Chapter 4862: Wonderful Drama of Strange Shadows (Six)

"Daily life? What daily life are you referring to?" Thor asked.

"I mean the daily interactions between you brothers. I know you spend most of your time on the battlefield, but you must have occasional downtime, right?"

Shi Difen then turned to Loki and said: "You can adapt some of the pranks you've played on your brother, and there are also some awkward moments from your daily life."

Obviously, there is plenty of material for this part. Loki agreed without even thinking, then said: "But if the first part leans toward comedy, wouldn't the style clash with the latter part?"

"In this TV series, you need to simultaneously display your approachability and majesty. Comedy handles the approachable part, while the latter part needs to show a certain royal majesty. So Thor's coronation is a must-film."

"However, the first season doesn't need to consider this content. The main focus is on brotherly interaction, to see if it can be popular. If so, the following seasons can gradually shift toward grandeur and seriousness. Audience acceptance would also be higher."

Loki nodded and asked: "What about the screenwriter?"

"I suggest you write it yourself." Shi Difen said, "With your learning ability, screenwriting isn't difficult. If you hire Earth people to write it, they wouldn't know the details of Asgardian life, and it would be hard to create dramatic conflict from that. Isn't that right?"

Loki nodded again, then asked: "And what about you? We still want you to play the role of a psychiatrist; otherwise, we can't explain some of our changes."

"That could work, though I feel that's something for later seasons. You should focus on yourselves for now."

"Also, there's investment," Thor said, "Asgard has little industry on Earth. Can we invest using interstellar common currency?"

"Of course, Earth is currently lacking interstellar common currency." Shi Difen nodded and said, "You go find Nick; he can help you exchange. Don't worry about him cheating you—SHIELD's series still hopes you'll blaze the trail."

Thor agreed. Because he knew, if their show turns out well, the platform might possibly film a SHIELD series, and Nick would definitely not be stingy. They should be able to get a very good exchange rate.

Not long after the two left, Steve rushed in: "The actor cast to play me is actually Mephisto!!!"

Steve seemed greatly shocked. But Shi Difen had already anticipated it, saying: "In Hampton, you've had plenty of contact with him; you set a good example for him."

"But he... he... who knows what evil scheme he's cooking up again!" Steve visibly uneasy, "He wouldn't try to use me to collect faith, would he?"

"If that were the case, he should play Mephisto in your series and guide you with a positive image, so faith would gather on him. If he played you, faith would only gather on you, after all, you're still alive."

Steve also became bewildered, saying: "Then what is he after by playing me? Devils always have some motive."

"Perhaps he really just wants to learn from you."

"He said the same thing back in Hampton." Steve truly couldn't take it anymore, "Even Jesus' incarnation didn't make him turn from evil to good—what ability do I have?!"

Then he looked at Shi Difen again: "Was this also your doing?"

Shi Difen didn't hide it. Or rather, whenever someone asks about his plans, he never hides. He told Steve everything about Sara and Blake, as well as what he previously said to Mephisto, and the underlying principle.

"So he wants to learn human emotions and then produce an offspring?" Steve frowned, saying, "That won't succeed, will it?"

"He will definitely try." Shi Difen said, "For humans, life is too short, with no time to waste on hopeless endeavors. But for devils, it's different—he won't die, so spending hundreds or thousands of years trying to gain emotions is no big deal."

Steve suddenly understood. For a devil, spending a few hundred years setting up a trap is quite normal. Success is naturally good, failure doesn't matter either, because it's not like he'd spend a few hundred years just on this one thing.

After all, 《伊法魔尼》 has already made Mephisto's name known to every household—an achievement unattainable for the past few centuries, accomplished in just a few short years. The remaining time can naturally be used to explore new paths. Success would of course be best, but failure wouldn't incur any loss either.

"So he genuinely wants to be a good person?" Steve said, somewhat incredulous, "But why would he want to imitate me?"

"There aren't many good people around you." Shi Difen spoke bluntly, "You're already the most just and kind among us. Otherwise, are you hoping Mephisto learns from Shi Difen, or from me?"

Steve had no reply.

Steve never thought of himself as perfect; he's very aware of his many flaws. But looking around, in his circle of friends, he already counts as a perfect human. Just as Shi Difen said, aside from him, there aren't many who are wholesome.

Stark is anxious and neurotic, Strange has a foul and stubborn temper, Natasha drinks alcohol, Bucky is missing an arm, and Shi Difen is heavyweight. Mephisto learning from any of them wouldn't yield anything good. He'd be better off learning from himself.

"You should really think about how he managed to deal with the military." Shi Difen chuckled, then said, "You really think the military would willingly let him film movies like this?"

Steve blinked, he really hadn't considered this question. After thinking, he said: "Anyway, he's a devil. He should also have mind-control-like spells, right?"

