Chapter 528: Who Made Schiller Homicidal? (Part 1) (Patreon)

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Upon seeing that emblem, Stark looked up at Steve. Although the symbol was quite obvious, he still wanted to seek answers from the war veteran who had experienced World War II.

Steve took the medal from his hand, his eyes showing a mix of shock and nostalgia. He ran his finger over the surface of the medal and then said, "Soviet Red Flag Medal..."

At this moment, the expression on Steve's face could be described as complex. He recited the words above the red flag part of the emblem in Russian: "Workers of the world, unite."

Stark showed a slight surprise. He hadn't expected Steve to know Russian. But then he remembered the things he had seen in Steve's world of consciousness. He recalled traces left by the Soviets.

Looking at Steve's expression, Stark felt a sense of familiarity. Suddenly, he remembered the way Obadiah had looked when he had just woken up, talking to the military in place of Stark, recounting Howard and Anton's stories. That same expression had been on his face.

Not only Obadiah, even the old general across from them had a very similar expression.

What puzzled Stark, a person born in the post-Cold War era, was that the previous generation, as adversaries of the Soviet Union, didn't wholly despise or reject the country when mentioning it. There was even more nostalgia on their faces than any other emotion combined.

Perhaps, like Steve, they were nostalgic for that special era because it held the causes they had fought for and the proofs of their existence.

Born in the 1970s, Stark was just a teenager during the Cold War. He found it hard to understand this emotion. He wanted to crack a joke to lighten the atmosphere, but before he could, Steve emerged from that state and said, "I never thought I'd see this again..." He pursed his lips, his expression somewhat serious. He then asked, "Why does Schiller have this medal?"

Stark took the medal back, examining its patterns and symbols with a puzzled expression. He asked, "What does this medal represent? Who would receive it?"

"This is one of the earliest medals established by the Soviet Union. It's given to individuals who made significant contributions to the country's cause. Generally, the early Red Flag Medals hold more weight."

Stark lowered his head, looking at the somewhat worn medal. Steve confirmed his suspicion. He said, "Judging by the craftsmanship and the details of the design, this should be an early Red Flag Medal. We just don't know the specific year it was awarded."

Both of them turned the medal back and forth, but they couldn't find any useful details. So, Stark handed the medal over to Steve and said, "You better keep it. In case it's discovered, you can say it was left by an old war buddy."

"You..." Steve paused for a moment, but Stark seemed to know what he wanted to ask. Stark paused too and said, "That era won't come back again. Liberate all of humanity? A great dream, but..."

Stark shook his head. Steve didn't know which aspect Stark was denying.

However, it was clear that Stark wasn't denying it from the perspective of a capitalist. Or rather, the present Iron Man had transcended the class of capitalists. He was close to being a final producer, almost having limitless productive capacity. If he didn't believe he had a responsibility toward human civilization, he wouldn't be restricted by resources, forms of life, or perspectives...

The past was always tangled, as many things couldn't be remedied, and that made it all the more painful. As Steve stared at the medal, lost in thought, Stark had already opened the old folder.

The folder looked quite old. The outer shell was made of thin wood, the iron clamps inside were a bit rusty, and the paper was in even worse shape. Ink had spread in many places, obscuring other letters. Some ink even smeared onto the exterior.

As soon as Stark looked at the first page, he froze. The page was densely packed with names. And these weren't famous people's names. Stark quickly glanced over and realized he didn't recognize any of them.

Below each name were annotations for nationality and position. But what was odd was that some entries had two countries listed. Some had U.K. and Soviet Union, others had U.S. and Soviet Union, and there were even combinations of various smaller nations.

Flipping a few more pages, the detailed descriptions began, but it was clear that whoever wrote this list was in a hurry. The handwriting was very messy, and the quality of the paper and ink wasn't great. Some parts were so smeared that the information couldn't be made out.

Stark activated the scanning program in his combat suit and said to JARVIS, "Scan all the text on it, then perform a comprehensive analysis."

"Scanning... Contents recorded... Analyzing... Analysis complete..."

Stark pressed a button on the arm of his suit, and a drone flew out and projected onto the wall. The projection displayed materials with photographs. Steve turned to look at it, reading the title of the materials with confusion:

"February 12, 2001. Declassified by the Central Intelligence Agency. U.K. Military Intelligence Section Five Espionage Expulsion Materials... Claudeson Ryan..."

"What is this? A declassified report?" Steve asked.

While staring at the projection screen, Stark handed the documents to Steve. Steve skimmed through the pages and indeed found the name.

As he turned more pages, they were all filled with names and the corresponding nationalities and positions. Steve's eyes widened gradually, and he took a deep breath. He said, "My God! Could this be a list of spies?"

"Unfortunately, it seems so." Stark's expression grew solemn. He said, "In the analysis report JARVIS provided earlier, 201 individuals from the list have been declassified. Their nationalities and positions match those on this list."

