Under the cover of dusk, a figure fell from a towering building, then rolled and landed steadily on the ground.
Jack, dressed in his White assassin's robes, pushed open the door.
"Who is it?" Dr. Erskine, with his receding hairline, hastily sat up from his bed, pulling out a pistol from a nearby drawer and aiming it at a dark corner.
"Who are you? Why did you break into my home?"
"It seems Dr. Erskine isn't facing this situation for the first time."
Jack stepped out of the darkness, pulling down his hood to reveal a face with faint stubble.
He now lives at 221a Baker Street, the place Connor left behind, where he found a set of White assassin's robes and some cold weapons.
The assassin's robes were a one-piece cloak with a White hood that could conceal the face, and the cuffs were sewn from silk, with an exceptionally tough fabric that Jack had tested—ordinary knives and swords found it difficult to pierce.
Jack stared at the dark muzzle of the gun; although firearms still posed a considerable threat to him, it didn't prevent Jack from subduing Dr. Erskine in a short amount of time.
"Who are you?" Dr. Erskine had clearly lost his patience. Ever since John Schmidt broke into his home, seized the semi-finished Super Soldier Serum, and forced him to help inject it, he had found it difficult to sleep every night.
Jack spread his hands, indicating that he had no weapons.
Dr. Erskine was also completely naked at this point, meeting Jack candidly.
"My name is Jack Edward, and I am an assassin."
"Did someone send you to assassinate me?"
"No, Dr. Erskine, I'm here to inquire about some information."
Erskine snorted, clearly not believing these excuses: "It seems I'll have to hand you over to the Military."
"I came for the Super Soldier Serum."
"Then you should be subjected to even more rigorous interrogation."
"Dr. Erskine, it seems someone has already gotten a head start, haven't they? Who was it?"
Dr. Erskine's face darkened. He had kept this matter well-hidden; the Military didn't know, except for John Schmidt.
Jack pulled out a nearby chair and sat down brazenly, as if the gun aimed at him was merely a decoration.
"Dr. Erskine, we can have a friendly conversation. My purpose in coming today is not to harm you."
Erskine really wanted to shoot, but his subconscious told him that his gun couldn't kill the young man in front of him. This intuition had allowed him to escape John Schmidt's pursuit.
The Dr. Erskine put down his gun and asked, "What do you want to ask? However, I think we can exchange information equally. I don't know your purpose, nor do I know which side you're on. Now that you've trespassed, I can notify the Military to apprehend you."
"Dr. Erskine, I told you, my name is Jack Edward, and I am an assassin. I'm just here to ask some questions today."
This point was quite unlikable to Dr. Erskine. You've already trespassed, and you're still saying such strange things?
"What do you want to ask?" Erskine rested the gun on the bed, observing the young man in front of him by the faint light from the bedside lamp.
Strange White clothing, like some medieval attire, and a very strange sitting posture. Jack's body was rigid, his hands on his knees... his butt... his butt didn't seem to be on the chair!
This person wasn't sitting down!
Erskine suddenly felt a chill down his spine. The young man in front of him wasn't sitting but was "crouching" in a barely perceptible posture!
Jack sensed the Dr. Erskine's surprise and replied, "This allows me to remain vigilant, like a drawn bow, ready to fire at any moment. Dr. Erskine, I've recently been investigating someone named 'John Schmidt.'" Jack pulled out a blueprint from his clothes pocket, clearly depicting the man's portrait.
"How do you know him?"
Jack stroked his chin: "HYDRA?" He had originally intended to say Knights Templar, but he thought Dr. Erskine probably wouldn't know about that organization. However, he might know HYDRA.
Dr. Erskine nodded: "I still don't understand your intentions."
Jack sighed, then suddenly, his figure flickered.
The Dr. Erskine's heart skipped a beat. The next moment, he tried to raise his gun but it was already too late. Jack had approached him with a ghostly swiftness and pressed down on the gun's barrel.
Jack's other hand held a short dagger, which gleamed coldly in the light.
Dr. Erskine's entire body was rigid; he hadn't even recovered his wits yet.
Everything happened in just a few seconds.
The blade rested below the Dr. Erskine's forehead.
"Dr. Erskine, if I wished, you would already be a dead man." Jack withdrew the dagger, then released his hand from the gun's barrel, and "sat" back in the chair.
Dr. Erskine relaxed. He put the pistol back in the drawer, clearly understanding that the person in front of him would require no effort to kill him, even with a gun in his hand.
If there were no cover, and he was completely exposed to gunfire and couldn't quickly approach his attacker, Jack probably wouldn't be so overconfident.
But at this distance of two or three steps... he still had many ways to stop him, such as Scream.
"Dr. Erskine, John Schmidt took something he shouldn't have."
"What thing?"
"The Tesseract, have you heard of it?"
Erskine nodded. John Schmidt had once invited him to help unravel the secrets of the Tesseract, but he had refused; he didn't want to work with a tyrant.
"Is that your... thing?"
"No, Dr. Erskine, the Tesseract doesn't belong to anyone, but it's a dangerous item and cannot be controlled by someone like John Schmidt."
The Dr. Erskine nodded: "He obtained the semi-finished Super Soldier Serum from me; he has probably already become a Super Soldier."
"How much does the Serum enhance one's abilities?"
"A lot; it's very likely that all indicators have reached the human limit." This was still the Dr. Erskine's conservative estimate. If fully developed, the Super Soldier's abilities could probably surpass human limits.
Jack's expression was solemn. He had only received one life enhancement so far and was completely unable to contend with human limits.
"Do you have any other Super Soldier Serum?"
The Dr. Erskine shook his head: "Although this is my research, many things, including the Serum, are in the Military's hands."
Jack urgently needed something to improve his abilities; the Animus couldn't transform his body in a short amount of time.
"Dr. Erskine, do you know John Schmidt's whereabouts?"
"His whereabouts are beyond even the Military's control."
"Dr. Erskine, you need a test subject, don't you?"
"What, you want to be one?"
"No, no, no." Jack shook his head. He couldn't appear in the Military's sight right now, or rather, he couldn't be exposed to the Knights Templar's view right now.
Jack stood up and said to the Dr. Erskine, "Dr. Erskine, tonight, a young man named Steve Rogers will be going to the exposition to sign up. I believe this person will be your best candidate."
Actually, who the Military chose to inject with the Super Serum had little to do with Jack, but the young man he met at noon today might... might be a good fit for the Super Serum.
"Farewell, Dr. Erskine," Jack slowly retreated into the darkness, then completely disappeared, leaving only a surprised Dr. Erskine.