Chương 112: Chapter 112: The First Temporary Resident Permit 

Hearing the bizarre request, Luke turned around in confusion. To his utter bewilderment, he found a young woman wearing an incredibly eccentric, futuristic outfit sitting comfortably on his living room couch. 

Luke raised an eyebrow. 

"Did you accidentally walk onto the wrong movie set?" 

The girl looked down, inspecting her own outfit, and seemed genuinely confused by his comment. "What's wrong with it?" 

Luke examined her closely. She had stunningly long, smooth dark hair, an incredibly fit figure, and a cute, flawless face. Her overall appearance was so impossibly perfect she looked exactly like a character who had just stepped out of a high-budget anime or comic book. 

"I'm seriously starting to suspect you accidentally crossed over from some sort of comic book dimension." Luke noticed the gaming controller in her hands. He glanced at his television screen and realized that while she had been casually talking to him, she was simultaneously completely dominating an online multiplayer match. 

Watching her execute flawlessly complex combos and highly strategic maneuvers, Luke nodded in quiet respect. Well, that's slightly humiliating. Out of everyone I know, am I seriously the absolute worst gamer? 

Seeing the girl secure another flawless victory and immediately move to queue up for the next match, Luke quickly walked over and forcefully turned off the console. He turned to face her. 

"Playing games is fine, but could you please introduce yourself first? And explain exactly why you are in my apartment?" 

The girl placed the controller down and offered a bright, playful smile. 

"My name is Galacta. I am, technically speaking, an extraterrestrial entity. I am currently temporarily residing on Earth. Previously, because Earth lacked a unified, singular authority figure, I chose to remain completely hidden and avoid all contact. However, upon hearing that Earth has recently appointed an official Lord, I immediately came here to formally apply for a Temporary Resident Permit." 

Galacta spoke cheerfully, her entire demeanor exuding the radiant, energetic aura of a classic shonen protagonist. 

"Galacta, huh." Luke nodded, looking at the girl. Even with his infamous inability to recognize faces, he had to admit she was undeniably gorgeous. 

"While I am certainly thrilled that Earth has earned your favor, and I appreciate your desire to reside here legally, I must apologize. Earth currently does not possess any sort of bureaucratic infrastructure for processing extraterrestrial visas or resident permits," Luke shrugged helplessly. 

"After all, I literally just got appointed a few hours ago, and I currently have absolutely zero administrative staff," Luke said, sitting down on the opposite couch. "However, assuming you harbor absolutely no malicious intent toward the planet, I can informally grant you permission to stay. It's not like Earth isn't already secretly crawling with aliens anyway." 

Considering Nick Fury has a secret army of shape-shifting Skrulls living on Earth, there are probably thousands of extraterrestrial and extra-dimensional entities hiding here that I don't even know about. Including that bastard Mephisto, who is constantly trying to scam people out of their souls. 

"That is wonderful to hear! You can absolutely rest assured, I harbor absolutely no malicious intent toward Earth! On the contrary, I have actually secretly protected this planet numerous times!" Galacta declared enthusiastically. 

"Is that so?" Luke looked at her energetic, earnest expression, feeling a sudden, playful urge to tease her. 

He reached into a drawer, pulled out a completely ordinary notepad and a pen, and adopted an incredibly serious, bureaucratic expression. 

"Very well. Although I have not yet officially established the 'Extraterrestrial Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau,' I suppose I can manually process your initial registration." 

Seeing him acting so official, Galacta immediately sat up straight, placing her hands neatly in her lap, eagerly waiting for the interview. 

"Alright. First question. What is your full name?" Luke asked, casually clicking his pen. 

"Galacta. However, you may also call me Gali. That is the localized alias I utilize while residing among the human population." 

Luke nodded, dramatically scribbling a completely meaningless, illegible squiggle on the notepad. "Understood. Next: Gender? And Age?" 

"Hmm. I am entirely unsure if my specific species technically adheres to conventional biological gender binaries, but based on morphological characteristics, I identify as female. As for my age... I am approximately a few hundred years old, give or take. I have spent the vast majority of my existence constantly wandering the cosmos, being aggressively chased away by the Lords of various planets, so I haven't meticulously tracked the passage of time." 

