A Distraction

Damn it.

A cold voice came through the communicator, devoid of any emotion.

I smell them.

They are nearby.

These two sentences were very calm, like stating a fact.

There was no roaring, no yelling, yet it was more terrifying than any threat.

We are done for.

This thought struck the minds of Chu Hang and Gabe at the exact same time.

Gabe's face turned instantly pale, and he subconsciously clutched his injured thigh hard.

The wound had been bandaged, but the faint smell of blood would likely become the signal that exposed their location.

This cave was not a shelter; it was a stone coffin. The darkness at the mouth of the cave looked like a giant mouth ready to swallow them at any moment.

They were trapped.

Cold sweat covered Chu Hang's back. He could picture the scene outside the cave: an elite Hydra soldier crouching in the snow like a hound, nose twitching in the air, eyes already locked onto this rock face.

Run? Where could they run?

Gabe's leg was a burden. The footprints and bloodstains in the snow were the most obvious signposts. He wouldn't be able to run fifty meters before being caught by that freak and killed like a toy mouse.

Not run? Stay here and wait to die?

Waiting for someone to find this cave entrance and then smilingly toss in a grenade? A Hydra elite was definitely capable of doing something like that.

What to do? What the hell should they do?

Chu Hang's mind raced, but every thought pointed to a dead end.

Right at that moment, the communicator rang again. It was the commander's voice, carrying a trace of urgency, "Hound, report your exact coordinates! Do you need fire support?"

The hearts of Chu Hang and Gabe jumped to their throats.

As long as that monster with the codename Hound reported his coordinates, everything would be over.

"Negative."

Unexpectedly, the Hound's voice was full of mockery and disdain.

"To deal with two wounded rats, I am enough by myself. Let those fools go catch that big rat wearing the stars and stripes; the prey here is my personal time."

The communication channel was silent for a few seconds.

Then, the commander's voice sounded again, "Fine. Lord Schmidt said, those two little mice are up to you to dispose of."

"Received."

The communication ended.

Dead silence filled the cave.

Up to you to dispose of.

These four words were a death sentence.

"Chu..." Gabe's voice trembled uncontrollably, and he gripped the M1 Carbine in his hand tightly. "Listen to me, this is our last chance. In a moment, when I count to three, I'll rush out and make the biggest commotion. You... you take the opportunity to run toward the river, don't look back!"

"Shut the hell up!" Chu Hang roared, interrupting him as he grabbed the collar of Gabe's clothes, his eyes bloodshot. "Not this again? Looking like this, how many seconds can you last if you rush out? Besides throwing your life away for nothing, what good is it?"

He didn't not want to live; he wanted to live more than anyone!

Yet he couldn't leave Gabe behind alone.

Calm down! He had to calm down!

Chu Hang let go of Gabe, turned around, and breathed heavily. The cold air made his lungs sting, but it also helped calm his wildly pounding heart slightly.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to replay all the information he had just heard.

Hound, a single person, extremely arrogant.

Captain America, on the west ridge, surrounded by the main Hydra force.

All units... all Hydra combat units had been transferred to besiege Captain America...

Wait!

All units!

Chu Hang abruptly opened his eyes. A ray of light pierced through the darkness in his mind.

This was a crisis, but it was also an opportunity!

The Hound's arrogance made him choose to come alone. And Captain America, acting as bait, had attracted all the other Hydra soldiers to the west!

This meant that the riverbank area where they were currently located had become a troop vacuum zone, except for the approaching Hound!

As long as... as long as they could lure this single threat away!

How to lure him away?

Chu Hang's gaze fell beside Gabe's hand, upon that black iron box—the Hydra radio communicator!

A wildly bold plan formed in his mind.

"Gabe," Chu Hang turned around sharply, lowering his voice, his eyes glowing in the darkness, "do you trust me?"

Gabe was stunned by the question. Looking at the expression mixed with madness and excitement on Chu Hang's face, he nodded heavily. "I trust you."

