"So, what should I do?"
When joining a brand-new team, the best way to fit in and earn the boss's trust is to present a token of allegiance.
Whether the boss cares about it or not.
Natasha still needed to do it—not just for the boss to see, but for the rest of the team as well.
"What do you want to do?"
"That depends on your objective."
"I've got a major project that's short on both funding and personnel." Matthew found himself increasingly impressed with her.
She was exceptionally sharp, especially when it ca to reading people and making decisions.
"We can start by dealing with Dreykov. Interrogate him for the most detailed structure of his organization. I have soone in mind who can help us take control of the situation as quickly as possible." Natasha imdiately proposed a plan.
It was the optimal solution based on Matthew's ultimate goal, minimizing potential losses.
"Then I'll leave it to you. You have full authorization to use any resources here."
"Is this a test?"
"No, this is a gift for you. Trust —you'll thank later."
With that, Matthew turned and waved as he left.
Leaving Natasha behind, her brows slightly furrowed in confusion.
At that mont, Reacher, dressed in casual clothes, walked over. When Natasha looked at him, he spoke, "Co on. I'll show you the people and equipnt the boss prepared for you."
"I think you'll co up with a solid plan."
"Yeah, I already have one in mind."
…
Natasha left.
While waiting for the results, Matthew listened to a report from the team's chief scientist, Milson.
Inside the laboratory office, Matthew sat in his chair, holding a glass tube filled with a deep blue liquid. He examined it carefully as Milson's voice sounded beside him.
"Boss, the reverse engineering has been successfully completed, and we've managed to reproduce this serum."
"However, based on the sealed records recovered from that base, the flaws haven't been resolved. After injection, it causes severe aggression enhancent and ntal disinhibition—making the subject completely uncontrollable."
"How high is the chance of optimization?"
Matthew was concerned with a different issue.
"Unknown. We need to fully understand the underlying technology. In the end, we may have to re-edit the fundantal genetic segnts to repair it." Milson spoke with uncertainty.
After all, biotechnology—especially genetic engineering—is full of unknowns. Or rather, all experints are.
Fortunately, his boss had ample funding and equipnt. Milson believed the chances were fairly high, but it would take ti.
Matthew didn't seem bothered by this.
"What if we had a blood sample from a super soldier with a stable serum?"
Milson froze for a mont, then said excitedly, "If we did, we could synthesize it very quickly. It's just…"
He didn't finish his sentence.
If such a sample existed, the only person he could think of was the legendary Captain Arica, Steve Rogers. But obtaining his blood seed nearly impossible.
After all, according to official records, Captain Arica Steve Rogers had died decades ago. Unless the governnt had preserved his blood sample back then?
"Not Captain Arica. It's soone else. Continue your research—the blood sample will be delivered to the lab soon."
"Understood."
Milson didn't ask further. Whatever the boss said, he believed.
Milson left, taking the serum with him.
Matthew remained seated, deep in thought.
He wasn't referring to Captain Arica.
But to another, far less known super soldier.
His na was Isaiah Bradley—a Black man.
In the 1950s, the U.S. military and the CIA used the fragntary remains of Dr. Erskine's formula to recreate a second-generation Super Soldier Serum. The project was nad "Project Rebirth.
They used Black soldiers as test subjects, resulting in countless deaths. Only one man survived: Isaiah.
Afterward, Isaiah served in the military and achieved remarkable combat accomplishnts. He even encountered the Winter Soldier, Bucky, defeated him, and tore apart his tal left arm.
Yet despite being such a loyal soldier, his ultimate fate was imprisonnt—he was detained for thirty years.
During those thirty years, his blood was repeatedly drawn for experintation. It wasn't until the early 1980s, when a nurse faked his death, that he managed to escape. After that, he went into hiding, living in obscurity.
Later, soone used his blood samples to complete a restructured genetic coding, ultimately creating a new version of the Super Soldier Serum without side effects.
As long as Isaiah could be found and his blood sample obtained, and with Hydra's complete formula and the necessary equipnt, developing a side-effect-free serum wouldn't be particularly difficult.
Back when Matthew decided to assemble a scientific research team to develop a Super Soldier genetic serum, he had already thought of this person.
Neagley had been in charge of tracking him down.
Finding him wasn't difficult. In the modern world, with money and resources, locating soone was simple—it just took ti.
Neagley was fully confident in this.
Thinking of Neagley, a strange expression appeared on Matthew's face. She was already quite busy, and now he needed her for this as well.
She won't complain that I'm overworking her, right?
…
Evening. A villa on the northern side of Gellért Hill in Budapest.
"Dammit, the boss is definitely overworking the staff."
Outside the villa, Neagley stepped out of her car wearing a down jacket, her face full of irritation, a laptop tucked under her arm.
She slamd the car door and walked straight toward the villa. In the courtyard, several fully ard soldiers stood guard.
She wasn't surprised and headed directly to the main entrance.
Passing through the doorway and the foyer, she entered a spacious, brightly lit, and luxurious living room.
Natasha, Reacher, Roscoe, and more than a dozen soldiers were gathered there. Aside from them, several people were kneeling on the floor.
A slightly overweight middle-aged Eastern European man wearing a sweater and glasses, an eight-year-old girl with a frightened expression, and several servants.
"Whoa, quite the beauty." Seeing Natasha, Neagley's eyes lit up.
People are visual creatures—appreciation of beauty isn't limited by gender. A good-looking person naturally leaves a positive first impression.
"Like I told you, Neagley. This is Natasha," Reacher gave a brief introduction from the side.
"Neagley."
"Natasha."
The two exchanged greetings. After giving her a once-over, Neagley ca to a conclusion. "The boss must like you very much."
"I think so too," Roscoe agreed.
She herself was considered quite a beauty back in Margrave—otherwise, she wouldn't have been pursued by young Kliner. But compared to Natasha, she still fell short.
It was said that the Red Room had many top-tier beauties.
Could it be that Matthew…
Roscoe sighed inwardly. The kid's grown up. Daniel, you'd be proud, wouldn't you?
Still… there seed to be a few too many of them.
...
Read Advanced Chapters on : patreon/cw/OblivionTL
~ Every 250 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]
User Comments
0 comments from readers