At the bottom of the base of Pagasos, Steve, dressed in a white vest and military pants from the last century, and barefoot stood on the platform, and across from him, Merlin, with a cane, was blocking the path to the upper level of the base.

Fury was worried about the conflict between the two people, but it was completely unnecessary.

He had seen Merlin when Steve was still unconscious, while he was still trapped in the mental labyrinth he had wove of his own weaving. Merlin doesn't brag about calling himself the Awakener.

At that time, if Merlin had not entered Steve's mental world, the Captain of America would sooner or later fall into a deeper slumber due to the weakening of his soul.

If one is not done well, there will be no one left.

The two have met once, and the reason why Steve hasn't remembered this incident is purely because the time to wake up is too short, and the illusory scenes that have lasted for decades in his spirit are intertwined with what he saw and heard when he just woke up, so that his spirit is still in a state of "dazed".

This is a very normal situation.

"You... You are? ”

Steve looked at Merlin's face, he felt that the guy in front of him was familiar, but he was sure that he had definitely never seen him on the battlefield of World War II.

He pondered, and Merlin didn't bother him, until a few minutes later, when Steve turned his head to look at the dimly lit base around him, and he spoke:

"This is not 1945?"

"Yes, it's not."

Merlin Says:

"It's November 2004, and if you wake up a few days later, it's just in time for the Spring Festival in 2005."

"60 years?"

Steve's expression changed for a moment, and a hint of melancholy, a hint of pain, and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.

"Yes, 60 years."

Merlin Says:

"I know you can't accept it for a while, and you might think I'm lying to you... So, speak for yourself. ”

Speaking of this, Merlin reached out and pushed his glasses, and he said:

"Icarus, show Steve what New York is now."

"Huh"

The stereoscopic projection on the Icarus frame opened, and around the platform where the two were located, the dim scene quickly brightened, as if by magic, and the real-time projection of the entire New York Times Square was shaped from scratch in the beating of the blue light curtain.

This is a big project, and luckily the upgraded Icarus, with the help of the master program at the Pagasus base, can barely complete this huge real-time projection project on his own.

Lively streets come to life around Steve and Merlin.

Times Square is full of bright lights, full of modern huge advertisements, and those dazzling lights, walking in the square, a girl in a beautiful short skirt carrying a handbag, with a myriad of manners, swaying through Steve's chest, like a ghost.

And a handsome glasses guy stood next to Steve, talking loudly, as if he was arguing. Merlin and Steve could even make out the man's London accent.

This scene is all too real.

It's like the two of them are actually standing on the streets of Times Square.

Steve looked up, the veteran who had been asleep for 60 years looked at all this blankly, although the surrounding scene was lively and bustling, he seemed very lonely, like a lost child, and could no longer find his way back to his familiar time.

"Turn it off."

Steve lowered his head, and his tone was a little quicker:

"Turn it off!"

"Huh"

The stereoscopic projection of Icarus was withdrawn in the next moment, and the entire platform returned to its original dim silence.

It was still two men, standing in front of and behind the platform.

One is lonely and dazed, the other is calm and lonely.

"I remember... I remember you told me, Peggy... She..."

Steve wanted to say something, but he didn't need to finish it for Merlin to know what he was trying to say.

"Ms. Peggy is missing, in 1998, but I'm pretty sure she's still alive."

Merlin looked left and right, his lips twitching slightly, and said in a voice that only he and Steve could hear:

"Another Steve, the other you are with him, but this matter cannot be put here to say, it is our secret, if there is time, I can tell you more, but you don't need to worry about Ms. Peggy, she is safe."

"Okay."

Steve pulled out a bad smile.

Merlin can actually understand that if he had been frozen for 60 years, after waking up, everything familiar would have disappeared, Elsa and Carol had left, Lorna and Raven had disappeared, even Goo and Frank were gone, Fury and Pierce had died of old age, Coulson and Melinda and Sharon were dying, and the whole world had changed dramatically.

