Chapter 757

Knowhere was one of the strangest places in the universe.

Despite the crowds of people living and working there, it wasn’t a planet or an artificial space station. It was the severed head of an ancient celestial being, a colossal fossilized skull drifting through space.

The Tivan Group had discovered the place and claimed control over it. Its workers harvested whatever valuable material remained inside the ancient remains, including brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid. Apparently, there was a thriving market for such things.

Profit was the Tivan Group’s only real concern. Although it controlled Knowhere, it had little interest in policing the people who lived there. The place operated under a single rule: Don’t touch anything belonging to the Tivan Group. Everything else is fair game.

As a result, Knowhere had become a haven for space pirates, mercenaries, smugglers, and adventurers. Theft, robbery, murder, and black-market trading were everyday occurrences.

"Not bad," Evenson remarked.

He was walking through the city’s crowded streets, looking around with undisguised curiosity. Compared with Asgard, Knowhere’s futuristic architecture was much closer to his idea of what an alien settlement ought to look like.

"I could do without the smell, and the atmosphere leaves something to be desired, but I have to admit this place has its charms."

"What’s so charming about it?"

Sif walked beside him, still wearing her familiar armor, though she’d added a broad cloak to conceal what she carried. Her right hand held a lantern-shaped container tucked carefully beneath the fabric. Her left was pressed over her nose, and her expression suggested she’d rather fight an army of Frost Giants than spend another minute here.

"What a filthy, miserable place."

Sif held a high position in Asgardian society. She wasn’t some pampered noble who had never seen a battlefield, but she had little patience for places like this.

"Freedom," Evenson replied with a shrug. "That’s what makes it interesting. Everything you see here is freedom in its purest form."

Sif glanced around and shook her head.

"I suppose it is."

Since arriving through the Bifrost, they’d already witnessed several street fights. Each had ended with someone dead, and the bystanders had barely bothered to look.

Asgardians valued strength and martial prowess, but even they maintained rules. Duels were acceptable. Random brawling wasn’t. On Knowhere, there seemed to be no distinction between the two. People ganged up on opponents, attacked from behind, threw bags over their enemies’ heads, and used whatever dirty tricks came to mind.

Evenson continued walking.

"I’ve heard plenty of people complain about how restrictive their societies are," he said. "They ask why they can’t carry a gun, why they need permits for certain weapons, why they can’t do whatever they want. Apparently, rules and laws mean they’re not free."

Something round bounced across the street and rolled to a stop in front of him.

Evenson glanced down.

It was a severed head belonging to some alien species he didn’t recognize.

He stepped over it without breaking stride. Nobody nearby gave it a second look.

"I always find those complaints amusing," he continued. "They never seem to consider that if they have the freedom to do whatever they want, everyone else has the same freedom. Nobody’s going to stop someone from killing you. Nobody’s going to help you, either. Everyone survives on their own merits."

He spread his hands.

"Here, the strong kill the weak, and sooner or later, someone stronger comes along to kill them. That’s what absolute freedom looks like."

Before Sif could reply, a group of children came swarming through the crowd.

They squeezed between the two Asgardians, bumping against them as they passed.

"Careful!" Sif warned.

She immediately drew the lantern-shaped container closer to her chest and used her cloak to conceal it more thoroughly.

"Watch your pockets."

Knowhere had no child-protection laws worth mentioning. The absence of such laws didn’t make the children better behaved. It simply meant that survival was harder for them than it was for almost anyone else.

Children were vulnerable, and their small size made them easy to overlook in a crowd. Unscrupulous adults exploited that fact, organizing them into pickpocketing gangs. In larger groups, they could strip an unsuspecting traveler of valuables before the victim even realized what had happened.

Some gangs went further. They murdered people who lowered their guard, then vanished into the crowds.

Evenson didn’t appear concerned.

He continued strolling forward with his hands behind his back.

"Relax. I’ve never owned a wallet. Too expensive."

Sif gave him a look that suggested she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or reconsider their friendship.

They soon reached their destination.

The building stood apart from the surrounding chaos. The streets immediately around it were strangely quiet, with passersby making a point of giving the place a wide berth. It looked almost like a forbidden zone.

Evenson studied the entrance.

