The quiet retreat of the Kree reconnaissance ship did not weaken the "Leviathan Echo" that permeated the space in the slightest. On the contrary, the broadcast marking the coordinates and energy characteristics was like an ink drop dropped into still water, and its ripples were spreading towards deeper and weirder corners of the universe at a speed exceeding the speed of light.
In the distant giant skull building located in Knowhere (Knowhere), in the palace of the Collector Tanya Tivan, a strangely shaped, constantly twisting liquid metal container received and deciphered this repeated message.
The Collector himself, wearing a gorgeous robe with intricate decorations, was carefully using an energy tweezer to place a miniature star that was constantly screaming shrilly into a force field cage. When the information was analyzed by his central system, showing keywords such as "unknown powerful individual", "extreme energy response", "remote planet", etc., his face, which was heavily painted with oil paint and always had a hint of crazy curiosity, showed great interest.
He put down the energy tweezers and gently tapped the blurry energy simulation image of Xiao Han on the holographic projection (reconstructed based on broadcast data) with his thin fingers.
"Oh~" he let out a long and intoxicating sigh, "A brand new, powerful, unclassified life form! The energy characteristics are so pure, so... overbearing! This is definitely not comparable to the assembly line creation like Chitauri! Is this a miracle of nature, or the product of an ancient experiment?"
He paced around his hall filled with all kinds of strange and eccentric collections, his eyes wild.
"I have to get it! This will be the brightest pearl in my collection! It's far more interesting than that noisy little star!" He glanced at the screaming miniature star in the force field cage and curled his lips in disgust.
But he is not a reckless person. The news that Kree's test failed also came through his special channel a little later.
"Hmm... even Ronan's barbaric sharp knives suffered? Instant Oblivion? Space operation?" The Collector rubbed his chin, with a calculating light in his eyes, "It seems that grabbing hard is not the best strategy. For precious and fragile collections, a more sophisticated way of obtaining them is needed."
He clapped his hands, and a figure emerged from the shadows silently. It was a tall, slender female humanoid, with skin like polished silver and two pure purple Crystal eyes. She wore a dark combat uniform that fit her body, and her temperament was cold and efficient.
"Carina," The Collector's voice was full of bewitching enthusiasm, "My dear assistant, I have a wonderful task for you."
The woman named Carina bowed slightly, her expression unchanged. "Please give me your orders, Master."
"An interesting broadcast pointed to a primitive planet called 'Earth', where an extremely unique individual seemed to have been born." The Collector transmitted the coordinates of the Earth and the energy signature data of Xiao Han to her, "Kree tried to obtain the sample in a rude way, but... hehe, it was a failure."
"I need you to go there. No conflict, no provocation. Observe, evaluate, and collect all information about that individual: his habits, his weaknesses, what he likes, what he hates, his relationship with the local indigenous people... all the details!" The Collector's eyes flashed, "Perhaps, we can find a... more civilized way to invite him to join my collection. Or, at least obtain some... samples."
After Carina received the data, the data stream flashed through Crystal's eyes. "Understood. Non-contact observation and information collection. If you encounter resistance or find the possibility of acquisition?"
"Evacuate immediately. Your value is much higher than a failed attempt." The Collector waved his hand, "Bring 'Mimic' and 'Void Stalker', they can help you blend in and hide better. Go ahead, I'm waiting for your good news."
Carina bowed again and quietly retreated into the shadows. Soon, a small and exquisite spaceship, shaped like a water droplet, with a surface that could change colors according to the environment, quietly sailed out of Knowhere's port and quickly entered the jump state, its destination - Solar System.
Earth, Malibu.
Tony·Stark's life was not easy. Although Xiao Han easily eliminated Kree's assault ship, the subsequent impact of this incident was far from subsided.
S.H.I.E.L.D., World Security Council, and even some well-informed national governments have fallen into varying degrees of anxiety. The threat of alien invasion has never been so real, and their biggest "insurance"--Xiao Han--is a completely uncontrollable factor with confusing motives.
Meetings came one after another, and Tony had to frequently interrupt his research to participate in what he considered to be meaningless nonsense.
"We must have a more proactive space defense force! We can't count on... that person every time!" A director spoke excitedly at the meeting.
"Active defense? What kind of defense? Are you going to use Rocket cannons to hit the stealth assault ship just now?" Tony responded unceremoniously, "Our existing technology is like a toy in front of them! The only one that can create an effective deterrent is now lying on the beach basking in the sun!"
"Stark, watch your words!" Another representative said solemnly, "We cannot place the safety of the entire planet on an... an individual who cannot communicate! We must try to establish a more stable communication channel with him, or... find a way to restrain him."
