Chapter Summaries

Leo and the Guardians traveled to the Kro Family’s planet to collect their Galaxy Pure Water, despite signs that the deal could be a trap. They met the Kro representative in person, whose unexpected smile and silver box left them wondering what he intended.

• Nebula told the group that two Kro royal family members had vanished after massacres on resource planets, and Gamora suspected their mission might be connected.
• The Kro representative sent coordinates for the Galaxy Pure Water and abruptly ended the call.
• Leo decided they would go to the coordinates and show no mercy if the Kro tried anything.
• Rocket landed the Milan on a platform surrounded by ten fighters, while Nebula stayed aboard ready to take off.
• Leo, Rocket, Quill, Chen Haoran, and Lorelei stepped out and met the Kro representative, who approached with a smile and a small silver box.

Leo unleashed a full-powered Spatial Shockwave that destroyed nearly every warship around him, leaving one advanced spacecraft barely intact. As another fleet approached, he turned his attention to the surviving ship.

• Leo released a Spatial Shockwave that swept through the sky and destroyed dozens of warships and fighters in seconds.
• Falling wreckage smashed the landing pad and brought down two fighters that had tried to evade the shockwave.
• One technologically superior warship survived the blast, though its hull and shield were badly damaged.
• Leo recovered his golden blade as the two Golden Dragons flew toward the resistance forces on the ground.
• A new fleet of around a hundred warships approached, while Leo studied the damaged spacecraft that had survived his attack.

Leo confronted the Kro Civilization’s apparently defenseless Wusu Base after escaping an attack, while Quill explained that the Kro were testing his compassion. Leo destroyed two buildings but refused to kill the people there, saying he wanted to find the source of the conflict.

• Rocket and Quill joined Leo above the military base and suggested the Kro Civilization had staged the surrender to test his mental state.
• Leo spotted armed people inside the base and struck the buildings with a Spatial Shockwave, tearing through them and shaking the underground structure.
• Nebula asked whether she and Gamora should fire on the base, while Rocket and Quill were ready to treat the Kro as enemies.
• Leo told Nebula not to fire because the people were only following orders, and said he wanted to find the source.
• The general in the command center realized Leo had shown the compassion he had been testing for.

Leo rejected the Kro delegation’s apology and destroyed their sensors and communicators, then sent Lorelei to extract information from them. Lorelei’s ability failed against both Kro, who directed the group to contact their supreme commander, leaving Leo without the command headquarters’ location.

• Two Kro representatives apologized to Leo and said their supreme leader wanted to speak with him.
• Leo crushed the six Kro’s sensors and the delegation’s communication devices.
• Lorelei approached the Kro representatives and asked for the final command headquarters and its commander.
• Lorelei’s allure failed to affect the first Kro, who refused to reveal classified information.
• Lorelei questioned the Kro she had knocked aside, but he also resisted her ability and suggested contacting the supreme commander from a communicator aboard the spaceship.

Lorelei failed to control the Kro delegates because Kro people had both male and female characteristics, leaving Leo's group unsure how to secure their cooperation. Leo used a Mind Stone-powered Sealing Orb to control one of the delegates, giving him a way to interrogate them.

• Lorelei knocked one Kro delegate unconscious, then discovered that none of the six Kro could be controlled by her ability.
• Leo destroyed the Kro delegates' surveillance equipment and communicators, preventing their Command Center from watching or contacting them.
• Leo asked the Kro delegates whether they were women, and they explained that Kro people possessed both male and female characteristics and had no distinction of sex.
• Leo stopped Mantis from altering the delegates' emotions and decided to handle them himself before the Kro forces could escape.
• Leo shaped the Mind Stone-powered Sealing Orb into a blade-like point and used it to control one of the Kro delegates.

Leo used an unknown power to control Beklo and restrain the other Kro, then exposed their claims of friendship and revealed that the fighter jets had been spreading a strange powder. He extracted a pellet of the substance and demanded that the Kro reveal the location of their supreme command base.

