hotmtlnovel Chapter 4001 MU Superbody Major Event (81)
Chapter 4001 MU Superbody Major Event (81)
Chapter 4001 MU: The Superbody Incident (Chapter 81)
Schiller was currently on Mountain 1 of the polar planet Asgard. He was using the gray mist to spit out supplies. After finishing spitting out the supplies, he began to wander around inside the hollowed-out parts of the mountain.
He had never seen the faster-than-light engine built in the Himalayas before. Now he could finally see it for himself. Although most of the components were manufactured and packaged on Earth, watching the installation process was still quite interesting.
To be honest, this thing wasn't as cool as Schiller had imagined. It just looked like a giant furnace, and the special metals used were all painted a dull gray, completely lacking in vibrancy. If it weren't for the fact that it was a faster-than-light engine, you'd think it was a bathhouse boiler.
However, Schiller knew very well that this kind of equipment should actually be this style. Using those fancy light strips was too prone to problems, and maintenance would be a difficult task.
He'd heard Stark complain countless times about the malfunctioning breathing light on his Arc Reactor—either it wouldn't flash, or it would flash erratically, requiring repairs almost weekly. But for the sake of aesthetics, he resolutely refused to change it, even though it was still embedded in his chest. Even when he accidentally burned himself while fixing it, wincing in pain, he still insisted on installing it. Truly, he was Iron Man.
After touring the area, seeing the familiar text and numbers, the red and blue tarpaulin that reminded him of his childhood, and the super machine placed beneath it that was completely out of place with this simple style, Schiller was satisfied and ready to return to the base to rest for a while when he received a call from Stark.
"What's wrong? Is your notification light broken again?"
Stark froze, glancing down at his chest. The LED strip on the outside of the reactor was indeed out. Stark nearly jumped up, yelling into the phone, "Was it you again?! You had that symbiote adjust the room humidity again, causing a short circuit in my lighting circuit! You bastard…"
“I’m half a planet away from you right now,” Schiller said. “I’ve been working for over twenty hours since I came from Earth and I’m about to go rest. Get to the point.”
“Ahem,” Stark cleared his throat and said, “The other Iron Men are planning to set up research projects and have asked if we can provide resources. What do you think?”
“‘I think’ is useless. You have to submit it to the command center first, let them do a strategic assessment, and then send it to the think tank for a risk assessment. After all of them are approved, it is transferred to the original material coordination and dispatch system. The system assigns me the order, and only then can I deliver it.”
“I’m just worried that the risk assessment won’t be successful,” Stark said.
"So you want me to pull strings for you? But don't forget, I'm not Schiller now, I'm Mistman, just an ordinary second-tier hero. How can I have that much say?"
"Then why don't you pretend to be Schiller for a while?"
“I don’t think I’ll be needed for this,” Schiller said after a moment’s thought. “It should go through. There are certainly some risks, but don’t forget why we’re fighting this war. We have to give them a taste of success first, so that we can maintain good relations in the future, right?”
With that, Stark felt much more at ease. Schiller's judgment in these matters was usually very accurate; if he said it would pass, it definitely would.
Besides, their universe possesses a considerable amount of unique resources. While other universes may also have similar resources, they clearly lack the conditions for large-scale extraction. They haven't even resolved their own minor issues on Earth; large-scale mining in other star systems is a distant prospect.
In other words, these resources can only be obtained from the central universe. If these resources are used to build armor or weapons, won't they have to be returned for repairs? Even if the quality is excellent and the return rate is low, once you've used this upgraded version of the equipment, wouldn't you want to build some more?
Iron Man at full power is an absolute resource hog, and Earth, where most of Iron Man resides, simply cannot sustain him. Even in the central universe, before humanity entered the era of interstellar exploration, Stark was unable to mass-produce his designs. There was no way around it; even the best technology couldn't be built without sufficient resources.
Stark is a bit better off; if there's an urgent need, he can use magic to create something. But most Iron Man characters can't even use magic; they truly rely entirely on their hammers to build a great civilization from its underwater beginnings—they are genuine hammer gods.
So while providing these Iron Man characters with resources might be a loss now, it's like a trial; it's hard to attract customers without incurring a small loss. Once they develop a dependency, it will eventually be profitable.
Sure enough, the command center at the rear thought the same way, and even generously said: "You can use the resources to build as much as you want, and you can take it with you when you're done. We won't leave you a single bit. Consider it as support for the construction of the multiverse."
It's impossible not to be moved, but in reality, most Iron Man and Captain America have very mixed feelings.
"Responsibility" is actually a very abstract concept in the Western world. Most Europeans and Americans, from birth to death, do not pursue it, nor have they ever encountered such people. This can be seen from their political style.
They made grand promises during the campaign, but failed to deliver on any of them after taking office, even regressing in some aspects. However, voters saw no problem with this at all; they didn't even use it to attack anyone, because they considered it normal.
