Chapter 186 Street Lamps and Gods (Part 1) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

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Most human thoughts and actions are regulated and logical. What a person thinks and does is based on the situation they are facing.

It's not surprising that Strange has such bold ideas at this point. He is a successful and wealthy man, not just rich, but very rich.

In the months before he met the Ancient One, his daily life was dealing with the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world.

And his contact with magic was not because of setbacks, but more like an invitation to an academic exchange in a new field sent by the Ancient One.

Therefore, Strange has no reverence for magic at this point. His view is similar to Stark's: magic is just another form of energy that can be used, and what magic is depends mainly on how people use it.

And Schiller helped him with the process of elimination, letting him filter out those so-called rhetoric of self-training, justice, and peace from Wong. He discovered that sometimes solving problems with violence, although crude, is very effective.

In this situation, Strange inevitably starts thinking and trying to find a simpler and more effective way than just burying his head in meditation like at Kamar-Taj.

This is the thinking that is inevitably produced by human scientific education, where the ultimate goal of all experiments is to improve efficiency and speed up production.

And it's not surprising that he turned to Stark. Although they had a little conflict before, at this point, it's more about common interests. Obviously, they will have greater common interests in magic.

Stark sat behind the lab table, his elbow on the table, his hand against his temple and said, "Although it's true, it's only an idea at this point, lacking too many necessary conditions to implement."

He waved his hand and said, "You came in here and showed me what your magic is, and then we started to have ideas about those powerful aliens."

"I have to say, my friend, if it weren't for me, if it weren't for genius ideas like Stark's, others would definitely think you were crazy."

"We haven't even built a spaceship yet, and we're already thinking about borrowing money from aliens. It's really crazy."

Strange sat on the other side of the lab table, holding his arms and said, "This idea is indeed bold, but not impossible to achieve, just need some time."

"It needs a lot of time." Stark said to Strange, "I haven't even touched the threshold of magic yet, and you, you're just an apprentice of magic, and you haven't even formally used magic."

"It seems that we really need to treat this as a long-term plan. By the way, did I remind you? This matter of magic cannot be spoken casually. Therefore, don't tell too many people about this plan."

"Don't worry, even if it's not because of magic, I will prevent certain people from knowing about your wicked plan. They will definitely talk about it endlessly, like a certain old-fashioned man who always calls himself my uncle, and that silly boy who runs around in the sky, and..."

Strange interrupted, "I don't know who we should guard against for this plan, but..."

Then he looked up at Stark, and Stark looked back at him as if they had a telepathic connection and said, "...you definitely know who we shouldn't guard against for this plan."

In the SHIELD office, the overhead light bulb flickered, and underneath the light bulb was a square table with four people sitting on each side.

Nick and Schiller looked at each other, and Nick said, "So, you're planning to rob aliens?"

"Don't say it like that." Stark denied, "This is essentially borrowing, borrowing, you know?"

"Okay..." Nick opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to have too much to say and couldn't say it for a while.

After a pause, he put his hand on the table and made a slightly impatient gesture, saying, "I understood everything you just said. There are some powerful creatures in this universe that possess magical energy. Ordinary people call them aliens, while sorcerers call them cosmic gods."

"They can lend their power to humans through some means, allowing people to cast magic. Therefore, the essence of magic is the power of cosmic gods."

"Now you plan to borrow some power to arm yourselves, refuse to repay the debt, and then borrow even more power."

"Forget about whether it works on a technical level..."

Nick had just said this when Stark interrupted him, saying, "I know this is a bit unethical, but it was his idea."

Stark pointed at Strange, betraying his teammate without any psychological burden. Strange was stunned and then stared at him.

Nick was also stunned. He said, "Unethical? What's unethical about it?"

Nick and Schiller both looked at Stark and Strange with suspicion. Stark and Strange looked at each other and then Stark said, "Well, we shouldn't overestimate your moral standards."

"I'm not talking about moral issues, but a logical issue."

"First of all. According to what you said, the cosmic gods are intelligent and communicative, which proves that they are not stupid."

"Just like the human credit system, if you borrow from a bank for the first time and refuse to repay the debt, the bank will not lend to you again, and if the amount is large, other banks will also blacklist you."

