CHAPTER 515: CHAPTER 515: THE DIRECTION OF ADVANCEMENT

Although Tony didn’t hide his expression, he absolutely refused to admit it verbally.

However, he believed Ethan wouldn’t refuse, and in fact, Ethan wouldn’t.

Iron Man vs. Batman? It wasn’t like that hadn’t happened before, and besides, it was just a meeting, not necessarily a real fight.

"Just wanting to meet Bruce Wayne, you’ll probably have to wait a while."

The point wasn’t that there were countless Bruce Waynes in countless universes, nor that the Bruce Wayne in Diana’s world hadn’t been born yet.

Rather, it was about which Batman world to go to. At the same time, Ethan needed to finish handling his own affairs before doing this.

The spaceship issue was resolved, and taking Tony to another world to visit and meet Batman could also be considered a way to relax.

"You need to go to another world first to get the spaceship."

"Right!"

"What kind of world is it?"

"You know Alien, right?"

The Marvel universe also had the classic Alien film series. The young Spider-Man, Peter Parker, often used moves from old movies to deal with enemies, with Ant-Man and Ebony Maw being victims.

As Tony gradually became exposed to the concept of the multiverse and had traveled to other universes with Ethan, with his intelligence, he naturally understood this point: many movies were actually real existing worlds, and Ethan had the ability to enter these worlds.

This also vaguely explained why Ethan always knew so many things. He probably watched a lot of movies.

As for whether Ethan watched countless movies first and then gained the ability to travel between planes, using this knowledge to gain benefits in countless universal planes, or whether he first gained the ability to travel the universe and then continuously collected movies and other materials for self-study during his travels, he wasn’t prepared to delve into it.

What he cared more about was that Ethan actually mentioned Alien...

"You’re going to that world? That spaceship doesn’t seem great, does it? It’s better to ask Star-Lord to get you a Ravager ship."

The backdrop of the Alien world was an Earth civilization that had already entered the interstellar age, and it did indeed have spaceships capable of interstellar travel.

However, this film was an old one, and the spaceship that seemed cool and futuristic back then had many things worth criticizing when viewed now. At least Tony couldn’t accept the outdated display equipment and control panel.

"I’m going to a slightly earlier time this time."

"Earlier?"

Tony immediately understood that Ethan must have seen prequels or similar works of Alien in some world, and the spaceship in the prequel looked more like a product of a future interstellar age.

"When are you planning to leave?"

"Soon."

Ethan planned to explain things to everyone and then depart.

Their stay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe wouldn’t be like staying in the "main universe" (Ethan could only consider the universe he lived in as the main universe now), where no matter how long he was away, for them it would only be an instant.

He also had to consider the timeline differences caused by his back-and-forth travel. To avoid his memories becoming chaotic and wasting time sorting out these useless things, Ethan simply synchronized the time flow of this world with his own.

That is, whether he returned to the main universe or went to Prometheus’s location, however much time he experienced, the same amount of time would pass here.

"What? You want to come watch the fun?"

"A little curious, but if you’re leaving immediately, I’m afraid I can’t go with you."

Tony, after all, wasn’t someone without ties. He had a mountain of things to do. Even though he had handed over the position of company president to Pepper Potts, he still had many things he needed to do. The most brilliant inventor in the entire Stark Industries was himself, especially during this period when he had created piles upon piles of new technologies, things that no one but Tony could handle.

If he didn’t spend some time arranging the work at hand in advance, Tony couldn’t go anywhere. Considering he also wanted to meet Bruce Wayne later, it wouldn’t be good to first go out and play with Ethan for a while, only to leave again a few days after returning.

"Once I’ve finished dealing with most of these tasks at hand and Stark Industries has stockpiled enough new technology products, I’ll be much more relaxed."

Tony had too many new technologies on hand. He was currently in the process of organizing them. Once he finished organizing these technologies, Stark Industries couldn’t release all of them at once. They would definitely showcase them one by one.

At this point, Tony would become much more relaxed. By the time Stark Industries had showcased everything he had tinkered with, it would probably have been at least ten years later.

Such a long time was enough for him to tinker with more new things without affecting his ability to do other things.

"I just need to wait here for you to bring the spaceship back."

After chatting with Ethan for a while longer, Tony went back to continue his work.

