Lu Mingfei doesn't want to be a superhero

But his excuse that he didn't know was also reasonable, so Dr. Lizard took two heavy breaths and in the end didn't pounce on him and tear him apart because he was "unaware".

"What kind of cooperation do you want?" Dr. Lizard asked.

"We will provide you with these genes and related data, as well as an experimental environment that is hundreds of times better than here and a sufficient number of test subjects. In return, we will share all your research data. Moreover, we need a super soldier serum to create super soldiers that are even better than Captain America. Of course, we will share ownership of these super soldiers with you, and even share this world that we are about to take over."

While some of his earlier remarks contained malicious intent, they were generally sincere. The last sentence was pure nonsense. The man himself knew that once everything was done, Hydra would simply put Dr. Lizard under complete control, or even silence him.

Although Dr. Lizard should have his own means of controlling the Deadpools he created, Hydra is more confident in its control abilities, and it wouldn't be difficult for them to take control of the Deadpools from Dr. Lizard.

Besides, Dr. Lizard is just one person, while they are an organization. After obtaining the data, they can mass-produce an army of Deadpools. Even if they can't seize control, they can still crush Dr. Lizard. So the promise of "sharing the world" is complete nonsense.

Of course, Dr. Lizard was even less inclined to believe that last ridiculous promise, but he had his own plans, so after thinking for a moment, he nodded decisively: "Okay, but I don't need your experimental site, I'll do the experiments here."

“This place is too rudimentary, and it’s inconvenient to transport test subjects. It will also slow down the research progress. We guarantee that the experimental site we provide will be absolutely confidential and secure…” The man suddenly stopped speaking, and the look in the eyes of the lizard doctor in front of him told him that this was not a discussion.

“Okay, you’re right here, right here…” The man suppressed his fear. “Then I’ll go back and report to my organization. Someone will come to meet you tonight.”

Of course, the precious genetic samples and experimental data could not be given to him to carry around; he was just a high-level cannon fodder who came to negotiate terms.

Of course, having accomplished two major feats in a row, his return this time means he has completely escaped the cannon fodder class and will truly enter the upper echelons of Hydra.

Watching the man leave, Dr. Lizard let out a silent, cold laugh.

Chapter 111: Captain America Embarks on an Unforeseen Path

Captain America in the intensive care unit.

"Tuk tuk tuk..."

There was a knock on the door.

"Please come in."

Steve said in a low voice.

Although his physical condition has stabilized, his psychological problems remain unresolved. He is still struggling with the disorientation of having slept for seventy years. No matter how strong his will is, he cannot simply let go of the fact that he has slept for more than half a century. Therefore, he has been feeling somewhat depressed lately.

However, according to the psychologist, it is already very admirable that he did not develop depression after going through all this, and his mental fortitude is undoubtedly far beyond that of ordinary people.

The door was pushed open, and Lu Mingfei, carrying a bouquet of flowers, a fruit basket, and a box, walked in somewhat embarrassedly: "Uh... hello? Captain America?"

"It's you?" Steve was taken aback. "You were one of the doctors who thawed me, right? Thank you for saving me."

Faced with Steve's gratitude, Lu Mingfei felt truly unworthy of it—he did the exact opposite of what Captain America had said.

"I'm sorry, although I feel that there's nothing seriously wrong with my health, the doctor has strictly instructed me not to move, so I can't entertain you right now," Steve said sincerely.

Lu Mingfei felt even more guilty.

He placed the bouquet and fruit basket aside and truthfully recounted his crimes.

Unexpectedly, the captain only paused for a moment after hearing this, and then said seriously, "You did the right thing."

Huh? Lu Mingfei was stunned, thinking to himself, Captain, your magnanimity is probably comparable to that of Jesus in the Bible, isn't it?

But Captain America immediately explained that at the moment the ice broke, his consciousness was not very clear. As a soldier, he had undergone rigorous training and brutal combat. In that state, if Lu Mingfei hadn't frozen him, his next step could have been to suddenly attack and hurt someone—a scene that often appears in movies. To put it bluntly, his brain was only partially activated. Although he could move, he hadn't yet restarted advanced functions such as "distinguishing friend from foe."

Moreover, even if he were fully conscious, his first reaction would still be to take a hostage. If he was rescued by the enemy, the chances of a hostage escaping would be higher. If he was rescued by his own people, he wouldn't actually hurt the hostage. At worst, he would just be given a demerit. He couldn't be executed for this. He could go to the hostage later to ask for forgiveness.

Whether it's the former or the latter, it would cause his physical condition to deteriorate further during strenuous exercise, and it might not be any less harmful than the damage Lu Mingfei would cause by freezing him back to his original state.

"Of course, the most important thing is that I didn't hurt anyone unintentionally. In that respect, I actually want to thank you more." Steve lay on the bed, turned to look at Lu Mingfei, and said sincerely.

