Recruiting Yondu and Rushing to the Aid of the Nova Empire

The Guardians of the Great Wall soon arrived outside the nightclub, and by this time, the street was already crowded with people.

Almost everyone directed their gazes toward the Collector's establishment, their eyes gleaming with a strange, flickering light.

It was the gaze of greed.

Everyone knew that the Collector's stronghold held countless treasures—so many that they exceeded all imagination, far beyond what anyone could conjure in a lifetime.

If they could just get their hands on even a tiny fraction, they could live in luxury for a long time and finally leave behind their days of living on the edge.

From their very first day on Knowhere, almost everyone shared a single dream: to rob the Collector, achieve total financial freedom, and live a life surrounded by wives and concubines.

Yet, no one had ever dared to try out of fear of the Collector's immense power.

Until today, when someone blew up the Collector's home, giving everyone a chance to witness the Collector's true power, and perhaps, an opportunity to strike it rich.

In front of the Collector's ruined dwelling, two people and a raccoon were arguing fiercely over what to do with the Orb containing the Power Stone.

"Why are you still holding onto that thing? Even the Collector couldn't control it!"

"We can't just leave it lying around!"

"Maybe we can hand it over to the Nova Corps. Perhaps they can contain it!"

"Are you out of your mind? We're wanted criminals! Handing it to the Nova Corps is practically the same as handing it straight to Ronan!"

The ones arguing were none other than Star-Lord, Gamora, and Rocket the Raccoon from the Guardians of the Galaxy.

From its very inception, this team had been accompanied by constant bickering and conflict. That was their main theme, one that would never change.

After a round of shouting, the three held firm to their respective opinions.

Rocket thought they should just hand it over to Ronan and let him do whatever he pleased; whether the universe ended or not, he was tired, and if it was going to end, so be it.

Star-Lord believed they should sell it to someone capable who could also offer a hefty reward, so everyone could make money and be happy.

Gamora, Thanos's adopted daughter, turned out to be the only one upholding any sense of justice. She insisted they should turn it over to the Nova Corps; the reward didn't matter, what mattered was that they could ensure the safety of the object and prevent a catastrophe.

Well, at least that was what she thought for the time being.

Just as they were in the middle of their argument, a loud shout rang out from the nearby street.

"Ronan! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Drax the Destroyer, that utter fool, had used a single call to summon Ronan—a man the entire team avoided like the plague—right into Knowhere.

Shortly after, a Necrocraft touched down, and Ronan strode off the ramp with an arrogant, unyielding swagger.

On the other side, Yondu had also tracked them down, bringing his crew to capture Star-Lord, the double-crossing traitor.

With ambushes in front and pursuers behind, the entire Guardians of the Galaxy plunged into unprecedented trouble.

A massive three-way brawl broke out instantly. Mining ships and Necrocraft raced through the sky as if competing in a grand prix, plunging the entirety of Knowhere into chaos.

Watching the fast-moving spaceships darting back and forth overhead, punctuated by frequent explosions, the Guardians of the Great Wall gathered around Su Ye with solemn expressions. The heroines had also returned.

"What's going on?"

"Are we just watching the show, or should we help?"

"We should probably just watch. How are we supposed to help? Who do we even help?"

"Whichever side looks more human, we help them?"

That seemed like a decent suggestion. Those who looked human naturally earned more goodwill from the Guardians of the Great Wall, and communication would likely be much easier later on.

Everyone turned their attention to the three conflicting factions.

On Ronan's side, though humanoid, he had blue skin, thick war paint, and possessed the most formidable power, making him look less than approachable.

On Star-Lord's side, there was a green-skinned woman, a raccoon, a tree, a brainless muscle-bound man, and a white man who didn't look particularly bright.

Finally, on the pirate side, Yondu had blue skin and a crew of bizarre-looking individuals, but among them, the human-like figures were the most numerous.

"So, are we joining the pirates?"

Su Ye raised an eyebrow. "Being pirates sounds pretty good, too."

How did that line go again?

"I'm the man who's going to be the Pirate King!"

Joking aside, Su Ye was observing the locals nearby—the employees of the mining energy corporation.

As far as Knowhere was concerned, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the space pirate crew, and Ronan's army were all outsiders.

