron waves the vial of anti-radiation, anti–heavy metal solution.
~~~
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