After Mephisto came in, he sat down straight away without any courtesy, and cast a sidelong glance at the group of generals: "Why did you call me over?"
Before the general could speak, Mephisto wanted to say first: "Can't you have some serious business every day? By serious business, I don't mean catching an unlucky guy to execute or building a few more American Military Bases. Have you ever cared about Star Port? China has launched another star ship. What about you?"
Right now, it wasn't the generals who wanted to cover his mouth the most, but Steve. Because Shiller's surprised tone came through the earphones again: "Were you like this when you were young, Steve?"
"I'm really too lazy to talk about you." Mephisto said, "Do you really think the great success of the movie is related to your brilliant insights? This is as ridiculous as saying the collapse of the Soviet Union was your success. You have time to gather here to talk nonsense but no time to find a reliable supplier for your helmets that break as soon as they're bumped. It's just unreasonable..."
Steve's lips moved; he really wanted Mephisto to shut up. Of course, it's not that he disagrees with Mephisto's words; the issue is this guy imitates too well.
When Steve Rogers was young, he was a hot-headed youth, as Bucky knew best. Even when he hadn't undergone transformation, he cared about national affairs every day, expressed his opinions on the political and military situation, regardless of whether anyone listened.
And Steve's current silence is golden, not entirely because he is cautious, but with age and experience, he realized his political talent wasn't that great, and many viewpoints weren't mature. With his high position now, rashly voicing opinions might cause public opinion turmoil, so he avoids speaking publicly as much as possible.
However, Mephisto had no such scruples. He would say whatever he wanted, pointing out the country's problems and stirring up momentum. Five generals with more than 20 stars added together were lambasted by him.
Listening to him there, spouting nonsense, Steve couldn't help but press his temples. He whispered to Shiller: "This is Mephisto's opinion, not mine. Just take it as you hear it."
"Don't you think what he said makes sense?" Shiller said, "I am sure this is absolutely not spoken in Mephisto's identity. He is immersively playing the young you, clearly speaking in Captain America's tone."
"Does it make sense?" Steve was a bit skeptical, "It feels like empty talk. Whether a star ship is successfully launched is not something the military can decide. There's also the Aerospace Bureau and the Federal government..."
"You don't get it. Sometimes, whether the slogan is right is more important than whether it can be implemented. It seems like he is criticizing the military for its inaction, causing slow star ship launch, but in reality, he is making these generals criticize the Federal Government and Aerospace Bureau for inaction."
"What's the use of that?"
"For military funding." Shiller said, "As long as the inaction of the Federal Government and Aerospace Bureau in slowing progress is nailed down, pressure can be put on them to allocate the cost of building star ships into military funds, allowing the military to lead on this matter."
Steve took a sharp breath: "That would be a complete disaster! That can't work!"
"It won't succeed anyway." Shiller said, "Those two parties aren't fools, especially with Stark Group and S.H.I.E.L.D. behind the Aerospace Bureau. How could they let the military succeed?"
"Then why do it?"
"To lure them with profits." Shiller continued, "Making movies is to promote the military, and promoting the military is for military funds. But if they can directly get the star ship budget as military funds, who cares about movies then? Making movies costs money, and directly getting funds from the star ship budget means receiving money. Who would go against the money about to be in hand?"
Steve suddenly understood: "So that's how it is."
Sure enough, several generals were already getting animated and exchanging glances. Mephisto pretended not to see and kept ranting there. Eventually, the generals pretended to be impatient and drove him out, along with Steve.
Upon leaving, Mephisto changed his expression, fully reverting to a devilish stance. Steve watched him make such an expression using his own face, felt it was quite an eyesore, and turned his head away.
"What did they call you to do?" Mephisto asked.
"Oh, I know." Before Steve could answer, Mephisto answered himself, "Aren't they thinking of getting you to shoot a sequel? Their plan is quite good. Just don't agree to it."
Steve didn't intend to agree anyway, but he had to ask out of curiosity, wanting to see what reason this devil of a Mephisto could come up with, "Why not? I am the real Captain America."
"I won't state the obvious reasons." Mephisto said, "After all, you can understand that they don't really want you to act, but want to use you to manipulate me. The most important point is, you can't stop them from altering the script, and eventually, the movie will turn into a mess. You might not care about your life being slandered, but what about your comrades? Those warriors who fought bravely and died on the front line? Will you watch them become stepping stones for this group's power struggles, portrayed as cowardly and treacherous villains in the movie?"
Steve's face changed abruptly. But he quickly realized, Mephisto was indeed skillful; he could very accurately grasp the weaknesses of human nature.
In reality, Steve no longer really cared how others interpreted him. Especially regarding the war, he was quite clear that what the war brought him was more than what he sacrificed in the war.