"I know that this behavior is more like robbing a bank than borrowing money, but the bank is immobile. If you have enough force, you can indeed repeatedly rob it. But the cosmic gods have long legs. If they find that you refuse to repay the debt and cannot defeat you, they can just run away, right?"

Nick asked Strange with some confusion, "According to what you said, your teacher borrowed power and did not repay the debt, and then knocked down all the creditors. Wouldn't all the cosmic gods run away when they see him, and how could he borrow more power?"

"Is there a possibility?" Schiller looked at Nick and said, "Those who don't want to lend him power can't run away."

Strange then gave a more reasonable explanation: "The cosmic gods are not wandering in the universe. Some of the more powerful cosmic gods often have their own territory, such as... what was it? The dark dimension, and the crimson dimension. These are what Wang told me. These are equivalent to the territory of the cosmic gods."

"That makes some sense." Nick rubbed his chin and said, "But there are still many problems, especially on a technical level."

Then, the three of them began to discuss how to borrow money to buy guns, and then use the guns to rob.

"I mean..." Schiller tapped the table and said, as if he couldn't stand it anymore, "Why is your thinking always so limited? Why always think of violent robbery? Can't you be a little more flexible?"

The other three looked at him, and Schiller said helplessly, "That's why I always feel out of place with you guys. Do you know? Your previous remarks were like a bunch of rednecks playing poker and shouting in a farm warehouse."

"Give up your straightforward violent thinking. That is the least efficient method. Bank robbery is no longer popular in this era. Buying guns, recruiting people, preparing cars, refueling, scouting in advance, and planning escape routes, etc. This is just too troublesome."

"If you have a plan, just say it." Nick looked at Schiller and said, "I can tell you've been holding back for a while."

"Instead of robbery, we can totally do it in a different way."

"What way?"

"Deception."

Schiller spread out his hands and asked, "What is the highest record of a bank robber? Millions of dollars? And what about a scammer?"

"It depends on what kind of scammer you're talking about," Nick looked at Strange and said, "You'll have to ask him if you're talking about successful scammers."

"Why are you looking at me?" Strange replied irritably, "Compared to some people, what am I, a successful scammer?"

He looked at Stark, who stared and said, "Why are you looking at me? I'm a businessman, not a financial fraudster. Besides, the immortal factor was not created by me..."

After speaking, he looked at Schiller, and the other two also looked at Schiller. Nick said, "As of now, you can answer this question yourself. I haven't seen a more glorious scammer than you."

"Okay, I have a plan. Borrowing money and not repaying it is outdated. Let's use a more fashionable term."

"Like what?"

"Like investment."

Schiller put his hands on the table and began his presentation:

"You see, the trading method of the cosmic gods is one-on-one. This trading model is very primitive in human eyes."

"They are still at the level of bartering and face-to-face transactions, but modern finance has completely moved beyond this level."

"The first step is to move away from the one-on-one trading model. We can completely engage in one-to-many or many-to-many trading. In simple terms, we can get the cosmic gods to invest their power in us."

"And then? Investment must have returns."

"The cosmic gods..." Schiller put his hand to the right.

"...invest their power..." he put his hand in the middle.

"...in us." Finally, he put his hand to the left, indicating that this was a three-step process.

"More cosmic gods invest more power in us." Schiller made three more actions.

In the curious eyes of the other three, he suddenly quickened his pace and quickly uttered a long paragraph:

"We use the power invested by other cosmic gods to feedback to other cosmic gods as investment returns, and tell them that the more they invest, the more they earn."

"Set up a ladder system, establish promotion ranks, and increase returns step by step. Pulling in one cosmic god can draw 3 points from the transaction amount as a return, pulling in two cosmic gods can draw 7 points, and so on. The more people we pull in, the more we earn..."

"After expanding the customer base, we start using later investments as returns for early investors. Investment income will increase and investment returns will increase. When the difference reaches an ideal value..."

Schiller raised his hands and said, "...the industry is facing some difficulties beyond our control, so we have to temporarily bid farewell to everyone. We are deeply sorry for this."

