Most human thoughts and behaviors are regular and logical. What thoughts and actions a person will have depend on the situation he is facing now.
It is not surprising that Strange would have such a bold idea. At this time, he was a successful and wealthy man, not only rich, but also very rich.
In the months before he came into contact with Ancient One, his daily life was dealing with the richest and most powerful people in the world.
And when he came into contact with magic, it was not because of frustration that he had to seek help from magic. The invitation from Ancient One to learn magic was more similar to an invitation to an academic exchange meeting in a completely new field.
Therefore, Strange has no reverence for magic at this time. His views are similar to Stark's. Magic is just another kind of energy that can be utilized. What magic is depends mainly on how people use it.
it.
And Schiller helped him make an elimination process, allowing him to block out Wang's so-called spiritual cultivation and peaceful rhetoric, which made him discover that sometimes, solving problems through violence is simple and crude, but it is very effective.
Under this situation, Strange will inevitably start to think and try to find a simpler and more effective way than practicing hard at Kama Taj.
This is a thought that will inevitably arise from human scientific education. The ultimate goal of all experiments is to improve efficiency and speed up production.
And it's not surprising that he would find Stark. Although the two had some conflicts before, when things have developed to this point, they have more common interests. Obviously, they will have greater common ground in the matter of magic.
Benefit.
Stark sat behind the experimental table. He put his elbows on the table and put his hands on his temples and said, "Having said that, this is just an idea at the moment and lacks many necessary conditions for implementation."
He waved his hand and said, "You walked in here and showed me what your magic was, and then the two of us started to have ideas about those powerful aliens."
"Let me tell you, man, if you don't come to see me or Stark, who is full of genius and creativity, others will definitely kick you out as a mentally ill person."
"Humanity has not even built a spaceship, and we are starting to think about borrowing money from aliens. This is really crazy."
Strange sat on the other side of the experimental table, crossed his arms and said: "This idea is indeed bold, but it is not impossible to achieve, it just takes some time."
"It takes a lot of time." Stark said to Strange: "I haven't touched the threshold of magic yet, and you, you are just a magic apprentice, and you haven't even officially used magic yet."
"It seems that we really have to treat this as a long-term plan. By the way, did I remind you? You can't talk about magic casually, so don't tell too many people about this plan."
"Don't worry, even if it's not because of magic, I will prevent some people from learning about your evil plan. They will definitely chatter about it, such as an old man who always calls himself my uncle, and the one who will swing in the sky.
Silly boy wandering around, and..."
Strange said: "I don't know who this plan is to guard against, but..."
Then he raised his head and glanced at Stark, who also looked at him with understanding and said: "...You must know that this plan must not guard against anyone."
In the S.H.I.E.L.D. office, the light bulb above the head flickered on and off. Under the light bulb was a square table with one person sitting on each of the four sides of the table.
Nick and Schiller looked at each other, and Nick said: "So, you are going to rob aliens?"
"Don't say it so harshly." Stark denied: "This is essentially borrowing, borrowing, do you understand?"
"Okay..." Nick opened his mouth to say something, but it seemed that there were too many things he wanted to say, and he couldn't say it for a while.
After a pause, he put his hand on the table, made a calm gesture, and said: "I understand what you just said. There are some powerful creatures with magical energy in this universe. Ordinary
People call them aliens, and magicians call them cosmic demons."
"They can lend their power to humans through some method and let them perform magic. So the essence of magic is the power of the demon god of the universe."
"Now you plan to borrow some power to arm yourself, refuse to repay the debt, and then borrow more power."
“Ignoring whether it’s technically feasible or not…”
As soon as Nick said this, Stark interrupted him and said: "I know it's a bit unethical, but he came up with the plan."
Stark pointed at Strange and betrayed his teammates without any psychological burden. Strange was stunned for a moment, then stared at him.
Nick was also stunned. He said: "Is there any evil in this?"
Nick and Schiller both looked at Stark and Strange with doubts. Stark and Strange looked at each other, and then Stark said: "Well, we shouldn't overestimate you two.
Ethical standards."
Nick was very surprised and said: "It turns out that after you put aside the technical issues, the first issue you considered was the moral issue. This really surprised me."
"But what I'm talking about is not a moral issue, it's a logical issue."
"First of all, according to what you said, the demon gods of the universe are intelligent and can communicate, which proves that they are not stupid."
