The Great Wall Guardians quickly arrived outside the nightclub, and by then, the street was already crowded with people.
Almost everyone had their eyes fixed on the Collector's Museum, a strange light flashing in their eyes.
It was the light of greed.
Everyone knew that inside the Collector's house, was full of treasure—so much that it defied imagination.
If they could get their hands on even a little, they could live lavishly for years, no longer having to risk their lives for every coin.
Almost everyone in Knowhere, from the day they arrived, had one dream: rob the Collector, get rich, and live a life of wives and concubines.
However, no one had ever dared to try, for fear of the Collector's power.
Until today, someone had blown up the Collector's Museum, giving everyone a chance to witness the Collector's power. It might also be their opportunity to get rich.
In front of the Collector's Museum, two people and a raccoon were arguing loudly about what to do with the Orb containing the Power Stone. "What are you still holding onto that thing for? Even the Collector can't control it!"
"We can't just leave it lying around!"
"Maybe we can give it to the Nova Corps. Maybe they can keep it safe!"
"Are you kidding? We're fugitives! Giving it to the Nova Corps is no different than handing it over to Ronan!"
The ones arguing were Star-Lord, Gamora, and Rocket Raccoon from the Guardians of the Galaxy.
From the very beginning, their team was filled with arguments and conflicts. This was their theme, one that would never change.
After the shouting match, they remained divided.
Rocket thought they should just give it to Ronan. He could do whatever he wanted with it—who cares if the universe gets destroyed? They were tired of it, and if it was destroyed, so be it.
Star-Lord thought they should give it to someone capable, who could also offer a large reward. That way, everyone could make money and be happy.
Gamora, Thanos' adopted daughter, was the only one who held onto justice. She thought it should be given to the Nova Corps. The reward didn't matter, what mattered was that they could ensure its safety and avoid any disasters.
Well, that's what she thought for now.
While they were arguing, suddenly, a loud shout came from the side of the road.
"Ronan, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
Drax the Destroyer, that idiot, had called Ronan directly—someone the rest of the team treated like the plague.
Soon after, the Necrocraft descended, and Ronan strutted out like he owned the universe.
At the same time, Yondu showed up with his crew, hunting down the traitorous Star-Lord.
With an ambush ahead and pursuers behind, the Guardians of the Galaxy found themselves in unprecedented trouble.
Three-way battle broke out instantly. Mining ships and necrocraft zipped through the air like racers, throwing all of Knowhere into chaos.
Watching the ships flying back and forth and the random explosions, the Guardians of the Great Wall gathered solemnly around Su Ye. The female heroes returned as well.
"What's going on?"
"Should we just watch? Or help?"
"We should probably just watch. How can we help? Who do we help?"
"Help whoever looks the most human?"
This suggestion wasn't bad. Those who looked more human would naturally earn the Great Wall Guardians' favor, making future communication easier.
Everyone turned to look at the three warring factions.
On Ronan's side, though he had a humanoid form, he had blue skin and thick warpaint, and he was the strongest, making him look difficult to deal with.
On Star-Lord's side, there was a green-skinned woman, a raccoon, a tree, a brainless muscle-bound man, and a not-too-bright-looking white guy.
Then there were the pirates—Yondu was blue, and his crew were bizarre-looking, but the most "human-like" among them.
"So, we're joining the pirates?"
Su Ye raised an eyebrow. "Being a pirate doesn't sound so bad."
What was that line again?
"I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
Jokingly saying that, Su Ye was actually observing the locals around them, the people from the mining energy company.
To Knowhere, the Guardians, the pirates, and Ronan's army were all outsiders.
Shinra, the energy company, was the real local power—even the local law enforcement was theirs.
Now that chaos was erupting, what would Shinra do?
After watching for a while, Su Ye was surprised—Shinra's security forces were nowhere to be found.
Even as the outside world turned into a warzone—they stayed completely hidden.
That said a lot.
The biggest troublemakers were Ronan's forces, and Shinra turned a blind eye—meaning silent approval.
Clearly, they were already allied. Most people just didn't know.
They might have even struck a deal—Ronan gets revenge on the Nova Empire, and after its fall, Shinra takes over the territory.
It was a win-win. Neither side would object.
Su Ye and his Guardians hadn't dealt with Shinra yet and didn't know their strength—so for now, they sided with the pirates.
After a tense and thrilling chase through space, Ronan got what he wanted and left with the Orb. Star-Lord, floating in space, was rescued by Yondu's ship.
But when Star-Lord woke up, it wasn't Yondu who greeted him—but a bunch of strangers.
"You?"
Star-Lord frowned deeply at the people before him.
"What did you do? This is Yondu's ship—what did you do to him?!"
Although the people across from him, including Tony, looked human, Star-Lord didn't feel any sense of familiarity.
The universe was so vast; what was strange about looking alike?
The Nova Corps also looked just like Earthlings—identical, even. So what?
Then Tony used his Iron Man suit's speakers to play Star-Lord's personal BGM: "Come and Get Your Love."
Star-Lord's eyebrows shot up. His body instinctively wanted to dance.
"Where did you get that song?"
Suppressing the urge, Star-Lord stared at Tony, asking with a serious expression.
Tony didn't answer but continued playing the next track.
Tony didn't reply—instead, he played another song by Redbone, the same band, but a different track.
