The next day, Colonel Phillips did indeed come, but he didn't meet with Arthur. Arthur was relieved by this and he used this time to study genetics with Dr. Erskine.
However, learning on his own was much slower than "digesting" books.
Arthur contemplated devouring all of Dr. Erskine's books, but considering the doctor's fragile heart, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Days passed, and Dr. Erskine spent his time organizing information about Steve Rogers, the future renowned Captain America.
"It's quite interesting," Dr. Erskine said to Arthur. "He applied for military service five times."
"Yes, and he changed his ancestry five times," Arthur laughed. "Falsifying information on the application form, isn't that illegal?"
"Oh, Arthur!" Dr. Erskine looked at Arthur helplessly. "At least this proves one thing."
"What's that?"
"He has a strong will!"
Dr. Erskine said, "His body is frail, he has asthma, but he still hopes to go to the front lines, to fight. What does that mean?"
"That being alive is not easy?" Arthur guessed after a moment.
"…It means this young man has a very strong spirit!"
Dr. Erskine said seriously, "Strong people may not appreciate the value of power, but he is different. His original fragility will make him cherish and use this power with extraordinary caution."
Arthur nodded.
"Don't be like this, Arthur…" Dr. Erskine said, "You know, I really want to choose you!"
"No way!"
Arthur was frightened, and his hair almost stood on end. He didn't want to become the "man with big plans under the stars and stripes." Regardless of the tragic backstory of his deceased parents, if he became such a character, he feared his parents in heaven would be furious!
"I'm serious!"
Dr. Erskine said, "But if I make you a Super Soldier, there would be no benefit for you. Well, at least not for the first candidate, and definitely not you!"
"…I know, and I'm serious. I don't want to be a Super Soldier at all," Arthur said.
"Well, your dream is world peace; so I understand," Dr. Erskine nodded.
Arthur's face turned dark. It was all thanks to Agent Carter's big mouth. When did she tell Dr. Erskine? Did she inform Colonel Phillips?
Thinking that the entire military camp knew about his "dream," he felt embarrassed.
As they were discussing Agent Carter, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Dr. Erskine shouted, and entering the room was Agent Carter.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Agent Carter looked at the two men in the room.
"Poor choice of words…" Arthur massaged his temples.
Dr. Erskine smiled and said, "You're here to find Arthur, right? It's okay. I won't need him from this afternoon until tomorrow noon. You can use him as much as you want. Just make sure to bring him back by tomorrow noon; I'll need to go out then!"
"Of course."
Agent Carter smiled brightly.
…
…
After leaving Dr. Erskine's room, Arthur and Agent Carter walked side by side in the corridor.
Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere seemed quite heavy.
Finally, Agent Carter couldn't resist saying, "Aren't you going to ask me why I came to find you?"
"It can't be for a romantic talk," Arthur said. "A home isn't a home without a beard!"
"…I'm serious!"
"But in reality, you haven't said anything," Arthur shrugged helplessly.
"Fine, you forced me!"
Agent Carter grabbed Arthur's hand. "Come with me!"
"Oh my… so forceful? Let me tell you, I'm still very innocent. If you treat me like this…"
"Don't say things that can be misunderstood."
Agent Carter's face darkened. This guy was a chatterbox, spewing anything that came to his mind.
Dragging Arthur along, they reached outside, where a car was already prepared.
Arthur glanced at Agent Carter. "In the car? Is that appropriate?"
"…We'll talk in the car!" Agent Carter gritted her teeth as she spoke.
Arthur sighed in relief. "Good, just talking, not doing…"
"Do you want to?"
Agent Carter's attitude suddenly took a 180-degree turn.
As soon as Arthur got in the car, he heard this change in tone and blinked. "I absolutely don't want to!"
"Hypocrite!"
With a loud roar, the accelerator was pressed, and the car shot out like an unbridled wild dog.
Arthur was thrown onto the back of the seat. Once they were on the road, he finally sighed, "Are you crazy?"
"You infuriated me!"
After Agent Carter finished speaking, she laughed at herself. "I can't imagine. Before, you were so quiet. How did you suddenly become so talkative?"
"Men are fickle beings…"
Arthur looked at the scenery outside the window, his brows slightly furrowed. "Where are we going?"
"To catch someone!"
"So, is this your real reason for finding me?" Arthur was speechless.
"Exactly!"
Agent Carter said, "The person you caught before was very useful. We obtained a lot of interesting information from him."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Listen to me!"
Agent Carter said, "After selecting the intelligence we obtained repeatedly, we identified three people as spies planted by this organization. There have been two operations so far… but…"
"…they both died?"
Arthur casually commented.
"How did you know?" Agent Carter glanced at Arthur. "These guys are extremely paranoid and fanatical. Once captured, they commit suicide immediately. The first one swallowed his gun, so we were less vigilant with the second person, leading to him dying from poisoning."
"And how is that related to me?"
Arthur blinked innocently.
"Just help me!"
Agent Carter looked at Arthur with hope, blinking her eyes.
Arthur raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You actually… resorted to this forbidden killer move? Pouting!?"
"…Is that not okay? I'm a woman!"
Agent Carter transformed into a tough girl in a second.
Arthur chuckled awkwardly. "The most important question… who is the target?"
"He is just an ordinary businessman." Agent Carter quickly added, sensing Arthur's skepticism. "We just need to sneak into his house, capture him, and make sure he doesn't get a chance to commit suicide."
"So, it's that simple?"
Arthur looked puzzled. "If it's such an easy task, why did you come to me?"
"It's not easy at all. Currently, you're the only one who has captured a live Hydra spy."