Bab 134: Chapter 134: Return to Earth
After enjoying themselves on Void Island, the members of the Void Church cleaned up after themselves, tidied the place, and found spots to rest for the night.
"Sir, it's been a long time since you've attended such a lively event," Jarvis chimed in as Tony, having eaten his fill, headed back to his lab.
"And you got to witness something truly spectacular," the AI continued.
"Yeah, good thing I stayed. I would've missed it otherwise," Tony replied with a grin. "But it's time to head home now. We'll talk more on the way."
"Pepper's probably going crazy waiting for me by now," Tony added.
"Miss Potts is a strong woman," Jarvis noted. "Although she has expressed her frustrations, she didn't oppose your decision to extend your stay here."
"I know, that's why I want to surprise her by heading home now," Tony said with a satisfied smile.
Upon arriving at the lab, Tony immediately boarded the spaceship parked outside. With Jarvis at the controls, they ascended into the clouds, shot through the atmosphere, and were soon speeding back through space toward Earth.
Tony wasn't too worried about Harvey. After all, if Harvey wanted to, he could easily travel back and forth between Xandar and Earth.
But Tony was curious to see firsthand what trouble Harvey had warned him about—something that might entangle him.
Harvey, meanwhile, lingered on Xandar for another two days.
After saying goodbye to Sonya, who waved him off, Harvey set foot on his path back to Earth.
It had been a year since Harvey had last been at his Earth-side estate. After spending that time on the vibrant and chaotic Void Island on Xandar, returning to the quiet of his home felt... a bit unsettling.
"Lights," Harvey called out.
The estate instantly lit up. He had already resolved to stop being so lazy, so the shift back to his Earthly life was welcomed.
Harvey removed his Kassadin battle armor and changed into something more comfortable. While life on Earth was quieter, the fact that he didn't need to maintain Kassadin's persona allowed him to relax differently.
For the first time in a while, Harvey logged into his favorite game. His inbox was flooded with messages from the game's admin team. They'd assumed his long absence meant there were game features he was unhappy with, which led him to quit. There were eight messages in total, all checking if anything had gone wrong.
Harvey was a pretty laid-back player, especially since this game was mainly about raising pets. He didn't have any real complaints.
Still, this game was one of Harvey's few indulgences on Earth. Spending some money on it was normal for him.
After skimming through the updates and learning about the latest in-game purchases and mythical pets, Harvey immediately began buying things. He purchased ninety sets of every useful in-game item and a large stockpile of upgrade stones. Soon, his username started appearing in announcements across the server.
"Wait, didn't this guy quit?"
"Yeah, it's been at least a year, right?"
"Who is this dude?"
"The literal god of this game," someone replied.
"Nobody else can outspend him when he's around."
"Spending all that money without blinking? Man, if I had that cash, I'd be out chasing girls, not wasting it here."
"Maybe he's had too much of that and just needs some downtime in a game?" someone suggested.
"Is this guy for real?"
"He's definitely for real. This guy's a whale in every game he plays."
Comparisons between regular players and people like Harvey would only frustrate them further.
It was almost Christmas, and aside from restaurants and hotels, most people were off for the holidays, lounging at home.
The game was packed, thanks to the Christmas event, and many players couldn't help but notice the sudden return of this god-tier player—Harvey, also known as the "Buddhist Player."
Harvey's return even caught the attention of the game's developers. Some achievements, like upgrading thirty times, were just theoretical caps the devs never expected anyone to hit. But today, Harvey had done it.
With that, it was confirmed: the whale had returned.
The developers, who had previously feared that the game's top spender had abandoned them, could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The devs had tried multiple times to reach out during his absence, worried that he'd quit for good, but they never got a response.
Now, Harvey was back—and already spending big.
"Looks like we'll have a great Christmas this year," one of the developers remarked as they watched the revenue numbers climb.
While Harvey was busy upgrading his pets, he decided to indulge in some fast food as well. He'd been eating fancy meals prepared by Sonya's chefs back on Xandar, but there was no fried chicken or burgers to be found there.
Now that he was back on Earth, Harvey ordered a mountain of junk food and a bunch of soft drinks to go with it.
From morning until evening, Harvey spent the entire day upgrading his pets, using sheer amounts of money to bypass any random chance in the game. After maxing out every pet to its strongest form, Harvey wrapped up his daily tasks in-game. Satisfied, he logged off.
In most online games, spending money is basically like using a cheat code. It makes you the strongest, lets you sweep through dungeons, and ensures you get the best rewards from missions.
At 10 PM on December 23rd, a spaceship equipped with anti-detection technology descended upon Stark's estate.
The arrival of this ship immediately drew the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Tony Stark's year-long disappearance had already been noted by the organization. Pepper Potts had been asked about his whereabouts multiple times, but she never offered much besides confirming that Tony was safe.
Now, they watched as a ship clearly decades ahead of Earth's current tech landed at Stark's estate.
Nick Fury's gaze turned sharp as he watched the scene.
"Where did Tony Stark get his hands on a spaceship like that?" he mused.
Agent Coulson, equally stunned by the advanced craft, couldn't help but wonder the same thing. They hadn't seen Tony disembark yet, but given where it had landed, it was most likely tied to Stark.
This situation left Coulson perplexed. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been studying spacecraft technology for years, using rare materials and advanced science that most on Earth couldn't even access.
Even so, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s progress had been slow, and there were still plenty of obstacles they hadn't overcome.
Yet here was Tony Stark, returning after a year with what looked like a fully functional spaceship.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone