Having dealt with Phineas Horton, Lynn did not allow himself even a moment of respite.
That Underground Room, filled with chemical reagents and the dreams of madmen, was merely an inconspicuous anchor point in his grand blueprint.
Foreseer Pharmaceuticals.
This company, which occupied a vast area in New Jersey and ostensibly engaged in conventional pharmaceutical research and production, was his true lair.
Passing through layers of security and the P4 laboratory that served as a cover, a private elevator hidden behind a sterile workstation took him three hundred meters underground.
The metal door slid open silently.
A circular space appeared before him, with cold white light strips outlining highly futuristic lines.
Here, there was only the humming server matrix.
This was his kingdom.
A nerve center that never saw the light of day, yet could extend its tentacles to every corner of the World.
Lynn took off his coat, tossed it onto the armrest, and walked straight to the core area of the Base.
There, a strangely shaped machine stood silently.
It did not resemble any known computer; countless thick cables extended from its main body, connecting into the depths of the walls like the blood vessels of a giant beast. The entire machine exuded a kind of violent aesthetics that transcended the era.
prometheus.
The name Lynn had given it.
This was Howard Stark's masterpiece and the product of his arrogance.
Lynn still remembered how he had spoken to that genius in front of Stark some time ago.
"Howard, I have a concept, a machine capable of analyzing and reconstructing all known data models, but its complexity..."
He had deliberately paused at that moment, continuing in a tone of regret.
"Sigh, it's too advanced. In this World, I guess only a future version of you could make it a reality?"
This sentence had stirred up Stark's almost pathological competitiveness.
"A future version of me?"
Howard Stark, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, sprang up from the leather sofa on the spot.
He pointed at Lynn's nose.
"Fuck the future! Are you saying I can't build it now?"
Stark slammed the design blueprints onto the table right then and there.
"Give me a week, and I'll build it for you right now!"
Thus, this monster, into which Stark had poured all his efforts and whose computing power far exceeded the sum of all computers of this era, was secretly transported here.
Poor Howard still thought this machine was used to analyze war bond sales data and public opinion models.
A genius's brain is sometimes just that easy to use.
Lynn stood before "prometheus" and took out the military hard drive wrapped in oilcloth from his inner pocket.
The greatest trophy of his trip to Europe.
It was the cornerstone of the technological empire he was building.
The insane knowledge of HYDRA, which was decades ahead of the World, lay silently inside this inconspicuous black square.
He inserted the hard drive into the host's interface.
"Click."
A soft sound, like a key entering a keyhole.
He had already planned everything.
Using these technologies to arm the "Foreseer" company, letting it become a true technological behemoth.
"Hum—"
"prometheus" started up, its low running sound echoing in the empty Base.
The main screen of the console lit up.
Lynn's breathing slowed down a little.
The massive data stream and complex folder lists he had expected did not appear on the screen.
Only a patch of blinding static.
A few seconds later, the static disappeared, and a clear image popped up.
Johann Schmidt.
That scarlet skull head occupied the entire screen.
He sat leisurely on a black throne, with the octopus emblem of HYDRA in the background.
A playful smile graced Red Skull's scarlet face, like a chess player savoring the expression of an opponent who had fallen into a trap.
"To the friend who can see this video, congratulations."
Schmidt spoke.
"You have successfully caught my attention."
He leaned forward slightly, as if he could see through the screen to Lynn standing there.
"Playing with that piece of art, Soldier Boy, in the palm of your hand, and even making him a god worshipped by the public. A brilliant maneuver, a delightful kind of intelligence."
Lynn said nothing, just watched silently.
"So, don't bother."
Schmidt spread his hands, revealing a posture that said "everything is under control."
"There is nothing in this hard drive. It is merely a beacon, an... invitation from a higher civilization."
"HYDRA welcomes talent like you, not those fools who only know how to follow orders."
"Join us."
His voice was filled with a seductive tone.
"Your position will be below me, but above all others. Together, we will witness a new World ruled by Superman. The decaying order of the old World will be buried by our own hands."
The video ended there.
Schmidt's image vanished, and the screen went dark.
Immediately, a line of German lit up in the center of the screen, followed by an English translation below it.
"Schwäche muss sich verstecken. Ich erwarte den Tag, an dem du vor mir stehst."
"Weakness must hide. I await the day you stand before me."
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Lynn's face darkened completely, illuminated by the ghostly light of the screen.
The fury of being played like a monkey surged from the soles of his feet straight to his skull.
He was not angry that his plan had failed, nor was he angry about returning empty-handed.
He was furious at Johann Schmidt's high-and-mighty attitude, as if a god were looking down on ants and bestowing a "favor" upon one that had piqued his slight interest!
Recruitment?
The word itself was the greatest insult!
"Bang!"
Lynn slammed his fist hard onto the metal console.
"Very well."
He squeezed two words through his teeth.
"You have successfully angered me."
He turned around, no longer looking at the provocative text, and began to pace back and forth in the empty Base.
"Weakness must hide..."
He repeated the sentence in a low voice, then let out a short, light chuckle.
"Then, what does that make you, a guy who hides in the depths of The Alps and doesn't even dare to show his face?"
"You await the day I stand before you?"
Lynn laughed, and this time, it was a genuine laugh.
The laughter echoed in the empty Base, filled with madness.
"Fine, I will."
"I will walk before you, tear off that ridiculous mask of yours, twist off that Red Skull head, and use it as a wine cup!"
Since he couldn't steal it...
Then he would create it with his own hands!
Create an empire that surpassed HYDRA, surpassed Stark, and surpassed all forces of this era—an empire that truly belonged only to him!
Lynn walked back to the console, looking at the line of German.
"Wait for me, Johann Schmidt."
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