• Leo changed Beklo's eyes to pitch-black and made him kneel in loyal obedience.
• A hidden Kro executioner lunged at Beklo, but Leo immobilized him and the other Kro with the Iron Man Armor.
• The restrained Kro threatened war and offered compensation, while Leo rejected their claims of friendship and said he welcomed an attack.
• Jason identified one Kro's denial as a lie, and Leo accused the fighter jets of spraying powder that entered their bodies.
• Leo extracted a gray pellet from the Kro, sealed the men's mouths, and demanded the location of their supreme command base.

The First General ordered the First Base to prepare and decided to flee after seeing a warship approach, but the Kro detonated the ship before it arrived. Leo protected himself and Beklo, then teleported the Milan to within thirty kilometers of the First Base, where Beklo identified the base and its commander’s likely location.

• The First General saw the approaching warship on surveillance, ordered the base to act, and chose to escape to another base.
• The Kro warship exploded three thousand kilometers from the First Base, but Leo’s energy shield protected him and Beklo from the blast.
• The Milan’s crew watched the explosion clear and saw Leo and Beklo emerge unharmed; Quill caught Beklo when his legs gave way.
• Beklo recovered and pointed out the direction of the First Base, and Leo teleported the Milan there.
• Leo surveyed the heavily fortified First Base, and Beklo identified it as the place where the Kro commander-in-chief was likely located.

Gamora and Nebula feared that Leo’s unknown plans for the Infinity Stones could threaten the universe, while Gamora worried that Thanos might still turn the tide if he found the Soul Stone. Though Leo seemed to know its location, Gamora chose to keep her knowledge secret for now.

• Jason reaffirmed his loyalty to Leo, while Mantis, Howard the Duck, and Lorelei remained content to support Leo’s group.
• Gamora and Nebula recognized that Leo was close to finding five Infinity Stones, but feared that either Leo or Thanos could use them to reshape the universe.
• Gamora wondered whether Leo knew the Soul Stone’s location and whether he knew that she had found it.
• Gamora recalled Thanos’s strategic genius and feared that he could still defeat Leo if he obtained even one Infinity Stone.
• Gamora decided to keep the Soul Stone’s location secret until the time was right.

Leo left the encirclement and walked toward a secret vault beneath the First Base while Secretary Luo tried to delay him. As strange dust spread through the area, Leo continued toward the vault, where the Kro Civilization had hidden powerful and unexplained objects.

• Leo walked through the soldiers surrounding him, sending away anyone who tried to stop him.
• Secretary Luo hurried out to prevent Leo from entering the temporary command base as its staff destroyed data about Unit Three and Unit Six.
• Leo sensed fine, unnatural dust spreading through the air and entering the bodies of nearby Kro soldiers and Secretary Luo.
• Secretary Luo tried to distract Leo with supplies and Galaxy Pure Water, but Leo said he needed something containing Life Force and continued onward.
• Secretary Luo realized Leo was heading toward the secret vault beneath the buildings, where the Kro Civilization had stored powerful and unexplained objects.

Leo ignored Secretary Luo’s attempts to redirect him and questioned him about the Kro Civilization’s Semi-Dimensional Resource Spaces. Learning that one contained rare metals, Leo followed the attraction he had sensed on Kro Planet, believing it might lead to a second Golden Bead.

• Leo noticed strange dust coming from holes in nearby buildings and secretly scattered some onto Secretary Luo, where it was absorbed into his body.
• Secretary Luo tried to guide Leo toward a warehouse, but Leo continued toward his own destination as Unit Three aimed its cannon at him.
• Secretary Luo offered Leo Life Pure Liquid and, under pressure, revealed that the Kro Civilization had two Semi-Dimensional Resource Spaces.
• Secretary Luo described one space’s Life Pure Liquid and traces of Galaxy Pure Water, then listed the rare metals in the other space, including Tricolor Void Gold and Kemu Gold.
• Leo grew excited as the metal-filled space seemed connected to the attraction he had sensed on Kro Planet, which he hoped would lead to a second Golden Bead.

