Watching the figure sprinting towards him from behind, Eren raised an eyebrow before silently turning his head back and continuing his run.
Seeing that Eren didn't seem interested in acknowledging him, Steve, who had originally intended to greet him, awkwardly scratched his nose.
But he wasn't upset.
Instead, he picked up his pace and ran past Eren.
Eren watched as Steve dashed ahead, his speed even more exaggerated than when he had raced against Falcon in the movies.
He didn't mind.
Instead, he simply maintained his own pace and continued running.
Steve was fast, but so was Eren. If Steve thought he could lap him multiple times like he did with Falcon, he was mistaken.
However—
After several laps along the lakeside track—
Eren, now lightly sweating, stopped running and headed into a nearby convenience store to buy two bottles of water.
A short while later—
As Rogers passed by him again after another lap, Eren tossed a bottle of mineral water his way.
"Catch."
Smack!
Catching the bottle, Steve Rogers looked a little surprised. "Thanks! I thought you didn't want to talk to me."
"No, I just hate unnecessary trouble."
Opening his own bottle and taking a sip, Eren looked at Steve. "Alright, Captain, what do you want?"
Steve was taken aback at being directly called out.
"You know I was looking for you? I mean… you know who I am?"
"Of course. You're famous. My school still keeps your old training tapes. They use them for students who need psychological counseling. I was one of them."
"Wow, really? I wouldn't have guessed."
Looking at the bright and confident young man in front of him, Steve couldn't see any signs of someone needing psychological counseling.
"My only family member died last year."
Hearing this, Steve's face stiffened, clearly caught off guard. With an apologetic expression, he said, "I'm sorry."
Eren shook his head. "I'm not here to hear you apologize. Just tell me, Captain—why are you looking for me?"
From the moment he saw Steve Rogers, Eren immediately understood why his morning divination had predicted he'd run into trouble today.
"Well, Natasha told me that meeting you would be… a unique experience. I didn't believe her at first. Now I do."
Glancing around, Steve said, "Can we go somewhere else? This isn't the best place to talk."
"No, this place is perfect."
Saying that, Eren snapped his fingers.
With the sharp snap, an invisible ripple spread outward.
The next moment—
To Steve's astonishment, the surrounding people started drifting away, as if unconsciously avoiding them.
Within seconds, the bench Eren was sitting on became the center of a 20-meter-wide empty zone, completely devoid of people.
Seeing this bizarre phenomenon, Steve asked, "Wow… is this… some kind of superpower?"
"This world has more than just super soldier serums and enhanced individuals."
Eren shook his head. "This is just a simple magic trick."
"Really?"
Steve was skeptical. "I've never seen a magic trick like this before."
At that moment, it was as if an invisible barrier had formed around them, cutting them off from the crowd.
The people around them acted as if they had completely forgotten about this empty space. Anyone approaching it instinctively walked around it.
Steve had seen magic performances before he was frozen, but none of them could achieve something like this.
"That just means you haven't seen enough, Captain. This world is far more mysterious than you realize. If you've been keeping up with the news, you'd know that not long ago, a six-winged angel walked out of mythology and ended the disaster in Harlem."
"Compared to that, this little magic trick is nothing."
With that, Eren ended the topic, not wanting to continue discussing it.
A six-winged angel?
Steve frowned slightly.
Having only woken up a couple of days ago, he wasn't familiar with this incident.
Looks like I need to catch up on everything that's happened in this world.
But he quickly put that thought aside.
Taking a deep breath, Steve lowered his voice. "Last night, Fury set up a trap to capture Hydra agents within S.H.I.E.L.D., but… Hydra's infiltration was deeper than we thought."
"The plan was leaked… a lot of people died, and we didn't manage to capture any high-ranking Hydra members—only a few low-level operatives."
"Is that so?" Eren nodded calmly. "And what does that have to do with me?"
"It has everything to do with you."
"All the names from the Hydra list… they all died in last night's operation."
Steve's expression became serious. "Fury told me that you were the one who provided the original list of Hydra members. So… I came to ask if you know the identities of any others besides those on the list."
"They all died?"
Eren shook his head. "Looks like Nick Fury is even more ruthless than I expected."
"What do you mean by that?" Steve asked, frowning slightly.
"Captain, don't put too much trust in Nick Fury. That director of yours is far more complicated than he seems. I passed that list to Natasha a week ago. With Fury's skills, I'd bet he already dug up every single detail on those people long before last night."
"Whether they lived or died probably didn't matter anymore. Your failed operation? It might have been part of Fury's plan all along. He could have sacrificed them to lull Hydra into a false sense of security, only to strike them with a lethal blow at the right time."
"So, don't let him use you as a pawn."