The things he cared about, the things he hated, had disappeared into the unforgiving passage of time...

If so, Merlin would probably go crazy.

For Steve, when he wakes up after 60 years, he is faced with a strange and lonely world, and it is still unknown whether he wants to live in this era and whether he can accept this era.

But... He's a hero anyway, and his ability to bear it shouldn't be so bad.

"I think you've been asleep for so long."

In the silence, Merlin suddenly said:

"While you've had plenty of nutrient solutions to keep you alive for a few years, it's certainly not as good as a steaming pizza... You may not know it, but in the past 60 years, in addition to making a mess of the world you saved, we have also made a lot of new flavors of food..."

He looked at Steve and he said:

"I know, you have a lot of questions to ask, so maybe we can talk while we eat?"

————————

"Huh"

Between the distorted light, Merlin dragged three pizzas into the room at the base of Pagassos, the same house that Fury used to trick Steve, Fury and Steve sat opposite each other, and Hill stood aside, giving the two of them water.

The atmosphere was anything but good.

"Freshly baked pizza."

Merlin put the pizza on the table and he said to Steve:

"I asked Old Stan to bake it myself, do you remember Old Stan? Oh, his name when he joined the army was Martin, and he said he fought with you and was a rookie who liked to draw comics. ”

"I remember."

Steve stared at Fury as he reached out, lifted a piece of pizza, put it to his mouth, took a bite, and said as he chewed:

"On the battlefield of the Rhine, the young man attacked Nacui's position with us, he was so timid that he couldn't even hold a gun, but his painting was really good... Well, now it seems that his cooking skills are also good. ”

Whether it's eating pizza or talking, Steve's eyes never leave Fury.

That kind of look...

How to describe it, it's scary anyway.

But Fury, on the other hand, still looks indifferent to the whole world owes him money, he eats quite well at noon, and has no intention of adding food. Faced with Steve's glare, he picked up the water glass, coughed lightly, and said:

"I'll admit that there was a lapse in my preparation, and I hope you don't get angry."

"If you had told me it was 2004, I probably wouldn't have been so angry, Lord Fury."

Steve whispered:

"Do you understand how bad it feels to give hope and expectation and yet be disappointed? Maybe you can't understand what I'm saying, maybe I should use my fists to express my feelings at this moment. ”

"Look, head, I'm just going to say I shouldn't do this."

Hill stood behind Fury, and she whispered to Fury:

"It's okay to apologize now."

"I'm for your good."

Fury is so awkward that he didn't apologize, but said to Steve:

"I'm just afraid that an old man in his 80s can't stand such a big stimulation... I don't mean anything else, of course, if you think it's ironic or humiliating, I can say that I don't. ”

"You're always good for others, but you have to be mindful of your way once in a while."

Merlin pulled out a chair and sat down next to the two, he beckoned Hill to sit across from him, he looked at Fury, then at Steve, he stretched out his hands, and said to the two of them:

"Okay, okay, everyone is sitting here to overturn Hydra, everyone has the same enemy, everyone is a friend. Although there was something wrong with the reception ceremony, for my sake, everyone should treat it as if nothing happened, okay? ”

Steve breathed a sigh of relief, he glanced at Merlin, then took a bite of the seafood pizza, and said:

"Forget it, it's not a big deal."

Fury turned his head a little awkwardly and said:

"Well, I'll admit, I thought a little less and prepared a little poorly."

Seeing that the tension had dissipated somewhat, Merlin was also relieved, he took out his pocket watch, looked at the time, and then said to Steve:

"I informed Agent Dugan, but he has an important mission on the Atlantic Island, and it may be a few days before he comes over to meet you. Other members of the Roaring Commando... There was one in the hospital, but he couldn't remember everything. Alzheimer's disease, you know, is still a terrible disease in this day and age. ”

Steve's expression became a little sad.

