The relentless chill wind above the Himalayan Mountains never fades, and the snowflakes it whips into the air are like pure white knife lights, weaving through the lonely and vast valleys.
The whistling of the wind, wailing as though from the earth itself, drowns out the horn blown by a traveler at the ends of the earth. He turns around to gaze back at the layers of mountain peaks where wisps of cooking smoke rise, like threads of incense into the air.
When the last stick of incense in the burner has completely burned out, and its fire has extinguished, the straight trail of smoke dissipates as well. At the last moment of the smoke's dispersion, the clear sound of a chess piece striking the chessboard echoes throughout the tranquil room.
A delicate, pale hand gently grasps a chess piece, placing it onto the board. The hand of the Supreme Magician bears no signs of time's passage but carries coarse traces left by a lifetime of farming, lines that spread up from her hand onto her back. The Ancient One's gaze as she looks at the chessboard remains tranquil.
She subtly turns her head, glancing at the extinguished incense stick, and says, "Let's stop here for today."
Strange, the one who played the last chess piece, took a look at the board. The battle on the chessboard was not intense, implying that the minds of both players were somewhat preoccupied.
The Ancient One lightly brushes at her robe, and some dust lifts into the air around her. She stands and slowly walks over to the incense table, lighting a fresh stick. Strange can smell it--the scent of the incense has become lighter.
Wong comes in carrying a tray. Strange gathers up the chess pieces and board from the table, putting them underneath, while Wong takes out tea and snacks from his tray.
Strange thinks to himself, there is a reason why Kamar-Taj can be called a sacred place; it sparks a feeling completely different from living in New York.
He surveys the room; it isn't large and is scantily furnished. The floor is somewhat rough felt, a whole wall opposite is covered with wooden shelves of artifacts, a sacrificial table is placed upfront, paintings hang on the walls on both sides, with bonsai in between.
In the center of the room is a low table where chessboard and pieces are stored underneath. After practicing magic, Strange would play chess with The Ancient One.
Strange initially didn't know how to play Go, but after several days of practice, he became proficient.
Games with The Ancient One are not the matter of winning or losing, they count time instead. After the period it takes for a stick of incense to burn, they'd put the chessboard away, drink tea and chat. It was in these conversations that Strange learned the secrets of the cosmos from The Ancient One.
The atmosphere here was quite different from what Strange had imagined before coming.
In Western mythology, the concept of a holy place often seems grand and glorious, demanding magnificent architectures and a mysterious ambiance.
But Kamar-Taj is not like that. Having such a building in the depths of the Himalayas is a miracle in itself, but the aura here is more of simplicity and nature, rather than the sacred.
Regardless, Strange had to admit that this atmosphere has brought him a long-missed peace and relaxation. His brain, once on the verge of being overwhelmed by money, gradually cooled down.
However, in this atmosphere, Strange was finding it hard to start the conversation he intended to have.
He surveyed the room again, although the arrangement is minimal, each item fits in perfectly and they all show the traces of time.
Everyone here, whether it's the Supreme Magician or a newbie apprentice, exudes a kind of calm yet vibrant temperament. Compared to them, Strange always felt out of place.
And what he was about to say could potentially make him standout even more.
"I see you're a bit distracted." The Ancient One returns to her seat, blowing gently on her tea before saying to Strange.
"I'm sorry, master."
"I can tell you have something on your mind. Don't hold back, there's nothing forbidden to speak of here."
The Ancient One's voice always carries a tranquil strength, making people instinctively believe her words. Strange took a deep breath before sighing, then he said, "Alright, but it's incredibly hard to say."
He stared at the twirling tea leaves in his cup, trying to imagine himself back on Wall Street's financial center, then he started: "The thing is, we have a plan..."
But as soon as he said that, Strange already regretted it; he had the feeling that any moment now, he might be thrown out of this place.
Consequently, he paused, pressing his temples, pushing himself to go on.
"After teacher told me about the way to coexist with the Dimensional Demon God, I've reflected on it and discussed it with a few friends. They all agree that the Earth's prosperity today cannot be without the firm belief of the Supreme Magician..."
To prevent himself from looking awkward when he gets thrown out, Strange decided to cushion his blow a little.
"But the human race has never been one to sit back and wait for its doom. We don't want to entirely entrust our fate to others. So..."
Strange sighed again and said: "I'm sorry, considering the shocking turn this is about to take, you might want to stop drinking your tea."
