Colonel Phillips looked disgustedly at the tooth in his hand, which was mixed with blood and saliva and he asked with a frown on his face, “You’re giving this to me without wiping it first?”
“I thought it was something you desperately needed,” Arthur grinned and wiped his hands on Fred’s body.
“What is this?” The man who wanted an explanation approached and Colonel Phillips handed him the tooth before repeating Arthur’s words. “Here’s your explanation.”
The man, feeling puzzled, held up the tooth to his nose and sniffed. Almost suspecting his life choices, before he said, “It stinks!”
“He probably didn’t brush his teeth this morning,” Colonel Phillips chuckled. “But now who needs explaining is me. Why is a Hydra spy here with you?”
The man was taken aback before his face turned ugly. “How dare you say that?”
“Just because of that poisonous tooth,” Colonel Phillips said. “Standard issue for Hydra spies.”
“What happened here?” Dr. Erskine and others emerged from below amid the chaos.
“We caught a spy,” Agent Carter said.
Everyone was stunned. Howard exclaimed excitedly, “Another one caught? Arthur, you’re becoming the bane of Hydra’s existence!”
Arthur’s face immediately darkened when he heard those words. ‘Who are you kidding? If you give me that nickname, how am I supposed to live?’
Dr. Erskine was more concerned. “Arthur, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Arthur scratched his head as he glanced at the doctor, then at the ‘adult’ captain standing next to him, with his arms outstretched.
He blinked, feeling a little embarrassed to reply.
With so many people around, a retort had to be made at the right time, right? Colonel Phillips still demanded an explanation from the man while the others began to deal with the spy issue.
Arthur and Agent Carter took the spy away, with Howard eagerly following to interrogate him.
The Captain wanted to come as well, but Dr. Erskine took him for a physical examination.
After all, he was just “fresh out of the oven”, and all aspects needed to be thoroughly examined to see if he was qualified so that they could issue some kind of certificate for mass production in the future…
Howard was ultimately disappointed that he didn’t get a chance to interrogate him.
When Colonel Phillips returned, he immediately chased them away and asked them to prepare for the evening ball.
Arthur was confused. Why have a ball?
Colonel Phillips’ explanation was that the influential people above wanted to celebrate and congratulate Dr. Erskine’s success.
Being Dr. Erskine’s bodyguard and having caught three spies today, Arthur was also invited and had to attend the ball.
This left Arthur speechless. Were these American influential people all crazy?
At this stage, instead of consolidating the results and working on mass production, why bother to organize a ball here?
Not to mention, before the beards are wiped out, can’t you at least celebrate with the ‘Captains’ after achieving a decisive victory?
Arthur’s inner Tsukkomi spirit burned fiercely, but he had to save his pride and reluctantly went with Agent Carter to prepare for the evening.
Later, however, the matter of clothing had to be left to Agent Carter, as Arthur had to pick up Dr. Erskine.
…
…
When he saw Dr. Erskine again, the old man’s face bore an indescribable weariness.
“Arthur, I succeeded, aren’t you going to congratulate me?”
The doctor said this with a smile, but there was a hint of strain in his expression.
Arthur scratched his nose with a finger as he asked. “Do you think congratulations are in order?”
“Perhaps…” Dr. Erskine replied absentmindedly, looking out the window.
Arthur also fell silent.
“I should be happy, shouldn’t I?” The doctor suddenly turned to Arthur.
Arthur’s mouth twitched. Why don’t you speak properly? Who are you trying to scare with all this drama,?
Before Arthur could answer, the doctor nodded to himself and continued, “Yes, I should be happy. Arthur, have you ever thought about becoming the next Steve? I can help you now.”
Looking at the doctor, Arthur shook his head.
“Why not? Before, you said you weren’t ready, maybe because you knew you couldn’t be the one, or maybe because you doubted my experiment would succeed. But now I have succeeded, and judging by Steve’s condition, it’s a real success! Why do you refuse?”
Arthur thought for a moment but still shook his head.
But he didn’t offer an explanation.
Not that there wasn’t a reason. In fact, Arthur had many reasons… First of all, he didn’t want any serum to change him. Second, he didn’t want any more interactions with the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
What was happening now could be considered a last resort, but if there was a suitable opportunity, he still hoped to disappear from the eyes of many influential figures.
After all, the future Steve Rogers was shining brightly, absorbing most of the attention, even the hatred.
This was Arthur’s chance, his chance to disappear.
But if he used the Super-Soldier Serum to gain the strength, he would definitely be on someone’s list. As a result, he would never be able to separate himself from them.
Haven’t we seen… even when Steve Rogers was frozen for seventy years, he still had to serve SHIELD when he woke up?
Arthur had no interest in such things.
And if he didn’t have any other “golden fingers,” he might be reluctant to use the serum.
But Arthur himself had the Disassembler. The future held promise, and there was no need to be tied to a particular path for temporary gains or losses.
That was Arthur’s thinking.
But how could he explain that to the Doctor?
He couldn’t find the words, so in the end, he remained silent.
But the doctor wasn’t disappointed. He just seemed a little dazed. After a while, he suddenly smiled and said. “Arthur, I have something for you.”
“What?”
Arthur was driving when he felt the doctor’s hand hand him something. Looking down, he saw a transparent container in the doctor’s hand, containing none other than the Super Soldier Serum they had just used today!
“What is this?”
Arthur was surprised and unconsciously took it.
“That is the only serum left from today,” Dr. Erskine smiled. “I took it away, and no one cared. They think I can get them more…”
“Why are you giving it to me?”
“Keep it as a memento. I have a feeling our trip to New York will be over soon.”
A sense of relief flickered across Dr. Erskine’s face as if he had just been relieved of a great burden.
Then he turned his eyes back to the window before saying. “Remember everything I taught you, Arthur…”
(End of this chapter)
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