Oh?!"
Baron Strucker's face immediately lit up with excitement upon hearing this. "So... the Living Dead Project can finally begin?"
Dr. Fritz said with a sinister laugh, "Yes, as long as these texts are successfully deciphered, I can create an army for you that will never feel the slightest fatigue even after continuous combat.
They will never feel hunger even without food or drink, and they will be an army of the Living Dead that cannot be killed even if they are riddled with bullets!"
Just like Dr. Lister's alien weapon development and the Enhanced Human Experiment, Dr. Fritz also had his own special project.
However, compared to the former, Dr. Fritz's research leaned more towards the "mystical side."
And the Living Dead Project was one of them.
The ambitious Dr. Fritz sought to reanimate corpses that had been dead for no more than twenty-four hours by deciphering the mysteries within ancient magic, witchcraft, and Alchemy,
Combined with his significant breakthroughs in genetic engineering.
And these reanimated corpses would not only become tireless, fearless, and absolutely obedient puppets.
They would also possess super self-healing abilities comparable to Wolverine.
Even if they suffered a fatal blow in battle, they could recover completely in a very short time.
They would only truly die when their "core energy" was exhausted, or when their entire body suffered devastating damage, such as being burned to ashes!
However, this idea, though good,
Had remained in the theoretical and hypothetical stage since its inception.
Because Dr. Fritz had never found a way to "reanimate" corpses.
But hard work pays off.
Today, this problem was finally solved.
However, for Dr. Fritz, this was merely the first step in his grand blueprint.
Looking at Baron Strucker, who was beaming with joy, Dr. Fritz said somewhat inappropriately:
"My Lord Baron, I must remind you that the Living Dead Project is merely an appetizer; it's not worth your excitement."
"In my opinion, what's truly worth celebrating is that we can now finally usher in a new future for humanity, the first step in creating gods!"
"Are you talking about... the God-Making Project?"
Baron Strucker asked back with a hint of doubt in his tone upon hearing this:
"Is something that only exists in myths truly achievable by humans?"
"That's right, to be precise, before today, this project was impossible to achieve."
Dr. Fritz suddenly became extremely excited, gesticulating as he spoke:
"Mortals should not covet the realm of gods... that's the phrase I heard most often in the past!"
"But even though everyone denied it, I always firmly believed that humanity is the sole meaning of existence in this Universe.
Even those high and mighty gods are merely special beings born for us humans!!!"
However, just as he pointed to the texts on the wall, preparing to launch into a lengthy discourse,
A Hydra Soldier rushed in, looking flustered, interrupting his speech.
"My Lord Baron, it's bad! A sudden incident occurred at the Sokovia Base; an experimental subject who awakened superpowers went berserk... the entire Base has now completely lost contact!"
"What did you say?"
Just when everyone thought Baron Strucker would fly into a rage,
He exclaimed excitedly:
"I didn't expect Dr. Lister's Enhanced Human Experiment to actually succeed!"
He then took the tablet handed to him by the soldier and opened the surveillance video captured by the monitors inside the Base.
In the footage, a man enveloped in golden light continuously fired energy pulses from his eyes and fists.
He swept through the oncoming Hydra Soldiers with an unstoppable, crushing force.
Even though they had an absolute numerical advantage and were equipped with advanced weapons, the soldiers in the Base were still slaughtered without any means of retaliation.
However, the video stopped abruptly after only a dozen seconds.
But it's highly likely that the Base losing contact was related to this man.
"It seems this experimental subject has gained the superpower to manipulate energy at will?!"
Baron Strucker watched it several times, becoming happier with each viewing.
Because compared to the Living Dead Army, which would take an unknown amount of time to create, and the far-off God-Making Project,
It was clearly more cost-effective to directly catalyze "enhanced humans" with the scepter.
Although the success rate of the latter was extremely low, the one thing this World didn't lack was population!
However, to avoid repeating past mistakes, it seemed necessary to move the brainwashing phase forward.
Although doing so would greatly delay the experiment's progress...
"My Lord Baron, I think it's time for you to make the necessary choices!"
Dr. Fritz, who was standing by, seemed to have seen through his thoughts and said with a jealous, sarcastic tone:
"Whether it's that enhanced human or that scepter, they are both so insignificant compared to the God-Making Project!"
"Moreover, that idiot Lister couldn't even fully control one experimental subject and caused such a huge mess; he's clearly not worth your continued investment.
"Perhaps the Avengers are already eyeing that place; why don't we use that scepter to divert their attention and dedicate all our efforts to the God-Making Project..."
Although Dr. Fritz and Dr. Lister both belonged to Baron Strucker's faction,
They had always been in intense competition with each other.
There was no other way; there was only so much research funding and other resources available.
No matter which side the scales tipped, the other side was bound to be affected.
Coupled with Baron Strucker's usual 'raising of venomous insects' approach,
So whenever there was an opportunity, both would spare no effort to step on the other!
It was only natural for Fritz to jump out now with a routine commercial attack.
"Dr. Fritz, I must commend your long-standing perseverance and that grand dream."
Baron Strucker clasped his hands behind his back,
And looked at him with a slightly scrutinizing gaze, saying:
"But even you must admit that even setting aside the technical difficulties, completing the God-Making Project still requires a long time, effort, and wealth..."
"So what?"
Before the other party could finish speaking, Dr. Fritz eagerly interrupted:
"For the great goal we are about to achieve, time is not important at all; what does it matter if it takes a few more years, or even more than a decade?"
"...We will ultimately create a perfect superior race!"
Damn it, these scientists are all truly insane!
"Enough."
As a superior, Baron Strucker naturally couldn't be led by his subordinates' ideas, and he would never put all his eggs in one basket.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he ordered the soldier waiting nearby:
"That scepter is of immense significance to us at this stage, and there are still many secrets hidden in the Sokovia Base; we absolutely cannot abandon it so easily."
"Immediately dispatch a rapid response unit to recapture the Base. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy.
At the same time, do your best to search for Dr. Lister's whereabouts; we need him alive or his body if he's dead!"
"Furthermore... pursue that experimental subject at all costs, and immediately after capture, forcibly brainwash him to turn him into a super soldier loyal to Hydra!"
Although Karl displayed extremely powerful combat capabilities in the video,
In Baron Strucker's view, he had only just gained superpowers, and his energy would likely not be able to sustain continuous output for long periods.
Moreover, in many past missions,
The Hydra organization had fought Mutants and super-powered individuals created by Compound V multiple times, both openly and covertly.
Their record was very impressive, with almost more victories than losses!
This time would naturally be no exception...
They just needed to send out a few more people; they could exhaust that kid to death.
So, what was there to fear?
As for Dr. Lister's life or death, Baron Strucker actually didn't care at all.
People could be recruited again, and Bases could be rebuilt!
Karl's appearance was enough to prove the feasibility of the Enhanced Human Experiment.
So, even if someone else were to lead this experiment next, it could naturally continue without any hindrance.
"Yes, My Lord Baron!"
The soldier responded loudly, then turned and left.
Baron Strucker pulled a finely crafted hip flask from his pocket, twisted open the cap, and the aroma of whiskey immediately wafted out.
He raised his hand towards the sullen-faced Dr. Fritz, "Long live HYDRA, our era... is about to arrive."
Then he tilted his head back and drank it all down!