Shi Difen shook his head: "Mephisto is now immersed in playing you. He sincerely regards himself as the second Captain America. Naturally, he wouldn't use those underhanded tactics."

"But he's not me, he doesn't have my combat record. He doesn't even have my superpowers. He's just an actor who looks like me. Without special means, how could he deal with those old, crafty generals?"

"I'm not too clear on that," Shi Difen said, "If you want to know, why not ask him? Even hearing your old rival suffer misfortune would be quite interesting, wouldn't it?"

Steve is clearly very interested. Obviously, he's suffered many losses at the hands of those generals. Or rather, he's hardly won a few rounds. Most of the time, it's one-sided disgust. He really wants to see those people suffer badly.

But in this world, few can sanction those people. If they just stay in their own little plot of land, nobody can do anything to them. Thinking of this, Steve feels like he has a bone stuck in his throat, his whole body uncomfortable.

Mephisto has the ability to deal with them. It can only be said that evil meets its match. Even if we can't witness it firsthand, just hearing about it would be good. But Steve still really doesn't want to deal with Mephisto. It makes him feel like he's about to sell his soul to the devil.

"I estimate it won't be long before the military comes looking for you. When that happens, as long as you don't refuse, there will naturally be good drama to watch."

"Looking for me?" Steve said, somewhat puzzled, "Looking for me to do what?"

"They think you're easy to bully," Shi Difen said, "After this movie, they should have realized that the young actor Mephisto plays isn't easy to provoke. So they naturally want to turn back and squeeze you, this soft persimmon."

Steve's face visibly flushed with anger. But he still held back. He said: "They can't even handle a young actor—what makes them think they can handle me?"

"Because they've succeeded too many times." Shi Difen said very bluntly, "In their view, you're not kindly yielding, but weak-willed and easy to control."

"I'm weak-willed?" Steve laughed in anger. He himself thinks one of his biggest flaws is his bad temper. Precisely because of that, he's always been trying to control his temper, to appear as gentle as possible, not wanting to hurt his family and friends.

"I think you're the Captain America with the best temper in the entire multiverse," Shi Difen said from the heart, "Look at the main universe, and those other universes. Their tempers are all worse than yours."

"That's because I'm controlling it!" Steve emphasized, "I have a family, I have children, I have friends. I can't let my bad side show in front of you. Since I met Carter, I've never lost my temper in front of her. After little Thomas was born, it's been even more so."

"You know better than I do what they're best at—blowing their nose and climbing onto your face." Shi Difen shrugged, "Your retreat won't earn understanding, only encourage them to push further. Seeing you not get angry, they think you're easy to bully. Unable to control Mephisto, they naturally want to control you instead."

"What do they want me to do? Won't it be to make me fight Mephisto?"

Shi Difen shook his head: "Their plan is definitely like that. If Mephisto were easy to control, they'd make him the new Captain America. Super Soldier Serum is gone, but it's not like there are no other ways to gain superpowers. By then they'd say, you falling into the ice crevasse is fake, the real you has always been secretly fighting Hydra, only recently returning. Pulling a civet cat to replace the prince isn't hard either."

"If Mephisto is hard to control, they'll recall you, have you act in the second movie. You're not as domineering as Mephisto, so they'll let him shape the content, and it will definitely end up as military propaganda. Moreover, they might not truly want you to film—most likely they'll use you, the real deal, to pressure the fake, to negotiate with Mephisto. Once Mephisto loosens up, you'll be tossed aside by them again."

Steve trembled with anger, both arms shaking. But he knew, the military is very likely thinking exactly this. He understands them well. They only need a Captain America-like spiritual symbol. Who it is doesn't matter at all, as long as they listen.

But even amid anger, a hint of cold smile crept out. "Then they've found the wrong person—Mephisto won't listen to their arrangements."

"Wrong, it's the ideal Captain America in their ideal who won't listen to their arrangements." Shi Difen lightly tapped the table and said, "Mephisto is playing you. To be precise, he's playing an idealized version of you—more just and kind, unyielding on principles, highly skilled in political struggle, able to manipulate everyone effortlessly. He learns from you, and you can also learn from him."

Shi Difen's tone is always gentle yet firm. Steve gradually calmed down, saying: "You're right. If Mephisto wholeheartedly turns toward good, then he will indeed do better than me. He's stronger than me, also smarter than me."

"But he can't always stay good." Shi Difen said, "I'm also not sure how long his enthusiasm for learning emotions will last. You must seize this opportunity to learn his abilities. Know that a fully idealized self is equivalent to a custom-made master teacher—not something just anyone can encounter. This opportunity is rare."

Steve pondered, then nodded and said: "Exactly. He won't always stay good, but I can. As long as I learn his abilities, I can also make those military people pay the price..."

Saying this, Steve's phone rang. He opened it, saw clearly, then said: "They've come looking for me."