Now We're the Same Kind of People, Aren't We?

The hand on his shoulder was steady and strong, carrying a reassuring warmth.

Captain America Steve Rogers's palm was just like the man himself—broad, powerful, and utterly dependable.

Steve pulled Chu Hang up from the snow and helped him steady himself. To be honest, his legs were still a little weak. Not because he was injured, but because that whole sequence of gambling with his life and putting on an act had left him under immense strain. Now that he had relaxed, the lingering fear came rushing in.

Fortunately, he had won the gamble.

He could clearly feel earth-shaking changes taking place inside his body. Streams of heat surged through every corner of him like boiling water. His muscles, bones, organs—everything was being reshaped and strengthened in an unbelievable way.

It felt as though his entire body had been thrown into a furnace, shattered, then pieced back together. Painful, yet exhilarating.

He knew the Super-Soldier Serum was taking effect.

The Howling Commandos around him stared as if they were looking at a monster. They had just watched that knife plunge into Chu Hang's body, yet aside from his pale face and the hole in his clothes, he looked completely fine.

"Hey, kid, are you made of iron or something?" Dugan asked, cigar clenched between his teeth as he walked over and poked him. Chu Hang was rock-hard beneath his fingers, all muscle.

Chu Hang grinned but said nothing. He couldn't exactly say, I just activated a cheat code, and now I'm leveling up, could I?

His gaze passed over the others and landed on Logan.

Logan stood some distance away, brows tightly furrowed. His sharp, beastlike eyes were fixed on Chu Hang without blinking. His nose kept twitching, as though he were trying to identify a scent.

Chu Hang's heart skipped a beat.

He had forgotten about that. Logan wasn't like ordinary people such as Dugan and the others. His senses, especially his sense of smell, were sharp as a dog's... no, sharper than a dog's. With both a Healing Factor and the Super-Soldier Serum wreaking havoc inside his body, his scent had definitely changed drastically.

He might be able to hide it from everyone else, but not necessarily from Logan.

Sure enough, Logan strode over and stopped directly in front of Chu Hang. He looked him over from head to toe, his gaze as though he were studying something wearing human skin.

"Something's off about you, kid." Logan's deep voice carried undeniable certainty.

The atmosphere around them instantly became a little delicate.

"W-what's off about me?" Chu Hang felt guilty, but he still put on a baffled expression.

"Your smell." Logan was blunt. He pointed at his nose. "You smell different. It changed just now, after that guy stabbed you. You smell... a little like the Captain, but not the same. More... wilder."

Chu Hang's eyelid twitched.

Damn, did this nose come with radar? He could even smell whether someone was wild or not?

His mind raced as he considered his options. When dealing with an instinct-driven brute like this, any complicated lie might be seen through at a glance. The only way was to mix truth with fiction and use an explanation that sounded absurd but couldn't be disproven.

"Maybe... I awakened," Chu Hang sighed, putting on a melancholy expression as he gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. His acting skills instantly hit their peak.

"Awakened?" Logan's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Yeah." Chu Hang looked world-weary. "The old folks back home used to say that in the East, there's a saying: 'Survive certain death, and be reborn.' When some people go through a brush with death, things hidden inside their bodies get triggered. Maybe... that's what happened to me just now. After all, not everyone gets the chance to experience a knife piercing their stomach."

He said it so convincingly that even he was almost starting to believe it. Mysterious Eastern powers, bloodline awakenings—this sort of thing worked like a charm on foreigners every time.

Logan looked at him skeptically, his expression shifting. The explanation sounded ridiculous, but Chu Hang's apparent resurrection had happened right before his eyes. Other than such an absurd explanation, Logan couldn't think of anything else.

"Enough, Logan."

Just as the standoff reached an impasse, Captain America Steve walked over. He placed a hand on Logan's shoulder and shook his head.

"No matter what happened to Chu Hang, he's our comrade. And he just saved my life."

Steve's words were like a calming pill, instantly easing the tense atmosphere. His authority as captain was clearly considerable.

Logan gave Chu Hang a long, hard look but said nothing more. He merely snorted and turned to inspect Gabe's injuries. Though he stopped pressing the matter, Chu Hang knew the suspicion in his heart had not disappeared. He would have to keep his distance from this guy in the future, lest Logan sniff out even more.

