Time Was Still Plentiful

France border!

The howling wind, mixed with snowflakes, lashed the cliff face like knives. A railway track lay silently on the edge of the abyss, and looking down from above, one could see only bottomless darkness.

"Waaaaah~~~"

The armored train sped along the tracks. British intelligence deciphered the radio and confirmed that Dr. Zola, Hydra's chief scientist, was on board.

However, this was all a staged performance. Zola used himself as bait to set a trap specifically for Captain America, and the intelligence was deliberately leaked at his behest.

Dr. Zola sat sullenly on the train, but he couldn't refuse orders from both his bosses. Especially from the big boss Russell, whose soul was controlled and whose actions were not his own; refusing would have far worse consequences than offending Schmidt.

The Howling Commandos had been waiting at the cliff edge for a long time. They were ordered to capture Zola, who was not only Hydra's top scientist but also an irreplaceable key figure. He knew the locations of all Hydra bases, as well as Schmidt's whereabouts and strategic plans. Capturing him would provide a wealth of intelligence.

The mission was of utmost importance, Steve personally led it, accompanied by his most trusted comrade Bucky, and... Soldier A.

Soldier A: "..."

They used the steel cables suspended in mid-air to descend to the top of the train. Steve's luck kicked in again, and as soon as they landed, they found a window that wasn't closed properly, with a welded steel ladder next to it.

Steve and Bucky entered the train through the window, while Soldier A continued towards the front of the train. They split into two groups: the duo's mission was to draw fire and provide cover, while Soldier A's mission was to control the train's power.

The long, narrow carriage was lined with several shelves. Steve rummaged through them and found some MP40 Submachine Gun, but not a single energy weapon.

"Steve, I have a weird feeling, a bad premonition." Bucky's face paled as he looked out the car window at the sheer cliff. "If we fall from here, we'll probably die a horrible death!"

Seeing his best friend looking scared, Steve joked, "What's wrong? Are you afraid of heights?"

"Perhaps..."

The two exchanged a smile and crept toward the front of the train in the direction it was heading. Their mission was to lure the Hydra soldiers on the train and cover Soldier A's infiltration into the engine room; they couldn't just stand there doing nothing.

At the locomotive, Zola monitored Steve and Bucky's movements through a monitor. When the two were separated by two carriages, he suddenly pressed a button, closing the doors and sealing off both carriages.

The sudden scene made Steve realize that his whereabouts had been exposed. Although this was also part of the plan, looking at Bucky in the other carriage through the glass, he felt a sudden chill for no reason.

"Snap!!"

The articulation between the two carriages came loose, and the entire train split into two sections. The first half continued to move forward, while the second half lost kinetic energy and gradually slowed down.

"Bucky!"

Steve's pupils contracted sharply as his best friend receded into the distance, filling him with a fear that he would never see him again. He swung his shield against the carriage door, creating a dent, then raised it again, smashing the glass but still failing to open the door.

Bucky was deathly pale in the train car, his ominous premonition growing stronger. He suppressed his unease and gave a thumbs-up to the window, signaling that he was safe and sound and would return to pick him up after Steve executed the plan to capture Zora.

"Clang, clang, clang—"

Bucky's feet trembled, and the rear half of the train, which had been gradually slowing down to a stop, suddenly started moving in the opposite direction, accelerating faster and faster, and the distance between him and Steve grew further and further.

His unease grew stronger, and he tightened his grip on the Submachine Gun, cautiously walking towards the front of the vehicle.

Just then, the front door opened, and a tall figure stepped into the carriage. The black Hydra uniform, the white Hockey Mask, and those cold eyes were all incredibly familiar to Bucky.

"Siht, it's that kind of monster again!"

Bucky was stunned. He quickly raised his gun and fired. He finally realized what his unease was—it wasn't a fear of heights at all.

"Da! Da! Da! Da—"

Blood blossomed on Jason's body. He had no dodge skill in his skill bar. He braced his hands in front of him and walked forward into the bullets.

Firearms are useless against Immortal Body. Bucky had experienced this nightmare long ago. He stopped his blind shooting and turned to fire at the car door behind him.

