The next day, early morning.

Luke, now drafted in the military, packed up his luggage and went with Rogers, who was more than just excited, to take a special military truck to Camp Lehigh in New Jersey.

Before leaving, they met several important personnel from the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

For example, the serious-looking, Colonel Phillips.

The creator of the Super Soldier Serum, Dr. Abraham Erskine.

Howard Stark, who was well known in New York.

And of course, Agent Carter, who still had a cold expression.

And so on ...

The Strategic Scientific Reserve was a temporary organization specially established by the Allies to win the war.

It was personally approved by President Roosevelt and the heads of the European countries.

The main purpose of such gathering elites from various fields was to fight against the Third Reich's Hydra - a certain evil organization symbolized by the monster Hydra.

The secondary purpose was to implement the 'Super Soldier' plan and to end the war which was sweeping through the world.

The current leader of Hydra is Johann Schmidt, nicknamed 'Red Skull'.

He was said to be a member of Hitler's inner circle.

His authority was so higher that he was one of the people whose approval led to the formation of the Secret Police in Germany.

‘Red Skull isn’t the one who founded the Hydra…’

Luke thought as he sat on a military truck, swaying from side to side.

 

He remembered the cartoons mentioning that the origin of the original Hydra was quite early enough to go back even further.

Red skull just used this name.

There were some similarities between him and his idol, Adolf Hitler.

"Luke, do you think we would meet Bucky?” Rogers asked, clutching his bag.

Thinking of Bucky's surprised expression when he finds out that they have joined the army and set foot on the battlefield, he couldn't help looking forward to their next meeting.

Luke laughed and said, "Bucky should have already reached England and may even be fighting in the war as we talk.”

He could understand why Rogers was so obsessed with serving in the army.

For a long time, this little man had been made fun of and bullied because of his thin figure.

In such cases, the future only followed two paths. 

Some people, like Rogers, maintained an optimistic and positive attitude;

While others developed distrust and self-imposed apathy.

The former are few and far between, while the latter are numerous.

And this was probably why Steve Rogers became Captain America.

He was a man who always had a positive approach to things.

Rogers was keen to serve in the army, not out of strong patriotic feelings —— he wasn't the kind of a person who was eager to get some military honors and medals.

This skinny little guy is trying to prove that he was no different than the stronger guys.

"Luke, why did Howard Stark go to Camp Lehigh? Was he also drafted as a soldier?” Rogers asked with a curious face.

He didn't know anything about the 'Super Soldier' plan or the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

He only thought that they went to Camp Lehigh to receive training for new recruits.

"Stark isn't the same as us, he's a scientific consultant. A full-fledged senior officer!"

Luke shook his head.

As two new recruits, how could they compare to Howard Stark?

Both sides were treated differently!

Howard Stark was able to take a smooth and comfortable private car and talk and laugh with a group of senior officers along the way.

In the evening, he might even go out and have fun.

While he and Rogers had to stay in the military truck that rocked like a lurching ship.

Luke smiled meaningfully, "Get ready to live like a soldier, Rogers!"

For Rogers, who was far from strong, recruit training is no easy task.

　　……

　　……

A week later.

"Steve, are you all right?”

Luke, who finished the rucking, handed a towel to the thin little man.       

(TNote: Rucking = Walking a long trail with a weighted rucksack)

He looked like he had been fished out of the water, and his military camouflage was soaked with sweat.

His chest was heaving up and down heavily, as if pulling the bellows, emitting a heavy huffing and puffing sound.

Even the easiest 5-kilometer rucking was an impossible challenge for Rogers that had poor physical fitness.

"No, it's fine! I just need a break ... and I'll be fine!"

Luke looked at Rogers, who was talking between each breath he took, fearing that he would suddenly pass out.

Steve was able to persevere until now, forced himself to stand up, he was indeed very determined.

Regardless of each day's training assignment, Rogers was the last to finish and the one with the worst grades.

But in terms of efforts, he wasn't inferior to others, sometimes better than others.

"I feel much better! Thank you, Luke!" After a few breaths, Rogers thanked him with a grateful smile.

If it wasn't for Luke's help, his situation would have been much worse.

To Rogers, Camp Lehigh was no different from the streets of Brooklyn.

People relied on strong muscles and built, bullied the weak; Such bastards can be found everywhere.

Luckily Luke came forward, otherwise Rogers would have already been beaten up more than once.

"Huddle up!"

A sharp whistle resounded, and the recruits, who had long since developed a conditioned reflex, trotted over and stood in neat formation.

Some of them had learned the hard way about what happened when they disobeyed orders, or what happened when someone acted like a prick.

That cold faced female officer with a British accent wasn't as weak as she looked. 

The recruit who took the punch, Gilmer Hodge, was very vocal about this - he still had a Band-Aid over his nose bridge.

What's more, high-intensity physical training every day was enough to release everyone's extra ‘energy’, by the end of the day they were too tired to create trouble.

"From the report over the last few weeks, which recruit has the best scores and the best performance?"

Standing not far away, looking at the new recruits being lectured, Colonel Philips asked.

"It's Luke Cavill.”

Carter, who was holding the score sheet, raised an eyebrow.

She really didn't expect the answer to be the young man from Brooklyn. 

Not only was his marksmanship amazing, but his performance in other test subjects were excellent.

Shooting targets, marching with weight, climbing barbed wire and other physical training.

Luke could easily win the first place and left the one who was placed second, far behind.

"I knew it! Erskine, as I said, Cavill is the most suitable candidate!"

Colonel Philips said as he clapped his hands.

He looked at Luke, the strong, sturdy man in the lineup, with admiration in his eyes.

The other party perfectly conformed to the definition and image of a good soldier in the Colonel's mind.

"Wait! We still have time.”

Dr. Erskine, who was standing nearby, replied.

His eyes didn't stop at Luke, but looked at Rogers, who stood out in the lineup. 

If they were to choose a big strong man as the Super Soldier.

Then there was no need for Erskine to start this secret selection at all.

Just pick anyone out of the army.

In this world, there had never been a shortage of good soldiers who knew how to obey orders and had strong muscles.

However, it was quite difficult to find a truly good person, they needed a 'Super Soldier' who had strength but will never misuse it. 

Erskine knew he didn't have much time, but he still chose to be patient and think carefully.

He had high hopes from Rogers.

That thin little guy has a rare quality that touches people's hearts!

"You asked me to look into Rogers' life! Yes, he is indeed a ... good man! But what's that going to do? If the bureaucrats of the Committee know that the choice for Super Soldier was a thin guy who was as skinny as a piece of wood and can’t even finish a 5km run; What will they think?"

Colonel Philips said with discontent.

In his opinion, war was a matter of comparing the strength of both sides, not the character of the soldiers.

"The selection isn't over, time is not up yet. Colonel, let's wait patiently for a little longer!"

Dr. Erskine continued with this answer.

But this time, his eyes turned to Luke.