His friends, the people he knew well, were old, but he was still young, and that wasn't really a blessing.

Fury said to Steve:

"Your house in Brooklyn is still there, but it's almost a memorial now, and I can help you get it back if you feel the need."

"There's no need."

Steve looked down and ate, and he said:

"I think this house is pretty good."

"You can't live here."

Merlin rubbed his forehead, and he said:

"There are a lot of secret projects going on at the base of Pagassos, and it's not that we can't trust you, it's just that you have to understand that there are a lot of inconvenient places for you to stand here."

"So be it."

Merlin thought for a moment, and he said to Steve:

"Ms. Peggy's estate in New York is still unused, and now her niece, my assistant Sharon, lives there. I think you can move in. ”

"On the one hand, Ms. Peggy has always left you a room, and on the other hand, you live there, and Sharon can help you adapt quickly to the current era."

Merlin Says:

"In this era, it's not the same as you were back then. In this day and age, it's like a group of demons dancing. ”

"Peggy's manor?"

Steve ate the pizza as if it were chewing wax, he thought for a moment, then nodded:

"Okay."

"Well, there's one more thing."

Merlin glanced at Fury, who picked up the box he was carrying and placed it in front of Steve's eyes, and he opened the box to reveal a complex thermostatic preservation system, and in the center of the box was a mask as thin as a cicada's wings with hexagonal crystalline scales.

"This thing, Item 01084-4, was contained during an alien dispute in 2001, and it can perfectly alter a person's appearance, evading most current monitors and detectors."

"Steve, you have to understand that after you wake up, you have become our secret weapon against Hydra, so during this time, you may have to change your identity to live."

"No problem."

Steve was silent, he seemed to be in a bad mood, so he didn't resist Fury's request too much.

Obviously, now is not a good time to talk, and Fury sensed this, and he stopped the many questions he had prepared and said to Steve:

"Forget it, let's talk about it another day. Steve, you can get used to it during this time, if you have any needs, or any questions, you can contact Merlin directly, he is your liaison officer in S.H.I.E.L.D., and anyone other than him and me gives you orders or messages is fake..."

"You have to understand that S.H.I.E.L.D. is not safe right now."

With that, Fury stood up, he gave Merlin a look, and said:

"Then Merlin, you help Steve pack up his things, and Ciel and I will go first."

"Well, go ahead."

Merlin waved his hand and watched Fury and Hill leave the room, after confirming that they were far away, Merlin looked back at Steve, he looked at Steve's dull eyes, he shook his head, and then reached out and patted Steve's shoulder, he said:

"Don't be so silent, man, you're a hero..."

"But I can also understand that if you can't untie the knot in your heart, it will be difficult for you to start living again in this era. So, let's go to Ms. Peggy. ”

"Huh?"

Steve looked up, he looked at Merlin, and he said:

"You didn't mean Peggy... Missing? ”

"Yes, she's missing."

Merlin rolls up a slice of pizza and waves his fingers as he eats:

"Disappeared without a trace, Fury used all his resources to find her, but... I guess there's one guy who knows how to get in touch with her. ”

"Who?"

Steve asked.

"Dummy bullets. Dugan. ”

Merlin whispered:

"The last time I spoke to Agent Dugan, he thought he was hiding it well, but alas, I noticed that he was hiding something. Before you... Well, Agent Duggan worked with Ms. Peggy until Ms. Peggy's disappearance, so if anyone else in S.H.I.E.L.D. might know where Ms. Peggy went, then I guess it could only be Agent Doggan. ”

Merlin said with a little headache:

"But if I asked, he wouldn't have said, that old guy knows how to keep secrets, so, if you want to know where Ms. Peggy has gone, if you really want to finish the last dance with Ms. Peggy, then..."

Merlin's eyes narrowed, his fingers moved a little, and he said:

"Just go and ask him yourself."

"Me, Ms. Peggy and I have some topics to talk about, about some... Secret! Concerning... A salvation. ”