The building itself seemed rather unimpressive. Judging by the front door, it was only a little larger than his own shop.

"Are we really going to leave the Aether in a place like this?"

That was the purpose of their journey: to deposit the Aether, the substance that contained the Reality Stone, somewhere far from Asgard.

The mission had originally been Sif’s alone, but Evenson had insisted on coming along. Interstellar travel was simply too tempting to pass up.

Even a committed shut-in might reconsider his lifestyle if someone offered him an all-expenses-paid trip to another planet.

Besides, Evenson had hopes of finding something valuable while he was out here. Perhaps he’d stumble across some priceless alien artifact that could be purchased for the equivalent of a handful of glass marbles.

Stranger things had happened.

He rubbed his head thoughtfully.

"Honestly, what was Odin thinking? Did he take the wrong medication?"

"Watch your mouth!" Sif snapped, glaring at him. "That’s disrespectful to the All-Father."

Then she paused.

"Although, to be fair, the king did take some rather powerful medicine recently. His judgment may have been affected."

Evenson turned to her.

"Wait, he really took medicine? Is he sick?"

"Thor made him sick," Sif replied bitterly.

The moment she mentioned Thor, her expression soured.

"Imagine abandoning your kingdom to run off to Earth and spend his days with that human woman!"

She was genuinely upset. The Dark Elves had finally been dealt with, and she’d thought she might have some time to spend with Thor. Instead, he’d left without so much as a proper goodbye and gone straight back to Earth.

Fortunately, Frigga had promised that Sif could visit Earth whenever she wanted.

That was something, at least.

Evenson gave a dry laugh.

Thor’s decision was difficult to judge. The idea of abandoning a crown for love sounded romantic in a story, but in reality, it was an extraordinarily irresponsible thing to do.

No wonder Odin had been driven to medication.

The old king had spent millennia building an empire, only to discover that none of his three sons seemed particularly interested in inheriting it.

The eldest had openly rebelled. The youngest was a walking conspiracy. And Thor, the middle child, had found a more creative way to ruin his father’s life. Rather than overthrow Odin with weapons or schemes, he’d simply abandoned the throne and left the old man to stew in frustration.

At least Frigga was still there for him.

If she hadn’t been, Evenson wasn’t sure Odin would have found much reason to get out of bed.

He shook his head.

Well, he wished them all the best.

Sif drew him back to the matter at hand.

"Even though the order was issued while the All-Father wasn’t feeling well, the queen explained the reasoning behind it. The Tesseract is already being kept in Asgard. The Aether cannot remain there as well. Keeping two Infinity Stones in the same place is unwise."

She paused and gave him a pointed look.

"As for why we’re bringing the Aether here, even someone as foolish as you can see that Knowhere is an unsuitable location. Which is exactly why nobody would expect us to hide it here."

Evenson nodded slowly.

"Reverse psychology. Hide it somewhere so suspicious that everyone assumes you wouldn’t possibly hide it there."

Then his expression changed.

"Hold on. What do you mean, someone as foolish as me? I’m not foolish! If you weren’t my friend, I’d be offended."

"Of course," Sif said, waving away his protest. "You’re a genius."

She turned and walked inside.

Evenson watched her go.

"That was the least sincere compliment I’ve ever received."

He followed her through the entrance.

And promptly stopped in his tracks.

The interior was enormous, bearing no resemblance to the modest building outside. Rows of transparent display cases stretched away in every direction, stacked in layers and filled with an astonishing assortment of specimens.

Some were dead. Others were alive.

There were plants, animals, and creatures that looked disturbingly close to intelligent life. Their forms were so bizarre that Evenson briefly wondered whether he’d wandered into an interstellar freak show.

Then he spotted something particularly familiar.

He approached the display case and peered inside.

"Now, what are you supposed to be?"

The creature inside sat quietly on four legs.

Evenson studied it from several angles.

"...A dog?"

It looked exactly like a dog. He was almost certain of it.

Almost.

This was Knowhere, after all. He’d seen enough strange alien life to know that appearances could be deceptive. There might be some extraterrestrial creature that happened to resemble an Earth dog, just as Habus had once turned out to be something rather different from what his appearance suggested.

