Chapter 262

Peggy Carter slowly came to, then suddenly sat upright on the platform. Her gaze was unfocused, her expression somewhat blank. Aside from the discomfort of having lain on that concrete platform for too long, she could clearly sense that her body was different from before. She had sat up quite quickly just now; at the age of ninety, that could be considered a dangerous move. Not only would she normally be unable to do it, even if she did, she would likely black out and faint from insufficient blood supply to the brain caused by rising too fast.

Had it worked? Peggy Carter abruptly raised her hands and touched her face, but it still felt loose and sagging. She then looked at her hands, which were indeed still covered in wrinkles and age spots.

Had it failed? Peggy Carter became even more confused. If it had succeeded, why did she still look so old? But if it had failed, why could she feel that restless energy within her? Her waist did not ache, her legs did not hurt, her heart did not race, and she was not short of breath. Knocking Steve flat with one slap would be no trouble at all.

"You’re awake?" While Peggy Carter was still trying to figure out what exactly was going on with her, Evenson came strolling over with a bottle of liquor in hand. "How do you feel?"

"I feel…" Peggy Carter had not fully recovered her senses and answered blankly, "I feel like I slept for a very long time, like I almost would never wake up again." Her brows slowly furrowed. "I also dreamed that I was imprisoned in a very cramped place."

"That was…" Evenson lowered his head and scratched his brow, avoiding Carter’s gaze. "That was just your imagination." She absolutely could not find out that he had stabbed her with a knife, or that would be fucking awkward. "Anything else?"

"Also, I feel like my heart is beating so strongly." Carter placed one hand over her heart. "If there weren’t any incisions, I would have thought you’d replaced it." After the surgery, the incisions had healed under the catalysis of Fel, so naturally there was no trace of them.

Evenson said, "That’s also your imagination." Was this old hag pretending to be unconscious just now? "While you were unconscious, I adjusted your major internal organs, so you might feel a little unaccustomed to it. But these are all beneficial changes, signs of a more youthful state."

"Mm…" Peggy Carter nodded, accepting that explanation. But then she brushed aside her white hair. "But I haven’t regained my youth yet."

"Of course not." Evenson did not deny it. "It took you seventy years to grow this old. You can’t expect me to make you young again in seventy minutes. Seventy minutes isn’t even enough time to watch a movie adapted from a comic."

Peggy Carter immediately felt that Evenson made a great deal of sense. She was actually left speechless. "So this is a phased treatment?"

"That wouldn’t be wrong." Evenson took a sip from the bottle.

Peggy Carter pressed, "About how long will it take?"

"No need to rush." Evenson took another swig. "We’re about to proceed to the final stage."

Rather than marveling at how fast it was, Peggy Carter instead asked, "Uh… are you drinking?" She could overlook him wandering around carrying a bottle, but he was actually drinking from it.

"Yep." Evenson looked at the half-empty bottle in his hand, then held it out toward her. "Want a sip?" Wasn’t he happy? The Sorcerer had pulled an orange item. What was wrong with opening a bottle to celebrate? The fact that Evenson had not gone outside to set off firecrackers already counted as keeping a low profile.

Peggy Carter helplessly turned her head away. She truly did not know what to say. Restoring one’s youth was clearly an operation even more significant than a heart bypass, yet this attending physician was working while drunk? He would have to take responsibility for this someday, you ****?

"Hm?" Peggy Carter suddenly frowned deeply. Once the surgery was done, Evenson had naturally asked Sarah to dress Carter. After all, whether old or young, having a living person lying naked before you would make anyone feel awkward.

But now Carter had rolled up her sleeve a little, exposing what had been hidden underneath. "My God! What are these things?"

The Doomguard heart’s pumping power was no joke. Peggy Carter was now bursting with vigor, and her shriek made Evenson’s eardrums ache.

"Explain clearly. What exactly are these things?" Peggy Carter had finally realized that her late-life reputation was ruined. A dignified old English lady had somehow been covered in tattoos at an age when she was practically ready for the coffin.

"Magic runes." Evenson remained calm. "How did you think I adjusted your organs? By sticking my hands inside? Naturally, it required a series of Magic rituals. These Magic runes are part of the ritual, and they are also the key to the final stage."

Carter rolled up both sleeves, pulled open her collar to look, then tugged up both pant legs. Finally, she said dejectedly, "You put them all over my body."

"Magic runes aren’t that ugly, all right? Some people think they’re incredibly cool." Evenson curled his lip. "If you really can’t stand it, just think of them as surgical scars."

"You know that’s not what I mean." Carter suddenly raised her head and stared intensely at Evenson.

"Oh." Evenson looked as though he had suddenly understood. "I had Sarah tattoo those things on you. I swear I avoided being there."

Peggy Carter asked, "Really?"

Evenson said, "Really. I guarantee it. I was doing something else at the time."

Only then did Peggy Carter’s expression improve somewhat. But when she saw Ms. Sarah, who supposedly had tattooed her, engrossed in a copy of Playboy and occasionally drooling, she could not help feeling uneasy.

"Where did Dottie go?" Only after all this time did Peggy Carter remember that Dottie Underwood was no longer there. It seemed Dottie’s road to becoming the other woman was still long and arduous.

"She left," Evenson said. "She got a phone call and said her boss was looking for her. I saw that she was your friend, so I let her leave."

"That little liar." Carter muttered, then said to Evenson, "She fooled you. She doesn’t have a boss."

"Is that so?" Evenson said indifferently. "Who knows? When she got that call, she looked quite shocked. She stood there frozen for a long while, and spoke Russian very quickly the entire time. I couldn’t understand much of it. How was I supposed to know she was lying to me?"

"Forget it." After taking another swig, Evenson set the bottle aside. "Let’s begin the final stage."

Russian? A boss? Could it be…? Peggy Carter had been thinking about those things, but when she heard Evenson say they were about to begin the final stage, she could only set those thoughts aside for now. "All right."

But not long after their final stage began, the factory on the outskirts of London had already been surrounded. Inside a command vehicle converted from a truck—

A seductive woman held a tablet and handed it to a man. "Captain, we can confirm that Ms. Carter is here. Her situation may be somewhat unfavorable."