"It's just like the human credit system. If you borrow money from a bank for the first time and refuse to repay it, it will be impossible for the bank to lend to you again. If the amount is huge, other banks will blacklist you."
"I know that this kind of behavior is more like robbing a bank than borrowing a loan, but the bank is immovable. If you have sufficient force, you can indeed rob it repeatedly, but the devil of the universe is not without legs. They find that you refuse to repay the debt.
, and I can’t beat you, can’t I just run away?”
Nick asked Strange in confusion: "According to what you said, your teacher just borrowed power and refused to repay it, and then beat down all the creditors. Doesn't that mean that all the demon gods in the universe will run away when they see him?"
, then how can he borrow more power?"
"Is there a possibility?" Schiller looked at Nick and said, "You can't run away even if you don't want to use his strength."
Strange gave a more reasonable explanation: "The cosmic demons are not wandering in the universe. Some of the more powerful cosmic demons often have their own territory, such as... what is it? What is the dark dimension, and
The Crimson Dimension, this is what I heard from the king, these are equivalent to the territory of the Universe Demon God."
"That's somewhat feasible." Nick touched his chin and said, "But there are still many problems, especially at the technical level."
Then, the three of them began to discuss how to borrow money to buy a gun, and then use the money and gun to rob.
"I said..." Schiller knocked on the table and said as if he couldn't listen anymore: "Why is your thinking always so limited? Why are you always thinking about violent robbery? Can't you be a little more flexible?
"
The other three people looked at him, and Schiller said helplessly: "This is why you and I are always incompatible. Do you know? What you just said was like gathering in a farm warehouse to play poker and shout about red necks.
.”
"Give up your straight-forward violent thinking. It is the most inefficient method. Robbery of banks has long been out of fashion in this era. Buy a gun, recruit people, prepare a car, refuel the car, visit locations in advance, and plan an escape route.
Wait, this is really troublesome."
"If you have any plans, just tell me." Nick looked at Schiller and said, "I see you've been holding it in for a long time."
"Compared to robbery, we can completely change the way."
"What?"
"cheat."
Schiller spread his hands and said, "What's the highest score for a bank robber? Millions of dollars? And what about the liar?"
"It depends on what kind of liar you are talking about. If it is a successful liar..." Nick looked at Strange and said, "You have to ask him."
"Why are you looking at me?" Strange said angrily, "Compared to some people, what kind of successful liar am I?"
He looked at Stark again, and Stark stared and said, "Why are you looking at me? I'm an industrialist and I don't engage in financial fraud. Besides, I didn't create the immortality factor..."
After speaking, he looked at Schiller, and the other two people also looked at Schiller. Nick said: "At present, you can ask and answer this question for yourself. I have not seen a liar with a more brilliant record than you.
"
"Okay, I have a plan. The idea of borrowing money and not paying it back is outdated. Let's change it to a fashionable term."
"for example?"
"Such as investing."
Schiller put his hands on the table and began his story:
"You see, the current trading method of the Universe Demon God is one-on-one. This trading model is really crude and primitive in the eyes of humans."
"They are still at the level of bartering and face-to-face transactions, but modern finance has completely broken away from this level."
"The first step is to break away from the one-to-one transaction model. We can completely conduct one-to-many transactions or many-to-many transactions. To put it simply, let the demon gods of the universe invest their power in us."
"Then what? The investment must pay off, right?"
"God of the Universe..." Schiller put his hand to the right.
"...Invest your strength..." He put his hand in the middle again.
"...Give it to us." Finally, he put his hand to the left again, indicating that there were three stages.
"More universe demons will invest more power in us." Schiller made three more actions.
Under the curious gazes of the other three people, he suddenly sped up his speech and spit out a long paragraph quickly:
"We use the power of investment from other universe demons to feed back to other universe demons as a return on investment, and tell them that the more they invest, the more they earn."
"Set up a ladder system, formulate promotion levels, and raise rewards step by step. If you pull one Universe Demon God, you can draw 3 points from the transaction amount as a reward. If you pull two Universe Demon Gods, you can draw 7 points, and so on.
The more people you recruit, the more you earn..."
"After the basic market is enlarged, later-stage investments will be started. As a reward for early-stage investors, investment income will increase and investment returns will increase. When the difference reaches an ideal value..."
