From Peashooter to Cannon

Damn it, what kind of mess was this?

Chu Hang stood in the snow, staring at the Hydra soldiers' corpses on the ground. His heart felt like a bottle of mixed flavors had been overturned inside it—he felt everything at once.

Fear was inevitable. He was alone, and who knew how many more Hydra soldiers were lying in ambush nearby? The gunfire from earlier had definitely alerted more people.

But after the fear came an even stronger emotion, slowly rising from the depths of his heart.

Excitement.

A morbid excitement mixed with tension and Greed.

Where was this place? Hydra's lair!

What did Hydra have? Black technology far beyond this era!

What weapons had the soldiers under Red Skull used in the movies? Those blue energy guns that could turn someone into a pile of ash with one shot were leagues beyond the submachine gun in his hands that just went "rat-a-tat-tat."

Although these guys in front of him appeared to be ordinary patrolmen still using conventional weapons, this was Hydra! Their gear had to be better than that of ordinary German soldiers outside, right?

As the saying went, fortune favored the bold. Since he had already ended up in this situation, there was no point worrying about this and that. Whether he lived or died, he had to at least get some capital out of it.

Once that thought surfaced, he could no longer suppress it.

Chu Hang's eyes began to shine. He no longer hesitated and immediately crouched down, beginning his first great corpse-looting operation since crossing over.

He went straight for the squad leader he had taken out with an elbow. Higher rank meant more good stuff—that was common sense.

He quickly searched the captain's body. First came the weapons: a well-maintained MP40 submachine gun and three fully loaded magazines. Chu Hang unceremoniously stuffed all the magazines into his clothes. He then removed two German stick grenades from the man's belt. They were powerful and could be thrown far, making them excellent for breaking through defenses.

Then came the food. He pulled a dark lump wrapped in wax paper from the man's jacket pocket. Opening it, he found a high-energy compressed biscuit. It smelled of meat and nuts, far better than the dry military biscuits in his own backpack. There was also a small tin box beside it containing several pieces of chocolate.

"Good stuff, all of it." Chu Hang stuffed a small piece of chocolate into his mouth, feeling that sweet, rich energy spread through his body, and muttered indistinctly. Sweets could quickly restore stamina and ease tension. This stuff could save his life.

Just as he was about to turn the body over to see whether there was anything on its back, his hand touched something hard and square in an inner pocket.

His heart stirred. He pulled it out and found a small notebook wrapped in leather.

He opened it and, by the reflected light from the surrounding snow, saw what was inside.

It was a hand-drawn map!

Though the map was rough, the key locations were clearly marked. At once, he noticed a spot marked with a large red X. Next to it was the German word "Fabrik." He recognized that word. It meant "factory."

Several routes marked with dotted lines had been drawn around the factory, along with times and numbers. This was clearly the patrol routes and schedules for the area!

He had struck it rich!

Chu Hang's heart pounded so hard it nearly leaped out of his throat.

This thing was worth more than a hundred submachine guns! With this map, he was no longer blindly stumbling through this dangerous forest. He could avoid enemy patrol routes and find the safest paths. More importantly, he now knew which direction the Hydra Factory was in!

He carefully folded the map and placed it in his innermost pocket, close to his body. This was his lifesaver.

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, he continued searching the captain. Soon, he found another strange item in a small pocket.

It was a palm-sized black metal box with a red button and several short antennae. It looked like a radio, but its design was more compact and precise than any World War II communications device he had ever seen.

"This should be Hydra's internal communicator." Chu Hang weighed the box in his hand. He did not know the frequency, nor could he understand German, but the device itself represented Hydra's technological level. After considering it, he put it away as well. It might come in handy someday.

After searching the captain, he swiftly turned to the other three corpses. The ordinary soldiers did not have as much good stuff on them. Aside from ammunition and a little food, he found nothing special. Still, following the principle that every little bit counted, Chu Hang stripped them of all their magazines and grenades too.

By the time he finished searching the last soldier and stood up, he had been completely transformed.

He threw away his M1A1, whose ammunition had run dry, and replaced it with a nearly new MP40. His body was covered in bulging magazines, and six stick grenades hung from his belt. His backpack was stuffed with chocolate and high-energy biscuits, while a map pointing the way and a futuristic communicator rested in his clothes.

Now this was a real upgrade from peashooter to cannon.

His sense of security instantly rose several levels. Sure enough, a man's greatest sense of security came from sufficient firepower and supplies.

Just as he was preparing to leave this troublesome place, his gaze inadvertently swept over the soldier whose throat he had slit first with his combat knife.

That soldier's backpack had burst open when he fell, scattering its contents everywhere.

Chu Hang had not paid attention at first, but then his eyes were drawn to a faint blue glow in the snow.

What was that?

Curious, he walked over, brushed aside the snow with his foot, and saw the object emitting the blue light.

It was a translucent blue cube no bigger than a fist. It looked like a crystal, yet streams of light seemed to drift slowly within it, radiating a faint but pure energy fluctuation. It lay quietly in the snow, its blue glow especially mysterious in the darkness.

Chu Hang crouched down, reached out, hesitated for a moment, then picked it up.

The cube felt icy in his hand, but not painfully cold. Instead, it possessed a smooth, warm texture. He could clearly feel a faint yet extremely pure energy radiating from the tiny cube.

Was this... an Energy Block?

Chu Hang immediately thought of the energy weapons Hydra had used in the movies. Hadn't those weapons drawn their power from the Cosmic Cube? This tiny blue cube, whether in color or the feel of its energy, carried the faintest resemblance to the Cosmic Cube.

He understood at once. This thing was very likely a standardized energy source Hydra had created after extracting power from the Cosmic Cube! The "battery" for those energy weapons!

Chu Hang's breathing immediately grew rapid.

He carefully tucked the Energy Block into his clothes as well, feeling as if his heart were about to overload.

First the map, and now this Energy Block. God, were you afraid I would not die fast enough, so you sent me all these treasures to make me drag Hydra down with me?

He was immersed in overwhelming surprise when a faint sound suddenly drifted over from the distance on the wind.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

Dogs barking! And more than one!

Chu Hang's expression instantly changed.

He knew the gunfire had surely drawn a larger search party—and they had fucking brought military dogs!

In this snowy land, a human nose might fail, but a dog's nose would not lie. The bloody smell on the ground was the clearest trail for them.

He had to leave immediately!

He no longer felt the slightest attachment to the place. After taking one last look at the corpses, he silently said in his heart, Thanks for the gear, brother, then turned and plunged headfirst into the deeper darkness in one direction.

He did not choose the shortest route to the factory marked on the map. Instead, based on the patrol routes, he chose the opposite direction—a path that looked the most remote and desolate.

Going to the factory now would be no different from walking into a trap. He had to find somewhere to hide, wait out this danger, and make further plans after daybreak.

The wind and snow seemed to grow stronger. Before long, they covered his footprints in the snow again, along with the four corpses.

The entire forest returned to dead silence, as though that brief, bloody battle had never happened.

Only a black shadow, carrying brand-new equipment and a burning heart, moved swiftly and resolutely through the dark, snow-covered forest.