The Sea of Stars

When the Avengers arrived, Xia Yu was focused on healing Natasha, while Loki lay on the ground in a pitiful state, and Mar-Vell in an even more miserable condition.

All four limbs were crushed or shattered by Xia Yu from the root. There was a pool of blood on the ground mixed with broken flesh and bone fragments. Everyone present, except for Hulk, gasped in shock.

Xia Yu was focused on healing Natasha's injuries when the others entered. Without even looking up, he said, "This is the Kree Nick Fury was talking about. He ambushed Natasha, intending to take the Tesseract and Loki's Scepter. I don't know who else is behind him. I spared his life. The government's people are almost here..."

As soon as Xia Yu spoke, Tony was the first to realize what was going on.

"I understand, Thor. You take this Kree and Dr. Selvig upstairs to rest for a while. You can also take the Tesseract and the Scepter," Tony quickly instructed.

Xia Yu originally wanted to ask Tony to hand over the Scepter, since the Mind Stone was related to a series of plot developments, including Ultron, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. But then he thought better of it. Anyway, S. H. I. E. L. D. would want S.H.I.E.L.D. the Tesseract and the Scepter, so he could negotiate and give it to Tony later.

"Congratulations, Master, on completing the mission! You have received the following rewards."

1. Destroy the invading Chitauri army. Each soldier rewards 10 Points, and each Leviathan Dragon-shaped flying vehicle rewards 500 Points. Total Points earned: 163,400

2. Victory in the Battle of New York is achieved by destroying the Chitauri Mothership or shutting down the Tesseract, and is rewarded with 50,000 Points.

3. Eliminate hidden enemies. Reward: Absorb a portion of the Tesseract's attribute power.

The Points was much higher than Xia Yu had imagined. Tmall's response was that it was the final nuclear bomb, which meant that Xia Yu and Tony had collaborated and that a portion of the Points had been given to Xia Yu.

With my Points approaching 220,000, I can level up the Black Tortoise Golden Body Art by two levels. Or I can check if the system has other options to maximize my overall strength.

Thinking of this, Xia Yu consulted the system, "Tmall, how do I absorb the last reward—a portion of the Tesseract's attributes and power?"

"Master, the Space Stone contained within the Tesseract is one of the Source powers of this world, and it is extremely difficult to absorb. You need to maintain constant contact with the Tesseract. According to the system's calculations, it will take at least three days," Tmall's voice sounded.

"Is physical contact necessary? Does storing it in Space Ring count?" Xia Yu asked.

"This is Source item of the world and cannot be stored in Space Ring. Please arrange the time and place accordingly."

"I understand. I haven't eliminated Mar-Vell yet for the third mission, so how can it be considered completed?"

"Hehe, Master, he's barely better off dead now; he's practically wiped out."

Tmall's evaluation criteria were indeed very objective. Xia Yu didn't think much of it, leaving the aftermath to others and focusing all his efforts on healing Natasha.

With a perforated left abdomen, Xia Yu recalled Natasha's words to Captain America in Captain America 2. Natasha had been shot through the left abdomen by the Winter Soldier. Xia Yu's arrival changed everything, but he still couldn't avoid this injury. This powerful plot inertia added a sense of unease to Xia Yu's future.

Natasha's injuries were severe, Xia Yu spent five or six hours tending to her wounds before finally letting out a long sigh and standing up.

"Xia, is Natasha alright?"

At this moment, only the Avengers remained in Stark Tower. Seeing Xia Yu stand up, Hawkeye was the first to speak and ask.

"It's alright, she'll be fine after a good rest. It'll just leave a small scar that won't be easy to remove. Let her rest for a while." Xia Yu pressed her pressure point to put her to sleep and then carried her into the bedroom.

The top of Stark Tower is a fully equipped penthouse. Xia Yu put Natasha in a bedroom to rest, took a shower, and then came out to meet everyone.

"Things are much more complicated than we imagined, Xia. The Kree and Loki are just pawns. Behind them is a powerful figure from the universe named Thanos," the Captain said to Xia Yu as soon as Xia Yu arrived.

"So you've already interrogated Mar-Vell?" Xia Yu asked, puzzled.

"You've scared him half to death. If I ask him anything else, he'll tell me everything," Hawkeye said, clearing up Xia Yu's doubts.

"Oh." Xia Yu suddenly realized that Hawkeye must be an expert in this area. Even if someone was terrified, or even if they fell perfectly intact into the hands of an S.H.I.E.L.D.. spy, Hawkeye could tell whether someone was lying or not just by looking at their micro-expressions.

"Mar-Vell doesn't know much either, but he knows Thanos is very interested in the Tesseract. But I'm curious, Thanos is infamous throughout the universe. If he personally leads an army to Earth, we simply can't resist him with our current strength," Hawkeye continued.

"After all, he's a big shot. He might not think Earth is worth his own effort. If he fails this time, he can just send someone more capable next time or come himself," Tony said worriedly.

Just like in the movies, Iron Man has shouldered a lot of burdens since the war in New York. The threat from other planets makes him feel insecure, and he created Ultron to give this world armor.

"Don't worry about that for now," Xia Yu waved his hand to reassure everyone. "As long as Odin, Thor's father All-Father, is still alive, no one in the universe will dare to openly approach Earth in a war-like manner."

"That's right, we Asgard will protect the Nine Realms, especially Earth," Thor interjected.

Xia Yu glanced at the still worried crowd and continued, "Besides, I heard from Odin that there should still be incredibly powerful superhumans on Earth, so we don't need to worry about the threat of war right now."

"Nick is right about one thing: when it comes to safety, it's best to be confident in your own abilities. For example, in the Loki incident, we had to rely on ourselves to get through it," Tony said, echoing what everyone was thinking.

"I completely understand and agree with this idea, but to do this, we need to do three things. First, the Avengers must expand their strength, including finding superhumans to join us globally. Second, we need a transcendent position to break free from the constraints imposed on us by the government or certain politicians." Xia Yu put forward a rather forward-thinking idea.

"I have no problem with those two points. We can discuss the details further. I'm curious about the third thing," the Captain asked Xia Yu curiously.

"The third thing is to broaden our horizons and set foot in the universe!" Xia Yu stretched out his right hand and pointed to the night sky outside, his eyes fixed on the vast universe!

Due to popular demand, my profile picture has been changed to a photo of my daughter. This chapter will be posted at 6 AM this morning. Please check it out first; there will be more this afternoon and evening!