Secrets are abominable things.

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

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

Then he entered S.H.E.L.D., and Ms. Carter's image became a powerful agent master. Then Ms. Carter "elopes" with old Steve, and Ms. Carter's image became an old witch with secrets hidden.

Look, things like secrets can always make people look hideous.

Of course, no matter how much you complain, you still have to do what you should do.

In the basement below the house where Ms. Carter lived for several years, Merlin found many documents arranged by time, including a summary of most major events that happened in the world from after World War II to the 1990s.

Merlin found a lot of interesting things in it.

For example, the leader of the mutant, Magneto Eric Lancheer, who can manipulate magnetism, is hated and constantly pursued by government agencies not only because of his dangerous thoughts, but also because Magneto has participated in the assassination of President Kennedy.

For example, Ms. Carter had contacted people under the sea in the 1970s, and she also helped a princess of Atlantis who fled. It is said that His Highness fell in love with a mortal, was chased by people under the sea, and then pretended to die and escape with the help of Ms. Carter.

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

Is it already a tradition for the Atlantis royal family to be the princess of the undersea likes landmen and elope?

For example, the North American government is so disgusted with Magneto, but never killed all the Mutant Brotherhood behind him. It is not simply because the Mutant Brotherhood is powerful, but because earlier, Magneto and Professor X joined forces to stop the Cuban missile crisis that was only a little bit away.

In other words, the mutant leader saved human civilization that was almost trapped in the war of destruction.

Seeing these secret events with your own eyes is like walking in a real historical corridor. The feeling of taking secrets dispersed a trace of doubt in Merlin's heart.

But he did not forget his purpose of coming here.

He put all the documents into his pocket, and while collecting other information, he continued to search in the basement. In this dark basement, he said to himself:

"Maybe when you are free, you can use these secret files as city gossip tabloids, which is also good to use to relieve boredom."

After a moment, Merlin gained something and he took out some Ms. Carter's diary from a box.

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

Merlin still remembers that Tony Stark was searching for his own traces all over the world, and finally the clues found from Ms. Carter's calendar.

But how to say it?

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

Not everyone wants to bring secrets to the grave.

What's more, from Merlin's perspective, Ms. Carter's diary seems to be not that simple. She seems to be deliberately leaving clues. Perhaps she foresees some unhealthy things.

Merlin leaned in the darkness and opened the diary in his hand.

“1989.8.14:”

"Mischur Carson has a problem. He presided over an unauthorized operation several months ago, trying to steal Pim's particles that Pim regarded as treasures, but was discovered, which directly led to a conflict between Pim and Howard. I now feel that this may be a well-designed conspiracy to split the two think tanks of the Strategic Science Legion."

"I'm really getting slower and slower. The effect of the sss serum is undoubtedly decreasing. I should have discovered this fact earlier, but it's too late. Pim couldn't listen to any explanation. Janet's tragedy broke his mind, making him more cynical and his behavior became more extreme. Perhaps Pierce's suggestion was correct, and it was a good thing to let Pim go."

"But Mithur, who left a month ago, has become the legal manager of a technology company, and may be a pity that he has been corrupted by money."

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

But in Ms. Carter's diary, a sss serum potion that Merlin had never heard of, which made him a little confused and curious.

He flipped backwards, and in a diary behind, he found information related to SS serum.

“1989.8.29:”

"There is indeed a problem with the ss serum. Although Professor Bettehold Stenberg warned us when he made the serum that this unstable serum may fail at any time. But now it seems that the follow-up study plan for the sss drug must be cancelled. Dr. Stenberg has been missing for several years, and no one can complete the incomplete or even unintelligible formula he left behind."

"The smartest person I know, my good friend Howard, asked me to rest well, and he would find a way to treat me, but from Howard's eyes, I saw a touch of sadness, and I knew that I probably had no more time."

"Steve came to me at midnight. I didn't want him to see me who suddenly aging like I was about to die, but Steve didn't care about this. I could feel the attachment and love in his eyes, which made me feel happy."

"I thought I would eventually live alone with my longing for him, but the kind God still let him return to me. By the side of my bed, my Steve told me that he would save me."

"Steve's determined expression made me a little worried. I couldn't guess what method he was going to save me, but maybe he would take risks for it, but he was old and no longer a warrior when he was young. I don't want him to be hurt by it."

"I expressed my concerns, but Steve told me, Howard would go with him? Has Howard already known the secret of Steve's existence? Or is it Steve was destined to tell him? Why did he do this?"

The few questions left in the end of this diary made Merlin stop reading.

If Howard Stark knew about the existence of Steve in his lifetime, then why did Steve not come forward to save his friends when Howard was in crisis?

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

Or was it all planned by Howard Stark? He planned his death?

"No, that's not the case!"

Merlin shook his head and analyzed:

"If we start from this perspective, a more reasonable explanation should be that Howard Stark is not dead at all? The scene I saw with my own eyes was just a scene where I had a premonition of the crisis and pretended to die and escape?"

"This is interesting."