Schiller spread his hands and said: "...the industry is facing some difficulties caused by force majeure, and we can only say goodbye to everyone temporarily. We deeply regret this."
After he finished speaking, the conference room was quiet for a minute. Stark was the first to speak: "It's a really creative concept... Damn it, isn't this a Ponzi scheme???"
Nick also looked at Schiller and said: "Although I have estimated your moral bottom line as low as possible, its flexibility is still scary."
Schiller suddenly said seriously: "I have always believed that for humans to move towards the universe, they need not only the essence of human civilization, but also some dross."
"Garbage is just resources placed in the wrong place. The essence is the driving force towards the universe, while the dross is the weapon. After all, I am afraid that no cosmic civilization will have as much dross as humans."
"Of course, this is just an entry-level method." Shiller shrugged and said: "After expanding the concept of one-to-many or many-to-many transactions, we have to change the status quo of bartering. That is
It’s a thing from primitive man’s time, it has no general equivalent, how dare they call themselves powerful and developed aliens?”
"With general equivalents, there is the concept of currency, followed by market, supply and demand, crowdfunding, companies, stocks, futures..."
“What human beings want to do is not to be buyers who fail to repay their debts, nor to be villains who treat creditors violently, but to be fair and conscientious bookmakers with good reputation and image, praised by the whole universe.”
"And force is only a necessary means to ensure justice. We can even promise that we will never be the first to use the Supreme Mage."
"Then if they refuse to join, have the Sorcerer Supreme go knock on their door, right?"
"Don't say that. The Supreme Mage even knocked on his door. He even has a chance to live. This is already a great improvement. We are simply the vanguard organization of anti-violence in the universe."
"When we have both force and reason, we can start to establish a trading system, formulate trading rules, and then divide into classes and subdivide them layer by layer. It is justifiable and logical..."
The other three looked at each other in confusion, but Schiller acted very calmly, not like a conspirator who planned to capitalize on the entire universe.
"Of course, these things are things for later. Let's talk about the first plan first. There are many benefits to doing this."
"In fact, this cannot be regarded as a scam, because in the later stage, those early investors will know the truth, but they will not stop. For their own sunk costs, they will help us keep this secret. Not only will they keep the secret, but they will also take the initiative to help us.
We're getting more people."
"This solves the problem of earth's information blockage. Although we don't understand the Universe Demon, the Universe Demon certainly understands the Universe Demon."
"You don't need to explain the principles of the Ponzi scheme. We all know it. But the biggest problem with this scheme is that after you make money and run away, you must find a way to hide yourself and launder the money."
"If this is an individual, then maybe it would be easier to hide it and change its identity, but the earth cannot escape. We can't give up the entire solar system just to get the wool of the universe demon, right?" Nick raised a question.
"If we really start trading, it may be difficult to hide ourselves, but there is another way of thinking, which is to find a strong enough backer, promise him benefits, and let him help us block the trouble after making money and running away.
.”
With that said, Schiller looked at Strange and said, "You said before that your teacher, the Supreme Mage, once mentioned to you that she was busy with the birth of a new god recently?"
"Yes, as I told you before, it seems that a mysterious being who has been trading with him told her that something was about to be born near the earth, and she was preparing for it."
"Is the mysterious being behind her interested in participating?" Schiller moved his elbow that was supported on the table and continued: "Using the reputation of the Supreme Mage as a guarantee for the opening of the market, the being behind her is the host.
, first recruit a few little devils to join the team, use their investment power to put on a show, and pull out a positive model for publicity."
"Wait until more people join the group and accumulate more strength, then focus on attacking a big demon god, spend money to open a path, promise him a high rate of return, let him enter the market first, and then taste the sweetness, so as to deceive a few more
Great Demon God."
"Wait until these powerful demon gods join the group, and then propose the principle of recruiting people, let them help us squeeze the smaller demon gods, and we will give them a commission."
"When we were about to run away, those with big fists returned all of them, and those who were almost chopped up and ate the meat together. Part of it was paid to the person behind the Supreme Mage as protection fee, and the other part was kept by ourselves."
"When the little devil in the universe grows longer, he can use this part of his power as capital to cut again."
"There is a question..." Stark frowned and said: "You also know that a very important point of a Ponzi scheme is that there must be physical objects to defraud investment in the early stage. What are you going to use as a target to deceive them into investing?"
