"It sounds like a great position, but how are you going to solve the problem of having and not having? It's hard to get started." Mephisto rubbed his hands, glanced at Ancient One and Odin who looked calm, walked over to Luke and sat on the ground, put his cane on his knees, and asked.
"How is your credibility? I mean among the demons in various dimensions." Luke looked at Mephisto sitting in front of him, touching his chin and asked.
"Well, um, it should be the same as your banker in the atrium." The green flames in the empty eye sockets on Mephisto's bone mask flickered twice, and he answered in an erratic tone.
"Are you sure?" Luke asked.
"I'm not sure." Mephisto shook his head sharply.
"Then just pretend it doesn't exist." Luke concluded.
"Actually, there's a little bit. At least I abide by the contract," Mephisto defended himself. Then, following Luke's gaze, he looked at the parchment on the table. A crack appeared on his mask where his mouth should be, and an awkward smile curved into his face. "You have to understand that the competition in the Hell Dimension is intense, and our reputation in the universe isn't great. But please believe us, we will never go back on our signed contract. What's written on it is what it is..."
Luke didn't know what to say for a moment.
"You want me to use my reputation to [raise funds]? I'm sorry, I can't do that." Mephisto cleverly spoke to Luke in the language of the Atrium. He could discern the meaning behind Luke's words, but it was a bit difficult for him. Most importantly, although the pie looked large and delicious, Mephisto instinctively didn't want to give too much.
"Then we can only take it step by step." Luke also heard the real thoughts in Mephisto's heart, which is what Odin said, don't release the eagle until you see the rabbit. This is a true pragmatist, a standard dimensional demon style.
Luke continued, "We will first absorb the assets of some weaker gods, and then recruit more people after we have established a certain scale and rules."
"Do you want me to make a deal with those weak gods? This may be difficult, because most of these gods are otakus who never go out for thousands of years, and it is difficult to know where they live. Even if you find them, they are probably stingy and poor. Instead of trying to persuade them to hand over their energy to us, you might as well just kill them and plunder all their energy." Mephisto curled his lips.
"Who told you to make a deal with them right away?" Luke asked back.
"Aren't we making a deal with them?" The flames in Mephisto's eyes flickered twice.
"What do you think of those so-called little devils? For example, morality and responsibility?" Luke gestured with his hands and asked.
Mephisto was quite surprised by Luke's question. "Morality and responsibility? What the hell are those? We don't have those things. I don't know if those weaker dimensional demons have them, but from what I know, they basically don't. If there really is such a person who has morals, they must be a rare commodity."
"So, he will ignore the lives of those who believe in him?" Luke asked again.
"Who cares about the life and death of those ants? I don't care either." Mephisto muttered.
"So, a loyal and fanatical believer, because of his belief in a certain god, ended up losing everything because the god ignored him. Do you think this believer will turn evil?" Luke guided Mephisto to make associations.
"Based on my understanding of life in the universe, those with rich emotions will most likely turn completely evil." Mephisto said affirmatively.
"Then can you use your expertise?" Luke clapped his hands.
"My specialty?" Mephisto's eyes lit up.
"Taking advantage of someone's misfortune, bah! It's like trying to help someone in need." Luke laid so much groundwork before finally revealing his true intentions. "I think you'd be happy to offer a little help to that evil believer, and give him some sound advice and guidance."
"Convince him to kill that god?" Mephisto's eyes lit up. While it was difficult to kill a god with a mortal body, there was still room for maneuver, right? He could have the man sign a contract. If he succeeded in killing the god, he would receive everything from the god. If he failed, he could take the blackened being's valuable soul and not lose too much. He enjoyed this kind of backstabbing and profiting from it.
"How can you say it's bewitching? Out of justice and indignation, you generously gave a desperate person the power to resist. There are too many evil gods, and this universe needs some cleansers." Luke corrected Mephisto's words.
"Yes, how can you call it bewitching? I love your hypocrisy." A huge crack appeared on Mephisto's mask, and he laughed silently. "I have to consider the share of power I will invest for the first time."
"You don't have to invest your own strength." Luke looked at Mephisto who was approaching. "You've lived for so long, don't you know about the strange and powerful treasures in the universe? When the time comes, just point them to find them. If all else fails, you can rob them or build them yourself. You provide the materials, I'll provide the technology, and I'll help you create a series of god-killing weapons and equipment, which you can distribute throughout the universe."
"That's no problem!" Mephisto nodded subtly. The Hell Dimension still had plenty of materials, but few demons could forge them into powerful equipment. Not everyone was like the God-King Odin, commanding a tribe of dwarves skilled in processing various materials to forge equipment, even artifacts.
Odin and the Ancient One, watching Luke and Mephisto chat happily, had strange expressions on their faces. The Ancient One was calm and composed, even a hint of a smile in his eyes. As for Odin, he looked at his son, who sat beside Luke but couldn't get a word in, and sighed deeply. Never mind, this infusion of energy and nourishment would at least keep him going for a few more years. There was still a little time to train him.
Even though Asgard looked primitive, it certainly had a currency system. Furthermore, as the King of Gods, Odin understood the immense benefits this bank would bring to all participants once successfully established. Previously, these old-fashioned people were only focused on fighting and conquering, their minds often struggling. Or perhaps, some had come up with ideas, but sighed in the face of immense obstacles and difficulties, their flashes of inspiration relegated to the ruins of their minds.
