American Comic Dimensional Trading Device

"These things were all obtained from the French by Hitler's army. That bookshelf has a catalog of everything. Now it's yours, but if you want to keep everything, you'll probably have to give my brothers some benefits. Although I took this place by myself, they did their part in guarding it," Aldo said, pointing to the many artworks covered with white sheets in the hall.

“Of course!” Josie glanced around; there were probably thousands of artworks here. “But I’ll have someone verify their value first!”

It's not that Josie is stingy.

Don't assume that things looted by Hitler's army and left here are necessarily good things.

Not to mention those artworks that were secretly hidden by the soldiers and officers at the time during the looting.

All the looted items were then screened layer by layer by Hitler, generals at all levels, officials at all levels, and German museums.

Basically, after the truly good stuff has been picked out, the remaining parts are sent to "warehouses" throughout Germany, such as Neuschwanstein Castle.

So despite the large number of artworks in front of him, Josie was pretty sure there weren't any priceless treasures among them; at most, they were just some mid-to-low-tier items of average value.

Moreover, antiques are valued in prosperous times, while gold is valued in chaotic times.

In the years immediately following the end of the war, it was not easy for these artworks to even sell, let alone fetch a good price.

However, Josie didn't mind. Since the Germans had taken a liking to them and snatched them back, it meant they must have some value. When the castle was completed, these items could be used as decorations to enhance its prestige, saving him the trouble of finding other goods later.

“The research institute is inside, follow me!” Aldo nodded, then led Josie and Ophelia past piles of artworks to the far end of the hall.

Here, there is a rather hidden staircase leading downwards.

After descending the stairs and turning the corner, they were greeted by a heavy metal door.

"Because there are guards outside, I didn't arrange for anyone to be here, and besides, it's not appropriate for those soldiers to see what's inside," Aldo explained as he opened the door.

"Don't those soldiers know what's in here?" Josie asked.

“Of course, I sneaked into the castle alone that night. I wiped everyone out. The soldiers of Easy Company only knew that there was a research institute here, but I was the only one with the key. None of them had ever been inside!” Aldo said.

As he finished speaking, the heavy metal door opened with a loud bang.

A new hall appeared before everyone, and although it was underground, it was brightly lit.

Unlike upstairs, this hall is filled with all sorts of instruments and equipment, and there are also many laboratories in the surrounding area.

However, it was clear that a major battle had taken place here, as there were bullet holes and traces of blood everywhere.

Fortunately, the damage was not serious.

"Is there electricity here?" Josie asked, looking at the brightly lit hall.

“That’s right, there’s a power supply room inside. It uses energy batteries like those in Hydra weapons, which are very durable. We’ve occupied this place for almost a week, and there’s been no sign of them weakening.” Aldo nodded.

"Can you tell what they're researching here?" Josie asked Ophelia.

“We’ll have to check the lab logs to be sure!” Ophelia shook her head, looking at the somewhat cluttered furnishings of the research institute, then turned to Aldo, “There should be a data room here, right?”

“Yes, that should be it, the door isn’t locked!” Aldo nodded, pointing to the corner.

“Go ahead!” Josie waved her hand.

Ophelia went to the archives without hesitation to find the information.

"Any other special discoveries?" Joe asked again.

“Yes, it’s inside!” Aldo pointed to the depths of the research institute.

“Let’s go take a look!” Josie said.

Aldo immediately led Josie over to a laboratory.

Upon opening the laboratory, what greeted Josie's eyes were two enormous cryogenic chambers.

There is a person frozen in each of the freezer compartments.

Josie frowned and walked over.

The first cryogenic chamber contained a young Asian woman.

It's quite strange that there would be an Asian woman in a Hydra base.

When Josie reached the second cryogenic chamber and saw the people inside, her eyes widened in surprise.

Because the person inside was none other than Captain America's best friend, Bucky Barnes.

Josie had run into Captain America several times in London, and had also seen Captain America's best friend several times, so she naturally recognized him.

But how did he end up here?

In the original timeline, when Zora was being captured, Buggy still fell off a cliff.

Aside from the occasional encounters, Josie would inquire about Captain America's whereabouts, but he didn't really pay much attention to his good friend and naturally wouldn't bother to find out what happened to him.

However, the fact that the other party is now in this research institute already speaks volumes.

"You know him?" Seeing Josie's expression, Aldo couldn't help but lean closer and ask curiously.

Although they are all military personnel, neither Aldo's old unit nor the current 101st Airborne Division has any connection with the Scientific Strategic Corps or the Howling Commandos.

Although the military has been publicizing the achievements of the Howling Commandos, the focus has been on Captain America, and the names of the other Howling Commandos members are not well known. After all, the media nowadays is mainly newspapers, and with such a large space, it is impossible to introduce all the Howling Commandos members one by one.

In addition, Captain America's aura is so dazzling that everyone only cares about him, and few people care about these minor characters.

Therefore, Aldo did not know Baki.

“That’s right, Bucky Barnes. That seems to be a nickname. His real name should be James Barnes. He’s a member of the Howling Commandos and a good friend of Captain America. I didn’t expect to see him here.” Josie nodded in response.

"Captain America's good friend? Then what do we do with him?" Aldo was stunned by Josie's answer.

"What else can we do? First, find out how he ended up in Hydra's hands. After my people take over here, we'll assess his situation. If there are no problems, we'll find a reasonable way to send him back. If the problem is complicated, we'll just pretend we never saw him," Josie said after thinking for a moment.

He said that because he didn't know whether Bucky had been brainwashed or whether the next phase of human experiments on the Winter Soldier had been conducted.