For a fleeting moment, Lu Mingfei felt that the only difference between this man and Jesus was a few disciples and a cross.

Although Captain America didn't blame him, Lu Mingfei still felt a little guilty. So, after learning that he had been bedridden recently and the doctor advised against him moving around, Lu Mingfei made him a gift—

To be precise, they took a discarded helmet from Tony's Iron Man suit, removed the unnecessary parts, kept only the communication system, and modified it slightly to make a pair of glasses—glasses that could access the internet.

“This is neurally controlled, and it can also be voice controlled. You can go online without moving,” Lu Mingfei placed his glasses next to the hospital bed. “I had the artificial intelligence download images of America from seventy years ago, as well as many games, into it. You can use it to pass the time, and of course, you can also go online and see the world today.”

"Thanks, I've been feeling really bored lately," Steve said gratefully.

Although watching TV is a form of entertainment for him, and occasionally using the remote control doesn't have much of an impact on his health, he can't read books or newspapers because it requires frequent page turning, and he doesn't want the hospital to bother a nurse to "serve" him for that.

He had also heard of the internet, one of the greatest inventions of the new era, which was far more efficient at obtaining information than any other method before, but he couldn't try it; he couldn't control a tablet or a mouse.

Fortunately, Lu Mingfei helped him out of his predicament. With Lu Mingfei's help, Steve was able to put on his glasses.

It's called glasses, but it's several sizes larger than real glasses and doesn't have lenses. Instead, it has a structure similar to mechanical goggles. Fortunately, it's not heavy. Once you put it on, it fits snugly against your face like swimming goggles, plunging you into complete darkness. Then, a virtual screen opens in front of you, displaying a dense menu.

Steve subconsciously switched back to the American landscape of seventy years ago. Everything before his eyes was so vivid that it was as if he had really seen it with his own eyes. It even gave him the feeling that reality was an illusion, and that he was actually still living seventy years ago.

But he quickly broke free from this addiction, then resolutely turned off the function, removed the glasses, and thanked Lu Mingfei.

After Lu Mingfei left, he used the glasses to start a beginner's tutorial and learned how to use the internet—simply put, it was just about opening the system's built-in browser.

He didn't want to wallow in the false world and memories. He felt he needed to understand everything about modern times. Before, the doctors, nurses, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents only told him that World War II was over and the United States had won, and they didn't talk to him about anything else. The doctor said he needed to rest and that premature exposure to the outside world would have a negative impact on his mental recovery.

He didn't think he was that fragile. After opening his browser, he followed the beginner's tutorial and immediately searched for the questions that concerned him most: Is there world peace? Is the United States still at war? What other wars are currently taking place in the world?

The most frequent keywords in the search results made Steve's expression change instinctively—

The U.S. war in Afghanistan.

……

A week later.

The elevator doors opened on Steve's hospital floor.

Lu Mingfei and Natasha walked out together. Lu Mingfei complained, "Are you guys at S.H.I.E.L.D. even professional? It's been a week and you still haven't found it?"

This is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s private hospital, which is considered part of S.H.I.E.L.D., so you can talk about certain things more freely, without having to be as secretive as you would be in the outside world.

“Hmm…this situation is indeed rare,” Natasha frowned. “It seems the enemy is very troublesome; his intelligence and cunning are even greater than we expected.”

"Could it be that one of your agents is slacking off?" Lu Mingfei speculated maliciously.

“Impossible. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are highly trained and trustworthy,” Natasha shook her head. “Besides, we didn’t come away empty-handed. From the information we’ve gathered, Professor Connors seems to be a good person after all. Perhaps, as you guessed, the drug affected his personality and thought patterns.”

"Not long ago, an executive from the Ausch Group who was in charge of managing his research project believed that his research was mature enough and wanted to use retired soldiers to conduct human trials of the lizard drug. Professor Connors seemed to think that human trials were premature, but he was powerless to stop it, so he injected himself with the drug to conduct human trials and set off to stop the Ausch Group executive who was heading to the veterans' hospital. As a result, he mutated halfway there."

“S.H.I.E.L.D. has also taken advantage of this to obtain the research data stored at Osborne Corporation—unfortunately, a significant portion of it was kept on paper, and Professor Connors took it along with the equipment after returning to his own lab,” Natasha said. “In addition, we also obtained the drug that he was supposed to use on retired soldiers from the executives, and sent some of the drug along with the data to Mr. Stark.”

“Tony has already developed an antidote to reverse lizardization,” Lu Mingfei shook his head and said, “The problem is, where are the lizardmen?”

“We’re looking…” Natasha’s voice lacked confidence.

As they spoke, they arrived at Steve's hospital room.

Entering this hospital requires special approval from S.H.I.E.L.D., or being escorted in by a senior agent. Last time Lu Mingfei visited Steve, Natasha brought him in, but Natasha had other things to do and didn't go to the ward with him.

Natasha came with him this time.

"Knock knock knock..." Lu Mingfei knocked on the door.

