Chapter 454: Red Sand Land: The Boundary between Dreams and Reality

Everyone looked at the dazzling array of weapons and equipment in front of them, their eyes flashing with excitement. Everyone began to choose their favorite equipment, and the whole room was filled with an excited atmosphere.

Rocket was the first to act. He climbed up a weapon rack and immediately grabbed a multi-function plasma rifle. His eyes sparkled, as if he had found a treasure he had always dreamed of. He grinned with pride, "This is a top-notch weapon! The energy output has a built-in switching function, and you don't even need to aim at the crosshairs. I love it so much." He quickly put the gun behind his back and grabbed a particle grenade that was flashing blue light and stuffed it into his belt. "Look at this, it's enough to blow up a small spaceship. It's powerful enough!"

Seeing Rocket's excitement, Drax couldn't help but smile. He walked to the display case, his eyes fell on a huge energy battle axe, and gently grasped the axe handle with both hands. Feeling the surge of power, he immediately smiled from ear to ear: "This axe is so heavy, it's perfect! I like this kind of weapon that allows me to swing it and chop the enemy away." He tried to swing it a few times, and the axe made a low humming sound, showing the destructive energy it contained.

Star-Lord walked leisurely to a cabinet and grabbed a pair of pistols with light modules. He played with them delicately with his hands, and his signature smirk appeared on his lips: "Look at this! Who can be more handsome than me with these guns?" He winked mischievously, glanced at Rocket, and said smugly: "I'm still the best pilot and shooter in the galaxy, and these weapons have to be as stylish as me."

Rocket glanced at Star-Lord with disdain and sneered, "You are handsome? Come on, you think you can look cool with two guns? I say you have been wasting all these years."

"Hmph," Star-Lord pouted and responded unhappily, "At least I won't use those things that look like metal garbage. Your toys are suitable for children."

Gamora chose a black tight-fitting combat suit, which was designed to suit her combat style. She put it on calmly, feeling the built-in nano-shield activated, and smiled softly: "This suit has high defense and does not affect my movements. It suits me perfectly." She looked back at Star-Lord and Rocket who were still bickering, shook her head, and sighed secretly.

Groot stood aside, staring at a shield flashing blue light, then raised his finger and pointed at it, still repeating his iconic line: "I am Groot."

S-X45 immediately translated: "He said he likes this shield. It can enhance his physical strength and self-healing ability."

Groot looked very happy and seemed very satisfied with this equipment.

When everyone was equipped, Rocket clapped his hands lightly and smiled proudly: "Okay, guys, get ready to go, Umbrella's warships can't wait."

Star-Lord raised an eyebrow at Rocket and said with a smile, "Let's go. I'm still the leader of this team no matter what."

Rocket rolled his eyes and responded with disdain, "Yeah, yeah, Captain-sama."

Drax carried the huge battle axe and said confidently, "Today will definitely be a thrilling battle. I can't wait!"

Everyone walked towards the corridor leading to the light combat ship. S-X45 had prepared a new type of combat ship for them. Its streamlined appearance flashed with a cold light, as if it was ready to burst out with powerful force at any time.

Star-Lord whistled and excitedly jumped onto the captain's seat: "Guys, are you ready? Let's show them some color!"

Rocket sat in the co-pilot's seat, operating the console expertly, "Hurry up, and stop talking nonsense. I can't wait to show off the power of these new weapons!"

The lights inside the ship gradually lit up, all systems were started up, the battleship shook slightly, and then sped towards the direction of Ego.

......

The battleship landed smoothly on the surface of Ego, the hatch slowly opened, and the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy filed out. The scene before them instantly calmed them down - the ground under their feet was deep red, as if the planet was stained with blood. In the distance, a huge city appeared on the horizon, with walls towering into the clouds, exuding a mysterious and oppressive atmosphere. The sky of the entire planet also glowed with a faint red halo, as if it was always shrouded in the afterglow of the sunset, but it revealed an indescribable weirdness.

"Wow..." Rocket was the first to break the silence. He looked at this desolate and strange planet with curiosity and confusion on his face. "Ego? Logically speaking, it should be... um, a living organism similar to a planet? Or a huge city with vitality?"

Rocket looked around as he spoke, stepping cautiously on the red soil, looking extremely alert. Star-Lord couldn't help but interrupt him, "Hey, Rocket, don't act like a scholar. Ego is just a planet. It may look a little weird, but it's not that weird."

