The Artemis's propulsion engines were normally arranged in a two-forward, two-aft layout, similar to an animal's four limbs, positioned at the four corners of the spacecraft. During takeoff, this allowed the ship to lift off the ground smoothly. After ascending to a certain altitude, the four thrusters would slightly adjust their positions, finally settling into a two-forward, two-aft arrangement with the front lower than the rear.

The original Prometheus was not particularly good at flying in atmospheric environments, as it wasn't designed for long-duration cruising and exploration within an atmosphere.

Now, the Artemis, based on the Prometheus prototype and extensively refitted by Tony Stark, had compensated for this weakness. The anti-gravity engines brought back by Ethan allowed the ship to easily overcome the pull of gravity and lift off with much less thrust than before.

Not only was takeoff easier, but flying within the atmosphere had also become more stable with much less turbulence. Ethan sat in the captain's chair and felt no vibration at all, though this was also related to the asteroid's weak gravity and thin atmosphere.

Maria Hill and Nebula served as the main and co-pilots of the Artemis.

Nebula was an experienced pilot, skilled in flying almost every type of spacecraft in the Marvel universe. Even if she hadn't encountered this specific ship before, her special, computer-like brain allowed her to master the necessary knowledge in the shortest possible time.

Before takeoff, Nebula conducted a comprehensive inspection of the entire ship's condition and absorbed all essential knowledge about it. All that remained was the actual piloting, and she had no shortage of spacecraft piloting experience.

In contrast, although Maria Hill had also done a lot of homework, even secretly learning on the Prometheus for a while and becoming more familiar with the ship's operating systems than Nebula, her lack of spacecraft piloting experience was a fatal weakness. In the short term, she could only serve as Nebula's co-pilot.

The Artemis slowly departed the desolate asteroid. Then, Nebula piloted the ship into the vast emptiness of space, picking a random direction to proceed while continuously testing the various functions of the ship.

The weapon systems didn't require practical testing for the moment, she just familiarized herself with how to operate them. However, she tested the ship's acceleration, deceleration, emergency stops, and all other maneuvers.

The Artemis's performance surprised Nebula.

"I didn't expect that guy to actually have some skill."

Nebula didn't know much about Tony Stark. It was just that Tony often spoke casually, and strangers often didn't get a good first impression of him.

Although she already knew Tony was a very famous figure on Earth and a super genius, she didn't place much importance on a genius from such a backward planet.

When she learned that Ethan had given the ship to Tony for modifications, she always thought it would be more reliable for Ethan to just steal a better ship in space.

She didn't expect Tony to modify the ship so well. From Nebula's extensive piloting experience, this ship definitely reached the level of a first-class spacecraft in the universe, sufficient to support a group of adventurers surviving in space.

Ethan continuously monitored the ship's parameters on the display screen in front of him. After all, his understanding of his new ship was very limited, even less than Nebula, who was currently in the pilot's seat. This was actually quite dangerous for a captain. If you don't understand your own ship, how can you make correct judgments and give commands at critical moments?

He had to not only remember the data in front of him but also use his own senses to judge how long the ship needed to accelerate, how long to decelerate, and how long to turn. Turning also needed to be distinguished between horizontal and vertical, as well as multi-angle maneuvering adjustments.

Even without testing the weapon systems, the Artemis didn't travel very far after officially launching. At this point, if they turned around, they could even see the asteroid they had just left through the front window.

After completing the maneuverability tests, everyone no longer had to be strapped into their seats. Bruce Banner had already walked to the front window, gazing out at the vast, endless expanse of the universe with a sigh.

"I never thought I'd have the chance to travel in space."

Ethan stood beside him, looking at the dark scenery in the distance, dotted with specks of light and a few faintly visible planets.

"Your world is also about to take this step. With your status, you'll see this scene sooner or later."

Banner knew that Tony had already mastered space travel technology but was holding back the technology because it wasn't convenient to take too big a leap at once.

However, given Tony Stark's personality, he wouldn't be able to suppress it for long and would definitely release these technologies gradually.

Furthermore, as a member of the Avengers, Bruce Banner knew what kind of dangers lurked in the universe, and Earthlings had to prepare early. So, from every perspective, it was inevitable for Earthlings to enter the universe.

