"Come on, girls! Even my grandma is stronger than you! Move!"
This black-haired beauty was showing off her strength in front of a group of soldiers. Normally, these soldiers wouldn't tolerate a woman being arrogant in front of them, but after comparing their ranks, they decided it was better to be respectful.
The soldiers were undergoing intensive training while an officer of higher rank walked around the training base with an old man in a suit.
"Dr. Erskine, you don't really want Rogers, do you?"
"It's not just a choice; I've already decided. It's a wise decision."
The officer complained helplessly to Erskine, saying, "Doctor, I didn't object when you sent a sickly man weighing over 80 kilograms to my army. I wanted to take care of him. Maybe you just treated him like a little white mouse, but I never thought you'd actually choose him."
Dr. Erskine glanced at him but said nothing.
"Get up, next session."
"Oh my God, this kid's arms are almost thinner than noodles; I think he's about to cry."
Still ridiculing Rogers, the officer hoped Erskine would change his mind, but Erskine replied directly.
"I value quality, not physique."
The officer was very dissatisfied with this answer and said earnestly, "You know how much effort we've put into this project. God knows how much pressure that damn committee has put on us."
"Yeah, I know how much you've sacrificed."
Interrupting him, Dr. Erskine adjusted his glasses.
"But I studied this plan with a friend when I was with Hydra, and you know why I came to you."
"Okay, but I still hope you choose Hodge."
The officer had nothing more to say, so he could only try to convince Erskine to reconsider.
"Hodge passed all the tests. He's strong, fast, and follows orders. He's a qualified soldier."
"He's a bully."
Erskine, who knew Hodge's true nature, bluntly stated that choosing him was out of the question, but the officer didn't agree.
"You can't win wars with kindness, Doctor."
The officer bypassed Dr. Erskine, took a grenade from the box on the truck next to him, and skillfully pulled the pin. He looked at Erskine and said, "Victory depends on guts."
With that, the officer threw the grenade into the crowd.
"Grenade!"
Seeing the grenade land nearby, everyone immediately hit the ground, but Rogers, noticing where it had landed, rushed forward, grabbed the grenade, and yelled for everyone to run.
Realizing it wasn't an instant explosive, his survival instincts kicked in, and he quickly threw the grenade away.
But after a moment, no explosion occurred, and everyone realized it was just a training grenade.
As if Dr. Erskine had expected it, Agent Carter's expression shifted from nervousness to admiration, a smile spreading across her face. Only the officer stood silently, unsure of what to say.
"Ahem, I have other matters to attend to."
Knowing that changing the outcome was hopeless, the officer made an excuse and left. Others scattered as well, but training continued, and Rogers didn't get to rest until the evening.
In the empty dormitory, Rogers didn't choose to relax like everyone else. Instead, he sat on his bed, reading.
"May I come in?"
"Of course."
Seeing Dr. Erskine enter, Rogers glanced around, then cautiously closed his book.
"Can't sleep because you're nervous?"
"Yes."
"Actually, I'm a little nervous too."
"Can I ask a question?"
Placing the wine in his hand on the table next to him, Dr. Erskine signaled for Rogers to continue.
"Why did you choose me?"
This question wasn't surprising. Although Rogers still held on to his beliefs, he did feel a bit of insecurity due to his physical weakness.
So, he wondered why this important experiment chose someone as weak as him instead of someone else.
The doctor sighed, lifted the wine, and said slowly, "This bottle of wine is from Augsburg, a city in Germany and my hometown."
Erskine looked at Rogers reminiscently, "Many people forget that the first country the Nazis invaded was their own. After World War I, my compatriots lived in dire straits. They felt powerless, and then he appeared."
"The army, the party flag, the propaganda, and all kinds of incitement—he did make our lives better in a short period, but he also dragged us into a more tragic abyss."
He picked up the wine opener, opened the bottle, and continued, "Then he heard about me and my work. He told me to make our army stronger, but I had no interest in it. So he sent me to the Eastern Front Research Department at Hydra's headquarters. I was deeply affected by what happened there."
Erskine shook his head, as if he truly didn't want to recall those days, but he continued to explain.
"The leader there was John Schmidt, and many scientists, like me, were forced to join the research department. Some of them were geniuses."
"There was a little girl named Rhine Tuskul inside. She was very cute and kind-hearted with blonde hair, but she couldn't escape like I did."
The doctor didn't digress too much and continued, "With Rhine's help, my serum research made great progress. Schmidt couldn't wait to use the serum and wanted to become stronger."
"Did he become stronger?"
Regarding Rogers' question, Dr. Erskine nodded, then shook his head again.
"Schmidt did indeed become very powerful, but the serum was still flawed. The serum enhances a person's abilities. If they suddenly gain great power, an evil person becomes even more evil... This is why I chose you."
"Schmidt lost his sense of awe for power and acted without scruples. But you are different; you have love, compassion, and justice in your heart, and you can control this power."
"I don't fully understand it, but thank you."
Rogers still didn't fully grasp the situation, but it didn't matter. Dr. Erskine smiled and poured him a glass of wine.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand, but I hope you never forget who you are. Don't just be a good soldier; be a good person."
Erskine touched Rogers' heart with his words, making a meaningful connection.
The advice given, the next step was to relax with a drink, but Dr. Erskine almost made a big mistake. Rogers was scheduled for testing tomorrow and couldn't drink.
"Okay, let's drink tomorrow."
"I don't need to test, I can drink it now."
The doctor drank his wine, and his expression became a bit more relaxed. "If you ever have the chance, I hope you can rescue Rhine. She's a good girl."
Rogers replied seriously, "I will."