Once Logan was dealt with, Chu Hang finally let out a breath and turned his attention to Steve.

He realized Steve was looking at him too. His gaze was as complex as an incomprehensible philosophy book.

"Captain, we..." Chu Hang wanted to say something, but he had no idea where to begin.

"Let's find somewhere to talk alone." Steve cut him off, then turned to Dugan. "Dugan, take the men and check the area. Collect the spoils and focus on treating the wounded. Chu Hang and I will scout the path ahead."

"Understood, Captain." Dugan gave a crisp salute.

Steve nodded, gestured to Chu Hang, and took the lead toward the depths of the forest.

Chu Hang knew the real test was only beginning.

The two walked one behind the other through the snow-covered woods without speaking. The surroundings were quiet, with only the crunch of boots on snow.

Chu Hang could feel the heat inside his body gradually subsiding, replaced by an unprecedented sense of power. His senses had become incomparably sharp. He could hear snow sliding from distant treetops, smell the fresh blend of pine needles and earth in the air, and even make out the tiny tracks left by a rabbit dozens of meters away.

His strength, speed, endurance, reflexes... everything had undergone a qualitative leap.

So this was what being a Super-Soldier felt like?

Chu Hang couldn't help clenching his fist, feeling the explosive power within it. The sensation was utterly intoxicating.

"What's really going on with your body?"

At last, Steve stopped walking. He turned around, his azure eyes fixed on Chu Hang with absolute seriousness.

Here it came.

Chu Hang sighed inwardly, though a somewhat helpless bitter smile appeared on his face.

"Captain, if I said I'm not entirely sure myself, would you believe me?"

Steve said nothing. He simply watched him quietly, waiting for him to continue.

Chu Hang knew he had to answer this question flawlessly. He gathered his thoughts and reworked the explanation he had used to fool Logan, polishing it further.

"I can only say that maybe... I've always been different from other people." Chu Hang spoke slowly. "I've been in good health since I was young, and I recover from injuries faster than most. I always thought I was just tough. Until just now... when that knife stabbed into me, it felt like something inside my body went snap and broke. Then I became what you saw."

As he spoke, he watched Steve's expression.

No emotion showed on Steve's face, but the scrutiny in his eyes did not lessen in the slightest.

"Like what Dr. Erskine said?" Steve suddenly asked.

"Dr. Erskine?" Chu Hang froze for a moment.

"Yes. Dr. Abraham Erskine, the creator of the Super-Soldier Program." A trace of nostalgia and sadness surfaced in Steve's eyes. "He once told me that the serum doesn't merely strengthen the body. It's more like a key that infinitely amplifies what you already have inside you. Good becomes better. Bad becomes worse."

He paused, his eyes blazing as he looked at Chu Hang. "So what you're saying is that your body was born with this... powerful healing ability hidden within it. And this near-death experience was like a key that completely unlocked it?"

Inside, Chu Hang practically wanted to applaud Captain America.

What a perfect assist, Captain!

He had been wondering how to make his lie hold together, yet Steve had filled in the logic himself—and done it so flawlessly and reasonably.

"I... I think that's probably it." Following Steve's lead, Chu Hang revealed just the right expression of sudden realization.

Steve looked at him in silence for a long time.

He wasn't a fool. He knew Chu Hang was still hiding something. But that terrifying healing ability, and the fact that Chu Hang had risked his life to save him, were both real.

And Dr. Erskine's words had given him an explanation he could accept.

Perhaps there truly were miracles in this world that science could not explain. Just like himself.

"Alright." Steve finally nodded, as though he had made a decision. "I understand. I'll keep this secret for you. It's your own secret."

He reached out and heavily patted Chu Hang's shoulder again.

"But Chu Hang, remember this. Greater power also means greater responsibility. I hope you'll use it well."

Looking at Steve's face, filled with integrity and sincerity, Chu Hang felt something stir in his heart for no reason. He nodded and said solemnly, "I understand, Captain."

At that moment, it was as though an unspoken understanding had formed between them.

They were the same kind of people now.

"Alright, we should head back." Steve smiled again. "We still have a factory to destroy, and a group of brothers waiting for us to save them."

Chu Hang smiled too.

Yeah. The story was only just beginning.