Nick Fury's expression was serious, so serious that Agents Coulson and Hill beside him were silent. They were not on a planet, but on a vast, seemingly messy and crude metal platform.
Dark and silent city.
This is Luke's city, built in outer space. However, its sheer size and the technology it employs make it impossible for the atrium to detect its existence. It's like an invisible city that doesn't exist.
Around them, spinning circles of sparks flashed out one after another, and wizards hurried out one after another. Most of them just glanced at them once or twice, and then hurried to the center of the square as if their heads were in a hurry.
Nick's single eye gazed at the center of the square from afar, his gaze deep. His face appeared calm, but deep within him a force ten storm was churning.
"Where's Luke?" Nick uttered a few words through gritted teeth.
Coulson and Hill exchanged a glance, unsure how to respond. How did they know where Luke was? The wizard Stephen Strange, who had brought them, had barely arrived when a bald female boss whisked him away like a chicken. Before they could even exchange a single word, the two men vanished through a portal. Faced with their superior's inquiries, they could only remain silent.
"What are you doing here?" The Mage King, who had lost a lot of weight, jumped out of a portal. He saw Nick and the other two standing there motionless, so he stopped, waved to the mages around him, and took the initiative to step forward and ask.
"Doctor Strange brought us here. He said Luke wanted to discuss something with us." Nick relaxed his expression and replied to the approaching Wizard King.
"Something happened? Oh, it's a big deal indeed. You are also one of the collaborators." The Mage King suddenly woke up.
Nick's face darkened even further. But he couldn't say anything. He desperately needed an insider to tell him what the situation was! It had only been a while since they last met, but why did he feel like Luke had done something big that he didn't know about?
"What is that?" Nick pointed to a group of giants in the center of the square. They were more than four meters tall, with white flames burning all over their bodies and two curved horns like goat's horns on their foreheads.
"What else could it be? A demon from the Hell dimension." The Mage King sighed.
When Nick and the other two heard this, even though they had already guessed it in their hearts, they couldn't help but gasp after it was confirmed.
"I remember that the Hell dimension was the enemy, wasn't it?" Nick thought about the dimensional knowledge the Mage King had given him. He remembered sending agents to collect accommodation fees and other miscellaneous fees from the Ghost Rider. It had been quite unpleasant.
"Yes." The Mage King nodded affirmatively.
"Then?" Nick pointed at the wizard and a group of demons who were frantically trying to control the situation.
"Isn't this the big deal that Luke negotiated with Mephisto, one of the lords of the Hell dimension, some time ago?" said the Mage Wangdao.
"What Luke talked about? Mephisto?" Nick sensitively grasped the key point in the Mage King's words.
"Yes, it happened in Asgard's Asgard, under the witness of God King Odin and the Supreme Sorcerer." The Sorcerer King felt that he sighed more today than in the whole year.
"The Sorcerer Supreme didn't stop Luke or something? This is a demon?" Nick felt the veins on his forehead throbbing. Although he knew that Luke would not do such a stupid thing as to invite a wolf into his house, he couldn't help but consider the possibility that Luke was being deceived or something.
"I'm sorry, this deal is truly enormous." The Mage King gave an awkward smile. He too was shocked when he heard about the deal, while Mordo's eyes shone brighter than a wolf's in the night, a lustrous green glow. He had also asked Mordo about the potential of this deal, and Mordo's reply was: "It's so huge you can't even see the limit at first glance, provided it can be successful."
Giving too much!
Nick and the other two understood instantly.
"So, now we are in a cooperative relationship with the Hell Dimension again?" Nick rubbed his forehead. He found that his understanding of those demons was still too superficial.
"Cooperation is cooperation, confrontation is confrontation. Everything is unclear now." The Wizard King saw Nick's dilemma, and it took him some time to change his mind.
Nick nodded in understanding. It was like one organization simultaneously cooperating and competing with another. He understood.
"Then what are you doing? Are they going to enter the interior of the planet?" Nick asked out of a sense of responsibility. If these demons were allowed to enter the surface, he would probably be in trouble.
"According to the agreement, they will not enter the interior of the planet without permission. All transactions are completed within Luke's metal city. Moreover, the barrier of the Sanctuary remains solid." The Mage King finished his explanation and glanced at the demons in the center of the square. He subconsciously said, "As for them? They should be exchanging coins."
"Exchange currency? By the way, what kind of big business did Luke do with Mephisto?" Nick saw a wizard calling the Mage King in the distance and asked hurriedly.
"Do you have your Heart Rings?" The Mage King looked at the hands of Nick and the other two. Nick and the other two lifted the rings on their fingers. The Mage King moved, leading them through the crowd. "Then follow me. We'll talk as we walk. Remember to use the power of the rings to protect your hearts, otherwise the demonic radiation might affect your thinking. The greatest benefit of emotional energy is that it can protect our minds, making us immune to the subtle erosion and influence of dimensional energy on our spiritual consciousness."
Nick and the other two held up the energy suit of the mind ring.
"You can ask Luke about the details of the deal later. What I know is that Luke promised Mephisto the position of the first president of the future Dimensional Energy Bank. So Mephisto joined without hesitation. Of course, he could defect at any moment. These demons were sent here for business training," the Mage King explained to the three people following closely behind him as he walked. The square was large, so despite the appearance of being crowded with people, machines, and huge metal boxes, it didn't seem crowded.
Nick and the other two suddenly felt a sense of magic.
As they spoke, they had already reached a location near the center of the square. On a simple stand, a researcher wearing a white coat emblazoned with the Heberon logo said to a demon in front of her, more than twice her height, "What are you selling?"
