Realizing that Red Skull already intended to break with **, Alex knew he did not have much time left. According to the movie's plot, Red Skull would next drop bombs on major cities around the world, and Steve would fall into the deep sea during this operation, frozen for seventy years. However, Alex still could not determine the exact timing.
With that sense of urgency, Alex led the Howling Commandos on a rampage through German occupied territory, destroying armories and military bases without sparing a single one. Among them were quite a few secret Hydra bases they happened to stumble across.
Their frenzied destruction seemed to enrage the Hydra forces that had been holding back. Thousands of Hydra troops in black began moving to encircle them, even dispatching one of their few "Land Cruisers."
The Land Cruiser was a colossal tank, four stories tall. Its enormous, pitch-black cannon barrel looked like a Black Hole that could swallow everything, making it extremely dangerous.
At that moment, the Howling Commandos were lounging in a small building, watching the slowly approaching Hydra army and the intimidating giant tank in the distance.
"That tank looks pretty scary." Nick Fury compared it with the heavy machine gun in his hands, then turned to look at the giant tank with envy. "It must feel amazing to drive that thing!"
"Then we'll steal it and give it to you as a birthday present!" Alex said casually, not taking the Land Cruiser seriously at all.
Nick Fury grinned, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth. "That'd be great. We can drive it all the way to Berlin and blast Little Mustache into the sky with one shot."
"I don't want to be a target!" Natasha said disdainfully as she adjusted her wristbands. "This thing looks impressive but is useless. On the battlefield, it's nothing but a target. One bomb, and it'll be scrap."
Among them, only Steve stood solemnly to one side, keeping a close eye on the steadily approaching Hydra army. Seeing them draw ever closer, Steve finally had to remind them, "Time to get ready!"
"Let me finish this cigar first!" Logan lounged sideways on a sofa inside the building, puffing away in perfect comfort.
Steve looked helplessly at the others before finally turning his gaze to Alex.
"Relax, Steve." Alex turned to look at the army that had nearly reached the building, a scheming grin on his face. "Nick's feast hasn't been served yet. There's no need to rush."
The moment Alex finished speaking, a thunderous explosion erupted, and the entire building shook violently.
"It worked!" Alex snapped his fingers and looked approvingly at Nick, who wore a mischievous grin. "Nick, nice job!"
"I just hope you didn't damage my tank!" Nick peered outside with his one eye. The swirling smoke blocked his view, and he could only hear the unending cries of agony below. "If I'd known it was there, I would've planted fewer bombs."
The bombs planted beforehand wiped out nearly half of the Hydra army. Most of the survivors were injured, and quite a few had been knocked unconscious by the blast, saving Alex and the others plenty of effort.
Half an hour later, every last Hydra soldier had been eliminated, leaving only that impressive-looking but useless Land Cruiser.
"Come on, let's check it out!" Nick eagerly slung his heavy machine gun over his back, grabbed the giant tank's hull with both hands, and prepared to climb up.
Alex chuckled, grabbed everyone, and used Teleportation to appear directly on top of the tank.
Steve swung his shield, smashing open the hatch to the tank's turret. He casually threw a Hydra soldier standing by the entrance out of the tank, then climbed inside first.
Once inside, they discovered that everyone within had been knocked unconscious by the earlier explosions, which was why there had been no movement. Nick did not care about that. He excitedly rushed to the control console, figured it out after only a few tries, and got the stalled giant tank running again in no time.
"There's a radio here!" Natasha pointed to the side of the tank's control console, where a radio bearing the Hydra insignia sat. "It should be a Hydra-exclusive radio."
They had fought so many battles and killed plenty of ** and Hydra soldiers, but the Howling Commandos had never captured a Hydra radio. As a result, they had never been able to track Hydra's movements.
At the sight of the Hydra radio, Alex grew excited as well. Pointing at Natasha, he said eagerly, "Quick, see if there's any news!"
Natasha fiddled with the radio for a while, then turned to Alex. "Zola. There's news about Zola!"
"Could we really be that lucky?" Alex looked at Natasha in disbelief. "He wouldn't happen to be on a train, would he?" Alex could not help thinking of Bucky. In the movie, Bucky had fallen from a train during the operation to capture Zola.
"Very clever!" Natasha gave a charming smile and slowly said, "Zola is escorting a shipment of equipment to the front lines, so he'll be on a train."
"Good. Let's go cause him some trouble!" Alex steadied himself and said with a smile.
On a cliff, snow and wind raged. Below lay a long, narrow stretch of railroad tracks, and Zola's train would pass through here soon. Because Alex was with them, they did not string up a long cable like they had in the movie. It was much more convenient, though it lacked some of the thrill.
In the biting wind, Alex sat on a rock, unusually silent.
"Alex, what's wrong?" Steve spun his shield between his hands as he sat beside Alex and looked at him. "Ever since we got here, you've seemed a little different."
Alex came back to himself and looked at Steve hopefully. "Steve, do you think someone might save Bucky?" Alex had always held onto that hope, wishing Bucky would be rescued like in the movie. Even if he became Hydra's personal assassin, it would be fine, as long as Bucky stayed alive.
Steve's expression darkened at those words, and he fell silent.
"They're here!" Along with Natasha's warning, a train came racing beneath the cliff at tremendous speed.
Logan pinched out the cigar between his lips and looked gloomily at the speeding train. "Are they rushing off to be reincarnated or something? Why are they going so fast?"
Alex brushed himself off and stood up, chuckling. "Yes. They really are rushing off to be reincarnated!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Alex grabbed everyone and used Teleportation to reach the roof of the speeding train. The oncoming wind and snow rushed straight into their mouths and noses, making them extremely uncomfortable.
After adjusting for a moment, Steve raised his shield and took the lead, guiding everyone down the train. They kicked open a door and entered one of the carriages.
The moment they stepped into the train, triumphant laughter rang out all around them.
Hearing that familiar laugh, Alex frowned, his expression turning ugly. "Zola!"
"Teleporter, Captain America, and the great Howling Commandos!" Zola's laughter rang out again, growing even more smug. "Welcome aboard the Death Train!"
"It's a trap!" Natasha's expression changed as she shouted urgently at Alex, "Go! We need to get out of here!"
"Leave? Why should we leave?" Alex snorted and raised his head, shouting curses into the surrounding space. "Zola, you damned little runt, get your ass out here! I'm going to kill you!"
Alex's sudden outburst stunned everyone. Steve and the others stared at him, dumbfounded, and only came back to their senses after a long moment. "Alex, you..."
"I've got a bit of a grudge against him. I'm just letting off some steam with a few insults." Alex shrugged carelessly. "I'll give him something worse later."
Zola stood at the front of the train. Hearing Alex's insults, his face flushed red with rage. He took a deep breath, snorted, and said, "Go die, all of you!"
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