A Million Dollar Per Day

Chapter 116 A Million Dollar Per Day!??

"I want one of your new-element Arc Reactors." Fanny went straight to the point. He had thought about it carefully and decided it would be better to be honest even if Tony refused. He still had other plans and schemes.

Tony didn't seem to be too surprised by this request. He asked curiously, "What do you need it for?"

"I have a pet that needs high-powered energy sources as food," Again, Fanny told Tony the truth. He would have to introduce the Blue-Eyes White Dragon sooner or later anyway; it would be impossible to hide it forever, especially if he wanted to use the dragon in any capacity.

"A pet?! Using the reactor as food?!" Tony was astonished. If he didn't know about Fanny's peculiar nature, he would've thought that Fanny was messing with him. Even then, he couldn't hold his incredulity and asked, "Are you sure you can feed it to your pet? What on earth are you raising?"

"It's nothing impressive, just a little guy." Fanny stopped himself from giving out too many details. Even if he planned to reveal it, he still wanted to keep his trump card hidden until the time was right.

Tony didn't ask any more questions and pulled a box out of his drawer. He opened the box, revealing a miniaturized Arc Reactor.

"I don't know what you're feeding or how, but you must be careful," Tony warned with a serious face.

Fanny was a little surprised that Tony gave away the Arc Reactor so easily. He couldn't hold his curiosity and asked, "Aren't you worried that I'm lying to you?"

"You wouldn't make up such an outlandish lie just to get one reactor," Tony said indifferently, patting Fanny on the shoulder. "So, I believe in you!"

Fanny was pretty surprised at the amount of trust that Tony had for him. He said honestly, "Thank you. I'll bring you something good if I have the chance."

Fanny left a while later, bringing the miniaturized Arc Reactor with him. He went directly to the snowy mountain and summoned Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

He then fed the reactor to the dragon, his eyes expectant.

To Fanny's surprise, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon spat the Arc Reactor not even three seconds after swallowing it.

"It can't even digest the reactor?!" Fanny frowned. The miniaturized Arc Reactor was an artificial energy source made by Tony. It has an incredible power output, but it was nonetheless controlled and limited, unlike the overflowing power of the Tesseract.

If the dragon could not absorb the reactor's power, it's unlikely to be able to handle the Space Stone.

But Fanny didn't give up; he needed to understand the specific prerequisite to know whether it could absorb the energy in the future.

Fanny was still pretty disappointed, though. He had hoped that the Arc Reactor could accelerate Blue-Eyes White Dragon's evolution; he didn't expect that the dragon couldn't absorb the energy at all.

Considering that the current Blue-Eyes White Dragon was only one star, perhaps it was to be expected that it couldn't digest such a strong energy source.

Fanny summoned Sumire Karaage Rolls to comfort the dragon. He could only hope that the dragon would be able to digest a stronger power source after evolving, but if it still didn't work, he still had one last method left.

Nick Fury contacted Fanny again after two days.

"Is there any way to stop them from taking the Tesseract?" Instead of asking Fanny to help guard the artifact, Nick Fury asked Fanny for alternative solutions. His suspicion persisted until the end.

"I'm glad that you're so insistent on keeping it!" Fanny replied in a bad mood, "That thing is now in your hands. If you don't want them to take it away, just say it. They wouldn't be able to take it if you could stand your ground."

Nick Fury naturally caught on Fanny's sarcasm, but he still hoped that there was a more peaceful way. "Can't we negotiate a trade or exchange?"

"Don't ask me!" Fanny replied helplessly, "I don't even know any Asgardian; how can I know what they are thinking?"

Nick Fury had no way of confirming what Fanny had said, but his instinct had always been to assume the worst scenario. And he would need strength to fend against that scenario.

"I need your help!" Nick Fury finally said the magic words. He still suspected a hidden motive behind Fanny's sudden cooperation in sharing intel, not the least of which was to deplete a 'favor' from their deal, but he had no choice but to act on what he knew.

Fanny smiled in satisfaction, but he didn't let that show in his voice. "I can't guarantee that I can protect it by myself. You need to prepare for all scenarios."

"Alright!" Nick Fury readily concurred. If even the combined might of SHIELD plus Fanny could not protect the Tesseract, then surrender would be the only option, even if temporary.

"So, are you going to send the Tesseract to me?" Fanny tentatively asked. It would be wonderful if Nick Fury just handed it to him. He would probably be able to fend against Loki on his own.

"I can't just give the Tesseract to you. You would have to come to the base," Nick Fury predictably rejected. He and SHIELD still wanted to study the power contained within the Tesseract. Giving the artifact to Fanny would be no different than returning it to Asgard.

Fanny pouted, but he didn't push the matter. He instead sulked at Nick Fury, "Then you have to pay me!"

"Pay you?" Nick Fury was stunned, but he then asked casually, "How much do you want?"

"A million dollars per day!" Fanny gave an arbitrarily large number after hesitating for a moment.

"Deal!" Nick Fury replied without hesitation. Fanny winced; it seemed that this ridiculous number was just a drop in the bucket in SHIELD's budget. At least, it wasn't something Nick Fury would hesitate to grant.

Fanny was too prideful to go back on his word. He could only accept his fate and continue with a straight face, "When should I start?"

"As soon as possible!" Nick Fury replied.

"Then let's begin tomorrow. I'll ask for a week of leave from the school first, though," Fanny said after thinking for a while. He would have to commit to the act. Going to school leisurely would ruin the pretense of urgency that he had built in Nick Fury's mind.

Fanny didn't care if Asgard never came within the next week. He never said anything about them coming at all. It was all within Nick Fury's own conjecture.

And it's not like Fanny or Nick Fury wished for Asgard to come.

Fanny hung up the phone, completing his initial plan to access the Tesseract. He would need to wait until he had a basic grasp of the research base before formulating the next step.

A week should be ample time to find an opportunity to introduce Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the Tesseract.

As he had promised, Fanny went to the school the next day to ask for leave. He also briefly explained the situation to Skye, albeit without specific details. Just in case, he told Mordo that he won't be coming for a while as well.

Fanny had to put in quite the effort to maintain his illusion in front of Nick Fury.