It had the same voice, the same style, but it was a completely unfamiliar song, and it sent a shiver down Star-Lord's spine.
"You... How do you have this?"
"Who are you really?"
Star-Lord had been kidnapped by Yondu when he was a child, and all he had was a Walkman and a cassette tape, carrying memories of his hometown.
Over the years, he had searched many places in the universe, but he had never found that hometown, which was slowly fading away in his memories.
The number of songs on the cassette had always stayed the same as it was at the beginning, never increasing.
And now, these people had music from the same band?
That could only mean—these people were from his home planet!
Conflicted, Star-Lord suddenly felt torn—between his long-lost home and Yondu, who raised him.
Even if he had tried to sell the Orb behind Yondu's back, it didn't mean he had no feelings for the guy.
Star-Lord's heart was suddenly torn with inner conflict.
Meanwhile, what Star-Lord didn't know—Su Ye hadn't beaten or imprisoned Yondu.
On the contrary, they were drinking and feasting together.
For space pirates, only three things mattered: money, money, and more freaking money.
Of course, if they could earn money without even having to move, that would be the best.
After all, no one wanted to lose their freedom and dignity.
As soon as Su Ye and the Great Wall Guardians came into contact with Yondu and his crew, they displayed an overwhelming level of power.
Abomination and Kisame, both of whom were strong and loved showing off, were enough to intimidate anyone.
Su Ye didn't even need to lift a finger; with just a glance, just one look froze Yondu in place.
Then, the arrow at Yondu's waist flew out on its own, without anyone whistling to control it, and slowly hovered in front of his eye.
"Ravager Yondu, right? I'd like to discuss a partnership. Are you interested?"
When that voice appeared directly in Yondu's mind, even someone as battle-hardened as him nearly wet himself.
"Who... Who are you?! What do you want us to do?"
Telepathy and controlling his arrow— just these two were enough to humble Yondu.
"I said, a partnership."
Su Ye emphasized.
They didn't come to space just for fun; they also had the task of exploring cosmic civilizations and collecting space technology.
To quickly collect space technology, following the state-level diplomatic route would certainly be convenient, but going down this route had one major problem.
Official diplomacy would be useful but limited. No alien race would fully trust or share everything with Earth.
But pirates were different.
For money, they'd raid data vaults, steal intel, loot tech.
Earthlings couldn't do that—ruining their reputation would be irreversible.
But with pirates helping out, many of the dirty and tough jobs would become much easier.
So, Su Ye's collaboration with Yondu was genuine.
However, this "collaboration" was based on Yondu agreeing to obey; otherwise, the consequences would definitely not be pretty.
With so many pirates in the universe, it didn't matter who they found.
Yondu understood this as well, so after a brief thought, he directly compromised.
Freedom was important, but living was more important.
"I knew it—Yondu's a smart man!"
Su Ye released his control over Yondu, and the Great Wall Guardians, who had been fighting, stopped their beatings. They let the pirates, who were in agony, go, and the atmosphere in the spaceship became calm once again.
With Yondu submitting, and his men beaten, the result was clear.
Yondu's Ravagers were now subordinate to the Great Wall Guardians.
With that settled, the next step was a grand welcoming ceremony, welcoming humanity from Earth into the universe.
Yondu had been to Earth and had some understanding of Earth's technology. He knew that Su Ye and his group coming here now was an impressive achievement.
At the same time, they had also taken on the task of helping Earth advance its technological level.
"Don't worry, Uncle Su Ye, there's no place in the universe we can't reach, no thing we can't get."
Su Ye nodded. "Actually, we need something right now. We need to upgrade our ship so it's more suited for space travel."
Yondu slapped his chest. "Easy. We just looted some military-grade engines—got plenty of light-speed drives. I'll have my mechanic install them for you."
The Ravagers were a pack of wolves. As long as there was profit, they would attack without hesitation, whether it was a merchant ship or a military fleet, as long as they weren't caught by the authorities.
In fact, this was no different from the pirates of the Age of Sail, who had piracy licenses and freely plundered the seas.
If the Nova Empire couldn't control it, Su Ye certainly wouldn't either.
This saved them a lot of trouble.
"Are there any other good things on the ship? Make a list, and I'll take it back to the tech crew."
"No problem. Not just what's on board—anything else you want, Uncle Su, I'll get it for you!"
After a few drinks, Yondu's entire attitude changed. If it weren't for respecting Su Ye's leadership, he might have tried to get him to play a drinking game.
When Star-Lord walked in, he heard Yondu boasting to Su Ye.
"Shinra's scary alright. Got a terrifying reputation in this sector. Especially that one-winged devil, Sephiroth. Pirates who've seen his face—dead, all of them!"
"But I'm not just boasting—he's so arrogant because he's never met me."
"With my temper, if I ever meet him, I'll teach him a lesson in no time, rip off that one wing of his, and show him what it means that a featherless phoenix is no better than a chicken!"
Su Ye nodded. "Alright then, Ronan is about to attack Xandar, we're preparing for a rescue. We'll split up, and you guys go ahead! Is that okay?"
"Of course, no problem!" Yondu slapped his chest loudly.
"Leave it to me, Uncle Su Ye. You can rest assured, I'll handle it perfectly!"
Meanwhile, Star-Lord looked at Su Ye, puzzled. "You're really going to rescue Xandar?"
Su Ye nodded. "Do you have a problem with that?"