Chapter 16

Cold.

A biting cold.

Chu Hang felt as though the blood throughout his entire body was about to freeze into shards of ice. He leaned against the wet, cold reeds, and every breath felt like swallowing a handful of shattered glass, scraping all the way from his throat to his lungs with a burning pain.

Gabe was in even worse shape beside him, his physical tremors having shifted from an initial violent shudder to a minor, almost imperceptible twitching. Chu Hang knew this was not a sign of improvement; it meant Gabe's body no longer even had the strength to generate heat through shivering. If this continued, in half an hour at most, Gabe would completely turn into a cold corpse.

And he himself could not hold on much longer either.

The healing factor was overpowered, but it was not a perpetual motion machine and required energy to consume. In such an extreme low-temperature environment, the pitiful amount of energy in his body was leaking away at high speed, just like an engine with a leaking fuel tank.

What to do?

Wait for death?

Chu Hang's gaze pierced through the swaying reeds, looking toward that distant ridge cast into light and shadow by artillery fire.

Captain America, Steve Rogers.

That muscle-bound man holding a pan-lid shield, hailed as the "incarnation of justice," was right there, surrounded like dumplings by the main force of Hydra. His own situation was probably no better than Chu Hang's.

Count on him for rescue? That was sheer fantasy.

Yet...

What if the point wasn't for him to come to the rescue?

It was as if a bolt of lightning had suddenly struck inside Chu Hang's mind, illuminating the darkness shrouded in cold and despair.

At this moment, his nearly frozen brain raced at an unprecedented speed.

A thought, a thought so crazy that even he found it absurd, uncontrollably popped up.

Why should I wait for him to save me?

Why couldn't I drag him down into the water too?

"Gabe," Chu Hang's voice was somewhat hoarse as he forcefully shook his teammate beside him, who was on the verge of losing consciousness. "Wake up, listen to me."

Gabe's eyelids lifted with difficulty into a narrow slit, his unfocused gaze devoid of any spirit.

"I... have a plan," Chu Hang leaned close to his ear, speaking rapidly in a voice only the two of them could hear. "A plan that can keep us both alive. But this plan is crazy—so crazy that the moment we make a single wrong step, we'll die with no burial site."

Perhaps the words "stay alive" stimulated Gabe, as a faint ripple finally appeared in his eyes.

"You... speak..." He used all his strength to squeeze two words out of his throat.

"Listen," Chu Hang said at a blistering pace. "Right now, all of Hydra's main force is drawn away by Captain America. And that damned hound was tricked upstream by us. This means the area we're in right now is a massive manpower vacuum! This is our disadvantage, but it's also our biggest advantage!"

"We're going to use this vacuum to 'invite' Captain America out of that damned encirclement!"

Gabe's eyes suddenly widened a bit. He didn't seem to understand Chu Hang's meaning.

"How to invite him?" The corners of Chu Hang's mouth hooked into a smile that looked exceptionally ferocious in the cold night. "Naturally, using Hydra's own methods!"

He patted the cold iron box in his arms—the radio communicator.

"We used it to trick the hound once just now. Now, we're going to use it to trick them again! But this time, the ones we're tricking are Hydra's entire command system!"

Gabe's breathing suddenly grew rapid. He finally understood what Chu Hang wanted to do; this plan was a hundred times crazier than the previous diversion!

"You... you're going to impersonate a Hydra commander?" Fear tinged with disbelief laced Gabe's voice.

"That's right!" A light called "madness" flashed in Chu Hang's eyes. "I'm going to impersonate a senior officer and issue a fake order to the encircling troops on the west ridge! An order they must execute no matter what!"

"I'm going to order them to open up a gap in the eastern encirclement—namely the defense line close to our riverbank! Just say the Allies' main force has been discovered in the south, requiring urgent reinforcement! That way, as long as the trapped Captain America isn't a fool, he'll definitely spot this sole breakthrough! He will fight his teeth out to break through in our direction!"

Gabe was completely stunned by Chu Hang's out-of-the-box plan.

This... this was simply dancing on the blade of a knife! And performing at the highest difficulty coefficient!

"But... but if we do this, won't we be exposed too?" Gabe said, trembling. "That hound, along with Hydra's command, as soon as they cross-reference the orders, they'll immediately find out it was you! By then, we'll become everyone's target!"

