Demon God’s Conspiracy

"Thank you."

Doom sat across from Wang Bert and impatiently asked, "Mr. Wang, was the old man who opened the Hell Gate during the Battle of Manhattan the Demon King of Hell, Mephisto?"

Wang Bert did not deny it and nodded. "Yes, that old man was Mephisto."

Doom asked, "I want to know what happened to him in the end."

Wang Bert said, "He was sent back to Hell by the great Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One."

"The Sorcerer Supreme?"

Doom was stunned. He asked again, "He was only sent back to Hell? Why not destroy him directly?"

Wang Bert said, "What came was only a projection, not his true body. Mephisto is an old fox. Why would he personally descend to Earth in his true body?"

"I see!"

After hesitating for a moment, Doom asked, "Mr. Wang, I want to know how one can retrieve a soul from Mephisto."

Wang Bert merely looked at Doom without speaking. Doom understood what he meant and said, "Mr. Wang, please tell me. I, Doom, will definitely repay this favor!"

Doom looked both earnest and proud. He would definitely repay this favor, and he could repay it, because he was Doom! "Why do you want to know this?"

Wang Bert asked. Doctor Doom’s favor was still quite valuable, even if the movie version of Doctor Doom was a weakened one! "My mother was a Gypsy Witch. For her country, she sacrificed her soul to Mephisto!"

Doom took a sip of red wine and sighed. "Unfortunately, Mephisto deceived her. Latveria did not get better; it became even worse! I wanted to save her, so I came to America to study advanced technology. But modern technology simply has not reached that level.

Over the past decade or so, although I have amassed a fortune worth tens of billions, there has been no progress at all in saving my mother."

"That sounds a little like humblebragging!"

Wang Bert smiled, then asked, "Doctor Doom, why didn’t you study magic? Magic would have a better chance of saving your mother, wouldn’t it?"

Doom shook his head. "I wanted to, but I couldn’t find an avenue. The mages I hired at high prices were all frauds!"

"I see."

Wang Bert said, "Doctor Doom, if you want to take a soul back from Mephisto, you first need to find something he cannot refuse and trade with him!"

Doom was stunned. "It’s that simple?"

"Of course it’s not simple. The purpose of this step is to make Mephisto bring out the soul, but everyone knows Mephisto definitely won’t conduct an honest trade!"

Wang Bert said, "So next, you must outwit Mephisto. While protecting what you offer in trade, you must seize the soul from him!"

"I understand!"

Doom suddenly understood. After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Mr. Wang, can you introduce me to the Sorcerer Supreme?"

"Of course!"

Wang Bert nodded and briefly explained the Sorcerer Supreme and Kamar-Taj, then said, "I’m not entirely sure where Kamar-Taj is, but if you’re interested, you can take a trip to Kathmandu!"

"Kathmandu? Understood!"

Doom nodded and said with great sincerity, "Mr. Wang, thank you very much for the introduction. I will definitely repay this favor in the future!"

"No need! Anyone who has a grudge against Mephisto is my friend!"

Wang Bert smiled, then thought of something and asked, "By the way, I heard you invested in Dr. Richards’s project?"

"Yes. Reed was my university classmate, and I think highly of his Cosmic Storm project."

Doom nodded and asked, "Mr. Wang, do you know Reed?"

Wang Bert said, "We met once. He’s a very talented man, but his luck isn’t very good. His career never seems to go smoothly!"

"That’s because he hadn’t met me!"

Doom said confidently, "Six weeks from now, we’ll board the Space Station. By then, both Doom Corporation’s stock and Reed’s company’s stock will soar!"

Wang Bert looked at the nearly bankrupt Doom with a smile. "Then let me wish you success in advance!"

"Thank you!"

Doom nodded, rose to take his leave, and departed. Wang Bert stared at the wineglass Doom had drunk from, his eyes flickering slightly.

Wang Bert had secretly added blood to the red wine earlier. This way, he could monitor the entire process. He did not want any more accidents.

"There shouldn’t be any accidents with this matter. It’s just a precaution."

After thinking it over, Wang Bert called Lilith in and instructed, "Prepare to short Doom Corporation!"

Why not make money when there was money to be made? It might not be much, but it would still be several hundred million!

At Doom Corporation, Doom was pondering in his office when the lights suddenly dimmed. Then, a woman’s voice rang out. "Doom, have you made up your mind?"

Doom said irritably, "Turn on the lights. What is wrong with you? You pull this every time you come? It was mysterious the first time, sure, but how many times has it been now? Aren’t you sick of it?"