After he finished speaking, the conference room was quiet for a minute. Stark was the first to speak, "That's really a creative concept... bullshit, isn't this a Ponzi scheme?"

Nick also looked at Schiller and said, "Although I have tried to estimate your moral bottom line as low as possible, its flexibility is still frightening."

Schiller suddenly said very seriously, "I have always believed that what humans need to enter the universe is not only the essence of human civilization, but also some dregs."

"Garbage is just resources in the wrong place, essence is the driving force for entering the universe, and dregs are weapons. After all, there is probably no universe civilization with as many dregs as humans."

"Of course, this is just an entry-level method." Schiller shrugged and said, "After expanding the one-to-many or many-to-many trading concept, we must change the status quo of bartering. That's what primitive people did. Without a general equivalent, they still have the nerve to call themselves powerful and advanced aliens?"

"With a general equivalent, there is a concept of currency, followed by markets, supply and demand, crowdfunding, companies, stocks, futures..."

"What humans need to do is not to be a debtor who doesn't repay, or a villain who treats creditors violently, but to be a reputable and image-conscious banker who is praised by the entire universe and is fair and conscientious."

"And violence is just a necessary means to ensure fairness. We can even promise not to use the Sorcerer Supreme first."

"And if they refuse to join, let the Sorcerer Supreme knock on their door, right?"

"Don't say that. If the Sorcerer Supreme knocks on their door, they may still have a chance to live. This is already a big improvement. We are simply the vanguard organization against violence in the universe."

"When we have both force and reason, we can start building a trading system, setting trading rules, and then dividing classes and subdividing them layer by layer, which is reasonable and logical..."

The other three looked at each other, but Schiller acted very calmly, not like a conspirator planning to capitalize the entire universe.

"Of course, these things are all later stories. Let's talk about the first plan. There are many benefits to doing this."

"In fact, this cannot be considered a scam, because in the later stages, those early investors will know the truth, but they will not stop. In order to protect their sunk costs, they will help us keep this secret. Not only will they keep the secret, they will also actively help us bring in more people."

"This solves the problem of Earth's information blockade. Although we don't understand the cosmic gods, the cosmic gods definitely understand the cosmic gods."

"As for the principle of the Ponzi scheme, you don't need to explain it again. We all know, but the biggest problem with this scam is that after you take the money and run, you must have a way to hide yourself and launder the money."

"If this was an individual, perhaps it would be easier to hide and change identities, but Earth cannot be escaped. We cannot give up the entire solar system just to fleece the cosmic gods, can we?" Nick raised a question.

"If we really start manipulating, it may be difficult to hide ourselves, but there is another way of thinking, which is to find a powerful backer, promise him benefits, and let him help us deal with the trouble after we take the money and run."

Saying this, Schiller looked at Strange and said, "Before, you mentioned that your teacher, the Supreme Sorcerer, had mentioned to you what new gods were being born?"

"Yes, as I told you before, a mysterious entity that she has been trading with told her that something was about to be born near Earth and she is preparing for it."

"Does the mysterious entity behind her have any interest in joining us?" Schiller shifted his elbow on the table and continued, "Using the reputation of the Supreme Sorcerer as a guarantee for the opening, her mysterious entity can be the host, first bring in a few small demons to invest, use their investment power to put on a show, and then pull out a positive typical character for promotion."

"When there are more people joining and more power is accumulated, then we can focus on attacking a big demon, smashing money to pave the way, promising him high returns, letting him enter first, and then taste the sweetness, in order to deceive more big demons."

"When these powerful demons join, we can propose the principle of pulling people, let them help us squeeze those smaller demons, and we will give them a cut."

"When it's time to take the money and run, we will return as much as we have taken from those who are as powerful as us. Those who are not as powerful will join forces and chop them up for meat, give a portion to the entity behind the Supreme Sorcerer as protection money, and keep the rest for ourselves."

"When the small demons in the universe grow a little longer, we can use this part of the power as capital to cut another wave."

"There is a problem..." Stark frowned and said, "As you know, an important point of the Ponzi scheme is that there must be a physical object to scam investors in the early stages. What do you plan to use as the object to deceive them?"

