Chapter 20
"Cut the crap. What are you doing here, Captain? I'm injured right now, so I can't spar with you."
Kyle teased Joseph casually, as he would with a close friend.
"You brat, you really are... incredible! You've brought honor to our Training Base!" Just like before, Captain Joseph changed his tone halfway through, turning his initial scolding into praise.
"I heard all about what you did. You went to the front lines, made corporal in just three days, obtained crucial intelligence from an enemy camp, led a hundred-man unit deep into enemy territory, and wiped out an entire large enemy base with fewer troops against more."
As Captain Joseph spoke, he sighed emotionally and gave him a thumbs-up. "You really did it. Do you know how important this frontline counteroffensive was to our army? We destroyed one large enemy base, three medium-sized camps, and one transit station. The situation in the frontline combat zone was turned around because of that! Every military district, even the entire country, has gone mad spreading news of this perfect counterattack!"
"As the greatest contributor to this counteroffensive, you're a national hero and an idol to every soldier now! These past few days, you've even sparked a wave of young people enlisting."
Compared to becoming a corporal in three days, this was when Kyle truly became famous in a single battle!
"Don't praise me so much. I might get cocky." Kyle chuckled, confidence shining across his handsome young face.
Captain America, with only the physique of a Super Soldier, could shine brilliantly during World War II. Kyle possessed the even more versatile and powerful Card Draw System—how could becoming a mere American Hero be difficult?
Still, the battle had raised his prestige within the military so dramatically that even Kyle had not expected it.
Kyle blinked and asked Joseph expectantly, "By the way, after earning such huge merit, did the generals above promote my rank or something?"
"You brat, you just became a corporal, and you're already so fixated on rank." Captain Joseph blew at his thick beard in dissatisfaction and said sternly, "Military merit must be accumulated step by step. What matters is the achievement of repelling Nazi Germany and defending our country. Still, you did make a tremendous contribution in this counteroffensive, so your rank did go up a little."
Kyle caught the key point in those words and pressed, "How much is 'a little'?"
"See for yourself." Captain Joseph seemed unwilling to say more. He pulled a soldier's ID from his uniform pocket and tossed it over.
Kyle hurriedly caught it and opened it. It was indeed a newly registered personal military ID for him, complete with the black-and-white headshot taken when he enlisted.
Kyle Dove:
Male, 22 years old, Second Lieutenant in the United States Navy.
"Second Lieutenant? This—" Kyle was stunned. This was far more than a little; he had skipped a huge stretch of ranks!
There were two rank positions between corporal and Second Lieutenant. In other words, he had jumped three ranks at once.
When Kyle had gone from soldier to corporal, he had also skipped three ranks. But corporal was still only the lowest officer rank. This time, he had jumped into a genuine officer position!
"Captain Joseph, aren't you a Second Lieutenant too?" Kyle looked at the stern-faced Joseph with a strange expression, suddenly understanding why the man was unhappy.
"Happy now? You won't need to call me Captain anymore." Joseph gritted his teeth. Two weeks ago, Kyle had still been a soldier under his instruction, yet in the blink of an eye, he held the same rank as him?
Could you believe that?
Joseph grumbled like a resentful housewife, "It took me ten years to slowly climb to Second Lieutenant, while you brat did it in less than ten days. You really know how to make me look good."
"Something feels off. Even if I earned a lot of military merit, one battle shouldn't have been enough to promote me to Second Lieutenant, right?" Kyle asked doubtfully, countless conspiracy theories surfacing in his mind.
"That's why I said you've encountered an opportunity that comes once in a century."
Joseph sighed and explained, "This is a time of war during World War II. The country urgently needs to establish role models to stir young people's passion for enlisting and raise military morale. And you happened to step forward on your own, so the rank of Second Lieutenant naturally went to you."
Joseph paused, then smiled. "You're not like that 'Captain America,' a false title built on propaganda films and song-and-dance performances. Your heroic aura was earned through genuine strength and achievements!"
"Captain America." Kyle's heart jolted, and he asked urgently, "Is it Steve?"
"Who else would it be?" Joseph pulled out a clipped copy of the New York Daily News from his pocket and said indignantly, "That kid did undergo astonishing physical changes after the Super Soldier experiment succeeded. But instead of going to the battlefield, he spends every day making military propaganda films with politicians, singing and dancing to raise money for war bonds, and building himself a righteous reputation as Captain America."
Kyle quickly took the newspaper, and Lucy helped him spread it open as the two of them read through it.
A large black-and-white photograph took up most of the front page. It showed a tall, muscular young man in a blue-and-white striped bodysuit, with a handsome, upright face.
"Buy one more Series E war bond, and a soldier on the battlefield gets one more bullet!"
"Who is strong and brave enough to save America from peril? Answer Captain America's call and join our fight!"
Such English slogans were printed in bold above the newspaper's headlines and subheadings.
"It really is Steve." Kyle smiled. From the tall young man in the newspaper, he could faintly see the frail shadow of the past.
Captain America, Marvel's first artificially created hero, had finally made his debut.
Though he had first appeared through such ridiculous political propaganda.
"Joseph, I don't have a mission right now, do I? I haven't seen Steve in two weeks. I want to see him, and I hope you can help me." Kyle looked at Joseph eagerly, forcibly suppressing the anticipation in his heart.
I have to draw the Super Soldier ability card as soon as possible! He had had enough of being limited to merely the peak of human physical ability.
"I see." Joseph frowned. He personally disliked Steve intensely, but since Kyle was the one making the request, he had no reason to refuse.
Joseph could only nod and agree. "How about this? Steve isn't in New York right now. He's traveling all over America giving publicity speeches. But in two days, he'll be holding a promotional speech at the Training Base in Europe. I'll be heading back there too, so I'll come pick you up beforehand."
"Fine. I can wait two days." Kyle nodded in agreement, his hands quietly clenching into fists.
Successfully drawing the Super Soldier ability card would be the first major step in his rise within this Marvel world!
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