Bucky felt that jumping out of the car was a better chance of survival than fighting Immortal Body alone, at least there was still hope.

Reality is harsh. Bucky wasn't as lucky as Steve. The bullets hit the car door and sparked, and he was also unlucky enough to be hit in the left arm by a ricochet.

Damn it!

To make matters worse, their chances of survival were even lower.

Jason walked up behind Bucky, pressed his hand against his chest, and delivered a powerful punch to his cheek. Then he dragged the unconscious Bucky toward the engine of the train.

Russell sat calmly in the front carriage of the train, while the Thunder Beast obediently squatted on the sofa. After collecting the experimental materials, he was about to leave the European battlefield and head to Siberia. There was a secret Hydra base there, which he had orchestrated to remove from Hydra's list. Even Schmidt was unaware that he owned a property there.

Russell did not intend to participate in the subsequent battles. Schmidt was teleported to outer space, and Steve was frozen for seventy years. Whatever happened, it had nothing to do with him.

Meanwhile, Steve successfully captured Dr. Zola, and it was already half a day later when he returned along the railway tracks. He found the carriage but not Bucky. Bucky's Submachine Gun lay on the edge of the cliff, and the carriage was blown to a black, empty shell.

Too late! Bucky has already fallen into the abyss!

Steve was so enraged that he wanted to kill someone, and the person he wanted to kill was obviously Dr. Zola, the culprit who killed Bucky. But his inner desire for peace ultimately prevailed over reason. He endured the pain of losing his best friend and escorted the murderer to the front-line command post.

Dr. Zola was interrogated, and as Russell had told him, the America recognized his talent and wanted to sign a secret agreement with him. If Zola confessed to all of Hydra's intelligence, he would be safely brought back to the America, his life guaranteed.

Without any hesitation, Dr. Zola decisively betrayed Schmidt, revealing everything except Schmidt's current hiding place and the subsequent world-shaking strategic plans.

Zola cooperated readily and offered no resistance whatsoever, acting as if she had always wanted to be a good person. This left the U. S. military colonel in charge of the interrogation speechless. The colonel had prepared to torture her, but he never expected Zola to be so cowardly.

"Because of the Howling Commandos's activities, Schmidt concentrated all energy weapons in the largest military factory, located 500 feet underground in the Alps."

"Schmidt has gone mad. He wants to blow up half the world to prove he is a god. Unfortunately, his first target is our country."

On the map, the East Coast of the America is marked with a special symbol, including major cities such as Boston, New York, and Washington.

"That's right. If he crosses the Atlantic Ocean, he can reduce this place to ruins within an hour," Howard added. "Schmidt has developed a power that we can't understand, and he can do that."

How much time do we have left?

"48 hours!"

"There's still plenty of time..."

Command immediately convened a meeting. The Alps base was easy to defend and difficult to attack; the treacherous terrain and harsh climate meant that a direct assault would only result in massive casualties. But no one in command said much. The America headquarters was about to be bombed, and countless lives were on the brink of death. Even if it was an impregnable fortress, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and go to their deaths.

Thanks to Dr. Zola's active cooperation, the Howling Commandos had ample time to plan their tactics. Schmidt was unaware of this; he was conducting pre-battle mobilization and hadn't even loaded the bombs onto the planes yet.

Just as Schmidt finished his two-hour pre-battle pep talk and everyone was chanting "Hail Hydra," the Howling Commandos launched an attack on the base. With a large-scale America force behind them, even a well-defended base couldn't withstand the suicidal charge, and the numerical disadvantage once again led to Hydra's defeat.

The battle came unexpectedly and ended in a swift defeat. Schmidt stared dumbfounded at the bombs on the airfield and then at the empty planes.

Knowing the situation was hopeless, Schmidt activated the base's self-destruct sequence, took the Tesseract, and flew away alone in his plane. His destination was Siberia, where he had secretly built a base equipped with the technology to create another Super Bomb. As long as he had the Tesseract, his ambition would not end.

Steve failed to capture Schmidt and returned to frontline command dejectedly. That night, he went dancing with Carter as arranged, and then...

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