A Heartbreaking Story

This mission suited Steve perfectly, and he gladly accepted, leading his troops back to the European battlefield.

At Klausenburg, Steve was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a map of Hydra Base locations, all of which were factories producing energy weapons. If British intelligence confirmed this, these bases would become targets for the Howling Commandos.

Of course, he had to change his gear before leaving.

SSR Experiment Office!

"High-carbon fiber soft stab-proof suit, this is the special combat suit of the Howling Commandos, which can effectively defend against German bayonets. You are a publicity figure designated by your superiors, so your clothing should be different from others. I can make a set for you..." Howard Stark shrugged and said helplessly, "I'm sorry, this is the best combat suit that can be made at the moment. I still have no clue about Hydra's energy weapons. You may have to advance into a hail of bullets."

"No, you've done an excellent job!" Steve smiled wryly as the topic of energy weapons came up.

Because of the America intervention in the European theater, the John Bull survived its most difficult period. A large influx of strategic materials, aircraft, Tank, and soldiers provided fresh blood, and the German Army was in a very bad situation.

Schmidt finally made up his mind to have Hydra's energy weapon forces block the Allied advance. At present, Hydra's development has not yet reached saturation, and joining the battlefield is not the best choice.

But plans can't keep up with changes. The situation was so dire that it was almost urgent. Schmidt knew that the German Army was on the verge of defeat. Hydra continued to play the role of bystanders, but they were the ones who would be targeted next.

The introduction of energy weapons inflicted heavy casualties on the Allied forces, and the British and American forces were powerless against Hydra on the main battlefields. Fortunately, Hydra soldiers were few in number; otherwise, the situation on the European front might have been reversed.

Allied soldiers on the front lines are terrified at the mere mention of energy weapons. Every unit is afraid of encountering Hydra. The weapons and equipment of the two sides are from different eras. Calling it a war is really just suicide.

Howard and Steve fell silent for a moment, then Howard smiled and changed the subject to dispel the shadow of war, pointing to the shield on the table that had been split in two. "Captain, I heard you're reluctant to part with this shield, so I specially designed a few enhanced versions for you. Take a look and see which one you like."

Howard displayed seven or eight new shields like an exhibition, including square, round, and hexagonal ones, as well as an enhanced version equipped with relays that could release high-voltage current over short distances.

Steve looked around and saw that the shields were all good shields, but he felt that something was missing. His gaze fell on the pile of junk and he found a polished round shield.

Howard hurriedly waved his hand. "This won't do, this shield is only a half-finished product..."

Steve picked up the shield and immediately fell in love with it. "It's so light, what material is it made of?"

"Vibranium!" Howard perked up at the mention of his research, explaining at length, "It's harder than steel, but only a third the weight. Its unique molecular structure makes it almost indestructible. Because the molecules are relatively stationary, it hardly conducts heat or kinetic energy. This property allows it to absorb heat, energy, and kinetic energy..."

Howard said a lot, but Steve didn't listen. He strapped the shield to his hand and said, "Mr. Howard, since it's so good, why not mass-produce it?"

"I also want to mass-produce it, but this is a rare metal, the rarest kind..." Howard said helplessly, "What you have in your hand is all you have, barely enough to make a prototype!"

Steve liked it more and more as he looked at it, and waved it with ease. Suddenly, he thought of something and frowned.

"What's wrong, Captain?"

"It's nothing, it's just..." Steve suddenly remembered what Russell had said at the base and subconsciously asked, "Mr. Howard, will this shield be destroyed?"

"Theoretically speaking, it's impossible. It's one of the strongest metals in the world, and it also has the property of absorbing kinetic energy, making its defensive capabilities incredibly strong."

"That's it!"

"What?"

"This is the shield I need."

On the other side of the base, Bucky recounted the intelligence he had obtained at the sub-base, with a particular focus on Russell.

Jason's body was airlifted back to the America, but unfortunately, it was too badly decomposed to be of any research value. It has been frozen and will be re-established once scientific research and technological breakthroughs are achieved.

Carter was very attentive to Russell's intelligence. She went through all the files on Hydra and interrogated the captured scientists, and discovered a very strange phenomenon.

Of the captured Hydra scientists, over 70% knew of Russell, but 30% either didn't mention him at all, or spoke vaguely or directly stated that they had never heard of him.

It's a strange phenomenon that these scientists, who were all captured from the same base, gave two completely different answers.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps... Russell held a very high position within Hydra!

Carter determined that Russell was a deeply hidden figure, but as she continued her research, she found that her analysis was contradictory and difficult to justify.