The Western world has no shortage of heroes who rise to the challenge, but in their understanding, heroes overcome difficulties out of courage and passion, not out of a sense of responsibility. Words spoken and promises made are merely a means to achieve victory, and as long as victory is won, whether or not the promises are kept is irrelevant; everyone understands and respects this idea.
While the strong sense of responsibility in the East can lead to excessive personal pressure, the lack of responsibility in the West does indeed result in their societies lacking the conviction to support the entire society, as if the whole society is waiting for a few heroes who suddenly burst out with courage to save it.
In the competition among the multiverses, most universes also adopt typical Western campaign thinking, which is to talk big, make promises to people everywhere, socialize with people, and act tough, passionate, and uncompromising in an attempt to gain status through this method.
But the fact is that the fact that this system works in Western societies on Earth is actually a coincidence, or even that it works. Rather, it gradually shows that the social system is a drag on modernization, and this will become more and more serious over time.
Applying this formula to all situations is absolutely unworkable, especially at the level of cosmic power struggles. "Social victory" is not a victory at all, because in the multiverse, gaining status is not based on voting, but on force.
When multiverse catastrophe strikes, words are useless; fighting is the only way to win. If a universe is elected based on its social skills, are we really going to expect these people to repel the mysterious beings who want to destroy it with mere words?
If there isn't a leader who can truly take charge, and a high-level leader who can demonstrate sufficient strength to repel the enemy at critical moments, then the existence of this multi-faceted alliance is meaningless.
In this situation, everyone must abandon the old mindset of "vote politics" and instead think about the meaning of "social responsibility" and what it can bring them.
Only universes that genuinely shoulder responsibility out of a sense of social responsibility for the multiverse are the leaders they need, capable of guiding them through difficulties. And the way to shoulder responsibility is not through empty promises, but through concrete, tangible actions.
If a universe is truly willing to share its resources to build a multiverse, it proves that it genuinely wants to enhance the power of the multiverse to cope with disasters, rather than using its power for personal gain.
Even setting aside theory, from a purely practical standpoint, if such a universe were to become the leader, they would reap even greater benefits.
Most of the Iron Man crew started to make their own calculations. They weren't unaware that using the resources of the central universe to create things could create dependency, but so what?
I can't build my own universe, and I don't have enough resources to do so. Others have provided me with favorable conditions, so why shouldn't I use them?
Too much power is the source of destruction? Screw that. After the battle just now, most Iron Man players fully understand how stupid the military and government's rhetoric is.
Humanity is already so weak, and you're telling me we possess too much power? That's like someone who's ranked last in their class closing their book, saying with their eyes closed, "Learning too much knowledge will lead to a confused understanding, so I need to learn more slowly."
Actually, they weren't that panicked when Jarvis controlled the mechs; they weren't that terrified when the space shattered and they were disoriented while escaping; and they were only slightly amazed when they learned that humans here had already widely adopted faster-than-light engine technology. But what truly shook them was hearing from Iron Man in the main universe about Asgard using the Bifrost to help humans mine.
Humans in this universe are already so powerful, but in Asgard's eyes, they are still toddlers who need help to walk. Asgard's behavior is like a parent feeding a child food, fearing that the food is too big for the child to chew, so they first mash it with a spoon before feeding it to the child.
That's how it is on their side, and isn't it the same on Batman's side? The Justice League has been working hard for so many years, and in the end, isn't their base still Apokolips?
Everyone realized that, under these circumstances, Earth was not something to be proud of; it was not their proud home or safe haven, but rather a burden and a weakness.
This fact would severely damage the confidence of human supremacists, such as Stark and Strange. The more outstanding and proud one is, the more likely one is to feel devastated when they discover their own limitations.
Iron Man was utterly devastated, otherwise he wouldn't have spoken to Stark like that. Every Iron Man is proud; they once firmly believed their universe was superior, that they could create the best equipment on their own Earth without needing anyone else's help.
Their decision to take action in this universe is, in fact, a partial choice to give up amidst the fragmentation and reconstruction, to put aside their unrealistic idealism, to pick up their rice bowls in the real world, and to fill their stomachs first.
It's hard to say whether this shift is good or bad, but it's certainly beneficial for the central universe. Although they can take the equipment with them, it was built right under Jarvis's nose, the technology was completely transparent, and a genius scientist like Iron Man is particularly prone to flashes of inspiration, creating technologies that don't exist in this universe. So exchanging resources for it isn't too bad.
Iron Man's side is sorted out, but Doctor Strange's side is not so easy. Ever since the Asgard base became operational, the Sorcerer Supreme's group has been internally fractured.
"Quiet! Quiet! Listen to me!!!" Strange shouted at the top of his lungs, standing in the center of the conference room. "I'll say it one last time! In this universe, Asgard is our staunch ally, Loki is not the enemy! And we are not entirely dependent on them; using their bases is merely a strategic move!!!"
But judging from the skeptical expressions of the other Doctors of Strange, they didn't believe him at all. Strange was completely at his wit's end.