Chapter 120: Enlisting in the Army
Schmidt reached out and took the crystal cube from between the mummy's hands, held it before his eyes, observed it for a moment, and said to himself, "The Tesseract is Odin's treasure."
Then he turned and gave the old man a cold glance, letting him see the crystal cube in his hand.
Then, to the astonishment of those around him, Schmidt released his grip, and the crystal cube fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
"This thing shouldn't be hidden," Schmidt walked up to the old man, staring into his eyes with a cold gaze, and continued, "But I think it's very close now."
"I can't help you," the old man replied firmly, though his voice was hoarse.
"Yes, but perhaps you can help your village. There must be friends of yours there. Maybe even some children."
At this point, Schmidt adopted a lighthearted tone, as if chatting with a friend. "I say you wouldn't want them to die."
The old man, who understood Schmidt's meaning, showed a look of panic as he heard the sound of tank barrels outside the church turning.
Still stubborn, the old man merely looked at the wall behind Schmidt.
Schmidt followed the old man's gaze, also turning to look at the wall carved with scenery.
Schmidt walked forward lightly. Being deeply versed in mysticism, he recognized the carvings on the wall at a glance.
"Yggdrasil."
"A giant tree in Norse mythology, the World Tree, guarding wisdom and fate."
"Legend says the World Tree reaches to the heavens, and from it, nine realms are derived."
Schmidt lightly touched the carving, recalling bits of information about the World Tree from Norse mythology he had read before.
"The World Tree has three roots. The first root extends deep into Asgard, beneath which is the Well of Urd. The second root extends deep into Jotunheim, the dwelling of giants, and beneath it is Mímisbrunnr, the Well of Wisdom and Knowledge. The third root extends deep into Niflheim, the realm of mist, and beneath its root is the Niflheim Well and a Black Dragon named 'Níðhöggr' that constantly gnaws at the roots. It continuously bites the roots until one day, when it finally bites through the tree, Ragnarök will come."
As Schmidt muttered information about the World Tree to himself, his hand lightly brushed over the three main root systems.
It finally landed on the Black Dragon 'Níðhöggr,' and as if by some strange impulse, he pressed on the Black Dragon's slightly protruding eye.
"Click!" A soft sound.
The relief carving revealed a square gap, and then that square object slightly popped out. Schmidt gripped the square box with both hands and gently pulled it out.
The old man's mouth twitched involuntarily when he saw the square box in Schmidt's hand.
Schmidt turned around, glanced at the old man, and then held the box with one hand. On the other hand, he gently lifted the lid.
As the box opened, an icy blue light shone on Schmidt's face, making him appear even more terrifying.
"The Führer is still digging up junk in the desert," Schmidt glanced at the old man and continued, "You've certainly never seen this, have you?"
"This is not for mortals to see," the old man warned.
"Exactly," Schmidt said confidently, and then he closed the lid back, the wooden box perfectly concealing the Tesseract's light again, with not a single ray escaping.
This wooden box could perfectly conceal the Tesseract's radiation and block detection, so it should also be a wondrous item.
For thousands of years, the church's caretakers probably only served as guardians; it was the material of the wooden box that ensured the Tesseract wouldn't be found.
Schmidt held the mother box in his left hand and walked towards the collapsed church door. After taking the military cap from a soldier and putting it on, he ordered, "Order the fire."
The old man, standing in the middle of the church, knew it was irreversible, so he finally warned, "Foolish, you cannot control that power, you are playing with fire!"
Schmidt stopped, turned back to the old man, and said, "I've already played with fire." He then pulled out a pistol from his waist, and with a "bang," the old man fell, blood splattering on the HYDRA emblem on Schmidt's chest, making it appear even more hideous.
Looking at the old man lying on the ground, Schmidt expressionlessly gently smoothed his slightly relaxed face with his right hand.
As the cannon fire began, another village disappeared under Hydra's brutality.
Meanwhile, in New York, at the enlistment office.
"Michael O'Connor."
"Henry Kaminsky."
Young men waiting for the next round of physical examinations sat quietly on benches, reading newspapers.
The newspapers reported the cruel realities of the European battlefield, with large numbers of civilians dying in the war.
"Oh God, so many people have died!" Steve, waiting for his physical on the seat, said to the person next to him.
Just then, "Steven Rogers," it was Steve's turn.
The person next to him joked with a smile, "Are you getting cold feet now?"
"No," Steve stood up, neatly folded the newspaper, placed it on the stool, and answered firmly.
And Steve, shirtless and unusually thin, stood out remarkably in a room full of muscular men; even the person who had just spoken to him showed a surprised look.
Rogers looked at the officer calling out names, feeling very anxious. Although he had finally convinced his mother, Sarah, to sign the enlistment form, both of them knew it was because his mother knew that with his numerous congenital diseases, he wouldn't pass the physical examination.