The woman’s voice fell silent. A few seconds later, the lights came on, revealing a valiant-looking female ninja in red before Doom. Her name was Elektra. She was Daredevil’s junior apprentice sister and also The Hand’s Black Sky! Elektra said coldly, "If we did not need you, Doom, you would already be dead!"

"The rich in America don’t die that easily!"

Doom sneered. "I just met the Blood God today. If he knew you existed, I wonder how many more days you would live?"

At the name Blood God, Elektra’s expression changed. Then she flew into a rage. "Are you threatening me?"

"I’m merely stating the truth!"

Doom said, "Cooperating with you means becoming enemies with the Blood God, so naturally I have to be cautious! To be honest, the Blood God seems like a decent person, and he’s extremely powerful. If I had a choice, I would rather be his friend."

"Doom, only we can help you retrieve your mother’s soul!"

Elektra took a deep breath and said, "Cooperating with us is your only choice!"

Doom said with some frustration, "It’s not that I don’t want to cooperate with you, but your method obviously has a problem, doesn’t it?"

Elektra asked, "What problem? That device will definitely work!"

"That high-tech device is exactly the problem!"

Doom said, "The Hand, along with the monsters behind you, all belong to the mystical side. If you gave me a Magic Array, I would have no problem at all!

But now you’ve given me a high-tech device. How am I supposed to trust you? The styles are completely incompatible, aren’t they?"

Elektra fell silent. The styles really were rather different. She said, "That has nothing to do with you. Your task is to take this device to the Space Station, then operate it when the Cosmic Storm arrives to bombard the New York Sanctum from space and destroy the not-yet-fully-repaired Defense Net once more!"

After a pause, Elektra looked at Doom and continued, "Behind me are not only The Beast, but also many Extraterrestrial Demon Gods and Demon Kings of Hell. If they team up, even Mephisto will have no choice but to obediently hand over your mother’s soul. Doom, this is your only chance."

Doom was silent for a moment but still shook his head. "I, Doom, do not do things without certainty. If you want my cooperation, you must tell me where that device came from."

Elektra was becoming annoyed. After thinking for a moment, she finally said, "This device came from the Darkhold!"

Doom was confused. "The Darkhold?"

"Yes, the Darkhold!"

Elektra said, "The Darkhold allows its user to see any knowledge they desire. Although we do not know why it gave technological knowledge this time, that device definitely has no problems. All the Demon Gods have verified it!"

"Is that so?"

Doom thought for a moment and said, "I want to see the Darkhold!"

"I don’t mind letting you see the Darkhold!"

Elektra smiled. "But I must remind you that not everyone can read the Darkhold. Those without sufficient talent will go mad from the excess of knowledge!"

Doom smiled disdainfully. Was there any book in this world that Doom could not read?

Ever heard of a super genius?

The next day, Elektra brought the Darkhold. Doom opened it and stared at it for a full three hours before calmly closing it!

Elektra was somewhat surprised. She had seen many people read the Darkhold, but Doom was the only one who came away completely unaffected.

"I understand. I will help you transport that device up there!"

Doom said, "However, can the Demon Gods and Demon Kings behind you defeat Master Ancient One?"

"One definitely cannot, but there is a whole group of them."

Elektra said, "More importantly, Ancient One has weakened. That is why the Demon Gods dare to act. If it were the Ancient One of old, they would not dare be so arrogant."

Doom asked again, "Will Master Ancient One notice in advance?"

"No. When the Cosmic Storm is about to arrive, all the hidden monsters will emerge and create disasters all over Earth, leaving Kamar-Taj with no time to spare!"

Elektra said, "No matter how powerful Ancient One is, he cannot possibly guess that we will use technological means this time. Perhaps that is why the Darkhold gave us technological knowledge!"

"Good!"

Doom’s eyes flashed as he said, "I don’t want to be hunted by the Blood God or Kamar-Taj afterward!"

"Afterward, there will no longer be a Blood God or Kamar-Taj!"

Elektra said bitterly, "The Blood God owes The Hand a blood debt. It is time for him to repay it!"

"So an accident really did happen. The Hand, Demon Gods? Can’t you people just settle down?"

Wang Bert had a terrible headache. He picked up the phone and called Wong, then had him pass the phone to Ancient One.

After listening to Wang Bert, Ancient One said, "Blood God, there is no need to stop them in advance. This is a good opportunity to eliminate those hidden monsters and teach the Demon Gods a lesson while we’re at it."

"Master Ancient One, it seems you’re planning something big?"

Wang Bert laughed. Ancient One smiled and said, "You will know when the time comes."

With that, Ancient One handed the phone back to Wong and continued making tea. Everything was under control.