With the help of British intelligence, Carter found Russell's German file, revealing that the latter had risen through the ranks of the army to become a captain and was quite capable. It wasn't until Hitler's persecution of other races and the rampant racism in Germany that Russell switched sides to Hydra to serve as Schmidt's bodyguard.

A soldier...

Schmidt's irons...

Switching to scientific research midway through life...

In charge of the Super Soldier Program...

The highly renowned Dr. Zola treated him with great respect...

After piecing together several clues, Carter felt increasingly confused and completely bewildered. He racked his brains but still couldn't figure out Russell's true position within Hydra, the reason for creating a special file with a high level of secrecy, and storing it in the SSR archives for future reference.

Time flies, and another half a year has passed.

The Howling Commandos were active on the European battlefield, repeatedly thwarting Hydra's plots. As a special combat unit, they never participated in large-scale wars, and each time they would launch a decapitation strike only after the British intelligence agency had confirmed the location of the military factory.

Steve and Bucky, as partners, along with five or six experienced veterans, formed the spearhead of this force, tearing through Hydra's defenses with ease.

Steve's tactical awareness is growing rapidly, his combat skills are improving day by day, and he is visibly getting stronger. Every time he charges into battle, he leaves his teammates far behind and conquers cities and strongholds all by himself.

Bucky can no longer keep up with Steve. Even though he works hard and trains himself to the point of self-torture, the gap between him and his best friend continues to widen.

While feeling gratified, he became increasingly resentful and hated his own weakness.

He woke up several times from his dream, dreaming of Russell and thinking about the enhancement Russell had mentioned... He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, and after getting up to pee, he went back to sleep.

Steve became a battlefield hero celebrated throughout the United States. Because of his rarity, he was the only technologically enhanced Super Soldier, a benchmark of America scientific achievement. The name Captain America gained widespread acceptance, earning him considerable prestige both within the military and among civilians.

If the war ends and he is still alive, he would have many people willing to vote for him in the presidential election.

Steve's success was built on Schmidt's suffering. The factories producing energy weapons were dismantled one by one, and his anticipated world-shaking attack was repeatedly delayed. Now he no longer had to worry about the shortage of soldiers. Without the factories, the soldiers had no weapons, and he had to start considering troop reductions.

This is a heartbreaking story. Schmidt, furious, returns to the base in the Alps and orders Zola to kill Captain America with his shield at all costs.

By this point, Schmidt had gone all in; he decided to use super-energy bombs to change the course of the European theater. His strategic vision was brilliant; he identified the America as having the greatest war potential and made it his primary bombing target.

Dr. Zola realized that he was about to be discarded after his usefulness was over; the research on the Tesseract no longer needed him, and if he didn't kill Captain America, he would have no value in continuing to exist.

Faced with such a tricky situation, Zola's first thought was to call his boss and ask for advice on what to do next.

"What to do? You're asking me what to do? Figure it out yourself!" Russell said shamelessly as he picked up the phone.

During that year, due to the activities of the Howling Commandos, he changed bases almost every month, and he had infiltrated nearly all of Hydra's senior scientists.

After careful selection, he removed some Enslavement Contract, as too many of them would negatively impact his mental strength; more wasn't necessarily better. He began using a pyramid-shaped system, with each level managing the next, allowing those below to expand their influence solely to serve him.

Currently, the contracts he holds, apart from those for top-level scientists, are mostly for important Hydra executives.

These people were either captured and recruited by the America or transferred to other secret bases by Schmidt, which inadvertently expanded Russell's sphere of influence. To put it bluntly, as soon as Schmidt died, he would be the most powerful person in Hydra, and could become the new leader with a wave of his arm.

This is all thanks to Steve; without his help, Russell could not have accomplished this.

"Sir, I can study weapons, but I can't lead troops into battle, let alone deal with Captain America ..." Zola took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat and said nervously, "I'm not confident. It's not that I'm afraid of death, but I'm afraid that after I die, no one will be able to serve you as wholeheartedly as I have."

Russell squinted and pondered for a moment, "That makes sense. Then you might as well take the opportunity to be captured, make a good living in the America, and try to turn over a new leaf and start anew."

"What!?"

"Zola, with your brains, the America won't kill you. They'll just recruit you into their research team." Russell raised an eyebrow, spread out a map, and pointed to Siberia. The experiment was ready, Bucky's upgrade was complete, it was time to close the net.

"But I would rather stay by your side than the America." Zola was sweating profusely. Schmidt had abandoned him, and Russell had the same idea. The bosses he followed were all heartless.

"Okay, I'll grant your wish. I'll personally go and retrieve the mice."

"Your plan is..."

"I'm taking Bucky away, and you're being captured by Captain America."

"..."