Chapter 40:
"Hey, Nick, what exactly do you mean by doing this?"
As soon as he returned to S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America stormed into Nick Fury's office with a furious expression.
"Bang!"
Seeing that Nick Fury seemed to have expected this but still had no intention of explaining,
"You've gotten so used to lying that even when you don't want to lie, you can't help it, right?"
"No, no, no. I've never lied to you. Natasha's mission was always different from yours."
"Then don't you have the obligation to explain it to me?"
"I have no obligation to explain anything to anyone."
Captain America hadn't expected Nick Fury to be so absolute.
"Then aren't you worried about the safety of the hostages? Do you know how many people your actions might end up killing?"
Hearing Captain America start his usual lecture again, Nick Fury quickly interrupted:
"That's why I sent the greatest agent in history to carry out this mission — to prevent tragedy from happening, right?"
Seeing Nick Fury's "dead pig not afraid of boiling water" attitude, Captain America's anger flared. He really wanted to punch this bald guy in the face.
"You know that what a team needs is trust. What's the difference between a team without mutual trust and a mob that just blindly fires their guns?"
Captain America's words instantly reminded Nick Fury — the biggest schemer in Marvel — of a past he absolutely didn't want to recall.
Nick Fury himself had trusted his teammates too much, which had caused him to lose one eye.
But Nick Fury still didn't lash out at Captain America. Instead, he continued:
"I've never asked you to do anything that crosses your bottom line. And Natasha has no bottom line. Many things you're unwilling to do, she is willing to do."
"But if every member of my team has their own separate mission, then sorry — I can't continue leading a team like that."
As he spoke, Captain America made a move to leave.
"I call this segmented management. Even if one link in the mission has a problem, the entire mission won't collapse because of one person, because no one knows the full plan."
Hearing Nick Fury's words, Captain America only looked at him coldly and said:
"Except for you!"
Nick Fury, hearing Captain America's complaint, simply smiled faintly and said:
"No, you're not entirely right. I am a person who knows how to share. A person who does good for others."
With that, Nick Fury stood up and walked out of the office, gesturing for Captain America to follow.
Taking the elevator, Nick Fury brought Captain America to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s underground base.
"What exactly is this Insight Project you mentioned earlier?"
Just now, while riding this elevator that Captain America had never taken before, the elevator's artificial intelligence had mentioned that he did not have clearance for the Insight Project.
But Nick Fury had quickly granted Captain America clearance for the Insight Project as well.
Therefore, Captain America could roughly guess that the place Nick Fury was about to take him to was very likely related to the Insight Project.
Soon the elevator descended more than a hundred meters underground, and Captain America was instantly shocked by the scene before him.
In the vast underground space, S.H.I.E.L.D. engineers were bustling about.
Looking around, three massive Helicarriers filled Captain America's entire field of vision.
Looking at the three terrifying war behemoths quietly lying there, Captain America was momentarily at a loss for words.
Nick Fury timely explained:
"These are three brand-new generation Helicarriers. This is the Insight Project."
"All three are equipped with anti-gravity engines. Once they take off, there will be no need for them to land again."
Walking closer and looking at the cannon clusters at the bottom of the Helicarriers, Nick Fury explained:
"All three carriers maintain constant communication with the satellites. As soon as a terrorist steps out of cover, they will be instantly identified by the Lemurian Star through DNA. Then the cannons can achieve the efficiency of eliminating a thousand people per minute."
"This way, we can eliminate threats before they even appear."
After listening to Nick Fury's words, Captain America couldn't help but ask:
"Shouldn't there be a crime before punishment?"
Nick Fury was really starting to get tired of this stubborn old man who had slept for decades.
"If we wait until the threat appears before trying to solve it, we can't afford the consequences. And we don't have time to wait."
"We?"
"After the New York incident, I successfully convinced the World Security Council to completely upgrade our threat analysis technology. This time, we are at least one step ahead."
"Oh, pointing guns at the entire planet — you call that protection?"
Nick Fury, facing Captain America's questioning, didn't back down and retorted:
"I've looked through the Strategic Scientific Reserve's files. The Greatest Generation — didn't you also do many things that couldn't see the light of day?"
"Yes, we did. But those things kept us from sleeping at night, unable to close our eyes. We did it for people's freedom. What you're doing isn't freedom — it's fear."
As he spoke, Captain America pointed at the Helicarriers above.
Nick Fury, hearing this, simply said calmly:
"Times have changed, Captain. It's time for you to adapt to the times. You shouldn't always go against the times."
Hearing Nick Fury's words, Captain America didn't say anything more. He simply turned around silently and left.
After leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America didn't go anywhere else. Instead, he went alone to the history museum.
Looking at the hall, the walls, and the display cases — all the posters and exhibits recording the things his generation had once done — Captain America couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
The TV was playing a documentary about him and the Howling Commandos destroying Hydra. Watching the children in the museum imitate the battles between him and his teammates while watching the documentary, Captain America seemed to gain a faint understanding.
After leaving the museum, Captain America went to Peggy Carter's home.
Captain America poured out everything he had experienced during this period — his differences with Nick Fury.
After listening, Carter gently placed Captain America's hand on her chest and said softly:
"Hey, Rogers, you always make things sound so serious and exaggerated. But you should know — you saved the world, yet we messed it up again. Now we can't change the times; we can only try to adapt to them."
Listening to Carter's words, Captain America fell silent.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that there was indeed an invisible gap between himself and this era.
Was he the one who was wrong?
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