"Hello, hello, Collector. I've heard a lot about you. Please have a seat and try some of our Earth's specialty Dionysium." Shiller invited the Collector to the sofa and then went to open the bottle.
The Collector said irritably, "When I received your invitation, I could hardly believe it. You humans ransacked my treasury, stole my gemstones, and now you even invite me over as a guest!"
"Alright, don't be angry. You know, it was during wartime—we had no choice. Besides, we didn't take any of your other treasures, did we? As long as the items are still there, it's fine."
"But don't blame me for being blunt. Your treasury isn't very safe, and everyone in the cosmos knows your Collector's name. Anyone who wants treasures knows to come to you. Previously, they were intimidated by your prestige, and no one dared to act. But having been robbed once, they see you as an easy target, and there will be a second and third time. Keeping it hidden like this isn't a solution."
The Collector wanted to retort, "As if you don't know who the real culprit is," but he knew that saying such things was useless. Not even mentioning himself, the entire Cosmic Elders joined together wouldn't be able to defeat humanity. This grudge was certainly something he couldn't settle.
Plus, rather than seeking revenge, he was more interested in protecting his vast collection of treasures. As Shiller pointed out, once someone realizes there's a hole in the barrel, more holes will appear. Earlier, they feared offending the Cosmic Elders and couldn't locate the Collector's museum, so naturally, they couldn't rob it. But now it's different. Recently, the Collector found himself constantly hiding here and there, so he came swiftly to the invitation, thinking about the safety on Earth.
"The interstellar council is moving to the Milky Way," Shiller said, "Your brother, the High Lord, is also planning to open a casino here. We've already discussed it, having the Aesir help with the opening. He specially appealed to me, saying you're having a rough time lately, asking us to grant you a plot next to his casino to establish your museum. With the God Clan there, no one would dare to rob."
"What?" The Collector was noticeably more emotional than the High Lord and said, "Did the High Lord really say that? Oh, my, I didn't misjudge him after all."
"Anyway, I've already agreed, but whether you come or not depends on your decision. However, I have a request: if you wish to open a museum, it has to be publicly accessible for visitors. But we can specially assign two God Clan warriors to ensure your and your collection's safety. The Holy Sanctuary can also provide personal and artifact safety insurance. How does that sound?"
This certainly struck a chord with the Collector. Though he was a Collector, he wanted to show off his collections. Previously, he abstained because he lacked the strength to protect the collection, so naturally, fewer people knowing was better. But if given this opportunity, he was indeed willing.
"Well... It's not out of the question." The Collector feigned modesty, coughed twice, then said, "This place is quite out of the way, I had to go through four teleportation portals and fly for a long time to get here."
"Your spaceship... Oh, alright. You should have told us earlier, we could have picked you up. But rest assured, the land allocated for the High Lord is beside Venus in Centaurus, neighboring the Southern Cross, which will be the future political center. We're also planning to open a large teleportation portal nearby as a transportation hub for the Milky Way. You can trust the traffic volume."
"Alright, then what do I need to do?"
"Do you know how to draw? I mean architectural blueprints, or modeling would work too. You could draw a design for the museum in a format humans can interpret, and we guarantee it will be replicated accurately."
"Really?! That's wonderful!" The Collector jumped up from the sofa, excitedly pacing back and forth, saying, "I've long wanted to build a super-large museum, so every item could have a display case. In the past, I couldn't do it because I had too many items... it might indeed be quite large. Are you sure you can build it?"
The Collector naturally had doubts, as humanity wasn't a particularly advanced civilization. Their buildings on Earth were decently constructed, but on foreign planets, it was uncertain.
"Relax, we will use magic materials similar to those of the Asgard Immortal Palace, constructed by Mages, ensuring perfect reproduction of the blueprint while ensuring safety. Even the God Clan can't damage the building, so it will certainly protect your collection well."
"Oh, goodness, Mages to construct it? Your Mages have nothing else to do? Uh, I mean, is it perhaps too extravagant?" The Collector was clearly very surprised because, akin to the God Clan, human Mages were also renowned, employing Mages as architects was simply inconceivable.
"It's alright. The Milky Way is humanity's home, and naturally, we want to develop it well. We'll rigorously oversee all constructions to prevent any unsightly eyesores or defective substandard pieces. You know, on Earth, a museum is the landmark of a city and has significant importance, so of course, we can't be careless..."
Shiller's smooth talk left the Collector dizzy, not only agreeing to the authorization but also planning to visit Earth's museums first before drawing up the design plans.
By the time he left the sanatorium, he still couldn't make sense of it all. After all, this was practically a pie falling from the sky, even the cost of building the museum wasn't his to bear. Could humanity really be this generous?
