Bagaxiu

Chapter 9: Bagaxiu

"Stark Industries, let me give you some advice. Ready? Here it comes?"

"Sell all your stocks. Sell them all! Abandon ship and run for your lives!"

On television, a Bald Ugly Host wielded a baseball bat and smashed a water glass to pieces with a single blow.

At the Press Conference, Tony had brazenly decided to shut down the weapons division, setting the whole of society abuzz.

Online media outlets were all dominated by this shocking news. Stark Industries' stock price plummeted all the way down, and shareholders lost so much they practically wanted to line up and jump off buildings.

Even Stark Industries itself was hit by a massive earthquake. Stark Industries had held the top spot in the Arms Market for years; it stood at the very pinnacle of Arms Dealers.

Was an Arms Company supposed to stop selling weapons and start selling baby bottle nipples?

From the executives to the Ordinary Workers, the entire company was utterly bewildered. Everyone was unsettled, and chaos erupted everywhere.

If one did not live in the Marvel World, one would never understand the influence carried by the three words "Stark."

It had to be said: ordinary people would never understand the thought processes of geniuses.

Tony's decision had left no telling how many people unable to sleep all night.

Inside Stark's private Villa, Rimuru switched off the television, his mind filled with thoughts.

Because he knew the plot, he knew that Stark Industries would not collapse after shutting down its weapons division. Instead, it would rise to an even greater height.

It could be said that now was the best possible time to buy Stark Industries stock.

As long as he could become a major shareholder of Stark Industries, his future life in Marvel would be comfortable indeed.

But the key was that he had no money right now!

Still, Rimuru himself was a Great Treasure. Even Recovery Potion diluted countless times by him would cause a huge sensation if he released even a little of it.

If operated properly, he could even sell Recovery Potion as Cosmetics. Calling it money-grabbing would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.

However, all of that depended on him laying his cards on the table before Tony.

Having just arrived, Rimuru had no foundation whatsoever in this world. He did not even have a legal identity.

Though he disliked being called a Little Girl, his current appearance was that of an elementary school student. That was an indisputable fact.

If he rolled up his sleeves and went at it alone, who knew how many Hungry Wolves would pounce on him.

Unless he flipped the table and threw caution to the wind!

It would have been one thing in an ordinary world, but this was the Marvel World, where gods and demons ran rampant.

The harder you jumped, the sooner you died.

Just look at Thanos, director of the Universal Family Planning Office. After retiring to the countryside, his daughter led a group of Violent Elements right into his home.

He got his head chopped off, then turned to ashes. It was utterly miserable.

In the Marvel Universe, no money meant you were screwed, and no background meant you were finished sooner or later.

Those who did well either had connections and official positions, like Black Widow and Hawkeye.

Or they had both connections and strength, like Thor.

If you had strength but no backing, you would absolutely end up miserable beyond belief.

Hulk was a living counterexample. His strength could basically be called "the strongest beneath the stars," but he had no backing, so his father-in-law chased him down relentlessly. He was worse off than a Stray Dog.

But should he lay his cards on the table with Tony? Rimuru hesitated.

Tony was a staunch supporter of the Sokovia Accords and approved of Real Name Registration, while Rimuru had absolutely no intention of registering under his real name.

He did not even have the resolve to be a hero!

The word "hero" was too noble and bore too much. Even the slightest mistake would see one roasted over the coals. It did not suit Rimuru at all.

When you wandered the world, how could you avoid getting cut? And when you were out in the game, who did not have a few Alt Accounts?

What did arresting Lu Xun have to do with Zhou Shuren?

What did arresting Conan have to do with Shinichi Kudo?

Registration? No way!

But there was no such thing as a free lunch. Other than cooperating with Tony, Rimuru did not seem to have a better choice.

Stark might be a bit full of himself, but fundamentally, he was actually a decent person.

"Great Sage, should I cooperate with Tony?"

Did the host not already have an answer in his heart?

"Great Sage, you've changed. You're no longer the Great Sage I knew!"

Heh.

Rimuru was speechless. Had his own skill just mocked him?

Just then, a mechanical electronic voice rang out.

