Chapter 4863: Wondrous Shadows, Marvelous Drama (Seven)

Shiler handed Steve a nano-camera and an invisible earpiece, then said to him, "I've done this for Tony too, too bad he didn't appreciate it. Hope you'll be a bit better."

Steve laughed, put the earpiece on his ear, and said, "Trust me. Once you see them, you'll turn into a vicious movie roaster, completely forgetting about guiding and reminding me."

Shiler didn't believe Steve's words at first. He had almost never faced the military directly; on the rare occasions he ran into them, their attitude wasn't bad either. Though they might think one thing and say another, at least they'd keep up appearances. For people like that, tearing off the mask was too undignified.

But he hadn't expected that this bunch would treat Captain America with a completely different attitude.

"Why are you so late?" An admiral stood before the table, frowning at Steve. "Is half an hour not enough for you to get here from anywhere in New York?"

Steve looked like he couldn't be bothered to speak to him, but Shiler was fuming. He said into the earpiece, "What the hell? Is he crazy? Why's he talking to you like that?"

Steve sneered but didn't explain. Right after, another, slightly younger admiral spoke up: "Why didn't you take your son to the hospital for a physical? Aren't you afraid he'll mix with those mutants one day and ruin everything?"

"Hiss..." Shiler sucked in a sharp breath. "What the hell's a physical? What are they trying to pull?"

Steve typed on his phone under the table for him to see. Shiler glanced at it; Steve had sent a message: "They want little Thomas to undergo a physical examination, figure out what his mutant ability is, find out if it's because of the Super Soldier Serum's influence that he became a mutant..."

"And their plan is to demand you hand your own son over to their designated hospital as a lab rat?" Shiler was genuinely shocked.

Of course, he knew full well there were indeed some shameless people in the military. They had no moral bottom line, viewed everyone as sacrificial lambs, but when it came to themselves they'd scheme every which way to survive — typical militarist fanatic conspirators.

But he truly hadn't expected this bunch could be arrogant to this degree. That was Captain America; how could they possibly think he was still the puppet they could manipulate at will?

There are always some extraordinary figures in this world who can effortlessly overturn sociological and psychological theories. Just when you think some extraordinary figures are extraordinary enough, even more extraordinary ones step out to tell you that you've still seen too little.

Having been here this long, Shiler had seen plenty of extraordinary figures. Over a dozen years later, he could still encounter new species — no wonder Steve had that reaction before.

Their words and actions had no logic whatsoever. Even if you don't consider Captain America's reputation, you should consider his power. Even if Captain America can't easily kill them, crippling them halfway wouldn't be a problem. Do they really have that much sacrificial spirit, willing to trade the rest of their lives for a handle on Captain America?

Shiler felt it definitely wasn't that. This kind of stupidity can't be faked. They absolutely weren't provoking Captain America for some interest or purpose; they genuinely looked down on Steve Rogers from the bottom of their hearts.

They didn't even treat Captain America as a subordinate or grunt, but simply as a tool. Though they were adept at treating everything as tools, if they didn't even keep up appearances, it was less a tool and more like trash.

"Because I don't listen to them." Steve sent a message. "From the day I woke up, I've continuously broken free of their control, and they've continuously tried to control me. We're both used to it by now."

Shiler understood a bit. The military and those politicians were actually different. Politicians were very good at using soft tactics, or rather, their most common method was carrot and stick. As long as they could achieve their goal, they'd guarantee you full emotional value, coaxing you was no problem.

But the military was different. Their methods were usually only hardline and harder-line. Take how they treated some scientists — clearly a slight twist of facts, a talk of patriotism, or even just a bit more money wouldn't have so many unwilling, but they just had to send people to forcibly seize them, not caring at all if the other side would slack off or outright sabotage things.

Thinking carefully, this was also a kind of path dependence. Because a hardline attitude was the foundation of the US military's standing. They could never show weakness, not even negotiate. A sufficiently hardline attitude brought sufficient pressure, which helped them maintain hegemony.

Still that saying: when certain things become discussable, it actually means hegemony no longer exists. And to maintain hegemony, naturally they cannot discuss, let alone coax.

Same with Captain America. You don't listen to me, I'll find ways to persecute you, strike you, until you bow your head to us. Cooperation is impossible, persuasion can't even be opened. Just determined to treat you as a tool, determined to bring out an arrogant attitude to toy with at will, until you yield.

But unfortunately, Steve was also a hard bone. The military's tactics didn't work on him, but this bunch could no longer turn back. From the moment they made a move, it was either you die or I die. Going to bow and make peace now would waste everything.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Shiler asked. Even he was shocked by the military's attitude, showing how tightly Steve had concealed it.

