Chapter 3698: Doomsday (Part 2)

"Although the matter is a foregone conclusion, I still suggest you consult with the human government." Shiler said, "It's obvious that now is not the time to coddle people, but at least you should go through the motions. I believe the governments of various countries will be willing to actively support your actions to defend the Nine Realms."

"We will hold a meeting at the United Nations." Strange said, "The biggest controversy will likely be the location of the garrison. I will give them three choices; the other two are near Earth and near the Sun. They certainly won't agree to those, so Uranus will become the best choice."

Shiler nodded without raising any objections. Strange and Loki looked at each other. Strange spoke up and asked, "Regarding the protection of the Nine Realms, do you have nothing to say?"

"I guess you want to ask if I have a final plan." Shiler said, "I can tell you I do. You know me; the plan will certainly be effective, but the process will be quite stimulating. If you are really that useless and let them fight their way to your home base, then don't blame me."

Loki's Adam's apple moved, and then he said, "With a final insurance policy, we can rest easy. Please promise me, don't activate your plan until the very last moment of crisis, okay?"

"Rest assured." Shiler nodded and said, "I also hope my plan is never needed. However, judging by the current situation..."

Strange interrupted him quickly and said, "We will do our best. Things certainly won't develop into such a desperate situation, right? Loki?"

Loki nodded vigorously, looking at Shiler with a very sincere expression. Shiler shrugged and said, "I hope so."

Loki left, filled with worry. Strange, however, didn't seem anxious. He remained sitting on the sofa, drinking, and said, "How was Steve's birthday? It's a pity I missed it."

"Actually, it was quite good." Shiler said, "His son caused a little trouble, but it was resolved quickly. The good news is that after this incident, the stronger mutants have decided to stay on Earth for the time being, at least for about a year. This should also be beneficial for protecting Earth."

"Another Omega-level mutant?" Strange curled his lip and said, "The existence of the Nine Realms didn't protect Earth; it protected the universe. If we let all these guys loose, who knows how chaotic the universe would become."

"The three great empires would have likely used their strategic-level weapons long ago." Shiler sighed and said, "Don't push them to the brink. We hope they weaken through long-term attrition, not discover that their days are numbered and blow themselves up, dragging the whole universe down with them."

"The situation is still under control for now." Strange said, "The fighting in the Alpha Centauri system is quite intense, the Large Magellanic Cloud has basically not been affected, and the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are even more stable. However, the cornered-dog behavior of the three great empires must indeed be guarded against."

"You've been staying in Kamar-Taj lately, and it's not entirely to communicate with Asgard, right? You contacted Yinglong?"

"Of course." Strange said, "I've contacted all the magical deities originating from Earth. But as you know, their forms of existence are completely different, which leads to them having no interest in wars between intelligent life forms. The Chinese government did say they have some precautionary measures."

"Like driving the Earth away?"

"Something like that." To Shiler's surprise, Strange didn't deny it but affirmed it, saying, "I can only confirm that they are indeed researching underground shelters and planetary engines, but I don't know how far they've progressed. They seem to have conducted experiments on one of Jupiter's moons, but I haven't heard of any moon growing legs and running away."

"They also have the Dark Elves' cloaking technology. If they really let a moon go out for a stroll, they wouldn't let you discover it." Shiler thought for a moment and said, "Actually, installing an engine on Earth isn't impossible, but I don't advocate using only technological means. It would be better to use a magical defense network."

"That's very dangerous." Strange said, "The magical defense network is a static network. Transforming it into a propulsion device requires precise experiments and long-term testing; it cannot be accomplished overnight. Rashly launching this project might cause the original magical defense network to malfunction. Kamar-Taj wouldn't do something so risky."

"You might not understand them very well." Shiler was referring to a certain Eastern power. He said, "In most matters, they appear very conservative, which misleads you into thinking they are all extremely conservative old fogies who would rather not take any risks. But from some of their actions, you can also see that they are not conservative at all; on the contrary, they are aggressively insane. Although Kamar-Taj is within their territory, the Hong Kong Sanctum, which is truly connected to the magical defense network, is at the very edge. If they were to do something to the magical defense network in the central region, would you be able to discover it immediately?"

Strange fell into deep thought, then said, "No, as long as they touch the magical defense network, I will definitely have a sense of it. Moreover, they shouldn't have the talent in this area. To take a step back, to conduct such experiments, the energy required is massive. Back then, we also fleeced all the magical deities in the universe to transform the magical defense network into what it is today. Where would they get so much energy?"

"Why do you think they are so insistent on mining Jupiter?"

Strange couldn't sit still anymore. Shiler rested his chin on his fingers and said, "I suspect they have fully mastered nuclear fusion technology. What they need is the large amount of Helium-3 on Jupiter. If nuclear fusion is used for power generation, the United States' annual power consumption would only require 25 tons of Helium-3, and the whole world would only need 100 tons. The Moon, which is closer to us, is estimated to have about 3.5 million tons of Helium-3, enough to support Earth's power generation for 7,000 years. If it's only used for ordinary power generation, plus the energy required for high-energy research, the Moon's resources are completely sufficient. So why are they going to such lengths to mine Jupiter?"

