The Death Knell

The car slowly drove into an inconspicuous alley. There are many places like this in Brooklyn. There were hurried pedestrians on the street, and there were also some children playing a ball-throwing game on the road.

The surrounding floors are low and full of classical charm. Those ancient windows have witnessed too many changes in the city.

The street was a little damp. It seemed like it had rained yesterday. Steve breathed the familiar air and followed Carter out of the car.

They walked into a street shop called 'Brooklyn Antique Shop'. There were some vases and lamps in the shop window. They were indeed covered with dust, but Steve couldn't be sure if they were antiques.

Several men in hats were reading newspapers at the door of the store, looking like idle men on the street. However, they looked up at Carter before looking elsewhere, indicating that they were also agents.

Carter took Steve and pushed open the store door directly. There were no customers here. In the dim light, there was only an old woman guarding the store. A lot of old-fashioned pendulum clocks were hung on the surrounding walls.

She was white-haired but energetic, with a friendly smile on her face. She adjusted her pink sweater and greeted the guests with a standard British opening.

"It's a nice day this morning, isn't it?"

Carter spoke the code word: "Yeah, but I always go out with an umbrella."

The old lady smiled, reached under the counter and groped around. Her old hand passed over a Chicago typewriter and pressed a hidden button next to it.

After that, the three of them had no communication. Peggy took Steve and opened the curtain and walked to the back room. After a row of bookshelves opened, a secret corridor appeared.

Countless soldiers with military police insignia were on duty inside, and many doctors and nurses in white coats were walking around hurriedly.

Steve followed Peggy curiously and walked in. Behind the door at the end of the corridor was a huge laboratory.

A huge, iron coffin-like device was placed in the center of the venue, just below the entrance platform, and it was surrounded by a circle of tall instruments that were incomprehensible at all, with various instruments and the ability to spit out notes. of opening.

Steve saw Dr. Erskine looking at him from below. Not far away, he also spotted an acquaintance, Howard Stark, who had a mustache but a rare serious expression. He was busy debugging equipment. Spotted Steve's arrival.

Steve looked at Agent Carter beside him, and Peggy sighed secretly. This experiment actually had unknown risks. The biggest problem was that she didn't know whether Steve could persist in the huge pain.

She turned her head away, feeling a little unbearable, but she was also a soldier and had to act according to orders.

Peggy led Steve down the stairs. Steve's eyes kept falling on the huge equipment in the middle of the venue. Fortunately, it just looked like a coffin when viewed from above. After walking down, this thing looked like a coffin. An Indian canoe.

It's just that it's made of metal, and there are many small spiral light bulbs inside.

"Good morning." Dr. Erskine shook hands with Steve seriously, but suddenly a flashlight suddenly lit up next to him. It was a military reporter who recorded the scene, but the doctor was not very happy: "Not now, Please don’t rush to take photos.”

Peggy quickly arranged her hair. She didn't know if she was still staring at Steve's back when she was taking the photo. It would be embarrassing if it was recorded...

The doctor looked at Steve again. This little man didn't match the cold steel room around him at all, and he still had a confused expression on his face.

"are you ready?"

Steve glanced at the machine again. This thing bloomed like a flower next to it, revealing an inner cabin that could accommodate an adult man. It was obviously prepared for him.

He nodded.

Erskine knew that Steve had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time: "Very well, then take off your hat, shirt and tie, and then lie down."

Steve turned to look at Carter. Carter didn't know what to say. Although this experiment had huge risks, she knew that this was Steve's long-cherished wish.

He was willing to take the gamble, and Carter believed he could succeed. This man was the most likely man on earth to succeed.

Steve began to take off his clothes and handed the clothes and hat to the nurse on the side. Regardless of success or failure, he probably wouldn't be able to use this military uniform.

If it succeeds, this dress will definitely be too small. If it fails...what kind of clothes can I wear with a pile of minced meat?

Especially when he saw Howard busy over there, and when he thought about the car at the expo that day, he always felt that it was not so reliable...

At this time, Colonel Philip was busy receiving his guests. In the observation room above the laboratory, he invited the main sponsors of the Legion to visit the transformation process. The Legion needed more funds, and these were the sponsors.

Whether it's a personal donation or a federal grant, it doesn't matter if it's money.

"Senator Brandt, welcome." He shook someone's hand warmly, with a smile on his face.

"Why did you call me here?" The man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties shook hands with him perfunctorily and asked arrogantly.

Philip secretly spat, but he still forced a smile on his face and approached the senator: "We need to connect to the New York power grid. Of course, if you can give me the generator I applied for last time... ....”

The senator interrupted him savagely: "Colonel, many departments are now applying for funds. They are developing bombers, larger warships and tanks. Those can actually be seen."

He waved a young man wearing glasses over and introduced to Philip: "This is..."

The young man took the congressman's words with a gentle expression and introduced himself to the colonel: "Fred Kremson, on behalf of the federal government, if your plan succeeds, the federal government will support you with greater strength."

While the colonel was having a relationship with the young man, the congressman was also looking at the laboratory. He was condescending, looking through the glass of the observation room at the experimental table below, where Steve was taking off his clothes and lying down, revealing his skinny body. Rugged body.

He was so thin that he looked like a skeleton wrapped in skin. The senator probably knew the effect of the experiment. If it succeeded, the consumptive man would become a super muscular man.

This made the senator unconsciously shout the name of God: "My Jesus, this little man really hit the jackpot."

Steve didn't know that the people above were looking at him. He lay down on the test platform with firm belief. Fortunately, there was thick leather under his body instead of cold metal, but even so, there were signs of pain on his thin arms. I got goosebumps all over my body.

Dr. Erskine moved closer to him and adjusted the straps on the test table. The experiment needed to tie Steve down, otherwise the huge pain during the process would make anyone struggle violently unconsciously.

"how do you feel?"

Steve smiled, moved his shoulders, and tried his best to put his head on the pillow. He looked at the gray ceiling: "Fortunately, this bed is too big for me. The wine last time Do you still keep it?"

The doctor smiled and made a comforting expression: "Sorry, there is only a little left, maybe not enough for you in the future."

Steve also smiled: "Then next time, I know where there is enough wine in New York."