Chapter 2261: Late Autumn in Jincheng (Fourteen)_1

Loki and Doctor Strange, while chatting leisurely, began a colossal task: consulting a Chinese dictionary in their efforts to understand those Chinese documents Strange had brought back from the village elder.

"I received an invitation stating that Shiller is throwing a party to celebrate his godson's graduation," said Doctor Strange. "He also invited us to visit his mansion, the one in another cosmos."

"He has a mansion in another cosmos?" Loki looked up at Doctor Strange incredulously. "You mean the kind of building where you have to walk for ten minutes from one door to the next?"

"That's rather conservative. Have you seen Tony Stark's mansion in Beverly Hills? The living room and bedroom are separated by a golf course; you would literally walk until you drop."

"I can hardly imagine. I think Shiller would start complaining if he stayed there for two days," Loki flipped through a page in his hand. "He's complained to me more than once that he built Arkham Sanatorium too big and that he has to walk for over ten minutes to get back to his office after completing room inspections."

"But he enjoys every bit of it because many people marvel at his enormous hospital. He's seen as wealthy and generous by New York's upper crust, you don't think he would dislike hearing that, do you?"

"You're far better than him by any measure," Loki commented sarcastically. "Whenever people mention you, they say you're a good doctor, skillful, and a life saver, but they hardly mention what kind of person you are."

"I know they talk ill of me behind my back." Doctor Strange rolled his eyes. "The operation queue is full, whoever pays the most, gets treated first. I am such a greedy man that none of Tony Stark's favors work. Who do they think they are?"

"I believe Tony's favors are particularly worthless," Loki laughed. "You're doing it on purpose. I can't figure out where you two find so much to argue about every day."

"He's the one who's always looking for trouble," Doctor Strange gently flipped over a page in the dictionary. "Pepper has a tiny tumor in her uterus, only 2.8mm, which doesn't even qualify as an early stage uterine fibroid. It's invisible on ultrasound, but he's brought in seven experts for a consultation and completely ignored my advice."

"And then he screwed everything up," Doctor Strange said coldly. "He's made Pepper very anxious, she was found to have irregular heartbeat during hospitalization. Then, she dramatically exploded when she heard Tony expressing concern about her reproductive function."

"The fact that he has met Pepper is his lucky charm," Strange sighed. "He is the one with the least emotional intelligence that I have ever seen."

"I've been through this. Honestly, when people overly focus on your reproductive value, it feels as though you're just an organ for gestation. This feeling could really drive a person to the edge," Loki shook his head subtly. "He's lucky with just a slap."

"How long has Pepper been undergoing psychological treatment with Shiller? Two or three weeks?"

"Just over a week. After going there three times, Shiller referred her to Doctor Xavier. Something about avoiding suspicion."

"It might be because if Pepper continues complaining, it would be difficult for Shiller to maintain his friendship with Tony," Strange refilled his tea and commented. "Over all these years, the only aspect Tony has not done well is this. Pepper had to shoulder too much responsibility as a wife, even as a mother and yet didn't receive enough emotional feedback."

"I heard the two of them are currently vacationing in the Andromeda Galaxy," Loki paused before continuing. "Do you think they will make it back for the banquet?"

"Absolutely. Tony may feel it's unnecessary, but the moment Pepper lays her eyes on the invitation, she will realize it's a formal social invitation. For the sake of Stark Group, she will definitely attend."

"None of them should speak about the other," Loki said somewhat helplessly. "Pepper is too responsible, shouldering a part that she should not have. Tony might feel the pressure but is incapable to change or get rid of it."

"They will keep revolving and frictioning until one consumes the other or they both cool down and transform from stars into rocks. Maybe things will be better by then."

"That might mean waiting till they are both old," Loki sighed lightly. "The hormone eruption process of short-lived species is always too intense. They make decisions affecting their lifetime in a few days and then spend the remainder of their lives being responsible for that decision."

"We don't know enough about that cosmos," Loki steered the conversation back on track. "We may have seen or experienced it, but still, we don't know what kind of attire is appropriate or what gifts to bring."

"I've seen some people there during my visits to the parallel universe. It's not much different from ours. So, I think the etiquette of the upper class would be the same: refined, grand, and distinctive, along with a dignified gift."

"Do you think I can wear Asgardian royal attire? Would it be a bit too weird? Should I wear a helmet?"

"I think you'd be better off transforming into a woman, a beautiful dress is never a mistake no matter where you are," Strange mused. "Maybe you can consider an Asgardian-style long gown, like your sister's."

