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"Thatās a very insightful parable," Grant Rogers commented.
He too avoided directly stating his own thoughts or position, instead criticizing the story from a higher perspective.
Henry spread his hands and said, "Yeah, thatās what I think too. Kindness without a full understanding of the situation, and without the resolve for self-sacrifice, is just stupidity.
"I believe you fought in that war because you wanted to oppose fascism. Not because the American government told you to beat someone up simply because they were German, right?"
Since Henry used the term "World War," he naturally wasnāt guessing that the old veteran before him had participated in regional conflicts like the Korean War or Vietnam War.
That meant his enemy could only have been Nazi Germany.
At last, the old white man nodded in agreement.
"Thatās right. I stood up because I opposed fascism and unreasonable racial discrimination policies. It was only because Germany was under the leadership of a madman at the time that I fought them."
The old man chose his words carefully.
At least during the war itself, many peopleāincluding the German populaceādidnāt know about the Nazisā massacres of Jews and various inhumane atrocities. At most, they knew about racial segregation and the forced relocation of Jews into concentration camps.
Those brutal acts were only publicly exposed after the war ended.
So during wartime, slogans about opposing fascism could be shouted openly.
But talking about opposing genocidal atrocities? Even many Jews who werenāt directly involved probably wouldnāt have believed the full extent of it back then.
"Exactly." Henry grinned smugly. "If someone starts talking purely about kindness and goodwill, Iād just wonder whether they have ulterior motives and plan to use that favor to demand something later."
Chuckling softly, Grant Rogers said, "Kid, you donāt need to be so guarded. I only came today out of curiosity. I wanted to meet you. Nothing more."
Since things had already reached this point, Henry forced a smile that didnāt reach his eyes.
"Heh. Mr. Stark told me someone was planning to give me a surprise today. I thought maybe Mr. Rogers was going to introduce me to a beautiful granddaughter of his."
"What a pity. I donāt have children, so naturally I donāt have grandchildren either. As for grandnieces and grandnephews, none of them are the right age. Ah, enough about thatāsomeone troublesome is coming over. If anyone asks, just pretend you never saw me. Alright?"
Before leaving, the old white man gave Henry a playful wink.
Then he smoothly turned to chat with other people, like a sociable old man accustomed to these kinds of gatherings and blessed with an extensive network of acquaintances.
The timing of Grant Rogers slipping away was oddāno one had actually been preparing to approach Henry and join their conversation.
Perhaps there had been some sign Henry failed to notice.
Without the assistance of his eyes, his control over his surroundings had clearly declined quite a bit.
Before long, a group of people who looked completely out of place at this capitalist gathering entered the venue.
After glancing around for a moment, they headed directly toward Henry.
The man leading them didnāt move very fluidly, but his status was obviously high. Two or three burly men followed behind him attentively.
Dressed in a standard black suit, he immediately extended his hand upon arrival.
"Mr. Henry Brown, Iām John Garrett. Finally meeting you in person hasnāt been easy."
"Hello, Mr. Garrett."
Henry returned the handshake and greeted him politely and succinctly.
Another John. At this rate, the day he collected all seven Johns wasnāt far away.
But what Henry was really thinking was:
This guy seems like a major figure in HYDRA-S.H.I.E.L.D. So the Serpent Shield is finally making a move?
"I came to see you today because it concerns your past."
"My... past?"
An unpleasant feeling immediately welled up inside Henry.
Was S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to settle old accounts?
Or had his identity as a transmigrator been exposed?
The latter seemed even more impossible. Henry couldnāt think of any way his transmigrator status could have leaked.
As for his alien identity, that had stopped being a secret long ago when the Skrulls caused trouble on Earth.
Henry absolutely refused to believe that with a loudmouth like Nick Fury around, that secret could still be kept.
Since he still had trump cards left to play, and the worst-case scenario was simply fighting his way out, Henry naturally wasnāt particularly worried.
Calmly, he said, "Thereās nothing interesting about my past. It was ordinary and boring. Is there really any need to dig into it?"
"Please come with me. There are some people who want to meet you. Once you see them, youāll understand everything. Theyāre waiting in another small conference room."
This was... a banquet at Hong Gate?
Unfortunately, after losing the abilities granted by his eyes, Henry couldnāt confirm what was happening inside the smaller rooms surrounding the semiannual conference venue.
Even using his super hearing, he could only... hear faint conversations in Russian.
A ridiculous possibility surfaced in his mind, causing Henry to remain rooted in place, completely unwilling to cooperate.
Seeing this, John Garrett didnāt threaten him outright, but his tone grew heavier.
"Mr. Brown, arranging this meeting wasnāt easy. We finally managed to persuade Ms. Carter to help set it up, so itād be best not to waste her kindness. Donāt you agree?"
To Henry, this involved not only Peggy Carterās reputation, but also young master Tony Starkās.
Emotionally and logically, it wouldnāt look good for him to simply turn around and leave.
And besides...
Claiming he didnāt want to know who those Russian-speaking people with strangely familiar voices were would just be lying to himself.
"Lead the way."
Henry finally gave a positive response and followed the HYDRA-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to see the "surprise" they had prepared for him.
Because the building was an old-style office structure, it lacked the transparent glass partitions favored by certain places obsessed with openness.
The heavy concrete walls only added an ominous feeling to the upcoming encounter.
When Henry followed John Garrett into the small conference room beside Stark Industriesā semiannual meeting hall, there were no tacky decorations like banners, streamers, balloons, or confetti cannons.
There were only two clearly separated groups of people.
The smaller group, dressed in black suits, chatted casually about work complaints like ordinary office employees gossiping during downtime.
The other group wore far more mismatched and plain clothing.
They looked around nervously, occasionally whispering among themselves.
The moment Henry saw them, unbearable memories surged into his mind one after another.
Researchers from the underground Siberian laboratory of the former Red Empireāthe personnel responsible for the alien research project.
Men and women alike.
Twenty-three people in total.
Standing there alive before his eyes
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