Speaking of which, Ethan didn’t see Howard and Maria this time he returned. He asked Tony and learned that Howard and Maria’s "recovery" was going very well. They had gone out a few days ago, planning to see this somewhat unfamiliar world with their own eyes, and were expected to return in two or three months.

Ethan nodded, indicating he understood. Although they looked very young on the outside, they had adult souls inside and certainly wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Moreover, with the Stark family’s wealth, they would definitely have bodyguards accompanying them, which was enough to handle most situations. For minority situations, Tony had also specially made gadgets for them that could protect them from harm for a certain period and buy him time to come to their rescue.

With so many safety measures, what was there to worry about?

After seeing Tony off, Ethan didn’t go to see anyone else but returned to his room, first taking a good shower and changing clothes, then sitting on the sofa to relax for a while, taking the opportunity to ponder his future path.

Getting the spaceship was already decided.

And then?

Hand the spaceship over to Tony, let him help with some modifications, and then pilot the reinforced Prometheus aimlessly through the vast universe?

Sounds a bit boring? There has to be a goal, right?

In the past, in the training ground, he just kept moving forward, charging through stormy seas, wanting to see what the next place looked like, what was there.

He also somewhat had the idea of finding the legendary endless land, that others hadn’t done it but he had, which would show how special he was.

Such thoughts, to some extent, became the driving force that kept him moving forward.

"What are you thinking about?"

While Ethan was resting (or spacing out?), Logan and Ada came over one after another. Looking at Ethan, who was sprawled out on the sofa, they were very curious about what was wrong with their captain today, who was occasionally a bit eccentric but usually seemed very energetic.

"Thinking about how the future path should go?"

"You actually get a headache over this?"

Logan poured himself a glass of whiskey without being asked, then casually poured lemonade for Ada and Ethan respectively.

Having spent so much time together, even if not intentionally learning, they would know some of their companions’ preferences.

For example, Ethan usually didn’t drink alcohol as a beverage. Even with his current physical condition, many high-proof alcohols had no effect on him, but he still preferred to drink beverages.

Ada preferred "healthier" food and drinks, such as plain water or lemonade, and rarely even drank juice.

Taking the lemonade from Logan, Ethan said, "Why wouldn’t I get a headache over this? You should know our current situation very well."

The entire team could be said to be developing steadily, but this referred to individual strength. As for the team’s goal, there really wasn’t one.

Modred, for example, had personal goals like learning knowledge, gaining experience, and improving strength, but this had little to do with the team around Ethan.

Previously, everyone had a direction, sailing forward diligently.

Now that they had a new spaceship, where should they go? Just wander aimlessly in the universe?

"Actually, I think aimless sailing is quite nice."

Logan liked this kind of life, but he knew not everyone would have the same idea as him. Without a big goal to "unite" everyone, perhaps the bored members would use their energy for internal conflicts.

Thinking of this situation, Logan understood why Ethan was getting a headache.

"Actually... I don’t think you need to worry too much about this."

Ada, who hadn’t spoken, suddenly offered a completely different view.

"The people on the ship now aren’t the type of personalities who really care about this kind of thing."

Thinking carefully about the personalities of the crew members, Ethan realized that the companions he had found did have some similar characteristics. These people, to put it nicely, were content with their lot, and to put it bluntly, lacked ambition. It seemed no one liked to stir up trouble.

The one most likely to cause trouble, Imhotep, his greatest wish was just to live happily with Anck-su-namun forever. Now that this wish had been fulfilled, he only hoped to serve Ethan and gain the opportunity to become a god (at least a divine servant).

"Was I overthinking?"

"Not exactly, but it’s a good thing if there’s a goal in front of everyone to strive for together, even if that goal... isn’t so grand."

It was essentially about finding something to attract everyone’s attention, and a more ordinary goal was much easier to find.

For example, travel around the universe and see more, figure out what happened to the Empire and how it is now. If possible, help Betty find her relatives along the way.

"Let’s talk about these things after you get back the spaceship you’ve decided on. Are you going to get the spaceship now?"

"Do you want to come along?"

"Of course, I agreed to join your team precisely to see all sorts of strange worlds!" This was also Ada’s purpose for joining. This kind of novel and interesting adventurous life was what she wanted.

So far, she hadn’t grown tired of this life, and she felt that she probably wouldn’t for a long time.

"I’ll ask who else is interested, and then we’ll set off."

(To be continued.)