A Predictable Future

Actually, if you think about it…

Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes, is innocent in the eyes of the law. After all, he was the one who killed, but he was controlled by someone else.

Furthermore, Bucky Barnes becoming a mass-produced model makes things even harder to determine.

Back then, was it the original Bucky Barnes or a clone who killed Howard Stark and his wife?

However.

This has nothing to do with Lake. The one with a deep-seated hatred for Bucky Barnes is Tony Stark, not Lake Edwin.

Lake wouldn’t tell Tony Stark his own speculations.

It’s meaningless.

"If you haven’t experienced someone’s suffering, don’t advise them to be kind."

What Tony chooses to do is his business, not Lake’s.

Besides, this isn’t the reason Lake let Tony come over.

Lake re-hung his towel and tied his tie in front of the mirror. "I learned from Dr. Merrick that at the end, he uploaded the cloning and resurrection technology to some network. You should have gotten it."

Tony frowned.

Lake finished tying his tie, smoothed it down, and looked at Tony. "Whether it’s you or not, I don’t care. I’m just telling you as an ordinary friend, cloning and resurrection won’t bring you any peace. Maybe at first, it will, but in the end, any attempt to resurrect the dead from hell will make you suffer even more."

If Tony could take it in, Lake didn’t care.

If he couldn’t?

When something goes wrong later, as long as people from the supernatural world get involved, it wouldn’t have anything to do with Lake.

As for why Lake was so sure?

It’s simple.

Dr. Zola definitely wasn’t dead. After all, he knew the full picture of Hydra. If Dr. Zola had confessed everything truthfully or hadn’t said a word, then Lake would have believed him.

But Dr. Zola told a false story. At the very least, in his account, the leader of the newly formed Hydra was only Daniel Whitehall.

Therefore, Dr. Zola was definitely not dead.

Lake didn’t understand computers very well, but Tony Stark did.

There were only two possibilities: either Zola escaped on his own, or Zola’s story about working with Howard captivated Tony Stark, who had cornered him. In the end, Tony Stark had Jarvis transfer Zola’s electronic data to him.

Besides that.

There was no third possibility.

Lake leaned towards the latter. Zola was truly cornered and, in order to survive and for his alliance with Alexander Pierce, he used this method.

Even an electronic life is still life.

It’s better to live a dog’s life than to die a good death.

Especially for Dr. Zola, who, at the end of his life, thought of and succeeded in achieving a form of immortality through another method.

Tony looked at Lake with some confusion. "How are you so sure it’s with me?"

Lake put on his jacket, picked up his watch, and smiled, looking at Tony. "I’m not sure, I’m very suspicious. Did I tell you that when you play with hell, hell will also play with you?"

Tony said expressionlessly, "When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. Nietzsche said that, you just changed a few words."

Lake tilted his head. "Is that so?"

Tony didn’t speak.

Lake chuckled. "Alright, let’s say Nietzsche said it. In any case, I’ve told you. Whether you listen or not is your decision. Alright, let’s go, let’s go see the clones."

In the corridor.

Tony asked Lake, "Do you know my father…"

"No."

"I haven’t said anything yet."

"I don’t know anything."

"…"

Lake shook his head. "It’s meaningless to ask me. I don’t know any more than you do. Perhaps you should try contacting your godmother, Ms. Peggy Carter."

It wasn’t a secret that Tony Stark’s godmother was Peggy Carter.

After all, Tony Stark, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, was like walking news from birth. Even now, some small tabloids, when they had nothing else to report, would make up stories about Tony Stark’s childhood to attract attention.

As I said before.

He had no intention of getting involved in the mess between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra from the beginning. Wasn’t it better to mind his own business?

And the result?

Lake silently calculated in his mind.

It seemed…

He’s only not clashed with the Coast Guard now; he’s already gone up against every other law enforcement agency, Langley, Hoover, S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, you name it.

I just wanted a peaceful life.

Lake felt a bit speechless. He figured if it weren’t for his backing from the military and Karen Capital, someone like him would have been jointly boycotted by these people long ago.

Inside the classified warehouse.

When Lake and Tony returned to the office, the anthropologist was already present.

"Booth!"

"Ha, Lake!"

