Following the signal, Li Congxin traveled another half a mile before finally finding its source.
It was a towering iceberg. Contrary to what he had imagined, he found no plane frozen in the ice. Instead, he found a military fortress built by hollowing out nearly the entire mountain.
Judging by its appearance, however, the fortress had been abandoned for a long time.
Li Congxin circled the mountain once before finding the fortress entrance in an inconspicuous spot.
It consisted of two thick, red-painted iron doors. They appeared to be electrically controlled, but the box used to operate them was covered in a layer of solid ice.
Taking out his tools, Li Congxin chiseled through the ice, only to helplessly discover that the iron box contained a password input device.
This military base, whose existence was unknown and whose age was impossible to determine, actually used an electronic password lock?
Cracking a password lock was neither especially difficult nor especially easy. At least half the Avengers could handle it effortlessly. It was the kind of task that was difficult for those who did not know how, but easy for those who did.
Li Congxin happened to belong to the former group.
Still, this did not stump him.
After studying the old-fashioned lock for a moment, Li Congxin decisively pulled out his satellite phone and called Old Pi. "Hello! Uncle Pym, I didn't find Captain America, but I did find something else. I've run into a bit of trouble and need to open a password lock."
Old Pi truly lived up to his reputation as one of the smartest people in the Marvel universe. After Li Congxin briefly explained the situation, he gave him an answer almost without thinking.
"That's easy. The corresponding device is in the toolbox I gave you. Then do exactly as I tell you..."
Three minutes later, the electric doors slowly opened.
Inside, the first thing Li Congxin saw was a long corridor. What shocked him was that it was not cold in the slightest!
This secret base actually had heating equipment, and it was still functioning perfectly!
Beyond the corridor was a place resembling a storage room. Large quantities of materials and documents were piled inside, but they were covered in dust, spiderwebs, and the like. Clearly, no one had touched them in a very long time.
Li Congxin had no idea where the lights were switched on, so he could only take out a flashlight.
Soon, between two bookshelves, Li Congxin found a staircase leading upstairs. When he followed it up, the sight before him made him suck in a cold breath.
In the spacious hall stood five large glass chambers. Each chamber glowed with an orange-yellow light. Within them, he could vaguely make out a person seated in a metal chair, shrouded in low-temperature gas drifting down from above. The scene was dreamlike and surreal.
Two glass chambers stood on the left and three on the right. In the center was a control console covered with equipment Li Congxin could not understand.
At last, Li Congxin knew exactly what this place was.
This was an abandoned Hydra base—and the very same brawl arena that had appeared in Captain America 3!
Eighteen years later, two centenarians would beat the crap out of New York's richest man here. The conflict between the proletariat and capitalism would escalate once again, directly causing the Avengers, the greatest superhero organization, to fracture like the Jiangnan Leather Factory!
Well, those were all events of the future. Whether they would still happen after Li Congxin got involved was anyone's guess.
What truly concerned Li Congxin was that, if his guess was right, the five glass chambers before him contained five Winter Soldiers!
In 1991, Hydra's brainwashed Winter Soldier Bucky assassinated Howard and his wife, then stole the newly developed Super Soldier Serum and injected it into several soldiers. However, those soldiers became uncontrollable after receiving the serum, so they had no choice but to freeze them temporarily and wait until they found a way to control them before activating them again.
The Winter Soldiers were not overwhelmingly powerful, but within the Avengers, they were certainly not at the bottom. Their combat power was absolutely above Black Widow's and the two eagle-themed fighters!
Who would have thought? Who would have thought!
He had failed to find Captain America, yet stumbled upon the Winter Soldiers' lair!
What was this called?
The flowers one carefully planted failed to bloom, while the willow one casually stuck into the ground grew into a shade tree?
If he could bring the power of all five Winter Soldiers under his control, then during the period before Iron Man appeared, who could possibly be his match?
At the thought of this possibility, Li Congxin could not help feeling his blood surge with excitement.
Of course, these five Winter Soldiers were dangerous figures even Hydra had been unable to control. The odds of him bringing them under his command were not particularly high.
But what if he succeeded?
Regardless, he would take them back first. Old Pi could handle the subsequent problems. He should be more professional at it.
As Li Congxin approached the control console, he discovered leftover rations that someone had eaten from. There were many varieties, and they appeared to be standard-issue American military rations.
He casually touched one.
It was still warm.
Wait...
These rations... were still hot!
Realizing something was wrong, Li Congxin moved like a startled cat. Without the slightest hesitation, he performed a sideways roll and dove behind the console.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!..."
At the same moment Li Congxin slipped behind the console, several gunshots rang out. The military rations and a monitor on the console were blasted to pieces.
Sure enough, someone was guarding this abandoned base!
"Boom!... Boom!... Boom!... Boom!..." The BGM from A Man Should Better Himself began playing, gradually accelerating.
Only then did Li Congxin relax slightly. While cursing himself for his carelessness, he pretended to remain calm and called out, "Guess how many people we brought?"
"I don't mind telling you the truth. You're already surrounded. Even if you kill me, you won't be able to escape from here!"
"I advise you to give up this pointless resistance and surrender immediately!"
"Bang!"
A merciless bullet answered Li Congxin.
It struck dead center between the brows!
Of course, the bullet did not hit Li Congxin between the brows. It pierced through the first glass chamber to his left and drilled through the Winter Soldier's forehead inside.
A pitiful powerhouse who could go fifty-fifty with Captain America had his precious life ended by a single bullet, without ever regaining consciousness.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three more gunshots followed in quick succession. The second, third, and fourth...
Three more Winter Soldiers, who had yet to be thawed, died inexplicably beneath the killer's gun.
It turned out that after hearing Li Congxin claim the place was surrounded, the opponent had chosen to eliminate all the Winter Soldiers first. Even if it meant killing them, he absolutely would not allow their power to fall into the hands of outsiders!
However, with four Winter Soldiers dead, the gunfire finally stopped.
The opponent was out of bullets. This was his chance!
Li Congxin seized the fleeting opportunity and suddenly rose to his feet. His right arm extended straight out, pointing toward the direction from which the gunshots had come.
The moment he confirmed the opponent's position, a metal rod about the size of an ear pick sprang from his wristwatch and spun toward the enemy.
As he attacked, Li Congxin finally got a clear look at his enemy's appearance.
Thanks to book friend Duxing Wannian for the 100 Qidian coins!
Before you continue