A Way Out on the Sheer Cliff

"We're dead..."

Communications officer Jones's sobs trembled.

No one argued.

Ahead lay a bottomless abyss; if they fell, there would not be enough left to piece their bones together. Behind them were Hydra pursuers and Hounds. Being caught would be worse than death.

It was a dead end.

"Dum-Dum" Dugan gripped his submachine gun, his cigar having fallen from his mouth at some point.

Logan's reaction was more direct.

"Grr..."

A low growl rolled from his throat as three Bone Claws shot out with a swish. He hunched over, staring fixedly at the lights in the woods. Surrender? He did not understand it. He only knew how to fight to the death.

Steve clenched his shield, its rim sinking into his leather glove. He could hold back a division, but he could not lead his brothers out of this dead end.

"Prepare for battle!" His voice was hoarse. "Even if we die, we'll make Hydra remember who we are!"

"Ow!"

Chu Hang slipped and tumbled toward the cliff.

"Chu!"

Steve reached out to grab him, but he was too late.

Chu Hang stumbled at the cliff's edge, and the M1 Rifle flew from his hand, plunging into the darkness.

"My rifle!" He lunged to the edge and looked down with a shriek.

"Are you crazy? Get back!" Demolitions expert Falsworth grabbed the back of his collar.

"Wait!"

Chu Hang suddenly shouted, his voice filled with shock and wild joy.

"Down there! Look down there!" He pointed into the abyss. "There's a ledge! I saw it!"

A ledge?

On a snowy, stormy night, it was black as ink below. What could anyone possibly see?

Yet the desire to survive drove everyone to crowd around the cliff's edge. Steve was the first to look over, but he saw nothing.

"You saw wrong. There's nothing there!" Dugan's voice was full of disappointment.

"There is! There really is!" Chu Hang grew anxious. "About fifty meters down! There's a protruding rock big enough for us to stand on! I think there's a cave on the left too!"

His description was exceptionally clear.

Steve stared into Chu Hang's eyes. They were filled with pure exhilaration.

He chose to believe him.

"Everyone! Get out your ropes! Move!" He jolted the stunned men into action.

"Falsworth, tie the ropes together! Make every knot secure!"

"Logan! Use your claws to dig holes and anchor them!"

"Dugan, Jones, keep watch! Open fire the moment the enemy enters range!"

As the orders came down, the deathly gloom in their eyes was replaced by the flames of survival.

Soon, several military ropes were joined into a long line and firmly anchored in the deep holes Logan had dug.

"Woof! Woof woof woof!"

Barking erupted from the woods as dozens of flashlight beams swept toward them.

"They're here!" Jones screamed.

"Fire!" Steve roared.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Dugan and the others opened fire, their hail of bullets cutting down the foremost Hydra soldiers and Hounds. But more enemies poured out, blue energy beams blasting rock chips everywhere.

"The wounded go first!" Steve grabbed an injured soldier and tightly wrapped the rope around him. "Hold on!"

He glanced at Falsworth, who immediately began lowering the man with another team member.

"Chu! You're second!" Steve turned and seized Chu Hang.

"Captain, I'll cover the rear..."

"Shut up! That's an order!" Steve barked. "You're more important than I am right now! Get down!"

He roughly tied the rope around Chu Hang.

Suspended from the rope, Chu Hang began the first cliff descent of his life.

An energy beam grazed his ear, leaving his cheek burning with pain.

Fuck.

With a thought, he activated his mental power and spread an invisible Spatial Barrier around himself.

[Ability: Spatial Barrier (Prototype)]

This was a use he had figured out after copying the leaked energy of the Cosmic Cube, though it consumed an enormous amount of mental power.

Then something strange happened.

Several bullets struck him as though they had hit a wall, ricocheting away.

To Falsworth and the others lowering the rope above, this Eastern "lucky star" had luck so absurdly good that it was terrifying.

Only Chu Hang himself knew that, in order to put on this act, he was nearly at his limit.

Damn it, being an actor is exhausting, he cursed inwardly.

The fifty-odd meters passed in the blink of an eye.

With a thud, Chu Hang landed on both feet. He untied the rope and waved upward.

Seeing the signal, the people above were greatly encouraged and quickened their pace.

The team members slid down one after another.

Steve was the last to land. He pulled out his knife and cut the rope.

Hydra's furious curses and gunfire echoed overhead.

"Quick! Into the cave!" Steve shouted, diving into the cave behind the ledge.

Everyone filed in after him.

The cave blocked out the snowstorm and the enemy's sight. They collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

They had survived.

Everyone's gaze gathered on Chu Hang, who sat in the corner with his eyes closed and his face pale.

"This kid... was he sent by God?" Dugan said between ragged breaths.

"His luck doesn't seem real," Falsworth agreed.

Logan said nothing, merely glancing at Chu Hang. This man had secrets, but no ill intent.

From spotting the ambush, to finding this refuge, to his incredible luck during the descent...

This kid was definitely more than just lucky.

That night became a legend of the Howling Commandos.

Over the following months, they became Hydra's nightmare.

They blew up railways in France, destroyed V-2 Rocket factories in Germany, and worked with resistance forces in Poland to rescue people from concentration camps.

The name Howling Commandos became a symbol of hope in Allied war reports. Within Hydra, they were called the "Ghost Unit."

And Chu Hang was no longer just a mascot.

Whenever they infiltrated behind enemy lines, his intuition always helped the team avoid every patrol and hidden sentry.

Once, he got the time wrong and instead helped the entire team avoid a trap.

Chu Hang had not been idle either.

He drank with Dugan and casually copied his skill at maintaining firearms. He watched Falsworth modify bombs and picked up the talent of Explosives Affinity.

He also learned French and stealth, and even accidentally copied the recipe for German sausages from a Hydra cook.

His arsenal of abilities was quietly expanding.

Steve had already begun treating him as a strategic adviser.

Logan, meanwhile, saw him as one of his kind—someone who hid himself deeply, though his danger was directed at their enemies.

Early spring, 1945. London, Strategic Scientific Reserve's British headquarters.

Colonel Phillips and Peggy Carter interrupted the Howling Commandos' leave.

"Gentlemen," Colonel Phillips said coldly, "your vacation is over."

Carter slapped a classified file and a roll of film onto the table.

"We intercepted Hydra intelligence. Red Skull has activated his final plan—Valkyrie."

The projector turned on, displaying the design of a massive black aircraft on the wall.

"A super bomber with a wingspan exceeding two hundred meters, carrying bombs powered by Cosmic Cube energy. Its target..."

The image changed to a map of the United States' East Coast, with cities such as New York, Boston, and Washington circled in red.

"...is the United States mainland."

The operations room fell deathly silent.

"Our mission," Colonel Phillips said, "is to find Red Skull's final base and destroy Valkyrie before it takes off."

Steve stepped forward and picked up the file.

"We accept the mission."

Chu Hang stood at the back of the crowd, looking at Valkyrie on the wall and the location of Hydra's final base on the map.

His heartbeat began to quicken.

It was finally here.

The Cosmic Cube he had dreamed of was right there.

As long as he could copy its energy, the spatial power within him would undergo a qualitative transformation. Then, forget a Spatial Barrier—even short-range teleportation might be possible.

Saving the United States and destroying Hydra were merely incidental.

That was the real objective.

Fortune comes from danger... Chu Hang licked his dry lips.

"Red Skull, my good brother, make sure you keep my ability safe for me."