Chapter 3151 "Romantic" Wedding Season (35)

Laira continued her story.

"Doctor Duracar, upon learning of this plan, thought it was too crazy, very frightening, and absolutely must not happen, so he made some preparations. On one hand, he had me deceive you to take away that plan..."

"Hold on." Rocket interrupted her, "Wasn't the plan written into the robot by the behind-the-scenes manipulator? The purpose was to let the robot escape and then frame the Shi'ar Empire, how could the doctor possibly know?"

"Who told you it was written in by the behind-the-scenes manipulator? Isn't such a framing plan too obvious?" Laira looked at him, "The bad guys won't put their name underneath a bad deed, this is clear and obvious, and everyone can see it as framing. The New Skrull Empire and the Kree Empire, even if they are useless, wouldn't use such a simplistic method, would they?"

Rocket was too embarrassed to admit that he hadn't realized it was a frame-up to begin with, so he said, "So this plan was written by you?"

"Correct, this plan was originally investigated and found by the doctor. There was no written document; it was we who summarized it, then captured a robot after the chaos ensued, wrote it into its fundamental protocol, and then had me deceive you into entering it into your protocol."

"But what use is it to do so?"

"Of course it's to make others hunt you down." Laira said, "Although there was no written document, the plan truly existed. Once the fact that you carry this plan's information leaked out, the behind-the-scenes manipulator who was ready to execute this plan would definitely hunt you down."

"So the plan leaking out isn't because the Shi'ar Empire set up a warning in the agenda, but because you did it on purpose?"

"Right, it was me who spread the news." Laira said, "I heard they sent Yondu to hunt you down."

"Indeed, I fled into Asgard and infiltrated into a feast... Forget it, let's not talk about that. You at least have to tell me why you did this."

"Naturally, it was to cover up Doctor Duracar's true intentions." Laira said, "Doctor Duracar is just an ordinary doctor with limited means of investigation. It was already quite impressive that he could get a glimpse into some of the details of the plan. To perfectly hide himself and avoid their attention was impossible."

"By the time his investigation was nearing the end, he had actually drawn some people's attention. The tragedy in the insane asylum might also be related; someone wanted to silence someone, but it was not meant to silence your little master, but to silence the doctor."

"For this reason, the doctor had to make everyone believe that his countermeasure to stop this plan was to expose it."

"I see." Rocket nodded, "You had me running off with the agenda, and then went out spreading the news that it was a certain doctor who made me leave with the agreement, so naturally the behind-the-scenes manipulator would think that the doctor's plan was actually just finding a small creature to carry the plan out and then expose it."

"That's right. It turned out to be quite successful; they put all their attention on you. You disappeared without a trace, and since the plan wasn't exposed, they thought everything was safe and sound."

"So, what are you actually doing?"

"Of course, it's to stop this plan." Laira furrowed her brow, her expression became much more serious, "The Life Fusion Plan is actually about creating an ultimate cosmic life by constantly merging lives. The creators of the plan call it the 'Fusion God.'"

"They think they can create a god?"

"It's not just about creating a god. After all, there are few God Clans in the universe, but generally speaking, there are quite a few, Asgard being one of them. But what they want to create is not this kind of god."

"What is it, then?"

"Life Law." Laira said, "This Fusion God is not any specific creature but a set of rules, pertaining to all life in the universe."

"That's crazy." Rocket exclaimed, "That's just not possible."

"Is it?" Laira asked, "Aren't the fundamental rules of life in the universe related to all life?"

Rocket's mouth gradually fell open as he said, "You mean they're planning to merge all life in the universe into one??? "

"Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but it might be crazier than you think. What did the plan involve at the beginning?"

"The M'Kraan Crystal..."

"What's the function of the crystal?"

Rocket looked at Shiller.

"The crystal is the gate to the Multiverse." Shiller responded, "It can directly open the path to other Multiverses."

"He's not planning to merge all the life in the Multiverse into one... That's absolutely impossible, wouldn't those powerful beings care?!"

Laira shook her head, "He doesn't need to merge all the life in the Multiverse into one; he only needs to find an Individual Universe, where so many lives merged into one, and it would be enough to shake the Life Law in our Individual Universe."

Rocket was stunned in place.

After a moment, he understood.

The plan might work like this: if all the life in their Individual Universe added up to a quantity of 10, the weight of the Life Law would be 10.

Now, if they threw all lives into the pot to be melted down, let's not talk about how much resistance this would incite; gods in the universe like Eternity would not just stand by.

"But if they stole just one from every universe, ten universes in total, they would still only have ten—fusing those would only create a Life Law of the same value, possibly enough to counterbalance the original Life Law of the universe."

"Even stealing one would be too obvious. With so many universes, if they pilfered a mere 0.0001 from each, accumulating ten wouldn't be hard at all, and it would attract less attention."

