A week later.
"Steve, are you all right?" ??
Luke, who finished the rucking, handed a towel to the thin little man.
(Note: 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 ended the conversation.
But this time, his eyes were on to Luke.