Kyle estimated that Agent Carter and Steve would soon finish their dinner soon, so he and Howard left the underground dance hall bar.
“Kyle, after completing such a big deal tonight, it’s only fair for you to treat us,” Howard teased. After this brief negotiation, the two of them had established a preliminary partnership and had become quite close.
“Sure,” Kyle replied with a smile, blinking his eyes. “But you know I’m still quite poor at the moment, and I haven’t even received my military officer’s salary yet. I wonder if my Boss can advance me next month’s dividend from Stark Industries.”
“You really…” Howard shook his head with a speechless expression on his face, feeling like he had dug a pit and ended up burying himself in it. Nonetheless, he took out a golden, exquisite card from his wallet and handed it over with a certified check.
“This card is a permanent VIP card for this charming hotel, and it contains a $20,000 deposit. You can use it for now. In addition, here’s a check for $100,000. You can withdraw cash from Central Banks in major cities, but it’s best to make an appointment in advance, as they might not have that much cash readily available.”
It’s worth noting that the average salary of an ordinary American soldier was only $60 a month in this time. This casually thrown sum of $120,000 was a truly substantial amount.
Kyle accepted it without hesitation, jokingly saying, “I didn’t expect the monthly dividend to be so high. Thanks, Boss.”
Howard urged him, saying, “Skip the thanks and just bring me the second investment item as soon as possible. I’ll have the lawyers prepare the agreement to transfer the shares to you. Once you sign it, you’ll be a partner in Stark Industries.”
“No problem,” Kyle nodded. The second item of investment was also conveniently carried with him, but it wasn’t convenient to take it out in front of people.
So, what was this second investment item? In fact, it was a system program chip for a Supercomputer.
It was one of the Green Item Cards that Kyle drew, which was even more useless than the phone. It was a scattered component of a unit. However, if someone wanted to venture into the field of Artificial Intelligence, this chip would undoubtedly be an excellent stepping stone.
Just as Kyle and Howard returned to the hotel lobby on the ground floor, they saw Agent Carter hastily walking towards them.
“Did you already finish dinner? Where’s Steve?” Kyle asked in surprise.
Unexpectedly, Agent Carter glared at him and replied, “Where were you two? I sent Steve to find you, but he couldn’t locate you.”
“Well…” Before Kyle could answer, Howard chuckled and said, “Don’t bother asking something like that. Men naturally go to places for entertainment by spending money.”
‘Your answer can be easily misinterpreted, you know.’ Kyle inwardly complained, but Agent Carter didn’t think too much about it.
She instead spoke with a serious look on her face, “General Chester just sent a message with instructions. He asked me to relay them to all of you. Let’s head back to the training base for now.”
“We haven’t had a chance to relax yet, and now we have to go back to work,” Howard lamented while patting his forehead.
“It’s about the Intelligence Map, right?” Kyle wore a pensive expression on his face as he spoke. He had already anticipated that after submitting the intelligence map, there would be instructions and actions from higher-ups. However, he didn’t expect the decision to come so quickly.
“Kyle!” Steve’s voice came from behind as he returned at that moment.
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s settle the bill and leave,” Kyle smiled and casually handed the hotel staff his VIP card from his pocket. “Tonight’s expenses for the four of us will be covered with this.”
With money in hand, he felt much more confident.
“Kyle, I didn’t expect you to be so wealthy,” Steve exclaimed in surprise. Even without looking, he knew that the expenses at this hotel were not something an ordinary person could afford.
Even more astonished was Agent Carter. She had also seen Kyle’s personal file, so where did this VIP card from the hotel come from?
What exactly did these two do just now?
Agent Carter looked at Kyle and Howard suspiciously and was unable to come up with a reasonable explanation. That day, they dined in a big city and returned to the training base on the same day.
On the plane, Agent Carter earnestly conveyed General Chester’s Mission to the three of them.
“Kyle and Steve, you two will be the team leaders. You need to select soldiers from the training base and form an armed team. Your mission would be to launch attacks on the six factory bases in the German war zone, which are the sources of weapons and supplies. Once the factories that supply weapons fall, Germany will no longer pose a threat to Europe!”
“Steve, from now on, you will be promoted to the rank of Corporal,” Agent Carter said, her gaze falling on Kyle. “As for you, your accomplishments will continue to accumulate. There won’t be any immediate promotions this time.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kyle nodded. The Second Lieutenant rank was still fresh, and he was used to the rhythm of rapid promotions after accumulating military achievements. He liked the thrill of jumping ranks.
Agent Carter continued with a serious tone, “Stark, you will provide scientific and strategic weapons for the two Super Soldiers.”
“Oh,” Howard replied absentmindedly as he piloted the plane. Then, as if realizing something, he turned around in surprise. “Two Super Soldiers?!”
“That’s right, Kyle has also become a Super Soldier,” Steve answered, revealing that piece of information he specifically reported after returning from the war.
Agent Carter stared directly at Kyle and said seriously, “From now on, I will be responsible for supervising and documenting your progress, collecting data on you.”
“Okay,” Kyle responded weakly, muttering under his breath, “At least I’m a Second Lieutenant. It’s embarrassing to have a woman like you supervising me. Isn’t Steve enough to be your guinea pig for research?”
Agent Carter pretended not to hear anything as she maintained her cool and elegant pose.
Steve immediately suggested, “To assemble the manpower needed for the armed team, we can gather the soldiers we rescued last night. They have been engaged in frontline combat and have experience in using the new energy weapons to fight against the German forces.”
“No problem. They must be itching to prove themselves, considering they were captured as prisoners last night. However, in addition to them, I also want to bring in someone from the 102nd Division,” Kyle contemplated.
“Who?” Agent Carter asked. As long as it is requisitioned one person from the frontline, she had the authority to do so.
“His name is Nick·Fury. He’s a very intelligent and capable Sergeant,” Kyle said with a smile. This was an opportunity to quickly accumulate military achievements and he would also be taking good care of Fury.
“Achoo!” Inside a makeshift tent on the frontline battlefield, a one-eyed African American officer sneezed. He rubbed his bald head in surprise, feeling a bit confused.
“The weather isn’t cold, but why do I have a sense of foreboding in my heart?” Fury muttered to himself with a puzzled expression on his face. The frontline he was stationed at had no major battles going on anymore, yet he couldn’t shake off the eerie feeling creeping up his spine.
(End of chapter)