Dr. Erskine's New Assistant

Chen Mo had no intention of stealing Steve's opportunity.

Steve desperately needed this chance. It was a crucial turning point that would change his life, and as his Master, Chen Mo naturally would not ruin it. Besides, compared to undergoing the enhancement experiment in Steve's place, Chen Mo had a better and far grander plan.

The exceptional intelligence brought by his extraordinary mental power allowed Chen Mo to see things more clearly and thoroughly. He was planning a much bigger game. When the time came, he would gain far more than a single Serum Enhancement.

What he needed to do now was let Steve undergo the enhancement according to the original plot while earning the trust of Colonel Phillips, Dr. Erskine, and Agent Carter.

As the core leaders of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, the three of them were a vital part of Chen Mo's entire plan.

Winning their trust would not be easy, but Chen Mo was not alone. Behind him stood an immensely powerful organization: HYDRA, whose strength far surpassed that of the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

The high-ranking Allied Powers officials under HYDRA's control, along with its vast and tightly organized intelligence network, provided an excellent cover for Chen Mo's identity. No matter how thoroughly they investigated, they could not uncover the slightest flaw, while Chen Mo knew them inside and out.

Having investigated Chen Mo's "background," the doctor was completely at ease. With Chen Mo's abilities, it was impossible for him to be a spy sent by HYDRA. If HYDRA could create a spy as powerful as Chen Mo, it would mean they had already mastered an enhancement method no weaker than the Super Soldier Serum. There would be no need to send Chen Mo to steal the serum—they could simply send someone to assassinate him.

More importantly, the doctor trusted his own judgment of people. Chen Mo was definitely not a bad person. He could sense Chen Mo's goodwill and openness.

It was not that Chen Mo's acting was particularly convincing. Though he had his own purpose for joining the Strategic Scientific Reserve, he bore no ill will toward the doctor, Agent Carter, or the others. What he intended to do was not merely for himself; it would also rewrite their original tragedies. So Chen Mo did not feel that he had wronged them, and naturally, his conscience was clear.

None of their endings in the film had been good. After the Serum Enhancement Experiment succeeded, Dr. Erskine was murdered in the laboratory by a HYDRA spy. Years later, Howard was also killed by Bucky, the Winter Soldier, who had been brainwashed and controlled by HYDRA.

Although Steve and Carter were not killed, the pain they endured was even deeper. They had only just found true love, only to be ruthlessly separated by fate.

A full seventy years!

One lay unconscious, frozen beneath the sea, while the other grew old waiting. By the time they met again, everything had changed. In the end, Steve personally carried the coffin and sent off the lover who had lived out her life alone.

And all of those tragedies would be rewritten by Chen Mo. Compared to that, what did a little concealment on his part amount to?

Since he often had to assist with the doctor's research, Chen Mo became a regular in the laboratory. After completing his duties, the doctor no longer hurried to chase him away and simply let him wander around the lab. With his concerns gone, Dr. Erskine, who had already thought highly of Chen Mo, did not guard against him too much.

Thus, when conducting experiments, the doctor did not deliberately avoid Chen Mo. Seeing Chen Mo's interest, he would even explain things carefully. With Chen Mo's remarkable ability to learn and remember, he quickly grasped this biological knowledge and could draw inferences from it, offering some ideas of his own.

Astonished by Chen Mo's genius-like learning ability, the doctor found himself believing even more in the rare talent Chen Mo had described. He also began deliberately teaching Chen Mo biology.

Of course, no one but the doctor knew the core formula for the Super Soldier Serum. In his early years, the doctor had once been controlled by HYDRA and forced to enhance Red Skull Schmidt. As a result, he had always held a deep fear of HYDRA.

He was also worried that the formula would leak and be exploited by HYDRA. That was why, after his death in the film, no one had been able to create the serum again.

In truth, Chen Mo's exceptional memory had allowed him to read through nearly all the books on various subjects in the university library back in college. He had a deep understanding of foundational disciplines such as biology and physics, and many of his concepts and pieces of knowledge far surpassed those of this world.

However, the doctor's enhancement serum involved many cutting-edge scientific theories that did not exist in the modern body of knowledge.

As Chen Mo learned more and more about the Super Soldier Serum, many of the ideas he proposed even drew praise from Dr. Erskine.

Later, the doctor simply proposed to the Colonel that Chen Mo be transferred to the laboratory.

The Strategic Scientific Reserve's current core mission was developing the Super Soldier Serum. This group of elite soldiers had been selected to serve as subjects for the serum experiment and to support the research.

Although the Colonel was reluctant to let his most promising soldier abandon his proper duties and become a researcher instead, he had no choice but to agree to the doctor's request. Chen Mo was transferred to the laboratory, officially becoming Dr. Erskine's assistant.

When it came to matters related to the serum, the doctor had more say than the Colonel. In the film, the Colonel had not thought much of the frail Steve. He preferred the soldier who had performed exceptionally in training, Gilmore Hodge, but he could only offer suggestions. In the end, it was Steve, whom the doctor favored, who received the enhancement.

Early in the morning, Steve and the others set out once again for field training.

The military camp became unusually quiet. Taking advantage of the moment, Chen Mo headed to the training ground early. He found a tall, straight Red Maple Tree by the edge of the field to use as a target and began practicing his neglected Throwing Knives.

With a belt loaded with Throwing Knives around his waist, Chen Mo stopped twenty meters from the tree.

Silver flashes streaked through the air, accompanied by the thunk, thunk of knives embedding themselves in wood. The middle of the trunk, at chest height, was densely packed with Throwing Knives.

Here, Chen Mo did not dare casually use his spatial ability and risk exposing himself. Fortunately, he had considered this issue before enlisting and had prepared the belt in advance as a cover, openly bringing more than twenty Throwing Knives into the camp.

After using up all the Throwing Knives on him, Chen Mo walked over to the maple tree and began pulling them out one by one. Though he had not used his full strength, the knives had still penetrated two or three centimeters into the wood. If they struck a person, they could easily take a life.

Chen Mo had just finished collecting the knives and was about to move farther away to continue practicing when a voice stopped him.

"Chen Mo, what are you doing, kid?"

Chen Mo turned around and saw that it was Colonel Phillips.

"Morning, Colonel." Chen Mo greeted him.

"I'm practicing Throwing Knives." Chen Mo shook the knife in his hand as he answered.

Colonel Phillips took the knife from Chen Mo and examined it, then said disdainfully.

"Knives are for close combat. Why practice this? What a waste of time!"

"With that time, you'd be better off practicing with a gun. It's far more powerful than your so-called Throwing Knives!" The Colonel patted the M1911 pistol at his waist and spoke proudly.