The reception was over, and Rhine returned to her base, which was also her current 'home'.
Her home was in Hydra, the research department base of the Third Reich. This home was very indifferent to her, but there was no problem at all in terms of food, clothing, and housing. Rhine returned to the bedroom and closed the door to prepare for rest.
Knock, knock!
There was a knock on the door. Rhine changed her clothes and went to open it. A tall man stood in front of her with a smile on his face.
"Hello, Miss Rhine."
"Schmidt, what are you doing here so late?"
Rhine raised her head and glanced at him, letting the door open. She was tired from the day and didn't want to continue standing and chatting.
After Schmidt came in, he closed the door smoothly. When he turned around, he saw Rhine sitting carelessly on the bed. Schmidt raised his eyebrows somewhat unexpectedly. This was the first time he had seen her outside of work.
"What are you looking at? Just say something; I'm going to rest."
The girl leaned on the bed with her hands behind her back and both hands stretched under the quilt. She knew that Schmidt was born as an orphan and disliked convoluted words, so it was best to speak directly.
Schmidt, urged by her, just smiled and then said to Rhine in a sincere tone, "Miss Rhine, I hope you can work for me."
"Working for you?"
Rhine was stunned for a moment, knowing the potential meaning of his expression, but she still pretended not to know and asked in doubt, "Didn't I already work for you?"
"I mean me, not the Empire."
Emphasizing the word "I," Schmidt said with his hands behind his back, "Until now, you were working here instead of working for me, so I hope you can really work for me."
Hearing this, Rhine quickly analyzed Schmidt's intentions.
The time was now 1942. Germany had failed to capture Moscow or Leningrad at the end of the previous year and was repulsed by Soviet counterattacks, resulting in the loss of many people and important war materials. In North Africa, the British had successfully rescued Tobruk and driven Rommel and the Italians back to Cyrenaica. Similarly, after a promising start, the U-boat campaign began to falter in the Atlantic with new convoys, aircraft, code-breaking, and anti-submarine technology.
It could be said that this year was the turning point of World War II, the last chance for Germany to maintain the initiative and negotiate peace. According to historical development, this war would continue until Germany was defeated in 1945.
So Schmidt looking for her today was likely to fully integrate her into Hydra's team and then have her defect. If she didn't join him, it might be difficult for her to leave this room tonight.
As for calling for help, well, this is Hydra's stronghold—there's no one around to save her.
After spending a few seconds assessing the situation and the stakes involved, Rhine straightened up helplessly and corrected her attitude.
"I hope the treatment will remain the same. Are you sure?"
"No problem."
Schmidt accepted Rhine's request easily. It was a minor request, and having a top scientific talent like her serve him was a significant advantage.
"As for other issues, I won't bother you with them."
With the answer he wanted, Schmidt turned and left in satisfaction, giving a parting salute that only earned him Rhine's disgusted expression.
Once Schmidt had left and the door was closed, Rhine, feeling a bit tired, stuffed the electric shock device back under her pillow.
She still had some tricks up her sleeve. Besides the high-power electric shock device, she also had five thousand coins stored in the system, equivalent to five kilograms of gold.
When necessary, she could summon units to help her out of trouble. However, summoned units were significantly more expensive than those in the game, with more powerful units costing even more.
The money she had was leftover from various scientific research projects. After all, she wasn't the only engineer or scientist involved, so it wasn't possible to pocket everything herself.
This amount of money couldn't summon many powerful units and wouldn't last long under a siege of enemies, making compromise the most stable option.
In the short term, serving Hydra seemed like a reasonable choice. Hydra, as the scientific research department of the Third Reich, had substantial resources.
She could use this opportunity to build her strength. Eventually, she could not only become stronger with Hydra's resources but also take control of the disintegrated Hydra from the shadows using her old qualifications.
The system's summoning function would help her in this stage, as the loyalty of the summoned units was guaranteed. Capable Red Alert units could be placed in key positions, becoming her agents throughout Hydra.
Considering all this, being coerced by Schmidt to join Hydra and the Third Reich seemed like the best option. After all, the Third Reich had not fallen at this point.
Lying in bed with the lights off, Rhine grew more excited as she planned her development after joining Hydra. The last bit of drowsiness disappeared.
The most important thing right now was the Super Soldier Project. Physical fitness was secondary; the main goal was to extend her life.
In Red Alert, the Rising Sun Empire and the Soviet Union had researched genetics, while the Allies and China had not delved deeply into these technologies due to political and ethical issues.
The Rising Sun Empire had advanced cloning technology, exemplified by the six clones of Matsui Yuriko in its ultimate weapon, the super energy wave destruction device.
Similar to the Soviet Union, the cloning technology and gene mutation research conducted by Yuri are also leaders in biotechnology.
Combining these two technologies would be superior yet complementary, theoretically enabling the creation of a super soldier serum without side effects, potentially even more powerful than Captain America's.
However, while this is possible in theory, practical application requires extensive experimental data, and due to technological limitations, Rhine cannot produce advanced gene enhancement medicine just yet.
Experimental data require instrumental analysis, and a large computer is indispensable. Rhine cannot rely solely on her brain and mechanical calculators for complex calculations.
With this in mind, Rhine's plan was roughly conceived:
Join Hydra and create an imperfect super soldier serum for Schmidt. According to the original plot, Schmidt would be killed by the US team. After ensuring she has gathered sufficient resources, Rhine would escape, integrate part of Hydra's forces and resources, and find a small country to hide in.