Chapter 146: Trusting Steve (Second Update)

Five minutes ago, Steve walked up onto the experimental platform down below.

To be frank, experimental tables always give off an unsettling vibe. Its massive size reminded Steve of an Egyptian pharaoh’s mummy sarcophagus. The thought of that gigantic metal shell clamping down tightly over his body would frighten any normal person, and besides, Steve thought he could even spot a few faint stains of blood near the edge of the casing...

"Are you scared?" Meiuumu asked.

"Scared? No... Uh, actually, maybe a little scared. But this is my duty, and more importantly, it's my only chance to contribute my strength to my country," Steve replied while taking off his hat and jacket under the doctor's instructions.

Peggy Carter nearby slightly averted her gaze. She simply couldn't bear to look at Steve’s frame, which resembled that of a famine victim from Africa. In truth, she had already developed quite a favorable impression of Steve. Yet she feared that looking at his bony, emaciated figure would only heighten her inner sense of guilt.

By what possible reasoning could the nation entrust such a terrifying experimental task to such a pitiful young man?

At that moment, Mr. Mei, the mysterious sponsor, walked up to her. "Ms. Carter, I believe it's time for us irrelevant folks to head over there. Now is the time for the professionals."

Meiuumu’s smile left Peggy unable to find a single flaw.

As the person in charge of this project and responsible for Steve's safety, Peggy had indeed completed her current task. Peggy nodded. "Mr. Strange, please! Let's go together!"

"Alright!"

As Peggy walked up, she turned her head back. As if guided by destiny, her gaze locked mid-air with Steve, who was strapped down onto the experimental platform like a wrapped rice dumpling, sending sparks flying between them.

Peggy smiled faintly. Steve's heart skipped a beat—oh wait, wrong phrasing, his heart was fluttering like a frightened fawn.

After exchanging that telepathic connection with Peggy, Steve looked over at Meiuumu, who stood nearby smiling silently.

Meiuumu nodded back at him.

Steve’s eyes seemed to say: I will do my best! Today, I shall become a Paladin!

Meiuumu: Young man, I have high hopes for you!

By the time Meiuumu and Peggy reached the bulletproof glass observation room, they happened to catch the tail end of Fred's argument regarding arms procurement. Involuntarily, everyone turned their eyes toward Meiuumu, the project's primary financial backer.

"Well! Mr. Strange, if the plan succeeds, you'll also make a fortune, won't you?" Phillips bantered with Meiuumu.

Meijiecao smiled. "Money? Mere tens of millions is nothing to my eyes. I only care about the future of humanity, and how soon we can send Hitler to hell."

Meijiecao honestly didn't care much for the meager procurement funds of the US government.

Now that he had confirmed the Ancient One wouldn't interfere with his actions, he could freely stroll in and out of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s gold vaults whenever he pleased. Thus, his grandiose statement didn't have an ounce of falsehood in it.

Several high-ranking officials and politicians present were internally shaken to the point of internal injury by Meiuumu's words.

Mr. Fred’s eyes even twitched slightly.

Phillips chuckled and joked with Branden, "Hear that? Even if he were a spy sent to infiltrate our interior, no matter how great his contributions, based on that single sentence alone, the Gestapo would ship him straight to the gas chamber."

The senator shrugged and offered no comment.

Agents are sensitive. Peggy could sense the deep-seated hatred toward Hitler in Meijiecao’s words, as well as his special regard for Steve, which inevitably increased her favorable impression of Meijiecao.

Down in the laboratory below, after getting Steve settled, Dr. Abraham turned and looked toward the approaching Howard Stark. "How is everything prepared?"

"100% perfect!" Howard was brimming with confidence.

These past days had been the most comfortable of his rising career. His partner was simply too perfect; no matter how many materials he consumed, how many capacitors he burned through, or how many electric shocks needed reimbursement, his partner never asked a single question.

On several occasions, when he burned through money so aggressively that even Howard himself felt a bit alarmed, that Mr. Mei would merely shrug, curl his lip, and hand over a fresh check.

His partner took 25% of the shares while funding 100% of the experimental costs.

All of Howard's peers looked upon this stroke of good fortune with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

The phrase Mr. Mei said most often was: "Go ahead and do whatever it takes, Howard! Any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem at all. I believe in you!"

Just like that, the [Super Soldier Project] went from a blank slate to reality in less than ten months. Not only did it take over the mess left by the government's previous inadequate support, but it also successfully brought the experimental equipment to the most comprehensive level possible.

Howard knew very well that, given contemporary technology, this was the absolute limit of what he could achieve.

Therefore, he felt deeply grateful to Meiuumu.

Looking at the high-spirited Howard, the doctor also smiled. "Then let's begin!"

The doctor picked up the heavy microphone, tapped the pop filter, and the voice transmitted through the speakers instantly captured everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, although we paid a heavy price in the early stages of the project due to inadequate experimental equipment, today is different. We have made the most flawless preparations. Therefore, the step we take today is by no means a step toward destruction, but rather another stride toward peace."

"First, we will perform a series of micro-injections into the subject's primary muscle groups. The injected serum will immediately trigger cellular-level physiological changes. Afterward, to stimulate muscle growth, the subject will undergo saturated irradiation from Vita-rays."

"As proven by multiple failed experiments, this will induce extreme agony in the subject, and no anesthetic can alleviate it. The reason previous experiments failed was that the subjects could not endure this pain, suffering a breakdown of willpower or losing consciousness. For the sake of protecting the subject, we terminated those experiments."

"This time, our primary objective remains the protection of the subject. The moment the subject can no longer endure it, we will end the experiment."

Hearing the doctor say this, Peggy, sitting in the observation room chair, had already unconsciously clenched her fists.

She hadn't expected a hand to gently rest over her right fist.

"Mr. Strange?"

"Don't worry! Trust Steve; he is a man who creates miracles!"

Peggy blushed slightly. She hadn't imagined that her tender little romantic entanglements with Steve would be seen right through by this mysterious sponsor.

"Thank you!" Peggy whispered.

Meiuumu withdrew his hand with utmost gentlemanly grace. To be honest, Peggy was a great beauty indeed, but she simply wasn't Meijiecao's cup of tea. The Peggy of this parallel world stood six feet tall; while her proportions were indeed fine, she didn't match Meiuumu's personal aesthetic.

Well, big-boned American lasses like this were something Meiuumu figured he couldn't handle, so he'd better leave her for Captain America.