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
Support me on Patreon for extra chapters