Steve inhaled sharply, swallowing hard, and looked down at the list again.

He shuffled the papers a bit and said, "This should be from the 1960s and 1970s. If this list had appeared back then, it could have sparked the Third World War..."

"Correct. Although now, many of the spy identities have been revealed, at that time, it was top-secret, especially these individuals..." Stark pointed at the nationalities under several names on the list. "See? Soviet Union and U.S., U.S. and Soviet Union..."

Steve sighed, saying, "That's not surprising. People of that era actually knew that all the intelligence agencies of all the other countries combined couldn't match the KGB."

"Why is that?" Stark stared at the list, clearly long harboring this doubt. He asked, "People of the same era, same level, similar education and abilities. Why did this situation arise?"

Steve pursed his lips, fell silent for a moment, and then said, "Do you know? The most significant blows to the intelligence agencies of other countries weren't from the Soviets themselves but from spies who voluntarily believed in Marxist-Leninist ideology within their own countries..."

"Have you heard of the Cambridge Five?" Steve looked into Stark's eyes and said, "No official positions, no rewards... and they weren't afraid of death."

Stark's finger, which had been pressing on the list, stopped. To Steve's surprise, Stark's expression turned regretful. He then glanced at the list and said, "It seems that the story of the Cambridge Five might need to be rewritten..."

He flicked the edge of the folder with his finger and continued, "This is the Sixth Man."

"So, the question is, could Schiller have written this list?" Steve asked again. He said, "If Schiller wrote it, it means he was active as far back as the 1960s. Does that mean he's from the same era as me, Natasha, and Nick?"

Stark shook his head. "Previously, I loaded a Human Behavior plugin into the Mech armor. According to JARVIS, the Schiller we know, at least, seems to be a contemporary person."

"Wait a second, who did you mention just now?" Stark suddenly widened his eyes. He said, "Natasha. Isn't Natasha from the Soviet Union?"

"You're not thinking that Natasha is Schiller's lover, are you?" Steve was quite shocked. "Impossible. Haven't you forgotten? Natasha is the Black Widow, and her former husband is already dead."

"No, I mean, do you remember or not? Natasha told us about her own experiences. Have you forgotten why she can't age?"

"Red Room, genetic modification?"

Steve slowly turned his head. He said, "I get it."

"Schiller might indeed be an ordinary contemporary person, but his lover might be an immortal person who underwent the Red Room's genetic modification, just like Natasha."

"This could also explain why this medal and these documents are here. They might have been left by Schiller's wife."

"And it also explains our previous speculation. If Schiller really met his lover when he was a teenager in a mental hospital and she was a doctor at the time, then their age difference could be significant. But if one of them is an immortal like Natasha, then this problem disappears."

"And that so-called neurodegenerative disease could be a side effect of genetic modification."

Stark frowned. "Let's rethink this from the beginning."

"Natasha should have been born in 1928. Let's assume Schiller's wife was her colleague. That means their ages should be similar. In other words, Schiller's wife was born around the 1930s, and in the 1950s or 1960s, she underwent Red Room's genetic modification and began espionage activities."

"She probably spent over a decade climbing to a high position within a certain country's espionage institution, and gradually collected intelligence from various countries, organizing it into this list."

"She might have become a doctor at a mental hospital to cover her identity, and she coincidentally met Schiller, who was undergoing treatment."

"No matter how she did it, she probably cured Schiller and developed a unique relationship with him."

"From this perspective, Schiller's wife might have had a similar academic level to Schiller, or even stronger. This could also explain why Schiller, who spent many years in a mental hospital, could continue his studies after leaving and still achieve such high accomplishments."

"And one day later, perhaps due to a genuine neurodegenerative disease or perhaps a side effect of genetic modification, Schiller's wife was near death, and Schiller had to cryogenically freeze her."

"And his wife entrusted her life's work to Schiller. However, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union afterward, Schiller never had the chance to send these things to Moscow..."

"It's possible," Steve affirmed, but then he furrowed his brow and asked, "There's still one question left. Where did this transcendent cryogenic technology come from? You've always said that Schiller isn't a scientific research person."

"Of course," Stark put down the documents, crossed his arms, and said, "Saying he can change light bulbs would be praising him. He's not cut out for working in a laboratory."

"If this technology wasn't invented by him, then who else could it be? Such advanced technology that transcends eras... wait a minute, transcending eras? Could it be from the Soviet Union..."

Just then, a shrill telephone ring interrupted them. Steve's words were cut off, and he took out his mobile phone. The voice on the other end happened to be Natasha's:

"Captain, I need you to come over. There are some things I need your assistance with in investigating the death of Hydra leader Baron Zemo..."

"I was just about to ask you something. I'll be right there."

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 529: Schiller's Dark Intentions