Steve wasn't a saint either; he'd complained privately about some things — economic pressure, little Thomas being too naughty, Nick not giving Carter leave, and so on. But this one thing, he hadn't said a single word, and hid it airtight; even Shiler didn't know.

"Then why didn't you investigate?" Steve replied by text.

Shiler was left speechless. Not because of Steve's righteous confidence, but because he genuinely felt a bit guilty.

As everyone knows, Steve's relationship with the military was ambiguous. He was a US soldier, had stood for the US military during WWII, recruited through tours. The Captain America image's copyright was still held by the military, and many people tacitly accepted they were one and the same.

Steve couldn't come out and say "I'm not a US soldier, I don't belong to the US military" — that would hurt many people's national and ethnic sentiments. And he himself wouldn't deny being a soldier; as long as he acknowledged being a soldier, he couldn't separate from the military.

For this reason, none of the friends around him ever dug deep into what his relationship with the military actually was. Because if Steve had some connections with the military, that was perfectly normal, not something to be blamed for.

Just like before, that Roxxon Corporation that stirred up a big mess also had business dealings with Stark Industries. But no one could rush into Tony Stark's office and demand to know how he could cooperate with such an unscrupulous company. Because everyone knew business dealings between two North American industrial giants were unavoidable. It wasn't Stark's fault at all.

So even Shiler hadn't investigated what private dealings Steve had with the military, how much he knew of their plans, or whether he'd still done propaganda for them. Because even if those things existed, they weren't Steve's fault.

Everyone deeply knew you cannot treat friends the way you treat enemies. Prying into someone's privacy and conducting a thorough investigation hoping to get leverage on them is how you treat enemies. With friends, even if you inadvertently glimpse their privacy, you should stand in their shoes as much as possible, think of their difficulties, show understanding and tolerance, at least provide some emotional support. Steve's friends did exactly that.

Shiler had indeed intentionally ignored the military. Anyway, these people couldn't stir up too much trouble, and could still contribute a bit in interstellar combat, which was why he was shocked by the military's current attitude.

"I know you're angry, but don't be angry yet." Steve sent a message. "I'm not even angry, just feel like laughing a bit."

"I can totally imagine what your mood would be like after waking up and seeing a bunch of junk like this." Shiler was laughed-angry.

Steve's situation was a bit like: only a white moonlight that dies early stays a white moonlight; if it lives too long it rots. If America had died in the Cold War, Steve would now be wearing mourning with a heart full of grief, the most loyal widow of this great nation.

Unfortunately, America lingered on until today, to the point where Steve couldn't even generate much grief. Whether for this country or his own experience, he really just wanted to laugh now.

Thinking back to fighting desperately in Berlin, perishing together with Red Skull, sacrificing the best decades of his life, only to protect this kind of thing — anyone who could keep a straight face would be a god.

"What are you thinking? Rogers?" Another lieutenant general shouted. "Who are you chatting with?"

Steve didn't even raise his head: "You'd better not be thinking of snatching my phone. Your proud Super Soldier Serum is indeed useful; whoever dares come at me, I'll twist his head off."

That lieutenant general immediately took a huge breath, clearly infuriated. Shiler cheered in the earpiece: "So cool, Cap, I'm saying it's so cool!"

That lieutenant general was shut down by one sentence from Steve. That admiral was just about to speak when a voice rang out at the door: "Am I late?"

Steve looked up, and both he and Shiler behind the camera froze for an instant. A young Steve Rogers stood at the doorway, smiling as brilliantly as the night before marching to the battlefield. Those eyes were bluer than now, even carrying a hint of youthful moisture, radiating a strong, powerful vitality.

The era when Steve had just finished the enhancement — he carried a rare, youthful, green adolescence. Because clearly just one night before he was still a skinny, unpopular poor kid, and in a blink became an All-American handsome guy. Because he fundamentally hadn't adapted to this change, his "handsome without knowing it" was natural. And most people are even more handsome when they're handsome without knowing it.

That handsome, sunny post-enhancement appearance, paired with his slightly bewildered and unconfident shy temperament, was simply lethal to men, women, old, and young alike. No idea how Mephisto investigated, but he perfectly imitated this appearance and temperament, leaving even Steve himself staring in a daze.

"Congratulations on winning second place in the Captain America Lookalike Contest, Steve." Shiler teased in the earpiece. "I'll take a photo later and send it to Bucky; he'll definitely jump out of his skin."

"Absolutely not. If Natasha sees, I'm done for."

"Afraid of what? If she comes looking, she'll go after Mephisto. When the time comes, let this devil see what 'walk the night road too long and you'll run into a ghost' means."