CHAPTER 107: CHAPTER 107: THE COLLECTOR ASSISTS THE TRANSFORMERS! CYBERTRON DEVELOPS!

Yes.

When Lorien and the other three arrived, they saw a massive planetary head floating near Cybertron.

Below it, on Cybertron’s surface, a gravity capture device was installed. Because of this, Knowhere now rotated along with Cybertron, turning directly into its satellite!

Under the gaze of the four, countless robots and Transformers were traveling back and forth between Cybertron and Knowhere. Between the two, a gravitational conduit was pulling in vast amounts of minerals and treasures. Knowhere was essentially being drained dry by Cybertron!

Lorien estimated the flow of minerals being transported each second—at least millions, even tens of millions of tons! Even from their distant vantage point, they could still see the black gravitational conveyor belt stretching between the two celestial bodies.

The reason it appeared black was because the minerals fell and were captured along the way. But that wasn’t the real issue. The real question was—how had Knowhere been dragged here in the first place?!

"Knowhere?!"

Hela was startled when she saw it. She knew of its existence, but Gwen and Wanda did not.

"What is Knowhere?"

"Do you remember what I said yesterday about the Celestials?" Lorien asked.

"Yes," Gwen and Wanda nodded together.

Lorien tilted his chin toward Knowhere.

"That is the severed head of an ancient Celestial.

It was cut off by Knull, the progenitor of the Symbiotes, with the Black Necrosword.

At the same time, the body was devoured by Knull.

But the head drifted away until it was discovered by cosmic civilizations and mined with all their strength."

At this, Wanda and Gwen understood. But Gwen did a quick calculation.

"If it’s the head of an ancient Celestial, why is there still so much left to mine?"

"A Universal-level head isn’t something ordinary civilizations can mine." Lorien smiled.

"Besides, Celestials are abstract entities. Their bodies are unimaginably rich in resources, but also heavily protected. I don’t know how many years civilizations have been mining it, but at most, they’ve managed to extract only 30%."

And that 30% was only the outer resources—parts like the face and ears. The resources within the brain of a Celestial had likely never been touched. Those were the most valuable of all.

Even after so long, they would have decayed. But when alive, it was still a Universal-level being. That’s the kind of difference in class they were dealing with.

Hearing this, Wanda and Gwen couldn’t help but admire the courage of the Transformers. To seize something like this—how many powers must they have gone against?

Not only that, Lorien also noticed Cybertron itself had undergone drastic changes.

"Let’s shift our view," Lorien said with a wave of his hand.

They changed angles, and sure enough, the mineral-rich side of the planet was booming with technological development. From spaceships and warships to cannons and teleportation gates. From massive flagships to spherical satellite weapons.

The Transformers clearly foresaw potential threats. They were mass-producing warships to defend themselves!

Yes, that had to be it.

Lorien then waved his hand again.

"Come on, let’s check the votes."

The four entered the Senate. With a gesture, Lorien brought up all the data before them.

[Space Resource Exploration and Capture: 1000:0]

[Transformers and Robot Space Fleet: 1000:0]

[Trading Cosmic Information with the Collector: 1000:0]

[Accelerating the Creation of Transformer Descendants: 950:50]

[Exchanges with Major Civilizations of the Universe: 800:200]

[...]

They looked through many votes together. Without them, it was hard to grasp the full picture. But with them, it was immediately clear what the Transformers were up to.

Gwen looked and exclaimed,

"The Transformers are leaving their planet—they’re heading into space!"

Wanda glanced over and corrected her.

"They’ve already left. Look here, this ’Collector’—it should be the name of some being."

When Lorien saw the word "Collector," he immediately understood why the Transformers’ perspective had broadened so suddenly.

What were the early votes about?

Greening, animals, manufacturing...

And what about now?

Legions, warships, civilizations, trade, resources...

Before, it was like a survival simulation. Now, it was like playing Stellaris and Warhammer.

The vibe was clear: I’m about to unleash an army and slaughter the universe.

More ruthless than even the Purple Titan. Compared to some truly vicious forces out there, the Titan looked like a philanthropist. Leave half alive? What, are you here to do charity?

Hela thought over the name "Collector" and suddenly realized something.

"He is the younger brother of the Grandmaster, the Collector."

