"Of course not, but don't think I'm helping you for free; you're not that charming yet."
When Peter heard this, he actually let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He knew the rules of this world too well—nothing was given for free, especially things handed over by someone like Russell. The cost was never written on the surface, but that didn't mean it didn't exist.
Russell bringing it up proactively made him feel much more grounded than hearing something like just enjoy the ride.
"Name it," Peter's voice was steady. "If you want me to help you do evil, that's impossible."
Russell tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, keeping a very slow rhythm:
"I want human civilization to move out into the cosmos. This is no secret; you can tell just from the latest international news recently.
Krakoa, Wakanda, and even Atlantis are all moving down the path of integrating human civilization, but relying solely on the technological reserves of these three places is not enough.
The things that truly drive a civilization's leap can never be achieved by piling up resources; it requires people to understand, to deconstruct, and to recombine that underlying information dug out from the Cosmic Laws.
You are a genius recognized by many top scientists. I've looked at your records in the laboratory, your approach to improving the Silk formula, and that set of deductive models you made for the application of fluid mechanics under high-speed motion.
And there's that interference-shielding scheme you made for electromagnetic pulses; if you just take out any one of them, it would surpass the master's thesis of most researchers your age."
He paused, his gaze darkening slightly:
"The upper limit of your talent in the direction of scientific research is far higher than the upper limit of you