Strange's fingers trembled slightly as he said, "It couldn't be because the Moon's Helium-3 isn't enough, right? Over 3 million tons isn't enough? What on earth are they trying to research?!"

"Of course, there is also the possibility that because the Moon is closer to us, and there are Inhumans on it. If they were to mine it with great fanfare, it might trigger public opinion issues. The technical threshold for mining Jupiter is higher, and even if other countries' governments are dissatisfied, they can't say anything, after all, it's technology they developed themselves. This way, the pressure of international public opinion would be much smaller. They are accustomed to adopting such policies."

"No, that doesn't make sense." Strange said, "If all other countries didn't have the technology to mine Jupiter, that would make sense. After all, whoever researches it first gets the first slice of the cake, and other countries can't say anything even if they are envious. But long before them, the Roxxon Corporation was already capable of mining Jupiter, and they had publicized this matter long ago. That is to say, all countries around the world know that the United States also has companies capable of mining Jupiter."

"Never mind where the resources mined by the Roxxon Corporation went. As long as the US Congress knows that the United States has companies capable of mining Jupiter's resources, they will definitely try their best to stop China. Never mind why; Americans just feel that the entire universe is their own living room, and no one can touch anything they've touched."

"Mining the Moon, although it might face pressure from public opinion, no one would try their best to stop it. Because this is a cake everyone can eat; it's just a matter of sooner or later."

"But Jupiter is a cake that only China and the US can eat. With the American mindset addicted to zero-sum games, they would definitely try to block it with all their might. And so far, the only one capable of competing with China in terms of technology is the United States. Being condemned verbally is one thing, but clashing head-on with the United States is another; they shouldn't choose the latter."

"But since they chose this, it proves that they would rather clash head-on with the United States than not obtain certain things on Jupiter. If it weren't of immense value, they wouldn't take this risk."

Strange had already stood up and said, "I have to go check what they are actually doing. I hope they aren't really planning to put a planetary engine above their own heads."

After Strange left, Shiler also returned to his office. Because it was still early, he planned to go to the restaurant for a cup of coffee, only to run into Steve, who was returning from his morning jog.

"You don't have many leisurely days left, Captain." Shiler laughed and said, "Soon the United Nations will ask you to attend a meeting, demanding that you represent all of humanity to negotiate with Asgard."

"What now?" Steve said while eating a sandwich, "I heard it's not peaceful in the universe lately. Is Asgard going out to fight a war?"

"Quite the opposite. They want to strengthen the defenses within the Nine Realms, so they plan to station troops within the solar system. Although it's called stationing troops, there should be no more than ten people coming. The location is on Uranus, and a group of Frost Giants will also be going. They should sign some kind of contract with humanity. The United Nations will ask you to show your face and ask for some benefits."

"Sounds like a total mess." Steve frowned.

"It gets even messier." Shiler snapped his fingers and began to count down, "Three, two, one..."

"SHILER!!!" Strange's roar echoed throughout the restaurant. He jumped down from a portal in mid-air, panting, and said, "You don't know what I just saw!!!"

Shiler quickly covered his mouth and, together with Steve, dragged him upstairs. Once they reached the office, Strange finally caught his breath, his fingers trembling as he said, "They hollowed out the bottom of Mount Ximalaya!!!!"

"Choosing Mount Ximalaya? That's actually a good choice." Shiler nodded and said, "The mages fly around there every day and didn't notice?"

"Do you remember that project they helped us build back then? The two villages, the laboratory, and Kamar-Taj..."

Shiler thought about it. He remembered that during the time they were preparing to cultivate magical mushrooms, the Chinese engineering team carried out a major renovation there, and after a period of construction, a high-speed railway was even built.

"At first, they only said they wanted to build a laboratory, digging a hole in the mountainside of Mount Ximalaya to store Chiyou's corpse. I agreed. Later, they said they wanted to help renovate Kamar-Taj; I thought it was indeed a bit too ancient, so I agreed. Later, they said they wanted to modernize the village; I thought it could improve the villagers' living standards, so I agreed. Finally, they said transportation was too inconvenient and they wanted to build a high-speed railway; I thought that made sense, so I agreed."

"So they snuck in some private goods during these few years?"

"It was some serious engineering snuck into the private goods!!!" Strange roared, clenching his five fingers, "They hollowed out the entire Mount Ximalaya! Not just the mountain body, they dug down more than 2,000 meters underneath it! Now the entire Mount Ximalaya range is just an empty shell!!!"

"Like a balloon?" Shiler thought for a moment, then was amused by his own metaphor, and finally said, "What they put inside is the point, right?"

"They put a sun inside! I'm not joking!" Strange bared his teeth and said, "It's a giant nuclear fusion reactor. They covered it with a shielding layer, causing the mages and the magical defense network to detect no energy changes inside. And the key problem is, if they have such shielding technology, then we don't know what they've built on their own territory. The one under Mount Ximalaya might be the smallest one!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3699 =====