Chapter Summaries

Difan watched surveillance footage of the newcomers and ordered his servants to prepare for their arrival, intrigued by the power they displayed. Gamora explained Difan’s history and collection of living species as the Devan Group Guard escorted her companions into Jemiah’s Boot Bar Club.

• Difan asked his subordinate to identify the newcomers and ordered Third Squad to bring them inside as honored guests.
• An explosion on the surveillance projection excited Difan, who ordered Karina to hurry and prepare for the guests.
• Karina cleaned a display case holding a restrained woman while surrounded by nearly a thousand cases containing imprisoned living beings.
• Quill asked Gamora about Difan, and she described his long life and his shift from collecting relics to rare living species.
• The Devan Group Guard leaders approached Leo’s group, concealed their alarm at the damage, and escorted them into the club.
• The group entered the noisy club, where patrons gathered in an atmosphere resembling an arena or casino.

Leo and his companions showed Difan the Orb of Power, and Difan used an ancient machine to begin opening its Asgardian seals. As Difan explained his account of the Infinity Stones, Leo challenged his claim that they predated the Big Bang, leaving their origins in question.

• Gamora introduced the Orb of Power to Difan, while Leo said he was familiar with Asgardians and presented Lorelei as an Asgardian Warrior.
• Leo conjured the Orb of Power and handed it to Difan, who wondered about Leo's abilities and suspected his connection to Asgard.
• Difan placed the Orb in an ancient machine he had bought for roughly two billion and began removing its protective energy and seals.
• Difan explained that six Singularities existed before the Big Bang and that their remains became the Infinity Stones.
• Leo questioned how the stones could predate the Big Bang and asked what they had been before the universe existed and why their power resonated with its Source Energy.

Difan gave up trying to reclaim the Orb of Power and offered to support Leo’s group, hoping to become his partner. Leo revealed the Space Stone, leaving Difan enthralled by its power and beauty.

• Difan decided not to fight Leo for the Orb of Power and offered to cover the group’s future expenses.
• Leo made the Orb of Power disappear and snapped his fingers, releasing Karina from the frozen scene and catching her as she fell.
• Leo considered Difan’s offer as his companions reacted to the promise of money and a useful partner.
• Leo revealed the Space Stone, and Difan trembled as he gazed at it in awe.

Leo pressured Difan into handing over information about the Infinity Stones and promised to protect him from the danger surrounding Gamora’s visit. After leaving the Void Land with Karina and Donald Duck, Leo prepared to continue the group’s journey.

• Leo explained that Thanos and Ronan would suspect Difan of taking the Orb of Power after Gamora visited and left the Void Land.
• Leo told Difan that he wanted information about the Infinity Stones and warned him that owning one would bring Thanos’s wrath.
• Difan asked when Thanos would come, and Leo said Thanos would wait until he learned where the Infinity Stone was.
• Leo summoned Donald Duck to demonstrate his ability to protect Difan, and Difan handed him a data disk containing recorded information about the Infinity Stones.
• Leo’s group left the Void Land with Karina and Donald Duck, and Leo ordered Quill to get fifty million in cash.
• Gamora asked Leo whether he was afraid Difan would come after him.

Leo stopped Karina from grabbing the Power Stone and warned Difan that he could not control it or protect it from Thanos. Difan guessed Leo possessed the Space Stone and offered to fund his activities if Leo showed him the Infinity Stones.

• Difan admired the Power Stone while Rocket demanded payment, and Karina decided to risk her life to escape Difan’s control.
• Karina approached the Power Stone, but Leo appeared before her and froze her in place with a snap.
• Leo sealed the Power Stone inside the Orb again and warned Difan that it could destroy the Collector’s home and attract Thanos’s forces.
• Difan put away an object he had been holding, guessed that Leo had the Space Stone, and offered to fund him in exchange for seeing the Infinity Stones.