"Speaking of which, can this ship maintain gravity after leaving the asteroid?"

"This ship itself has an artificial gravity device, and it has been reinforced to a certain extent after the modification. It can not only provide standard gravity for the entire ship (Earth standard) but also achieve gravity enhancement and reduction in specific areas."

The gravity room was located next to the training module, part of the training module. As the number of non-humans on board increased, Ethan also needed to come up with some new ways to keep them busy.

Although he didn't know if this kind of thing had any practical training effect, as long as it could help them expend their excess energy, that was a good thing.

Nebula was still testing the ship's various systems, but she was no longer sitting in the pilot's seat. She had engaged the autopilot and was using and checking other systems.

This included testing the radar and communication equipment. The communication equipment wasn't just for talking; it could also intercept other people's communication information. They weren't living in a universe without other life, there were powerful cosmic civilizations here, and they might even encounter other spacecraft.

Banner knew this, of course. He was very curious about what the first cosmic civilization he encountered would be like.

"There's no difference. Have you forgotten that Nebula is a cosmic being?"

Turning his head, Ethan remembered that Nebula usually maintained a human appearance to avoid trouble, and even now, she hadn't changed back to her original form.

When Ethan mentioned this, Nebula reverted to her original appearance, a cosmic race with azure blue skin.

"Wow!"

Banner wanted to get closer to observe, but he felt that would be too rude, so he resisted the urge to approach.

"Thor is also a cosmic being, right... In a sense, so am I."

"Your appearances always make me overlook that."

Neither Thor nor Ethan looked significantly different from humans. Without displaying their special abilities, it was difficult to associate them with alien life.

"Let me show you around first. You'll have plenty of time later to slowly admire these monotonous views."

The universe's starscape was amazing at first glance, but after looking at it for a long time, it was just the same old thing, and they could absolutely look at it until they were sick of it.

Ethan took Banner to the lounge area, and then showed him around the entire ship.

In fact, it wasn't just Banner who needed to tour the entire ship. Sherry, Evelyn, and others were also on this ship for the first time, and they also needed to look around to get familiar with it and understand where they would be living, so they wouldn't get lost in their own home, which wasn't something to be proud of.

"Although the space is much smaller than the Prinz Eugen, it feels more comfortable to live in."

The Prinz Eugen was certainly large enough, but there were too few people on board. You could often walk down a corridor for a long time without hearing any human voices. Staying in such an environment for too long could make people feel uncomfortable.

So, when they were on the Prinz Eugen, everyone's cabins were close together, and their activity areas were basically limited to a few places, which made it more lively.

The Artemis was relatively much smaller. Everyone's rooms were almost in one area, and just a few steps out of the bedroom led to various activity rooms. There was basically no situation where you walked for a long time and didn't see anyone.

Of course, when they wanted a relatively free environment to be alone, Ethan also had a solution.

He had created a small island on the Prinz Eugen. This independent space with an island had been cut out by him and placed into a cabin.

The cabin door was labeled "Summer Beach." Anyone who wanted to find a quiet place with pleasant weather for a vacation could come here.

"So, your ship has an entire island and a sea inside?"

Bruce Banner, who was following Ethan and getting familiar with each area, watched with wide eyes as a plain, empty cabin was transformed into a Hawaiian-like resort with just a few simple manipulations by Ethan.

He suspected he might be under some kind of illusion. He bent down and touched the soil and grass under his feet.

"Is all this real? I mean, it's not some spell or special equipment that just makes people see this kind of illusion to achieve relaxation, right?"

"These are all real. This island and the surrounding seawater are real. The only drawback is that there are no creatures here, and no creatures in the surrounding sea."

This small world barely managed self-circulation, but it wasn't enough to give birth to and sustain more life. Even throwing some fish into the seawater would likely disrupt the currently unstable environmental system.

So, raising animals and such would have to wait.

"If you get bored on the ship, you can come here to relax anytime, but you'll have to figure out where to live yourself. For example, the small wooden cabin by the forest over there was built by Logan himself."

Bruce Banner suddenly realized that the situation here was completely different from the space travel he had imagined.

(To be continued.)

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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.

◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)