"The key was that they needed a tool to travel to other universes, so the plan that Rocket Raccoon uncovered included using the power of the Crystal, because it can connect to other parts of the Multiverse and is an essential tool for stealing fusion material from other universes."

"Then where is the Crystal now?"

"Without a doubt, it's with the Mutants."

It turned out that this event originated here. Shiller thought about it—if the Mutants had taken the Crystal, naturally the plan wouldn't be able to proceed.

If Shiller were asked how likely this plan was to succeed, he couldn't say for certain it was impossible, especially considering it was the Marvel Universe. Stranger things have happened, and when editors want to introduce new characters, their reasons can be far more preposterous.

However, another question arose—why were the Mutants able to control the Crystal in the first place? Mainly, they did it themselves, thanks to Professor X acquiring the coordinates of the Crystal. What did Lyla have to do with it?

"He said he made efforts to stop the plan, but what were the outcomes?"

Shiller voiced his doubts, and Lyla said, "The material for fusion is important, sure, but isn't the method of fusion the key?"

"Exactly." Rocket stepped forward and said, "I've only heard that the Shi'ar Empire has a tradition of fusing other races and life forms, but I've never heard of the Skrull Empire possessing such capability. How do they plan to do it?"

"Who told you it was the Old Skrull Empire planning to do this?"

Rocket seemed confused and said, "Didn't you say it was their plan?"

"Yes, but the Old Skrull Empire has long been extinct, and the few remaining refugee fleets hardly have the power to undertake such a plan."

Lyla smirked and said, "I've told you, it's their political legacy. The key is who has inherited it."

"You're not suggesting the Shi'ar Empire, are you?"

Lyla nodded and said, "To be precise, it's a faction within the Shi'ar Empire. You must be aware of the Ferocious Feather Tribe, right?"

Rocket nodded; obviously, he knew that the Ferocious Feather Tribe was currently ruling the Shi'ar Empire. They were the reigning Royals, and the Shi'ar was a noble-led political system with its own Elder Council.

Emperor, Elder Council, and Supreme Council formed the tripod of power, respectively representing the Emperor's authority, the nobles' power, and the high officials. If one had to make a comparison, it was somewhat similar to the scenario before the Tang dynasty in China, where the Emperor, noble families, and new court elites coexisted.

In such a political system, unity was impossible; complex factional struggles and party conflicts were inevitable. Thus, Lyla's indication that a faction was involved in such machinations was plausible.

The problem now was that the power of the Emperor was entirely in the hands of the Mutants, meaning the Mutants were the ones left to battle the other two factions.

Frankly speaking, Shiller believed the current Mutant leaders, the two old men, were indeed formidable, and their personalities complemented each other well. But to involve them in factional squabbles was practically a lost cause.

Don't be fooled by Professor X's mind-reading; historical figures with comparable cunning have fallen in such political struggles. It's not something you can pass simply with an open book.

Professor X still fared slightly better; as for Magneto, Shiller, on friendly terms with him, would still only venture to say his psychological age was about six. Put the two together, and they might not make for one effective Emperor.

They were not unaware of Lilandra's problems, but awareness didn't mean they could easily change things. Even if they told everything to Mystique, disguised as Lilandra, it wouldn't be so easily resolved.

Shiller even suspected that the apparent stability of the Shi'ar Empire was only because Professor X had used some coercive measures, brainwashing any dissidents, or else trouble would've broken out long ago.

If Professor X had intervened, wouldn't he know about such a grandiose life fusion plan from his many people? Shiller thought it possible that Professor X knew but perhaps the group hadn't yet reached a point where they threatened the life of this universe; they didn't have the Crystal and thus couldn't travel to other universes. They could only carry out minor actions, and it was only Aliens who were dying.

Charles, though saintly towards the human race, wouldn't care how many Aliens died. If those people were preoccupied with a cause, not causing a ruckus in court, he probably wouldn't intervene.

Shiller continued to ask, "So, how did you stop them?"

"Doctor Duracar cultivated a virus inside his body before his death. That was the main reason I wanted to steal his body amidst the chaos," said Lyla.

"What was this virus good for?" Rocket asked.

"The same effect the current viral outbreak has on Mutants," Lyla explained. "If most life in the cosmos were infected with it, their fusion methods would become ineffective."

"So, the fusion uses a virus?" Shiller immediately caught on, saying, "That doesn't sound like Skrull technology."

"It isn't. The Skrulls use mechanical means for fusion, but this plan fell into the hands of a group from the Shi'ar Empire, right? Naturally, they would use the methods they're adept with."

"So, the method of fusion isn't the crux..." Shiller pondered and said, "What made them believe that by fusing all life in the cosmos, they would certainly obtain the Law of Life?"

"They claimed to have succeeded before."