If not, that's fine. For Captain America's sake, we can move him later, wake him up, and find a reasonable way to send him back. If Vito, who also underwent the first phase of the experiment, weren't around, Josie certainly wouldn't have been so generous in letting Bucky go. But since Vito is here, Bucky isn't that important to him anymore, so it's better to do him a favor.

But if they have already been brainwashed or have undergone the second phase of the Winter Soldier experiment.

Then all Josie could say was sorry.

However, it seems unlikely that the second possibility is true, because the other party's left arm is still half-full and has not been fitted with a metal arm.

Aldo nodded upon hearing this, without saying anything more; it was indeed the best course of action.

Now he is completely in cahoots with Josie. Although he also respects Captain America and even received a favor from Kennedy when they clashed.

But she wouldn't hold a grudge against Josie over such a small favor.

Otherwise, putting everything else aside, the warehouse full of Hydra weapons he hid and handed over to Josie in Paris would be enough to put him on a military court ten more times.

Chapter 99 The Temptation of Immortality

"Found it!" Just as Josie was considering how to deal with Bucky, Ophelia also made a discovery and came over with a stack of documents.

“Tell me about it!” Josie said.

“This research institute is a secret institute directly under John Schmidt, and is under the jurisdiction of his confidant, Major General Werner Reinhardt. I know him; he's a cruel executioner. And the object they're researching is something called the ‘Prophet,’ this is it!” Ophelia handed a photograph to Josie.

Josie took the photo and looked at it. It was a polygonal prism, which seemed to be made of metal. Because it was a black and white photo, she couldn't tell for sure, but it looked kind of familiar.

And Reinhardt? Josie remembered, wasn't that the name of Daniel Whitehall before he regained his youth and became one of the leaders of Hydra?

Daniel Whitehall, frozen Asian woman, metal prism.

Oh, right! This so-called "prophet" is actually just an obelisk, and the substance inside is Terrigen crystal, which can awaken the powers of Inhumans.

In other words, the woman frozen in the ice in front of us might be Zhenbo Nu's mother... By the way, what's this woman's name again?

“This thing was discovered by Reinhardt in Portugal several years ago. After learning about its magical properties, he traced its origins and found the laborers who had dug it in a village in Xia Kingdom. To maintain secrecy, he captured the entire village to use as test subjects. All of them were reduced to ashes during the research process after coming into contact with this ‘prophet.’ Only this woman survived the contact and even caused the ‘prophet’ to emit a brilliant light. However, to this day, they haven’t discovered any secrets contained within the ‘prophet’ or this woman!” Ophelia continued explaining to Josie. “By the way, this woman’s name is… Jiayin?”

It really was this thing; all the information matched Josie's impression of the obelisk perfectly.

As for Jiayin? Her name should be Jia Ying, right?

“Do you know where Reinhardt is now? And where is this ‘prophet’ kept?” Josie asked.

“Unfortunately, before the return to the Eagle's Nest operation began, the ‘Prophet’ was transferred to another research base. Jia Ying was also supposed to be transferred, but she didn’t come. After the anti-Eagle's Nest operation started, Reinhardt and that research base were immediately taken over by a rebel army. When the Allied forces arrived in Vienna, he and other war criminals were handed over to the Allies, and the research institute was also taken over by the Allies,” Ophelia said. “So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the ‘Prophet’ should now be in the hands of the Allies, and judging from the current situation, Reinhardt hasn’t revealed the existence of this research institute.”

Upon hearing this, Josie raised an eyebrow. The obelisk had already fallen into the hands of the Allied forces? He wondered if the Strategic Scientific Legion had taken it over. If not, he would still have a chance to get his hands on it; otherwise, there was nothing he could do.

“What about Bucky Barnes? Is there any information in the log about why he’s here?” Josie pointed to Bucky’s cryogenic chamber.

"The file shows his name is James Barnes, a member of the Howling Commandos. He was shot off a cliff by Schmidt during the Howling Commandos' raid on a base over 100 kilometers away in the Alps. He was later found by Reinhardt's search team and temporarily housed here. According to the file, he was a test subject specifically requested by Dr. Arnim Zola, but before he could be transported away, Dr. Zola was captured by the Howling Commandos, and then the war ended." Ophelia knew that Josie knew Captain America, so she wasn't surprised that he could call Bucky by name. She simply read out the relevant information cleanly and efficiently.

"So, apart from Reinhardt and Zola, no one else should know the specific purpose of this research institute?" Josie asked.

"Theoretically, yes, but we can't rule out other special circumstances!" Ophelia shrugged, not making any absolute statements.

“I understand. So if I give you a task to contact, or rather, to make contact with Reinhardt and Zola, can you do it?” Josie asked, looking at her.

"I can only say I'll try my best. The people from the Strategic Science Legion are quite difficult to deal with!" Ophelia frowned as she replied, not daring to make any overly confident statements.

"You can give it a try, but everything must be done with the premise of protecting yourself from being exposed!" Josie nodded, knowing that the task was quite difficult, and did not insist.

“Okay, I’ll do my best. So, what happens after we make contact?” Ophelia asked. “You want them to work for you?”

“That only applies to Zola. As for Reinhardt, I don’t want to hear about him walking out of an Allied prison alive,” Josie replied.

Anim Zola was undoubtedly an exceptionally brilliant scientist.

For example, his development and research into the energy of the Cosmic Cube is, in some respects, no less impressive than that of the Stark father and son.

However, the environment and era in which he lived greatly limited his potential.