"We have gathered the most animals, antiques, and various objects in the entire galaxy..."
A shrill yet enthusiastic voice cut through the silence of Collector Tivan's collection corridor. A girl with pink skin, two playfully swaying red pigtails, and a mini-skirt led Kurohane, Yondu, and Malekith forward. Along the way, she showcased Tivan's collection to Kurohane, the "country bumpkin" who hadn't explored much of the world. She was an assistant under Collector Tivan, usually responsible for duties like cleaning and receiving guests. After all, many people wanted to do business with the Collector, but few could meet him directly. Her additional task was to appropriately display the Collector's formidable power to anyone who could meet him!
Kurohane was indeed quite surprised by Tivan's collection. Putting aside the other strange-looking alien creatures, a Golden Retriever puppy wearing a space suit managed to capture Kurohane's attention. That was Cosmo, the first creature sent into space by humans, launched by a Soviet Rocket. Then, for some unknown reason, it ended up in Knowhere and acquired extremely powerful Telepathy abilities.
However, unlike Kurohane's [Telepathy] which excelled at controlling others' minds, Cosmo's Telepathy leaned towards psychokinesis. It could control the movement of physical objects, and it was precisely because of this special ability that it became Tivan's collection! "Eventually, Thanos brought the Black Order and massacred Knowhere, directly killing Collector Tivan," Kurohane recalled, a flicker of memory passing through his mind. "It was only then that Cosmo regained its freedom and eventually became a new member of the Guardians of the Galaxy."
Kurohane had liked dogs since he was a child, so he lingered in front of the glass cage, gazing at Cosmo for a long time, his face showing genuine affection. It was a pity that this glass container was specially made and completely isolated Cosmo's Telepathy. It also prevented Kurohane's [Telepathy] from connecting with the little dog's mind, what a shame! Waving to Cosmo inside the glass booth, Kurohane followed the red-haired attendant's lead and departed. Yet a glimmer of confusion emanated from Cosmo's eyes; it also felt Kurohane's goodwill. That kind of gaze didn't treat it as cargo, but as a "person"?
Collector Tivan was a man with abundant silvery-white hair, his face alight with a smile as he received the trio. Seeing Kurohane sitting casually in a chair, and Yondu and Malekith standing behind him like spears, Tivan tilted his head slightly in confusion; even he hadn't expected that the one in charge among the three was Kurohane, this new face!
"Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves, and Yondu the Ravager, we are all old acquaintances," Tivan began, his voice smooth as silk, exuding a calm yet authoritative aura. "I didn't expect both of you to simultaneously acknowledge a newcomer as your leader. How should I address this gentleman?"
"Kurohane, from Earth," Kurohane smiled faintly, accepting the drink offered by the female attendant. His body, enhanced by the Super Soldier Serum, couldn't get drunk at all, but he still wanted to try alien beer!
Tivan didn't speak, his eyes scrutinizing Kurohane. This time he only wanted to receive Malekith; the Dark Elf he had bought last time had died. He actually wanted to buy another Dark Elf for his collection, but Kurohane... "Sorry, ordinary people don't have what he needs!" Tivan thought, his eyes glancing at Kurohane, a cold calculation evident.
Kurohane sipped the drink in the glass and found that alien beer was just average, not even better than Brave the World! Seeing Tivan say nothing more and seemingly ready to feign ignorance, Kurohane understood. Now was the time to show off his strength!
A flash of white light, and the golden Infinity Gauntlet appeared on Kurohane's hand, with two Infinity Stones glittering! The red Reality Stone blazed with dangerous intensity, while the yellow Mind Stone emitted a bewildering aura of wisdom.
Tivan: (Eyes widened, a flicker of genuine shock crossing his usually placid face.) "This—?!"
"This newcomer actually has two Infinity Stones in his hand!!!" Tivan screamed in his heart, surprise and greed churning. "No wonder the Dark Elf and Yondu are willing to submit to him; in this universe, no one has ever possessed two Infinity Stones at the same time!"
"Good gauntlet, name your price!" Tivan forcibly suppressed the flames of his greed; he was a professional businessman and knew very well that one should never show emotion during negotiations. "If the other party knows his intentions, it will be difficult to lower the price!"
He had actually thought about whether to just snatch the stones from Kurohane. But seeing how confident and fearless Kurohane was, it seemed like it wouldn't be a good idea to use force against Kurohane!
"There are three types of people in the universe who can run rampant and not care about his name as the Collector," Tivan analyzed quickly in his mind. "One is someone whose personal strength has reached a certain level, like a monster such as Captain Marvel who can single-handedly fight an armada of warships. Another is someone who controls a huge organization, like the three famous empires in the Galaxy. The last type is someone who is personally strong and also controls a terrifying organization, like Thanos and his Black Order."
"Kurohane is just an unknown ordinary person, and his subordinates Yondu and Malekith are not famous tough guys either. So there is only one possibility: Kurohane's own combat ability is extremely terrifying! Sure enough, someone without terrifying combat ability wouldn't be able to obtain two Infinity Stones!"
"Are these collected items for sale?" Kurohane didn't answer Tivan's question, but merely fully displayed his Infinity Gauntlet to Tivan, slowly rotating his wrist. The two stones, one red and one yellow, shone so brightly that Tivan squinted, dazzled.
"Some collected items are indeed sold to the public, but the items here are usually sold at extremely high prices," Tivan replied, his voice returning to a flat tone, a faint smirk appearing on his lips. He immediately knew that Kurohane had not come to sell items this time, but to buy them. "Great! Whatever you want to buy, I will definitely give you a price you can't afford! At that time, Kurohane can only exchange the Infinity Stones and the Infinity Gauntlet, this time it's a huge profit!!!"
Kurohane: (Inwardly, a triumphant grin spread across his lips.) "But I didn't plan to spend money in the first place! I'm here to shop for free!"
Kurohane actually didn't plan to spend money in the first place, because he didn't have any currency circulating in the universe. The reason he wanted to meet Tivan was simply to see if he could be controlled using [Telepathy]. If it worked, he could become the hidden boss of Knowhere and be quite happy. If not, then selling the Dark Elves was fine too!
Upon seeing Cosmo, Kurohane had initially been prepared to give up. Tivan was able to control this psychokinetic puppy. The glass could also isolate his [Telepathy], so Kurohane had genuinely planned to sell the Dark Elves and leave.
But perhaps Tivan was too confident; he received the trio of Kurohane without any protection whatsoever. From the start, Kurohane had been constantly probing the Collector's mind using [Telepathy], a silent, undetectable invasion, and this person hadn't noticed it at all!
The Mind Stone flickered slightly, a barely perceptible yellow energy pulse, and Kurohane gained another minion.
"My esteemed Lord Kurohane, how may I help you?" Tivan knew full well that his mind had been controlled by Kurohane, but at this point, it was too late! His voice sounded soft, deferential, and strangely hollow.
"I still prefer your unruly attitude from before. Go back to that," Kurohane commanded, his tone relaxed yet absolute, his smirk widening.
"Yes!" Tivan replied, nodding obediently, like a puppet whose strings had just been pulled.
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