Leo found the second Golden Bead in the Kro Civilization’s underground collection room, triggering its defenses and a lockdown. When the First General realized Leo was after the bead, he ordered the collection room destroyed before Leo could take it.

• Leo entered the collection room and saw the second Golden Bead, which began glowing and floated inside its display case.
• The Golden Bead transformed nearby detection equipment and a mechanical arm into pure silver and gold as the collection room’s protective systems activated.
• Eight display cases heated up, the room’s climate controls replaced its oxygen with inert gas, and laser beams targeted Leo.
• The collection-room workers watched the Annihilation Procedure attack Leo and reported the intruder to the First General.
• The First General realized Leo wanted the Golden Bead and ordered the Destruction Device activated to destroy the collection room.

Leo absorbed a second Golden Core as broken memories entered his mind, and the power shattered his folded space and bathed the First Base in destructive Golden Light. The Kro survivors recognized Leo as the target they had been searching for, while the Second Secretary hoped the catastrophe might still improve Leo’s view of the Kro Civilization.

• The Kro Civilization searched frantically for Leo after its surveillance drones lost sight of him.
• Leo accepted the Golden Core’s immense power and memory fragments while guarding his mind from being overwhelmed.
• Leo’s folded space shattered, releasing Golden Light that melted the skyscraper, nearby buildings, drones, and Kro within its range.
• Kro with functioning energy shields rescued others and fled beyond the Golden Light’s most destructive area, though some suffered injuries.
• The Second Secretary realized the Golden light was Leo and hoped the Golden Core’s power might make him more favorably disposed toward the Kro Civilization.

Red Whale and the Milano crew witnessed the immense golden power surrounding Leo while he fused with the second Golden Core. As the crew discussed the missing Soul Stone, Leo experienced the Golden Core’s history and learned how it had transformed a barren planet to attract the Kro Civilization.

• Red Whale sensed Leo’s power, approached the golden radiance, and waited nearby for his master to finish fusing.
• Quill, Rocket, and the others saw Leo’s golden light from the Milano and discussed how powerful he had become.
• Howard the Duck suggested investigating the remaining Infinity Stone, and Nebula pressed Gamora about Thanos’s secret mission to find the Soul Stone.
• Gamora admitted that Thanos had sent her to find the Soul Stone and that she had discovered some clues.
• Leo saw the second Golden Core arrive in a hidden Semi-Dimensional Space and transform its barren planet into a mineral-rich world that would draw the Kro Civilization’s attention.

Leo seized the Golden Bead from the Collection Room and escaped just before the base’s self-destruct sequence began. He reappeared nearby as the destruction shook the surrounding area, leaving the Second Secretary to realize the earthquake was connected to the Collection Room.

• Leo shattered the Collection Room’s Energy Shields, endured its Laser Beams, and took the Golden Bead.
• The First General ordered the Collection Room base destroyed, and the staff activated its self-destruct program.
• Leo vanished from the Collection Room, then reappeared less than three minutes later near the Second Secretary and a ring of troops.
• Leo refused to speak with the Second Secretary until the First General returned and flew toward a high-rise building.
• The Collection Room’s destruction triggered a powerful tremor that cracked the ground and toppled buildings, and the Second Secretary cursed as he understood what had happened.

Leo revealed his second Golden Core and shared an aura with his companions so they could sense another one and call for help in emergencies. He left them to continue their space travels while he returned to Earth, planning to deal with its affairs before seeking Thanos.

• Rocket excitedly praised Leo for finding a second Golden Core, and Leo showed the group the golden bead.
• Leo explained that he could not tell what the next Golden Core would look like, then gave everyone a trace of his aura to help them sense one within a hundred kilometers and contact him in danger.
• Gamora sensed that Leo's aura surpassed Thanos's, and Leo said he needed to rest and train to control it.
• Leo told the group to keep buying Galaxy Pure Water for Groot and said he would bring back the Kro Civilization's compensation.
• Chen Haoran and Jason agreed to handle the group's next steps and search for the Soul Stone, while Leo left to take care of matters on Earth before going after Thanos.

