Knowhere

Knowhere.

From a distance, it appears to be a gigantic skeleton composed of the Soul Stone of the dead in the universe, with dazzling Nebula floating like ribbons in the skull's eyes.

"It doesn't just look like it; it is the skeleton itself."

Although this was Ben's first time here, he knew exactly what the Knowhere was.

This is the corpse of a Celestials who was killed by the Symbiote god Knull. Normally, Celestials is at least 600 meters tall, but the corpse in front of us is even more enormous. The size of just the skull alone is larger than a planet.

It's unclear whether his original size was enormous, or whether, after death, his body became uncontrollable by divine power and slowly manifested this appearance.

The corpse's body was gone; only the spine connecting the head and skull, like a spiral tower, was swallowed up into the vortex-shaped Nebula. Over the course of 100,000 years, even the remains of gods had decayed, and the dust of the universe had long since changed the appearance of the Knowhere.

Ben remembered that last time Kit specifically asked Bill to bring him some ingredients from the Knowhere, but unfortunately it was just ordinary cosmic dust that had solidified into rocks, without Celestials genes.

Finding genes here is probably not going to be easy.

Because the entire skeleton was covered in signs of modification, the huge machines inside the skull emitted colorful light, giving it a very cyberpunk look.

"Is the gamma fluctuation of the raw gemstone emanating from here?"

"That's right." Eunice traveled with Ben. Eunice had an Infinity Stones inside her body, and the original stones resonated with each other. In other words, she was essentially a real-time locator.

"After obtaining the Aether Particle, Requiem obviously didn't seal the gem's power as before; instead, she must have tried to use the gem for something."

Eunice said.

Gamora didn't use the Aether Particle in the Knowhere, but on another planet. However, by the time Ben followed the energy fluctuations of the gem, she had already left.

Now, she has brought the gem here again, but since using the gem's power last time, Gamora has not used it for the time being, and Eunice can only sense a general area.

"What exactly is Gamora trying to do?"

Nebula was very puzzled.

Even though he had already defeated Gamora at that time, and she seemed to have given up working for Thanos and chosen to go down the right path.

But now, she has started searching for gems again.

This made Nebula worry that Gamora might want to inherit Thanos's will and use the Infinity Stones to do bad things.

However, upon further reflection, she felt it was unlikely, but she still didn't know what Gamora's true purpose was.

Let's find her first.

Ben said.

At the same time, his gaze lingered on the enormous skeleton in the Knowhere...

The genes of the Celestials.

Although they are looked down upon by Alien X, the Celestials are the Celestials because of their immense power. The energy of any one of them can surpass that of the Mythical Father, or at least be an existence at the level of a single being or the Multiverse.

Odin even went so far as to reforge the Destroyer Armor in order to deal with the Celestials, but the armor is still under repair.

Since he was already there, Ben naturally couldn't miss out on the Celestials ' genes.

However, the Celestials are not a genetic group, but a group of unknown non-material energy consciousness life forms. In some settings, the Celestials are just an Eternity dream. Therefore, Ben is not sure if Little Broken Watch can successfully extract their genes.

Even if extracted, population optimization of the watch may not be effective.

It's difficult to say that there's a genetic connection between different members of the Celestials.

Let's give it a try first.

Ben shook his head, clearing his mind of these thoughts. There was no point in thinking about them. It would be good to have the power of the Celestials, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't.

"Preparing to enter the Knowhere."

"Wait, we'd better get some disguises," Nebula said. "The Knowhere a melting pot of all sorts of people. From spies from the Three Great Empires, to Arms Dealer from the universe, Ravagers and pirates, to all sorts of petty thugs, the Galactic Plumbers's insignia and your face are too conspicuous."

By the time of the last Galactic Conference, Ben's appearance was already known to most of the universe.

Although not many people attended the meeting, even those who were not present learned about Ben's appearance through various channels.

As the current ruler of the Fourth Empire, he naturally attracts a lot of attention.

"That's easy, Big Chill."

Ben pressed the button on his watch, and instantly transformed from an Earthling into a strange, alien-like figure shrouded in a robe. At the same time, his voice became somewhat hoarse.

How about this one?

"It looks much better. We can also change the outer layer of the spaceship," Nebula said. This was quite simple; the small spaceship already had a program to change its appearance (refer to Captain Marvel's suit).

She changed the color of the spaceship.

"Then activate the Life Lock Mode."

Eunice didn't need to pretend; she was a complete stranger to the world.

The spaceship slowly descended into the Knowhere, which, although essentially a lawless zone, was actually governed by invisible administrators.

Over a hundred thousand years, it has silently developed, and the Knowhere can now be described as a mining city. Someone occupied this giant skull and exploited the corpse of the Celestial, creating its glory for a hundred thousand years.

Almost all the renovations here started around that time.

Today, the enormous skull has been completely hollowed out. The two eye sockets in the skull, which are like black holes, do not shine with starlight, but with huge searchlights, illuminating the swirling dust as beautifully as Nebula.

After the spaceship landed, the three people went outside.

Nebula is very familiar with the Knowhere. After escaping Thanos, she wandered as a space pirate, so the Knowhere was an old haunt for her.

She nodded familiarly at the airport guards, then tossed out a string of coins.

"Nebula?"

"Haven't seen you in a long time? Heard your dad died? Congratulations!"

The alien with tentacles on its face wasn't afraid of Nebula and greeted her, though the content of its words was rather unpleasant.

Congratulations on your father's death, you son of a bitch!

However, for Nebula, it was indeed a happy occasion. She smiled slightly, but quickly suppressed the smile.