However, Steve still resolutely came to the enlistment office, just for that sliver of hope.
"Rogers," the examining officer looked at the physical examination report in his hand, as if disbelievingly, and then looked up at the thin young man in front of him.
After flipping through the file again, he said, "What did your father die from?"
"Mustard gas, a biochemical weapon prevalent in World War I. He worked in a bakery back in Brooklyn, but he served in the 107th Infantry Regiment before that. He survived the war, came home, and saved just enough for me and my mother to live decently. The gas stayed with him, though... he died slowly, when I was twelve. My mother got sick soon after. I also hope to be assigned to..." Steve answered earnestly.
But before Steve could finish, the examining officer interrupted, "Nurse."
The examining officer looked at the series of medical records in the file: scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, chronic or acute typhoid, high blood pressure, palpitations, fatigue, heart disease, etc.
Then he looked up at Steve and said, "I'm sorry, kid. Your mother must have told you that you're not fit for the army."
"Please give me a chance first!" Steve pleaded sincerely.
"Just the asthma alone is a disqualifier," the examining officer said.
"Can't you do something?" Steve was still trying to get the examining officer to make an exception.
"I am doing something," the examining officer glanced at Steve, then picked up the stamp next to him, stamped "4F" (unqualified) on the file, and continued, "I'm saving you."
Steve could only walk out of the physical examination line in disappointment.
"Hey, Steve, how did it go?" Bucky, who had come with him, stood up and said.
"Disqualified," Steve replied.
"Expected, isn't it? Aunt Lisa told you before," Bucky said.
"Alright, you go back to the line. I have something to do, so I'm leaving first." With that, Steve didn't wait for Bucky's reply, put on his shirt, and walked out of the enlistment office.
Inside the Room of Requirement on Hogwarts Island
George sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, meditating. Unlike the sitting meditation of Kamar-Taj, during George's meditation, a chaotic energy sphere would appear between his hands and continuously rotate.
This was a training method George had developed after long-term meditation practice.
As he learned more skills, George realized that Chaos Energy was his true foundation, and various techniques were merely branches and leaves on a tree.
With the increase in energy collection in recent years, George found that his control over the energy within the chaos pearl was deteriorating. This change was not only in precision but also in quantity.
For example, before, it was a bowl of water, and George could use it however he wanted.
But now, the energy within the chaos pearl had become as vast as a pond, yet George could only control so much water.
This was something George could not accept. George had always believed that only the power he could control was truly his own, so after discovering the problem, besides meditating every day, George also increased his training in energy control.
Increasing energy control had another benefit: as George's sensory abilities expanded, he could now instantly sense anyone across North America who had been marked by him.
With just a thought, George could not only teleport to the mark's location but also directly control the energy within the mark to self-destruct.
It could be said that anyone marked would never be able to betray him in their lifetime. Even after death, their soul would return to the Chaos Space, becoming a part of Chaos Energy—this was a change brought about by the Speed Force's properties.
This was also the result of experiments after losing over a dozen Shades. Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to imbue the other party with energy first.
A few days later, Steve, who had tried to enlist multiple times, returned home to find his mother preparing to go out.
"Hi, Mom, uh, are you going to work?" Steve asked with a hint of apprehension.
"Where have you been these past few days, Steve? Don't tell me you were with Bucky." His mother returned to the sofa and sat down, looking at Steve sternly as she spoke.
"Sorry for making you worry, Mom. I left a note before I left," Steve came to the sofa, took his mother's hand, and said.
"Are you trying to deceive me with a lie? That girl would let you go camping with her, you tell me," Sarah said, still angry.
"Uh, I went to other places to try and enlist," Steve said, no longer hiding it.
"Sigh, Steve, you know your own body. So, please stop having such unrealistic fantasies, okay? Find a job that's also contributing to the war," Sarah said, her tone softening.
"Alright, I have to go to work. You can go out for a walk, watch a movie or something, and wait for me to come back." Sarah finished, picked up her bag, and left.
At the movie theater, Steve chose a war film called "Mrs. Miniver," produced by SilverLine Films Studio, directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and others.
Set against the backdrop of World War II, the film tells the story of how a middle-class family protected their home during the war.
Also showing was "To Be or Not to Be," also a SilverLine Films production.
Inside the movie theater, before the film began, a recruitment advertisement filmed for enlistment was shown. For Steve, who longed to join the army, even such a short film introducing the battlefield was enjoyable to watch.
Just then, a discordant voice rang out. "Who cares about this? Just start the movie!"
"Show some respect," Steve, who disapproved of the man's behavior, spoke up to stop him.
Less than two minutes later, as the screen showed brave soldiers on the European battlefield, wounded and lying on stretchers while defending their country, the man in the front row shouted again, "Enough! Stop it! Start the movie!"
The shouting attracted the attention of most people in the cinema, but no one was willing to speak up and stop him.
