Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 326 7. Always by my side

Secrets are nasty things.

Merlin, who was looking for clues in the basement, once again deeply understood this truth.

When he and Ms. Carter first met, in his eyes, Ms. Carter was just a kinder old lady.

Then he went to work in S.H.I.E.L.D., and the image of Ms. Carter became a powerful master agent, and then Ms. Carter and old Steve "eloped", and the image of Ms. Carter became a secret agent hiding secrets. old hag.

You see, things like secrets always make people look hideous.

Of course, complaints are complaints, and what should be done is still to be done.

In the basement under the house where Ms. Carter lived for several years, Merlin found a lot of documents that were visited in chronological order, including the contents of most of the major events that happened in the entire world from after World War II to the 20s summary.

Merlin found many interesting things in it.

For example, the leader of the mutants, Magneto King Eric Lanciel, who can manipulate magnetism, is hated by government agencies and is constantly hunted down, not only because of his dangerous ideas, but also because Magneto has participated in the campaign against President Kennedy. Assassination.

For example, in the 70s, Ms. Carter had contact with the sea people, and she also helped a fleeing Atlantis princess. It is said that the princess fell in love with a mortal and was hunted down by the sea people. Then he escaped by feigning death with the help of Ms. Carter.

Wait, how is this story so similar to the story of little Arthur's parents in Maine?

Is it already a tradition of the Atlantis royal family that the princess of the sea people likes the land people and elopes?

For another example, the North American government loathes Magneto so much, but has never killed the Brotherhood of Mutants behind him. It is not simply because the Brotherhood of Mutants is powerful, or because earlier, Magneto and Professor X once Teamed up to stop the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was only a hair's breadth away.

In other words, the leader of the mutants has saved human civilization that was almost caught in a war of destruction.

Seeing the records of these secret events with one's own eyes is like walking in a real historical corridor in person. The feeling of ingesting secrets dispelled Merlin's doubts in his heart.

But he didn't forget his purpose of coming here.

He put all those documents in his pocket, and while retrieving other materials, he continued to search in this basement. In this dark basement, he said to himself:

"Maybe when you have nothing to do, you can use these secret files as city lace tabloids. It's also good to relieve boredom."

After a while, Merlin had something to gain. He took out some of Ms. Carter's diaries from a box.

Well, as an agent, the habit of keeping a diary is really bad.

Merlin still remembered that when Tony Stark searched for his traces all over the world, he finally found clues from Ms. Carter's calendar.

But how?

Considering that Ms. Carter is old and her memory is declining, in order to prevent herself from forgetting some important things, it makes sense to record them in the form of a diary.

Not everyone wants to take their secrets to the grave.

What's more, from Merlin's point of view, Ms. Carter's diary does not seem to be so simple, she seems to be deliberately leaving clues, maybe she foresaw some not so good things.

Merlin leaned against the darkness, and he opened the diary in his hand.

"1989.8.14:"

"Michelle Carson has a problem. He presided over an unauthorized operation a few months ago, trying to steal the Pym particles that Pym regarded as a treasure. As a result, he was discovered, which directly caused Pym and Howard I feel more and more that this may be a well-designed conspiracy to split the two think tanks of the Strategic Science Corps."

"I'm really getting more and more sluggish. The effect of the SSS serum is undoubtedly declining. I should have discovered this fact earlier, but it's too late. Pim can't listen to any explanation, and Janet's tragedy is overwhelmed His mind has made him more cynical and his behavior has become more and more extreme. Perhaps Pierce's suggestion is correct and it is a good thing to let Pym go."

"But Michelle, he left his job a month ago, but now he has become the legal manager of a technology company...Maybe he was corrupted by money, what a pity."

This diary entry seems to be about Pim Hank's break with the Strategic Science Corps, and Merlin knows the whole story.

But in Ms. Carter's diary, there was an SSS serum potion that Merlin had never heard of, which made him a little puzzled and curious.

He flipped back, and in a diary at the back, he found information related to the SSS serum.

