The blue light from the gem flickered wildly like the static on an old-fashioned television screen when there was no signal. The floating rock fragments around them began to spin uncontrollably, as if being slowly squeezed by an invisible hand. Ye Mo and Star-Lord were still stuck within five meters of each other, one staring intently at the control buttons on the device, the other raising his hands in a defensive posture against a sudden attack from the other—neither dared to make the first move.
Just when the stalemate was so intense that everyone was practically frozen in their breath, a head suddenly popped out from behind a meteorite at the seven o'clock position on the left.
"Hey! Are these two doing a cheek-to-cheek dance here?"
Rocket Raccoon, carrying a modified rifle in one hand, emerged halfway from behind the rock, his eyes narrowed to slits, the muzzle of the gun steadily aimed at Ye Mo's forehead. His other hand was already on the communicator. " Groot! Right flank! Gamora, you fucking stop dawdling, any later and you'll be nothing but ashes!"
Before the words were finished, a three-person-high floating rock slowly moved aside, revealing Groot's thick trunk. He didn't speak, but his branches spread out in a defensive posture, his roots deeply embedded in the rock strata, like a man-eating plant ready to pounce at any moment. Immediately afterward, a dark shadow floated down from above, Gamora landed silently, her twin blades still sheathed, but she leaned forward half a step, her eyes locked on Ye Mo's wrist movements.
In an instant, this asteroid belt debris field became Force Field.
Ye Mo didn't turn around, nor did he rush to explain. He slowly raised his hands, palms facing outwards, and simultaneously shifted his gaze from Star-Lord's face to the restless blue energy. "I'm not here to steal it." His voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly amplified by the helmet's built-in speakers in the vacuum environment. "I'm here to prevent it from blowing you all up."
"Huh?" Rocket sneered, his gun barrel remaining perfectly still. "So you almost pushed our captain into the space junkyard just now, were you planning to provide end-of-life care?"
"If I wanted to take it, I would have done it already." Ye Mo still held his hand up, his tone calm. "Look at that gravity anchoring device in his hand; the power interface is in the third compartment on his back. If I just punched through it, you'd be cleaning up the mess right now."
Star-Lord glanced down at the interface on his back, his brow furrowing.
"I didn't touch it," Ye Mo continued. "I even blew up the rock next to him to disrupt his rhythm—not to steal it, but to stabilize his pulse frequency. If you don't believe me, you can check the energy fluctuation curve from that time."
Gamora finally spoke, her voice as cold as frozen nitrogen. "You're stopping him, not taking him. The motives are definitely different."
"Oh yeah, motivation analysis class has started!" Rocket rolled his eyes. "Why didn't he say so sooner? Why did he have to crawl out from the crack in the rock like a ghost to scare us?"
"Because no one sent me an invitation." Ye Mo sighed, took three meters back, and turned off the thrusters on his work pants. "I'm disabling the power system now; you can do whatever you want with it. But I suggest you check your ship first—the engine frequency is off by 0.7 Hz, and it will have to be forcibly restarted in ten minutes. There's also a miniature detector at the seven o'clock position on the left; the residual heat hasn't dissipated yet. I don't know who left it there."
Rocket paused for a moment, then looked down at his wristwatch.
A yellow warning message did indeed pop up on the screen: [Main engine harmonic abnormality, calibration recommended].
He looked up, and his expression changed.
"And another thing," Ye Mo pointed to a seemingly ordinary rock below, "This rock has a life force inside, faint but continuous, unlike something naturally formed. Have you recruited any new members recently? Or is someone secretly following us?"
Gamora's eyes narrowed, and she immediately nodded to Groot. The latter growled, "I am Groot," and several thin roots quickly extended from his branches, plunging deep into the rock strata to scan.
A few seconds later, he emitted a short alarm sound.
Gamora said in a deep voice, "There's a dormant signal source inside, disguised as a mineral structure."
The Rocket's muzzle finally dropped an inch.
"So you mean..." Star-Lord frowned, "Not only did you know who we are, but you also conveniently helped us avoid a potential problem?"
"I know you're the Guardians of the Galaxy," Ye Mo nodded, "And I know how dangerous this thing is. Ronan wants it, Xandar is afraid of it, and the entire Milky Way is avoiding it. But you're sending it like a package; something bad is bound to happen sooner or later."
"So what do you think we should do?" Rocket scoffed. "Open a vault? Write a disclaimer? Or get a group of lawyers to sign a co-management agreement?"
"Cooperation," Ye Mo said directly. "I don't want it, but I can monitor it. I can detect abnormal fluctuations in advance, identify tracking signals, and determine who is approaching. Instead of the five of you taking turns on night shifts, let me team up—a temporary guard, paid after the initial settlement."
There was a moment of silence.