Upon hearing this, The Ancient One put her teacup down, but Wong had zoned out as Strange began talking, and continued to drink his tea leisurely. He blew on his piping hot tea, just as he sipped a mouthful, he heard Strange say: "… We've come up with a financial fraud scheme targeting the Dimensional Demon God."
"Pffft!"
Wong spurt out the tea in his mouth all over the table.
Strange quickly took out a cloth to wipe the table. He said helplessly, "I warned you that the next turn of events might be startling..."
"But this is way too startling! Cough!" Wong choked and said while coughing.
The Ancient One seemed very calm, even interested. She asked Strange, "Financial fraud scheme? Explain in detail."
Strange took out a small projection device from the pocket of his clothes and placed it on the table.
When the attention of the three was focused on this device, a projection suddenly popped out from inside. It was still the face of Strange. He waved at the camera and said, "Hello, I am Strange, the presenter for this plan..."
Wong looked at the projection, then at Strange who was sitting next to him. He asked curiously, "Can't you just sit here and explain to us? Why do you need to project it?"
Strange pointed at the projection and motioned Wong to continue watching.
At this point, the camera in the projection paused. Just as Wong and the Ancient One thought it was about to start explaining, the camera pulled back and shot a full conference room with people in suits on both sides of the long table.
Then, the content in this projection explained to the Ancient One and Wong in a full, detailed, and succinct manner, what the Cosmic Sorcerer financial fraud scheme was.
The proposal that was discussed in the S.H.I.E.L.D. meeting room at that time could only be considered a prototype. Any scheme like this involves very complex numerical calculations, such as how should the promotion requirements be set? What should be the ratio of initial investment to later returns? How should the timeline for each step be arranged?
Since all four participants in the discussion did not have a financial education background, after the prototype was completed, S.H.I.E.L.D. brought in some capable financial practitioners to help them perfect the plan.
Most of these people had been in prison. Their morals had been worn thin, and many had practical experience, so the plan quickly became very well-rounded.
They used the most detailed yet easy-to-understand manner to explain how this scheme would work.
The so-called Ponzi scheme, also known as pyramid selling, is the most classic financial fraud scheme and also the oldest. But among all financial fraud schemes, this one has been enduring and never dies, with each generation having someone to carry it out and someone falling for it.
Moreover, the people who get tricked by this scheme have evolved from the initially less educated and economically ignorant nouveau riche to the knowledgeable, capable and educated young people of today.
Some people are well aware that this is a Ponzi scheme, and can even explain its history and principles, but they still fall for it in the end.
The reason is that these schemes precisely target the weaknesses in the minds of intelligent beings, namely, the pursuit of profit and a gambling mentality.
Low investment, high returns, all intelligent beings are always in pursuit of profit, and even if many people know that the tower will eventually collapse, they always feel that they will be the one to make money and run.
After hearing the explanations of these professional financial people, it became easier to understand this principle, and it also seemed more feasible.
They gave several examples of past incidents, and various modified versions based on this scheme, which even intrigued Wong, who was not interested in finance and economics.
During the lecture, he glanced at the Supreme Magician from the corner of his eye from time to time. He realized that the Ancient One's eyes were getting brighter. Instinctively, Wong shifted to the other side, only to realize that it was Strange who had proposed the plan, the future Supreme Magician.
The elder and younger generation of Supreme Magicians suddenly had a moment of unspoken understanding. All Wong could think about was one thing—Cosmic Sorcerer, danger.
After the projection ended, the Ancient One calmed herself down, then said, "I didn't expect you to surprise me like this, Steven."
"Uh, I know this plan is unscrupulous, but... wait, surprise???" Strange looked at the Ancient One doubtfully and found that yes, the way she looked at him was indeed full of admiration and surprise.
The Ancient One picked up her tea cup, took a sip, and said with satisfaction, "It seems my previous story wasn't told in vain. I really didn't expect that you would be able to identify the crux of the current situation from these fragmented stories."
"Uh..." Strange was taken aback. He really wanted to ask what the crux was, but it was clear that the Ancient One wasn't finished.
The Ancient One sighed and then said, "I've already mentioned in my previous stories that there are demon gods in this world, and there are quite a few of them."
"Just like the human race, they have wisdom, they can communicate, they have their own interests and positions, they also have different characters and personalities."
"They were born powerful, with strength that humans cannot comprehend, and most also have their own territories, spread out in all corners of the cosmos."
"To explain who they are, one has to first explain, what exactly the cosmos is."
Then, Strange learned the truth about the world from the Ancient One's narration.