"1989.8.29:"

"SSS serum is still a problem, although Professor Berthold Sternberg warned us when he made the serum, this unstable serum may be invalid at any time. But now it seems that SSS The follow-up research plan of the medicine must be cancelled, Dr. Sternberg has been missing for several years, and no one can complete the incomplete formula he left behind, which he can't even understand."

"The smartest person I know, my good friend Howard told me to rest, he will find a way to treat me, but from Howard's eyes, I saw a trace of sadness, I know, I probably don't have much time."

"Steve came to see me in the middle of the night, I don't want him to see me suddenly aging like dying, but Steve doesn't care, I can feel the attachment and love in his eyes, which makes me feel happy .”

"I thought I would end up dying alone and thinking of him, but the good God brought him back to me. At my bedside, my Steve told me that he would save me. "

"Steve's resolute expression makes me a little worried, I can't guess what method he will use to save me, but maybe, he will take a risk for this, but he is old and is no longer the warrior he was when he was young. . . and I don't want him to be hurt by it."

"I voiced my concerns, but Steve told me that Howard would go with him? Did Howard already know the secret of Steve's existence? Or was Steve destined to tell him? Why would he do this? Do?"

A few questions at the end of this diary made Merlin stop reading.

If Howard Stark knew about old Steve's existence before he was alive, why didn't Steve come forward to save his friend when Howard was in crisis?

The former Captain America should not sit back and watch his friends be in danger.

Or... Howard Stark planned all of this?He plotted his death?

"No, it's not like that!"

Merlin shook his head, he analyzed:

"From this point of view, a more reasonable explanation should be that Howard Stark actually didn't die at all? The scene I saw with my own eyes was just a scene where I had a premonition of a crisis and thus escaped by feigning death?"

"That's interesting."

"It's a pity that this question is destined to be unanswered now. Whether it is old Steve or Howard Stark, they are all thoughtful people. If there is really some kind of secret between them, then unless I really Find them, otherwise it will be difficult for me to deduce the truth of the matter."

Merlin put this idea aside with some regret.

He continued to open the diary, looking at the contents further back.

"1991.2.12:"

"He is back!"

"It's like a ghost returning in the middle of the night. Steve, who has been more than a year old, looks dusty. He has become older than I remember, like a real old man, not a superhero."

"Steve told me that he found a way to save me. But I need to go to the ancient eastern country with him. It is said that in a certain mountain, a secret that has been passed down for thousands of meters is recorded."

"It is said that the original origin of the SSS serum is there, and if we can find the knowledge of that origin, maybe we will be able to produce the real SSS serum instead of the incomplete product that is extremely dangerous now."

"But it doesn't make me feel at ease!"

"As a person who deals with secrets, I know that exploring any secret has a price. Steve must have kept some important information from me, for example, how did he know the origin of the SSS serum? Who shared this secret For him?"

"I know that if I question Steve directly, he will definitely not tell me that sometimes he is innocent and stubborn like a child."

"We will leave in a week. I hope that during this trip, I can find the information Steve has hidden. I don't want my lover to take risks for me again."

"If it costs Steve a terrible price to live, then...I'd rather die."

"I hope all goes well."

"They should have found Daisy during this trip. Is this SSS serum related to aliens?"

Merlin suppressed the guessing in his heart, and he continued to turn the diary backwards. After skipping a few travel notes about Ms. Carter and old Steve, a few pages of the diary were torn off, which made Merlin frown.

The few pages that were torn out should be the specific process of their exploration in the ancient eastern country, but it seems that there are some secrets that Merlin cannot know.

On the next page, Merlin saw Ms. Carter's summary of that quest.

"1991.3.7:"

"We came back to New York after a long journey... the trip was tiring and dangerous."

"Hydra, the organization that I thought had disappeared long ago, actually appeared again. Although they lost their leader Red Skull, their power does not seem to be completely wiped out, but they have survived just like the Strategic Science Corps These decades."

"This is outright bad news."