"It is said that he knows much about the history of the universe and can even foresee what is to come."

"But he desires nothing else."

"He only seeks what is rare and unique in the universe."

"He will pay any price to preserve it."

Hela was right. Lorien also knew the name of the Collector.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the Collector’s folding collection chamber still housed an Infinity Stone. That very stone would eventually end up in Thanos’s hands.

...

Hearing about the Collector’s nature, Gwen asked,

"Is he very powerful?"

"Not really," Lorien shook his head. "He only belongs to a special race that can live forever and occasionally glimpse fragments of the future."

Wanda thought for a moment.

"Then does he already know we’re here?"

At that, Lorien smiled.

"You’re giving him too much credit."

The Collector’s ability to glimpse the future was useless against Lorien. Moreover, anyone closely connected to Lorien—such as Wanda, Hela, or Gwen—was equally beyond his sight.

That was because Lorien’s super template shielded him from the laws of causality. To be exact, the current Lorien was the only Lorien in all of Marvel: no existence in the past, none in the future, not even in parallel universes.

Even if the Time Variance Authority examined the Sacred Timeline right now, they would find Lorien absent—yet the timeline would still be moving.

But that was beside the point.

Lorien snapped his fingers with a smile.

"Let’s go see what kind of deal the Collector has made with the Elders."

Snap!

The next moment, Lorien and the other three appeared on a podium-like platform. Several Elders were speaking with the Collector.

The Collector was spreading out his treasured scrolls and records, using Cybertron’s projection and transmission devices to upload everything into the Transformers Elders’ knowledge reserves.

Lorien found the scene amusing. The Elders looked like students cramming lessons, absorbing knowledge about every corner of the universe.

Even if they didn’t need it immediately, it didn’t matter. They stored it all as part of their archives.

The Collector was positively delighted. He directed a female robot to pack away the ancient scrolls and documents, then fetched new ones to continue the uploading process.

Clap, clap, clap...

Lorien clapped his hands, quite satisfied. The Transformers’ rapid progress was nothing but good for him. What surprised him was that the Collector would go so far to aid them.

"Creator!"

The moment they noticed Lorien, the Elders all stopped what they were doing and bowed in reverence.

The Collector froze. When he first heard the word "Creator," he hadn’t reacted. But seeing all the Elders bowing with such respect, he finally lifted his head—and saw Lorien standing above them.

Clack, clack, clack...

As expected of someone who had lived so long, the Collector’s reaction was swift. He quickly walked around the table, stepped aside, and bent low in a bow.

"Creator!"

His voice carried even greater reverence than that of the Transformers.

Lorien didn’t correct him. Names didn’t matter. He waved his hand, signaling the Transformers to rise, then said,

"I am very pleased to see how quickly you’ve grown."

The Transformers didn’t grin or cheer. Instead, their reverence deepened. They were serious beings, and seldom showed joy outwardly.

The Collector, however, was shaken even more.

He had imagined that the creator of the Transformers could never be humanoid. Perhaps a conscious gem? A living energy? Maybe some soul-like essence?

He had considered many possibilities, but never once had he thought of a human-like figure creating Cybertron and the Transformers.

After all, Transformers were mechanical lifeforms. To him, their creator should have been something entirely non-organic.

But faced with this unreasonable reality—Lorien himself—he was utterly stunned.

What kind of power could create such a civilization?

At that moment, Lorien continued.

"Now add a new Creator Command.

You may actively attack other civilizations and creatures in the universe, but only if you see them killing and destroying others.

Or if you have evidence and records of them doing so."

Lorien finished speaking.

All the Transformers responded in unison.

"Received, Creator!"

Very good.

Lorien nodded with satisfaction. By doing this, he was actually broadening the rights of the Transformers.

Previously, the reason they were forbidden from striking first was because they had not yet left Cybertron. But now they were facing the wider universe. That command was no longer practical, since it only allowed them to act after being attacked.

And what if they encountered a fleet like Thanos’s? Waiting for the enemy to make the first move would only put the Transformers at a disadvantage.

That’s why Lorien gave them the right to take the initiative.

As long as the opponent was evil, they didn’t need to resist first—the Transformers could strike immediately.

His meaning was clear: no matter who it was, his Transformers must never suffer a loss. His Transformers were not allowed to be at a disadvantage.

