Serum Enhancement Experiment

That night, the four of them talked until late into the night.

The next day, Steve followed Agent Carter to the secret laboratory.

Lying inside the spacious Enhancement Pod, Steve's frail body shifted uneasily.

"Comfortable?" Chen Mo asked, standing beside Steve.

"It's a little big, Master." Seeing Chen Mo, Steve visibly relaxed quite a bit.

"You'll think it's too small soon enough." Chen Mo smiled mysteriously.

"Remember, no matter what happens, you must hold on." Chen Mo gave him a serious warning. After the improvements, the serum's effects had become stronger, but the pain caused by the enhancement would be greater as well.

"I will, Master." Steve nodded firmly. He had struggled so hard to earn this opportunity. He would never give up.

After clearing out everyone unnecessary, Dr. Erskine picked up the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

"Today marks our first step down the road to peace."

"First, we will perform a series of minimally invasive injections."

"To introduce the serum into the muscle groups."

"Once injected, the serum will trigger rapid cellular changes."

"Afterward, it will stimulate growth."

"Then, the subject will be penetrated by Vita-Rays."

As Dr. Erskine explained, the experiment began. After the serum was injected, the Enhancement Pod closed and the Vita-Ray irradiation began. Intense white light shone from the pod's window.

As the rays grew stronger and stronger, Steve lost control and began screaming in pain.

"Turn it off!" Agent Carter cried anxiously.

"Steve!" Dr. Erskine shouted, pounding on the Enhancement Pod. When Steve gave no response, he hurriedly yelled, "Turn it back, Mr. Stark! Shut it down!"

Howard was about to turn off the rays when Steve suddenly rasped out a shout.

"No!"

"Don't turn it off!"

"I can take it!"

Howard paused at his words and looked at Dr. Erskine, who in turn looked toward Chen Mo.

Chen Mo nodded with certainty. "He can do it."

Hearing that, Dr. Erskine nodded to Howard. Seeing this, Howard slowly turned the switch to its maximum setting.

As the white light pouring from the window grew brighter and more blinding, everyone lowered their heads and raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Soon, bursts of electrical sparks and clouds of white smoke rose from the experimental equipment. At last, everything came to a stop. The intense light gradually faded, and the Enhancement Pod stood there silently, without the slightest movement.

"Mr. Stark." Dr. Erskine gestured for Howard to open the Enhancement Pod.

Under everyone's anxious gaze, the pod slowly opened, revealing a tall, muscular figure.

The experiment had succeeded. Steve had transformed from a frail little man into a tall, powerful Super Soldier.

"I did it, Master," Steve said weakly. The excruciating pain during the enhancement had nearly made him unable to endure.

"We succeeded!" As Chen Mo helped Steve out of the Enhancement Pod, he could not help feeling excited as well. The new enhancement serum had been completed with his assistance. Steve's body, even taller and stronger than in the movie, proved that the new serum was more powerful than the original. That was undoubtedly his achievement.

"Yes, we succeeded!" Dr. Erskine was calmer than expected, while Howard was somewhat excited. "You really did it!"

Peggy Carter hurried forward. Looking at Steve's bare upper body, his explosive muscles gleaming under the lights, Carter—who already had quite a favorable impression of Steve—could not help feeling flustered.

"How do you feel?" Carter asked after taking a deep breath.

"Taller," Steve replied feebly, still weak.

Agent Carter, usually decisive and heroic, became almost girlish at that moment. Looking at his well-developed chest muscles, she could not resist reaching out and touching them.

"You do look taller."

Just as everyone was immersed in the excitement of success, a HYDRA spy who had infiltrated the facility suddenly detonated a bomb. Amid the chaos, he seized the last remaining vial of Super Soldier Serum and shot Dr. Erskine.

Steve, who had only just gained superhuman strength, watched helplessly as Dr. Erskine—the man who had created him with his own hands—was shot dead. Furious, he rose and chased after the spy.