"It's a pity that this question is destined to be unanswered now. Whether it's Old Steve or Howard Stark, they are all people with meticulous thinking. If there is a certain secret between them, it will be difficult for me to infer the truth unless I really find them."

Merlin put this idea aside with some regret.

He continued to open the diary and looked at the contents later.

“199112:”

"He's back!"

"Just like a ghost returning in the middle of the night, Steve, who had been in the past year, looked dusty. He became 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 needed to go to the ancient Eastern Kingdom with him. It is said that in a certain mountain, a secret that passed down thousands of meters was recorded."

"It is said that the original origin of the sss serum was there, and if we could find the knowledge of that origin, maybe we could make real sss serum, rather than the most dangerous defective product now."

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

"As someone who deals with secrets, I know that exploring any secrets comes at a price. Steve must have hidden some important information from me, such as how did he know where the SSS serum originated? Who shared this secret with him?"

"I know, if I question Steve directly, he wouldn't have told me that he is sometimes simple and stubborn like a child."

"We will set out in a week, and I hope that during this trip, I can find the information hidden by Steve. I don't want my lover to take risks for me anymore."

"If I need Steve to bear the terrible price to survive, then I'd rather die."

"I hope everything goes well."

"They should have found Daisy on this trip. Is this SSS serum related to Inhuman?"

Merlin suppressed his inner speculation and continued to flip the diary backwards. After skipping a few travel notes of Ms. Carter and Old Steve, several pages of diary were torn off, which made Merlin frown.

The few pages that were torn off should be the specific experience they explored in the ancient Eastern Kingdoms, but it seems that there is something that cannot be known by Merlin.

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

“1991.3.7:”

"After a long trek, we returned to New York this trip was too tiring and full of crisis."

"Hydra, the organization I thought had disappeared long ago, appeared again. Although they lost their leader Red Skull, their power did not seem to have been completely eliminated. Instead, they survived these decades like the Strategic Science Legion."

“This is absolutely bad news.”

"Steve and I both realized the seriousness of the problem. If Hydra's will has always existed, it means that in the 'paper clip' operation I presided over, there must have been disguised Hydra molecules that were absorbed into the Strategic Science Legion."

"When we haven't discovered it, the seeds of darkness have been planted into the booming tree. It is growing by absorbing the nutrients of the tree and will eventually completely defeat us from the inside."

"If it weren't for this unexpected trip, the venomous snakes hiding in the darkness would eventually replace us in a grand manner, live freely in the sun, and use economy and power to transform the world of the new century."

"Not good, not good."

"Steve rushed to the base where the paper clips were stored, but I think it's too late to make up for the mistakes that year."

"Maybe at this moment, it is the best choice to disintegrate the Strategic Science Legion, but this matter has to be taken slowly and find a perfect opportunity to completely burn this organization that I have served for the rest of my life by a fire that I personally ignite."

"After Steve's departure, I put the little Daisy who was brought back to New York by us at the entrance of the St. Agnes Orphanage. This is a poor child. Although I don't know why the Hydra who burned down the mountain estate was to catch this child, if it's something that Hydra needs, I'd better not let them get it."

"I will create a fake identity for this child, 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 to be human."

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

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

"It's Aida."

"That little Aida who is plagued by bad luck!"

"Jiaying's daughter, a strange man who may destroy the world in the future is always by my side?"

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

The feeling that had appeared several times in the past came to his mind again.

"All this is arranged, all of it is arranged."

Merlin closed his eyes and said:

"It's linked together, how many secrets have you buried by my side?"

"The most important thing is, what exactly do you want me to do?"

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

“1995.1.6:”

"I failed"

"I underestimated the hidden power of Hydra, and I underestimated Fury's obsession with maintaining order. Even though he had informed him in advance about the split of the Strategic Science Legion, he was still unwilling to accept this result, and instead thwarted all my secret arrangements."

"But it's not his fault. For the sake of confidentiality, I did not tell Fury the news of Hydra's reappearance. Maybe I made a mistake, but thinking about it carefully, letting Fury persist in the surrounding enemies and constantly attract Hydra's attention may be a better choice."

"At any time, agents need to have a trump card. Fury is in the light, I am in the dark. After experiencing this incident, those Hydras are definitely celebrating each other. Fury's newly built S.H.E.L.D. will inevitably become Hydra's next hiding place."

"This is actually a good thing. It is too difficult to pull them out of the darkness one by one. If they gather together, they may be able to capture all the Hydras in one go through a precise capture operation! It is like putting down a bait and waiting for the gathering of greedy fish."

"And Fury, who is stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat, may give me a surprise. This agent I recruited himself does have personality flaws, but if he is keen enough and has collected enough information, maybe he can prevent the situation from deteriorating in advance."

"To be honest, being defeated by the 'student' I taught is not a happy thing, but now that I can't do anything."

“I’m going to ‘disappear’.”

"Only by breaking out of the dilemma of being deeply trapped in the quagmire can we better see the overall situation. But before leaving, I should choose a helper for Fury."

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