Even though she had been shocked many times before, Pamela was still deeply astonished every time by the anti-humanity of Shiller.
Shiller paced slowly around the experiment table and said, "Cabbage is indeed not bad, but we can't always rely on it. I think we can aim for the long term, perhaps mushrooms would be a good choice, as mycelium is much easier to cultivate than plant cells."
Pamela just stared at him blankly, knowing that Shiller was a pervert, but she hadn't expected that every Shiller was a pervert.
The key was that the Greed Pamela had known before was completely different from the Arrogant or other Shillers. He seemed very cheerful, easy to talk to, so much so that in temperament and appearance he seemed so much younger than the others, Pamela had almost believed they were of the same age.
It wasn't that Greed was more likable than Arrogant, but at least the majority of people found the former more relaxing to be around, and he seemed much more normal, as if he really was just an ordinary person.
But now Pamela had realized that Shiller was Shiller, their nature was shared and didn't change because of their external appearance; he was always a madman.
And Pamela thought that the Greed standing in front of her now seemed even crazier, because even if Arrogant and Morbid were crazy, they just stored some reindeer meat.
Pamela had just seen that when she mentioned using humans to grow vegetables, Shiller's eyes showed only pleasure from his penetrating intelligence, as if he was not discussing his own kind.
As a botanist, Pamela was aware that the concept Shiller proposed was feasible; to be precise, it was much simpler than modifying the soil, but...
Pamela swallowed and said, "We can't do this, it's too perverse, you can't treat the human race as..."
"I didn't say just humans, and I didn't say living humans."
"But even the bodies of those who have just died can't..." Pamela frowned deeply and said, "We can't infuse dead bodies with magic energy, it would dissipate quickly. Only if they practiced magic while they were alive, would their bodies have natural affinity after death and maintain the magic power for a long time. Only then would the plants cultivated have efficacy."
"You're quite proficient, aren't you, miss?" Shiller said with a smile, looking at her, "You've already begun to consider the feasibility of the operation."
"But no matter what, we can't use the corpses of mages to grow vegetables, Kamar-Taj wouldn't agree." Pamela said, "Desecrating corpses is an extremely evil act in both the East and the West, not even the most dedicated would agree."
"You're just a scientist, not some social ethicist," Shiller said from across the table, leaning on it and looking at Pamela, "You only need to do two things, and that is research and keep secrets."
"I won't engage in research on human bodies," Pamela said, "No matter what, it's out of the question, and you'd better not be threatening me."
"I'm not good at threatening people." Shiller walked around the table to Pamela's side. Although his face always wore a smile, completely unlike other Shillers who were serious and intimidating, Pamela always felt that what approached her was not a person but a black hole—Greed, dangerous, yet with an endless mysterious attraction.
"I know you've always been troubled by the lack of money. Of course, it's the most foolish to transport cash or gold from this world. I can give you a business proposal, I guarantee it's very effective, many people have already tried it."
"I won't be bought with money," Pamela's eyes slowly drifted to one side, looking at Shiller next to her and saying, "It's not that I'm that upright, but you have to think about the risk of exposure, and what you might face after exposure. If you've never thought about these things and dare to proceed, then you're not just a madman, you're an idiot."
"If you insist on using the word exposure, then let's discuss this issue," Shiller said. "If what I want to do gets exposed one day, where do you think the problem will arise?"
"Obviously because the matter itself is too high-risk." Pamela spread her hands and said, "How you would transport the bodies, how to preserve them, how to arrange for planting, guarding, and harvesting, it's difficult to completely keep it under wraps."
"That's not what I'm referring to," Shiller said. "Who do you think this matter would be exposed to?"
"Either Kamar-Taj or China, but it makes no difference, they won't allow you to do this."
"Then what we need to do is not just to conceal it, to not let it get exposed, but to ensure we have no one to be exposed to."
"But you can't possibly eliminate them both... can you?"
Shiller looked somewhat helplessly and said, "Why would I want to eliminate them? Can't you use your brain? As long as they agree, it's fine. If there's a chance that Kamar-Taj might get in the way, then we'll make Kamar-Taj agree. If there's a risk of exposure to China, then we'll make China agree, then we'll never get exposed, right?"
Pamela gaped and said, "You're dreaming, how could they possibly agree? Even if I don't know much about China, I know that they take post-mortem affairs very seriously, and they would never allow you to use corpses for whatever purpose."
"That's for the recently deceased," Shiller said. "Right after death they indeed indulge in mourning, but after some time they will be forgotten, and if dead for too long it doesn't matter anymore."
"You're not thinking of digging up ancestral graves, are you?!"
"What are you talking about? That's my ancestral grave, why would I do that? But speaking of ancestral graves, we should at least know who our ancestors are," Shiller said. "Who are the Chinese people descended from?"
"Um, I heard they claim to be the descendants of the dragon, but which dragon?"