"Didn't Stephen mention it before? The Supreme Sorcerer told him that a new beast totem is being born."

"Speaking of which, what is this all about?" Nick asked Strange, "What is the beast totem? Will it have any bad influence on us when it is born on Earth?"

Strange shook his head and said, "According to my teacher, it is a symbol of cosmic power and is a mysterious thing in the study of the gods. Although it is born on Earth, it has nothing to do with the people on Earth."

Nick rubbed his forehead and said, "I guess it must be related to that 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 moves."

"A new totem power is rising in the universe and it needs your help. Giving roses to others leaves a fragrance on your hands. The return on investment during the birth of a new god is 200%. Join the Totem Cult and embark on a path to success. How about it?"

Stark and Strange applauded and Nick commented, "In theory, it does seem feasible. A great demon with the power of retaliation is a vested interest, and those small demons whose powers have been taken away will definitely not be able to fight against these united strong ones."

"Plus, the existence behind the Supreme Sorcerer ensures that no one dares to reach out and exploit or harvest. The chain of exploitation and harvesting is basically a closed loop."

Nick sighed and said, "The plan is good, but the risk is still very high. Earth's disadvantage is too great. Humans here are too fragile, and their civilization is still relatively backward. If we do not rely on the power of others, we can hardly compete with any cosmic forces. Once we are chased back home, we will have no resistance power to show."

"I always think..." Stark said firmly, "If one day, Earth faces a disaster that we cannot resist, then at least we must have the ability to avenge it. So..."

"Stop!" Schiller interrupted Stark's next words directly and said, "Don't say such unlucky things. Besides, Earth is not powerless."

"Maybe in your eyes, the power to resist must be military force. I admit that we must have enough military force to qualify us to sit at the negotiation table. But when we really cannot develop enough military force in a short period of time, it is not a shame to use other means to accumulate resources for us and gain time, just like the plan we just made."

"In fact, I think your thinking is limited." Strange continued Schiller's words, "You think that humans may not be able to effectively kill those strange aliens with nuclear bombs made by science, but we can actually change our thinking, for example, make one with magic."

"If we can really deceive...I mean, borrow enough power from those cosmic demons, then it can also become our weapon to defend Earth. These two are actually just different routes, and there is no essential difference."

Nick sighed again and said, "Starting is always difficult. Although we have a plan, where do we start?"

"We really know too little about things beyond Earth." Stark also said, "Anyway, I don't know those cosmic demons."

Strange shrugged and said, "I can go back and discuss with my teacher, but I always feel that this plan is too wicked..."

He also sighed and then said, "This will definitely seriously lower my image in her eyes and make her think that I am a useless liar."

"And I am not sure if she will really go to the existence behind her to discuss this matter. After all, no matter how you say it, this is a bit too wicked..."

"The most urgent thing now is to find someone who has a full understanding of things outside of Earth, especially those cosmic demons and other powers, to help us clarify so that we can screen the first batch of victims...I mean, participants." Schiller proposed.

"It's not that easy. Most people on Earth don't believe in the existence of aliens, and even the space agency and astronauts cannot understand those mysterious things." Nick said, holding his forehead.

"Even if we can find someone, you still have to make sure that he is not dangerous and can communicate normally with humans." Stark added,

"Preferably with a lower IQ, making it easier for us to talk and not guess our intentions." Strange also added.

The three of them sighed together, feeling like they were dreaming in broad daylight.

Just then, Nick's phone suddenly rang. After he answered it, he said, "Yes, that's right...what's wrong?"

"What did you say?...Are you sure?"

"Really? Anything else?"

After hanging up the phone, Nick repeated the content of the report given to him on the phone, "Suspected alien debris was found in New Mexico, and a self-proclaimed god who attacked the staff investigating the scene was reported in the same state."

"He claimed to be a deity from Asgard, and the fallen alien debris was his weapon. Because he was deprived of all his divine power, he could not pick up his weapon..."

At this point, the four people looked at each other and said like a relay:

"An alien?"

"An alien who lost his power?"

"An alien who lost his power and has no weapons..."

"An alien who lost his power, has no weapons, and doesn't seem to be very smart!!!"

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 187 Street Lamp and God (Part 2)