Time passed quickly, and it had been three days since their return to London.
During those three days, Arthur did nothing but rest, but he received some bad news that wasn't entirely unexpected.
The shot Arthur fired at the military factory didn't kill the Red Skull, but it may have wounded his pride, causing this "celebrity" to experience deep-seated trauma. As a result, he moved Arthur to the top of his kill list!
However, Arthur remained indifferent to this. He had already accumulated enough enemies and debts not to worry about a few more.
In fact, over the past six months, Hydra's animosity toward Arthur had increased day by day.
In at least three battles where victory seemed likely, Arthur's actions had completely thwarted their plans.
Perhaps because Arthur wasn't a "Super Soldier" like Steve, he was never overly prioritized.
But this time was obviously different. By shooting Schmidt directly, Arthur made him aware of the threat Arthur posed, thus raising his kill priority and danger level.
Arthur felt that Schmidt's mindset had been unbalanced since the first use of the immature Super Soldier serum.
He considered himself superior!
He believed he was above everyone else!
Before Arthur appeared before him, he believed that only Steve was qualified to be his opponent in this world.
As a result... the biggest wound ended up coming from Arthur.
"You must be careful; this time is different from all previous situations!"
Agent Carter's admonition brought Arthur back to his senses. He smiled weakly at her before he spoke, "Don't worry. There are plenty of people on Hydra's hit list who are still alive and fighting Hydra. Simply put... this is already a game of life and death between us, with each of us on the other's hit list. That list... without any real fighting power to back it up, is just a joke."
Half a year ago, Arthur wouldn't have believed he could say such a thing, but now it came naturally to him.
Agent Carter nodded, "I heard about Steve's plan. He invited you to join his team?"
Arthur nodded, "Yes."
"You agreed?"
Agent Carter looked at Arthur in surprise.
"Not yet," Arthur replied. "How's the progress with Howard?"
"Not very promising. The extracted energy seems stable, but it has a destructive power that is beyond comprehension. With Howard's current level of technology, it seems impossible to decipher."
Agent Carter thought for a moment before continuing, "He suspects that even Hydra shouldn't be able to decipher this particular energy. The power they currently control is actually beyond their comprehension. They've barely acquired the means to use it, but it's very dangerous."
"It's like putting a knife in the hands of a toddler."
Arthur chuckled, "Of course, we can't expect Hydra to handle this power without it eventually 'backfiring' on them."
"Hmm... I get the feeling there's something wrong with your choice of words," Agent Carter said with a twinkle in her eye.
Arthur whistled and looked at the ceiling, "Speaking of which... there's something I need you to keep an eye on for me."
Agent Carter was taken aback, "What is that?"
"Well, you're currently in contact with the Secret Service, right?"
"Correct." Agent Carter nodded. "My current task is to locate Hydra's main base of operations through the coalition forces. According to current intelligence, all of Schmidt's military factories are used solely for the production of components. The final destination of these components is their main base."
Arthur smiled and said, "That's a reasonable assumption, but I hope that whenever possible you can keep an eye out for information on a certain person for me."
"Who?"
"Dr. Zola of Hydra."
Arthur said, "As far as I know, all of the high-tech equipment that Hydra is currently using basically came from the hands of this doctor."
No further words were needed; that sentence alone was enough.
Agent Carter immediately wrote down the name.
"In fact, I had the opportunity to kill this person at the military factory..."
Arthur looked at Agent Carter, "But I chose to take a shot at Schmidt instead."
Agent Carter was stunned as she looked at Arthur.
Arthur smiled faintly and Agent Carter sighed softly and patted Arthur's hand, "It's not your fault. I understand your decision."
"...I just wanted to settle a score with that unreliable old man."
Arthur pursed his lips, "Unfortunately, that guy managed to escape. I underestimated him... and the situation at the time."
"No one could have done it better than you!"
Agent Carter held Arthur's hand and said seriously.
Arthur scratched his head, "I'm fine; just a little sorry. So, if we happen to catch Dr. Zola, don't let him get away. Regardless of any mission, capturing him should be our top priority!"
This speech was inspired by the plot of the movie.
In fact, Arthur's choice at that moment in the military factory was indeed questionable.
If he had chosen to kill Dr. Zola, he would most likely have destroyed Schmidt's ambitions!
In the movie, Schmidt's ultimate goal was to use his superweapons to destroy the world!
Of course, "destroying the world" wasn't quite accurate. More accurately, it was his delusion of dominating the world through overwhelming weapons and bloody massacres!
And all of his weapons were derived from Dr. Zola's research.
As to how far the research had progressed, Arthur couldn't be sure... so he wasn't sure if killing Dr. Zola in the military factory would have prevented the final act, but there was a good chance!
"Just... let's hope the so-called Valkyrie Aircraft hasn't been successfully manufactured."
Arthur narrowed his eyes, then said to Agent Carter, "I've made a decision!"
"What decision?"
Agent Carter looked at Arthur in confusion.
"To join Steve's team."
Arthur smiled and said, "Given the current situation, we have no other choice. If the two of us join forces, we can even speed up Hydra's demise, right?"
"We definitely can!"
Agent Carter had even more confidence in Arthur than he did. She said seriously, "Arthur, you're the only superhero in my heart! I will never forget your dream... world peace!"
Though Agent Carter's words were sincere!
Arthur was still taken aback for a second, God TM World Peace!
It was all because of the trouble I caused as a young man half a year ago!
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 20 chapters on my patreon and I've also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395
You can read ahead up to 20 chapters on my patreon and I've also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395
Steve is a very motivated person!
