Chu Hang returned to the office on the top floor of Stark Tower. It was dark.
He poured a glass of water and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Under his feet was New York, and the lights were like a flowing river.
Quiet. He doesn't like this quiet.
I went to New Mexico for a fight. My muscles and bones were active, but I felt even more bored. Thor replied to Asgard, and Loki fell into the universe Abyss. Suddenly, there was nothing on earth that could cheer him up.
Peace means having nothing to do.
There was a document on the table, the quarterly report of Stark Industries. He picked it up and glanced at it. The profit of the energy department had increased by three hundred points. It was all due to the triangular reactor of Tony. The guy had a bad mouth and was really unambiguous in his work.
Chu Hang casually threw the report back on the table, and the paper slid half a meter away. The string of numbers meant nothing to him. He wanted to know more about when the next fun "toy" would come.
There were two knocks on the office door, very softly.
"Come in."
Natasha·Romanoff opened the door and came in. She was wearing a professional suit and holding a tablet in her hand. Her expression was very standard, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.
"Mr. Chen, exploration report of 'Polaris Project'." She handed over the tablet.
Polaris Project.
Stark Industries's the Deep exploration project, this is what it says on the surface. The real purpose, only Chu Hang and a few people know - to find the plane that fell into Arctic Ocean seventy years ago, "Valkyrie".
He told me about this matter. He wants to find Steve.
"Is there any result?" Chu Hang took the tablet, and the cold light of the screen reflected on his face.
"Yes." Natasha's voice was calm. "The exploration team found a huge metal signal in the Greenland Sea area, at coordinates 75°N, 72°W. The sonar scan results showed that it was a World War II bomber with the right model."
Chu Hang His fingers crossed across the screen, looking at the green, blurry sonar images. A pile of scrap metal, sunk on the seabed thousands of meters deep.
"Where's the inside?"
"There is an abnormality in the Life Law signal." Natasha paused, as if looking for a suitable word, "There is a signal, very weak, but extremely stable. The exploration team feels that it may be some kind of the Deep organism parasitic in the aircraft wreckage."
Chu Hang The corners of his mouth twitched.
Unknown creature? No. It was Super-Soldier Serum, which reduced a person's metabolism to almost zero in the ice sea. Suspended death.
He returned the tablet to Natasha.
"Notify Nick Fury." Chu Hang ordered, "Tell him that I found something for him that he has been looking for for decades. Let his people go find it. Use the encrypted channel of Stark Industries and don't leave any written records."
"Understood." Natasha nodded without any unnecessary questions. She knew her position very well.
She turned to leave.
"Wait." Chu Hang called her.
Natasha stopped and looked back at him.
"What would a person who has slept for seventy years most want to see when he wakes up?" Chu Hang's question was sudden.
Natasha was stunned for half a second and quickly reacted. She thought about it and said, "A familiar face."
"Smart." Chu Hang nodded, "Go ahead."
Natasha left, and the office became quiet again.
Chu Hang walked to the wine cabinet, poured a glass of whiskey and added a piece of ice. In the amber liquid, the ice cubes collided lightly and made a crisp sound. His unchanged face was reflected on the wall of the glass.
Seventy years.
An ordinary person's life is like a nap to him.
Some names came to mind. Dugan, Falsworth, Gabe... Those guys at Howling Commandos are probably dead and have become the names on the tombstones. Peggy·Carter, should be an old lady now, with white hair, sitting in a wheelchair.
There was only him, Logan, and Steve·Rogers who was about to wake up. They were forgotten by time.
Old friend.
This word rolled around in my heart, a little strange, but also a little real.
He took out a Black Noir satellite phone and dialed Nick Fury's number.
The phone rang once and was answered.
"It's me." Chu Hang said.
"I know." Fury's voice was tired and a little wary, "Natasha contacted me. Mr. Chen, thank you."
"It's not a thank you, it's an investment. I'm recycling my assets." Chu Hang said in a very calm voice, "When will the salvage start?"
"It has already started. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s icebreaker and salvage platform are passing by. New York can be transported back within forty-eight hours at the earliest."
"Very good." Chu Hang said, "I want to see him."
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
After a few seconds, Fury spoke very carefully, "Mr. Chen, we have a professional psychological assessment team and a recovery plan. If a person who has slept for seventy years suddenly sees a new world, it is easy for him to have mental problems. We need a controllable environment."
"A controlled environment?" Chu Hang sneered, "You mean, lock him in a fake ward, paint the walls in the colors of the 1940s, find an actress to play the nurse, and play some old baseball game broadcasts to lie to him that he was only in a coma for a few weeks?"
