Cosmic Demon Totem Common Prosperity Project (Part 2)

Although it was already autumn, the afternoon in New York was still quite hot. The pull tab of a soda can clicked softly, followed by a "plop." Peter looked up, took a swig of cool Coke, and let out a satisfied "Ah..."

"Have you finished drinking? If you have, please refine this part."

"Oh, here it comes."

Peter placed the Coke on the table in the preparation room, then put his lab coat back on and went to the lab table. He looked around and then whispered to Dr. Connors, "Are we really going to do this? I don't think we can hide it from Mr. Stark. This is Stark Tower lab."

Sitting in the preparation room Schiller said to Peter, "It seems you haven't absorbed any of the psychological theories I taught you before."

Peter scratched his head and asked, "I just don't quite remember... but what does that have to do with us conducting experiments behind Mr. Stark's back?"

"I'm pretty sure Stark wouldn't use surveillance equipment to observe the lab. He's a very proud man, so he wouldn't resort to such a spying-like method when he knows Dr. Connors has several biotechnology patents."

"His pride prevents him from doing anything that involves 'stealing knowledge,' and he will try his best to avoid it even if there is only a slight risk."

"Stark is like a proud bird. His intelligence is his most prized and beautiful feather. He will avoid any behavior that might dirty his feathers, even if it would get him more food."

Connors added, "That's why he's more of a scientist than a businessman."

Peter nodded to indicate that he understood. He glanced at the clock in the room and said, "I'm sorry, Doctor, I have to go in an hour. I have some friends waiting for me."

Connors looked up and asked Schiller, "When is Strange coming?"

Just as Schiller was taking out his phone to call Strange, a red crack suddenly appeared in the center of the laboratory room, which then expanded into a red circle. Strange walked out of it, holding a Crystal Ball in his hand.

"Phew..." He let out a long breath and said, "You have no idea what I just went through, my God! I never imagined that a mage would have to do this kind of work!"

"Tell us about your amazing experiences." Schiller looked up at the window; it was still early.

Peter stared at Strange with curiosity. Strange carefully placed the Crystal Ball on the table, let out a long breath, and began his story.

The story still begins with Kamar-Taj.

After becoming an apprentice sorcerer in Kamar-Taj, Strange began his long journey of learning magic.

Strange was talented and quick to learn; he soon grasped the basics and was quite proficient at using minor spells.

Meanwhile, through his frequent visits to Kamar-Taj, he gained a deeper understanding of the interpersonal relationships there. In addition to the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme, and King, the chief steward of Kamar-Taj, he also met another person, Baron Mordo, the Ancient One's first disciple.

Strange felt that the person he couldn't get along with the most in Kamar-Taj was his senior brother Mordo. Mordo's behavior constantly reminded him that he was an outsider, a self-taught amateur.

Because Baron Mordo looks so much like a sorcerer, even more so than the Ancient One.

He was silent, solemn, and mysterious. Every word he spoke carried a mysterious meaning that was difficult for ordinary people to understand. Not only was he powerful in magic, but the style of his magic was exactly the same as that of a traditional mage.

Every time Mordo uses magic, he floats in mid-air, his robes fluttering slightly, mysterious light spots surrounding his body, and he utters a series of mysterious incantations before moving freely and gracefully.

In contrast, Strange's magic was less impressive. He was often seen getting tangled up in unruly Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, his magic portals disappearing halfway through opening, and the Seven Rings of the Vishanti flying around erratically.

More importantly, Strange didn't know much about mysticism and philosophy, so he couldn't possibly speak eloquently like Mordo, spouting off about the true meaning of life, the search for tranquility, the source of power, and the like.

Every time Strange heard the Ancient One talking to Baron Mordo, he felt that the Ancient One must be very impatient when she was talking to him, because Strange had neither extensive knowledge of Magic Theory nor any understanding of those obscure and esoteric mystical stories.

Baron Mordo and the Ancient One discussed topics such as the universe, truth, and origin, while Strange and the Ancient One mainly discussed topics such as loans, interest rates, and differences.

The former looks like a sermon in a magical Holy Hall, while the latter sounds like a sales call from a bank.

If Strange and Baron Mordo simply couldn't connect, that would be one thing, but because of the financial fraud plan that Strange introduced to the Ancient One, the two of them frequently traveled between Asgard and other dimensions to prepare for the entire plan.

During this time, the Ancient One took Strange all over the world, but left her first disciple Mordo in Kamar-Taj.

As the Sorcerer Supreme's the One disciple for many years, Mordo had long considered himself the successor to the Sorcerer Supreme and Kamar-Taj. But now, seeing his junior brother, who was completely out of touch with magic, being so well-liked by the Ancient One, he naturally had his own thoughts.

What surprised Mordo the most was that the Ancient One actually asked him to contact Dormammu.

In Kamar-Taj, most of the magic used is white magic, which comes from Hoggs or other Daedric Demon God of Order realms. Black magic is strictly forbidden.

However, because the definition of magic is rather vague, most mages do not only use white magic. For example, Cyttorak's Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, the power from the Crimson Dimension is not violent, and many novice mages will use his magic, but Cyttorak is obviously not Demon God of order.

Therefore, there are also some powerful sorcerers who use the power of the Dark Gods, a fact that both the Ancient One and Baron Mordo are aware of.