Gamora told Difan that the group had what he wanted, but Difan became fascinated by Groot and offered to buy his body after he died. When Leo defended Groot and Rocket, Difan mistook Leo and Lorelei for ancient Asgardian Warriors and bowed to them.

• Gamora told Difan they had the item he wanted and skipped his pleasantries.
• Difan recognized Groot as a rare member of the Groot War Treant race and offered to pay for his body after his death.
• Difan called Rocket Gamora's pet, prompting Rocket to reach for his gun and the group to react angrily.
• Leo appeared beside Difan and told him that Groot and Rocket were companions who would never be sold and deserved respect.
• Difan guessed that Leo and Lorelei were Asgardian Warriors and bowed deeply to them.

After the team divided their payout, Leo let them spend two hours shopping while he and Jason went to buy metal. Jason’s grief over his murdered family overwhelmed him, and Leo subdued the surge of painful memories, leaving the team to consider helping him fulfill his desire for revenge.

• The team divided the money from the Milan job, and Leo warned that their presence might have attracted unwanted attention.
• Leo sent Rocket, Quill, Gamora, and the others to shop while he and Jason went to buy metal; Groot stayed aboard to guard Howard the Duck.
• Quill and Gamora headed to the market together, while Jason watched them and was overcome by guilt and grief.
• Leo explained that Ronan had killed Jason’s wife and children and that Jason’s fixation on revenge had been triggered by seeing Quill with Gamora.
• Leo used Golden Light to push Jason’s surging thoughts back into his memories, and Rocket suggested helping Jason fulfill his obsession.

Leo and his companions bought a shipment of void gold from Anser and examined its unusual properties in the warehouse. Leo discovered that the tricolored metal was a single element and separated it into equal pieces of black, gold, and silver metal.

• Karina led Leo and the others to Anser’s warehouse and negotiated the price of the void gold down to fifty million.
• Leo paid with an anonymous metal card, and Anser let them take the shipment within one day.
• Karina explained that the gold, silver, and black portions all belonged to void gold and could not normally be separated.
• Leo purified a piece of void gold, revealing its exceptional hardness and energy conductivity.
• Leo manipulated the metal until its colors flowed apart, then separated it into equal pieces of black, gold, and silver metal.

Difan put Kaimi to work cleaning the display cases in his collection, where she discovered two Communication Void Worms marked as an extreme danger. Meanwhile, Leo, Quill, and Gamora came across two similar worms, and Gamora began to recognize them.

• Difan renamed his new maid Kaimi and ordered her to clean his display cases according to their maintenance instructions.
• Kaimi cleaned the cases and saw the strange, weakened aliens held inside them.
• Kaimi reached a case marked extremely high danger and read that its two Communication Void Worms could summon the Insectoids to devour everything.
• Kaimi noticed damage at the case’s base but could not break it open, then continued her work in growing despair.
• Quill and Gamora joined Leo at a stall where two worms were displayed.
• Gamora studied the worms and told Leo they looked familiar.

Leo bought two worms that Gamora recognized as Coordinate Worms released by the Insectoids. Gamora explained that the worms could signal the Swarm Emperor and help the Insectoids send armies through Warp Points to consume planets, leaving the group facing a possible return of the terrifying race.

• A carapace vendor tried to charge Leo four thousand yuan for two worms and a Vitor Beast skull, but Leo paid four thousand for the worms and intimidated the vendor into accepting the deal.
• Gamora grew uneasy after recognizing that the worms matched ones in Difan's Collection Room and took the jar from the vendor.
• Quill told Leo that the Vitor Beast skull was worth only about twenty yuan because the beasts were now farmed for food.
• Gamora identified the worms as Coordinate Worms from the Insectoids and warned that their appearance could mean the race had returned.
• Gamora explained that Coordinate Worms transmitted information to the Swarm Emperor and enabled the Insectoid Void Swarm to open Warp Points and send armies to search for food, usually planets.

Leo discovered that Uru had once made up much of the Celestial skull before losing its energy and becoming Infinity Stones, then explored the Void Land’s black market with the others. The group split up to search for goods, and Leo approached a stall selling two strange void worms he had seen in Difan’s Collection Room.