The mining conglomerate, The Tivan Group, was the true local power, and even the security and law enforcement of this place were handled by their people.

Now that someone was causing trouble here, how would The Tivan Group react?

After watching for a long time, Su Ye was surprised to find that the security department of the corporation seemed practically nonexistent.

With a chaotic battle raging outside, they had collectively gone into hiding.

This spoke volumes.

The fiercest chaos outside belonged to Ronan's fleet, and since the corporation chose to turn a blind eye, it amounted to tacit approval.

Clearly, the two parties had already formed an alliance, though many were unaware of it.

They might even have struck some sort of bargain.

For instance, Ronan would wipe out the Nova Empire to exact his revenge, and once the empire fell, their planets and territories would be taken over by the corporation.

This was clearly a win-win cooperation that neither side would oppose.

Since Su Ye and the Guardians of the Great Wall had not yet had any contact with the corporation and did not know their true strength, they ultimately decided to join the pirate faction for this chase.

Following a tense and thrilling space pursuit, Ronan successfully departed with the Orb, while Star-Lord was rescued by Yondu into his spaceship out in the vacuum of space.

However, when Star-Lord awoke, he was not greeted by a furious Yondu looking to devour him, but rather by a group of strangers.

"You guys?"

Star-Lord looked at the people opposite him, his brow furrowing deeply.

"What did you do? This is Yondu's ship! What have you done to him?"

Although Tony and the others across from him looked remarkably like humans from his own race, Star-Lord felt no sense of warmth or kinship.

The universe was vast; why would it be strange to find someone who looked similar?

The people of the Nova Empire looked just like Earthlings—down to the very last detail—yet what did that matter?

That was until Tony used the external audio equipment of his Iron Man armor to play Star-Lord's signature background music, *Come and Get Your Love*.

Star-Lord's brow twitched instantly, and his body felt an uncontrollable urge to dance along with the music.

"How do you have this song?"

Suppressing the impulse in his heart, Star-Lord stared at Tony, asking with a serious expression.

Tony didn't answer, simply continuing to play the next track.

It was another song by Redbone, the artist behind *Come and Get Your Love*.

The same vocals, the same style, yet a completely unfamiliar song. It sent a sudden, unbidden chill down Star-Lord's spine.

"How—how do you have this?"

"Who the hell are you people?"

Star-Lord had been abducted by Yondu at a very young age, left with only a portable cassette player and a single tape that carried all his memories of home.

Over the years, he had searched countless places across the cosmos, but he had never been able to find that hometown—one that was already beginning to fade away within his memories.

The number of songs on that cassette had remained frozen at its original state forever, never increasing.

Yet, the people before him had just produced songs by the exact same artist from his tape.

Didn't this mean these people came from his homeland?

At the thought, Star-Lord's emotions suddenly grew complex. On one side were people who were presumably his fellow countrymen; on the other was Yondu, who had raised him.

Even though he had snuck behind Yondu's back to sell the Orb, it didn't mean he lacked affection for the old pirate.

Instantly, Star-Lord's heart was plunged into contradiction.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Star-Lord, Su Ye had not engaged in a bloody battle to the death with Yondu, nor had Yondu been locked up, tortured, or killed.

On the contrary, they were sitting together, drinking heavily and eating meat in large chunks.

For space pirates, they pursued only three things: making money, making money, and more goddamn money.

Of course, if they could make that money with dignity intact, that would be even better.

After all, no one wanted to lose their freedom and pride.

The moment Su Ye's Guardians of the Great Wall made contact with Yondu's crew, they demonstrated overwhelming, dominant strength.

Abomination and Kisame Hoshigaki—two individuals with immense personal power who loved to show off their muscle—need not even be mentioned.

Su Ye hadn't even had to lift a finger; a single glance from him had frozen Yondu in place, rendering him entirely unable to move.

Shortly after, the Yaka arrow at Yondu's waist unspooled itself and floated into the air without anyone whistling to control it, coming to a gentle halt right before his eyes.

"Ravager Yondu, right? I have a business proposition I'd like to discuss with you. I wonder if you're interested."

When this voice echoed directly inside Yondu's mind, even a seasoned veteran of countless storms like him nearly wet his pants.

"Who—who the hell are you?! What do you want us to do?"