Arthur sees himself as an ordinary person, waving the flag of "world peace", while he just wants to hide.
Of course, this attitude has changed a bit now, but he still only wants to protect the few people close to him...
This is why he has always resisted the so-called hero label from beginning to end.
But Steve is different.
The impressions you get from the movies are only partial; only when you really work with this guy can you feel the strength of the conviction he has in his heart!
This determination has even infected everyone else except Arthur.
Although their beliefs are different, their goals are the same... This made their cooperation smooth and effective.
When they were together, they were a formidable unit. Even when separated, each leading his own team, they remained unstoppable. Their battlegrounds were no longer limited to Schmidt's military factory!
In fact, Arthur's performance stunned everyone!
Everyone knows where Steve's strength comes from - it is known all over America.
But Arthur's displayed strength was no less than Steve's.
Though slightly inferior in physical ability and strength, Arthur's marksmanship, tactics, hand-to-hand combat, long-range sniping, and even small-scale battle command surpassed Steve's.
Their combined efforts yielded remarkable results.
Schmidt's military factories were repeatedly destroyed, and the scale of their victories continued to grow.
In the process, Arthur also gained significantly.
Though he couldn't collect all of the weapons when he cleaned up the battlefield after each fight, each battle brought some gains. Sometimes he could collect five or six Tesseract energy weapons per battle, and at least one or two.
With so many eyes watching, Arthur couldn't just openly stash away the weapons into his Disassembler space.
Nevertheless, he collected about twenty small colorless crystals in total.
This gave Arthur the feeling that he always had a strong energy within him... even though he still wasn't very skilled at using it.
At most, he could turn small flames into small fireballs... which he couldn't throw.
Even if he could throw them, they would dissipate in the wind, so Arthur mostly used them as lighters.
He became increasingly proficient at killing and arson.
Besides that, he also had gains in Battle Souls.
Earlier, Arthur had conducted decapitation operations, assassinating important enemy targets.
Although the Disassembler was in upgrade mode and couldn't be used at that time, Arthur collected their personal weapons.
Later, he concentrated on Disassembling them, and the best Battle Soul he got was a shining one!
As he continued to collect and disassemble weapons on the battlefield, he accumulated various Battle Souls.
These Battle Souls greatly improved Arthur's physical fitness, agility, and endurance.
It could even be said that in a direct confrontation with Steve, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage if he relied solely on his physical abilities.
The perception of being slightly weaker was just him holding back.
Even now, he couldn't quite explain how he improved his skills. When he reached Steve's level, it might cause problems.
Playing cool might feel great at the moment, but it could lead to disaster!
Arthur definitely didn't want to end up like that.
The ability to handle firearms, for example, needs no further elaboration. Today, Arthur's skills with various weapons such as rifles, sniper rifles, submachine guns, and pistols have all reached the Intermediate level.
Intermediate, however, is a bottomless pit. Even though Arthur's rifle skills have been at this level for some time, they have yet to reach Advanced.
His hand-to-hand combat skills and use of various cold weapons have also reached Intermediate.
To provide a benchmark, let's use Steve as a unit of comparison... If Arthur were to fight without restraint, he could probably beat Captain America without much difficulty!
...
...
Arthur's strength was growing, and his victories were piling up.
Everything seemed to be heading in a positive direction, but two sudden pieces of news made Arthur immediately abandon his frontline mission and return to the London headquarters.
There was good news and bad news!
The good news was that Dr. Zola, whom Arthur had been fixated on, had been captured by Steve and his team.
The bad news also came from this operation... Steve's good friend Bucky, the future Winter Soldier, fell into a valley during the battle!
This sudden news left Arthur somewhat dazed.
By the time he returned to London headquarters, he had extracted a vital piece of information from Dr. Zola!
The Valkyrie Aircraft had been completed and contained the power to destroy the world, and... Schmidt could unleash that power at any moment to play a massive game of... explosive art with the world!
...
...
London, Operations Command Room!
Arthur had just returned and was sitting in a chair with a somewhat grim expression on his face.
The situation had reached this point, which, while not entirely beyond his expectations, had taken him by surprise.
He had originally thought that he and Steve would be able to slow down Schmidt's progress with a quick attack.
They had even split into two groups to do double the damage to Schmidt.
But judging by the current outcome, Arthur had still underestimated Schmidt's determination... and desperate stubbornness.
After looking around and not finding Steve, Arthur asked Agent Carter, who was sitting next to him, "Where is he?"
"He isn't doing well, he is depressed. But his girlfriend is comforting him..."
"This lovesick guy..."
Arthur scoffed, "No wonder he's called 'the man.'"
"That nickname and this situation... have no connection whatsoever, do they?"
Agent Carter frowned at Arthur, "Besides, what's wrong with being in love?"
Arthur remained silent.
Agent Carter seemed to be about to say something when Steve arrived.
Arthur looked at him, "Man, even though you couldn't save your good friend, you saved my life, so don't be too down on yourself."
Arthur's way of comforting was obviously hard to take, and Steve was confused, "I didn't save you, did I?"
"Hmph!"
Agent Carter snorted coldly.
At that moment Colonel Phillips entered, glanced at the group, and walked over to the map, "John Schmidt should be put in a madhouse; he thinks he's a god and plans to blow up half the world to prove it, and his first target... is America."
(End of this chapter)
También te puede interesar
Comentario de párrafo
¡La función de comentarios de párrafo ya está en la Web! Mueva el mouse sobre cualquier párrafo y haga clic en el icono para agregar su comentario.
Además, siempre puedes desactivarlo en Ajustes.
ENTIENDO