• Karina told Leo that Uru was mined from skulls and had become increasingly rare, while other Void Land materials were not for sale.
• Leo revealed an Infinity Stone made from Uru and concluded that the Celestial skull had gradually lost its Uru energy, becoming the Void Land.
• Leo suspected Devan Group had a large reserve of Uru and brought out another piece of Tricolor Void Gold.
• The group arrived at the chaotic trading market, where Jason criticized outdated goods before remembering that they could be valuable to other buyers.
• Rocket spotted something he wanted, and the group split up to search the market, with Karina following Jason and Leo going alone.
• Leo noticed two black void worms resembling specimens in Difan’s Collection Room and walked toward their stall.

Leo, Gamora, and Quill discovered that the Void Worms could help the Insectoids open a Space Warp, and learned the Insectoids had returned after a century. The chapter ended with news that the Insectoids had devoured every living thing in Xisl Planet’s southern hemisphere, as Leo asked Gamora why information about them had been hidden.

• Quill panicked when Gamora explained that Void Worms could let the Insectoids open a Space Warp, and Leo questioned the stall owner about where the insects came from.
• The stall owner said the Void Worms might still be on the corpse of a Tyrolor Beast that had fallen to his home planet two days earlier.
• Gamora explained that the Insectoids had once annihilated nearly half an empire, lost eleven of their twelve Swarm Emperors, and been suppressed by the United Organization.
• Quill received StarNet news that the Insectoids had invaded Xisl Planet and devoured every living thing in its southern hemisphere.
• Gamora suggested the Insectoids were testing the waters, and Leo asked her why information about them had been hidden.

Leo marked out a Deathmatch Arena so Rocket could confront Tenno after Tenno insulted him. Rocket swiftly overwhelmed Tenno, then told Leo that Howard had a hidden purpose and had once spoken about a gem.

• Leo offered the guards money and used a Tricolor Void Gold coin to mark a Deathmatch Arena around Rocket and Tenno.
• Jason ordered everyone outside the circle to leave, while the guards called for reinforcements.
• Rocket charged Tenno and inflicted dozens of deep claw wounds before stopping beneath Leo's judgment.
• Rocket took two bottles of liquor from Tenno's stall and left with Leo and the others.
• Rocket told Leo that Howard had a mysterious purpose and had talked about a gem.

Quill, Gamora, and Leo learned that the stall owner was the last known survivor of Seth Planet, destroyed by a cosmic ray, and the news weighed on Quill and Leo. As they went to find Rocket, Leo questioned Quill about his origins and suggested a physical examination might reveal why Yondu had taken him from Earth.

• The stall owner lamented that a cosmic ray had destroyed his home and left him with nowhere to return to.
• Quill and Gamora identified the stall owner as a Sethian and explained that Seth Planet had been destroyed by Gamma Rays, leaving him its apparent sole survivor.
• Quill and Leo grew somber over the stall owner's loss, and Gamora comforted Quill.
• Leo sensed that Rocket had encountered Jason and led the others toward him near the Celestial skull mining site.
• Quill wondered about the Celestials, and Gamora reminded him that their goal was to kill Thanos.
• Leo asked Quill why Yondu had taken him from Earth and suggested a comprehensive physical examination might explain his unusual origins.

Leo and Quill bargained with a stall owner over a large Beck Stone containing a dark impurity, and Leo bought it for 690,000. They left the market to return to the spaceship, while the value of the stone hidden inside remained unknown.

• Quill recognized the Beck Stone and warned that the large impurity in its center reduced its value.
• The stall owner asked 800,000, while Rocket explained that cutting the stone could release its energy and suggested the impurity might be Space Fine Gold.
• Quill and the stall owner haggled as more people watched and the seller grew worried that others might take the stone from him.
• Leo offered 690,000, and the stall owner accepted the deal.
• Leo made the Beck Stone disappear, Quill handed over the cash, and Leo led the group toward the spaceship.