Gamora’s suspicious behavior made Jason wary as Leo returned to the Kro Civilization with Red Whale. Leo confronted the First General, revealed that he had intended to kill him, but spared him to protect the civilians and waited for the requested items to arrive.

• Gamora worried that Leo knew about her search for the Soul Stone, while Jason decided to watch her for suspicious actions.
• Mantis sensed distrust within the team but stayed silent and hoped they would remain together.
• Leo appeared above the ground with Red Whale, and the First General approached him after handing his pistol to an aide.
• Leo sensed the blood surrounding the First General and told him he had planned to kill him but would spare him for the civilians’ sake.
• The First General felt relieved when Leo left the ground and ordered his second secretary to hurry the preparations.

Leo tested the Power Stone’s destructive force and discovered that its connection with the Space Stone increased his understanding of space while placing pressure on him. He ended the chapter realizing that accumulating Infinity Stones would intensify that pressure and weaken their wielder.

• Leo unleashed the Power Stone, blasting apart the asteroid’s surface and using the Space Stone to gather the debris into a sphere before detonating it at a distance.
• Leo concentrated the Power Stone’s energy into a beam that melted a deep tunnel, then stopped it as the blast shook and cracked the ground.
• Leo’s Space Stone and Power Stone connected, creating pressure that slightly reduced his strength while loosening the Space Stone’s restriction and deepening his understanding of space.
• Leo concealed his wings and severed the stones’ connection, making the pressure disappear.
• Leo concluded that the pressure would grow as more Infinity Stones connected and reasoned that Thanos was physically strongest when his gauntlet held no stones.

Leo learned why the Kro Civilization’s Life Force offerings were considered rare and valuable, and how different kinds of Life Force were used. The Milan headed to the next planet to collect the Flower of Revival.

• Leo returned to the Milan with a bottle of Life Pure Liquid and said most of the Kro Civilization’s sixty-three offerings were too weak or came from flesh-and-blood bodies to help Groot.
• Jason explained that Life Force could heal and restore bodies, strengthen vitality, and help people advance their life levels, though using it was costly.
• Jason described Flesh and Blood Power, its physical benefits and mutation risks, and said he had sold a Life Force-bearing bird wing for thirty thousand yuan.
• Gamora explained that powerful groups purified Flesh and Blood Power to produce Enhancement Potions and support lifeform evolution.
• Gamora described Natural Power as rarer, gentler, and richer in Life Force, citing the Flower of Revival and Galaxy Pure Water as examples.

Leo tested the Power Stone with Red Whale on an asteroid and discovered that its energy strengthened and steadied his body while giving him powerful defensive and offensive abilities. After confirming he could withstand Red Whale’s attacks without harming it, Leo prepared to leave and struck the asteroid with the Power Stone.

• Leo used the Power Stone’s energy, and his Advanced Source Body absorbed it, gaining a new Power compatibility and becoming more grounded.
• Leo realized that absorbing only Spatial Energy had made his body overly light and that he needed all the Infinity Stones to improve every aspect of himself.
• Red Whale charged at Leo, but Leo formed a purple energy barrier that stopped it and then wrapped it in force.
• Leo found he could not move Red Whale with the Power Stone because Red Whale’s strength resisted his control, though the energy wore away Red Whale’s metallic beam.
• Leo released Red Whale, said they were ready to leave, and slammed his glowing fist toward the asteroid’s ground.

Leo invited Wanda and Pietro to travel with him to China, and Wanda accepted, with Pietro agreeing as well. Leo left with Barton on Red Whale and arranged to meet the twins again in twelve hours, leaving them eager for the journey.

• Wanda and Pietro recognized Leo's Chinese heritage, and Barton realized Leo planned to take the twins to China.
• Wanda agreed to go with Leo, while Barton worried that the twins might strengthen Dragon Fang and S.H.I.E.L.D. could not stop them.
• Leo told Wanda and Pietro to rest and pack, then set a meeting time twelve hours later.
• Leo and Barton departed on Red Whale, leaving Wanda and Pietro behind.
• Pietro asked Wanda whether she was sure about going, and Wanda said they should give it a try.