"Both Steve and I are aware of the seriousness of the problem. If the will of the Hydra has always existed, it means that in the 'Paper Clip' operation that I hosted back then, some Hydra elements who were good at camouflage must have been absorbed. To the Strategic Science Corps."

"Before we found out, the seeds of darkness had already been planted in the thriving big tree. It was growing by absorbing the nutrients of the big tree, and eventually it would completely defeat us from the inside."

"If it weren't for this unexpected trip, the poisonous snakes hiding in the dark would have taken our place in the grand scheme of things, living in the sunshine freely, and wantonly transforming the world in the new century with economy and power."

"It's not good, it's too bad."

"Steve rushed to the base where the data of the 'Paper Clip' operation was stored without stopping, but I think it is too late to make up for the mistakes of the year."

"Perhaps at this moment, it is also the best choice to let the Strategic Science Corps disintegrate, but this matter must be done slowly, and a perfect opportunity must be found to let this organization that I have served all my life be taken by me. The fire that I lit with my own hands will be completely burned."

"After Steve's departure, I alone put the little Daisy we brought back to New York at the door of the St. Agnes Orphanage. This is a poor child. Although I don't know who burned down the mountain manor Why on earth are Hydra taking this kid, but if it's something Hydra needs, then I better not let them have it."

"I will create a false identity for this child, and I will do my best to protect her. Her life experience must be kept secret, and the kind nuns and priests in the St. Agnes Orphanage will raise her up."

"In March 1991, St. Agnes Orphanage, the baby who was placed at the door at night was a girl."

Merlin narrowed his eyes. There were not many children who met these three conditions, and the appearance of a child who had crossed paths with him and he had seen with his own eyes also appeared in front of his eyes.

"It's Ada."

"That doomed little Ida!"

"Jiaying's daughter, a foreigner who may destroy the world in the future... has always been by my side?"

At this moment, Merlin did not feel the impermanence of fate, on the contrary, he felt an indescribable horror.

The feeling that had appeared several times in the past resurfaced in his heart again.

"It was arranged...all of this was arranged."

Merlin closed his eyes and said:

"The chain is intertwined, how many secrets have you buried by my side?"

"Most importantly, what do you want me to do?"

His fingers subconsciously flipped through the diary in his hand, making it to the last page. This time, the time span was quite large, and another thing that surprised Merlin was recorded.

"1995.1.6:"

"I failed..."

"I underestimated the hidden power of Hydra, and I also underestimated Fury's obsession with maintaining order. Even though he had been informed in advance that the Strategic Science Corps would be split up, he was still unwilling to accept this. As a result, it also thwarted all my secret arrangements in reverse."

"But it's not his fault. For the sake of confidentiality, I didn't tell Fury the news of Hydra's reappearance. Maybe I made a mistake, but think about it carefully, let Fury persist in the group of enemies, It may be a better choice to constantly attract the attention of Hydra."

"At any time, an agent needs to have a hole card. Fury is in the open, and I am in the dark. After experiencing this incident, those hydra must be celebrating. Fury's new S.H.I.E.L.D. The snake's next hiding place."

"This is actually a good thing. It is too difficult to pull them out of the darkness one by one, but if they gather together, they may be able to catch all Hydra in a single precise capture operation! It's like putting down A sweet bait, waiting for the gathering of greedy fish."

"And Fury, who is stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat, may be able to give me a surprise. This agent recruited by me does have character flaws, but if he is sharp enough and collects enough information, maybe he can prevent the situation from deteriorating in advance."

"To be honest, being defeated by a 'student' whom I taught alone is not something that makes people feel happy, but the matter has come to this point, and there is nothing I can do."

"I'm going to 'disappear'."

"Only by jumping out of the deep quagmire can we have a better overview of the overall situation. But before leaving, I should choose a helper for Fury..."

"Old Steve suggested to me that maybe Merlin Riley, who was personally recruited by me and bears an unknown fate, is a very good candidate."

(End of this chapter)