Goodbye, Steve

The next morning.

After finishing breakfast at the hospital early, Kyle changed into the brand-new officer's uniform Joseph had sent over in the ward, along with a badge displaying the prominent rank of Second Lieutenant.

Lucy was even more concerned with Kyle's appearance than he was. She fussed around him, straightening the collar and sleeves of his uniform, carefully smoothing every last wrinkle with her hands.

"I'm not going to some high-society banquet. Do I really need to look this gentlemanly?" Kyle teased. Lucy seemed to have something on her mind and remained silent.

"What's wrong? Did someone bully you?" Kyle continued.

As if gathering her courage, Lucy nervously asked, "Kyle, are you going back to the battlefield with that bearded officer later?"

"Not to the battlefield so soon. The mission hasn't been assigned yet; we're just going back to the recruit base where I trained before." Kyle looked at her and smiled. "What is it? Even with an officer's rank, going to war is perfectly normal now."

"Then... can I go with you?" Lucy lowered her head, her little hands twisting together uneasily.

Kyle's face hardened. "Lucy. What do you think the battlefield is, some fun place? Have you forgotten how you escaped?"

"But I... my family all died on the battlefield, and my home is gone too. If even you leave, then I..." As Lucy spoke, tears welled up in her beautiful eyes.

"That is a problem."

Kyle stroked his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "I've got it. My home was originally here in New York, but my parents also died in the previous war, so it's been empty ever since. If you don't mind, you can stay there for now."

He had looked through his personnel file at the Training Base and learned that, before enlisting, he had been an orphan living in a vintage villa left behind by his deceased parents.

The house keys had been placed in storage somewhere in New York, and he could retrieve them with his identification slip.

"Live at your house?" Lucy's eyes widened, and a rosy blush spread across her fair, pretty face. To her, Kyle's words carried an entirely different meaning.

Wasn't this practically living together in advance, even if the other person was rarely home?

"You can stay as long as you want." Kyle smiled and affectionately ruffled Lucy's golden hair.

For the time being, he had no other thoughts about Lucy. He simply regarded her with the closeness one would have for a younger sister.

"Brother Kyle, you're so good to me." Lucy's eyes and brows brimmed with delight. She quickly stood on tiptoe and kissed Kyle lightly on the cheek, then fled the room like a startled rabbit, her face flushed red.

"Uh, that really is..."

A strange feeling rose within him. Kyle touched the cheek she had stolen a kiss from, then quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

This was not the time to leisurely pursue romance.

He had to keep growing stronger—strong enough to face every unforeseen crisis this world could bring.

Accumulate military merits, rise through the ranks, gain a certain amount of prestige, power, and even wealth. There were still many things waiting for Kyle to strive toward.

Having been reborn into Marvel, if he only wanted to be an ordinary person, he would truly be letting down the Card Draw Ability Heaven had granted him.

Kyle had his own blueprint for life, waiting for him to fill it in stroke by stroke with color.

Around eight in the morning.

Joseph personally drove a jeep over to take Kyle to the military airfield.

Kyle said goodbye to Lucy in New York, then boarded a transport plane with Joseph and returned to the original Training Base.

Meanwhile, at the Training Base.

The military had specially built a speaking platform in the open square. Steve was giving a speech as Captain America, an appearance with political implications.

The base commander had issued orders early, forcing all soldiers from the training camps to attend the speech in the square on time. Anyone who failed to show up would be expelled from military service. Intriguingly, aside from the soldiers, no officers attended this speech.

Not just the soldiers—all the officers scoffed at Steve, who called himself Captain America despite never having seen the battlefield.

It was easy to imagine that Steve, taking the stage in a skin-tight suit emblazoned with American symbols, was destined to face fierce resistance from the soldiers.

And indeed, that was exactly what happened.

"Are you ready to come with me and teach Hitler a lesson?"

Steve stood on the platform before a sea of silence. Trying to warm up the atmosphere, he addressed the hundreds of soldiers below. "All right, any volunteers?"

"What nonsense. Why would we be here if we weren't volunteers?" a soldier below shouted impatiently, and all the soldiers seated on the ground burst into laughter.

"We want to watch the girls dance!"

Facing the soldiers' jeers, Steve responded awkwardly, "I think they'll only sing one song later, so I'm trying to figure out what to do with the extra time."

"Get lost!"

"Little fairy, you should dance in boots!"

The soldiers below showed him no mercy, growing ever more boisterous. Some began hurling fruit and water bottles directly onto the stage.

Behind the stage, Carter clenched her fists, wanting to help Steve out of the situation but unable to do anything.

"Please, don't do this. I used to be a trainee soldier here too." Helpless, Steve could only use the decorative prop in his hand as a shield, blocking the debris constantly thrown from below.

"What are you doing?"

A cold, forceful voice suddenly came from the rear of the square. At once, every soldier in the square turned around in surprise.

They saw a young man in an officer's uniform standing behind the soldiers at some unknown point. A faint aura of authority surrounded him as his sharp, icy gaze met theirs.

"It's a Second Lieutenant, sir." A soldier who had been about to retort noticed the rank insignia on the young man's chest and swallowed his words in disbelief.

"Such a young Second Lieutenant? Why haven't I heard of him?"

"He doesn't look older than us, does he?"

Amid the nervous whispers of the soldiers, some seemed to recognize the young officer. With complicated expressions, they shouted, "It's Kyle! Second Lieutenant Kyle!"

Second Lieutenant Kyle?

The many recruits froze briefly, then their eyes became fervent when they looked at the young officer again.

"Hey, hey, is that really him?!"

"Obviously! Who else could be such a young Second Lieutenant besides Kyle?"

"Oh my God! The American Hero—he's my idol."

"Who isn't a fan? I enlisted because of his deeds!"

The soldiers in the square were too excited to speak. Then, no one knew who took the lead in shouting, "Stand and salute!" Instantly, hundreds of soldiers rose in unison, turned toward the young man, and saluted. "Greetings, sir!"

"Sir, you've worked hard!"

Facing their admiration, Kyle replied coolly from the rear, "Forget the salute. Two weeks ago, I was only one of you. But is this how you treat my brother? Is this all the discipline you have as soldiers?!"

The soldiers looked at one another. Finally, gritting their teeth, they swiftly turned back toward Steve on the stage and bowed in apology. "We're sorry!"

Steve said nothing on the stage. Looking at the cool young man standing behind the soldiers, he felt both exhilarated and ashamed.

For no reason, he suddenly remembered that sunset at the Training Base, after Kyle won the Pistol Match.

Back then, Kyle had told him, "Steve, from now on, no one will dare look down on us again."