Howling Commandos

Logan didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. He grabbed the last piece of beef from the can, shoved it into his mouth, and said indistinctly, "Not interested. Killing Germans right here is pretty fun."

He was just that kind of person, born with a reluctance to take orders from others. Chu Hang didn't think that way at all. He knew very well that this mustached officer was none other than Dum Dum Dugan from the Howling Commandos in the movie. This was a great opportunity to hitch a ride; following the main army was always better than wandering the battlefield as stray soldiers with Logan.

He quickly nudged Logan with his elbow and smiled apologetically at Dugan. "Sir, my brother just has this kind of temper. Please don't take it personally. We're definitely interested, but we were wondering, what kind of fun job is this that you're talking about?"

Dugan's gaze swept over Chu Hang and Logan, a hint of shrewdness flashing in his small eyes. He seemed entirely unbothered by Logan's rudeness, growing even more interested in the Eastern boy who looked far more accommodating to the situation.

"A job that lets you fully unleash your 'specialties'," Dugan said, the corners of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile. "A job that lets you have the killing spree of a lifetime. Come with me, I'll tell you on the way."

Without waiting for Logan's agreement, he turned and walked away.

Logan frowned with a look of extreme annoyance, clearly reluctant to move.

Chu Hang hurried over to his ear, lowering his voice. "Logan, think about it. We're pretty tough right now, but what if we run into a really hard target one day, surrounded by hundreds of guns or cornered by tanks? Even with your healing factor, you'd be blasted into minced meat. Following them means we're at least part of the elite in the regular army. Equipment, intel, logistics—none of that is something we can match on our own. Besides, judging by what he said, there are plenty of tough bones to chew. Isn't that much more thrilling than just killing these ordinary grunts?"

Logan listened and fell silent. Wild as he was, he wasn't a fool. What Chu Hang said was indeed the truth. Powerful as the two of them were on the battlefield, they were ultimately spread thin. He licked his lips, tossed the empty can onto the ground, stood up, and muttered gruffly, "Fine, let's go take a look. If it's not as interesting as you say, I'm turning right back around."

"You got it!" Chu Hang was overjoyed and quickly followed in Dugan's footsteps.

They were led to a military truck covered with a thick canvas. The truck bed was pitch black and completely invisible. The engine roared to life, bumping along the road for who knew how long and in what direction.

Logan leaned against the truck bed with his eyes closed, seemingly fast asleep. Chu Hang couldn't sleep at all; excitement surged within him. He knew he was officially stepping onto the main storyline of the Marvel universe. Soon, he would meet Captain America, Bucky, and all those characters who only appeared in movies.

He couldn't help but think how damn wondrous this felt. Just a few weeks ago, he was still an office drone working overtime late into the night for a meager salary, and now he was sitting in a truck heading toward a secret base, about to become part of a legendary squad. His greatest trump card was the replication ability still on cooldown, along with all the spoilers inside his head.

After a long while, the truck finally stopped.

The canvas was pulled back, the glaring light making Chu Hang instinctively squint. They were led into a massive underground facility. It was a completely different world from the artillery-heavy battlefield outside, brightly lit and bustling with busy soldiers and researchers in lab coats. The air was filled with a mixed scent of machine oil and disinfectant.

Dugan led them into a briefing room. Several people were already seated inside, slouching in ways that didn't look like ordinary soldiers. There was a Black guy blowing into a harmonica, a bespectacled Asian man who looked gentle and scholarly, and a Frenchman biting down on a pipe.

Chu Hang knew clearly in his heart that these were the initial members of the Howling Commandos.

Dugan walked to the front of the room, cleared his throat, and said, "Welcome to the two new members. I know you all have questions in your minds about why we've gathered 'elites'—or rather, 'freaks'—from various different units here."

His gaze swept across everyone before resting on Chu Hang and Logan. "Because the enemy we face is no ordinary German soldier."

He gestured, and the orderly behind him immediately pulled down the projection screen in the room and turned on the projector.

The clicking sound of film rolling echoed as a beam of light hit the screen.

At the very beginning of the footage was a giant flag bearing a red skull and six octopus tentacles. Beneath that flag stood tens of thousands of fanatical soldiers, raising their arms high and shouting a single word in unison.

"Hail Hydra!"

Chu Hang's heartbeat skipped a beat. It was here, finally here.

Dugan's voice grew grave. "This is our true enemy—Hydra. Germany's Deep Science and Technology Division, led by a man named Johann Schmidt, otherwise known as the Red Skull. The technology they possess far exceeds anything we can currently comprehend. The energy weapons they use can turn a man to ash in an instant."