In the blink of an eye, six weeks passed. Watching the news of Doom Corporation’s space shuttle launching on television, Wang Bert could not help shaking his head. Dr. Richards was a very decent person, but his career luck was truly terrible beyond words! "I wonder how things will develop next?"

Wang Bert shifted his gaze from the television and asked Lilith, "What is George Stacy’s approval rating now?"

"Far beyond his opponent’s."

Lilith said, "In fact, that opponent is only there to make up the numbers. No one is willing to be Mayor of New York. Who knows when aliens will come again!"

"Probably not this year. Any disasters will be next year’s problem!"

Wang Bert smiled. "After George Stacy takes office, donate some money to him and have him raise police salaries!"

"Alright!"

Lilith noted it down, then said, "The Wakanda Embassy officially opens this afternoon. You promised to attend."

"I know!"

Wang Bert nodded, picked up the book on the table, and said, "I’ll read for a while. Turn down any unimportant social engagements for me."

"Alright!"

Lilith nodded and left. Wang Bert looked at the book in his hands, "Space Advancement," and found it more interesting the more he read. Unfortunately, he had no magic power, so he could not cast the spells recorded within!

That was right, "Space Advancement" contained spells—Kamar-Taj’s spatial spells! "Master Ancient One, you even gave me the portal and Mirror Dimension spells. What exactly do you want me to do?"

Wang Bert muttered to himself. He had no familial connection with Ancient One. There was only one reason Ancient One was helping him so much: Ancient One had something he wanted Wang Bert to do!

Although Wang Bert had not yet entered Kamar-Taj, he was already half a disciple of Kamar-Taj!

At Doom Corporation’s Space Station, Reed looked at Doom pushing a crate and asked in surprise, "Doom, wasn’t that crate supposed to be kept in storage as a spare?"

"At the request of an important client!"

Doom said without changing expression, "Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it!"

"Alright!"

Reed nodded. After hesitating, he said, "Doom, don’t worry. I absolutely will not fail this time, and I definitely will not drag you down!"

Doom was puzzled. "Why are you telling me this? I never doubted you."

Reed smiled awkwardly. Wasn’t he afraid of dragging Doom into bankruptcy? At that moment, the other three people in the Space Station came over: Ben Grimm, the Thing; Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman; and Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, who looked very much like Captain America!

"What are you talking about?"

Susan walked to Doom’s side and asked everyone. Susan was Doom’s girlfriend, and she was also Reed’s ex-girlfriend.

"Nothing. You go get busy. I’ll deal with this!"

Doom nodded to them and pushed the crate away. Johnny watched his retreating back and asked, "Don’t you think Doom has been acting a little strange these past few days?"

Ben nodded. "He has. He hasn’t been wrapping an arm around Susan to show off in front of Reed!"

"Ben!"

Susan shot Ben a reproachful look and said, "Maybe he’s just too nervous about this. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him!"

Reed felt a little sour inside but could not say anything. After all, Doom was their financial backer!

Inside a room, Doom installed the special device with its cannon barrel, then took out a pitch-black small knife and carefully began carving a Magic Array onto the device.

That was right, a Magic Array. In just six short weeks, Doom, a true magical genius, had already become a mage—his talent was on the same level as Dr. Strange’s.

After finishing the carving, Doom looked at the Magic Array and muttered, "Mother, I will definitely save you!"

"The Cosmic Storm will arrive in eight hours and thirty minutes! Ben, go outside and set up the plants!"

Reed looked at the screen and called to Ben through the communicator. His project was to study the relationship between Cosmic Storms and life evolution. If it succeeded, it could cure a large number of human diseases!

"Alright!"

Ben put on his spacesuit and was about to head out when Doom suddenly called everyone to gather in the safest command room.

Reed asked in confusion, "Doom, did something happen?"

"Something did happen."

Doom was about to speak when the computer beside him suddenly sounded an alarm. Reed glanced at it and cried out in shock, "Oh no, the Cosmic Storm’s cloud layer is accelerating. It will arrive in twenty minutes!"

Everyone was stunned. Susan thought of something and said to Doom, "Doom, you gathered us here because of this, right?"

"Doom, thank you!"

Ben said gratefully. Without Doom, he might not have had time to return and could have been stranded outside.

Doom blinked. If I said I had no idea either, would you believe me?

"Of course it was because of this!"

Doom said arrogantly, "Stay in the command cabin and do not go out. I’ll adjust the system!"

"Doom, let me help you!"

Reed felt deeply guilty. His calculations had been wrong, and this project was going to fail again! Sure enough, everyone who invested in him ended up badly.