Allen's Military Career

Fortunately, New York's chief police commissioner arrived in time to take control, or it might have escalated into a military-police shootout.

During this special period, the military took priority, and Allen belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D., so naturally, nothing happened to him.

Moreover, Colonel Phillips had gained a new respect for him.

That resounding slap had felt incredibly satisfying.

The man was a lunatic and carried the title of weapons expert. There was simply nothing anyone could do to him.

"Steve, it's time for you to go to war."

Colonel Phillips walked up to Steve and said solemnly, "After deliberation, we've decided to form an assault squad under your command to support dangerous areas on the battlefield."

"Colonel, I've waited a long time for this moment," Steve replied seriously.

"I don't trust Old Man's eldest son. I'm going to the battlefield too."

Allen suddenly cut in. During his time at S.H.I.E.L.D., his skills were more or less maxed out, but his level had been stuck at fifty and refused to rise, so he planned to grind monsters for experience.

"You are not allowed to—"

Colonel Phillips turned toward him, then suddenly recoiled in fright and nervously asked, "Oh my, what an ugly bernese mountain dog."

"Nanaue is a Demigod Sharkman."

Nanaue waved in greeting, flashing a smile full of sharp teeth.

"You're staying at S.H.I.E.L.D. to do research. The battlefield isn't suitable for you."

Colonel Phillips flatly rejected Allen's nonsense request.

However, who could stop Allen from doing whatever he wanted?

Europe, Allied camp.

Carter had been waiting for quite some time. She held the rank of lieutenant and was specifically responsible for assault squad missions and training.

A row of soldiers in camouflage stood tall, awaiting inspection.

When Carter spotted Steve among them after not seeing him for several days, her eyes could not help but ripple with emotion.

"Is anyone absent who should be here?"

"Heh heh heh, I don't smell anyone missing."

At once, everyone looked toward the soldier standing at the very end of the line.

His helmet sat crookedly, his combat uniform hung loose on him, and he bared his teeth as though no one else existed.

"Allen?!"

Carter and Steve's mouths twitched. How had he appeared in the camp?

The others looked utterly confused. They had no idea who Allen was.

"That's right, it's me."

Allen made a finger-gun gesture beneath his chin and said coolly, "Surprised? Shocked? Happy?"

"I'll contact the military immediately and have you sent back home," Carter said irritably.

"Heh heh heh, as if I won't just run away again."

Seeing his smug waggling eyebrows, she realized that inviting a god was easy, but sending one away was hard.

On second thought, they should not be worried about Allen's safety. Even Steve, who had nearly completely adapted to the serum, might not be able to defeat him.

"There are rats! Nanaue is afraid of rats!"

From the area covered with waterproof tarps, a massive figure suddenly sprang out.

His humanoid shark appearance instantly frightened everyone into drawing their weapons to fire.

"Don't shoot! He's one of us!"

Steve hurriedly stopped his comrades.

Nanaue hid behind Allen, trembling as he said, "Master, there are rats here. Nanaue is afraid of rats."

Despite standing over two meters tall, his enormous body had only managed to hide his head behind Allen.

"You're not an elephant, so why are you afraid of rats? You're embarrassing the sea folk."

Allen spoke with disdain, but his hand gently comforted Nanaue by stroking the bridge of his nose.

"Steve, what kind of creature is this?" Carter asked in astonishment.

"Uh... he's Allen's pet. We caught him on a beach. He's a descendant of the Old Gods," Steve said, unsure how to explain it accurately, so he could only give a simple account of his origins.

Among everyone present, only Steve wore a different uniform.

Captain America's first-generation battle suit was, to put it plainly, rather ugly.

The military leadership wanted to create a hero who could serve as a spiritual symbol and instill firm belief in the soldiers.

"Allen, please keep an eye on your pet," Carter reminded him.

"Nanaue is just an idiot. What could he possibly do wrong?"

With a pitiful expression, Allen said, "And I'm a lunatic, an outcast rejected by society. Nanaue, our lives are so miserable."

"Master, don't cry. Nanaue will always stay with you."

Nanaue wanted to give him a hug, but his protruding snout rammed straight into Allen's face.

"Oh, shit! Your nose went into my eye."

"Nanaue didn't mean to."

The man and shark frolicked around, giving Carter a massive headache.

If she took these two along on a mission, they would expose their position before even getting close to the target.

Carter did not believe Allen's pathetic act for a second.

Would he ever give society the choice to accept him or not?

"What do you want?" Carter asked bluntly.

"I was so moving, yet I still couldn't touch your heart."

Wearing an expression that said he had known it all along, Allen said, "You really are a cold, heartless person."

"Nanaue, let's go eat some nemo nemo."

"Nemo nemo! Nanaue likes nemo nemo."

Smoke rose from the camp, and a barbecue meal brought everyone closer together.

Once they realized Nanaue was harmlessly simple-minded, the assault squad soldiers no longer felt afraid or repulsed by him.

Snowflakes drifted down on a winter night.

Everyone gathered around the bonfire, eating grilled meat and listening to radio broadcasts, enjoying a rare moment of peace.

They all knew that perhaps one day they would not return, so they especially cherished every day they had with their comrades.

"At dawn, our first battle will be to cooperate with the 107th Regiment in attacking Bethel City. Our task is to destroy the six bunker fire positions along the route."

The assault squad was a death squad, specializing in dangerous missions.

Not only were they equipped with heavy weapons, but they also had helicopters at their disposal.

Carter pointed out the locations of the fire positions on the map, and everyone listened intently.

Only Allen lay sprawled across Nanaue's belly, snoring soundly.

A self-disciplined lunatic had to go to bed on time whenever there was nothing to do at night, or it would be harmful to his mental health.

"The 107th Regiment—that's Bucky's army regiment."

The moment he heard news about his best friend, Steve immediately perked up.

Back then, he had been determined to enlist and serve his country, but he had repeatedly failed and could only watch helplessly as his friend joined the army.

Now that they had a chance to reunite, he was naturally happy from the bottom of his heart.

Carter smiled. "If we successfully retake Bethel City, we'll rest in the city for a week. Then you can catch up with him."

"I hope we can meet again alive."

Steve's tone was slightly pessimistic.

After all, war was merciless. No one knew whether the next meeting would be with a living person or a corpse.

The sky was barely beginning to brighten.

Allen and Nanaue were sleeping comfortably.

The assault squad quietly boarded the helicopter. As the pilot ignited the engine, power flowed through it and set the rotors spinning.

Carter had deliberately left the two of them behind, worried they might be in danger.

A weapons expert was an extremely valuable resource.

Moreover, the firearms used by the assault squad were all based on blueprints Allen had contributed.

As for Nanaue, Carter did not count him. In her eyes, he really was just a pet.

"Nanaue, stop sleeping and get up. They heartlessly abandoned us."

Allen woke up and saw the helicopter rising into the air. He kicked Nanaue, who was drooling in his sleep, and said, "Change positions. The ground is cold when I lie on it."

Since there was no way to catch up anyway, Allen decided to go back to sleep.

He lay on Nanaue's belly, as comfortable as if he were sleeping on a soft rubber cushion.