"I'm not sure if she received the invitation," Loki frowned slightly. "If it is a very formal banquet, Shiller couldn't possibly leave Hela out. If our outfits were too similar, that would be very awkward."

"But she usually wears dark colors, while I've noticed you prefer lighter colors when you dress as a woman."

"That's precisely so we don't look alike," Loki shrugged. "Otherwise, it might upset Frigga."

"In that case, business as usual," Doctor Strange put on his reading glasses and began the meticulous task of consulting the Chinese dictionary's small, densely packed characters. "Consistent style but with different colors and designs. The one you wore at the royal wedding was quite lovely."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "I am surprised you have such a good eye for fashion. That has been my favorite dress so far, but it wouldn't be respectful to wear the same one."

"Then how about golden?"

"I can't steal the Queen of Gods's color, that's exclusive to Sif."

"Then silver."

"Thor's armor is usually bright silver."

Strange sighed and said, "I'm starting to understand your difficulties now, so let it remain white, the color that is least likely to go wrong."

Loki seemed to be seriously considering the design, he said, "What do you think of pale yellow-green? The color of fresh sprouts, the Goddesses say it suits me."

Strange pondered for a moment and said, "I think it might be refreshing, but there's a risk."

"Shiller will tolerate me." Loki grinned and said, "He understood my difficulties earlier than you did."

"Are the two of us going to attend together? Or do you have a male or female companion?"

"Originally I was hoping to find a female companion, with Wanda or Natasha under consideration, but if I attend as a female, then you, Thanos or Hawkeye are choices for male companions."

"If I wear the Supreme Magician's robe, will it affect your image? Will red and green not match well?"

"I very much want to suggest you don't wear the cloak, but I estimate your cloak won't agree, changing its color is also a difficult matter, but I think purple or the black of a suit will also be hard to match with yellow-green."

The two fell into thought, seemingly considering how to coordinate their colors. Loki suddenly had an epiphany and said, "Ask Stark's fashion consultant, let the professional deal with professional matters."

"Don't bring up Stark again... Oh, you mean ask Pepper, right? That's a good idea, I'll give her a call later."

Loki handed the paper in his hand to Strange and said, "I've finished translating this page, take a look, the most useful information is that their plan this time covers 16 nearby villages."

"The one about international information is also translated over here." Strange handed it to Loki and said, "They're collaborating with Nepal India and Pakistan, they're calling this collaboration the Ring Peak Traffic Development Alliance."

"The first route is estimated to go through Nepal to reach India, the second route goes through India to reach Pakistan."

"That's really a big project, so where are we on this line?"

"For them, it's not a big project. In fact, we can be on any line, because air traffic systems are different from land-based traffic, the route can be more flexible and diverse."

Check this one out." Strange pointed to one of them and said, "The initial solution is to the freight issue, passenger travel may need more testing, but I think at the latest within half a year, so we need to make progress in these few months, that way we can secure a stop."

Loki put down the stuff in his hand and began to think seriously, "Actually, I believe the villages around us are not poor, they are just a bit primitive, and if we want to quickly modernize them, we will inevitably destroy their original habits and style."

"I don't think we need to compromise with modernity." Strange also put down the stuff in his hand, put his hand on the table and said, "That's the path of science, but we've already found our own way."

"Magical lighting doesn't need wires and electricity towers, and therefore there's no need for massive construction projects, and the magic seeds we've been studying, when applied in ordinary people's fields, will give them a great harvest without needing any modern farming machinery."

"I think such an investment is reasonable, because the energy coming from the cosmos, left as it is in our hands, cannot bring any benefit to the Earth."

"And if we stubbornly believe that magic can't enter ordinary people's society, then one day it will flow in a way we don't like."

"So you think we can try to build a magical society here?" Loki looked at him and asked.

Strange nodded, the benefit of chatting with Loki is right here, he always quickly understood the intent, and summarized it perfectly, which divided the conversation into clear sections and made it easy to respond.

"Yes, we can produce a lot of gold, but that's not a good way to manage ordinary people's society. They need a way of life closer to their nature to produce and sell, earn money, and then divert some of it into production, and some to enjoy life."

"What do you think they could produce?"

"A lot of things, of course, this year's bumper crops can earn them a small fortune, but this is clearly not a long-term strategy, the population here is sparse, not much food is needed, and it's hard to sell it far away."

"Traditional farming and pastoralism are not suitable for remote villages, handicrafts would be a good choice, but the efficiency is too low, and magic can't help much, we can't sell real magical tools to ordinary people."

"But if we expand the range of magic seeds to medicinal herbs, it would be completely different."