Become a Homelander and a Marvel superstar

VGD Global Defense Base, late at night.

The massive alloy gate slid slowly to both sides, emitting a muffled hydraulic sound.

Azu strode into the command center.

"Welcome home, sir."

Steve Rogers stood in front of the control panel, his posture as upright as a pine tree.

"Don't give me that, Steve."

Ah Zu took off his gloves, threw them on the table, and revealed a relaxed smile.

"Looks like you're settling in well." Azu walked over and patted the World War II veteran on the shoulder, a familiar gesture like that of an old friend reuniting.

"It's better than I expected." Steve glanced back at the trainees still sweating on the night training field, his gaze softening. "There's not so much backstabbing here, not so many lies that 'must be hidden for safety.' These kids... they're pure."

"They idolize you," Azu said with a laugh. "I had Ashley do an internal poll, and your approval rating among the trainees is almost catching up with mine."

"All they need is direction." Steve looked at Azu earnestly. "Thank you, Anthony. You gave me, and you gave them a home."

Ah Zu responded with a smile: "As long as you take good care of it, it will always be your home."

"Alright, go and get some rest, Captain. I have some personal matters to attend to."

……

50 meters underground, the Cyberdyne T-850 production line.

The elevator plummeted, the air temperature began to drop, and a chilly smell of engine oil mixed with metal wafted through the air.

The elevator doors opened.

What appeared before us was a huge underground factory.

Countless robotic arms swung through the air, sparks flying. On the conveyor belt, silver-white metal skeletons were being assembled and welded.

This is Ah Zu's private arms factory.

"Welcome back, Mr. Starr."

A monotone, devoid of emotion, echoed through the empty factory.

"How's the progress?"

Azu stopped in front of a machine that was applying a skin coating.

The metal skeleton was immersed in a pink biological solution, and active skin tissue was growing rapidly, covering the cold metal.

They look no different from ordinary people, and in fact, they even have mating capabilities to better penetrate the environment.

"The T-850 production line is fully operational," Skynet reported. "As per your instructions, the appearance parameters of each unit have been randomized. Race, age, and body type are completely simulated according to a human social distribution model. No two units are identical in appearance."

"Very good." Azu nodded. "How's the progress?"

"Currently, 51 finished units have been produced. Each unit is equipped with tactical modules, language modules, and human behavior learning programs."

"Cough cough..."

The sound of high heels behind them interrupted the conversation.

Ashley strode over, tablet in hand, her expression serious. This strong woman from Walt rarely wore such an expression unless something truly serious was happening.

"Sir, we need to talk about money." Ashley didn't waste any words and directly projected a financial statement into the air via holography.

She pointed to the red curve.

"The cost of a single T-850, including the superalloy frame, the dual hydrogen battery core, and the expensive simulated skin culture material, is as high as $1020 million."

"If we operate at full capacity, over the course of a year..." Ashley paused, her tone serious, "...we will burn through $37 billion."

Azu raised an eyebrow: "Walter can't afford it?"

“We can afford it.” Ashley looked directly into Azu’s eyes. “But it’s pure cash outflow. No returns, no profits. This will severely squeeze our budgets in media, film, and other areas. In the long run, our financial statements will look terrible, and it will affect the operation of our other businesses.”

Azu remained silent for a moment.

That makes sense.

He suddenly snapped his fingers and turned to give instructions to Skynet.

"Skynet, adjust the production plan."

"We will produce another 3000 T-850 standard models, then stop the production line and switch to maintenance mode."

"3000 units?" Skynet's data stream flickered. "I need to remind you that this number is insufficient to launch a full-scale war against the world."

"Did I ever say I was going to start a full-scale war?" Azu rolled his eyes. "Even if I wanted to rule, war would be the lowest form of means."

"Relocate 50 units for internal security and to guard underground facilities at Vought headquarters," Azu continued, "As for the rest..."

"Scatter them all out, and turn them into people."

"Make them Wall Street traders, Capitol Hill interns, Silicon Valley engineers, or even CNN directors."

"Let them infiltrate every corner of this world."

Skynet's voice rang out at the opportune moment: "Mr. Starr, to achieve perfect infiltration, I need access to the global internet to forge these machines' human identity records, social security records, and past traces."

Ashley's expression changed: "Sir, this... allowing an artificial intelligence to connect to the internet? Won't it launch a nuclear missile?!"

"It won't." Azu didn't hesitate at all. He still trusted the quality of the system. Besides, a nuclear bomb couldn't kill him.

"Authorization approved."

"Connecting...Identity generation in progress...Penetration protocol initiated." Skynet's data stream frantically filled the screen.

"There's one more thing."

Azu walked towards a separate isolation room in the factory.

"Is that 'special edition' ready?"

"It went offline ten days ago," Skynet replied. "The model was built entirely according to the data you provided, and the skeleton was made of vibranium. Furthermore, it was equipped with more advanced combat modules and tactical algorithms."

The door to the isolation room slowly opened.

The white, cold air dissipated.

A naked man stood inside.

He had a angular and cold face.

If Steve Rogers were here, he would definitely recognize this face.

Brock Rumlow.

Crossbones is the captain of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Rapid Response Special Forces.

But this is not Rumlow.

This is a T-850.

"Vibranium version, the cost... I won't ask, it must be an astronomical figure." Azu looked at the masterpiece and nodded in satisfaction.

He reached out and patted Rumlow on the shoulder.

"wake up."

Those eyes, which were originally dull and lifeless, suddenly lit up with a red light, then quickly disappeared, turning into brown pupils that were no different from those of humans.

It turned its head, looked at Azu, and bowed slightly.

"Commander." T-850's voice was exactly the same as Rumlow's, even mimicking his bandit-like manner perfectly.

"From this day forward, you are Brock Rumlow."

Ah Zu's voice echoed through the empty factory, carrying a sinister chill.

"Go find the original. End it, replace it."