Run! Run Right Now!

"I'm on my way."

When that icy final syllable faded into dead silence in the communicator, the very air inside the cave seemed to freeze.

Not a single shred of color remained on Gabe's face. He looked at Chu Hang, his lips moving, but not a single word came out. His eyes were filled with questions and terror.

Had they fallen for a trick?

Had that monster truly believed their nonsense and gone running upstream to chase a shadow that didn't exist at all?

Chu Hang's heart was hammering wildly, like a runaway pile driver crammed into his chest. To be honest, he had no confidence of his own. That guy with the codename Hound gave him a feeling that was far too dangerous, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows; you had no idea when or from what angle he would strike a blow at you.

His parting words—"More interesting than I expected"—made Chu Hang's back feel even colder. That didn't sound like the reaction of a prey that had escaped at all. Instead, it sounded more like... the excitement of finding a new toy?

Damn it, there was no time to care about that anymore!

Inside Chu Hang's head, that little guy in a suit jumped out once more, pointing at his nose and yelling, Why are you overthinking things? Do you still want to stay here and have a cup of tea with him to chat about the philosophy of life? Right now is your only window of opportunity! The only one! Hesitate for a second too long, and you'll end up turned into a specimen hanging on his wall by him!

Right! Run!

Now! Immediately! Right away!

"Let's move!"

Chu Hang let out a low roar, grabbing Gabe—who was still standing there in a daze—and hauling him up from the ground. Giving Gabe zero time for thought or hesitation, he hoisted one of Gabe's arms straight over his shoulder, used every ounce of strength he had, and half-dragged, half-carried him as he charged right out of that narrow cave.

Whoosh—

A biting cold wind mixed with freezing snow particles instantly plastered both of their faces.

"Chu! Did... did he really fall for it?" Gabe shivered violently from the cold, unable to keep from asking as Chu Hang dragged him along.

"How the hell should I know!" Chu Hang gritted his teeth, feeling the heavy weight pressing down from Gabe as he trudged heavily and unsteadily through the snow. "I only know that if we don't run right now, we're dead for sure! Stop talking nonsense and save your breath!"

He didn't dare pause for even a second, not even daring to look back in the direction of upstream. All of his focus was concentrated on his own footing and on Gabe in his arms. With a pace that wasn't fast, yet remarkably steady, he rushed toward the riverbank downstream.

Every step planted in the deep snow produced a crunching sound, which sounded exceptionally grating in the silent snowy woods. Chu Hang's heart leaped into his throat, terrified that the pervert's hearing was just as good as his tracking ability.

One hundred meters, fifty meters, twenty meters...

That cold river shimmering with rippling light under the moonlight drew closer and closer.

At last, the two of them tumbled and scrambled their way to the riverbank.

"No time, jump!" Chu Hang glanced back at that patch of dark woods behind them, feeling as though a pair of eyes were staring right at them from there. With no time to overthink, he gave a loud roar, braced Gabe, and lunged fiercely into the river.

"Splash!"

The bone-chilling river water instantly swallowed their bodies.

"Fuck!"

Even with Wolverine's constitution, the moment he made contact with the river water, Chu Hang still couldn't stop himself from swearing aloud.

That wasn't just cold; that was pain! It was the excruciating agony of what felt like tens of thousands of ice needles stabbing into every single pore of his body all at once! His blood felt as though it was about to freeze instantly, and his heart skipped a beat.

If he was like this, there was no need to even mention Gabe beside him.

Gabe's body stiffened violently in the water, unable to even cry out before he nearly passed out straight away from the intense cold and the injury on his leg.

"Wake up! Gabe! Don't you dare fall asleep, dammit!" Chu Hang felt Gabe's body go limp and was scared out of his wits. He knew that at this temperature, once consciousness was lost, death was truly not far away.

He delivered a fierce slap to Gabe's back, then used all his might to drag him swimming toward the center of the river.

The river was quite shallow, mostly only reaching their chests, but the current was fierce. The freezing river water lashed frantically against their bodies, stripping away the very last shred of heat they had. Chu Hang's teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, and he could feel his bodily functions plummeting at a rapid pace.

The Healing Factor genuinely made him vastly more durable than an ordinary person, but it wasn't omnipotent either. He could sense his wounds healing and his stamina recovering, but that rate of recovery simply couldn't keep pace with the rate at which his heat was draining away.

He had to get Gabe away from this damn river as fast as possible.

Struggling onward through the water, he used his enhanced vision to sweep rapidly across the downstream riverbank, searching for a place they could hide.