"Constrain?" Tony laughed angrily, "Do you want to anger him? Think of those obliterated submarine bases, think of those fleets turned into cosmic dust! Constrain him? With what? With love and prayer?"
Fury knocked on the table and interrupted the argument, "Arguing can't solve the problem. Stark, you have the most contact with him. At present, it seems that he is the only one who can communicate with... In other words, he will not be casually slapped to death. Continue to maintain this channel. We need to know more information about him, and... information about the alien forces that have been attracted."
"I'll give it a try." Tony sighed, "But I remind everyone that his patience and cooperation are very limited. Our priority should be how to avoid becoming the target of those alien bastards, not how to 'manage' him."
The meeting broke up unhappily. Tony returned to the Malibu laboratory rubbing his swollen temples, feeling more tired than after working for 48 hours straight.
He walked to the window and looked at Xiao Han, who was still leisurely outside. The other party seemed not to be affected at all, and the brief space conflict seemed to be just an insignificant episode to him.
"Hey," Tony finally walked out and decided to complete Fury's "mission", "Thank you just now. Although you may not care."
Xiao Han didn't even raise his eyelids. "The noise is gone. You're welcome."
Tony considered the words: "The current situation is that because you... shot that Leviathan to death, the signal it sent seems to have caused a lot of trouble. Kree is just the first one. There may be more...'bugs' attracted in the future."
"Yeah." Xiao Han's reaction was still dull.
"Are you... not worried at all? What if the insects that come are more powerful or there are a lot of them?" Tony couldn't help but ask.
"Awesome?" Xiao Han finally glanced at him, with a hint of looking at an idiot in his eyes, "What is the definition? Can you resist more slaps? A large number? What is the definition? Do you need to wave your hand one more time?"
Tony: "... Okay, pretend I didn't ask." He once again confirmed the futility of communication. In this person's understanding, there is no concept of "cannot beat" or "troublesome", only the difference between "amount of noise" and "how much effort it takes to clean up".
"Is there anything else?" Xiao Han seemed to think he was a bit of an eyesore.
"Uh... last question. If, I mean if, the bugs that come next time don't attack directly, but observe secretly, or try to... approach you in other ways, what will you do?"
Xiao Han was silent for a few seconds, seeming to be thinking about whether this question was worth answering.
"Observe and let them go," he said calmly, "Just keep quiet. If you make noise, clean it up."
Concise and concise, standard answer. Tony got the answer he expected, and once again felt the suffocating sense of gap brought by the absolute power.
He shook his head and prepared to return to the laboratory. At least, he could report to Fury: This man does not mind being observed, but Watchers must remain absolutely quiet - this may be a difficult task for those alien spies.
Shortly after Tony turned around and left, Xiao Han's Super-Senses moved slightly.
He sensed that another extremely weak energy signature, but completely different from the previous Kree spacecraft, slipped silently into the edge of the Solar System.
This spacecraft is smaller, its energy signature is suppressed to an extremely low level, and it possesses a unique stealth technology that can simulate the background radiation of the surrounding space. It is more sophisticated and concealed than the technology of Kree. It did not send out any signals, nor did it show any aggression. Just like a real interstellar dust, it slowly floated into the orbit of the outer planet, and then stopped at a just right position and began to quietly... observe.
Its technology is so clever that it blends almost completely into the background noise of the universe.
"Another one." Xiao Han felt unfazed. As long as this thing didn't launch noisy probes or break into the atmosphere like the previous one, he didn't bother to care.
His attention was quickly attracted by another thing - Pepper·Potts arrived, bringing a new, more comfortable-looking neck pillow and some special sunscreen that was said to have higher energy yield.
This is much more interesting than those peeping mice hiding in the distance.
Far away from Kuiper Belt, inside the drop-shaped spacecraft, Carina looked at the magnified image of the earth on the screen with an expressionless face, as well as the specially marked Malibu Beach area. Various sensor data flowed down like a waterfall.
"Target confirmed. It is in a stationary state, and the energy absorption mode is stable. There are a lot of traces of low-tech indigenous activities in the surrounding area. No large-scale defensive weapons or energy barriers have been detected." She reported calmly, and the data was sent back to Knowhere through the encrypted hyperspace channel.
"Continue to observe. Activate 'Mimic', release the nanoscale reconnaissance unit, penetrate the target planet's low-Earth orbit satellite network, and obtain historical data and communication records related to the individual first." She gave the order.
Tiny, almost undetectable fluctuations separated from the spacecraft, just like real space dust, drifting silently toward the Earth's orbit.
The Collector's sight has fallen silently. But the earth knows almost nothing about it.