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"If possible, could you get some of that...hmm, energy sample from the Cosmic Cube you mentioned, and also some super soldier blood?" asked Yuri, now full and satisfied. "Different technologies from different worlds might create new sparks."
But as soon as Yuri made the request, Josh frowned.
Because whether it was the super soldier's blood or a sample of weapons powered by the Cosmic Cube, it was basically impossible for Josh to get...not to mention the Cosmic Cube itself.
Back when he realized this world was the Marvel Universe, as a transmigrator, he naturally had his eyes on the super soldier serum and the Cosmic Cube.
But it could only stay as wishful thinking.
Captain America wasn't like the mafia. Even if Josh equipped the Blackwater gang with tanks, armored vehicles, and fighter planes, chances were they still wouldn't be able to touch a hair on him.
The final result of trying would be Josh getting labeled a spy coveting top U.S. military secrets and ending up behind bars.
As for Hydra weapons powered by the Cosmic Cube's energy, forget about it—unless he went to Europe and wiped out several Hydra armies, there was no way to get them.
The brutality of the European front was something everyone knew, and the presence of Hydra made the danger level rise exponentially. Unless you were a super soldier like Captain America, ordinary people were just cannon fodder on that battlefield.
So Josh had never even considered stepping into Europe before the war ended.
But Yuri had the nerve to ask for these things—wasn't he joking?
"I understand. No rush on this. Once we begin formal trading, I'll try to get you some equipment first. With that gear, you and your men should be able to move more safely on the European battlefield. Of course, if you truly don't want to go, I won't force you," Yuri, a psychology expert, could tell from Josh's expression what his concern was and quickly withdrew his suggestion.
"Even with good equipment, it would at best increase the chances of obtaining energy weapon samples. But getting a super soldier's blood sample is still extremely difficult," Josh said after thinking it over.
Right now, the only super soldiers in the world were Captain America and Red Skull. Trying to get blood from either of them was insanely difficult. Plus, in early 1945, Red Skull would be teleported to Vormir, and Captain America would fall into the Arctic Ocean.
Josh had at most a year.
As for trying to recover Cap's body after he fell into the ocean...come on, the Arctic is huge. Finding a crashed plane in it isn't easy. In the movie, Cap was only found because glacial movement brought him to the surface.
In comparison, the Cosmic Cube might actually be easier to find because of its high energy signature.
That's why Howard Stark could find the Cube but not Cap.
Back when Bucky was captured, he had also been injected with a knockoff super soldier serum made by Dr. Zola. But even to get Bucky's blood, Josh would have to go to Europe.
After all, once Cap and his buddies set foot in Europe, they never returned to America.
"No worries, just let things happen naturally. If it's meant to be, it will be. If not, don't force it. That's life, isn't it?" Yuri replied, quoting an old proverb.
"...You know Chinese?" Josh was stunned at the perfectly spoken line.
"Why not? I know eighteen languages," Yuri raised his eyebrow.
...Okay, you're the boss. You win!
"But while super soldier blood is hard to get, there's another kind of very special blood. I wonder if you're interested," Josh asked Yuri.
"Oh? What kind of blood?" Yuri was curious.
"Legendary creatures—dragons," Josh answered.
"...Of course I'm interested!" Yuri's eyes lit up.
Why was he interested in super soldiers? Because Yuri wasn't just a physicist—he was highly skilled in biology as well.
In the Yuri faction of Red Alert, there was a super soldier-type unit—Brutes. They were the result of combining various animal genes with human ones.
So the first thought he had when hearing about super soldiers was to integrate their genes into his Brutes.
Dinosaur genes were also part of his plan.
Now, hearing that Josh could get dragons—he was even more excited.
"That's good, but it's still too early to talk about this. The most pressing thing now is to help you re-enter the industrial age. By then, I'll probably have a lot of things that need your help researching. Let's stop for today—it's really late!" Seeing it was already past midnight, Josh felt tired and took the initiative to end the lengthy conversation.
"Sorry, dear. Some changes came up in business—I may not be able to leave Chicago for a while." Early the next morning, Josh called Margot.
"No problem. I'm getting tired of staying here anyway. Might as well come home." Hearing Josh couldn't come back, Margot figured staying alone in Florida wasn't fun either, so she decided to return to Chicago. Winter there was almost over anyway.
Josh certainly had no objection.
After saying goodbye, he made another call to arrange a private plane to pick her up.
"Francesca!" After hanging up, Josh called out to the maid who was busy making breakfast.
"Sir, is there something you need?" Francesca asked.
"There are two ostrich eggs a friend gave me in my study. See if you can cook one. Just put the other in the fridge," Josh instructed. The so-called "ostrich eggs" were actually the Pachycephalosaurus eggs he had traded from Yuri.
Of course, he couldn't tell her they were dinosaur eggs, so he passed them off as ostrich eggs.
Luckily, though Pachycephalosaurus were much larger than ostriches, their eggs weren't any bigger.
Francesca was a bit puzzled by Josh's request.
Ostrich eggs? She'd never cooked one.
But Josh had asked, and since she had just begged him for help yesterday, she couldn't refuse.
Still, since it was an egg, aside from being big, it probably cooked like a regular egg, right?
Nervously, Francesca found the two eggs in the study, carried them to the kitchen, and put one in the fridge while preparing to crack the other.
"Wait!" Just as she was about to start, Josh walked into the kitchen. "I'll do it myself. You can go."
Although Francesca was confused, she obediently left the kitchen.
After confirming she was fully gone, Josh let out a sigh of relief.
Because he had just remembered—if the egg wasn't fertilized, there'd be no issue.
But if it was even slightly developed, that would be a big problem.
So he hurried over and sent the maid away, ready to handle it himself.
The shell of the dinosaur egg was thick. It took some effort to crack it open—but fortunately, it wasn't fertilized, just like a normal egg.
It did smell pretty fishy though... could it even taste good?
He whisked the egg and made himself some scrambled dinosaur egg.
Once it was cooked, the strong odor mostly dissipated.
Tasting it, the texture was tenderer than chicken eggs—actually quite tasty but at over 3 pounds, it was a hefty portion.
And eggs aren't something you should eat too much of, so Josh only ate a third.
The rest would, of course, be handled by the maid.
After finishing breakfast, Josh left the house to pick up his delivery.
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