Gamora calmly scanned the distant city. After a moment of silence, she slowly spoke: "Whatever it is, this place must be extraordinary. We'd better be careful. The existence of Ego itself is a mystery."

Drax carried his battle axe and said nonchalantly: "The air here smells like battle, I like this place." He took a deep breath, as if he couldn't wait to find an enemy to fight.

Star-Lord rolled his eyes and teased Rocket, "You're always pretending, Rocket. No matter how strange this planet is, it won't scare us, right?"

Rocket crossed his arms, curled his lips, and responded with disdain: "I'm not scared, but I have a feeling that something is wrong with this place. Don't always think about having fun with your little head. Will you die if you use your brain a little?"

Groot stood aside and whispered, "I am Groot." Although he still only said this one sentence, everyone understood that Groot's intuition was usually very accurate, and it seemed that he also felt the unusualness of this land.

Gamora nodded slightly and tightened her weapon in her hand: "No matter what, we have to be prepared. There must be a reason why the Umbrella fleet appeared here."

Everyone began to move towards the city in the distance, taking every step carefully. Red dust rose slightly under their feet, and there was a subtle sense of uneasiness in the air. Star-Lord couldn't help but joked: "Okay, okay, even if this place is weird, we won't be scared away before we even enter the city, right? I still plan to find something interesting!"

Rocket looked at him and said humorously: "If you are scared, I will be the first to sell you out."

Star-Lord suddenly remembered something, stopped abruptly, turned around and said to everyone, "Hey, guys, I just thought of something. Last night, I had a very strange dream. I dreamed of Ego from Ego Planet. The old man even claimed to be my dad." He said with a smug look on his face, as if he was showing off some heroic deeds. "Then he kept talking to me about 'Umbrella is evil' and other nonsense, but in the end, he was amused by a few words from me! I'm not that easy to be fooled."

Gamora and Rocket looked at each other, and showed helpless expressions almost at the same time. Gamora rolled her eyes, with an expression of "impossible" written all over her face: "Peter, please, dreams are not reality. Do you really think that a strange old man who suddenly appeared can say that he is your father?"

Rocket raised his eyebrows, looked up at Star-Lord with a joking look on his face: "So your dream last night had a plot? Umbrella is evil? Haha, Peter, if you put it that way, I would rather believe Umbrella. After all, their equipment is much more reliable than those old men's nonsense." He grinned, with a hint of ridicule and disdain in his eyes. Although he didn't say it explicitly, it was obvious that he had no confidence in Star-Lord's so-called "father dream" at all.

Drax was standing aside, not understanding what was going on, staring at them blankly: "So... whose father are you talking about? Who is that Ego? Is he a warrior too? If he is your father, he must be very powerful and can bring more battles." Drax had a look of anticipation on his face, as if he had already imagined a passionate battle in his mind.

Groot was as cute as ever. He tilted his head and said innocently, "I'm Groot." There was a hint of confusion in his little eyes, and he obviously had no idea what this discussion was about.

Gamora frowned and fell into deep thought. She looked at Rocket, then at Star-Lord, and said slowly: "Peter, Umbrella is a powerful force, there is no doubt about that. They provided the equipment we are wearing now, and sent us here to carry out the mission. But I have been wondering, why us? If Ego is really your father, why does he want to fight against Umbrella?" There was doubt in her eyes, and she was obviously uneasy about the conspiracy.

Rocket raised his eyebrows, a hint of humor flashed in his eyes, and said with a smile: "Hey, I'm still on the side of Umbrella. At least they provided us with high-tech equipment, which is quite useful. Besides, I prefer to believe in the technology in front of me than the old man in the dream." Although he didn't say it too clearly, the meaning of his words was very clear - in his opinion, Umbrella was far more credible than Peter's so-called "father dream".

Star-Lord widened his eyes and showed an exaggerated expression: "Wow, Rocket, you don't believe me? I'm the captain! Besides, things in the dream are not all nonsense." There was a hint of unwillingness and aftertaste in his tone. He glanced at Gamora's figure, as if defending himself, but he couldn't help grinning, as if he didn't quite believe the dream.

The group continued to move forward, with their usual playfulness and humor in the atmosphere.