Chapter 218. Project Rebirth (Part2)

Ryan's eyes glanced at Agent Carter for a moment before quickly withdrawing. If he remembered correctly, Agent Carter was also a top agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, long overlooked by the others due to her status as a woman, before demonstrating her abilities in a series of incidents and being one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Of course, she also had the more notable status of being Steve's lover during World War II and the subject of that important dance.

For now, however, Carter and Steve haven't confirmed their relationship yet.

Although Ryan quickly withdrew his gaze, the keen Agent Carter was aware of his gaze, and when she looked at it, she immediately saw Dio's handsome face. Compared with the thin Steve beside him, Ryan's [Dio Brando] was indeed too dominant in appearance.

Hearing Carter's self-introduction, Hodge, in the line couldn't help chuckling. It was clear that he had some contempt for the female officer, sneering, "What's with the accent, Queen Victoria? I thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army."

Carter withdrew her gaze from Dio and turned to the thorn in the side, Hodge, with an expressionless face, "What's your name, soldier? "

Hodge puffed out his chest and answered, "Gilmer Hodge, Your Majesty."

Carter stared at Hodge and coldly said, "Step forward, Hodge."

Hodge shrugged his shoulders, stepped out and said, "We gonna wrestle? Cause I got a few moves I know, you'll like..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Carter directly threw a fist at Hodge. Before he could react, he was directly hit by a heavy blow to the bridge of the nose, and his body wobbled, falling heavily to the ground. As an agent, Carter's fighting ability was much better than that of Hodge, a guy who could only fight with his muscles.

The punch knocked Hodge down, then Carter twisted his arm and turned to look at Dio to the side, "Private, your name."

The sensitivity of an agent made Carter pay some attention to Dio, although the other party didn't show anything unusual.

"Dio Brando."

Raising an eyebrow, Ryan replied indifferently.

Carter nodded, her gaze lingering again on Steve. She remembered the scrawny guy that Dr Abraham Erskine had specifically asked to be recruited into the force.

"Agent Carter! "

At that moment, a hoarse voice sounded from behind. Agent Carter turned around and quickly replied, "Colonel Phillips."

"I can see that you're breaking in the candidates. That's good! "

Colonel Phillips was a middle-aged man in his fifties with a wrinkled face. He glanced at Hodge, and without asking why, he directly ordered, "Get your ass up off that dirt, and stand in line at attention 'till somebody comes to tell you what to do."

"Yes, Sir! "

Rubbing his nose, Hodge glanced indignantly at Carter before patting the dust from his body and quickly returning to his feet.

"General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men. We are going to win this war. Because we have the best men."

As he spoke, Phillips noticed Steve standing beside Ryan out of the corner of his eye and suddenly felt he couldn't speak anymore. After all, compared with the tall soldiers around him, Steve's size was a bit too conspicuous. Not to say that he stood out from the crowd, but rather that he was a bit of a duck in a flock of cranes.

With a dry cough, Colonel Phillips forced himself to ignore Steve's presence. He glanced at Dr Erskine, who had arrived at some point, and continued, "And because they're going to get better.... Much better."

"The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort, made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldier. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell..."

'Super Soldier...'

If one were to listen to Colonel Phillips' words alone, one might take them solely as an inspiration for the new recruits.

However, Dr Erskine, whose eyes swept over Ryan, knew that the super soldier in the other party's words was the real thing.

Of course, although he was involved in Project Rebirth, Ryan had no intention of becoming a test subject. After all, Dr Abraham Erskine made it very clear that the Super Soldier Serum should be used for the betterment of mankind. Being a subject would certainly improve his physical fitness, but it had obvious side effects and a possibility of failure.

Furthermore, even if the Super Soldier Serum was successful, the combat power was nowhere near that of the cards Ryan could get from a draw.

In that case, why should he go further and risk the side effects of the serum?

And, to put it another way, Steve's entry into the army was, in fact, indicative of Dr Erskine's preferences.

In his heart, he already had his candidate.

...

"You're not really thinking of picking Rogers, are you?"

For the next week of training, even if Ryan didn't intentionally stick out, he was far ahead of the other soldiers in terms of training performance, thanks to the card's strength boost. And with this performance, he managed to collect a wave of points from Steve and others.

"I'm more than just thinking about it. He is a clear choice."

In the face of Colonel Phillips's question, Dr Erskine didn't deny it at all.

"When you brought a 90-pound asthmatic onto my army base, I let it slide. I thought, 'What the hell.' Maybe he'd be useful to you, like a gerbil. I'd never thought you'd pick him."

Approaching the troops, Colonel Phillips's gaze shifted from the relaxed Ryan to the panting Steve. He couldn't help but say, "You stick a needle in that kid's arm, it's gonna go right through him. Look at that, he's making me cry."

"I am looking for qualities beyond the physical."

"Do you know how long it took to set up this project? All the grovelling I had to do in front of Senator What's-His-Name's committees? Throw me a bone. Brando passed every test we gave him. He's the best soldier. He's the best we need."

"Yes, but I have this strange feeling about Brando. He has no emotions, too calm, even cold. I can't figure out what he's thinking. I'm not certain of using the serum on him; it might be a bad outcome."

"You can't reject a suitable person just because of how you feel." However, Colonel Phillips had some objections to Dr Erskine's opinion.