There were no accidents during the entire test. Whether it was the Bullfighter Wristband, the Evil Spirit Necklace, or the Holy Light Bracelet, the tests of the three pieces of equipment all met the qualified standards.
After completing the subsequent complete acceptance process, Nick will naturally reduce part of Osborne's loan.
"I didn't expect Osborn to be the first to come up with the finished product. I thought Tony and Dr. Banner would be the first to come up with the finished product." On the way back, Nick said to Luke with some sigh.
"Given Tony's personality, he wouldn't be satisfied with simply mastering my technology and then manufacturing it. He and Dr. Banner might be seeking a different approach, evolving their own system based on my technology. One is simply copying and re-applying it, while the other is meticulously tinkering with your core, creating their own. The difficulty of each is different." Luke understood Stark and Banner's current reluctance. The creation of the new material, Hell Alloy, showed that Tony and his team weren't planning to follow the path of Hebron. Once they found their path, their talent would allow them to quickly catch up.
No one will doubt this.
"He's the one who could do something like that." Nick thought about Tony Stark's pride and nodded. If Tony were to try to replicate his own technology, he'd probably roll his eyes. At least not until he had no other choice. He definitely wouldn't bother doing that.
"So, how do you plan to sell the product? S.H.I.E.L.D. might be able to meet demand initially, but later on..." Nick asked Luke after calming down. After all, once a product is manufactured, it needs buyers. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military can fulfill and take on some of the orders initially, but if they want to expand their market, they also need to consider the future.
"The market is vast. The universe is full of weapons, and the dimensional world can also dump some of them. For example, soul crystals?" Luke analyzed calmly. "Soul crystals are a material condensed and processed after the death of a living being. They can not only be used to create extraordinary equipment, but also trade with the demons in the Hell dimension. They still like this kind of thing that can be used as food to replenish their energy. As long as enough targeted products are manufactured, there will definitely be a model that can be sold in various dimensions."
"Do you think those dimensional demons are truly selfless? Their thirst for energy, and their subordinates' thirst for power, are all greedy and undisguised. Those demons may not lack a few artifacts, but most of their subordinates are not so wealthy. These are our future customers. If we let them engage in an arms race, I think the military and your SHIELD are familiar with how to operate it."
Nick didn't mind Luke's somewhat playful banter at the end. SHIELD itself wasn't exactly a glorious organization. Just like him, his heart was as dark as his skin in many situations and matters. If it were Cap, with his serum-enhanced kindness, there might be some future clashes between Nick and his style and philosophies, but Luke? He'd automatically adapt to his moral compass.
The buying and selling of violent products cannot involve much morality and conscience.
"The only thing you need to consider is how to change the mindset of those customers who only care about grabbing and grabbing. Most of them have no idea about paying.
The demons and devils of the Hell Dimension are considered premium customers. While they tend to enjoy freeloaders, at least they understand a bit of business, understand the concepts of currency and exchange, and accept when faced with no other choice. Although there are bound to be some minor unpleasantness and dirty tricks along the way, Luke offered his assessment of these future customers of the Hell Dimension.
"What about the Nine Realms?" Nick didn't think about the customers in the Hell Dimension or other dimensions for the time being. He just wanted to stabilize the market in the Nine Realms first, make some money, and slowly fill the growing loan hole of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Indeed, on Luke's train, both he and the SHIELD he oversees have soared, their internal combat capabilities and external power and status rising to a point that cannot be ignored. This is something Nick had never dared to imagine before.
Even the turbulent undercurrents hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. have calmed down considerably under the dramatic changes at S.H.I.E.L.D. The so-called Board of Directors' ability to constrain S.H.I.E.L.D. has gradually dwindled, while S.H.I.E.L.D.'s importance has steadily grown. As a three-party partner, S.H.I.E.L.D., represented by Nick himself, is undoubtedly important, even if it is the weakest and least visible branch of the Atrium. With this expectation, S.H.I.E.L.D. has received increasing attention and resources. Even though Nick, who was responsible for this situation, may have shown some rebelliousness and self-will, his position remains as secure as a rock until a replacement that satisfies all parties is found.
"The Nine Realms have been a bit turbulent lately," Luke replied softly.
"Because of what?" Nick instinctively heard something bad in Luke's words.
"How much do you know about Asgard's enemies?" Luke did not answer, but asked Nick instead.
"I've seen some of Asgard's shared historical records. If that's the complete story, then I should know it all. But I imagine there might be omissions for various reasons, right?" Nick pondered for a moment before offering his answer. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, like the newer agents at the Secret Service Academy, now have a course on the history of extraterrestrial civilizations. Currently, it's limited to the Nine Realms, but there may be more in the future. With the Ancient One's permission.
Because in many dimensions, not understanding is actually a kind of protection for ordinary people.
"Where are the dark elves?" Luke asked again.
"The creatures of Watt Alheim?" Nico racked his brains, finally finding a fragment of information about the Dark Elves in the corner of his memory. It was a genuine fragment, stating that the God-King of Asgard had defeated the King of Watt Alheim, who sought to destroy the Nine Realms and plunge them into eternal darkness. The creatures of Watt Alheim were known as the Dark Elves.
"Yeah." Luke confirmed Nick's words.
"I remember their king and army were defeated by Asgard. That was at least five thousand years ago." Nick looked puzzled. "Why did you mention the Dark Elves? Could the unrest in Asgard be related to the Dark Elves?"
