Chapter 205: Cosmic Demon Totem Common Prosperity Project (Part 1)

Time returned to a few weeks ago.

In the office of Arkham Asylum, Shiler and Strange sat together drinking coffee.

"I don't believe Kingpin and the Hand fell out, and there's no shadow of you behind this." Strange took a sip of coffee and said to Shiler.

"That was a plan between Nick and me, but it didn't succeed, because a dark horse came out halfway, that Life Foundation destroyed our plan."

"What were you guys originally planning to do?"

Shiler sighed and said with some regret: "Originally, we wanted to borrow the hands of Kingpin and the Hand to drive up the price of the Immortality Factor potion circulating in the black market."

"I gave Kingpin a batch of Immortality Factor potions before, letting him sell them to the Hand."

"Kingpin is a crocodile that can never be full. Of course, he would want to sell this batch of potions at a high price, so he would help us hype this thing, throwing out some gimmicks, such as raw materials being scarce, only this one family, etc."

"Nick and I speculated that the Hand would definitely buy it. First, they aren't short of money, and second, they are very interested in dragon bones with similar efficacy, even not hesitating to search for them all over the world."

"The potion I gave them would have obvious effects in the early stage. After they tried it, they should buy the potions in Kingpin's hands."

"At this time, I would release another batch of potions to Kingpin, but this time, I would collect the cost price. Of course, since the raw materials are indeed scarce, the cost price might be a bit expensive, but Kingpin would still eat it, because he has the confidence to sell the potions in his hands to the Hand at a higher price."

"The second batch of goods the Hand should also buy, because even if the price increased, it was still within their acceptable range, and there was indeed only Kingpin who had the channel to get a large amount of potions at that time. They wouldn't fall out with Kingpin, but would buy his potions again."

"The third time is also like this?" Strange asked.

"No, using this trick a third time might touch the Hand's psychological bottom line, and excessive prices might make them have the idea of killing and seizing goods, and it would also provide Kingpin with too much liquid capital, fueling his ambition, which is not what we want."

"At this time, we need to introduce other forces to enter. Official shipments are too few, and those who can't grab them but aren't short of money will naturally want to go to the black market to buy."

"By the third round, the fact that Kingpin has a source of goods should have already spread. Many others will seek to buy Immortality Factor potions from him. Kingpin wants to make more money, so he will naturally raise the price of the potions again."

"After this batch of goods is sold, we will no longer provide goods to Kingpin. Once the source of goods is cut off, the only Immortality Factor potions on the black market will become rare and expensive. With real curative effects plus tight supply, the price will spontaneously rise."

"When it rises to a certain level, organizations with sources of goods in their hands will not hope for the price to drop, because if the price continues to rise, the goods in their hands will become more and more valuable, equivalent to sitting at home and money falling from the sky."

"They will join us and start the same hype. The methods are all the same, low quantity, small-scale shipments, selling more and more expensively."

"Then the price was hyped up, right?"

"Right, this is a very important part of Nick's autumn funding plan. He is still counting on the price being hyped up and then shipping to recover funds."

"So that Life Foundation cut your queue?"

"Not entirely. Just when we were about to carry out the third round, he suddenly took out a cheaper Immortality Factor potion, and the supply was sufficient, shipping without limit, naturally crushing the price market."

"But there is also a benefit, that is, the Hand thought Kingpin used high-priced goods to cheat them and fell out with Kingpin."

"Nick was always worried that their cooperation was too close, which might affect the regional situation. After they fell out, they instead reached a kind of balance, reducing the workload of the Anquan Bureau. It can only be said that there are gains and losses."

"That's just what you think. Based on my understanding of Nick Fury, he definitely wants to kill that Drake of the Life Foundation now." Strange said firmly.

"So where exactly did their Immortality Factor potion come from?" Strange asked in confusion: "Isn't this thing extracted from vampires? Where did they get vampires? Could it be that they caught them themselves?"

"This shows that there are still smart people in this world. They also discovered that the principle of Immortality Factor potion cannot be falsified at all, and whether it has the effect of prolonging life, it can only be seen decades later."

"So they can also be like us, come up with a potion that has a bit of healing effect, and call them Immortality Factor potions."

"Next, we should claim that their raw materials don't meet the regulations, right? After all, we said before that only the raw materials collected by the Anquan Bureau are regular and legal. The Life Foundation doesn't have bat raw materials, so naturally, it's impossible to produce real Immortality Factor potions."