Just then, his ears twitched slightly.

Amidst the roaring rush of the water and the howling wind and snow, he seemed to catch a different sound.

That sound was very faint, coming from the upstream direction.

It sounded like something... moving swiftly through the treetops.

It wasn't the sound of footsteps, but rather something... lighter, swifter, resembling the sound of branches shaking slightly as an ape leaped through the forest canopy.

Chu Hang's pupils shrank violently.

That Hound! He hadn't taken the ground! He was moving through the trees, dammit!

This realization made Chu Hang's scalp instantly explode.

No wonder—no wonder they hadn't heard any sound of pursuiting footsteps the entire way! This pervert wasn't using conventional methods to track them at all! He was like a true jungle ghost, moving in total silence through the treetops right above their heads!

Had he fallen for the trick? Perhaps.

Yet he possessed absolute confidence in his own tracking abilities. He might genuinely have believed his judgment was mistaken and rushed upstream. But once he failed to find anyone over there, what would he do?

He would realize instantly that he'd been played!

Then, he would follow this river downstream at top speed to hunt them down!

Chu Hang's heart plummeted straight to the bottom.

He had originally thought that once they jumped into the river, everything would be fine. Now it appeared they had only pushed the Grimcutter's scythe just a tiny bit further away for the moment.

"Hurry! Faster!" Chu Hang roared frantically inside his head, dragging Gabe as he practically tumbled and scrambled through the water toward downstream.

After struggling in the freezing river for nearly ten more minutes, Chu Hang felt his consciousness begin to blur somewhat. Not far ahead downstream, he spotted a dense patch of reeds where the riverbank seemed to form a small depression, looking like a decent hiding spot.

That was the place!

Using his very last ounce of strength, he dragged the semi-conscious Gabe ashore, and then the two of them collapsed together into the withered, yellow reed bed.

The thicket of tall reeds blocked a portion of the biting cold wind for them.

Lying on the freezing muddy ground, Chu Hang breathed heavily in huge gasps, his chest burning with pain. He felt as though he were a piece of pork just hauled out of liquid nitrogen, his entire body so stiff it didn't feel like his own anymore.

He didn't dare rest, forcing himself to sit up and check Gabe's condition.

Gabe's lips had turned completely purple, his face as pale as a sheet of paper, his breathing weak, and his body trembling violently and uncontrollably.

"Gabe! Hey! Gabe!" Chu Hang slapped his face hard.

Gabe's eyelids fluttered a few times, barely managing to crack open a sliver, his gaze unfocused as he was clearly on the verge of hypothermic shock.

No, if this kept up, he really would die.

Gritting his teeth, Chu Hang tore off his own inner shirt, which was still somewhat dry, forcefully stripped off Gabe's soaked outer garments, and used that piece of cloth to rub Gabe's body fiercely, trying to impart even the tiniest bit of warmth to him.

By the time he finished all this, he was almost exhausted himself.

Leaning back against a clump of reeds, he felt his eyelids grow as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

No, he couldn't sleep.

He pinched his own thigh hard, the intense pain making him snap back to sobriety a little.

Unconsciously, he called up the system interface in his mind.

[Superpower Copier] [Current available copies: 0] [Cooldown countdown: 1 day 16 hours 23 minutes...]

Still over a day...

As long as he held out for another day and change, he would be able to use his replication ability once more.

When that time came, as long as he could find Captain America and copy his ability... No, wait, Captain America himself was surrounded right now; whether he could survive was still a question.

Chu Hang's gaze passed through the sparse reeds, looking toward the direction of the distant western ridge.

Over there, fighting should have broken out by now.

He could practically hear the faint sounds of gunfire drifting from afar.

In his current state, to say nothing of going to save people, being able to save his own and Gabe's little lives already counted as a blessing from the heavens.

What should he do?

Did he really have to act like a stray dog, hiding right here and trembling as he awaited the judgment of fate?

No.

Chu Hang's gaze slowly grew sharp once again.

He was no longer the corporate slave of the past who could only leave things to fate.

He possessed the top-tier physical fitness of this era, and he held the most bugged cheat in this world.

He hadn't come here to run for his life.

He had come... to hunt.

He glanced at Gabe, who was nearly out of breath beside him, and then cast another look at the distant, fire-lit ridge.

A much crazier, yet much bolder idea slowly took root and sprouted within his heart.

Perhaps...

He didn't need to go looking for Captain America.

He could make Captain America... come looking for him.