Fuzzy combat footage began to play on the screen. Chu Hang saw Hydra soldiers in black uniforms holding sci-fi-looking blue energy rifles. Streams of blue light shot out, and American soldiers were like paper, instantly vaporized without even leaving a corpse behind.

The atmosphere in the room instantly turned oppressive. Even Logan, who had always maintained a carefree attitude, furrowed his brows tightly. He wasn't afraid of death, but he hated this kind of death where he didn't even have a chance to fight back.

"Conventional tactics and weapons have limited effect against them," Dugan continued. "That's why we need a special team. A squad capable of using unconventional methods to go deep behind enemy lines and strike Hydra with precision. And you are the most 'unconventional' soldiers I've selected from every combat zone."

His words caused the few people present to show thoughtful expressions. Each of them possessed something different from ordinary people to varying degrees, making them feel out of place in their original units. Now, their "differences" had instead become the reason they were chosen.

"Our mission is to bite off every single tentacle of Hydra like a pack of rabid dogs. Therefore, the name of this squad will be the Howling Commandos."

With that, Dugan turned off the projector. Instead of turning on the lights, he loaded a new reel of film.

"Of course, it's not all bad news on our end," he said, feigning casualness. "To fight Hydra, we've also cooked up a little 'good stuff' of our own."

New images appeared on the screen.

This time, the art style shifted abruptly. Inspiring music swelled, and a man wearing blue, white, and red spandex with a white star on his chest and a pot lid-shaped shield in his hand appeared on stage. Behind him stood a row of scantily clad blonde beauties singing and dancing.

"Is this..." Logan said with a look of utter disgust, "a circus clown?"

Chu Hang almost laughed out loud. He knew this was the earliest image of Captain America, specifically used for tour performances to sell war bonds. This outfit was indeed hopelessly cheesy, full of the flavor of the era.

On screen, the man began his performance. With a single punch, he shattered a sandbag bearing Hitler's face, effortlessly hoisted several beauties into the air, and then did backflips across the stage with unbelievable agility. The entire promotional video was filmed with extreme exaggeration and incitement, overflowing with personal heroism.

"Steve Rogers, or as you're about to know him, Captain America," Dugan introduced. "He is the only successful product of our Super-Soldier program. His strength, speed, and reflexes have all reached the absolute limits of human imagination. He is our trump card against Hydra."

Everyone in the room stared in a daze. Unimpressed as they were by the ridiculous costume, the superhuman physical fitness displayed by Rogers on screen was the real deal. That wasn't movie magic; that was genuine power.

Chu Hang's eyes locked onto that figure on the screen, his heart pounding wildly against his ribs.

A Healing Factor could only keep him from dying. But he didn't want to just be an undying punching bag—he wanted truly formidable power!

And the Captain America right in front of him was the most ideal replication target he could access at this stage!

The Super-Soldier Serum! As long as he could copy this ability, his physical attributes would experience an all-around explosive surge. Combined with Wolverine's healing factor, he would be an absolute powerhouse—offensively and defensively integrated, capable of both absorbing damage and dishing it out! His survival rate on this battlefield would increase exponentially!

I have to get my hands on it! Chu Hang vowed silently to himself, his gaze filled with yearning.

The promotional video ended, and the lights in the room clicked back on.

Looking at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, Dugan nodded in satisfaction. "I know, you probably all think he's just an actor putting on a show on stage. But soon, you'll witness his strength with your own eyes."

He paused, his expression turning solemn. "Just yesterday, over a hundred of our soldiers were captured by Hydra during an operation. Among them is the Captain's closest friend, Sergeant Bucky Barnes. The Captain has decided to go single-handedly to rescue them."

"And our very first official mission as the Howling Commandos is to go and provide backup."

As soon as Dugan's voice fell, Chu Hang instinctively brought up his system interface in his mind.

[System cooling down...]

[Remaining cooldown time: Four days, eight hours, twenty-one minutes...]

Chu Hang's brow furrowed instantly.

Four days! Still over four days!

He had just copied Firearms Mastery two days ago.

The mission could start at any moment, yet his ability was still on cooldown. This meant that even if he met Captain America, he could only watch helplessly without any way to make a move.

What should he do?

He had to figure out a way not only to survive this perilous mission, but also to find an opportunity to get close to Captain America during it—an opportunity that happened to fall right after his ability cooldown ended.

Chu Hang rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling that this matter was far more difficult than dodging bullets on the battlefield.