Captain America Has Been an Inseparable Part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Since Ancient Times

"That was the situation."

After giving them the general rundown, Old Wang smiled. "Ms. Carter is in pretty good condition now. Although she can’t regain her youthful appearance, her bodily functions are about the same as when she was in her twenties. Ten doses of Resurrection Serum are enough for her to live another seventy or eighty years."

Ten doses…

If looks could kill, Egghead would have stabbed Master Wang to death a hundred times over.

Using too much Resurrection Serum in a short period would reduce its effectiveness.

It worked best when used right before one’s lifespan was about to run out.

If used properly, ten doses of Resurrection Serum could extend someone’s life by more than a hundred years. Now, they could only extend it by seventy or eighty years.

And the Resurrection Serum’s greatest use was resurrection, damn it!

A second life!

Thinking about how he was already so old and had not even been willing to use a single dose himself, Egghead felt utterly miserable.

Damn capitalists. Having money really meant doing whatever they wanted… Egghead threatened him with his eyes and warned him aloud:

"Master Wang, Captain America was the captain of the Howling Commandos under the Strategic Scientific Reserve. The Strategic Scientific Reserve was renamed S.H.I.E.L.D., so Captain America is a sacred, inseparable part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Without Captain America, there would be no S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

Old Wang chuckled. "Does Captain America’s name appear in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s personnel appointments? I mean, among the living."

You said he was yours, so he was yours?

I could say I was the successor of socialism. Who would believe that?

"I’m the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. If I say he’s on it, then he’s on it."

Egghead snorted and addressed the large screen. "I am now announcing a new appointment: Steve Rogers, male, six feet two inches tall, two hundred and forty pounds, eighty-nine years old, born in 1920, formerly captain of the Howling Commandos… Level 8 clearance, independent field agent, answerable only to the director."

A gentle female voice spoke. "Level 8 clearance requires the director’s authorization. Do you authorize it?"

Egghead grinned. "I authorize it."

"Authorization complete. Would you like to encrypt the file?"

Egghead thought for a second. "Encrypt it. Access to this file requires authorization from the director or Level 8 clearance."

The gentle female voice said, "Encryption complete. Please upload detailed information as soon as possible and conduct a full medical examination, as well as psychological, physical, and other assessments."

Egghead breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Old Wang, his gaze somewhat provocative.

"Master Wang, Captain America has been a sacred, inseparable part of S.H.I.E.L.D. since ancient times. You saw it yourself. He belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D. before, he belongs to S.H.I.E.L.D. now, and he’ll belong to S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future. This isn’t just my opinion. It’s Ms. Carter’s opinion, the opinion of the entire nation, and the opinion of people all over the world!"

Old Wang: "…"

And that represented the whole world?

Did he really think the United States was the whole world?

He had seen shameless people before, but never anyone more shameless than himself.

My face is made of keratin, while yours is made of calcium carbonate, complete with a thick shell!

"Captain America belongs neither to you nor to me. Let him choose for himself." Old Wang shook his head.

Trading Captain America?

Not happening.

Even if Egghead were willing to hand over a Sky Carrier, no one could fly it. That destroyer was still drifting in international waters off San Juan, and its crew was not even complete.

Besides, Old Wang was not that kind of person, and Captain America was not someone others could use as a bargaining chip.

Captain America wasn’t something you could buy just because you wanted to.

"I believe he’ll make the right choice." Egghead was full of confidence.

Old Wang chuckled.

Though he did not particularly care, he also wanted to know what choice Captain America would make.

Between a brother and a woman, which one did you care about more…

Tony was indeed fast, and having money meant he could be as reckless as he pleased. When his energy ran out, he simply swapped out the Arc Reactor, then flew back from Oceania to Triskelion Headquarters at top speed and tossed the charred Winter Soldier onto the floor.

He had clearly taken a chest blast head-on. It was already good luck that he had not died. The Iron Man armor was still too small and its output was not particularly high. To account for flexibility, flight speed, and Tony’s own tolerance, its performance was limited in every aspect.

Flight speed, armor thickness, external weapons, and so on.

Of course, its overall combat capability was still worthy of recognition. Beating up this weakened version of the Winter Soldier was no problem.

Iron Man’s strength was hard to pin down. After all, he had the "power of money." No matter how strong you were, he could build something to counter you: Anti-Hulk Armor, Anti-Thor Armor, Anti-Thanos Armor. Though whoever he countered would beat him senseless.

Still, he counted as part of the second tier, surpassed only by Thor and Hulk.

However, Tony himself was not completely unscathed either.

The outer armor, infused with a small amount of Vibranium, was enough to withstand direct fire from small-caliber firearms. Super soldiers generally did not exceed one ton of strength, so they had no chance of damaging the Iron Man armor. The only damage was chipped paint and slight deformation in a few sections of the outer armor…

"What are you talking about? Director Fury, why does your complexion look so bad? I think you should eat a burger."

Tony stepped out of the armor and stretched his limbs. Seeing that there were only two Winter Soldiers on the ground, he was very satisfied.

As expected, I was the fastest!

As for Master Wang?

He just opened a portal and teleported. That had nothing to do with speed, so it could not be compared.

If they really compared speed, Tony was confident he could leave Master Wang a hundred blocks behind.

For a man, being fast did not seem like much to brag about. What mattered was endurance… Old Wang glanced at the drastically altered armor and raised an eyebrow. "Mark 8?"

"I added an automatic warning mode and increased the Vibranium content, boosted the power of the hand and foot thrusters, upgraded the combat analysis system and assisted combat system, and of course optimized J.A.R.V.I.S.’s main program as well… Total cost was under three hundred million dollars."

Tony rattled off a string of technical terms and figures, then looked at Old Wang with burning eyes. "Master Wang, I’m preparing to begin development on Mark 9. Do you have any suggestions?"

From Mark 3 to Mark 8, Master Wang had provided quite a few forward-thinking and useful suggestions every time.

Strange.

This guy did not understand engineering or machinery at all. He had not even finished middle school, so why did he seem to know so much about the armor?

There were areas even Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S. had not considered, yet this guy had thought of them. It made no sense!

Another three hundred million dollars. Damn capitalist… Old Wang smiled. "Is Veronica finished?"

"It’s still being designed."

Whenever science was involved, Tony became extremely focused.

"Veronica consists of J.A.R.V.I.S., low-Earth-orbit satellites, armor suits, and a maintenance and repair system. If it only carries one suit of armor, that would obviously be a waste. My idea is to have at least ten sets. Each suit will have its own specialty. Some will be fast, some will have heavy firepower, some will have thick armor, some will be lightweight, and some will be able to turn invisible. I’m trying to miniaturize the cloaking device right now. It isn’t too difficult… Oh, right. Why call it Veronica? I think Friday sounds better."

Old Wang, Skye, Egghead, and Hill: "…"

At that moment, the same thought surfaced in all four of their minds:

Damn big capitalist!