"Didn't Stephen mention it before? The existence behind the Supreme Mage told him that a new beast totem is being born."
"Speaking of which, what is going on?" Nick asked Strange: "What is the Beast Totem? If he was born on Earth, will it have any bad influence on us?"
Strange shook his head and said: "According to my teacher, it is a symbol of cosmic power. They are all mystical things. Although they were born on the earth, they have nothing to do with the people on the earth."
Nick touched his forehead and said, "I guess it must be related to the big bat last time, right?"
As he spoke, he looked at Schiller, who gave him an affirmative look and said, "This thing can be used to make some fuss."
"The new totem power in the universe is rising, and it needs your help. Give roses to others, and the fragrance will linger in your hands. The return on investment will be 200% during the birth of the new god. How about joining the totem god cult and embarking on a successful magical life?"
Stark and Strange stretched out their hands to applaud, and Nick commented: "Theoretically speaking, it does work. The big demons with the ability to retaliate are also vested interests, and the smaller demons whose power has been taken away will definitely not be able to defeat them.
Strong men united."
"Coupled with the presence behind the Supreme Mage, it is ensured that no one dares to reach out, and the chain of exploitation and harvesting has basically completed a closed loop."
Nick sighed and said: "The plan is good, but the risk is still very high. The disadvantages of the earth are too great. The human beings here are too fragile and the civilization is still backward. Without the help of other people's power, there is almost no cosmic power.
Once you are chased back to your hometown, there will be no resistance."
"I always believe..." Stark said firmly: "If one day, the earth is really facing a disaster and we are unable to resist it, then at least we must have the ability to avenge it, so..."
"Stop!" Schiller directly interrupted what Stark was going to say next. He said: "Don't say such unlucky things. Besides, the earth is not powerless to resist."
"Maybe in your opinion, the power of resistance must be force. I admit that there must be enough force to make us qualified to sit on the negotiating table."
"But when we really can't develop enough force in a short period of time, it's not shameful to use other means to accumulate resources for us and buy time, just like what we just planned."
"Actually, I think your thinking is limited." Strange continued Schiller's words: "You think that nuclear bombs made by humans using science may not be able to effectively kill all kinds of strange aliens, but we can actually
Try another idea, for example, use magic to create one."
"If we can really deceive those cosmic demons...I mean borrow enough power, it can also be turned into a weapon for us to defend the earth. In fact, the two are just different routes, and there is no essential difference.
"
Nick sighed again, and continued: "Everything is difficult at the beginning. We have a plan, but where do we start?"
"We do know too little about things beyond the earth." Stark also said: "Anyway, I don't know those cosmic demons."
Strange shrugged and said: "I can go back and discuss it with my teacher, but I always feel that such an evil plan..."
He also sighed, and then said: "This will definitely seriously lower my image in her eyes and make her think that I am an unlearned liar."
"And I'm not sure if she would really go to the person behind him to talk about it. After all, no matter how you say it, it's a bit too immoral..."
"The most urgent task now is to find someone who has a full understanding of things beyond the earth, especially the demon gods and various other forces in the universe, to answer our questions so that we can screen out the first batch of victims...
…I mean the list of participants,” Schiller offered.
"It's not that easy. The vast majority of people on earth don't believe in the existence of aliens. Even space agencies and astronauts can't possibly understand those mysterious things." Nick said, holding his forehead.
"Even if you can find it, you still have to make sure that he is not dangerous and can communicate with humans normally." Stark added,
"It's better to have a lower IQ so that we can talk in a convenient way and not guess our purpose." Strange also added.
The three of them sighed together, feeling that they were daydreaming.
At this moment, Nick's phone rang suddenly. He picked it up and said, "Yes, that's right...what's wrong?"
"What did you say?...Are you sure?"
"Really? What else?"
After Nick hung up the phone, he repeated the content of the report to him on the phone: "New Mexico is suspected of discovering alien falling objects. At the same time, the state also reported that a self-proclaimed mental patient attacked the staff who went to investigate the scene.
"
"He claims to be a god from Asgard, and the fallen alien objects are his weapons. Since he has been deprived of all his divine power, he cannot pick up his weapons..."
Speaking of this, the four people looked at each other and said like solitaire:
"An alien?"
"An alien who has lost his powers?"
"An alien without power and weapons..."
An alien who has lost his powers, has no weapons, and seems to be mentally ill!!!"