Commander Carter

Han Lin's answer brought the two doctors' argument to an end.

Watching the two doctors stare at each other, Han Lin knew they were both still angry with one another.

He said to them, "I think you two need a day of rest. Have a drink and relax. What has made you so anxious about your research?"

The two doctors looked at each other. Finally, Dr. Steinberg slowly said, "We had both thought we would never see each other again, because we both knew what happened to those who betrayed Schmidt."

"We studied together in Germany. We were roommates. Research, experiments... Then the war suddenly broke out, and Hitler seized us and took us to Hydra's research base. We thought Hitler was inhuman enough, but we never expected that madman Schmidt to be even more terrifying."

"He wanted to become a god. Before him, all disobedience would become stepping stones on his path to death."

"At the time, we did not have the courage to resist. We could only follow his orders and experiment without end, again and again."

"We had no choice. They used our families to threaten us. In truth, we never knew when they died, because after that first threat, we never saw them again."

"By the time we came to our senses, we realized we had been doing something wrong. Schmidt had gained the immense power he wanted, and we were his accomplices."

"That is why we want to send this demon we created back to hell as soon as possible."

Seeing the eyes of the two middle-aged gentlemen redden at the memories, Han Lin could only sigh inwardly. He got up, poured two glasses of strong liquor, and placed one before each man. He knew they could not get drunk, but he felt they needed this—an excuse to drown their sorrows.

"I know that no amount of comfort from me will help right now, but I can promise you this: if I see Schmidt again, I will kill him with my own hands." Han Lin gave the two doctors a solemn promise.

He did not disturb the two old friends as they reminisced, quietly leaving the laboratory.

Han Lin knew the two old friends had much to say to each other.

Over the following days, Han Lin worked with the two doctors in the laboratory, studying his own blood samples.

These were from the batch Han Lin had first given Dr. Erskine. At that time, the Blacklight Virus had only evolved to LV1, whereas it was now LV2.

Han Lin had asked the system about the difference between the two levels, but it had given no answer. It merely said that the Blacklight System had to be activated before it could provide an explanation.

During their research, Han Lin focused solely on the virus in his blood. The three of them observed the virus's demand for energy and its craving for it.

The enhanced Super Soldier Serum made the virus stronger, while the Infinite Formula made it more active.

The absorption of these two kinds of energy actually produced somewhat different changes in the Blacklight Virus, which surprised Han Lin.

Since the Super Soldier Serum experiment had upgraded the Blacklight Virus, could they assume that the Infinite Formula might also upgrade it?

After all, every upgrade of the Blacklight Virus meant an evolution of Han Lin's body.

From the evolution in that alley after he had first crossed over, to the energy-driven evolution provided by the Super Soldier Serum, each one had comprehensively enhanced Han Lin's body.

With his physical abilities now seven times greater, Han Lin could sense that every future evolution would require an enormous amount of energy.

The two doctors theorized that the virus absorbed certain energy traits before completing its own evolution. Han Lin's physical strength might be a feedback mechanism of the virus; as it evolved, it used energy to reinforce its host body.

However, when Han Lin and the two doctors placed the blue energy blocks they had brought back from Hydra into the blood, the virus displayed no signs of absorbing that energy.

Han Lin did not really understand it either. He knew little about the virus's energy requirements or the mechanism behind its absorption. He knew the system could absorb that energy to revive the Blacklight System, yet the Blacklight Virus ignored it completely. That left Han Lin perplexed.

What was the difference between the two types of energy? The three of them had no idea where to begin.

Just as the laboratory research reached a stalemate—

At the Pentagon in Washington, Agent Carter accepted her appointment while dressed in a lieutenant colonel's uniform.

Because of Han Lin, Agent Carter had been promoted two ranks at once and became the primary person in charge of this operation to purge Hydra from the United States.

After a death list containing roughly 270 names was submitted to Congress, President Roosevelt immediately convened the National Security Council. They verified the list through various channels, and the result shocked every senior official present.

There were no longer any Hydra members among those present, because Han Lin had rooted them out beforehand. However, two state legislators and two mayors were Hydra spies. If not for clues uncovered during the investigation, no one would have believed they were spies.

As for the real big shots, Han Lin had already dragged them out of the Pentagon. Everything seemed like a carefully orchestrated scam, yet Han Lin had been in the United States for less than two years. He had no reason to target so many people.

Just as he himself had said, he had no reason to kill ten thousand people on the European battlefield merely to act as a spy and stir up internal conflict in the United States. He could have simply led an army over and crushed them.

The only people aware of the operation were the seven senators present, two lieutenant generals from command headquarters, and President Roosevelt. Command of the operation was entrusted to Peggy Carter, one of America's elite agents.

Everyone present had some reservations about the beautiful agent. First, she had been recommended by Han Lin, the battlefield Shura. Second, she was Captain America's girlfriend. Those two identities made her impossible to disregard.

They could only entrust this immensely important mission to Carter.

"Peggy Carter, born in Virginia, an expert marksman, holder of the title Agent 13. That proves your abilities are exceptional. The nation is now facing Hydra's infiltration. Your former teammate, Mr. Lin, has placed a list of spies in our hands. We need you to lead a team and purge these spies. Are you confident?" Roosevelt asked Carter from the seat at the head of the table.

Carter immediately stood at attention and saluted. "I guarantee the mission will be completed."

Roosevelt nodded. "We do not have many troops available at the moment. You may recruit the personnel you need from every department, up to one hundred people. I need these tumors removed as quickly as possible, dead or alive."

After accepting her orders, Carter swiftly went to the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the CIA, and the FBI, recruiting one hundred field agents.

Because she had been ordered directly by the president, the four intelligence organizations did not make things too difficult for Carter. Especially given the importance of this matter, one wrong move could result in charges of treason.

The hundred agents were divided into twenty groups, with five people per group, and dispatched to different states and cities to carry out a large-scale purge of spies within the United States.

Carter first arrested and killed government officials, preventing them from receiving advance warning and fleeing. Only then did she begin clearing out wealthy tycoons and ordinary operatives.

As the large-scale purge unfolded, the Hydra spies also sensed that something was wrong. More and more began fleeing, while others gathered together to resist.

In seven days, Agent Carter's team cleared everyone on the list. Aside from some who escaped or went into hiding, they eliminated 231 people, while more than thirty remained at large.

Carter's team encountered two groups of heavily armed enemies and lost two squads. Everyone else suffered only minor injuries and was hospitalized.

That day's newspapers also lifted the blackout, offering an explanation for the widespread shootings across the country over the previous seven days. In those seven days, Carter had commanded twenty squads in more than 150 small-scale battles across various states and cities.

These Hydra spies all possessed weapons of one sort or another. After suffering losses during the first two encounters, Carter issued an order: shoot targets on sight. As for the Second Geneva Convention, there was no need to observe it for Hydra spies.

As newspapers reported the events, police officers across the country mobilized, squeezing the remaining spies' room to survive to the absolute limit. One after another, they were dragged out.

In less than ten days, Carter led this team in purging all Hydra members within the United States.

Carter was also rewarded. The remaining members of the team were incorporated into the Strategic Scientific Reserve, with Agent Carter serving as their commander.

To shape Agent Carter into a national hero, the government gave her full credit for the purge.

Stories of her romance with Captain America also spread, sending the entire United States into celebration.

Congressman Brand, meanwhile, saw his influence in Congress rise dramatically because of this matter.