Fury stopped talking again. He couldn't figure out how Chu Hang knew about this top secret plan.
"Don't play childish tricks, Fury." Chu Hang's tone was cold, "He is not an ordinary person, he is Captain America. His ears are smarter than a dog. Those cheap props of yours cannot fool him for three seconds. When the time comes, a frightened Super-Soldier will bump around in your base. How much loss will you calculate?"
"... What is your suggestion?" Fury's tone became serious.
"I'll go over. The first person he sees when he wakes up is me." Chu Hang's tone was non-negotiable, "A familiar face is more useful than a hundred psychiatrists. Your people are watching from the outside."
"... Okay." Fury finally compromised. He had no choice. In front of Chu Hang, he, the director, was not qualified to bargain.
"Send me the address."
Chu Hang finished speaking and hung up the phone.
He finished the wine in the glass, and the ice cubes made a final sound in the empty glass.
Old friend, I'm here to pick you up.
Two days later.
A secret medical facility on the outskirts of New York city, S.H.I.E.L.D..
There were agents with guns and ammunition everywhere, and the atmosphere was very tense.
In the innermost observation room, Phil·Coulson, with sweaty palms, stared closely at the one-way glass in front of him. Behind the glass was a fake ward decorated in the style of the 1940s. On the hospital bed, a blond man lay with a bunch of instruments connected to his body.
Captain America, Steve·Rogers.
Coulson was so excited that he could hardly stand. This is his idol, alive.
The door to the observation room opened, but there was no sound at all. Chu Hang walked in.
"Chen...Mr. Chen." Coulson was startled and stood up straight. He didn't hear the footsteps at all.
"How is the situation?" Chu Hang's eyes fell on Steve on the hospital bed.
"Life Law's physical condition is stable, sir. It's like... asleep." Coulson reported, "The medical team has checked and his physical functions are still at the peak of those in his twenties. Super-Soldier Serum is a miracle."
Chu Hang looked at the ridiculous set behind the glass and shook his head.
"Turn off that baseball broadcast, it's so noisy," he ordered.
"But, sir, this is part of the plan, in order to let him..."
"I said, turn it off." Chu Hang's voice was not loud, but Coulson felt like his ears were pricked by needles.
"Yes!" Coulson didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore and immediately turned off the sound on the console.
Chu Hang pushed open the door of the observation room and walked in.
He pulled up a chair, sat down beside Steve's bed, and looked at him quietly.
Seventy years.
This face is the same as the one on Valkyrie. Young, stubborn, and smelling like Brooklyn. When he fell asleep, his brows were slightly frowned, as if he was having a bad dream.
Chu Hang just sat there, doing nothing.
Time passed by minute by minute.
I don't know how long it took, but the eyelids of the person on the hospital bed moved.
Steve·Rogers woke up.
His eyes opened suddenly. They were blank at first, and then became as sharp as an eagle. He sat up immediately and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.
White walls, old-fashioned furniture, and outside the window is... the night view of New York?
No.
Everything was too new and too clean. There was no hospital disinfectant smell in the air, only a smell of paint. The sheets were made of the wrong material.
His eyes finally fell on the man sitting next to the bed.
When he saw that face clearly, his whole body froze.
He will never forget that face. They hid from artillery shells in the trenches together, killed people together at Hydra Base, and finally fell into the ice sea together.
"...Chu Hang?"
Steve's voice was dry and hoarse, like rusty iron scraping. He couldn't believe it.
"Did you sleep well, captain?" Chu Hang looked at him and smiled.
Steve's mind was in a mess. He looked at his hands and then at Chu Hang. A ridiculous idea that he didn't dare to think about came to mind.
"Mission..." he struggled to speak, "Plane...Peggy, I made an appointment with her..."
"The mission was successful, Steve." Chu Hang interrupted him with a calm voice, "We won. Red Skull is gone, and the plane did not hit New York."
Steve gasped for air, lifted the quilt and was about to get out of bed. He must leave here and know the truth.
"Where is this?" he asked warily.
Chu Hang ignored his question about the scenery and gave him the answer directly.
"A safe place." He stood up, walked to the window, and opened the curtains.
Outside the window, it is no longer a fake night scene. It is what this medical facility really looks like. Agents in uniforms, futuristic corridors, and equipment with various lights flashing.
A completely strange world.
Steve's breathing stopped.
"How long have I been asleep?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Chu Hang turned around and looked at him, with an indescribable emotion in his eyes.
"A long time."
he said slowly.
"Welcome to 21st Century, Captain. You have been asleep for almost seventy years."