"Good!" The corners of Chu Hang's mouth curled upward uncontrollably. "Then we're going to play a big game! We're going to play a game of feinting to the east and attacking to the west with that son of a bitch!"

"A feint?"

"That's right!" Chu Hang snatched the communicator, waving it in front of Gabe. "Doesn't he think we're hiding nearby like rats? Then we'll use this thing to tell him he guessed wrong!"

Gabe's eyes widened instantly. "You mean... use their communicator to broadcast fake intelligence?"

"What else?" Chu Hang squeezed the words through his teeth. "Sit here waiting for him to find the cave entrance and send us on our way? Gabe, this is our only chance!"

Gabe's Adam's apple bobbed. This plan was too risky; it was simply crazy! Once exposed, they would die even faster.

However... just as Chu Hang said, this was their only chance.

"...How do we do it?" Gabe asked through clenched teeth.

"Simple." Chu Hang spoke at a rapid pace, pulling out a C-4 plastic explosive and a pencil detonator from his backpack. "In a moment, you use this communicator to imitate the tone of a patrol soldier, using the most panicked tone of your life to report that you discovered us in the upstream direction and have already engaged in gunfire! To make the report more convincing, I will detonate this," Chu Hang shook the explosive in his hand, "upstream!"

Gabe fully understood. "No matter how formidable he is, he's still just a man! When he hears a clear gunfire report and an explosion, he will instinctively think his judgment was wrong! He'll rush over to the direction you detonated!"

"Right!" Chu Hang snapped his fingers. "As long as we can lure him away, even if it's just for ten minutes! We'll immediately go out, jump into the river, and run downstream! By the time he realizes he's been tricked, we'll have long since vanished!"

"Fine! Let's do it!" Gabe hesitated no longer, taking the communicator as the fire of survival reignited in his eyes.

"Get yourself ready, figure out what to say, and make sure it sounds real! The more panicked, the better!" Chu Hang shoved the communicator into Gabe's hand, then picked up the explosive with a solemn expression. "I'm going out for five minutes to plant this. Remember, when I get back, the moment I give you a hand signal, you report immediately!"

Without another word, Chu Hang took a deep breath, lowered his body, and slipped silently out of the cave entrance.

The air outside was piercingly cold.

Braving the wind and snow, Chu Hang chose a group of riverbank rocks about three hundred meters upstream. He stuffed the C-4 explosive into a rock crevice, inserted the detonator, and left only a short length of fuse.

Finishing this, he immediately returned the way he came, carefully placing each footprint precisely into the ones he had left earlier.

When he slipped back into the cave looking like a snowman, Gabe was gripping the communicator tightly, lips moving as he rehearsed his lines over and over.

Chu Hang gave him a thumbs-up, leaning against the cave wall to steady his heartbeat.

Success or failure rested on this single move.

He nodded at Gabe and slowly made a "start" signal.

Sweat covered Gabe's forehead. Biting his hard-in, he pressed the talk button.

The next second, a burst of German mixed with extreme panic and heavy panting roared from the communicator!

"Calling command center! Calling Hound! I'm on the upstream riverbank in A3 Area! Target spotted! It's those two fugitives! Their firepower is heavy! I need support! They're fleeing upstream! Requesting support! Requesting..."

Bang—!!!!

Before Gabe's "call for help" could finish, a muffled yet clear explosion sounded in the distance!

The violent explosion was amplified by the radio current, turning into a harsh, loud noise that spread across the entire Hydra communication channel.

In an instant, the noisy background sound across the entire channel disappeared.

Inside the cave, Chu Hang and Gabe held their breaths, staring fixedly at the small iron box.

Did it work?

Did that monster fall for it?

Time seemed to slow down.

Finally, after a deathly silence, that cold voice belonging to the Hound sounded once again.

"Upstream riverbank in A3 Area... Very well."

"All units hold your positions, no approaching."

The voice paused, speaking slowly, word by word.

"These two mice are a bit more interesting than I imagined."

"I'll be right there."