Strategic Scientific Reserve

"You lost Dr. Erskine?"

Rewind the clock five minutes. A tall female officer asked in a stern tone.

"German spies could be lurking in this city at any moment, ready to capture or execute Dr. Erskine! Do you have any idea how important he is? Go find him, now!"

This female officer berated her subordinates without restraint.

Her strikingly handsome face was set in an icy, aloof expression, like a glacier.

The plainclothes agents nodded repeatedly, barely concealing the dismissive contempt in their eyes.

This was a turbulent era where women's status had yet to gain recognition.

The prevailing belief held that women should stay home as full-time housewives, handling chores, with no need to step into the public eye.

Even though the stern-faced female officer before them was their superior, demanding obedience, the respect these plainclothes agents showed was still perfunctory at best.

To them, the female officer was a pretty vase with a bad temper, not their superior!

"We got separated from him. There were too many people at the exposition hall—who knows where that German old man ran off to!" one plainclothes agent defended.

"He is Dr. Abraham Erskine!" the female officer corrected.

"That doesn't change the fact that he and Hitler are countrymen," another plainclothes agent retorted with a sneer.

Due to deliberate propaganda in public opinion, the populace harbored a clear hostility toward Germans. Even though Abraham Erskine was on the side of the Allied Nations, it couldn't stop these people's prejudice.

Bang!

A clear gunshot rang out not far away.

Faint screams of panic could also be heard.

The female officer's expression shifted. She shot the plainclothes agents a cold look, then turned and walked away quickly in her flat heels.

Three minutes later.

She arrived at the recruitment station with a squad of armed soldiers.

Several cold bodies lay on the ground, the pungent stench of blood filling the air.

"Doctor!" the female officer called out, relieved to see Dr. Erskine unharmed.

He was currently the military's highest-priority protection target, and a thorn in the Germans' side.

Every person in the know understood the immense value of the Super Soldier Serum Abraham Erskine had developed.

It could end this war!

Tip the scales of victory!

Even reshape the world order!

"These people... they must be the spies they sent," Dr. Erskine said, having already recovered from the panic, his voice steady. "It seems Schmidt really doesn't want me alive."

The female officer nodded in agreement.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she scanned the two young men beside Dr. Erskine, a hint of wariness in her gaze.

"Luckily, this young man saved me. By the way, I don't know your name yet," Dr. Erskine explained.

He had seen Luke single-handedly and perilously take down the three spies tailing and assassinating him, and assumed he was a plainclothes agent sent by the military to protect him. But from the female officer's wary look, that clearly wasn't the case!

"Luke. Luke Cahill." The young man holstered his pistol with a smile.

He hadn't expected to meet Abraham Erskine and Captain America's girlfriend, Peggy Carter, this way.

That's right.

The female officer standing before him was none other than one of the future founders of S.H.I.E.L.D.

For now, she was likely an agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, tasked with protecting Abraham Erskine and participating in the Super Soldier program.

"You killed all these spies? Not bad moves," the female officer named Peggy Carter said meaningfully.

She swept a glance over the bodies of the black-clad spies—three shots, three kills, no extraneous wounds, every bullet hitting a vital spot.

Judging solely from the wounds, this young man named Luke had excellent marksmanship.

Moreover, after killing the three men, he showed no signs of panic or intense emotion.

By any measure, he didn't seem like a novice.

Such abnormal behavior gave Peggy ample reason to be suspicious.

It couldn't be that any ordinary young man from Brooklyn could casually overpower German spies, could it?

If so, the Allied Nations would have already marched on Berlin and ended this war!

"I've picked up some self-defense skills."

Luke answered casually.

He had indeed learned some hand-to-hand combat and shooting from Uncle Frank.

The latter had once considered grooming Luke into a house-painting gang enforcer.

The Irish Mob was rising fast and lacked capable young men to get things done.

Unfortunately, Luke had little interest in that path.

Even though he worked hard to learn combat and shooting, and kept up his physical training, it was only to increase his means of self-preservation.

He wasn't some Donut Head trying to become a "gangster superstar"!

"Doctor, this place isn't safe. We should leave first."

The female officer withdrew her scrutinizing gaze, looked at Dr. Erskine beside her, and said softly, "We'll investigate all of this afterward."

"Alright. I'll remember your name, Luke."

Dr. Erskine nodded. He knew he was under tight military protection.

Attending the Tomorrow World Expo tonight was only possible thanks to an invitation from Howard Stark.

But after meeting him, Dr. Erskine felt that the young and accomplished Mr. Stark talked more like a businessman.

His passion for climbing the peaks of science was far outweighed by his interest in amassing wealth and chasing women.

So the two had only exchanged a few pleasantries before moving on.

"Is he your friend?"

Before leaving, Erskine looked at Steve Rogers standing nearby.

For some reason, he was intrigued by this scrawny, short young man.

Perhaps it was the conversation between him and the recruitment officer that stirred some deep memories within Erskine.

As the creator of the Super Soldier Serum, Abraham Erskine knew its dangers and what side effects it carried.

He had already created one devil and didn't want to create a second—or more!

So Erskine had been searching for the right candidate—a "super soldier" who wouldn't bully the weak and knew compassion.

"Yes. His name is Steve Rogers."

Luke pulled Steve over and said loudly, "My friend really wants to serve his country. He may not be strong, but his patriotism has never dimmed."

"I see."

Erskine nodded thoughtfully and turned to leave.

The female officer quickly followed, but before leaving, she glanced back at Luke, still seemingly suspicious.

The heavily armed soldiers stayed behind to secure the scene and clean up.

"Luke, who are they?"

The spared Steve was still dazed, not knowing what had just happened.

"People who can change your fate."

Luke pursed his lips and said softly.

He patted Steve's thin shoulder, a glimmer of light flashing deep in his eyes.

He hadn't expected to enter the military's field of vision this way.

No doubt, that female agent named Peggy Carter would soon launch a thorough investigation into Luke.

But he wasn't worried. The Strategic Scientific Reserve would find nothing.

Their enemies were Hydra, the evil Axis Powers.

And Luke had absolutely no connection to the so-called German spies or Hydra's assassins.

"That was all so terrifying."

Steve, who hadn't grasped the meaning, was still shaken.

The recruitment officer who had argued with him was also lying in a pool of blood.

His hollow eyes had lost all their color.

"If you step onto the battlefield, you'll see even more of this, witness even more fallen comrades."

Luke sighed.

He had watched Uncle Frank paint houses.

He had even gotten his own hands dirty, taking out a few gangster scum.

Blood and death were nothing new to him.

"Do I even have a chance to step onto the battlefield?"

Steve was a little dejected; he had been rejected too many times.

Everyone told him he wasn't good enough, that he should stay on home soil.

Even his good buddy Bucky was no exception.

"You will."

Luke nodded with certainty.

He seemed to have more confidence in it than Steve himself did.

"Alright, hurry up and find Bucky. We're seeing him off tonight."

Feeling Steve's questioning gaze, Luke changed the subject and dragged the scrawny little guy away from the recruitment station.

ps: Alright, I need to change the book title, but I'm terrible at naming things~

ps2: Investment, favorites, recommendations—begging for a wave of quality triple-tap~