"No, competing in the ring is the most troublesome approach. We say it's fake, he says it's real, or even if it's fake, but the price is cheap and has the same effect, it will always gain a part of the market. Since that's the case, why don't we just pull him to cooperate?"

"His source of goods is sufficient, our publicity effect is significant, then we can directly outsource production to him. They are responsible for shipping, we are responsible for selling, everyone has money to earn."

"But isn't what he has in his hands fake goods?"

"Isn't what we have in our hands fake goods?"

"Makes sense."

The two clinked their coffee cups together and revealed a smile of mutual understanding.

That afternoon, Shiler walked into the laboratory that Stark used most often, holding a cup of coffee. As soon as he entered, he saw that the laboratory bench was covered in blood, and Stark was standing in front of it, grimacing and clutching his chest.

Shiler stood at the doorway staring at Stark, and Stark also looked up at him. The two stared at each other, and Stark asked: "Do you know what the most unwelcome profession in my laboratory is?"

"Given that you also asked Strange this question last time, I guess it must be a doctor?"

"You still know you're a doctor!! Come over and help me quickly!!"

"But I am a psychologist." Shiler walked over, slowly set down his coffee, and said: "People are destined to die eventually; look on the bright side."

"Fairy Wood Romance"

Stark rolled his eyes, put down the towel he was using to wipe the blood, and reached out to smear the blood on the countertop haphazardly.

Shiler pulled over a chair, sat down at the side of the laboratory bench, and took a stack of newspapers out from his coat. While shaking the newspapers open, he asked: "Why are you messing with that thing in your chest again? Are you finally planning to replace it?"

"Not yet, but I've thought of a new method."

Stark used alcohol to treat the wound he had just created, and while grimacing and sucking in cold air, he said: "I've been thinking, and I feel that the current method of replacing the reactor is a bit too primitive."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I want to upgrade the reactor in my chest, I have to undergo surgery, remove it from my chest, and then replace it with a new one. This process is very troublesome and also somewhat dangerous."

"So what do you plan to do?"

"I plan to create a slot and then research a portable reactor. The slot will be fixed inside my body, so I can pull the reactor out of my chest at any time and replace it with a new one."

"I discussed this idea with Dr. Yin Sen, and he said he had never seen anyone in this world who liked courting death more than I do."

"His evaluation is very accurate."

"This isn't just for the sake of being able to replace the reactor more quickly." Stark explained while cleaning up the pile of blood-stained cotton balls and towels on the table and throwing them away.

"When I was modifying the mecha, I discovered a big problem. Originally, I only had one type of mecha, and their capabilities were similar; they were all about strengthening my personal combat ability."

"But before, you created a set of magic mecha, and later, we developed the swarm robot concept together. After actual combat, we discovered the need for a logistics mechanical support system, and in the future, we might need enchanted mecha. With such a wide variety of mecha, I need more types of reactors to help me drive them."

"Although normal reactors can also provide different outputs, I hope it can have more functions, especially in terms of adapting to magic."

"And once different versions of reactors are developed, I can't just have surgery every day, right? If I have to spend more than half my time lying on the operating table every day, then I won't be able to get anything done."

Shiler put down the newspaper, glanced at Stark's chest, and said: "So you're planning to install a zipper for yourself?"

"Just like in that joke, no matter what the doctor leaves inside your body, you can just unzip it and take it out."

"Oh, zippers, lightbulbs—those are the only words you know," Stark said sarcastically.

"So, what stage is your experiment at? Why did you call me over?"

"I want you to help me test whether magic ability can be used on the Arc Reactor, or rather, I want you to help me make a magic version of the Arc Reactor."

"You should go to Strange for that."

"He said he couldn't do it and told me to come to you."

Shiler placed the newspaper on the desktop, stood up, and said to Stark: "First of all, you should understand my level. In your laboratory, the most high-end work I've done is changing a lightbulb."

"Secondly, the concept of a magic Arc Reactor does not exist. You said that the Arc Reactor design drawings left by your father utilized a new element, which has absolutely nothing to do with magic, and magic doesn't work that way either."

"So it really won't work?"

Shiler walked to the laboratory bench, stared at Stark's chest for a moment, and then said: "A magic version of the Arc Reactor might not work, but you actually just need an energy source installed in your chest, right?"

"Although I don't understand the construction of the Arc Reactor at all, if you just need an energy source, that should be doable. After all, with magic, everything is possible."

Shiler snapped his fingers, and the newspaper and coffee on the laboratory bench flew over. He said: "Give us access to a high-level laboratory. Strange and I will go study it, and I'll give you the results in a week."

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Two hundred chapters! Thank you, everyone!