The true warriors who bravely fought and killed on the battlefield have all died there; the ones who survived by chance are also plagued by sickness and injuries. Yet I, despite making no major contributions, have gained so much fame. Years later, at the stroke of midnight, he would awake with a guilty conscience.
Steve could never accept anyone defaming his comrades. Whether it was the assault team members who fought beside him or the heroes he never met who died in the Battle of Verdun or other fierce front-line battles.
If God stood by his side, then his mission for Steve Rogers by allowing him to survive was to stand up and protect them when the fallen can no longer speak. He could never be the widow of a great nation, but he would forever be the most loyal survivor of the souls of that war.
Mephisto keenly captured this and proposed conditions Steve couldn't refuse, showing him that a devil is called a devil because he excels at enticing people.
With this reason, Steve could never participate in this series of movies again. Because he knew he probably couldn't really stop them from changing the script or contribute such evocative acting. Even if it wasn't for him, it was for the richly and touchingly portrayed supporting characters in the movie; he could only let Mephisto perform well.
Steve patted Mephisto's shoulder, sighed, and left. On the way back, he said to Shiller, "I'm afraid I really don't have that talent. I can't see their weaknesses at a glance. It really feels like a superpower, doesn't it?"
"Don't doubt it, it's a superpower." Shiller said to Steve, "I said Mephisto doesn't use superpowers meaning he won't slap someone onto the wall until they can't be pried off, but I never said he doesn't use the Mind Reading Technique."
"Unfortunately, the Soldier Serum didn't give me that ability." Steve felt a bit regretful, "They should've researched more."
"It's not that simple." Shiller continued, "Simply reading thoughts and ideas won't do. Even if you can see all the memories, you must have the ability to summarize and refine, to analyze the opponent's personality, to grasp their weaknesses. That's not something any serum can achieve."
"However..." Shiller dragged out the tone, "There is a way, depending on whether you want to do it."
Steve was about to reject it, but Shiller didn't give him the chance, immediately saying, "I also believe America will become better, but it's important whose hands it gets better from. You represent the generation that was sacrificed; the more sacrifice, the greater the right to change. The labor, youth, and lives you offered only exchanged for a decaying corpse. You have the greatest right to mourn, bury it, and let it be reborn."
Steve fell silent, beginning to reflect, seemingly recalling many past events. The dock workers hurriedly passing in front of his home in Brooklyn, the warriors in the army laughing and chatting, the old woman waiting at the doorstep for her child's return...
As long as the river of history continues to flow downstream, every generation is sacrificed. The difference is whether to pile up the corpses of the previous generation to stand tall, avoiding the rush of turbulent waters to build nations and civilizations, or to casually discard in the soil, let this generation also rot into the earth until no bones remain for history's flood to swallow, leaving not a trace.
Steve Rogers was the horizontal bone left from America's golden age, yet they always treated him like a thorn in the throat rather than the backbone of that nation. Should one watch as other remains are washed away by the current, still content to lie down, buried under mud, then watch as future generations drown because they couldn't find a hold in chaotic waters?
Steve felt some heaviness in his heart, so he turned to his good brother. This time it wasn't Bucky, but Nick. They were from the same era, sharing more common topics in this aspect.
"You know, I'll always support you," Nick said, "I never believed Captain America is powerless to change, you've just been unwilling to do it. You have an avoidance mentality, thinking you're not up to the task, but we all know it's not true."
"Do you think I'm too humble?" Steve asked, taking a sip of beer.
"He's not." Shiller said in his ear, "He's saying you're not confident. Lack of confidence and humility are two different things."
"The impact war has on you is much greater than you imagine." Nick turned to look at him, patting his wrist, "War makes one feel excessively small. When you're lying in a trench, listening to the shell flying overhead and the screams around you, you feel useless, able to do nothing. Sacrifice and death are too heavy; those bearing them constantly feel like they're about to be crushed, which is perfectly normal."
"Do you think even bearing these, I can still do something?"
"He thinks bearing these, you should do even more." Shiller said again, "Some things are burdens on your back, but if they're grasped in your hand, they're invincible weapons."
"If you recognize this world from the start of war, then what you seek in life is to make everyone's sacrifice more valuable." Nick leaned on the bar, sideways looking at Steve, "We are all striving for this, each doing their part. If you really go to do it, you'll find it's the best way to commemorate, crying and whining never are."
"I've never started." Steve said, "I'm well aware, those things I've done don't count as effort. Out of insecurity, I've delayed many things that should've been started."
"You don't need to be insecure." Shiller added, "You still have me. As long as you don't take off the headphones, we share a brain. Don't you trust me?"
"I'm not asking you for help, just trusting you too much. Can you tone it down a bit? I'm begging you."
"I promise to make it as painless as possible." Shiller laughed, "At least you and those who truly want to make this country better, painlessly."