Frozen Past, Awakened Weapon

The purge within S.H.I.E.L.D. was in full swing. With the detailed intelligence provided by Lin Ye, Nick Fury decisively arrested Alexander Pierce and a large number of his accomplices, swiftly took control of the three unfinished Helicarriers, and completely sealed away the Zola Algorithm. This decades-long infiltration was uprooted in just a few days. Though S.H.I.E.L.D. had been severely weakened, it had also gained a chance to rise from the ashes.

Lin Ye saw all of this through Remy's surveillance, but he did not pay it much attention. His gaze had already turned toward a more distant past and a grudge frozen in ice.

"Remy, locate the Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes's latest cryogenic storage site," Lin Ye ordered. Many of Hydra's bases and secrets were no longer secrets to him.

"Location confirmed. Siberia, Cybertek's secret underground facility, deep cryogenic storage vault." A coordinate deep within the ice fields was immediately marked on the holographic map.

"Very good. Prepare for teleportation."

Siberia, deep within the ice fields, Cybertek's secret base.

The atmosphere here was far colder than outside. Pierce's downfall had left the remaining Hydra operatives here as skittish as frightened birds, yet they still faithfully carried out their final order—guarding their ultimate weapon: the Winter Soldier.

Inside the cryogenic vault, Bucky Barnes lay quietly in a low-temperature life-support pod. His face was peaceful yet pale, while his metal left arm glinted with an icy sheen. The brainwashing and prolonged freezing had stripped him of nearly all memories that belonged to "Bucky," leaving only programmed killing commands and fragmented, painful memories.

Suddenly, the cryogenic vault's alarm blared shrilly!

"Warning! Unauthorized high-energy spatial fluctuations detected! Inside the cryogenic vault!"

The guards rushed toward the vault in panic, only to discover that the thick alloy door had been melted through with a huge hole, as if cut apart by extreme heat!

Lin Ye slowly stepped out of the lightning, ignoring the frightened guards raising their weapons. His eyes went straight to Bucky's life-support pod.

"Drop your weapon!" the guard captain shouted tremblingly.

Lin Ye did not even turn around. He merely waved a hand casually.

Crackle—!

A ring-shaped lightning shockwave burst outward from him! Every guard was instantly electrocuted and collapsed, their weapons reduced to piles of scrap metal.

The entire cryogenic vault fell silent at once, leaving only the low hum of the life-support pod and the blaring alarm.

Lin Ye walked up to the pod and looked at the sleeping Bucky.

"James Buchanan Barnes, Captain America's best friend, a pitiful man toyed with by the times and fate." He murmured to himself as a faint, highly condensed spark of lightning gathered at his fingertip. It was not meant for destruction, but like the most precise probe, it lightly touched the pod's observation window.

The energy passed through the glass and gently stimulated Bucky's cerebral cortex.

"Wake up."

Bucky's eyes snapped open inside the pod! Confusion flashed through his ice-blue eyes before they filled with programmed, cold killing intent and chaotic fragments of memory! Instinctively, he slammed his fist onto the internal hatch-release button!

The hatch sprang open, and cold white vapor poured out. Bucky leaped out like a swift cheetah, his metal left arm swinging without hesitation toward Lin Ye's head with crushing force! The movement was fast as lightning, the pure instinct of a killing machine!

However, his fist was firmly stopped an inch from Lin Ye's forehead by an invisible energy barrier flickering with tiny arcs of electricity. He could not advance another inch!

A flicker of shock crossed Bucky's eyes. His other hand immediately drew a dagger hidden at his thigh and attacked again! But the result was the same! Every attack seemed utterly powerless before that invisible barrier!

"Calm down, soldier." Lin Ye's voice was even, yet it carried a peculiar calming force that went straight into Bucky's chaotic mind. "I'm not your enemy. Think carefully... Brooklyn... the 107th Infantry Regiment... Steve..."

"Steve..." The name was like a key, suddenly piercing deep into Bucky's muddled memories! Blurry, warm scenes flashed past—a skinny but stubborn blond boy, the expo they had visited together, the laughter of the Howling Commandos... Then came the cold brainwashing chair, agonized screams, endless winters, and missions...

"Aah—!!!" Bucky clutched his head and let out a pained roar. The conflict of memories nearly tore his brain apart! The killing intent faded from his eyes, replaced by immense pain and confusion.

Lin Ye did not stimulate him further. He merely watched quietly. He knew that awakening Bucky's suppressed true personality would be a painful process.

[Ding! Key figure Winter Soldier detected in a critical period of memory recovery and personality reconstruction.]