"No, although dragons are also important, we more often call ourselves the descendants of Yan and Huang. Do you know who Yan and Huang are?"
Pamela shook her head.
Shiller began to recount to Pamela the mythology of the Ancient Era, which in the Marvel Universe couldn't exactly be called mythology but rather real history — about how the Yellow Emperor and Chi You fought a battle that darkened the heavens and the earth, and in the end, the Yellow Emperor won. The tribes of the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor descended to become the modern Chinese.
At first, Pamela didn't understand, but as she listened, her mouth agape grew wider and wider. She looked at Shiller and exclaimed, "You're planning to dig up Chi You's grave???"
She gasped and said, "But that's a god who could hold his own against the ancestors of China. He must be at least on the same level as Diana's father, right? Aren't you afraid he'll punch you if you dig him up?!"
"Afraid of what? If he could climb out of his grave to punch me, then the Yellow Emperor could climb out of his grave to punch him back. He couldn't beat him back then and has already died twice; why would I be afraid of him?"
"That's just crazy!" Pamela said with a conflicted look. "Even if he was the enemy of the ancestors of the Chinese people, it's not guaranteed they'd agree... Okay, they really might agree. This country is a bit crazy, too. They'd do anything for the sake of agriculture."
"Don't worry, they'll definitely agree," Shiller said confidently. He hadn't had time to explain the entirety of Chinese history to her, but based on his current understanding, Chi You's sins were more than just battling the Emperor.
The pain of recent history's invasions was replaced by a magical version, where the greatest pain comes from the old ancestor's foe, as well as those demons and ghosts that were once dead but have now suddenly come back to life.
Imagine how much the past China hated invaders; the Marvel Universe's China hated these demons and ghosts just as much. They represented the root of several decades of humiliation and misfortune in their recent history. Not to mention the possibility of utilizing their remains; even if they couldn't, the Chinese would still wish they could exhume and whip the corpses for ten thousand years.
The reason these things were buried here and there was that they truly couldn't be dealt with — they lived on through human memory, so as long as people remembered them, it would be hard to eradicate them completely.
But to completely forget Chi You, you'd have to forget the Yellow Emperor, and isn't that like disowning one's ancestors? The concept of being descendants of Yan and Huang is still important, so the current Chinese government is also pinching its nose and accepting it. Just bury it and hope it doesn't wake up.
Having been Chinese in his past life, Shiller understood that, more than preventing these things from stirring up trouble, the Chinese people wanted revenge; after all, they had recorded in great detail the few times they were defeated in history. Once they found a way, they would crush their bones and scatter their ashes.
And it wasn't just about having a method; as long as there was a slight possibility, they would definitely attempt it. So once Pamela discovered that corpses of these once-mighty demons and ghosts could indeed be used as soil to cultivate magical plants, there was no need for her to continue the research. The Chinese would surely find countless ways to utilize these corpses and definitely not let them rest too comfortably — the historical humiliation had to be avenged with blood.
After discussing his thoughts with Pamela, she too felt relieved. She had thought Shiller really intended to use living people to build a fungal laboratory, but it turned out to be just the corpses of demons and ghosts... Isn't that still preposterous? Using deities from historical myths and legends to grow vegetables, is that really okay?
Pamela couldn't ponder too much because she knew Strange would definitely agree. Once this method was researched at Kamar-Taj, it would greatly strengthen the connection with the massive entity next door — a powerful ally that Strange would not pass up.
What else could she say? She was born to toil — time to get to work.
"But first, in order to research the viability of fungi in such an environment, we need test subjects. It doesn't have to be an ancient god, but at least a mage who isn't quite dead yet, and that's not easy to find."
Shiller responded, "That's easy to handle. The land of China has accumulated who knows how many similar corpses of demons over the years, which can be used as test subjects. Though they are heavily guarded and the specimens cannot be brought over, you can go there."
Pamela pointed at herself, "Me, go to SWORD?"
Shiller waved his hand and said, "I'm not asking you to confront them head-on. Just sneak in there. As far as I know, there's an ancient tomb on the Sichuan-Tibet border. Buried inside is an Evil God they killed during the Qing Dynasty known as Wu Gui Niangniang."
"There really are SWORD agents watching, but they're not that strong, and they're short on hands. As long as you can sneak in undetected, spreading some mycelium on it shouldn't be difficult, right?"
"But I can't use the power of All Things Green now," Pamela said somewhat helplessly. "The mages definitely can't go; it would be bad if they got caught. If you take me there, won't we still have to knock out the guards? Be careful of repercussions!"
Shiller just smiled and said, "No need to worry. You'll soon have a way to sneak in."
Just as Shiller finished speaking, a Little Wizard came to summon Shiller and Pamela to the Supreme Magician's room. As they approached the door, they saw Strange carrying his Cloak, which seemed to be wrapping something inside.
When the Cloak turned around, however, they realized it was empty, appearing to contain nothing but air.