Infiltrating the Factory

Outside the main gate of the fortress-like German factory.

Under the curtain of rain, a convoy of six large German supply trucks slowly drove across the muddy ground, clearly headed for the garrisoned fortress.

Two figures swiftly darted through the jungle at the side. Under cover of night, they stealthily approached the rear compartment of the last supply truck.

Kyle was the first to flip into the truck's rear compartment, which was covered only by canvas. Seeing two fully armed German Soldiers sitting inside, he muttered softly, "One each."

He rushed at one of the soldiers, covering the man's mouth with his right hand while simultaneously driving half the blade of his Nepalese Kukri into the soldier's heart with his left.

With his comrade killed before his eyes, the other soldier finally realized they were under attack. Just as he reached for his gun, a young man behind Kyle pounced on him.

Captain America's steel shield struck the soldier's forehead first. Steve followed up with a sharp hand chop, shattering the unconscious soldier's cervical vertebrae.

"Not bad. Just a little too slow." Kyle, who had been sitting nearby watching the show, nodded and offered an objective assessment in an unhurried tone.

"You're just too fast." Steve gave a wry smile as he dragged the soldier's corpse away.

"If you want to fight alongside me, you need to learn to keep up with my pace." Kyle shrugged matter-of-factly and tossed the corpse of the soldier he had dealt with out of the truck. Steve followed suit.

Killing and dumping bodies—the usual simple and brutal method of infiltration.

Since this German factory was located deep in the rear of the combat zone, and countless supply trucks entered and exited every day, the soldiers at the main gate did not inspect each truck's rear compartment individually.

The transport convoy had not expected that its own trucks were carrying two enemy super-soldiers, allowing them to enter the fortress just like that.

Only after the supply trucks had stopped and shut off their engines did Kyle and Steve climb out of the rear compartment and hide among the stacked barricades. This infiltration was practically effortless, far easier than the large base they had raided last time.

The drizzle had completely stopped. Under the dim lights of the night, a large factory building stood within the fortress, with soldiers constantly carrying supply crates inside.

Quite a few soldiers armed with blue-glowing guns patrolled the area. There were also advanced weapons such as tanks inside the fortress, all heavily guarding the factory.

"It doesn't look like a military camp. It really looks more like a manufacturing plant." Kyle muttered to himself, peering around. He could see the twenty-meter-high factory building, with the faint sound of machinery operating within.

"They've been building this factory and working here day and night. What exactly are they trying to make?" Steve asked doubtfully.

Make what?

A flash of inspiration crossed Kyle's mind. He glanced at Steve beside him and said seriously, having already formed a plan, "Steve, let's split up."

Steve looked at Kyle in surprise. "Split up? Wouldn't it be safer to move together in a place like this?"

"What good is safety? The priority is finding where the hostages are being held as quickly as possible. If the enemy discovers us, the two of us can get away safely with our strength, but the hostages might not." Kyle explained, "The factory is so large. We'll search separately, and the moment we find them, we rescue the hostages first."

"That makes sense. Be careful." Steve nodded in agreement and impatiently avoided the guards as he slipped into the factory building.

Watching Steve's retreating figure, Kyle revealed a sly smile.

Sorry, brother. You can draw the factory's enemy soldiers' attention first. Consider it the endurance training I'm giving you—after all, there's no better way to learn than real combat.

"A manufacturing plant... at this point in time, what better energy resource could the German army have than Gem Energy?" Kyle licked his lips. His outline gradually faded into the darkness, and he soon vanished completely from where he stood.

Stealth activated, Nightcrawler mode.

From nearby, Kyle resembled a misty shadow that did not exist in this world, silently following close behind Steve.

Inside the fortress's factory building, the machinery and equipment were even more technologically advanced than those outside, while German workers continuously operated the instruments.

Steve moved forward stealthily the whole way. He was exceptionally cautious, though without Kyle's guidance at his side, he had loosened up considerably.

Splat!

After crushing a patrolling soldier's head with a door, Steve fully entered the factory. A cloud of mist trailed ten meters behind him.

"His skills aren't bad, but that shield is really conspicuous."

Kyle could not help complaining. It was one thing for Steve to infiltrate, but he insisted on carrying a steel shield on his back, its surface painted with American stripes and stars.

As if he were afraid people would not know he was an American soldier.

"Captain America, the vanguard. Guess he was destined to be a shield bearer." Kyle shook his head and continued following.

Steve made his way to the factory's third floor. Below the suspended railway tracks were metal pipes and equipment, while rows upon rows of supply shelves glowing blue were stacked along the third-floor corridor.

"Energy Magazines?"

He picked up a blue-glowing magazine from a crate in surprise. With no time to think further, he continued searching for where the hostages were being held.

The moment Steve left, the stealthy Kyle stopped beside the supply shelves. Looking at the rows of blue-glowing magazines filling the shelves before him, he could not help growing excited.

Gem Energy... how much is there here? How many cards could I draw?

Kyle secretly rejoiced, but the moment he focused on the supplies, the excitement on his face instantly vanished.

New Energy Ammunition Clip: A new energy ammunition clip made by extracting Gem Energy. It can fire laser beams with astonishing destructive power. Rare Green Item Card.

Would you like to draw it?

Draw my ass!

Kyle was speechless. He had thought these Energy Magazines were all blue-quality items, but they were merely rare green-quality items.

Rare Green Item Cards could still serve as materials for Sacrifice Draws, and they counted as Green Cards all the same!

That was why Kyle had lost interest. Drawing the Energy Magazines before him would only make them useful in actual combat. As materials for Sacrifice Draws, they were not even as good as ordinary green supplies from the battlefield.

"Forget it. I should go rescue people with Steve." Kyle felt somewhat helpless, but just as he got up and took a step, he seemed to recall something and abruptly stopped.

Wait.

For such a massive new energy manufacturing plant, what was its main material again?

"Right. I actually only had my eyes on this trash. This place has one of the most precious items on Earth—even in the universe." Kyle's heart shook as he clenched his fists in excitement.

The Tesseract! This place had the Tesseract, the vessel of the Space Stone!

Tap!

Kyle swiftly entered stealth. No longer caring whether he would be exposed, he headed for the factory's central control hub at top speed.