"Please come in," came the reply from inside.

Lu Mingfei and Natasha went in. He was there to collect user experience data, even though he only had this one user.

But to his surprise, Steve seemed to be in excellent spirits, practically radiant, a stark contrast to his dejected state when they first met. For a moment, Lu Mingfei even thought he was experiencing a final burst of energy before death.

"Captain? You seem to be in good spirits. Congratulations," Natasha said with a smile.

“Good morning, Miss Natasha,” Steve said, looking at Lu Mingfei. “I have to thank Mr. Lu Mingfei for this. He gave me the internet glasses, which allowed me to understand the world today and find new goals.”

S.H.I.E.L.D. did not intend to restrict Captain America's access to the internet, and this was mainly for medical reasons. Therefore, they did not stop Lu Mingfei from giving Steve the internet glasses.

“Oh, Captain, what’s your new goal? To become a superhero?” Natasha teased. “Mr. Stark has been topping the search charts several times recently.”

“No,” Steve shook his head decisively, then said firmly, “There are already too many superheroes in this world. I want to do something else… something that can also help many people.”

Natasha was curious; this time, she truly couldn't guess.

Steve's face simultaneously displayed both resolute determination and profound grief: "Thanks to Lu Mingfei's webcam, I've seen that war is still raging in this world, and the US military, which has fought for justice for seventy years, is now causing countless civilians to suffer in the war..."

Natasha's heart skipped a beat; she suddenly had a bad feeling.

“So I’ve decided to call on everyone to demand that the government restrain the military’s actions in the Middle East and end the war as soon as possible, so as not to bring more suffering to those innocent people… I’ll start taking action once I’ve recovered a bit more!” Steve’s voice was resolute.

Natasha's pupils dilated.

113. Chapter 112: The Presidential Captain?

At S.H.I.E.L.D. Hospital.

Upon hearing Steve's ambitious goals, Natasha immediately realized that this was beyond her control, so she contacted Director Nick Fury right away.

Fury cursed "Fuck you" on the phone and then rushed over.

At that moment, three people were sitting beside the hospital bed.

Fury was talking to Steve, Lu Mingfei was looking down at his phone, and Natasha was sitting next to him, both of them silent.

Fury earnestly advised Steve, "Captain, you don't understand the current world situation enough. The reasons for the US war in the Middle East are very complex. You need to learn more about modern knowledge before making a decision..."

Steve picked up the tablet. With his physical condition, he was able to move around easily after a week and operating the tablet was more than enough. Photos scrolled across the tablet, all taken by war correspondents, showing the suffering civilians in the Middle East.

The background in the photos is already a terrible sight. The simple buildings could even be called "mansions" among them, and most of them are ruins that have been destroyed. Against the backdrop of these ruined buildings, the people photographed, regardless of age or gender, all have numb and empty eyes. Some are bandaged, some are missing limbs, and some are intact but have deep wrinkles, as if their whole body will crack open along the wrinkles.

“Perhaps I do not understand the present era well enough,” Steve looked at Fury, staring intently at his one eye, “but right now I just want to know whether these photos truly reflect the lives of civilians in the Middle East during wartime.”

As one of the world's best secret agents, lying is practically an instinct for Fury, like breathing. He can come up with dozens of reasons to refute the authenticity of these photos in a flash—even if none of them are exaggerating the facts.

But when Fury met Captain America's gaze, he suddenly felt a strange pressure, and the excuse he was about to give froze, causing him to fall into a moment of silence.

Even after recovering from that few seconds of silence, he no longer needed to answer.

Captain America is not a hot-blooded, righteous teenager; he is a legendary warrior who has experienced the greatest war in human history. He may be pure of heart, but he is not naive. Fury's brief silence was, in his view, already an answer.

“What the United States will lose and what it will gain from this war, and how other powers will gain and lose, are indeed important. But there is one thing that I think is far more important than anything else,” Steve said calmly as he scrolled through the photos one by one. “These unarmed people who did nothing wrong and did not join the fight should not be harmed by the war.”

“I know the government is doing this for some real interest, but I don’t recall the Declaration of Independence ever saying anything about trampling on life or human rights for the sake of national interest,” Steve said, his words enough to make the U.S. military want to send him a few cluster missiles. “I’ve spent the first half of my life fighting as a soldier, but that doesn’t mean I would unconditionally support wrong orders. Director Fury, do you know this quote? ‘The tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants,’ said Thomas Jefferson, who served two terms as president after Washington and Adams.”

“You’re going to make an enemy of the US government!” Fury said in a deep voice.

“The U.S. government is my ally and teacher, not my master. I defend the Stars and Stripes only for the law, freedom, and life,” Steve put down his tablet and said frankly. “Anyone who stands against these is my enemy, including former comrades.”

"Once I return to society, I will appeal to the public in my personal capacity to end all wars as soon as possible and do my best to heal the wounds caused by war..."