Chapter 92

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Waking up in the wooden house on the uninhabited island, Liu Rui'an stretched a big yawn as he faced the refreshing sea breeze and the fresh air. Just as the thought "I haven't felt this clear and relaxed in a long time, it feels really good" surfaced in his mind, Liu Rui'an received a message forwarded by Xingling.

After reading the message sent by Skye, Liu Rui'an shook his head and disappeared from the spot with a single step. When he reappeared, he was already back in his luxurious residence at Umbrella Tech.

After taking a shower and changing into a comfortable casual Tang suit, he was just about to enjoy the luxurious breakfast prepared by the top private chef when he saw Skye walk in.

"Better late than never, sit down and have some breakfast with me." Liu Rui'an smiled and pointed to the seat on his right.

"Huotian, you really let S.H.I.E.L.D. participate in the immigration plan?" Skye, who had been thinking about it all night without understanding, asked directly as she sat down.

"Why not? You've been working so hard, isn't it good to have some help?" Liu Rui'an smiled as he had a servant add another set of utensils and personally served some of the food on the table to her plate.

"It's good to get help, but getting help from S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't like... inviting a wolf into your house?" To strengthen her argument, Skye used a Chinese idiom.

"Don't worry, no matter if they are wolves, they won't be able to cause much trouble on my territory." Liu Rui'an smiled as he spread a layer of top-grade caviar on his toast.

"But..." Skye, who understood that his words were not boasting but a statement of his true strength, still wanted to remind him not to be careless.

"Skye, I understand your concern, don't worry, I've never been careless with S.H.I.E.L.D." Liu Rui'an smiled as he placed the toast with caviar on her plate.

Reluctantly accepting this answer, Skye asked again:

"Alright, then why did you agree to return the Cosmic Cube to Asgard?"

Knowing that she would ask about this, Liu Rui'an took a sip of the top-grade white wine in his glass and smiled as he answered:

"The Cosmic Cube is indeed a good thing, but no matter how good it is, you need the ability to keep it."

"The Chitauri are not worth mentioning, but I have to be cautious about the one behind them."

"Besides, I'm not giving the Cosmic Cube away for free. Didn't we make a deal with Asgard?"

"You mean the conditions of creating a weapon, sending you to Xandar, and learning magic?" Skye, who knew the content of the deal immediately, asked.

"Exactly, for me, these three conditions are more meaningful than having the Cosmic Cube in my hands right now." Liu Rui'an nodded and replied.

"Right now?" Skye, who instantly grasped the key point, asked.

"Who can predict the future, right?" Liu Rui'an raised his glass and smiled meaningfully.

Though she didn't understand what this guy was up to, Skye, who knew him well, was clear that he was never one to lose out.

In fact, that was indeed the case. The reason Liu Rui'an was willing to return the Cosmic Cube to Asgard, besides the three conditions of the deal, was mainly because he had a backup plan.

In "Thor 2," the Nine Realms will overlap, and at that time, it won't be a problem to go to Asgard or any of the other seven realms.

Even a single Dark Elf could cause such chaos in Asgard, and with his Kryptonian army, Liu Rui'an might not be able to directly occupy Asgard, but there's no reason he can't get some things.

"Skye, are you really going to leave?" Skye, who had been silent for a long time, asked.

"This time, I will be away for a while, but it's only temporary, not forever." Liu Rui'an, sensing her emotional fluctuations, smiled and said.

"When will you come back?" Skye, ignoring her breakfast, asked.

"I can't say for sure, but believe me, it won't be long." Liu Rui'an shook his head and paused before continuing:

"Of course, if you want, I can take you with me."

Faced with this response, Skye instinctively wanted to agree, but thinking of her background, the words stuck in her throat.

"Skye, look at me." Liu Rui'an, who clearly knew what she was hesitating about, wiped his mouth with a napkin and said earnestly.

"What?" Skye, looking at the face that made her heart race, asked in confusion.

Liu Rui'an, though he knew that Skye wasn't the most beautiful and her figure wasn't as alluring as the "trophies" around him, couldn't deny that he had feelings for her, stemming from his past fantasies as a lonely otaku.

Unlike his casual flings, Liu Rui'an didn't mind having Skye around.

But then he thought about his current luxurious lifestyle and his habit of enjoying life with many beautiful women.

In this situation, a romantic relationship with Skye would clearly be unfair to her.

Of course, if he used his mind control ability like he did with Maria Hill, there would be no problem.

But he couldn't get over the moral hurdle, which was why he hadn't made a move.

After all, their relationship started in a rather "unconventional" way, and influenced by his past thoughts, who knew if his feelings were genuine or just an instinct to possess a beautiful girl.

After much consideration, Liu Rui'an felt it was better for both of them to take a step back.

Moving a chair to sit in front of her, Liu Rui'an took her hands and said earnestly:

"We both need some time to think about our futures. I don't want to pressure you or influence your thoughts, Skye."

"After being together for so long, you should know what kind of person I am, even if you don't fully understand."

"I'm not a good person, Skye. Everything I do has a purpose, like this deal with the Cosmic Cube."

"I can't guarantee that I won't do more things that might hurt others in the future, and you, Skye, are kind."

"I don't want to ruin our relationship, and I don't want you to force yourself to change for me."

"So, I think it's better for us to give each other more time. What do you think?"

Faced with these words, Skye was silent for a long time.

In the end, Liu Rui'an only got one response: "I understand."

Watching her leave, Liu Rui'an shook his head with a bitter smile, and even the delicious food on the table lost its flavor.

"Xingling, are you ready?" Liu Rui'an said as he teleported to the Redemption-class command ship orbiting Earth.

"Already prepared, my master." Xingling, projecting a sweet girl image next to the main control chair, reported.

"Then let's begin." Liu Rui'an, temporarily putting aside his worries, took a deep breath and ordered.

"As you wish, my master."

With Xingling's words, the Redemption-class command ship quickly disappeared into the vast space.

...

The boundless universe was silent and mysterious. A spaceship was traveling at superluminal speed toward its destination.

Scientific research ship: Prometheus

Crew: 17 people

Date: December 21, 2093

Distance from Earth: 327 trillion kilometers

Destination: Confidential

After a journey of two years, four months, eighteen days, thirty-six hours, and fifteen minutes, the Prometheus finally arrived at its destination, LV-223.

The moment the Prometheus dove into the thick cloud layer of LV-223, a spaceship suddenly appeared in the planet's low orbit without a sound.

Thanks to the improved stealth technology obtained from S.H.I.E.L.D., the appearance of the Redemption-class command ship went unnoticed.

"Xingling, the rest is up to you."

Standing up from the main control chair, Liu Rui'an teleported out of the bridge and reappeared outside the command ship, dressed in angelic armor. Despite being on an alien planet, he felt no discomfort, but the strange sensation inside his body made him frown.

"Though the steel body is powerful, it relies too much on stellar radiation. Without sufficient energy, this body won't get stronger."

"Once the stored energy is depleted, this body will become as weak as a human."

"Before, it was fine to stay on Earth, but in the future, venturing into space, this weakness could become a fatal flaw."

"Fortunately, this star system has a sun-like star. Though it's far away and the radiation absorption rate is much lower, it's better than nothing."

Thinking about this, Liu Rui'an glanced at the direction of the star in the system and then plunged into the lightning-filled cloud layer.

Meanwhile, the still invisible Redemption-class command ship quickly launched hundreds of intelligent mechanical drones, also equipped with stealth technology, to begin reconnaissance of the planet.

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