[Special choices triggered:]

[Option One: Intervene deeply. Use lightning energy to precisely erase Hydra's brainwashing programs and psychological suggestions from his mind, completely freeing his consciousness. Reward: [Mental Restoration Technology], [Bucky Barnes's Absolute Loyalty]. Risk: May cause unknown damage to his brain or permanent memory loss.]

[Option Two: Guide and assist. Provide key memory stimuli and protection, allowing him to gradually break free from the brainwashing through his own will and recover naturally. Reward: [Master Psychologist], [Bucky's Deep Gratitude and Trust]. Risk: The process will be lengthy, and trigger words may cause him to lose control again.]

[Option Three: Suppress temporarily. Freeze or imprison him again, waiting for the right opportunity or handing him over to Steve Rogers. Reward: [Cryogenic Hibernation Technology], [Captain America's Favorability]. Risk: The best recovery period will be missed, and the problem will merely be delayed.]

The choices appeared. Lin Ye looked at Bucky, who was struggling in pain, and considered them briefly.

Option One was efficient, but somewhat crude and could leave lasting side effects. Option Three was too passive. Though Option Two would be slower, it respected Bucky's own will more, and might produce the best result.

"I choose Two."

[Choice confirmed.]

Lin Ye reached out, and a gentle glow of lightning lit up at his fingertip again. This time, the energy became softer, like a flowing stream, slowly entering Bucky's temples.

"Sleep, soldier. It's time to wake from the nightmare, but there's no need to rush. Take it one step at a time."

Under the soothing effect of that gentle energy, Bucky's severe headache and confusion gradually subsided. The pain faded from his eyes, leaving them blank and exhausted. His body swayed before he slowly fell backward.

Lin Ye caught him and laid him flat on the ground. He knew Bucky needed time to process and piece together those awakened fragments of memory.

Meanwhile, inside an old apartment in Brooklyn, New York.

Captain America Steve Rogers was staring blankly at an old photograph. In it, he was smiling brightly while Bucky had an arm draped over his shoulder. Fury's recent actions and the drastic changes within S.H.I.E.L.D. had left him conflicted, while his longing for his old friend had only grown stronger.

Just then, his private encrypted phone received an anonymous message.

There was no text, only a set of coordinates accompanied by an extremely blurry corner of what appeared to be a surveillance screenshot—a man lying inside a life-support pod, and a cold metal arm.

Steve's heart gave a violent lurch! That arm... he would never mistake it!

"Bucky?!" He shot to his feet, his breathing quickening!

He immediately tried to call back or trace the source of the message, but everything vanished without a trace. It could not be tracked.

Without hesitation, Steve grabbed his shield and rushed out of the apartment! He had to go to those coordinates! Right now! Immediately!

Siberian base.

Lin Ye looked at the unconscious Bucky and instructed Remy, "Delete all Hydra data in the base and erase all traces of our arrival. Then contact Natasha and anonymously tell her this location and the situation. Hint that she should notify Steve Rogers. Keep it discreet."

"Orders carried out."

A moment later, Lin Ye's figure transformed into lightning and vanished.

He did not take Bucky with him. Some knots had to be untangled by the people involved. He had merely provided an opportunity, tearing open one corner of fate's iron curtain.

More than ten minutes later, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet was the first to arrive at the base, where it found the unconscious Bucky and guards sprawled across the ground.

Shortly afterward, Steve arrived on a motorcycle at nearly insane speed!

When he rushed into the cryogenic vault and saw that familiar yet unfamiliar face lying on the ground, the super soldier who had remained unflinching through countless battles instantly reddened around the eyes, his body trembling slightly.

"Bucky..." He approached carefully, his voice hoarse.

As though sensing something, Bucky's eyelashes trembled a few times before he slowly opened his eyes. This time, there was far less coldness and killing intent in them, replaced by deep confusion and a faint sense of familiarity.

He looked at the blond-haired, blue-eyed man before him, whose bearing was resolute, as fragmented memories began painfully fitting together.

"Who... who are you..." he asked hoarsely.

Steve knelt on one knee before him, doing his best to keep his voice steady. "It's me, Bucky. Steve Rogers."

"Steve?" Bucky murmured the name. A headache struck again, but he endured it, staring intently at Steve's face as blurry images became clearer and clearer.

A reunion spanning seventy years quietly began in this cold Siberian base, in a way none of them had expected.

And the one who had set everything in motion behind the scenes had already quietly departed, as though he had merely plucked a single string of fate.

(End of Chapter 26)