Chapter 151: Circumstances Create Heroes

"I'm sorry! I'm truly sorry! If only I had paid more attention to where Dr. Erskine's body fell at the time." Mei, the master actor, spoke in a mournful tone.

To outsiders, this was the epitome of genuine emotion.

Throughout their prolonged cooperation, this exceptionally generous sponsor had forged a deep friendship with Dr. Erskine, the creator of the Super Soldier serum. It was much like the bond he shared with Howard Stark.

During these past few days, Howard, a primary supplier for the military, had constantly praised Mr. Mei to military officials, highlighting his immense generosity and profound understanding of the field.

Not a single soul suspected Mei.

Had it not been for his 'reckless' dive, judging by the shooting angle of the spy who had called himself Fred, the doctor would have been a dead man beyond a doubt.

Even if he had taken a bullet to a non-fatal area, given the doctor's elderly physique, it would have been a near-fatal ordeal.

Both publicly and privately, should the Super Soldier Project fail, Mei, as the primary financial backer, stood to suffer the greatest loss.

Yet, unfortunately, the doctor's concussion was entirely the handiwork of this very fellow, Mei!

At the exact moment he tackled Dr. Abraham, Mei activated his newly unlocked innate skill, [Nightmare], infiltrating the doctor's spiritual world.

If Mei Integrity had so desired, he could have easily reduced the doctor to an absolute idiot in one fell swoop. Had he done that, the happiest parties would undoubtedly have been Nazi Germany and the Red Skull, who orchestrated the attack.

Even for the sake of that sweet system notification chime, there was no way Mei would ever do such a thing!

"Ding!"

"Congratulations to the host for altering the destiny of Dr. Abraham Erskine. You have received 5 points of Destiny Deviation Value."

That's right, this was the primary reason Mei saved the doctor. The doctor wasn't a superhero, but he was the creator of enhanced heroes like Captain America. His existence would fundamentally alter the landscape of the entire Marvel world.

On the other hand, Mei didn't want Dr. Abraham to have it too easy either.

With a genetic modification genius of his caliber working at full throttle, enhanced warriors of the original Captain America's tier wouldn't just be one individual, nor a dozen, but an entire army corps.

Good grief, the subsequent script would likely turn into the United States bringing virtue and martial might to pacify the entire realm.

Not every enhanced human was named Steve Rogers, possessed of noble sentiments and rational judgment. You didn't even need many; just a few warmongers or blind followers of the US government's orders would utterly shatter the situation of World War II and the post-war era.

Just imagine: after thoroughly crushing Nazi Germany in 1945, the Korean War would break out mere years later.

Should a few enhanced individuals on the level of Captain America show up at Shangganling, there would be no point in fighting; the Volunteer Army would simply have to surrender right then and there.

Mei was, at his core, a man of the Celestial Empire. Playing the bootlicking lapdog for the Americans was something he could never bring himself to do.

"Mmm-hmm, preserving history is the best course of action!"

Thus, humming a tune internally, our man cast a layer of psychic fog over Dr. Abraham. This mental mist would cause no harm to the doctor's physical health; it would merely make him forget the crucial formula components of the enhancement serum.

As for that blue serum vial that was snatched and subsequently smashed.

Heh!

That item had long since been swapped out by Mei for an early-version serum. Regardless of whether Steve managed to catch the spy or not, a miniature magic array concealed within the serum test tube would detonate on a timer, and the meager wind elemental energy within could easily shatter the glass and destroy the evidence.

Once the early-version serum was smashed, given the technology of this era, the components scattered all over the ground would be utterly untraceable.

In the end, the only ones truly depressed were the US military officers.

Colonel Phillips wore an expression as if his entire family had just died: "Damn it! I wanted an infantry division, and in the end, you give me just one guy? What use is that?"

Despite saying this, he could only pin his hopes on the doctor recovering from his 'concussion', or managing to recreate the perfect version of the serum from the meager remaining resources.

The pitiable fellow Steve had been drained of a full five large vials of blood, amounting to no less than six hundred milliliters.

Some things, lacking the original, are simply fatal.

For instance—Coca-Cola.

Aside from the traitorous Pepsi of those years, the true original formula of Coca-Cola remained locked inside a vault with the highest level of security. Even if other companies managed to obtain the base syrup, they still couldn't replicate it 100 percent.

When Phillips learned that reverse-engineering the Super Soldier serum formula without the assistance of Dr. Abraham might take years, or perhaps even a lifetime, he gave up.

Uncle Sam was a country that always repaid its debts.

From top to bottom, every single soldier shared that identical conviction.

Back when Pearl Harbor was bombed, the US quickly launched an operation known as the Doolittle Raid in retaliation, dispatching bombers to drop explosives on Tokyo.

Upon learning that the attack had been launched by the terrorist organization Hydra, the Colonel contacted the President of the United States and issued deployment orders: "Agent Carter, and Mr. Stark, get yourselves ready. You're coming with me to London tonight."

Steve stepped forward: "If we're hunting down Hydra, I'm going too."

The Colonel gave him a blank stare: "You're an experimental subject. You're going to Alamogordo! Besides, nobody knows what's going on with the golden glow radiating from your body right now. Even if it's not radiation, and seemingly harmless to the human body."

Hearing this, Steve felt his entire world collapse.

At that very moment, the savior Mei Conscience made a grand entrance.

"Respected Colonel Phillips, I have no intention of causing offense. First, I must emphasize that this is a military experiment conducted through a tripartite cooperation between the US military, myself, and Stark Industries. Before the US military officially incorporates this experiment into its military procurement list and pays for it, this experiment and its results belong to me—Mei Strange. Therefore, regarding Mr. Steve's future, I hold a different view."

The Colonel had a mouthful of unspoken curses stuck in his throat, yet he could only nod helplessly.

With the experiment at a standstill, getting the Senate to release funds was impossible. Steve belonged to the US military, that was true, but the rights to his usage did not rest solely in the hands of the military.

At a single beckoning from Mei Integrity, Senator Brandon strode over: "I've discussed the matter with the honorable Senator. In truth, Mr. Rogers can serve America far better elsewhere."

Brandon played along seamlessly, pulling out a newspaper and handing it to Phillips.

On the front page of the black-and-white newspaper boldly read the headline: "Massive Nazi Presence Suddenly Appears in New York, Mysterious Man Subdues Nazis to Rescue Child."

Followed by several accompanying photographs:

The first showed a ferocious-looking spy holding a child hostage, with terrified passersby and a helpless, weeping mother at the side.

The second showed Steve ripping off a taxi door to use as a shield, the bullet holes riddling the metal panel shocking to behold.

The third through sixth photos formed a sequence: Steve hurled the car door, the metal panel tracing a flawless arc as he rescued the child and simultaneously knocked the spy unconscious.