The HYDRA spy fought his way out. After killing several guards and the female owner of the antique shop guarding the secret laboratory's exterior, he escaped by car with the help of an accomplice.

Agent Carter was the first to pursue him. With her precise marksmanship, she shot the driver in the head, and the car crashed to a halt at the roadside.

The HYDRA spy quickly climbed out of the car, hijacked a taxi that had stopped nearby, and drove straight at Carter.

Carter remained calm in the face of danger and steadily raised her gun to fire. Just as the taxi was about to hit her, Steve rushed over, grabbed Carter, and threw them both aside, narrowly avoiding the collision.

"I had him in my sights!" Carter shouted angrily.

If Steve had not tackled her, her final shot would definitely have hit the spy. Of course, she herself would not have avoided being sent flying by the car.

"Sorry." Steve had no time to say more. He got up and chased after the spy.

After a fierce chase, the confrontation came to an end at the dock. The HYDRA spy, trying to escape in a hidden one-man submarine, had its hatch broken open by Captain America, who dragged him out and threw him onto the shore.

Knowing escape was impossible, the HYDRA spy shouted, "Hail HYDRA!" and swallowed poison to kill himself.

Glancing at the shattered serum in the corner, Chen Mo quietly slipped away from the shadows.

With Dr. Erskine's death and no serum remaining, the Super Soldier Project came to a standstill and was ultimately sealed away.

The spy pursuit in New York made the newspapers, bringing Steve widespread fame. Senator Brand saw an opportunity in that and used his authority to transfer Steve out of the laboratory.

They packaged Steve as an American hero, had him promote war bonds for them, filmed propaganda movies, and sent him on tours across the United States. Before long, the name Captain America resounded across the nation.

Meanwhile, at a secret base of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, Dr. Erskine—who was supposed to be dead—sat safely at the conference table. Besides Colonel Phillips, Agent Carter, and Chen Mo, Howard Stark was there as well.

"Are we really not going to tell Steve?" Agent Carter asked unwillingly, her expression cold and beautiful.

"He'll know, but not yet." Chen Mo shook his head helplessly. "All right, let's discuss the real business."

On the night before the experiment, after Chen Mo and Dr. Erskine explained matters to them, Colonel Phillips and Carter finally realized the hidden dangers posed by the Super Soldier Project. Once the experiment succeeded, many powerful figures would desperately seek this kind of strength—perhaps even the president. At that point, Colonel Phillips's forces alone would have difficulty protecting the serum.

If the serum fell into the hands of ambitious people, the consequences would be catastrophic. Faced with an invincible army of Super Soldiers, the entire world would be shaken.

If the enhancement subjects were not subjected to strict testing, and bullies, criminals, or terrorists received the enhancement, then a group of uncontrollable Super Soldiers would bring immense chaos and destruction to the world. Countless civilians might die as a result.

Therefore, the serum absolutely could not be handed over. This powerful force, capable of changing the world, had to remain in the hands of just people.

In the end, following Chen Mo's suggestion, they decided to have Dr. Erskine fake his death during the experiment, thereby ending the Super Soldier Project.

To guard against unforeseen circumstances, Colonel Phillips had even arranged a "spy" himself. If HYDRA made no move, this "spy" would carry out their plan in HYDRA's place.

As a genius inventor, Howard Stark's abilities were beyond question. Moreover, as an important member of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, he could be trusted completely. Carter had spoken with him before the experiment, and he agreed with their idea and was willing to join them.

As for Steve, Chen Mo understood the pure-hearted young man. He was not good at hiding things and would easily give himself away, so it was better to keep him in the dark for now and let him confuse those politicians.

In any case, after a few months, once he had gained enough fame, he would rejoin the Strategic Scientific Reserve. By then, everything would fall naturally into place without arousing suspicion.

Thus, after the turmoil had passed, the five of them gathered together once more.