Only Steve said, "Hey, shut up."
Perhaps Steve's words directly angered the other party, who immediately stood up and turned to face Steve. His burly and strong body was quite intimidating.
In the alley behind the movie theater, the strong man directly punched Steve on the left face. The scrawny Steve was no match for the strong man, and he was knocked down with one punch.
However, Steve immediately got back up, clenched his fists again, and charged at the other party. The man also did not hold back and landed another punch on Steve's shoulder. Steve stumbled and fell onto a nearby trash can. Struggling to stand up, Steve instinctively picked up the trash can lid as a shield.
The man snatched the trash can lid, threw it away, and punched Steve down again. This time, Steve was a little slower to get up. After standing, Steve stretched his arm.
The man opposite him saw this and said, "You just won't give up, will you?"
Steve squared his stance and, with heavy breathing, said, "I can do this all day." He then charged at the man again.
This time, the man did not hold back. He blocked Steve's attacking right hand, clenched his right fist, and landed a heavy punch on Steve's face. Steve was knocked to the ground once again.
Just as the man was about to lean down and continue his attack, his arm was grabbed directly by someone.
"Okay, Little tough boy, get the fuck out of here, or you'll be getting a piece of this." Saying that, he pulled the strong man to the other side of the alley and shielded Steve behind him. The newcomer was Bucky, dressed in a military uniform.
The strong man still tried to rush over and punch Bucky. Bucky dodged by stepping aside, then retaliated with a punch that made the man stumble. Bucky then kicked the man from behind, sending him forward a few steps. Seeing that he couldn't beat Bucky, the man took the opportunity to leave the alley.
Bucky watched the man leave the alley, then turned back and walked towards Steve. He said as he walked, "Sometimes I think you just like getting beaten up."
"I was about to beat him," Steve replied.
Bucky picked up the dropped papers on the ground, and after seeing the contents, he said, "How many times are you going to do this? This time it's from Paramus! Do you know it's illegal to falsify enlistment forms?" Seeing Steve tending to his injuries, he continued, "And even New Jersey, really?"
At this point, Steve noticed Bucky's military uniform and said, "Did you get your orders?"
"107th Infantry Regiment, Sergeant James Barnes, sailing for England tomorrow morning."
Steve lowered his head in thought for a moment and said, "I should be going too."
"Come on, buddy. My last night before joining the army, let's get you a new outfit first," Bucky said, putting an arm around Steve's shoulder.
"What, Oi wait, where are we going?"
"The future," he said, handing over a newspaper. The front page of the newspaper read "World of Tomorrow Expo."
"Master Orwell, it's almost time," the butler, Fred, said softly outside the bedroom.
"Alright, I'll be right down," George replied.
Then he turned to Alice, who was still in her loungewear, and asked, "My dear, are you sure you're not coming?"
Alice put down her book, walked up to George, and straightened his already neat tie, replying, "I'm not interested in those things. You go by yourself."
Just then, Yui emerged from the adjacent room, still tying the sash of her robe. She looked at George, then at Alice, and said, "I'm not going either. You two enjoy yourselves with your Expo and investors. I'll be here when you're back."
George chuckled faintly, glancing between the two women. "And here I thought one of you would at least make it halfway down the hallway with me."
Alice smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "We did more than enough last night. Go, before Fred faints."
"Alright, I'll wait for you both tonight," George said, giving Alice a light kiss on the lips, then looking over to Yui with a nod. She simply smirked and waved him off.
George opened the bedroom door and said to Fred, "I'll drive myself tonight. You don't need to arrange for anyone to follow me."
"What??"
"Wait, no Master Orwell!!"
"Master Orwell?!"
"And there he goes again."
Fred stood in the hall, watching George disappear down the corridor. He let out a long sigh.
One of the Iron Guards who had been standing silently nearby turned his head in sync with Fred, matching his blank expression.
"Remind me again what we're here for?" the guard asked dryly.
Fred didn't even blink. "Protection."
"And what are we doing?"
Fred shrugged. "Nothing."
The guard gave a suppressed chuckle. "Exactly. Come on, let's get something to drink. I heard Martha's trying some new recipe, she says."
Fred paused, eyes narrowing. "Wait—Martha? Oh, hell no. She cooks poison, man."
"Oh yeah? And you're the one to say that? When everyone from the castle to the whole island knows: good little Fred loves the poison lady."
Fred blinked. "Wait... really? But I never told anyone—"
"Come on, man, we're soldiers above soldiers. You ain't hiding nothin' from us."
Fred groaned. "Fuck you, man. Fuck you and your super-element nonsense. The kids are already a pain in the ass with their elemental cores implanted, and now you too?"
The guards burst into loud laughter.
"Come on, let's go. Tonight I'm setting you up for a date."
Fred muttered under his breath, "I swear if I end up in her kitchen again, I'm not coming out alive..."
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