Abraham Erskine

The next day, Howard Stark brought Han Lin to the Strategic Scientific Reserve's secret base. Han Lin was led through four separate security procedures before entering the underground laboratory. Amid the busy figures in the lab, an elderly gentleman with glasses stood out in particular.

The night before, Howard Stark had reported everything that had happened that day to Dr. Erskine, Colonel Phillips, and Agent Carter.

After assessing the risks, the four of them concluded that if Han Lin wanted to sabotage the experiment, he would only need to kill Howard. And judging by his performance yesterday—

he truly did not seem like an agent or spy. Temperament determined everything, and Han Lin possessed nothing but the shut-in aura of someone who had crossed over. It made this humanoid monster seem entirely harmless...

The middle-aged gentleman adjusted his glasses, extended a hand to Han Lin, and said, "Hello. I'm Abraham Erskine, the researcher behind the Super Soldier Serum. May I call you Han?"

"Hello, Dr. Erskine. You can just call me Lin. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Han Lin shook Dr. Erskine's hand, then looked around. At least twelve fully armed soldiers were guarding the place—or rather, guarding against Han Lin...

Han Lin gave a wry smile. "Doctor, honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't have these men stay. What we're about to discuss is rather confidential. I think we need somewhere quiet. If I wanted to do anything, they couldn't stop me." As he spoke, he waved a hand at the wall. A crater thirty centimeters across appeared in it, surrounded by dense cracks.

In an instant, the surrounding soldiers aimed their guns at Han Lin, prepared to shoot him dead if he made any further moves. Howard Stark raised a hand and dismissed them. "All of you, leave. Without my or Dr. Erskine's permission, no one is allowed to come in."

The soldiers and researchers slowly filed out, then locked the door from the outside. If anything went wrong, they would detonate the ten tons of explosives hidden underground and bury Han Lin along with themselves. If he escaped, the Nazi army would undoubtedly stab deep into the Allied rear like a sharp blade.

The faint sense of danger in Han Lin's heart did not lessen with their departure. He merely smiled. "Looks like you've prepared a backup plan. But I already said I'm not a bad person. I just want a proper identity, then the Super Soldier Serum. I can help you win this war!"

Dr. Erskine looked somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not targeting you. You said you could see the future and that person would become the first test subject. Then why not simply pretend to be that person and deceive me into giving you the serum?"

"I can see the future. You can think of it as an Eastern secret art. Because I want to obtain a legal identity, I told you some things that won't change, including the first test subject."

"That person was chosen by you, Doctor. The Super Soldier Serum amplifies the goodness in one's heart, but it also amplifies the evil. So you need to find that person yourself, not have me tell you. I won't tell you who it is right now. I told Howard that I'll be staying with him for the next few days. The course of the world cannot be changed, so that is all I can say. What you need to do is let time prove it. What do you think, Doctor?" Han Lin finished and looked at Dr. Erskine beside him.

After a long silence, Dr. Erskine slowly spoke. "At first, I thought you were sent by Red Skull. Now it seems you weren't. I never told Red Skull about the side effects of the Super Soldier Serum."

"This secret is something only I knew until now, yet you spoke of it when we had only just met. Honestly, I'm very curious how you managed that. And you're already so powerful. Why do you still need the Super Soldier Serum?"

Han Lin pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. "World War II is only the beginning. The future world will be far more dire than you can imagine. I am powerful myself, but not powerful enough. Future enemies will come from beyond the sky. That is all I can say. I don't want to alter the course of the future, because then I would no longer be able to foresee it."

Howard and Dr. Erskine were left somewhat at a loss by Han Lin's latest bombshell. "Beyond the sky? You mean aliens?" Howard asked.

"Yes. They're very powerful. Right now, some guardians protect people like us, keeping the dangers outside from threatening us. But in less than seventy years, we'll face those dangers directly. My enhanced physique allows me to live for more than a hundred years, so I need to work hard to strengthen myself in the years ahead!"

Howard frowned. "Then why did you say you hoped to be the last enhanced test subject? By your reasoning, we should be mass-producing the Super Soldier Serum."

"Howard, you're too idealistic. Han Lin just explained the side effects of this serum. Good people become better, and bad people become worse. If a group of super soldiers possessed immense power, could the military truly control them? If they couldn't be controlled, how great a disaster would they bring upon this world? All I ever wanted was for one person to emerge, lead our army to defeat Hydra, and secure victory. I never wanted the military to have too many super soldiers. If we did that, who knew how many Red Skulls would appear in this world?" Dr. Erskine said slowly.

Howard nodded. He was one of the smartest people in the world. If possible, he would still prefer to devote himself to research. According to Han Lin, the future would be terrifying, and his expression darkened considerably.

"Dr. Erskine, could I become your assistant before the first test subject succeeds? You know, my body suddenly mutated,

and I still can't properly control my strength. My original plan was to go to the battlefield with that enhanced person and learn to control my abilities properly. But after meeting you, I want you to help me study whether the changes in my body will affect the Super Soldier Serum... If they do, I'll consider not becoming the second test subject!"

Upon hearing this, both Howard and Dr. Erskine breathed a sigh of relief. They had not known how to ask this humanoid monster to agree to let Dr. Erskine study him. Now that Han Lin had proposed it himself, they exchanged glances and both saw a flash of delight.

Dr. Erskine said, "No problem. In fact, I also want to study how your body reached its current state. As for my former test subject, Red Skull—you should know that he received an incomplete Super Soldier Serum. The painful side effects gave him greater power than the stable serum. I compared the experimental data from back then. You are somewhat stronger than Red Skull."

Han Lin stared at Dr. Erskine in surprise. The system had told him that Steve and Red Skull posed a threat to him, yet Dr. Erskine now said that he was stronger than Red Skull. The two assessments did not match. Where was the discrepancy? Han Lin began to think...

Experience. Combat experience. A child with nothing but strength could never defeat an adult with the same strength. Han Lin's combat experience was zero. Firing a gun for the first time yesterday had made him a little overconfident. Sure enough, he still needed to work hard to improve himself. Han Lin silently warned himself.

Han Lin shook his head. "My physical abilities may only be stronger than Red Skull's, but if we fought to the death, I think I would be the one to die. My combat experience is zero."

Howard and Dr. Erskine nodded in agreement. Howard said, "Once the personnel selection is complete, we'll head to the Strategic Scientific Reserve Training Camp. You can undergo basic training with the recruits then."

"Mm... That was what I was thinking too. I can help out our future great hero," Han Lin said with a smile, muttering to himself.

Dr. Erskine looked at the humanoid beast before him, whose appearance seemed utterly nonthreatening, and said, "May I draw two vials of your blood? I need to test a few things. As for becoming my assistant, I need to know your foundation first. Then I can give you some basic knowledge to improve your abilities. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll do more harm than good!"

Han Lin himself did not know what level his pre-transmigration studies in veterinary medicine put him at. Genetic engineering and bioengineering were not his specialties, but with his enhanced brain, rapid learning would allow him to quickly become a talent in those fields.

When everyone encounters advertisements asking things like "Are you a True Person?", there is no need to pay attention. Just close them. Do not scan codes or send text messages!