Chapter 340: News of Ego

After hearing from Friday that Clark had completed the final calculation formula for him, Tony felt deflated rather than elated, and slumped into his chair.

Tony had always held absolute confidence in his research on the Iron Man armor.

He believed that at least in the field of exoskeleton armor, no one could surpass him, not even Clark.

It was because of this confidence that Tony could proudly declare, "I am Iron Man."

But now, Clark was showing him that he could not only match Tony but could do better.

This was no longer just about being outdone; it was a more severe blow to Tony's confidence.

Seeing Tony devoid of fighting spirit, Clark knew this was a big blow for him. If Iron Man were to remain dejected, it wouldn't be good for anyone.

Walking over to Tony, Clark patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "So, feeling a bit defeated?"

Tony gave him a dry look: "You look pretty pleased with yourself."

"Actually, I'm not gloating. There's really nothing to gloat about." Clark paused, speaking as if chatting about everyday things: "As my strength has advanced, my level of existence has undergone several qualitative transformations. Now, my brain's processing speed far surpasses that of Friday and even Eris."

"Here's a question, though. Who is Iron Man, Tony Stark or Friday?"

Tony was visibly shaken by the question, puzzled by Clark's intention, knowing well that Clark, with his own consciousness, was no mere supercomputer. What was Clark trying to convey?

Clark casually pulled the data projection closer to himself and continued: "Your most precious asset is your creativity, something no one else can surpass. Like your idea to combine the Extremis virus with nanotechnology—that's not something just anyone could come up with, and even if they did, they couldn't make it work."

Clark then pointed out a few formulas in the data: "Especially at these points—if it were me, I wouldn't even know how to solve these, and I might even think it impossible to scientifically achieve such a combination, but you figured out a way."

"That's your creativity," Clark stated truthfully. "The computational error I found earlier was just a minor mistake during your calculations. Maybe right now your mind is stuck in a loop and can't see this issue, but perhaps after a good night's sleep, you'll figure it out."

"Without your wealth of data, even my superior computing abilities wouldn't be of any use here."

Tony finally breathed easier: "Hearing you say that makes me feel a lot better. So, you're saying without me, you couldn't have merged this Extremis virus with nanotechnology?"

"No!" Clark shook his head once more, earnestly replying: "I can alter reality."

Received from Tony Stark, impression score +99999!

And I used to think this guy was one of the good ones. I was too naive!

Just then, the door opened abruptly, and Starhaw sauntered in, a serious expression on her face as she addressed Clark: "Mr. Clark, I just heard from Dr. Banner that you had returned. It's true, then."

Clark slightly frowned at the overpowering scent on Starhaw: "Why are you not learning good habits? Even a renowned cosmic thief like you has started using perfume like ordinary women?"

Starhaw shrugged: "I think it's quite nice, actually. It helps cover up the blood scent on me."

In truth, the blood scent on her could easily be washed off; what really lingered was the scent of blood in her heart.

Thinking this, Clark didn't voice his thoughts. Although now a multiverse-level entity, he wasn't omniscient or omnipotent, especially regarding Starhaw's issues, where a regular psychologist might have better insights.

Perhaps it was time for the Avengers to get a trusted psychologist to occasionally help them.

Keeping this idea in mind, Clark asked, "Starhaw, you haven't said why you're looking for me."

Starhaw smiled faintly and said, "Aren't you looking for Ego? We have a lead now."

Clark perked up immediately, and without further ado, Starhaw pressed a button at her temple. Her mechanical eye emitted a beam of light, projecting an image in front of her.

In the projection, a cream-colored, egg-shaped spacecraft appeared. The hatch opened, and warm, amber light spilled out, resembling a cracked egg with the yolk flowing out.

From within the light, a man and woman emerged—the man appeared kindly and elder-like, and the woman, dressed in green, stood timidly by his side like a maid, her demeanor cautious and reserved.

As the image played, Starhaw explained, "After the events on Zehoberei, Nebula couldn't wait to scour the universe for Gamora, aiming to prove she's now

 stronger than Gamora."

Clark nodded, understanding the situation.

Defeating Gamora and avenging herself against Thanos had always been Nebula's demons. Clark didn't oppose this; he had even gifted Nebula and Starhaw a pair of Night Sky Swords, stolen from Hela, showing his followers they could achieve their life goals under his leadership.

Moreover, Nebula's goals weren't too difficult to achieve.

Gamora was strong, but Nebula, now armed with a divine weapon, should have no trouble outmatching her.

However, the situation in the projection seemed different...

Clark frowned slightly, "Nebula lost?"

Starhaw shook her head, adding, "She was only thinking about defeating Gamora, but she faced a team instead."

It was a classic case of being outnumbered.

Clark nodded: "Didn't you think about helping her?"

To maintain the stability of the video projection, Starhaw remained still: "That's her Gamora, not mine."

At that moment, the projection faded into a scene where the elder warmly smiled at Star-Lord: "My name is Ego, your father..."

The following conversation was somewhat verbose, and Starhaw fast-forwarded decisively.

She picked out the most informative snippets for Clark while adding some explanatory commentary.

Essentially, although Ego was indeed Star-Lord's father, he hadn't earned their trust. Eventually, Gamora decided to go with Nebula to Ego's planet to check things out. If he really was Star-Lord's father, all the better. But if he was up to no good, Gamora was confident she could take him down.

Ultimately, the Guardians of the Galaxy split up; Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax boarded Ego's ship, while Rocket Raccoon and Groot stayed behind to repair their damaged ship, watch over Nebula as a prisoner, and wait for their return.

Watching the trio board Ego's ship, Clark couldn't help but smirk, "Gamora actually thinks she can take down Ego? Who gave her such courage?"

Starhaw then turned off the video projection, looking resigned: "Nebula has already told them how important Ego is to you, but unfortunately, she's tried to put Gamora in harm's way more than once before, so now no one really believes her." She paused, a touch of concern in her voice: "Is that Ego really that strong?"

Clark confirmed without hesitation: "Very strong." Adding mentally, it would seem so to you.

Starhaw immediately asked, "How strong?"

Seems like Gamora isn't the only one you care about.

Seeing through but not speaking of it, Clark simply followed her question, explaining, "If it were his true form, he could easily defeat Thanos."

"But now that we've located Ego's planet, I can't leave Earth's safety to the luck of those few." As he spoke, Clark turned slightly to see Daisy striding in, clad in a sleek, new outfit.

Daisy's gear, though similar in design to before, was now made entirely of nanite vibranium, its defensive capabilities comparable to Black Panther's suit. However, to maintain Black Panther's advantage, Shuri had designed this suit without a helmet, leaving her head exposed. Her flowing hair draped over the vibranium suit, enhancing her dashing appearance.

After over a year of rigorous training, Daisy had fully mastered her star-core bracers, her strength now surpassing the current Thor, making her second only to Clark among the Avengers.

Stepping up to Clark and Starhaw, Daisy spoke earnestly, "Clark, I hope you'll take me with you this time. After all, this crisis could engulf the entire Earth, and we can't just leave you to handle everything alone."

Considering Daisy's strength was now seemingly on par with Stormbreaker Thor, but with much less combat experience—dealing with so-called villains on Earth was far too easy for her, hardly a challenge—Clark nodded decisively, "Alright."

With that, space energy swirled around them, and in the next moment, he and Daisy disappeared, reappearing inside the Milano parked on the planet Contraxia.

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