Kree Temple

Redeem "Teleportation."

While screwing over a certain sorcerer or a certain timeline, Old Wang brought Skye and the Winter Soldier, frozen into a popsicle, to the outskirts of San Juan.

Looking at the city they had visited not long ago, Skye was suddenly deeply moved:

So Wang had been thinking of me from the very beginning. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have built the Darkhold Laboratory here.

Skye's favorability +100, increased to 'inseparable'

"Let’s go."

Perhaps because the sorcerer he had screwed over this time was more reliable than the last, the teleportation deviation was minor—less than ten kilometers.

The two quickly found the abandoned factory building and entered the laboratory hidden within.

"How’s the progress?"

Old Wang looked around. Seeing that the laboratory had basically taken shape and was filled with expensive instruments, he was very satisfied because he couldn’t understand any of them.

Investment brought returns. He hoped the tens of millions he had poured in before and after would not go down the drain.

"Brain mapping is an extremely complicated technology. If it weren’t for the Darkhold, I wouldn’t have been able to research it even with twenty years. The Darkhold is simply too marvelous. Can I look at it one more time?"

Lucy’s eyes were filled with obsession for the Darkhold, as though the Darkhold was her lover, while the one captured by Hydra was not.

However, this shared lover was not in the laboratory at all. It was in Old Wang’s hands, and no one was allowed to touch it.

Few people could resist the dark power within the Darkhold. Old Wang did not want the scientists under him to fall one after another and become slaves to the Darkhold. Even Skye could only read it under his intimate protection.

Seeing that Old Wang had no reaction at all, Lucy was disappointed but did not dare show it. She continued, "We’ve now gained a preliminary understanding of the theory behind brain mapping and are researching the equipment needed to create it. Dr. Fitz is an expert in this field. I think we can finish in three months at most."

"One month. One month at most, Mr. Wang… Boss."

Fitz was still not used to the title, considering the man before him was about the same age as himself.

As he typed on the keyboard, he explained rapidly, "Short-term memory is mainly related to neuronal activity and the connections between neurons, especially the hippocampus beneath the cerebral cortex. Long-term memory is related to the formation of new synapses. The Darkhold’s explanation of memory far exceeded my imagination and reached a whole new level. I plan to stimulate the cerebral cortex with electromagnetic waves of specific frequencies and conduct brain mapping through the feedback. The specific process goes like this…"

He rattled on without stopping, and Old Wang hurriedly interrupted him. "What about memory uploading?"

"Although memory uploading goes hand in hand with brain mapping, it actually belongs to another field. S.H.I.E.L.D. already has this kind of technology. They can even alter memories, but the process is very painful and causes some irreversible damage. My idea is this…"

Fitz continued rattling on, making Old Wang’s head ache.

Although he had studied science and engineering in his previous life, he had only been at the level of an ordinary college student, and he had long forgotten it all. No matter how plainly Fitz explained it, Old Wang still felt utterly lost and could not understand a thing.

He did not want to waste either of their time, so he could only interrupt. "How long until it’s done?"

"Two months."

Fitz held up two fingers. "At most two months, and I can perfect both brain mapping and memory-uploading technology."

Impressive… Old Wang nodded. Fitz was indeed far more reliable than people like Lucy.

"Um… the laboratory doesn’t have enough funding."

Taking advantage of the boss being in a good mood, Lucy carefully said, "We need an additional… five million."

Because she feared Old Wang, she did not dare ask for too much. As for salaries and bonuses, she did not even mention them.

"I’ll give you ten million."

Old Wang was flush with cash and did not care about such a small amount.

Brain mapping and memory uploading were two technologies with enormous commercial potential. They could even change the entire world and achieve a kind of "immortality."

Though it was not true immortality, plenty of people would still pay for it.

Most importantly, through these two technologies, he could obtain all the memories of the Five Fingers of The Hand and the Winter Soldier, and even alter certain memories.

That way, he would not only learn many secrets, but also gain their loyalty. It was more reliable than brainwashing.

"After a while, I’ll sign contracts with you. Fixed salary plus project bonuses. The more you work, the more you earn."

Old Wang’s words made Lucy beam with joy, filling her with hopes for the future.

Fitz, however, was more interested in the freezer before him. "Boss, what’s inside?"

"A product of the Super Soldier Program… You worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., so you should know something about it."

Old Wang did not open the freezer. Some secrets should not be known by too many people.

Fitz clearly knew a little. His eyes lit up. "Could it be… could it be…"

He wanted to ask whether it was the program that had created Captain America, whether there was a second Captain America inside, but Old Wang quickly cut him off. "Move it to an independent laboratory. You and Simmons will be responsible for the research. Be careful. What’s inside is very important."

Fitz hurriedly nodded.

To every student at S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, the Super Soldier Program was a legend among legends.

From World War II until now, more than sixty years had passed. Who knew how many people had wanted to recreate Dr. Erskine’s formula, but not a single one had succeeded, including the Super Soldier Program restarted by General Ross.

The boss was truly capable of anything. He actually wanted to conduct research on this too—and had entrusted it to him.

This, this was far too exciting!

Following in the footsteps of great men, he was about to begin a wondrous journey.

Perhaps with the knowledge from the Darkhold, he could go even further—develop a formula more perfect than Dr. Erskine’s and create a super soldier more powerful than Captain America.

"Wang?" Skye could not help reminding him. They had come here for something important.

Old Wang smiled and looked at Fitz. "Did you find it?"

"Found it!"

Fitz hurriedly tapped the keyboard several times, and a three-dimensional map appeared on the computer. "After receiving your order, I purchased specialized instruments from S.H.I.E.L.D. and modified them. In less than a day, I found the buried underground city and completed the scan."

Seeing Skye’s confusion, Old Wang said with a smile, "The Kree Temple."

Skye understood.

So this was the place where the ritual would be performed, where she would absorb the Terrigen Mist and activate her genes!

Wang really had been thinking of everything for my sake. He had prepared this long ago…

"If the underground city collapses, how much impact will it have?" Old Wang looked at Fitz.

"Huh?" Fitz did not understand.

Boss, didn’t you say we were going to explore the underground city? Are you planning to blow it up?

Though puzzled, he thought for a moment before answering, "Part of the area might collapse. But the underground city is very deep, so the impact won’t be significant. The collapse would cause seawater to flood in, and the entire underground city would be submerged… Be careful."

"Good."

Old Wang glanced at it and memorized the entire three-dimensional map.

"Skye, let’s go."

The two arrived at a watchtower by the sea, found a hidden passage, and entered the underground city.