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"Bavaria or Austria?" Not "Germany and Austria"—there was a lot of subtle meaning in Josh's question.
To modern people, Bavaria always seemed to be a part of Germany, with little connection to Austria.
But in fact, since the time of the Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria had always been a staunch supporter of the Austrian Habsburg family. It was only with the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, the continual decline of the Habsburgs, and the successive rise of France and the Prussian Federation that Bavaria drifted away from Austria.
Even though they ended up in two different countries, in terms of religion, ethnic sentiment, and other aspects, Bavaria remained closer to Austria.
They both considered each other family.
Even in the 21st century, voices in Bavaria calling for independence or unification with Austria never completely died out.
In short, the ties between the two were messy and deeply intertwined.
Josh's father's side was Austrian, while Lindon was from Bavaria. When they talked about "back home," it could only mean one of those two places.
As for northern Germany—that wasn't even in their concept of "home."
"Of course, Austria. After all, most of Bavaria is now under the control of the Hydra Corps," said Lindon Schneider.
In Josh's previous life, Bavaria was the German hinterland and even the location of the "Wolf's Lair."
But in this Marvel-based world, the first thing Red Skull did after rising was to seize this critical strategic region and attempt to establish his Hydra Empire centered on Austria.
So now, Bavaria and Austria were no longer under the control of the little mustache man (i.e., Hitler) but were firmly in Red Skull's hands.
As for why someone from there would seek Josh out now, he could pretty much guess the reason.
Originally, when it was just Hitler losing ground, those people weren't in a rush—Red Skull's power was even greater.
But just last month, Hydra suffered a major defeat on the Soviet front.
The reason: Captain America led the Howling Commandos to parachute into the Hydra Corps' rear, sabotaging key supply lines and frontline munitions factories. The story had spread throughout the Allied forces, and Captain America's reputation had soared.
Because of this victory, the Soviets launched a full counteroffensive and were pushing toward the Balkans.
Clearly, the Austrians had realized that Red Skull, like Hitler, was unreliable and were now seeking an exit strategy.
And for Austrians, the best retreat path was undoubtedly the Allies, not the Soviets.
"So where is this person?" Josh nodded and asked.
"It's a woman. She's staying at the Ritz Hotel right now," Lindon replied.
"A woman?" Josh raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Yes, her name is Ophelia Salkisten, a very young and beautiful lady," Lyndon shrugged.
"You're smitten with her?" Josh frowned. He knew what kind of LSP (lecherous straight perv) Lindon was—could he have been seduced?
"No, no, no—don't worry, boss! I know which women I can and can't touch!" Lindon immediately pledged his loyalty, sensing Josh's thoughts.
"You'd better...Fine, bring her to see me tomorrow afternoon," Josh gave Lindon a skeptical look up and down.
Lindon's insistence only made Josh more suspicious.
"Yes, boss!" Lindon nodded repeatedly.
"Go, take the money with you," Josh nodded, signaling him to leave.
Lindon nodded, lifted the money case, and hurried off.
Watching him leave, Josh was lost in thought.
Then he got up, closed the study door, and initiated a communication request to Yuri.
"What is it, Josh? This isn't our scheduled time. I'm very busy," Yuri appeared after a moment, wearing protective gear, clearly in the middle of a dangerous biological experiment.
"Sorry, Mr. Yuri, but I really need your help with something urgent." Josh apologized. "Do you have any devices that can detect or prevent mind control?"
"Huh? Ran into a telepath?" Yuri looked surprised.
"Not sure yet—just a suspicion," Josh explained. Previously, he hadn't been too worried about mind control. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such powers weren't very common—mostly seen in Wanda and Vision, and they didn't appear until at least 70 years later.
But in the X-Men series, mind control was practically everywhere.
However, after learning this was the Marvel world, Josh had already ordered the Blackwater Gang to look into it. There were no signs of mutants, no Xavier, no rich families with corresponding kids in New York.
So Josh had been a bit careless in this regard.
But Lindon's behavior today made Josh realize the need for precaution.
"Of course I have such things. You never asked before, so I figured you didn't need them," Yuri shrugged. "Wait a bit—I'll sanitize and change clothes."
"Of course. But can I ask what you're working on?" Josh nodded and asked curiously.
"Oh, nothing special. Just some prehistoric viruses I found. I'm trying to make them more lethal," Yuri said casually.
Josh gulped hard at that.
He suddenly remembered—this big shot was also a virus expert.
In the game, Yuri's faction had viral snipers and neuro-assault vehicles—biological WMDs.
Good thing the trading system didn't allow the transfer of non-declared materials like viruses or bacteria unless the trade partner approved.
Otherwise, Josh might really not dare to trade.
Yuri was quick. A few minutes later, he reappeared on the trade terminal's screen.
He also had three items in his hand.
One was a pen-like cylindrical metal device—very similar to the neuralyzer from Men in Black.
The other two were a helmet and a vial of medicine.
"This is called Revelation. Press the switch, scan a person—if there are signs of mind control, the light turns red. If not, it's green. This helmet blocks most mind control—unless the attacker's ability is a hundred times stronger than mine. The last one is a mental immunity serum—similar to the helmet, but only lasts about 12 hours and might cause side effects like nausea and vomiting. Not guaranteed, but I recommend the helmet," Yuri explained the pen, helmet, and serum in order.
"I think I'll need some of each," Josh said after thinking briefly.
"No problem," Yuri nodded.
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