"Well, that sounds rather depressing," Luke noted sympathetically, jotting down another squiggle. "So, in terms of your species' lifespan, are you technically considered an adult? For context, humans are generally considered adults at eighteen." 

Galacta thought about this very seriously. "Based on that metric, I am absolutely not an adult. My father has lived for an unimaginably long time. My few centuries of existence likely don't even register as a microscopic fraction of his lifespan." 

"A long-lived cosmic species, then," Luke asked, his curiosity piqued. "Who exactly is your father? Do you know roughly how old he is?" 

Galacta considered it for a moment, then shook her head helplessly. "My father is Galactus. As for exactly how long he has lived... I honestly have no idea. I believe he has existed since the very inception of the current universe." 

Luke nodded slowly. Wow, her dad, Galactus, has lived for a really long time. But he can't be that important, considering I've never even seen him in any of the MCU movies... 

Wait. 

Galactus?! 

Luke's eyes suddenly bulged out of his skull. He stared at Galacta in absolute, unadulterated horror. 

"Are you talking about... GALACTUS, THE DEVOURER OF WORLDS?! The massive, cosmic entity that literally floats around space EATING entire planets?!" 

Luke suddenly remembered exactly what that name represented. He remembered watching the old Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie. 

No wonder she couldn't find a place to stay in the universe! Just dropping the name 'Galactus' is enough to make any planetary ruler instantly wet their pants in terror and banish her immediately! 

Think about it! What if Galactus randomly decides to visit his daughter one weekend, looks down at Earth, thinks 'Hey, this planet looks like a tasty little snack,' and casually eats it in two bites?! 

Luke frowned deeply, seriously reconsidering whether allowing Galacta to remain on Earth was an incredibly stupid, apocalyptic mistake. 

Seeing Luke's deeply troubled expression, Galacta began to panic. She was terrified he was going to reject her application. This happened every single time. The moment anyone learned her father's name, they were instantly consumed by absolute terror and violently chased her away. 

While Luke was indeed frowning, his internal logic was vastly different from what she feared. 

I only know about the Devourer of Worlds from the Fantastic Four movie. But honestly? Galactus wasn't even that impressive in the movie. The Silver Surfer completely stole the show, and ultimately, it was the Silver Surfer who easily stopped Galactus from eating Earth. 

In fact, the internet memes were endless. "The Invincible Galactus falls again!" 

Based on that, Galactus doesn't seem completely unstoppable. Furthermore, if his beloved daughter is currently living on Earth, wouldn't she be able to convince him NOT to eat the planet? 

Surely a cosmic planet-eater wouldn't literally eat the planet his daughter is living on, right? 

After a few moments of internal debate, Luke decided to gather more information. If she didn't pose an immediate, apocalyptic threat, he might still let her stay. 

"So... do you suffer from the exact same... 'Cosmic Hunger' as your father?" Luke asked, staring at her intensely. 

Sensing a slight softening in his attitude, Galacta nodded frantically. "While I do possess a similar, innate Cosmic Hunger, I assure you, I have absolute, perfect control over my impulses! I will absolutely never pose a threat to Earth's ecosystem or population! On the contrary, I have actively protected Earth from numerous invasive biological and extra-dimensional threats!" 

Galacta enthusiastically began counting on her fingers. "Ever since I arrived on Earth, I have secretly intercepted and devoured countless hostile extraterrestrial scouts and extra-dimensional entities! I've eaten so many random aliens I've lost count. But I definitely remember the extra-dimensional ones! For example, there is a highly persistent entity you call 'Mephisto.' I have personally eaten approximately three of him! However, they were purely energy-based constructs, so I assume they were merely localized avatars or clones." 

"Are you serious?!" Luke stared at her in sheer astonishment. 

Mephisto, the terrifying Lord of Hell, possessed unimaginable, apocalyptic magical power. His ultimate goal was to violently drag the entire planet Earth into his Hell Dimension and devour every single human soul. 