The demon pulled out a huge thigh bone that was taken from some unknown beast and slammed it heavily on a special metal table. Immediately behind the researcher came several mages from the lineage of the Supreme Mage and magicians loaned from the Asgard, mobilizing their magic power and spells to conduct various tests and analyses on the thigh bone.
The three parties will then exchange the information they have obtained, and after evaluation, give new currency of corresponding value.
There are many exchange places like this around the square, and many demons are queuing up to exchange.
"It seems that the devil is polite and even queues up?" Nick sighed when he saw this scene.
"You are late. You didn't see them when they were making trouble. Do you see those mechanical weapons and robots standing around? They have replaced a batch of them. I have to say that Luke's technology is really good. Once a large amount of data is collected, the weapons and machines manufactured specifically are indeed effective. More than ten demons have died here. Mephisto came to complain, but was stopped by God King Odin and Ancient One." The Wizard King curled his lips and bluntly pointed out the reason why these demons were so obedient at the moment.
Soon, a huge spiritual roar sounded in the square. With the help of the language conversion device in the city, it was translated into seven or eight different languages and spread to all directions.
"Bug, I'm a warrior under Lord Mephisto! How dare you do this to me?" A demon with flames burning all over his body waved a flaming whip, lashed out a huge metal box beside him, and roared angrily at a mage not far in front of him.
A row of robots rushed over with weapons, and a blood-red figure was faster. A huge beam of energy directly hit the demon in the face, and then the surrounding magician teams followed. The last one fell from the sky, and a hammer flashing with thunder and lightning smashed down on the demon's head. The demon who was showing off his might a moment ago suddenly collapsed to the ground, and honestly treated himself as a dead fish.
The other demons watching this scene gloated, though with a touch of sadness. After the deaths of ten demons, their lords had given them a stern lecture before they arrived. Some of the rebellious ones, hoping to exploit their strengths and exploit loopholes, were given another round of stern lectures by their masters, and now they've become much more sensible and obedient. But that doesn't stop newcomers from coming here to repeat the hardships they've endured.
"Why is Frank here?" Nick recognized the blood-red figure at a glance and asked in amazement.
"Oh, he and Thor are both here to maintain order. I heard Luke paid him a very high salary." The Mage King simply glanced at him, explained nonchalantly, and then paid no attention. He'd been nervous at first about these riots, but after so many, they'd become numb. Anyway, if a demon came, whether it caused trouble or not, beating them up first and then teaching them the ropes was the right thing to do!
Finally, they came to the center of the square, where there were more demons and people, and two dwarves with thick hair were in charge.
"What type of weapon do you want?" one of the dwarves asked in a somewhat mechanical and numb tone.
"I want a powerful long sword." The demon in question exuded immense strength, but under the dwarf's blunt questioning, he acted somewhat fawningly. His tall body bent almost ninety degrees, his face brimming with sparks—hmm, smile? He even thoughtfully summoned his own energy to materialize the weapon he had imagined.
"Bring your own materials and go over there to pay." The dwarf took a look and waved his hand, signaling the next person.
"After I pay the materials and money, can I forge the weapon?" the devil asked, controlling his voice.
"How is that possible! Did you pass the training? Was it excellent? Did you meet the performance standards? Did you stand out? No? If you didn't, why are you in such a hurry? Do you understand the rules? Even if you have achieved all of them, you still have to queue up! The forging tasks we have received are full! Full!" The dwarf slammed the table angrily and yelled at the demon in front of him.
The demon stood up, only to be stared at by a group of mages and mechanical devices. He raised his hand and obediently followed the dwarf's instructions to go to another counter to pay. Well, he used the so-called new currency he had just exchanged for his treasured supplies.
The dwarf sat back in his seat, satisfied. It was a wonderful experience, barking orders at someone far more powerful than him without worrying about the consequences. The only problem was the subsequent forging missions were a bit stressful. Hopefully, the forging equipment Luke provided them would be of higher quality.
Nick felt like if he stayed here any longer, his heart would surely fray. Judging by the expressions on Coulson and Hill's faces, he clearly felt the same way. Fortunately, though, he finally met Luke under the guidance of the Mage King. Luke was speaking righteously to a virtual projection before him.
"...You're just adding to our workload! Can't you just go ahead and help those poor demons pay for it?..."
"This is their business, why should I pay for it?" The shadow being accused by Luke was also very agitated. The bone mask on his face kept changing expressions, and he argued with Luke.
"You are their lord!"
"So? I'm supposed to pay for all that damn training and forging? That doesn't make sense, Luke!"
"Capitalists would weep at the sight of you, even Grandet would bow down before you!" Luke rolled his eyes. Faced with a demon who allowed his subordinates to bring their own food and materials to work for him, taking nothing for granted and believing it was the truth, Luke was speechless. This situation seemed to be taken for granted among the demons.
"That's wonderful praise! Thank you for the compliment." Mephisto accepted Luke's words with a smile on his face.
"Do you have anything else to ask? Thanks to you, I'm in a mess here!" Luke was a little helpless. No wonder the God King Odin and Ancient One ran away so fast and threw all the matters related to Mephisto onto him.
"Besides the [God-making Loan] and [Revenge Loan] that you mentioned, do you have any new inspiration? I have also thought of a few loans. Would you like to give me some advice?" Mephisto said excitedly.
"I found a professional for you! He can answer all your questions. Well, except for those about strength." Luke saw Nick and his group, and immediately threw the blame away. He pointed in the direction of Nick, and handed over Mephisto's shadow communication while Nick was confused.