Evenson wasn’t about to embarrass himself by confidently identifying the wrong species.

The creature also wore something resembling a spacesuit.

That was suspicious in itself. Normal dogs didn’t wear spacesuits. Habus had never even received a proper winter coat, much less a suit designed for vacuum exposure.

Evenson circled the display case and examined the back of the suit.

There were several letters printed across it.

CCCP.

Above them sat a large red five-pointed star.

He stared.

Then realization dawned.

"Wait. It really is a dog. And it’s a Soviet dog!"

He remembered reading about the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, back when both nations had sent animals into space. Dogs had been among the earliest passengers in those experiments.

Still, the technology involved was impressive. The Soviet Union had collapsed nearly twenty years ago, yet this dog was apparently still alive.

That was one hell of a survivor.

Before Evenson could investigate further, the owner of the collection finally appeared.

A red-skinned attendant wearing a simple white dress approached and introduced the man accompanying her. He had short white hair, a clean-shaven face, and narrow black stripes painted above his upper lip. A brown outfit and a black-and-white fur cloak completed his unusual appearance.

"Allow me to introduce the Collector, Taneleer Tivan."

"Oh! An Asgardian. What an honor."

Tivan seemed genuinely surprised by Sif’s identity. He immediately stepped back and bowed in the traditional Asgardian manner.

Sif merely raised an eyebrow.

"You know why we’re here."

Her tone was brisk and businesslike. She had no intention of wasting time on formalities.

"Indeed," Tivan replied. He was clearly well informed about the purpose of their visit. "But may I ask why you aren’t keeping it in Asgard?"

Sif drew breath to explain.

Evenson spoke first.

"Is that really important? You clearly enjoy collecting things. We’re bringing you something rare, and you’re getting it without having to hunt it down yourself. Whatever our reasons, I doubt you’ll turn down the opportunity."

"Quite right."

Taneleer Tivan was the head of the Tivan Group, and his passion for collecting had long since crossed the line into obsession.

If he considered something worth possessing, almost nothing could persuade him to let it go. He would sacrifice his fortune, his family, or even his own life to acquire a truly valuable specimen.

The circumstances surrounding the Aether were hardly going to discourage him.

"Then take good care of it," Sif said.

She handed him the container holding the Aether.

Tivan accepted it with both hands, gripping the box as though it were the most precious thing in the universe.

"I assure you," he said, his voice thick with excitement. "It will be perfectly safe in my collection."

With that, Sif and Evenson took their leave.

They reached the Bifrost’s designated pickup point without incident. Once there, however, Evenson stopped.

"You go ahead. I think I’ll spend a little more time looking around."

Sif stared at him.

"What? Why? There’s nothing worth seeing here." She glanced at the surrounding streets with undisguised distaste. "And if you don’t come with me, how do you intend to get back?"

"I have my ways."

Evenson patted her shoulder.

"It’s not every day I get to visit a place where people can do whatever they want without worrying about the law. I’d like to enjoy the freedom while I’m here."

Sif shook her head.

"Fine. Just be careful. Don’t let someone trick you out of everything you own."

"Don’t worry."

Evenson had already turned away, waving over his shoulder as he walked off.

"Do you honestly think it’s easy to steal my money? I don’t have any!"

He wandered through the streets for a while, taking a few turns here and there.

Eventually, he found himself back at the Collector’s establishment.

This time, he was carrying something new.

It was a cage shaped rather like a birdcage, covered with a cloth that concealed whatever was inside. Evenson strolled toward the entrance, humming cheerfully and swinging the cage as though he were carrying a basket of groceries.

The Collector heard him approaching and hurried over to greet his visitor.

When he saw Evenson, he looked puzzled.

"You again? Is there something you need?"

"I’ve come to make a deal."

Evenson grinned and tapped the covered cage with a finger.

The cage immediately began to shake violently.

Something inside let out a piercing cry.

The Collector’s eyes narrowed with interest.

"I’ve heard you’re fond of collecting all sorts of things," Evenson said. "And that you’re willing to pay handsomely for anything that catches your eye."

He gave the cage another little tap.

"Fortunately, I happen to have a specimen you might like."

The shrill sound from within rose again.

Evenson’s smile widened.

"So, how much are you willing to pay?"