"That's right! We will be exposed!" Chu Hang nodded without hesitation, his gaze turning exceptionally firm. "So what? Gabe, listen well: the two of us are like people who fell into an ice cellar right now—sitting still means freezing to death. Trying to climb up leaves us without the strength. The only way is to drag the strongest guy on the bank down with us! Once he falls, the commotion will be big enough to wake everyone else up, hopefully!"

"Captain America is that strongest guy! As long as he charges near us, Hydra's pursuers will follow! By then, this place will turn into a new battlefield! A chaotic battlefield! Only in chaos do we have a chance! A chance to fish in troubled waters and survive!"

Chu Hang's words acted like a shot of adrenaline, stabbing hard into Gabe's heart, which was on the verge of stopping.

That's right, death either way.

Instead of dying of shame, freezing to death without a shred of dignity in this reed marsh like this, it was better to take a roaring gamble!

Win the gamble, survive!

Lose the gamble, and it's still better than this!

"Fine... let's... let's do it!" Gabe gritted his teeth, a spark of the will to survive reigniting in his previously lifeless eyes.

"Good!" Chu Hang took a deep breath, knowing that from this moment on, there was no turning back for them.

He adjusted the communicator's frequency back to Hydra's public command channel.

The sound of crackling static and German shouting poured in instantly.

"Reinforce firepower on the west side! Don't let him break out!"

"Medics! Where are the medics! We have wounded here!"

"Repeat, the target is moving along Hill Three toward the east side! Requesting firepower coverage!"

Listening to the chaos on the channel, Chu Hang knew the battle on Captain America's end had reached its most intense moment.

Right now!

He closed his eyes, striving to recall the tone and cadence of those Hydra officers giving orders he had heard earlier. That high-and-mighty, unquestionable arrogance.

He imitated the accent of the Hydra squad leader he had taken out.

Clearing his throat, he pressed the talk button.

"Silence!"

A brief yet majestic German reprimand issued from his mouth. He deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound steadier and older.

In an instant, the entire noisy communication channel fell truly silent.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden, unfamiliar voice.

Chu Hang's heart leaped into his throat, knowing the most critical moment had arrived.

"This is the Observer." He used a fabricated codename that sounded weighty, continuing, "I have just received Supreme Commander Schmidt's highest directive. On the southern front, Area A7, traces of the Allied main force have been discovered; they are attempting to outflank us from the flank. Order: all fourth, fifth, and sixth squads responsible for the eastern encirclement are to immediately abandon their current positions and assemble at full speed toward southern front Area A7 to construct a new defense line! Repeat, this is the highest directive and must be executed within ten minutes!"

With that, he immediately released the talk button.

The entire channel plunged into a dead silence.

Chu Hang could even hear his own and Gabe's heartbeats pounding like war drums.

Did it work?

Would they believe it?

Time ticked by, second by second.

Just as Chu Hang was about to lose self-control and roar another order, a young officer's voice carrying obvious doubt rang out on the channel.

"...Understood, Observer. However, once we evacuate, a huge gap will appear in the eastern encirclement, and that American..."

"Idol! Fool!" Without waiting for him to finish, Chu Hang pressed the talk button again, roaring in a furious, exasperated tone. "Are you questioning Commander Schmidt's decision? Is a single American grunt important, or is the flank security of our entire base important? I don't care what method you use, execute the order! If the southern front falls, I will personally twist your head off and use it as a ball!"

This tirade, mixed with threats and fury, clearly worked.

The young officer no longer dared to harbor any doubt.

"Yes! Yes! Understood! We are executing immediately!"

The sounds of troops assembling and vehicles starting up quickly transmitted through the channel.

It worked!

Chu Hang and Gabe exchanged glances, both seeing a trace of hard-won joy in each other's eyes!

They had genuinely mobilized Hydra's troops with a fake order!

However, before they could even finish celebrating for three seconds.

A cold, emotionless voice filled with endless killing intent abruptly rang out on the communication channel.

A voice Chu Hang and Gabe would never forget for the rest of their lives.

It was the hound.

"What a wonderful performance, my little mouse."

"Not only can you dig tunnels, but you can even bark in the master's voice."

The voice paused, as if savoring Chu Hang and Gabe's current fear, and then slowly spoke in a nearly cruel, deliberate tone.

"However, you seem to have forgotten one thing."

"I am the one responsible for southern reconnaissance."

"There is nothing there except wind and snow."

"Now, I know where you are."

"Game over."