Star-Lord glanced at his teammates, then at Ye Mo, his expression complex. "You said 'cooperation,' which sounds nice. But what if you're an S.H.I.E.L.D..? Or Hydra's newly developed humanoid jamming missile?"
"You want to verify my identity?" Ye Mo laughed. "Sure. You can search me right now, check my equipment serial numbers, even take my DNA for comparison. But I'm warning you—by the time you finish the process, there might already be three groups of people eyeing this blue light."
"He's right," Gamora suddenly interjected. "We can't afford to waste time. If he were an enemy, he wouldn't have interrupted Star-Lord's actions. If he were a spy, he wouldn't have deliberately revealed his position to Rocket."
"Wow, you're unusually easy to talk to today, big sister?" Rocket raised an eyebrow. "Could it be because he's handsome?"
"I only look at actions," Gamora said calmly. "He interfered with the transport process, not the theft. And of the three anomalies he mentioned, two have been verified. The remaining engine problem is also nearing its critical point."
Star-Lord paused for a few seconds, finally loosening his grip on the control buttons, but not completely. "I can keep you in sight. But don't expect us to treat you to a celebratory drink. If you dare touch the device, Groot will turn you into a potted plant."
"Deal." Ye Mo nodded. "As long as you don't kick me out, I won't let go."
Rocket snorted, holstering his rifle but leaving the safety on. "Alright, newbie. Welcome to the 'Whoever Touches the Gem Dies with Their Whole Family' club. Membership benefits include: one zero-gravity vomit bag, and the surprising experience of being blown to cosmic dust at any moment."
"Sounds like a good deal." Ye Mo smirked. "Much better than Earth's medical insurance."
Groot uttered a low "I am Groot," his tone sounding almost like a laugh.
Gamora didn't speak again, but stood on the outer edge of the group, her gaze still fixed on Ye Mo, as if assessing whether a secondhand weapon she had just picked up was trustworthy. Although her hand was no longer on the weapon, her body remained in a semi-ready state, ready to draw her blade at any moment.
Star-Lord glanced down at the gravity anchoring device; the blue light was still pulsating, but the frequency was more stable than before. "We need to change routes," he said. "The original plan was to take the Kreeta Route, but now someone is definitely watching the signal trail. We have to detour through the Dark Nebula, using the magnetic field interference as cover."
"I can help monitor energy leaks," Ye Mo said. "Every time you adjust the anchoring parameters, I can predict the spread. I can also remind you when to turn off the lights and mute your microphones."
"Sounds like a living alarm," Rocket muttered. "I wonder if it's the kind that can kill both friend and foe."
"You can give it a try," Ye Mo shrugged. "Anyway, I have nowhere else to go right now."
Star-Lord looked up at him and suddenly asked, "Who sent you? S.H.I.E.L.D..? The Nova Corps? Or some government agency that doesn't want to be seen?"
"Nobody sent me," Ye Mo shook his head. "I was just passing by. I noticed this energy was so bright, like someone walking around the slums at night with a searchlight—it was hard not to notice. I can't control others, but at least I can stop a reckless driver from driving recklessly."
"A brute?" Star-Lord glared. "I'm a professional interplanetary transporter!"
"Then who cleaned up your mess when you crashed into the gravity well in Kreeta last time?" Ye Mo retorted. "Don't tell me it was routine maintenance."
Star-Lord opened his mouth, then finally managed to utter, "... You really hold grudges."
"I only remember warning signs," Ye Mo, looking at the blue light. "And this thing is already at the red alert level."
Gamora slowly. "He's right. We can't act alone. Someone needs to monitor the perimeter and provide early warnings. Since he's already involved, refusing to cooperate would only increase the risk."
"So we're a six-man team now?" Rocket looked reluctant. "I thought team culture was just 'four people plus a talking tree'."
"Now it's five people plus a tree, plus a mysterious man in black," Star-Lord corrected. "It's a temporary observation period; he's not officially part of the team yet."
"Understood." Ye Mo smiled. "I don't care about titles, I'll just do the work."
He slowly drifted to a slightly farther position, placing himself within the team's line of sight, but not squeezing into the inner circle. His hands were in his work pants pockets, and the helmet visor reflected a jewel-like blue light, like a silent black lens.
In the distance, the outline of the B-7 shuttle hovered silently in the darkness, its engines vibrating slightly. Closer, five people—or rather, four intelligent beings and a Sentient plant—surrounded a cosmic-level danger that could explode at any moment, probing and assessing each other.
No one made another move.
No one left.
Gamora Ye Mo one last look and said in a low voice, "If you really want to cooperate, then prove you can bear the price—come with us and take it with you for a while."
Ye Mo nodded. "As long as you don't kick me out, I won't let go."
Five people and two machines (including Groot ) floated in the starry sky. Under the sapphire blue light, hostility gradually subsided, replaced by a cautious tacit agreement to coexist.