Have you ever seen Gamora? She's changed her name to Requiem now.

The man shook his head.

Not everyone will publicize their name, let alone someone like him.

Nebula didn't press the matter. After instructing the other party to keep an eye on her spaceship, she led Ben and Eunice further inside.

Ben looked around curiously.

In the Knowhere, there are three types of shops that can be found everywhere:

The first type is a repair shop, a place that specializes in repairing spaceships and weapons for those guys wandering in space. However, none of them seem to have any technical sophistication. The floor is covered in dirty oil stains, and the parts are a motley collection of odds and ends, making them look more like roadside car repair shops.

The second and third types can sometimes be confused—pubs and nightclubs.

The Knowhere is most frequented by pirate-like organizations. These people plunder everywhere, spend their money here, and sell any treasures they find.

These are the most dissolute people, living each day as it comes.

They don't want fancy food or anything else, but rather drinks and women, and sometimes they need some alien casinos for a bit of excitement.

The tavern wasn't just any tavern; the aliens had far more decadent and depraved practices than anything on Earth.

Ben followed Nebula around and around, and at one point saw an alien who looked like a snot dancing in a tavern, which excited many of the drunks. Some even wanted to pay money on the spot to have sex with the big snot.

It just goes to show that aliens have a very advanced sense of aesthetics.

He was horrified.

"Maybe even Ma Vreedle would be considered a beauty here..."

Ma Vreedle, a terrifying woman who could scare Vilgax to tears.

"Who is currently in control of the Knowhere?" Ben asked.

"The visible controllers should be the Guardians of the Galaxy."

???

"Guardians of the Galaxy?" Ben was taken aback. Star-Lord had already joined the Galactic Plumbers and formed a special team called the Galaxy Volunteers, so how come there's now a Guardians of the Galaxy?

Nebula shrugged. "It's practically defunct now. The mercenary Ravagers they used to hire are actually more powerful. But they're space pirates; they only use this place as a base, and mostly roam the universe."

"So..."

After hearing her say that, Ben lost interest in the Guardians of the Galaxy; instead, the Celestials ' genes were still attracting him.

"You said this is a mining city, so you're mining skulls, right? Do you think it's difficult to get those raw materials?"

"There shouldn't be many left now. If you want some, Collector should have a few more."

Nebula replied.

That's exactly where we're headed.

She glanced at Eunice and inquired about Gamora's whereabouts.

"The gem's fluctuations are still within range; it hasn't left the Knowhere." Eunice could sense the surrounding Gamma Energy fluctuations.

"If Gamora hasn't left yet, then she's probably with the Collector; if Gamora has left, then the gem is likely in the Collector's possession," Nebula said.

Their primary goal is still the jewels.

"Collector?" Eunice, somewhat curious.

"I don't know the exact origins of that guy, but he's been in the Knowhere for quite some time. I met him Knowhere after I escaped from Thanos, and he hasn't left all these years. Moreover, everyone seems to think he's been there for tens of thousands of years."

As one of the Cosmic Elder, the Collector, time is nothing more than a meaningless number to him, so it's understandable that Nebula doesn't understand him.

"Speaking of Collector, Bill received some help from him before," Ben chuckled.

Previously, Bill was forced to separate from the Giant Battleship due to the pursuit of the Fire Demon and crashed alone on Sakaar.

During this time, the Collector found the Giant Battleship, and under his protection, the hibernating Korbin People were not killed by the Fire Demon.

However, Collector don't seem to be the type to give up their collections easily. Ben guessed that Bill had probably paid a price, but the guy only reported the good news and never mentioned the bad.

Nebula nodded. "He has a high reputation and is knowledgeable about many treasures and secrets in the universe. He's well-informed and his prices are relatively fair. Many people who find treasures are willing to sell them to him here. Moreover, he's actually the supervisor here. I guess Gamora might be planning to give him the gem, or want to get some information from him."

The three of them walked together toward the Collector's residence.

The Knowhere was densely populated, and there were so many people like them that they attracted almost no attention.

Except for a red greyhound standing on a distant hill, its bloodshot eyes watching their departing figures.

Collector?

Beside the hound, a tall figure stepped out; it was none other than the Khyber, who had been in Muspelheim not long ago, and the hound was none other than the original Fire Dragon, Jormungandr.

"I never expected to run into an Omintrix holder here."

Despite Ben's disguise, and the fact that the Little Broken Watch logo was hidden by the wings of the Big Chill, Khyber recognized him at a glance.

after all...

There are no Necrofriggian in this universe.

However, as a hunter, Khyber wasn't the type to take risks. He didn't plan to attack immediately, but instead prepared to seize the opportunity and bite down on his opponent's throat to kill him instantly!

"I'm also very interested in that guy called the Collector. I'd like to see how much he has in his collection!"

Khyber trailed far behind.

Led by Nebula, Ben quickly arrived at the Collector's location.

The Collector never refused any visitor, as they were likely carrying the rare treasures he desired. Thus, they easily followed the two maids into the collector's room.

To be honest, this place is a bit eerie.

In the dimly lit space, countless display cases stood there like tombstones, containing all sorts of things: shriveled mummies—the species of which were indistinguishable—as well as living bodies, as if time had been frozen inside.

"Every time I come here, I feel a chill run down my spine."

Nebula said expressionlessly.

Clearly, that's not what she Reagan.

As for Ben, he was naturally extremely envious.

This place contains countless bizarre and exotic specimens, exactly what he needs.

Perhaps these races are not powerful, but Ben wants more is to increase the number of races in the watch, for they are the spark of civilization.