The Ancient One turned a blind eye to this, and as long as the sorcerers could control their power, the Sorcerer Supreme would not pursue the matter.

However, not pursuing the matter and bringing the connection to the Dark Gods into the open are two completely different things.

Many sorcerers in Kamar-Taj were speculating about what the Ancient One was up to. Of course, they didn't think the Sorcerer Supreme would ally with an external enemy; they just suspected that the Ancient One had finally found a way to kill Dormammu and wanted to lure him in to kill him.

Mordo was even more uneasy, because his connection with Dormammu was much deeper than the Ancient One knew.

Mordo's research on dark magic was extremely in-depth, and he was confident that the Ancient One had not discovered all of this. But one day, the Ancient One suddenly told him, "Go and contact Dormammu, the darkest and most chaotic Lord of the Dark Dimension around Earth, who is always thinking about invading Earth!"

How could Mordo not be nervous?

Has my secret contact with the Dark Dimensional Demon God been discovered? Is this a warning from the Ancient One? Or has the Ancient One truly found a way to turn Dormammu into Chiaotzu filling? What am I supposed to do then?

As mentioned before, Mordo has a unique characteristic: he is a very traditional mage. Simply put, he truly believes in magic.

Meanwhile, an idea gradually formed in Mordo's mind: after he returned from the Dark Dimension, no one knew what he and Dormammu had talked about.

Not long after, Strange also met Dormammu. Not only Dormammu, but also Cyttorak, the infamous Cyttorak, Lord of the Crimson Dimension, Mephisto, the ruler of Hell, and a whole host of other famous Cosmic Demons whose names alone could shake a crowd.

They met in the Asgard Palace Asgard, where Odin, the All-Father, presided over the meeting. The meeting was initiated by the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, and standing next to the Ancient One was Strange, whose legs were trembling at the sight of all these powerful figures.

Despite the constant phone harassment from the Ancient One, Strange never dreamed that he would have to give a speech in front of these powerful figures whose mere presence could shake the universe.

Strange was filled with regret, deep regret.

As he stood in the center of the Asgard Palace, to his right was a swirling mass of black mist, within which lay a blurry human figure emanating endless darkness, a sight that was suffocating.

To his left was a huge red vortex, behind which could be seen an endless world, and an even larger monster sat atop the world, its gaze capable of devouring everything.

Before Strange were raging Hellfire, and a staircase littered with corpses led to a towering throne, upon which sat a blurry figure of a demon, gazing down upon the mortal realm from Hell.

Beside these three big shots were many bizarrely shaped monsters that were so terrifying that just one look at them could drive anyone mad.

Strange stood between these two Demons, and he felt like he had been tricked.

But things had already progressed to this point, and Strange couldn't simply choose not to talk about it. He had no choice but to grit his teeth, stomp his foot, and force himself to reveal the despicable and shameless plan.

Strange, looking exhausted as he recounted the experience in the lab, said, "... I was only halfway through my story when the demon stepped down from his throne and appeared right above me. Can you believe it?"

"A vast Hellfire appeared above my head, and I could even hear the screams of the souls within..."

Strange said, utterly dejected, "Then, that Demon God named Setar'ak poked his head out of the vortex, and do you know how terrifying that was?! One of his whiskers was bigger than my whole body!"

"I simply can't describe to you what those things were," Strange said, rubbing his forehead. "I feel like after this experience, there's nothing in this world I'm afraid of."

"So, how did the talks go in the end?"

"After I finished speaking, I went back to the teacher's side, and the atmosphere was still quite scary until they started discussing it back and forth."

"And then?" Connors asked, somewhat curiously.

"Then..." Strange said with a strange expression, "They started arguing, and it got more and more heated, so Odin had to start mediating."

"At first, we tried to reason with each other, then it turned into a contest of who could shout the loudest, and finally it turned into a contest of who had the biggest fist."

"You mean, they had a fight?"

"All-Father Odin, originally intended to mediate the fight, but it seems a Demon God spoke rudely to him, so he struck down with a bolt of lightning, and within seconds, the sky above Asgard was turned into a complete mess..."

"In the end, most of the Demon God either ran away or died, leaving only a few of the more powerful ones to sit down and continue the discussion."

"They actually continued talking?"

"The Sorcerer Supreme told me that this is how the Demon God negotiate: whenever they gather together, they must fight first, and only the survivors can stay and negotiate."

Strange sighed and continued, "After they sat down again, I realized that they hadn't understood even a tenth of what I had said."

"They raised a whole bunch of questions, and I did my best to answer them, but there are still many questions, especially about Mephisto!"

Strange's tone turned somewhat angry. "He threw a bunch of random questions at me, some of which I couldn't answer, and he actually called me ignorant! I'm a Doctor! Not a finance professional, how would I know how interest rates are calculated?"

"And what was the final result?" Schiller asked.

"The remaining people all agreed to participate and paid a deposit. This is it." Strange picked up the Crystal Ball on the table and said, "This is pure magical energy they provided. It doesn't contain any personal attributes. You can use it directly, and you don't have to pay it back."

"But the condition is that we have to send some professionals to answer their many questions."

"That's easy. Tomorrow I'll have Nick go to the jail and find some financial professionals with trustworthy moral standards."

"But we can't let these people go to see those Cosmic Demons, can we? They'll be scared to death."

Schiller asked Strange, "Do you know what a telephone is?"