In the Knowhere, coordinates are basically meaningless.
Qin Xiao only knew that this was the third city ruin Groot had brought him since he arrived three days ago.
Two of them are alien cities, one of which Qin Xiao is very familiar with—New York City.
Each city was at least several hundred kilometers away from where they lived, and some were even more than two thousand kilometers away.
It was obvious that these city ruins had been swallowed up by Alioth, and there was no sign of life at all. All the reinforced concrete looked lifeless and riddled with holes, as if it had been eroded by thousands of years.
If reinforced concrete is like this, you can imagine what will happen to everything else when Alioth sweeps over it.
This is why Little Groot's first reaction upon seeing him was to take root and absorb nutrients.
Food is so hard to find; it's all down to luck.
Other things are easier to deal with. For example, with vehicles, there are always some deep underground parking lots where usable parts can be salvaged.
As for living things, we didn't see a single one.
This is completely unlike the Loki trailer that Qin Xiao saw before, which featured many different versions of Loki.
Perhaps it was due to Loki's own luck that they were all able to land in places not far apart.
Qin Xiao Qin Xiao could only understand it that way, because he had tried flying in one direction for a long time over the past few days but had not found any trace of anyone.
However, it cannot be ruled out that someone is hiding underground or somewhere else, after all, Alioth comes out to wreak havoc from time to time.
"I am Groot!"
As Qin Xiao was lost in thought, Groot emerged from the ruins, looking dejected, clearly having failed to find food.
"It's alright, I told you, I have plenty of food here, enough to last us a long time! Let's look in another direction tomorrow!"
"I am Groot!"
The little guy shrugged, looking like he understood.
This guy spent a few days with Qin Xiao, and although he still spoke the same way, he perfectly imitated Qin Xiao's mannerisms and movements.
"If you used a little more facial expression, I feel like I could understand most of what you were saying."
Qin Xiao pulled Groot and walked towards the outside of the ruins.
This is a small city from some unknown alien civilization. The streets are all made of metal. Alioth probably hasn't been here often, as it barely resembles a road.
"I am Groot!"
After turning the corner, the little guy suddenly pointed ahead and shouted loudly.
Qin Xiao looked closely and saw a small white figure beside the road ahead.
"That's... a dog?"
Qin Xiao asked, puzzled.
A few dozen meters ahead, a yellow and white animal that looked like a Shiba Inu was lying by the roadside; it appeared to be dead.
Little Groot probably rarely sees a creature not much bigger than himself.
He ran ahead excitedly.
"Hey? Wait a minute!"
Fearing something might happen to the little guy, Qin Xiao rushed over, grabbed Groot, and put him on his shoulder before reaching the puppy.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that this was a Shiba Inu, wearing a strangely shaped collar with two buttons and a cape around its neck.
Something about it looks a bit strange.
However, it is absolutely true that he is already dead.
So Qin Xiao felt comfortable putting the little guy down directly.
Little Groot curiously circled the Shiba Inu a few times, then pressed a button on its collar.
"I am Thor, for the glory of the Northern Gods!"
Suddenly, such a sound came from the collar.
"What the hell? Thor?"
The little guy was fine, but he gave Qin Xiao a big fright.
The trailer seems to feature a crocodile-themed Loki, so a Shiba Inu version of Thor wouldn't be out of the question, right?
Qin Xiao crouched down and placed his hand on the Shiba Inu's corpse.
(Just a little tribute; there's no universe of 100,000 lame jokes here.)
Because of his identity as the god of fire, Qin Xiao did indeed sense the power of Asgard in this little dog.
However, this power is dissipating. It seems the puppy hasn't been dead for more than a few days; the power hasn't dissipated much yet. If it continues like this...
Qin Xiao started to have wicked ideas.
" Groot, can't you take root in flesh and blood? Aim at this, and plunge it in. I guarantee it will be extremely beneficial to your growth."
"I am Groot!"
As Little Groot spoke, he took several steps back, his face full of reluctance.
"What? But I was still wide awake and you were already stabbing my neck with your little feet. This thing is totally dead, and you can't bear to do it?"
Qin Xiao grabbed the little guy and held him in front of his face, saying...
"I am Groot!"
The little guy looked troubled, glancing at Qin Xiao and then touching his own belly.
Qin Xiao understood what he meant. He had been starving a while ago, but now he was eating and drinking well with Qin Xiao every day, so he was no longer willing to do this kind of thing.
"No! We have to get it done!"
Qin Xiao placed Groot directly in front of ' Thor '.
Groot is in a dilemma. In the original Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was orphaned and helpless from a young age until he met Rocket and began to feel like he had family.
This little guy wasn't so lucky. Before he even grew up, he was captured and purified by the Time Variance Authority and ended up in this godforsaken place.
After spending these past few days together, he has completely come to regard Qin Xiao as his only family.
Qin Xiao looked angry, and the little guy was in a dilemma.
But there was no other way, so with tears in his eyes, he stretched out his feet and plunged them into Thor's neck.
Despite his reluctant expression, one kick caused Thor to lose a lot of hair on his neck, but his skin remained completely unharmed.
This ' Thor ' is completely dead; Power of Thor offers little protection to the body anymore, so it's impossible for it not to penetrate easily.
Qin Xiao, too lazy to waste any more words, simply took out his Tang sword and slashed it hard.
This forced Groot to bury his roots deep into Thor's flesh.
In that instant, it was as if a light bulb had suddenly been switched on.
Groot shone brightly, his entire body radiating golden light from within, as if a light bulb had been installed inside him.
Immediately afterwards, countless bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere around his body, swirling around Little Groot 'Groot body and occasionally drilling into it.
A look of pain began to appear on the little guy's face.
"Don't resist. Let these powers enter your body. If you really can't take it, I'm here for you!"
Groot seemed to have heard Qin Xiao's words, and the expression on his face gradually calmed down.
His eyes slowly closed, indicating that he had fallen into a coma or some kind of deep sleep.
I'd like to see just what you can become.
Qin Xiao looked at Little Groot with great interest.
The Knowhere became one of his coordinate worlds, Qin Xiao had a feeling that this Knowhere would definitely be very important to him in the future.
Now that Groot has Thor's power, Qin Xiao has a super expert as a helper, which is definitely a great thing.
The only question is how long this absorption, or rather, evolution, will take.
As thoughts raced through his mind, Qin Xiao suddenly heard a crashing sound coming from behind the ruins in front of him.
"Who?"
I was in meetings all noon today without a break, and didn't get off work until after 9 pm. There's only one chapter left, I'll make up for it tomorrow or the day after. Usually I write two or three chapters a day, and three chapters on weekends!