Shiller also felt he'd gained. The Collector indeed had many items; although not all held economic value, they were undeniably ancient and unique. Humanity generally values the historical significance of collections more than the objects themselves; these collections also have substantial educational value.
Now, with the enhancement of the human physique, the cosmos environment doesn't seem as daunting. And laborers in the interstellar colonization era need to be cultivated from a young age; it's certainly impossible to stay on Earth to study exclusively. What could be a better educational destination than having a museum encompassing the entire cosmic history right at your doorstep?
Learning history at the Collector's museum, building relationships with the big figures in the interstellar council from a young age, and then networking with various forces at the casino — this is the education environment and faculty that the cosmic capital should enjoy.
Moreover, the money did not come from the human race. The reason Shiller set the construction standards so high, established entertainment centers, employed magic materials, and hired the God Clan was not all to extract money from the interstellar council?
The entertainment center and museum will all become auxiliary facilities for the interstellar council buildings, included in the budget for Cross Two's construction. Others won't have any objections — the higher the budget, the more they can take; the better the construction standards, the more they get to enjoy.
Undoubtedly, politicians felt very satisfied upon seeing this planning proposal. Previously, although they agreed to head towards the Milky Way, most considerations were politically driven. Now looking at it, humans are right on track — entertainment centers and office buildings built together, they won't have to worry about where to go after work.
Yet, these are merely side issues — all constructions on the planetary surface, lacking technical depth. The most troublesome part is the teleportation portal system.
Within the Nine Major Kingdoms, certainly, they cannot use the teleportation portal systems of the Three Great Empires; they must develop their own. All transportation systems require a hub, just like the Great Teleportation Gate of the Shi'ar Empire. Currently, the largest human teleportation portal is much smaller than the Great Teleportation Gate, and humans have almost never constructed Permanent Teleportation Gates; they dismantle them after use.
It appears to be the biggest challenge in developing Crux, but actually, the biggest challenge lies with Reed Richards being in charge of assembling the teleportation portal system.
The Supreme Magician must serve as Councilman at least until everyone relocates, and situations stabilize. Stark has to take charge of the entire Solar System's affairs, and don't forget, they still want to construct a Shield for the Solar System.
It shouldn't be the case that only Reed can handle this, but the key is, before, during the invasion of Asgard by the Two Great Empires, he created an antimatter universe passage, which is unbelievably sturdy. The Three Great Empires brought forth all their best tricks, took turns exploding, yet it didn't budge a bit. Ultimately, they withdrew not because they couldn't defeat the insects, but mainly because they couldn't breach the passage.
If there's even a glimmer of hope in conquering this, with such high sunk cost, the Two Great Empires surely wouldn't abandon easily. Clearly, after their research, this thing couldn't be shut down by external force, resulting in their gloomy withdrawal.
So, this is a kind of black technology unbreakable even by the Three Great Empires, ideal for constructing the Milky Way transport system, isn't it?
The only problem is, Reed tends to excel when things go wrong. Just like Franklin said, if you ask him to craft an escape route, he might lead enemies right to your face; if you want him to wreak havoc for the enemies, he'll definitely land a punch right at their sore spot.
However, considering this time assembling the transport system also aims to counter the Three Great Empires, Reed is certainly useful.
The most important thing is, once this thing is built, his whole family will also have to use it. Franklin is easy to talk to, but the Fantastic Four in this cosmos don't have superpowers. He and Susan are ordinary people — if the passage isn't sturdy, a slight tremor can cause them both to perish. Even considering his own life, Reed should exercise caution.
This transport system is not only in Crux but must extend across the Milky Way, not missing even the most remote regions. Therefore, the first task is to assess the Milky Way environment, finding the safest place at each node for the teleportation portals.
It's a massive undertaking, requiring all superheroes to come forth. Nick needs to oversee the engineering, while others are largely responsible for the technical aspects, so manpower is left in Shiller's hands.
"Quiet, everyone quiet!" Shiller stood in the meeting hall of S.H.I.E.L.D., shouting, "No whispering, the meeting is about to start!"
"Now what you see is the three-dimensional display of the Milky Way; each dot on this map represents a spot where we need to build a teleportation portal. Although it looks like just a small dot, it's actually a vast Star Zone. Now, what you need to do is go to the coordinate location you received on your phone for exploration, observe the star system environment, record various data, and then upload it to this software."
"Given that interstellar travel is less familiar to you, I've written all the important notes into the software's beginner guide. You must look at it carefully, follow the steps, and don't act rashly, venturing into those hazardous celestial bodies. Understand?"
Seated in the front row, Peter bowed his head to open his phone; the Doctor had already sent the software installation package to the group earlier, which he installed last night but hadn't closely checked.
He searched through the phone software and saw an icon with a black background, printed with the galaxy and nebula, beneath which the name read — "Milky Way Roaming Guide."