"Good evening, guest. Pardon the interruption. The owner of the Villa, Tony Stark, has come to visit..."

The butler Jarvis's voice sounded. Though Rimuru already knew of his existence, Jarvis's level of intelligence still greatly intrigued him.

"Hey, little Rimuru. May I come in?"

Rimuru was speechless. "You're already inside. Isn't it a little redundant to ask that now? Also, please don't add 'little' when you call my name. It makes me feel really awkward."

Tony Stark, who had replaced his Arc Reactor, paid no heed to Rimuru's complaint.

"For the world's most popular Tony Stark, no one would ever turn me away. As for the second question, I'll keep it in mind from now on, little Rimuru!"

Rimuru: "..."

That narcissistic and awful personality was as consistent as ever!

Tony naturally sat down on the sofa opposite Rimuru and looked at him seriously. "All right, it's just the two of us here. Though it's rather rude of me, may I have the honor of learning your true identity and origins? Don't even think of deceiving me. My Jarvis is very powerful!"

"How powerful?"

"More powerful than you can imagine!"

"If he's that powerful, then Jarvis should know even if I don't say anything, right?"

"..."

What a nasty little brat!

Seeing Tony's frustrated expression, Rimuru could not help smiling. Teasing him really was fun.

Fighting Iron Man was endlessly entertaining!

After thinking for a moment, Rimuru said, "Tony, can I trust you?"

Tony Stark immediately became serious. Though he had not known Rimuru for long, he clearly recognized that Rimuru possessed a mind far beyond his apparent age.

Tony said, "Everyone who knows me knows I'm the best at keeping secrets!"

Rimuru did not care. Tony was the best at keeping secrets, but he was also the worst at keeping secrets.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had asked him to keep his identity as Iron Man quiet, yet he casually sold out S.H.I.E.L.D.

(S.H.I.E.L.D.: You are the worst Avenger I've ever trained.)

Yet Tony could keep Spidey's secret tightly sealed!

The key was whether he wanted to!

But secrets were best taken into one's coffin. Even if Iron Man could keep a secret, there were too many cheat users in Marvel who could read minds!

Wanda had once invaded Tony's mind and "tasted" his anxiety!

The reason Rimuru said that was to make Tony Stark think that Rimuru had begun to lay his cards on the table and considered him trustworthy.

"Tony, I'm not actually from this world. Strictly speaking, I'm not truly human right now..."

Rimuru carefully chose his words. He did not mention a single thing about Earth from his previous life, only speaking of some of his experiences in the Jura Tempest Federation.

As for Rimuru's various abilities, he kept crucial trump cards such as [Great Sage] and [Predator] absolutely secret, not revealing a single word.

Even so, Tony Stark still felt as though his brain was not quite enough to process it all.

"Wait, you said you're a Slime? The kind of gooey, jelly-like creature from online games?"

"That's right!"

Rimuru did not waste words and directly transformed into his original form.

When he saw Rimuru change from a human Little Girl into a soft, bouncy blue ball, Stark felt his entire worldview crumble.

"Aren't Slimes those super low-level little monsters without intelligence? But your strength and intelligence..."

"There are exceptions to everything. I should be the strongest Slime in history!"

Tony Stark did not take Rimuru's claim of being "the strongest in history" seriously. With Mark II basically fully planned out, Tony felt as if his life were about to reach its peak, and he was high beyond belief.

Still, Tony was extremely, extremely interested in a magical creature from another world. At that moment, as he looked at Rimuru, his eyes practically glowed.

Rimuru immediately transformed back into a human, crossed his arms, and struck a firmly forbidden pose.

Rimuru said fiercely, "If you even think about using me as experimental material, I'll definitely beat you to death. Very cruelly!"

It should have been a very serious topic, but coming from Rimuru, it sounded rather cute and playful. How could it possibly carry the slightest intimidation?

"Got it, got it. Little Rimuru is the strongest, full of majesty!"

Tony raised both hands in a surrendering gesture, but it looked perfunctory no matter how one viewed it. He was asking to be punched.

Rimuru: "o(≧口≦)o"

What was with that expression like he was humoring a Little Girl?

Bagaa!