Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 706 The Victor's Ambition (Second Update)

Salomon had been keeping an eye on Pym Technologies' activities, but he hadn't gotten involved. This was typical of him; he rarely dabbled in the nonsense of "superheroes." He had no idea why the concept of "superheroes" had even emerged, and those guys seemed to do nothing but disrupt order and cause trouble. However, considering the consistently weak social control of the US government and the federal nature of state autonomy, the existence of these guys was somewhat understandable. After all, tasks that should have been handled by the government were left undone, giving "superheroes" room to operate.

He preferred to view them as a social science experiment, exploring the philosophy of governance under incompetent government, much like the mob during Prohibition, serving as a supplement to government control. The only difference between the Avengers and the Mafia was whether they were involved in the gray market. It was precisely for this reason that if the Avengers didn't reach an agreement with Capitol Hill, their fate would be the same as the Mafia during Prohibition. He even wrote an SSCI-indexed social science paper on public administration, with Darcy, a colleague from the same physics lab, as the second author.

Because of his status as the second author, Darcy gave him a big kiss.

He was certain his paper would be frequently cited when the Avengers' final chapters came to a close. It was hard to imagine that a physics bachelor and a former social science graduate student, now a physics major, could have written such a work, especially since Salomon had just graduated from Oxford and was preparing for further studies. No one expected him to have the time to boast about his boundless energy. For those in the know, it was even more unbelievable, as the period from Halloween to the winter solstice was extremely busy for Kamar-Taj.

Like the winter solstice, the Druidic New Year, Savin's Day, is a period when the outer dimensions have a significant impact on the real universe. Mystics must exorcise ghosts and extradimensional beings to ensure the real world remains undisturbed. The task of clearing the haunted house of Poliledori was assigned to Salomon with this in mind. The problem with the haunted house of Poliledori wasn't particularly complicated; for him, the task was about as difficult as strolling through the streets.

In truth, the vengeful spirits in the Poliledori haunted house came from elsewhere, but the three skeletons possessed a high level of negative energy, allowing the spirits to linger there. The Venerable One, understanding Salomon's exhaustion, gave him this simple task. However, he later delegated this task to Wanda Maximov, whose apprentice thoroughly resolved the problem, not disappointing him.

Compared to a task even easier than accompanying a witch shopping, Salomon naturally turned his attention to other matters. He not only took the time to complete the preliminary preparations for the construction of the Martian foundry, but also entrusted a warship buried deep in the Aetherial Dimension to Malbus, commissioning the Fifth Demon Pillar to analyze the warship's technology in order to train a large number of naval officers and pilots.

There is never enough time for anyone.

Whether it's Princess Shuri racing against time to research the Celestials project, the sorcerer clearing away ghosts everywhere, or even Malbus directing the construction of the foundry from Mars, it's all the same.

With the food supplies transported from Earth to Mars enough to sustain them for a while, Malbus must expedite biochemical modifications, using the machinery produced by the Immortal City to transform qualified scholars. The most crucial technology, the development of the Astral Engine, has also been added to Malbus's research agenda. This technology, possessed by only a few cosmic civilizations, is vital for humanity's future.

Lorelei, the daughter of the Rhine, is also carrying out this mission as a spy for Salomon.

However, her mission was far more clandestine and deadly. If the Asgardians discovered even the slightest trace of her, even the Sorcerer Supreme would be unable to prevent Asgard from going to war with Kamar-Taj. Odin might even be fully armed, wielding Gungnir, and personally kill Salomon. To ensure Salomon's safety, the Venerable One instructed the Kamar-Taj consulate in Asgard to provide cover for the Enchantress. The sorcerers contacted interstellar merchants under the guise of purchasing goods, while simultaneously strengthening the consulate's protective spells to prevent the witches of Asaheim and Vanaheim from discovering or foreseeing this event. Neither the Venerable One nor the Allfather made a fuss over nothing; in fact, the Venerable One understood the significance of Salomon's actions better than anyone else, knowing that his disciple's actions were not simply about coveting Asgard's most important national treasures.

Salomon's true purpose was to defeat the gods.

These are not the descendants of ancient gods who possess physical bodies and extraordinary talents in certain aspects of reality, but magical entities with powerful souls. The Venerable One was very satisfied with his disciple's ambition and methods, and was completely unconcerned about trampling on the rules that the Venerable One himself had established over the millennia in Kamar-Taj, all to help Salomon's series of long-term plans extending to the future, even if Salomon's ambition could very well lead Kamar-Taj to its demise.

Although Athena didn't know the specifics of what had happened, she still sensed something amiss in Salomon's disturbance of the future. The goddess of victory always stood on the side of the victor, a fact she had already confirmed when she discovered the signs of Salomon's birth. Regardless of what the future held, Athena knew she was already invincible.

Regarding the recent large-scale theft at Pym Technologies...

"WWII tanks have appeared at Pym Tech Plaza..."

"Darren Cross has mysteriously disappeared, leaving Pym Technologies leaderless..."

"See? This is the predicament of having key technologies seized." The sorcerer put down his hot, sugared tea, cupped his hands in a pyramid shape, and said to the old man sitting on the sofa opposite him, "I hope you still own shares in Pym Technologies. That power can at least slightly hinder the US government from emptying Pym Technologies' 'cold storage.' They're struggling just as desperately as the man whose testicles were seized!"

The old man had gotten up long before dawn to receive an important guest. But now he thought he had done something foolish.

"You came all this way just to tell me this?" Dr. Hank Pym exclaimed angrily. "I invited you before, but you made excuses not to come!"

"Old man, I'm doing this because I don't need to. The second Ant-Man has to be Scott Lang, and he will be the last Ant-Man. I have to make sure I have all the power before the uncertain future arrives."

"You actually believe in fatalism? Aren't the theorems of John Conway and Simon Curtchen enough to prove free will?" The conversation between Hank Pym and Salomon jumped around very quickly, covering a wide range of knowledge. One would just put forward a partial idea, and the other could quickly follow up with a conclusion. Without extensive knowledge, it would be difficult to keep up with the pace of Salomon and Hank Pym's conversation.

Scott Lang, who had recently become the second Ant-Man and held a master's degree in electrical engineering, took a moment to understand what the two were talking about. Salomon denied free will, while Hank Pym refuted it with proofs proposed by Princeton mathematicians. He was about to interject when a look from Dr. Pym's daughter, Hope, silenced him—Hope couldn't understand why this young man, who seemed quite familiar with her father, had swaggered into the house without any hindrance. She didn't know where Salomon came from, let alone what he wanted to do.

"I don't want the cold storage technology leaked, old man," the sorcerer stated his condition. "At least not now. Everyone knows what the consequences would be if that technology fell into Congress's hands. If you agree, I can launch a massive air raid to destroy all the data, and I guarantee all the technology will be returned to you. How about that, old man? Is my offer good enough?"

"You're like a hyena, never missing a chance to eat," Dr. Pym scoffed. "What do you want this time, Salomon?"

"It's simple." The arcane mage glanced at Hope, and Scott Langmer silently shifted his position in that direction. "I don't know if you've heard about the Martian news from NSNA lately, but that's actually from my research institute. Dr. Pym, I have some research projects here that you might be interested in. Don't worry, I'm not so bored as to kill every disobedient person."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)