Arthur’s mission was progressing more smoothly than he had anticipated. Initially, he had planned to just grab the person and leave.
However, as he turned his head, he noticed a secret room…
The moment the person stepped out, Arthur knocked them out cold with a swift strike so the door to the secret room was still open.
After a moment of contemplation, Arthur grabbed Lindsay and nonchalantly walked into the secret room.
He decided to take a good look around and see what he could find.
The secret room wasn’t very deep. After a few steps, there was another door. This door had no special mechanisms so Arthur pushed it open with ease.
What lay before Arthur’s eyes was… a laboratory!?
To be precise, calling it a laboratory wasn’t entirely accurate. There was only one experiment table, isolated behind a large glass pane.
The rest of the space was filled with various machines. Arthur could only recognize a few items, the most familiar being a telegraph machine he had seen in movies.
On the table with the telegraph machine, there were also numerous documents.
The first thing Arthur saw made his face turn pale!
It was a black-and-white photograph of himself!
Next to it was his personal information, and at the top, the name Arthur Chen was written!
“So my name is Arthur Chen?” Arthur blinked in surprise.
It seemed that even pronouncing his name was troublesome, so both Agent Carter and Colonel Phillips simply called him ‘Arthur.’
This was the first time Arthur had seen his full name… But why had he never come across his own dossier before?
Who has the time to constantly read their own files?
However, that wasn’t the main issue. The main issue was the text following the dossier.
“Danger level: High. Recommendation: Terminate.”
Terminate, my ass!!!!
What the hell did I do to deserve termination?
“Previously infiltrated our base, killed a commander. Suspected of identifying our undercover agents, indirectly leading to the exposure of two or more of our agents…”
This was written at the end of the dossier.
Arthur’s breathing became a bit rapid, while his expression became dark and grim.
He didn’t know if this telegram had already been sent out. If it had, then he was likely on Hydra’s hit list!
At that point, even hiding in Dr. Erskine’s shadow wouldn’t keep him safe from their kill order!
This completely contradicted his goal of lying low and staying out of trouble!
“Why are these Hydra people so petty? I only killed one of their commanders with a little mustache! I only exposed one of their spies! Do they really have to target me for that?”
Arthur was frustrated, but at this point, there was no use in getting upset over it!
With this information in hand, Lindsay’s identity as a spy was no longer in question. This was solid evidence.
When he returned, he would have an explanation for his unsanctioned actions.
But this did not put Arthur at ease. He continued to scrutinize the secret room.
Near the experiment table, there were two bookshelves, filled with books, and there were at least twenty or thirty in total.
Next to the bookshelves was a desk cluttered with documents.
He took a glance, understanding only a little. He picked up a book, and Disassembler made an appearance to remind him of its presence.
“Would you like to disassemble the Biochemistry book?”
“Biochemistry ? So… they were conducting experiments in this field here?”
Since he was here, Arthur decided he couldn’t leave empty-handed. He quickly cleared the bookshelves, taking every book, and then gathered all the documents on the table. The more he thought about the target on his back, the more furious he became.
With a grim determination, he pulled out a lighter he had found on Lindsay. Using something taken from the enemy to destroy their assets felt poetic.
Feeling a strange sense of satisfaction, Arthur found some flammable materials and set them ablaze. As the fire grew, he grabbed Lindsay and left the secret room, heading to a nearby window, contemplating his next move.
He eventually decided to tie Lindsay to his back and climb to the rooftop.
Just as he reached the rooftop, something in the secret room exploded with a loud bang, sending a wave of heat through the office, igniting more documents.
In an instant, the entire mansion was engulfed in chaos. The patrolling guards abandoned their posts to investigate the explosion.
Seeing the confusion, Arthur seized the opportunity to flee with Lindsay.
The pandemonium below kept the guards distracted, allowing Arthur to slip away unnoticed. As he ran, he glanced back to see Lindsay’s office completely consumed by flames.
“What on earth was he researching? Bombs?”
Arthur mused, though he doubted that bombs fell under the realm of Biochemistry .
Unable to make sense of it, he decided to focus on escaping, sprinting across the rooftops.
The journey that had taken him seven minutes before now took only three, and he quickly reached the perimeter wall.
With the guards’ attention still drawn to the fire, Arthur saw none as he scaled the wall with Lindsay in tow, reaching the outside perimeter.
As soon as he landed, he heard the roar of an engine and looked up to see Agent Carter approaching.
Taking a few steps forward, Agent Carter spotted him and sharply turned the steering wheel, positioning the car sideways to face Arthur.
Arthur reached for the car door and leapt into the open-top jeep.
“Damn!”
Arthur exclaimed as soon as he was inside.
“What happened, Arthur? Are you hurt?”
Agent Carter turned to check on him, but Arthur shook his head, untying the cloth that bound him to Lindsay.
Seeing that he was unharmed, Agent Carter breathed a sigh of relief. “Arthur, you’re incredible!”
“Heh…”
‘I am incredible indeed’, Arthur thought bitterly. He had nearly landed himself on Hydra’s blacklist!
But his exclamation was more due to a sudden realization.
He had forgotten to grab the books from Lindsay’s office bookshelf…
If he had brought those back, disassembling them might have unlocked a new area of expertise for him.
But it was too late now; Lindsay’s office was a fiery ruin, and the books were ash.
With a sigh, Arthur turned to Agent Carter. “This guy… just sent a telegram. You know, I might be becoming an influential figure soon.”
“What?”
Agent Carter was taken aback.
Arthur explained the situation.
When she heard the details, Agent Carter’s face turned pale. “Arthur, you’re in serious danger!”
Arthur knew this all too well. He couldn’t understand why Hydra had targeted him over just two incidents.
Seeing Agent Carter’s worried expression, as if an assassin could appear at any moment, Arthur couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s fine, don’t worry… Actually, I should thank you. Without this mission, I wouldn’t have known I was being targeted!”
Taking a deep breath, Arthur’s eyes grew steely. “Since I’ve been targeted, there’s no choice but to deal with it head-on. If they want a fight, they’ll get one.”
(End of Chapter)
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