I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

"what?"

“Your life, or rather Bruce Wayne’s life, has been completely sealed away by yourself since you were eight years old.” Gu Yi waved her hand, and a dark alley appeared in front of the two of them, along with three figures: two adults and one child. “And after that, your life did not belong to Bruce Wayne, but to Batman, someone who tried to make amends for the mistakes of your childhood… someone else.”

Bruce turned his head away, refusing to look at the image that would cause him the deepest pain, and said, "No, whether it's Bruce Wayne or Batman, it's all me. This is the path I chose."

Seeing this, Gu Yi waved his hand, and the scene in front of the two of them vanished in the wind. "You can never escape the fact that you are not Bruce Wayne now, but Batman. Compared to the identity of Batman, perhaps Bruce Wayne is your disguise."

"Is Bruce Wayne the real imposter?"

Bruce spoke in a low voice, lost in deep thought.

Upon seeing this, Gu Yi quietly left.

Around Bruce, the cold wind and snow seemed to be driven away, avoiding the frostbite of the Night Knight.

Clark stood by the window, looking at the snow falling heavily outside, his face full of worry.

As an absolutely kind Superman, Clark was always worried about what was happening at DC.

In his mind, the later they returned, the more severe the destruction that world would suffer.

The number of people dying in the war will continue to increase.

This caused Clark great distress, almost like being torn apart by a knife.

The Ancient One came to his side and said, "Clark, you are a kind child. Among all the people I have met, there is almost no one kinder than you."

“Master Ancient One, I simply don’t want to see others suffer, and I can better empathize with their pain,” Clark said.

However, Gu Yi changed the subject, saying, "Sometimes being too kind can cause you more harm. It can even implicate those around you."

“I know, I know all of this,” Clark said with a conflicted expression. “But I just can’t bring myself to do those outrageous things, even if they are heinous criminals who deserve to die.”

"Whether to kill one person or a hundred, that is the question you should consider," the Ancient One said. "Sometimes, if you let a villain go, he might kill a hundred people to vent his anger when he regains his freedom one day. For you, is it more benevolent to kill that villain, or to let him go and let him kill a hundred innocent people?"

"But life cannot be calculated using simple mathematics!"

Clark said unwillingly.

Seeing this, Gu Yi shook his head and left Clark's room.

"This child is beyond saving."

This was the Ancient One's assessment of him, although Clark's kindness moved the Ancient One as well.

But his matching stubbornness left the Ancient One speechless.

"Don't waste your time and energy on those irrelevant people, teacher!"

Stephen Strange, who was standing next to the Ancient One and wore a levitation cloak but did not inherit the position of Sorcerer Supreme because the Ancient One had never died, said...

“Your health is deteriorating day by day. Rather than helping unrelated people resolve their inner conflicts, I think our top priority is to find a way to help you resist Dormammu’s corruption!”

Seeing this, Gu Yi smiled and shook his head, saying, "How could the power of a dimensional demon be so easily resisted?"

“Even with his immense power, he still wouldn’t dare invade Earth while you’re still alive!” Strange said worriedly. “So, he only dares to influence you from the shadows, forcing you to draw power from him, and then… slowly eroding your body and mind, collecting enormous interest that is completely disproportionate to that little bit of power!”

Yes, to Strange, a neurologist from the metropolis, Dormammu's behavior was akin to usury.

First, it uses minimal, even negligible, power as bait. Once people are hooked, they are subjected to unrestrained interest collection until they are completely destroyed or eroded.

“But what can I do?” the Ancient One said helplessly. “On Earth, he is no match for me. But in the Dark Dimension, I am no match for him either. Am I supposed to seek power from other demons to fight Dormammu? If I do that, I will only fall into an even deeper abyss of despair.”

Just as Strange was rendered speechless by the Ancient One's retort, a portal appeared beside the two of them.

Depp stepped out of the portal, looked at the Ancient One and Strange who were dealing with the situation, and then asked, "What did you just say, teacher?"

"Am I supposed to seek power from other demons to fight Dormammu?"

"why not!"

Chapter 385

why not?

Upon hearing Depp's words, Goode immediately perked up!

What inappropriate and lewd words are these disciples of mine saying?

Gu Yi looked anxious and immediately went to Depp's side, looking him over from left to right, but ultimately couldn't figure out anything.

“That’s not right. You show no signs of making deals with those demons or being corrupted. How could you say such treasonous things?” the Ancient One asked, puzzled.

Meanwhile, Strange watched Depp with considerable hostility.

Although this was his first time meeting Depp, he had heard of him for over a decade.

Johnny Depp is the Ancient One's most outstanding disciple, without exception.

Furthermore, his origins are mysterious, and he is incredibly powerful. Even without the magic of Kamar-Taj, he is a powerful being capable of shaking a planet.

Especially after Depp said those unconventional things, Strange couldn't help but become wary of him.

After all, Kasirius's repeated attempts to assassinate the Ancient One after being corrupted by Dormammu and falling into darkness made Strange sensitive to him.

However, Depp completely ignored Strange's gaze and said, "Of course we can use the power of other Daedric Lords to... repay the debt we borrowed from Dormammu."

"You must be crazy!" Gu Yi said, clutching her head. "Or maybe I am crazy, I'm hallucinating...yes, hallucinating! This is the first time in over a thousand years that I've had hallucinations, it's definitely a day worth celebrating for years to come!"