Telepathy and the control of the Yaka arrow—just those two displays alone were enough to make Yondu tuck his tail between his legs and behave.

"I said, a cooperation."

Su Ye emphasized the word.

They hadn't come to space just to play around; they were also on a mission to explore cosmic civilizations and gather interstellar technology.

If they wanted to rapidly collect alien technology through official diplomatic channels, it would certainly be convenient, but it would also create a problem.

No matter how powerful Su Ye and his companions appeared, those cosmic civilizations would never genuinely and unreservedly cooperate with Earth.

Pirates were different.

For money, they would do anything—including raiding the data archives of alien civilizations, plundered wealth, and seizing all kinds of classified information.

These were things Earthlings could never afford to do; once their reputation was ruined, it would be difficult to ever restore it.

However, with the help of these pirates, taking care of the dirty work became much more convenient.

Therefore, Su Ye's offer to cooperate with Yondu was entirely sincere.

Of course, this 'cooperation' was built on the premise that Yondu would be obedient; otherwise, the consequences would undoubtedly be quite unpleasant.

There were so many pirates in the universe; if not Yondu, anyone else would do.

Yondu understood this point well. Therefore, upon hearing Su Ye's words, he only hesitated briefly before choosing to compromise.

Freedom was certainly important, but staying alive was even more crucial.

"I knew it, Mr. Yondu is a smart man!"

Su Ye released his hold on Yondu. Across the ship, the Guardians of the Great Wall, who had been skirmishing earlier, also ceased their actions, letting go of the wailing pirates. The atmosphere within the spacecraft warmed once again.

With Yondu submitting and his subordinates beaten, the outcome was naturally sealed.

From this moment onward, Yondu's Ravager crew became the vassals and subordinates of the Guardians of the Great Wall.

Once the master-servant dynamic was established, what followed was a grand welcoming ceremony—welcoming Earthlings to the cosmos.

Yondu had visited Earth before, possessed some understanding of Earth's technology, and knew that for Su Ye and his crew to arrive out here now was a remarkable feat.

At the same time, they also took on the task of helping Earth elevate its technological level.

"Don't worry, Boss Su. In this universe, there's nowhere we can't go, and nothing we can't get our hands on."

Su Ye nodded. "As it happens, we currently need a piece of equipment to upgrade our ship, making it better suited for interstellar travel."

Yondu immediately patted his chest. "That's easy. Right on our ship, we have spaceship components freshly looted from a military convoy. We've got several light-speed engines—military grade, too. I'll have the mechanics help you install them right away."

The Ravagers were a pack of ferocious wolves; as long as there was profit to be made, they would attack merchant vessels or military convoys without a second thought, provided they weren't caught by the authorities.

In reality, this was no different from the pirates of the Age of Sail holding letters of marque and running amok across the oceans.

Since the Nova Empire couldn't manage them, Su Ye certainly wasn't going to police them either.

This arrangement happened to save them a great deal of trouble.

"What else is good on the ship? Make a list, and I'll take it back for our technical staff to review."

"No problem! Not just on the ship, Boss Su—if you need anything else, old Yondu guarantees I'll get it for you!"

After a few drinks, Yondu's whole persona shifted. If not for his lingering respect for Su Ye's leadership position, he probably would have tried to challenge him to a drinking game.

When Star-Lord walked in, he happened to catch Yondu boasting to Su Ye.

"The Tivan Group is indeed formidable, holding a terrifying reputation across this entire sector. Especially that one-winged demon, Sephiroth—they say every pirate who catches a glimpse of his face ends up dead!"

"Still, I'm not blowing smoke; the only reason he's so arrogant is because he hasn't run into me yet."

"With my fiery temper, the day I run into him, I'll teach him a lesson in minutes. I'll tear that single wing right off his back and show him that a plucked phoenix is worse than a chicken!"

Su Ye nodded. "Alright then. Ronan is about to attack Xandar, and we're planning to go help. When the time comes, we'll split up—you guys go first! Sound good?"

"That's a must!" Yondu slapped his chest with a loud thud.

"Leave it to me, Boss Su, you can rest easy. I guarantee I'll get it sorted out properly for you!"

Beside them, Star-Lord looked at Su Ye with suspicion. "You guys are actually going to help save Xandar?"

Su Ye nodded. "Got a problem with that?"