Two days had passed since the last announcement.
"Put a bounty on those two, one hundred million each!" Ronan ordered.
By now, Daniel and Carol's names had become a taboo among the Kree, and subconsciously, none of them wanted to utter those two names.
"One hundred million?" the adjutant asked.
One hundred million cosmic credits was no small sum! Even in the future, when the Guardians of the Galaxy would be notorious across the cosmos, the Sovereign would only put a bounty of one million units on them.
This time, Daniel and Carol were going to be famous.
The wildly famous kind, and every adventurer in the universe, and even some small alien races, would probably chase them relentlessly.
"My Lord, they would know about our bounty. Won't they...?" the adjutant hesitated.
"We can't just do nothing," Ronan shot the adjutant a look. "This is to give our people closure!"
Ronan thought for a moment, then added, "Bring Yon-Rogg here."
Soon, Yon-Rogg was brought before Ronan.
"Everyone else, out," Ronan commanded.
The others complied and left the room. Yon-Rogg kept his head down, slumping on the floor.
"Raise your head and look at me."
Their eyes met.
"Tell me, if our people found out that you caused all of this, what do you think your end would be?" Ronan asked.
Yon-Rogg said nothing.
"Angry citizens would throw you into a swarm of Shak-worms to be devoured bit by bit! Honestly, I feel like doing that right now!"
Hearing Ronan's words, Yon-Rogg finally spoke in a raspy voice, "I am guilty..."
"You... forget it!" Ronan cut himself off. "Give me their contact information. I know you have it."
Yon-Rogg looked at Ronan in confusion.
......
Inside Daniel's spaceship.
"Ultron, how much longer until we reach Knowhere?" Daniel asked listlessly.
He was bored out of his mind. Traveling alone through space without a companion meant the only one he could talk to was Ultron, and Ultron could only manage basic conversation.
Daniel regretted it a little; he should have gone with Carol.
"It's been four days! Four whole days!"
Daniel was never someone who could handle loneliness well.
"It will take another week, sir," Ultron replied.
"Another week?! I'm going crazy!" Daniel ran his hands through his hair, turning a bit frantic.
"Sir, you have a message."
"Pull it up, let me see," Daniel said.
Ultron projected the message, and a line of text appeared:
You and your sister are officially wanted by us.
— Ronan
Seeing the message, Daniel chuckled. He actually found it quite amusing, both the fact that he was wanted and Ronan's dramatic flair.
"Ultron, check the latest bounty postings," Daniel ordered.
"Right away, sir."
Ultron projected a wanted list, and right at the top, glowing a bright red, was the bounty notice for Daniel and Carol, showing pictures of both of them with only a single sentence.
Kree Bounty: 100 million per person.
There was no other information.
Looking at his own photo, Daniel complained, "They made me look ugly. Ultron, send them a photo of me wearing my silver suit."
Daniel knew Ronan would understand his message.
The novelty of being wanted helped Daniel kill another half a day, but once that passed, he fell right back into boredom.
"Damn it, if I knew it would be like this, I would've had Tony design a game for me to play!" Daniel grumbled.
Daniel usually acted on pure instinct. He hadn't thought things through when he left, and now he was bored to tears.
"No, this won't do. Ultron!" Daniel said.
"I am here, sir."
"Where is the nearest planet with intelligent life?" Daniel asked.
"Fifteen light-years away," Ultron answered.
"How long will it take to get there?"
"Only a single jump, so roughly an hour."
"Okay, let's go there. I need to stretch my legs. I'm suffocating in here!"
"Yes, sir."
...
Stepping onto solid ground, Daniel felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
"Ah, this is the life!" Daniel sighed in relief.
Looking out, everything before his eyes was a lush, vibrant green, making it clear that this was a very verdant planet.
As far as the eye could see, a massive forest stretched out like a green ocean, with the trees growing dense and tall, reaching hundreds of meters into the sky and giving off a comfortable, refreshing coolness.
Sunlight filtered through the thick layers of leaves like fine grains of golden sand, scattering over the grass, while the ground was covered in countless, unrecognizable alien flowers blooming in all shapes and sizes.
Achoo!
Daniel sneezed.
The smell coming from these strangely shaped flowers was way too foul, so he pinched his nose shut.
Hiss...
A massive beast ran out right in front of Daniel, making a high-pitched sound that completely contradicted its gigantic size.
Looking at this dinosaur-like creature, Daniel beamed with joy.
"Dinner is served!"
The beast was massive and quite plump. Just its single claw was larger than Daniel himself, so he figured it had to taste delicious.
Chef Daniel was already planning out the menu in his head.
Looking at the alien beast, Daniel wasn't worried about getting an upset stomach either. His stomach was incredibly strong, far tougher than any normal person.
And if dirt tasted good, Daniel would have literally eaten an entire planet. Too bad it tasted awful.
Daniel leaped up and drove his knee into the beast's leg, snapping it instantly and sending the massive creature crashing to the ground, then followed up with a quick punch to its jaw, causing the beast to stop breathing entirely.
Dragging the beast by its tail, Daniel made his way to a nearby river.
After a quick wash, Daniel used his heat vision to start a fire, sliced off a massive hind leg, stuck it on a spit, and began roasting it over the flames.
Before long, a rich aroma began drifting from the meat in Daniel's hands, and just as Daniel opened his mouth to take a bite...
"Hand over the meat in your hands!"
Daniel turned his head and saw a kid, roughly fifteen or sixteen years old, pointing a gun right at him.
"Me?" Daniel pointed a finger at himself.
"Cut the crap!" The kid gestured with the gun.
"Are you robbing me?" Daniel asked.
"What does it look like?"
Daniel grinned.
'Going out for a walk really is more interesting,' he thought. 'I actually ran into a robber!'
Seeing the kid, who looked almost human, Daniel smiled and got to his feet.
"Don't move, or I'll shoot!" the kid threatened.
"Go ahead," Daniel replied.
The kid was surprisingly decisive, firing a shot right at Daniel's feet and blasting a large hole in the ground.
"This thing isn't a toy!" The kid blew cockily on the barrel of his gun.
"Oh really? Let me see." Holding the giant piece of roasted meat in one hand, Daniel casually snatched the gun right out of the kid's grip.
Flipping it around, Daniel pressed the barrel against his own chest.
Bang!
The gun went off, but Daniel's chest didn't have a single scratch on it.
"It really is just a toy," Daniel noted.
"How... how is that possible?"
The kid hadn't even processed the shock of having his gun stolen before he watched Daniel shoot himself completely unharmed.
"It's just a toy," Daniel repeated, pointing the barrel right back at the kid. "Don't believe me? Try it yourself!"
"Bang!" Daniel mimicked the sound of a gunshot with his mouth.
The kid instantly pulled off a desperate roll, and when he scrambled back up, he realized Daniel hadn't actually pulled the trigger.
"Who are you?" the kid demanded.
"Who are you?" Daniel countered with a smirk.
"Forget it, doesn't matter who you are. From now on, you're coming with me!"
Daniel walked right up to the kid, reached down, and lifted him up by his collar. As it turned out, he was just looking for someone to talk to.