The colonel was amused.
"Alright, kid! Let me see if you're really unbeatable!"
Carter shook her head helplessly. These two usually steady men seemed to have taken the wrong medicine today.
A new round of competition began and ended in an instant. The colonel had barely fired two shots when he heard a series of rapid gunshots from beside him, like a submachine gun, which quickly fell silent.
Feeling puzzled, the colonel turned to see that Chen Mo had already put down his gun, while Carter stood with her mouth slightly open and eyes wide, looking as if she had seen a ghost.
"What happened?" the colonel asked, confused by the situation.
"So… so fast!" Carter stammered, finally coming to her senses.
Ignoring their conversation, Chen Mo handed the gun back to Carter and walked away.
"Hey! Kid, we haven't finished yet!" the colonel shouted angrily.
"We're done, Colonel," Carter said, looking at Chen Mo's back.
"Done?" the colonel asked, puzzled. "That kid didn't even fire! And who fired the submachine gun just now?"
"There was no submachine gun. Look," Carter said, handing the gun to the colonel.
Colonel Phillips took the gun, removed the magazine, and found that the original seven-round magazine now had only six rounds left.
"He fired one shot?" the colonel asked, confused.
"And that," Carter pointed to where Chen Mo had been standing.
The colonel turned and saw two empty magazines on the ground. He picked them up and found both were empty.
"Could it be…" the colonel had a terrifying thought, "that he fired fifteen shots and changed magazines twice in such a short time?"
"Do you think I'd believe that?" the colonel said incredulously to Carter.
"It's the truth," Carter said seriously, nodding.
Without checking the target, Carter saluted the colonel and walked away, leaving him alone, holding the magazines and questioning reality.
Staring at the magazines for a while, the colonel suddenly thought of something and walked towards Chen Mo's target. The clear bullet marks on the bullseye confirmed that it was all true.
The second round of the competition ended hastily, with the colonel being defeated even more miserably than before. Despite using the same gun, Chen Mo's firing speed was faster, his accuracy higher, and even his magazine changes were much quicker, almost unbelievably so.
It wasn't surprising. Although the colonel had good marksmanship, he needed to adjust the gun and re-aim before each shot. Chen Mo's immense strength allowed him to control the handgun better, with almost no muzzle jump, enabling rapid consecutive shots.
Not to mention Chen Mo's own reflexes and agility, so the colonel's defeat was already destined.
The colonel couldn't help but feel a bit regretful, wondering why he had to challenge Chen Mo, this abnormal non-human, and end up losing.
At the same time, he secretly warned himself that no matter what he saw Chen Mo doing next time, he shouldn't go looking for trouble. Even if Chen Mo pulled out a sword and said he was going to charge a machine gun, he should believe that Chen Mo could cut bullets and kill all the enemies.
A few days later.
Chen Mo met Howard Stark again in the laboratory. This genius inventor was also an important member of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, responsible for physics and mechanical aspects. All the equipment for the super-soldier enhancement, including the Vita-Rays and the experiment chamber, were made by him.
Howard was very curious about Dr. Erskine's new assistant, who had suddenly appeared. Dr. Erskine was extremely satisfied with him, praising him as a once-in-a-century super genius who could learn anything quickly and apply it flexibly.
This made Howard, who always prided himself on being a genius, very unconvinced and determined to compete with him.
In the following days, besides learning biology from Dr. Erskine, Howard often brought up physics and mechanical problems to challenge Chen Mo. He wanted to see if Chen Mo was really as talented as the doctor said and to what extent.
Chen Mo was happy to oblige, absorbing knowledge like a sponge and enriching himself.
At first, facing the various problems brought by Howard, Chen Mo needed some time to study and research, despite having many advanced scientific concepts from modern times.
As Chen Mo's knowledge base grew, he solved problems faster and faster. Howard had to keep raising the difficulty, even bringing out some cutting-edge technologies he was working on, but the result was still disappointing.
Howard felt a sense of helplessness, like throwing a meat bun to a dog, and had to admit that Chen Mo was indeed a super genius even more abnormal than himself.
Comparing a superpowered Chen Mo to ordinary human geniuses was indeed a bit unfair.
Although Howard couldn't win against Chen Mo in his proud field, he still refused to admit defeat and constantly found opportunities to provoke Chen Mo.
In response to Howard's occasional provocations, Chen Mo was unceremonious, directly and violently retaliating, often leaving Howard in a sorry state.
Unable to outthink, outtalk, or outfight Chen Mo, Howard had met his match. He repeatedly swore never to provoke Chen Mo again, only to find himself unable to resist seeking another challenge, enjoying it despite everything.
In the eyes of others, these two were a pair of nemeses. If you said they had a good relationship, they were always arguing and fighting, unable to see eye to eye. If you said they had a bad relationship, the two geniuses always loved to get together to research high-tech stuff and produced many results.
The colonel and the doctor felt powerless against these two usually mature, intelligent men who turned into clowns when together. After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade them, they decided to let them be, as long as it didn't interfere with their work.
…
"Hurry up! Run faster!"
The reserve soldiers were on a long-distance training run again. As usual, Steve was running last, as his physical fitness was still lacking. But he gritted his teeth and kept up, not falling behind.
"Stop!"
Halfway through the run, they saw Agent Carter sitting in a jeep waiting for them. The instructor ordered the team to stop and pointed to a flagpole by the roadside, shouting to the soldiers.
"This flag means you've only run halfway!"
"The first person to take down the flag can ride back to the camp with Agent Carter!"
"Go!"
The soldiers rushed forward, but the flagpole was too thin and slippery, and they slid down after climbing a short distance.
"Is this all you can do?"
"This unit is finished!"
"Come on, climb up!"
The instructor mocked them from the side, watching their struggle with interest.
"No one has taken down that flag in 17 years."
"Alright, back in line! Hurry up and get back in line!" After watching enough, the instructor prepared to continue the run.
The soldiers reluctantly gave up and lined up by the roadside, but Steve, who had just caught his breath, walked up to the flagpole.
"Rogers, I said back in line!" The instructor angrily scolded Steve for not following orders and walking to the flagpole.
Ignoring the instructor's yelling, Steve looked up at the flagpole, then bent down and removed the securing pin at the base. The flagpole began to tilt.
"Clang!"
Under the stunned gaze of everyone, the flagpole fell to the ground. Steve took a few steps forward and easily took the flag. Agent Carter smiled approvingly at Steve.
Steve walked past the dumbfounded soldiers.
"Thanks, sir." He handed the flag to the stunned instructor and sat in the back seat of the jeep.
Agent Carter couldn't help but laugh, barely holding back her laughter. After Steve got in, Carter turned and nodded at him.
The jeep drove off, leaving a group of bewildered soldiers standing in the dust.
The instructor watched Steve ride away gracefully, then looked down at the flag in his hand, feeling utterly confused…
Steve once again stood out, showing his intelligence and winning Agent Carter's favor.