Although Luke's proposal seemed a bit far-fetched and the future prospects were uncertain, Odin still felt a little itchy to get involved. As for the Ancient One? Odin glanced at the Ancient One, who was calmly sipping tea. Regardless, if things really got going, Luke would likely have allies in the Sorcerer Supreme's lineage.
"One question: How do you plan to find the whereabouts of those weaker demons?" Mephisto's bone mask asked eagerly. Unlike him, those weaker demons' fame spread throughout the multidimensional world. The Hell dimension was so vast that everyone knew where it was. But those weaker demons hid themselves well, unlikely to reveal their whereabouts easily. The demon world of this entire dimension was somewhat similar to a dark forest.
"That depends on whether the other party has believers and whether he is an evil god." Although Luke had this idea on the spur of the moment, his brain had been constantly adjusting and improving it based on the information after the idea came up.
Mephisto sat upright and listened to Luke's words.
"You should know that I created a new energy called emotional/psychic energy." Luke looked at Mephisto.
"The Ancient One and Odin have already told me about it. I really like some of it, and I think the Hell Dimension will like it too," Mephisto nodded. He had just personally sensed the energy up close, and it certainly suited his and the Hell Dimension's preferences. If possible, he would very much like to claim it for himself. Unfortunately, with Odin and the Ancient One involved, such a plan was doomed to fail.
"I already have an idea. In the future, I can upgrade it soon and use it as a basis to build an emotional/spiritual network for the entire universe. With this network, we can listen to and receive the emotions and spiritual voices of life from all over the universe. Then use technology and authority to screen it, select a part of the area, and assign people to investigate. Then, based on the feedback, correct the data little by little to improve the accuracy. For convenience, I can also make some instruments for you to detect high-concentration energy in the surrounding area." Luke said it very much like that, and then he drew a sweet pancake for Mephisto that looked very likely to be eaten.
Mephisto nodded again. It wasn't that he couldn't tell Luke was just talking nonsense, but as a relatively down-to-earth demon among the powerful dimensional demons, or rather, one whose thinking leaned towards the wisdom of humans, he was very impressed by Luke's approach.
If anyone else had said the same thing to him, Mephisto would have smiled and tried to trick him into signing a contract or something, or even just plundered his soul as punishment for his deception. But Luke was different. His life was strictly equal to his, and the other party had truly created new energy. In particular, the other party's manufacturing technology was truly unique from the information they had received.
In other words, the same words coming from Luke's mouth are highly credible! Even if the cost is small, Mephisto is still willing to invest in the pie that Luke painted. If there's anything to blame, it's that Luke really grasped his greed.
Likewise, Mephisto understood that once this emotional/psychic energy network was established, Luke would possess a powerful hand. Even if he truly became the first president of the so-called Dimensional Demon Energy Bank, Luke and his companions would have something to check and balance him. While it was unclear what other cards Luke held or what his plans were, given the Demon's understanding of both the Demon and the human race, it was impossible for the other party to truly allow him to dominate the world.
This was something he regretted.
But Mephisto didn't object to this kind of game. Compared to the brutal fighting, he still liked the brain-powered confrontation method of the demon.
"You provide the technology, I'll provide the manpower," Mephisto said. He had already prepared to expel most of the demons and devils from his territory in the Hell Dimension, and to attract business for him throughout the universe. No initial training was needed; their business skills were strong enough for this kind of thing.
"As they should. But I think your subordinates should undergo some training before they officially take up their posts," Luke suggested.
"Training? No, no, no, they are all very skilled in their business, I guarantee it! Those who negotiate contracts are all the best." Mephisto raised his hand, his bony face full of seriousness and solemnity, and swore.
"No, I mean that your appearance and lines need to be rehearsed first. If not, then they need to be packaged. I believe that you are professional in matters such as deceiving people and signing contracts, but believe me, you may not be so professional in other minor details. For example, service attitude. I have heard of many examples from your hell dimension." Luke shook his head.
"What do you mean?" Mephisto smiled awkwardly.
"Ghost Rider or something." Luke shrugged.
"He should be grateful to me! It was me who gave him the power!" Mephisto made a pouting expression.
"If you don't want to be plagued by customer complaints in the future, I think you need to take your service seriously. You also need to pay attention to your packaging. If you appear in front of people with that terrifying look, everyone will think you're bad, and their trustworthiness will naturally drop significantly. You have the ability to bewitch others, but if you can do it perfectly, why not do it?" Luke said, "No matter what, if we're going to do this, we have to appear formal, even if it's just superficial! This is about establishing order and rules, understand?"
"Okay, I'll send you a group of men later, and you can dress them up as you like." Mephisto said indifferently.
"That's fine too. I'll send you the packaging and training fees when the time comes. If you don't want to pay, you can deduct it from your future dividend share." Luke showed a satisfied smile on his face.
A smoke-shaped exclamation mark slowly appeared above Mephisto's head!
"More money?" The green flames in Mephisto's eyes grew brighter, just like the look of a human with their eyes wide open.
"Of course, just like when you become the first bank president, all the demons who want to do business with you will need to pay a certain service fee to the bank. You have to accept it and get used to it before others." Luke explained to him solemnly.
"I know you're talking nonsense, but I kind of agree with what you're saying." Mephisto thought for a moment and nodded slowly. It was just a trivial expense, something he could accept.