"You all, leave."
The soldiers glanced at Rhine, then at Blazer, who was a short distance away, wolfing down bread and drinking porridge, as if they were concerned about the possibility of another tragedy like the one that had occurred not long ago.
They didn't move until Rhine silently revealed the pistol hidden under her shirt.
Blazer was ravenous and was largely oblivious to what was happening around him. It wasn't until ten minutes later that he looked up and saw Rhine, sitting with her legs crossed, playing with the gun in her hand.
"Finished?"
"Uh, yes."
Seeing the pistol, Blazer didn't dare make any sudden moves. He felt deeply guilty about what had happened before; after all, the girl in front of him hadn't been the one to kill his wife.
The drugs had calmed his turmoil, and now he appeared mostly normal, though still deeply depressed.
After confirming that she could communicate with Blazer, Rhine's tense expression softened. She could forgive Blazer for his mistakes born out of excessive grief, provided he was willing to pay for them. Now, she had the opportunity to exact that payment.
"Blazer, I know your family lost their lives because of the war, so I understand your previous anger."
As she straightened the knots in her hair, Rhine frowned slightly before continuing. "I can ensure that you survive the experiment and let you experience that feeling of omnipotence again. And... I can also let you see your family once more."
"How is that possible?!"
Blazer wouldn't have believed her earlier words, but her last few sentences made him slam the table and stand up in shock. He had seen his wife and children die, buried in the rubble, and he had come back from the dead himself. How could they?
Rhine calmly shook the gun in her hand to pacify Blazer before staring into his eyes and confidently saying, "You may think it's impossible, but that doesn't mean I can't do it. Many things you consider impossible are often just limitations of your own mind. I hope you'll make an informed choice."
Resurrection from the dead—could such a thing really be possible?
Blazer fell into deep doubt. Of course, he hoped it was true, but basic materialistic science told him that no one could bring the dead back to life.
"...Is it really possible to bring them back?"
"I can make sure you see your wife and children again."
"Then... then I agree."
Rhine didn't directly answer the question of resurrection. Of course, bringing the dead back to life was impossible. So how could she let Blazer see his relatives again?
This task wasn't difficult for her. Rhine only needed to use cloning technology to recreate Blazer's relatives' appearances and implant control chips into their brains. Finally, an intelligent system would be built into the chip, and the AI would be programmed based on Blazer's memories of his loved ones.
This would convert Blazer's third-person memories into first-person experiences, creating someone almost identical to the original person. Even if there were some objective differences, it would align closely with Blazer's memories and imagination of his relatives.
But replicas were just that—replicas. They were dolls who knew him well and could speak to him, not true resurrections.
Naturally, Rhine didn't reveal this part to Blazer. After all, no one wants their hopes to be pinned on a mere substitute.
After receiving Blazer's definitive response, Rhine pulled a stack of A4 papers, densely packed with questions, from a file bag beside her.
"Alright, fill out this form, and I'll arrange for you to see your family when the opportunity arises."
Of course, this couldn't be achieved with current technology; they would have to wait until computer technology was more advanced to start the related projects.
Moreover, combining chips with clones was also a means for Rhine to expand her ranks. Summoning units was too expensive, recruiting manpower couldn't guarantee loyalty, and training took too long. So why not create her own subordinates who could meet all her needs directly?
Once Blazer finished filling out the form, both joyful and anxious, Rhine gave him a few instructions before leaving.
Dr. Erskine was about to inject Schmidt with a dose of a neutered super-soldier serum. It wouldn't kill him, but it would certainly have severe side effects.
Afterward, Erskine would defect, and once Schmidt analyzed the Cube and accumulated enough military power, he would start flexing his muscles—only to be defeated by Captain America.
During this time, Schmidt would also negotiate with some senior officials of the Third Reich and then use new weapons developed from the Cube to eliminate them all.
As for the remaining forces of Hydra, after careful consideration, Rhine felt that taking control of them rashly would only complicate things for herself, and the Cosmic Cube was a hot potato, so she could deal with it as she pleased.
As time passed, Dr. Erskine and Rhine met one last time. He asked her to escape with him, but she refused.
There's no need to go into detail about what happened next. Rhine was put under house arrest and had her personal freedom severely restricted, while Schmidt grew increasingly irritable.
The energy weapon made from the Cube's shell was immensely powerful. Even if the enemy hid behind sandbags, a single shot could blow them—and their cover—to pieces. The power of a single shot was comparable to a 20mm high-explosive grenade.
Even after Rhine optimized the equipment, the weapons became more powerful, but she wasn't concerned that this would change the course of the war.
Unless the weapon was on the level of a nuclear bomb, the outcome of a war was never determined by the weapon alone but by the people who wielded it.
Returning to her bedroom from the warehouse, Rhine closed her eyes and began to check the various units in the system.
She had managed to obtain about 500 tons of gold from the warehouse and recharged it all into the system—totaling several hundred million. It seemed like a lot, but the units she could summon within the system were very expensive.
For example, the Explosive Drone she wanted to summon was a reconnaissance drone made by the Sun Empire that resembled a dragonfly. In the game, the drone cost 300, but in the system, the price was ten times higher—3000. It was shockingly expensive.
But Rhine gritted her teeth and summoned the drone.
The moment she chose to summon it, a 'dragonfly' slightly larger than her palm appeared, along with the system's description of the drone.
The Burst Drone's body was made of lightweight polymer materials and featured a tail stabilizer, allowing it to resist most external weather disturbances.
The drone was powered by a built-in lithium-sulfur battery, enabling it to operate for over 12 hours, with solar panels on its wings extending the drone's operational time by an additional 1%.
With its compact, lightweight body and stable energy supply, the dragonfly's most critical function was reconnaissance.
The Burst Drone featured an 80-pixel camera. After identifying a high-value target, it could use its mechanical feet to attach to the target and detonate a built-in small bomb.
In the context of World War II, where even video was a rarity, the Burst Drone was like alien technology.
Its self-sustaining system meant there was no need to worry about running out of power mid-mission, making it an ideal tool for Rhine.