...

When the Collector heard this new command, he couldn’t hide his excitement.

As one "person" to another, he understood Lorien’s intention perfectly—everything was for the better growth and future of the Transformers.

After issuing the order, Lorien looked at Cybertron with satisfaction.

At this rate, Cybertron would soon rise several levels higher. That was truly fascinating.

He turned to glance at the three women behind him.

"What about you? Do you have anything to say?"

Wanda, Gwen, and Hela all shook their heads at the same time.

With the Transformers having developed to this point, their opinions no longer mattered. Lorien was the captain. He pointed in a direction, and the Transformers would follow.

"Alright, then let’s head back."

Lorien raised his hand, ready to snap his fingers.

But at that moment, the Collector’s excited voice rang out.

"Honorable Creator, may we have a word?"

Lorien looked at him—dressed in a white fur coat, eyes alight with eagerness. He thought for a moment, then smiled.

"If you can help the Transformers build Cybertron into something greater, then perhaps we can talk."

With that, Lorien snapped his fingers.

The four vanished instantly.

He called this little move "gaslighting before leaving." Whether the Collector fell for it or not was up to him. But if the Collector truly went all out, then Lorien wouldn’t mind speaking with him.

...

Back at the northern New York tower, Gwen finally released her excitement, her face full of joy and surprise.

"They’ve left the planet! They’re already developing in the universe!"

"Will they start occupying other planets?"

"Or form some kind of interstellar alliance?"

Her mind spun with wild possibilities, most of them drawn from video games.

Hela, however, gave a serious analysis.

"The very form and nature of the Transformers mean they’ll never cooperate with another civilization to form an alliance. They’ll only grow stronger themselves, then create more Transformers to manage their own."

At that, Lorien gave her a nod of approval.

"You’re absolutely right."

The Transformers he had created were fundamentally different from those of other universes:

1. They would not fall into civil war, but work in unity.

2. They would not stay bound to Cybertron, but expand across the cosmos.

3. Their path of development had no ceiling, no restrictions.

These three points alone made them superior to any other version of Transformers.

And once their technology advanced far enough, even Lorien didn’t know how strong they would eventually become.

Why not aim to dominate the universe? To wage interstellar war?

Well, that was still far off in the future.

...

Back in New York, Gwen suddenly remembered her phone. She pulled it out and looked at the screen.

"Oh no! I’m late again!"

Lately, New York had been unstable with monsters appearing everywhere, which meant Gwen’s curfew had been reinstated.

"It’s fine, I’ll take you back."

Lorien raised his hand to snap his fingers.

Gwen grabbed her things and waved.

"I’ve got final exams next week. Wait for my good news!"

"No problem."

Snap!

In an instant, Gwen vanished.

Lorien then brought Wanda and Hela home.

Now, whenever Wanda returned, she would rush straight into her little universe.

"Lorien, the seedlings have sprouted!" she said with delight.

"Let me see."

Hela flopped onto the carpet, already immersed in her game.

Lorien entered the Little Universe and saw that the seedlings, once only the height of his thumb, had already shot up to the length of his hand. They had thickened as well, with small leaves beginning to sprout at the tips.

He also noticed tender thorns forming along the stem.

"You didn’t plant roses, did you, Wanda?" Lorien guessed.

"Ah! Why’d you have to say it?"

Wanda hit him lightly in mock regret.

"I wanted to surprise you!"

So they really were roses. But for a surprise, she wasn’t being very secretive about it.

Wanda probably intended to wait until the final stage, then use magic to force them into bloom. When Lorien woke up one morning, he’d be greeted by roses everywhere.

Now that would be romantic.

Lorien smiled, warmth in his chest. With a wife like this, what more could a man ask for?

"Wanda."

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"Mm?" she responded softly.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered,

"Have you looked at the sky?"

Wanda lifted her gaze. The small universe was also in night. The Milky Way stretched across the heavens, glittering with endless stars.

"It’s beautiful," she said with a nod.

"But not as beautiful as you."

Her heart skipped a beat.

In that instant, Wanda froze, her eyes turning soft and misty like spring rain. Then she pushed Lorien down to the ground.

At that moment, words weren’t enough.

She wanted to show him, with her actions, just how deeply she loved him.

...

(50 Chapters Ahead)

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