Gu Yi wanted to interrupt Depp with humor and wit, thus steer the conversation to other topics.

However, Depp has absolutely no intention of letting this go.

"In fact, teacher, the power of the Kamar-Taj sorcerers never originates from themselves, but rather from borrowing power from certain special beings. Whether it's drawing talismans or chanting incantations, it's all used to communicate with certain beings and borrow power, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, the Ancient One nodded helplessly and said, "You're right, but under normal circumstances, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj only borrow power from the Triune Vishanti."

“First of all, even if the mages of Kamar-Taj borrow power from Vishanti, they still have to repay it. After all, this power is borrowed, not taken at will.” Depp gave the Ancient One a meaningful look, and then said, “So, if we can borrow power from Vishanti, then we can also borrow power from Dormammu, the lord of the Dark Dimension.”

Looking at the silent Ancient One, Depp continued, "Since Dormammu can lend us power and then attempt to seize our bodies and devour our spirits to descend into this world at exorbitant, almost unbearable interest, why can't we continue to borrow the power of other demons to repay the interest Dormammu demands?"

"To offset...interest?"

Gu Yi was somewhat puzzled, but seemed to have grasped some clues.

“That’s right!” Depp said, “For example, Mephisto, the Lord of Hell; Shumagorus, the Beholder; the Blackheart; Surtur, the Fire Giant; Lucifer and Hades.”

Hearing so many demon names from Depp at once, Strange was immediately enraged. He angrily questioned, "Are you crazy? Dormammu is already causing Master so much pain, and you want Master to borrow power from so many more terrifying demons?"

"Damn it, I'm starting to suspect that you're the projection of those demons on Earth!"

As he spoke, Strange assumed a fighting stance, and the orange Rings of Laggardore immediately appeared on his hands, ready to attack Depp at any moment.

However, seeing Strange's expression, Depp wasn't angry at all. Instead, he pointed to the ring in Strange's hand and said, "That's right, and there's also the power of Laggardor! The power of these other-dimensional demons is almost inexhaustible, so... why don't we use some clever methods to make contracts with them and use loans to pay off other loans?"

Seeing that the other party was still somewhat doubtful, Depp added, "Simply put, it's robbing Peter to pay Paul, trying to get something for nothing!"

Using loans to repay other loans...

rob Peter to pay Paul...

Upon hearing Depp's words, a name flashed through Strange's mind.

Now he finally understood what the young man in front of him was up to.

hum~

The Rings of Laggardor on his hands dissipated like sparks, and Strange's expression changed from initial wariness and hostility to a smile in his eyes.

He walked over to Depp, gave him a thumbs up, and said, "Charles Ponzi's scam? You're actually going to use Charles Ponzi's scam on those dimensional demons? You're something else!"

"That's right, it's a Ponzi scheme!"

Depp said with a smile, "I have to say, Strange, who comes from a big city, does know more about these things than the Ancient One."

Upon seeing the method to help the Ancient One eliminate the Dormammu threat, Strange's perception of Depp immediately changed significantly.

He even felt that he was starting to like this handsome young man.

Seeing that the Ancient One still looked confused, Strange volunteered to go over and give her a vivid explanation.

"Teacher, let me first introduce you to the so-called Ponzi scheme..."

"Like this, like this, and then like that!"

"Similarly, we can use this method on those other-dimensional demons, borrowing power from Dormammu and then repaying it with power borrowed from another demon."

"Furthermore, those demons who have tasted the benefits will certainly be more than happy to continue lending us their power..."

"Then, I think we can just keep repeating this process indefinitely!"

"After all, those demons are not like ordinary people with limited funds. On the contrary, as long as they are in their own dimension, their power is almost inexhaustible, so we don't need to worry at all about not having any new suckers to bite us."

As the Ancient One listened to Strange's explanation, she was initially increasingly alarmed, but as she continued, a smile gradually appeared on her face.

This might actually be a good method, enough to counteract Dormammu's corruption and also to outmaneuver those despicable extradimensional demons!

After listening to Strange's explanation, the Ancient One said, "Perhaps it's worth a try."

Then, the Ancient One turned to Depp and said, "To dare to tempt the Ancient One to deceive those terrifying extradimensional demons, and most likely even make those guys willingly do it, to be honest, I always felt that you were the real demon!"

“You flatter me, my teacher.” Depp bowed slightly and walked out of the Ancient One’s room. “I should go and take care of my own affairs now, teacher. If you need anything here, please feel free to contact me.”

As Depp left, a strange light flashed in the eyes of the Ancient One and Strange.

They exchanged a glance, immediately understood each other's thoughts, and began to consider which demon god to target next!

Those other-dimensional rulers and ancient gods have no idea what terrible deceptions they will encounter in the future.

Those powerful demons are still trying every means to invade the human world.

But they had no idea that compared to their immense power, the evil and cunning of humanity were far more terrifying!

Outside, Depp walked up to Bruce and asked, "Now, should I call you Bruce or Batman?"

"I...I don't know either."

Bruce said in a low voice, caught in a great dilemma.

Bruce felt he was about to be completely lost in the enormous philosophical question of "Who am I?"

“Stop worrying about it, Bruce.” Depp put his arm around Bruce’s shoulder and said, “Whether you’re Bruce or Batman, you’re my friend and Gotham City’s greatest hero.”

"friend?"

This word was actually somewhat unfamiliar to Bruce fifteen years later.