"Yes, the Dark Elf King has returned," Luke reaffirmed Nick's words. "The Nine Realms have been unstable lately, with rebellions and conflicts breaking out in many realms. Thor has been acting as a firefighter, busy putting out fires everywhere, but the situation hasn't improved much. Heimdall of Asgard discovered something unusual about the Dark Elves in Watalheim. Later, the God-King Odin went to confirm it and discovered traces of the return of the former Dark Lord Malekith."
"How do you know this?" Nick stared at Luke with a strange look in his eyes. Although he knew that their interests were closely related, could such intelligence be obtained in real time?
"Of course it's the result of communication," Luke said, spreading his hands. After all, earlier in Asgard, they had agreed on a plan for the follow-up process. Mephisto and he were both moving forward with the plan at full speed, but Odin, a key force, had run into trouble. He had to give his partners a heads-up.
Of course, the main focus was on Ancient One and Luke. As for Mephisto? He was completely focused on replenishing the Energy Bank, so there was no need to worry about him for the time being.
"So, you plan to sell the Transcendental Equipment to Asgard in exchange for the resources of the Nine Realms?" Nick asked tentatively. He didn't think Luke would say this to him for no reason.
"Why sell it to Asgard?" Luke gave Nick a curious look. "They have the Dwarves, a race of exceptional craftsmen, under their command. They have no shortage of exceptional equipment. Whenever Odin needs it, he can readily select the appropriate materials from his own treasury and have the Dwarven master craftsmen forge a divine artifact. For thousands of years, Asgard has acquired vast quantities of spoils and resources from the Nine Realms. These resources, in turn, have been transformed by the Dwarves into a variety of powerful exceptional equipment. Even without the Dwarven craftsmanship, Asgard possesses its own exceptional equipment manufacturing system. Even if they needed to purchase powerful equipment from outside, they wouldn't be interested in things like evil spirit necklaces and matador bracers. Those are too common."
"If we don't sell it to Asgard, does that mean we will sell it to those rebels?" Nick looked at Luke's smiling face, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"Do you really think so?" Nick lowered his voice and stared at Luke in astonishment.
"You're overthinking it." Luke denied.
"That's what you think!" Nick carefully observed Luke's expression and said affirmatively.
"Could it be that this is your idea, and because you don't want to admit that your thoughts are dirty, you transfer it to me?" Luke expressed a hypothesis.
Nick was momentarily amused by Luke's counterattack: "There's no need for this. I will take the blame. I know what role S.H.I.E.L.D. and I should play now."
"Thank you for your hard work." Luke patted Nick's shoulder.
Nick almost burst into a swearing fit, his face as constipated as if he was sick. After cursing Luke in his mind, he took a long breath to calm himself down. "What are you thinking? Aren't we partners with Asgard?"
"Yeah." Luke nodded.
"Wouldn't Odin have a problem with you doing this?" Nick felt a faint fear of the powerful God King hiding behind Thor. Even though they had the Supreme Sorcerer, that Sorcerer's style was too Buddhist. She might only intervene if a dimensional demon invaded or if Midgard exploded.
"What does what Osborn and the others did have to do with me, Heberon?" Luke looked at Nick strangely again and said something that made his blood pressure soar.
Tired!
Nick held his forehead and didn't want to speak.
"Okay, enough teasing." Luke's words caused Nick, who had been trying to calm down, to become a little unstable again. "According to the contract, after guaranteeing SHIELD priority supply, we have no right to interfere with who they sell the rest of the output to. As long as they have a channel to sell it. And once the Nine Realms War begins, Midgard will inevitably be one of the battlefields. We are also part of the Nine Realms. If Asgard can't calm this storm quickly, we won't be able to escape."
"Do you think Asgard can't ultimately win?" Nick asked. He knew Luke needed to know more about intelligence than he did, so he was willing to listen to his opinion.
"Asgard may ultimately triumph, but I doubt it will be easy to resolve the current situation cleanly and efficiently. The latest intelligence indicates that the Dark Elves' returning monarch, Malekith, led his men in a surprise attack on Asgard, but the damage was minimal. I previously strengthened the God King Odin and Thor.
But Odin failed to stop Malekith, leaving him with the possibility of a comeback. While Odin didn't say anything, I learned from the charmingly straightforward Thor that Malekith had sought external support. He had wooed the giants of Muspelheim, the Land of Fire, and the king of Jotunheim, where the Frost Giants reside. Together with his own kings of Watalheim and Asgard, the kings of the three kingdoms at odds with each other formed an unprecedented alliance to fight against Odin's surge in power. With the exception of a few peaceful nations unwilling to engage in any war, the other kingdoms, facing the wooing of both sides, were mostly wavering, waiting to see what would happen.
"I think we are one of the countries that don't want to get involved?" Nick raised his eyebrows.
"No, simply in the eyes of Malekith and his people, we in the atrium are too weak, and there is no need to bother to win them over." Luke said cruelly, which made Nick helpless.
"After all, thousands of years ago, they used Central Court as a battlefield. Humanity had no chance to intervene, and could only passively accept the outcome. I imagine they still think so. After all, as a race with an ancient lifespan, the humans of Central Court, while part of the Nine Realms, are a powerless, short-lived species."
"So you're openly licensing technology to deal with this situation?" Nick had a new suspicion about Luke's public technology licensing, which made him slightly raise his eyebrows at Luke's moral bottom line. Really, just a glance, not much.
"It has nothing to do with these things. It just happened by chance. Don't think too much about it." Luke denied Nick's words again.