It was only through the relentless, eternal vigilance of the Ancient One and the lineage of Sorcerers Supreme that Mephisto and the other Dimensional Lords were held at bay. However, Mephisto still constantly managed to slip minor avatars and clones onto Earth to cause chaos and subtly manipulate events. 

And according to Galacta... the terrifying, apocalyptic avatars of the Lord of Hell were nothing more than casual, bite-sized snacks to her?! 

"You literally ate Mephisto's avatars?!" Luke asked, completely fascinated. 

Galacta nodded eagerly. One of the primary reasons she loved residing on Earth was that the planet possessed a unique, inexplicable cosmic gravity that constantly attracted numerous hostile, extra-dimensional entities. This provided her with a highly reliable, steady stream of 'snacks' without her having to hunt across the galaxy. 

"So... what exactly does a Lord of Hell taste like?" Luke asked, genuinely curious. 

Galacta frowned, thinking hard. Her Cosmic Hunger was usually so overwhelmingly intense that the moment a 'snack' entered her mouth, she instantly swallowed it without chewing. 

Honestly, when you're starving to death, you don't really care about the flavor profile. 

Seeing Galacta struggling to process the concept of 'taste,' Luke quickly waved his hand, telling her to stop thinking. He didn't want the poor girl to break the fourth wall and overheat her brain trying to describe the culinary nuances of a demonic soul. 

Luke leaned back and evaluated the situation. 

If she's telling the truth, Galacta isn't a threat to Earth at all. In fact, she is a massive, incredibly valuable asset! She's basically the ultimate, autonomous, cosmic anti-virus software, actively roaming the planet and passively eating any hostile dimensional incursions! 

Therefore, issuing this Resident Permit is an absolute must! 

Having repeatedly, firmly confirmed that Galacta could perfectly control her hunger and wouldn't accidentally eat a city, Luke grabbed a piece of blank printer paper. He casually scribbled the words "OFFICIAL TEMPORARY RESIDENT PERMIT" in large, messy letters, signed his name at the bottom, and formally handed it to her with a completely straight face. 

Galacta received the incredibly cheap, unimpressive piece of paper as if it were a supreme, holy artifact. After centuries of wandering, she had finally found a place in the universe that didn't violently discriminate against her purely because of her terrifying heritage. 

Seeing her genuine, radiant joy, Luke felt confident in his decision. Despite her terrifying lineage, Galacta possessed the innocent, straightforward personality of an ordinary teenager. She was incredibly endearing. 

However, considering her terrifying, Mephisto-eating combat power, Luke felt it would be a massive waste to simply let her sit around playing video games all day. 

"Hey, since you're officially living here now... how would you feel about working for me?" Luke proposed casually. "I am currently attempting to establish an official, global defense organization to protect Earth, as well as an administrative platform to facilitate diplomatic relations and technological exchange between Earth and the other cosmic realms. Currently, I am severely understaffed." 

Galacta thought for a moment. "Will I receive a salary?" 

In truth, she would have accepted the job even without pay. Her 'job' would likely just consist of hunting down and eating hostile dimensional avatars anyway. Getting official permission to eat her fill, while being explicitly protected by the Lord of the Earth from terrified locals, was a win-win situation. 

Seeing her clear interest, Luke reached into the Dark Dimension and pulled out several highly compressed, incredibly dense Dark Energy Crystals. 

"How about I use these as your salary? Considering your father sustains himself by consuming immense amounts of raw cosmic energy, I assume you operate on a similar biological mechanism. Therefore, I can simply provide you with raw energy crystals as compensation." 

Fearing she might decline, Luke quickly added, "After all, the primary reason humans work is to earn money to buy food and feed themselves. You work for me, and I provide you with high-quality energy to satiate your hunger. It's a perfectly logical arrangement, right?" 

To his surprise, Galacta looked at the incredibly dense, pure energy crystals with profound, absolute awe. Tears of genuine emotion welled up in her eyes. She eagerly snatched the crystals from Luke's hand. 

"You're telling me that not only do I get to eat the delicious extra-dimensional snacks... but you are also going to PAY me with pure energy just for eating them?! I promise you, boss! I will work incredibly hard! I will absolutely eat every single hostile entity on this planet!!!"