Quill and the others admired the Milan’s newly restored exterior, loaded it with supplies, and prepared to leave Void Land. After Jason restrained Howard the Duck, Quill piloted the ship into space while Leo teleported away to meet them at a Warp Point.

• Rocket explained that he had saved money to buy rare fertilizer for Groot and hurried aboard the Milan with it.
• Quill showed everyone the Milan’s restored blue-and-orange exterior, and Gamora became more pleased with him.
• The crew boarded and complained about the Milan’s still-dirty interior while Quill organized the supplies and equipment.
• Howard the Duck provoked Rocket, but Jason stopped Rocket and tied Howard’s bill shut.
• Quill started the Milan and flew it out of Void Land, while Leo teleported away and told the crew to meet him at a Warp Point using Red Whale as their coordinates.

Quill offered a reward for information about Lylla and Black Jack while the group browsed the Void Land’s market. Karina learned that Jason refused to return to their ravaged home planet until he had killed Ronan, and the chapter ended when a stall owner showed Leo a Baker Gem that astonished him.

• Quill offered one million for information about Lylla and Black Jack, and Quill pledged another four million if Rocket needed it.
• Karina told Jason that the Aiyu planet’s environment was recovering, but Jason insisted their people could never return and vowed to kill Ronan.
• Karina realized she had fallen in love with Jason, while Jason had rescued her only because they belonged to the same clan.
• Leo asked whether Vitor Beast horns made useful ornaments, and Quill explained that they were useless and recommended a Smoky Stone instead.
• Leo rejected the Smoky Stone and asked for an attractive ornament that could benefit the body.
• A stall owner showed Leo a Baker Gem, and Leo reacted with astonishment.

Quill, Rocket, Gamora, and Little Jie found comfort in sharing a peaceful moment with Leo's group. Meanwhile, Leo secretly explored the Void Land and discovered deposits of Void Gold Ore and Beck Stone within the Celestial's skull.

• Quill reflected on his lonely past and felt that Leo's group had become the companions he had long wanted.
• Rocket drank with the group and felt grateful that his restored health gave him more time with Groot and new friends.
• Gamora wondered whether Leo's group could help her kill Thanos, while Howard resisted the temptation to drink and Little Jie cried as he drank.
• Leo teleported to the top of the Void Land's skull and used Spatial Folding to avoid detection by the Devan Group's security forces.
• Leo found high-purity Void Gold Ore and Beck Stone connected to Uru, and wondered whether Beck Stone originated from the Void Land.

Rocket interrogated Howard the Duck about why he had come to Void Land, believing his secret was connected to an Infinity Stone. Howard revealed he had not been searching for one, but remained tied up while secretly planning his escape.

• Rocket demanded to know why Howard had come to Difan's place, and Howard claimed he wanted food, lodging, and a vacation.
• Rocket struck Howard and questioned him about a stone and the Infinity Stones, while Howard insisted he had not been involved with one.
• Howard realized Rocket had mistaken a flash of purple light in Difan's cabinet for evidence that he was seeking an Infinity Stone.
• Rocket ordered Quill and Jason to open the liquor and decided to keep Howard tied up until Leo returned.
• After Rocket and the others left to drink, Howard stopped struggling and quietly planned to escape once their spaceship landed.

Leo discovered a vast, hidden deposit of high-purity Uru beneath the Celestial skulls and entered it undetected. He enclosed himself among the ore and began scraping away a Beck Stone to reveal the object inside.

• Leo spotted enormous deposits of Uru and used Spatial Energy to slip into the guarded site without being detected.
• Leo crushed a Beck Stone, saw its life-like energy dissipate, and wondered how the stones were connected to Uru.
• Leo examined the high-purity Uru deposits and recognized the skull as an immense ore field valuable for raising his Control Points.
• Leo pulled four room-sized chunks of Uru around himself and scraped the surface off a Beck Stone, gradually revealing a dark-gold object.