Eren's words were speculation, but he felt the truth wasn't too far off.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had long been infiltrated by Hydra, practically turning it into "Snake Shield."
But Nick Fury wasn't as simple as he appeared, either.
With Fury's paranoia, his hidden methods, and the warnings Eren had just given, he wouldn't be surprised if Fury had already identified Alexander Pierce as the true leader behind Hydra's infiltration.
As for the Hydra members on the list all ending up dead, that could very well be Fury's way of deceiving the enemy.
With Eren's awakened psychic field enhancing his words with extraordinary influence, Steve Rogers couldn't help but furrow his brows.
At the end of the day—
He had only met Nick Fury a handful of times. They were nowhere near as familiar as he had initially thought.
And now, Eren's words had planted the seed of doubt between him and Fury.
After a long silence—
Steve lifted his head and said, "I'll verify everything myself. If things are as you say, I won't let Fury get away with it. The agents who died last night weren't meant to be sacrificial pawns in someone else's game."
"However, if you do know any other Hydra members, I hope you'll tell me. Believe me—no one understands Hydra's danger more than I do."
Interesting.
Within his psychic field, Eren could clearly sense that Steve was dead serious about what he had just said.
Even the part about not letting Fury off the hook.
Should I say, as expected of Captain America?
How naive.
That said, Eren found himself looking forward to seeing what would happen when Steve finally confronted Fury.
Despite the countless thoughts swirling in his mind, his expression remained unreadable.
After a deliberate pause, Eren leaned in and whispered into Steve's ear—
"If you're really serious, then take a good look into Senator Stern."
"Oh, and since you technically gave me 'psychological counseling' before, here's a friendly tip—check your home thoroughly when you get back. If I had to guess, knowing Fury, he's probably planted quite a few 'little surprises' there."
With that, Eren pulled out his phone and checked the time.
"Alright, it's getting late. I've got to get back to class."
He snapped his fingers once more.
The illusion that had blocked out their surroundings quietly dissipated.
Then, blending into the passing crowd, Eren jogged away in the direction he had come from.
Leaving Steve Rogers standing there, lost in thought.
It had to be said—Steve Rogers' tall, handsome looks made him an ideal man in the eyes of many women.
No sooner had Eren lifted the illusion than a group of women who had been eyeing Steve for a while boldly approached him.
"Hey, handsome. Are you out here for a run too? Want to join us?"
As they spoke, completely drawn in by Steve's chiseled physique, they couldn't help but let their hands wander—tracing over his chest, abs, and even his firm, muscular backside.
For a man who had been single for seventy years, this was definitely uncharted territory.
Still processing what Eren had told him, Steve was completely caught off guard by their sudden advances.
Frightened, he bolted.
Dashing out of the park—
A sleek sports car, which had been waiting by the curb for quite some time, swung its door open.
Steve jumped in, slammed the door shut, and sighed in relief as the tinted windows blocked out the women's eager gazes.
Seeing Steve looking so flustered, Natasha, sitting in the driver's seat, teased, "So, Captain, you're really not going to keep a few phone numbers? Some of them looked pretty cute."
Steve rolled his eyes but quickly pushed aside his frustration and got serious.
"When I was talking to Eren just now, something strange happened. The people around us just… moved away. Suddenly, there was a 20-meter empty space around us, and no one even seemed to notice it. You have any idea what that was?"
Hearing this, Natasha's expression shifted, her playful demeanor vanishing as she grew serious.
"You're sure? Because, Captain, I didn't notice anything. As far as I remember—"
She trailed off. Her expression darkened.
Closing her eyes, she furrowed her brows in deep thought. After several moments, she reopened them, looking even more unsettled.
Steve noticed her unease. "What's wrong?"
"For that entire conversation… I think I lost track of you."
"In my mind, I remember seeing you two sitting and talking, but I can't recall any of the details. No matter how hard I try, I just can't remember what you were actually saying."
For someone like Natasha, who had undergone extensive memory training, this was impossible.
And yet, it had just happened.
A long silence fell over them.
Then—
Steve exhaled sharply. "Looks like our 'kid' is a lot more mysterious than we thought. But at least we got something useful out of this."
"Oh?" Natasha's eyes brightened. "Does he have another list of Hydra members?"
Steve shook his head. "I'm not sure. But he told me to investigate Senator Stern."
"Senator Stern?"
The name rang a bell.
Quickly, Natasha pulled out a tablet and started searching.
Within seconds, a photo of a plump, round-faced man popped up on the screen.
Steve glanced at the image. "That's Senator Stern?"
Natasha nodded. "If Eren was referring to this Stern, then yes. There are three senators with that name in the country, but only one in New York. He's a high-ranking official, so investigating him won't be easy."
(End of Chapter)
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