Lake embraced Serey Booth, the federal agent who escorted the anthropologist, drawing the attention of the anthropologist, Tempri Braina.

After letting go.

Tempri Braina, who was exceptionally intelligent but lacked social skills, greeted Lake first, then looked at Serey Booth with some confusion: "You know Edwin?"

Lake replied, "Known him for years."

He met Edwin through Jason, who met him through Booth’s younger brother, Judd, who also served in the military. At the time, Judd mistook Jason for Booth, as the two looked incredibly alike. So, the three of them would occasionally get together for drinks. After Lake moved to New York, they mostly kept in touch by phone.

Lake also knew Tempri Braina.

He met her through his downstairs neighbor, Cassel. Besides being an anthropologist, Tempri Braina was also a crime novelist. The circle of top federal crime novelists was quite small, and Lake and Cassel met Tempri Braina at a party in Washington.

Of course.

They just met then. Later, during a few cases, Lake sent some bones, hoping to use Tempri Braina’s expertise to help solve them.

General Moses appropriately interrupted their catching up and looked at Tempri Braina: "Dr. Braina, is there any way to identify a clone without removing the bones?"

Tempri Braina thought for a moment: "There is, but I need the equipment in my lab."

General Moses said, "Tell me what equipment you need, but this matter is strictly confidential and must not be leaked."

If this got out, it would cause chaos.

The genuine Nick Fury, at this moment, had no inclination to look into the underground cloning base’s data. After all, a fake claiming to be him was the immediate, most pressing issue.

Command Center.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

The lights in the command center flashed red a few times. Once it confirmed the command center had entered its highest defense state, Lake took out a USB drive from his pocket and handed it to a technical soldier with an A-level clearance.

The soldier plugged in the USB drive, and a password input interface popped up.

One chance. If the password was entered incorrectly, it would be destroyed.

Lake looked at it: "One two one three eight, password!"

The soldier nodded and directly entered the password. Verification passed, and it directly entered the USB drive. A document lay quietly within the USB drive.

This USB drive was found on Dr. Merrick’s body. According to Dr. Merrick’s last memories, the contents of this USB drive stored who used cloning technology to create new organs, and who outside had become a clone.

The clones outside were not the disposable kind with only a two-year shelf life like the clones Daniel Whitehall prepared. They were cloned at great expense, with only a subconscious button left to activate them. No other backdoors were left.

Soon.

After the document opened, a string of names and photos appeared on the big screen.

Good heavens.

General Moses and General Ross exclaimed repeatedly as they looked at the photos that appeared.

The Russian tycoon had indeed become a clone.

There were even quite a few clones within the federal territory.

Shocking.

Utterly shocking.

Soon.

Mr. President, the generals from the Pentagon, and Secretary Kelly instantly connected via video. They were all stunned by the list projected onto their screens.

Secretary Kelly looked directly at Lake: "Director Edwin, this list hasn’t been leaked, has it?"

Lake shook his head: "No, Secretary."

Secretary Kelly nodded: "Mr. President, this concerns national security. I suggest we detain everyone on the list first."

A general from the Pentagon seconded: "I agree with Secretary Kelly’s suggestion."

Mr. President rubbed his temples: "What’s the situation with S.H.I.E.L.D.? Is it confirmed?"

Who could have imagined that Daniel Whitehall, who was away for medical treatment, would create such a situation? And yet, there was no way to investigate and hold anyone accountable.

The Federation didn’t have this tradition. This wasn’t a purge, but it was a kind of reckoning. This tradition couldn’t be established.

The most important point.

The president who agreed to Daniel Whitehall’s medical treatment back then was the father of the current president. In the eighties, it was his father who was in the presidential position and signed the order for external medical treatment.

What the hell are we supposed to do?

General Moses said, "Once the equipment arrives, we can proceed with the tests."

Mr. President cleared his throat, settled into his seat, and looked at the people participating in the remote conference. His expression was serious as he said, "Gentlemen, this is a crisis, no doubt about it. This matter must be contained within a certain scope. All personnel involved in this operation will sign non-disclosure agreements. The public cannot know about this, and the entire world certainly cannot know. It would make us a laughingstock. We must handle this properly."