Alps Base

Just as Alex had expected, not long after they lay down, Carter called the group back up.

Seeing the anxious look on Carter's face, Steve could not help asking worriedly, "Carter, what happened?"

"Don't ask anything. Come with me to headquarters!" Carter acted with decisive efficiency, not wasting a single word before turning and leaving.

Steve and the others exchanged bewildered looks, all of them confused. Only Alex knew what was going on. Zola had revealed Red Skull's plan to bomb the world, and the Allied bigwigs were panicking. They needed them to step in and save the world.

"Let's go!" Alex reached out and gave Steve a push, following behind him toward headquarters. Seeing this, the others cast aside their distracting thoughts and followed the two out of camp.

The Howling Commandos' camp was not far from headquarters, and they arrived within minutes.

The headquarters was packed with decorated generals. Nearly every major Allied leader had come, and the rows of military insignia were enough to dazzle the eye. When Steve and the others entered, everyone turned to look at them.

Steve felt slightly restrained. As he looked around, he saw Carter quickly head over, and Alex and the others naturally followed without a word.

"Carter, what exactly happened?" Steve carefully surveyed the generals present and asked in a lowered voice.

"Captain, come over here!" Carter had just been about to speak when a middle-aged man in uniform, wearing a lieutenant general's insignia on his chest, beckoned from the center of the crowd. When he noticed Alex and the others beside Steve, he added, "And bring your teammates too."

Steve glanced at Alex beside him, then turned and passed through the gathered officers to the center of the room. A massive sand table stood there, depicting the European Continent. Dozens of small flags had been planted across it, some Allied and some Axis.

"Steve, we're facing a tremendous crisis!" The general who had called them over spoke with a grave expression. "We urgently need your help, and the help of your teammates."

Steve truly was a hot-blooded patriot. Hearing that, he immediately straightened up and replied loudly, "No matter the mission, we will do everything in our power to complete it!"

Watching Steve put on such a lofty expression, Alex sighed inwardly but said nothing.

"Schmidt believes he's a god. He wants to bomb half the world, targeting every major and medium-sized city in the Allied nations, including New York and London." The lieutenant general fell silent, and Phillips, the colonel from the former recruit training base, stepped before the sand table. He pointed at several flags that had long been marked out, then raised his wrist to check the time. Sweeping his gaze over the room, he said heavily, "According to our new friend, there are less than twenty-four hours until the bombing begins."

As he spoke, Phillips took out several photographs. They showed the enormous bombs Alex, Steve, and Bucky had seen when they first broke into that Hydra base factory.

"According to Mr. Howard's estimates, these bombs are incredibly powerful. A single one could wipe out all of New York!" Phillips pointed toward Howard in the corner and said grimly, "So we must stop him immediately."

"Where is he?" Steve's expression became solemn as well.

Phillips tossed out several more photographs, showing a range of snow-covered mountains. "The Alps, Hydra's most secret base, with nearly ten thousand Hydra troops stationed there. But because of the terrain, our army cannot reach it."

Steve took the photos and looked them over before passing them to Alex behind him. "Can you do it, Alex?"

Alex gave them a casual glance, then nodded without speaking. In a setting like this, it was not suitable for him to speak. It would only invite hostility.

Seeing Steve and Alex's exchange, all the generals present unconsciously frowned, faintly displeased.

"Rogers, do you have an idea?" Phillips held Alex in high regard. Noticing the expressions on the generals' faces, he quickly called out, drawing Steve's attention back.

Having received Alex's affirmative answer, Steve immediately gained confidence. He turned to face the generals and declared with certainty, "Gentlemen, we will complete the mission successfully!"

Hearing Steve's words, the generals burst into enthusiastic applause, greatly excited.

Amid the generals' repeated words of thanks and respect, the Howling Commandos left headquarters.

The moment they returned to camp, Carter grabbed Steve by the arm. Her face hardened as she demanded sharply, "Are you trying to get yourselves killed? That's Hydra's most secret base, and there are ten thousand Hydra soldiers there! Do you think you're really a god? That you can take them all out by yourself..."

As Carter continued scolding him, anger rose in Alex's heart as well. In the movie, Steve had at least had backup, but now they had nothing. There were only five of them!

Steve silently endured it. Only after Carter finally ran out of steam did he quietly say, "If we don't go, who else can stop him?"

Carter froze at those words. After standing there in a daze for a long moment, she replied, "Even so, you can't just throw your lives away for nothing!"

"We can't just stand by and watch Red Skull carry out the bombing, can we?" Steve answered. Then he added, "Besides, we have Alex! He nodded, so it'll definitely work!"

Alex nearly cursed out loud. Damn it, was that what my nod meant? I was only saying I could take you there. I never said we could complete this mission single-handedly!

But at this point, Alex could only swallow the bitter pill himself. "Get yourselves ready first. I'll go scout the route!" As soon as he finished speaking, Alex vanished before anyone could respond.

After more than a dozen consecutive Teleportations, Alex finally found a concealed foothold outside Hydra's Alps Base. Hiding there, he carefully observed the base.

The base was unexpectedly enormous. Hydra's presence could be seen everywhere from the foot of the mountain to its summit. Alex strongly suspected that Hydra had hollowed out the entire mountain to build this hidden and massive base.

What gave Alex an especially bad headache was the base's tight security. Many areas were blocked off by enormous iron gates. Even with Teleportation, Alex could not secretly slip inside.

After thinking for a long while, Alex suddenly recalled a scene from the movie. Steve had broken into the base alone and been taken before Red Skull. Then, just as Red Skull was preparing to shoot Steve, those supporting characters from the movie had burst in through a window.

"The window!" Alex's eyes suddenly lit up. With a window, he could secretly enter the base.

After searching for a long time, Alex finally found the window beside a cliff.

Beyond it was a spacious room. Red Skull stood before an easel with an intoxicated expression, seemingly admiring a painting. Several Hydra soldiers stood around him, each armed with a large energy gun. One look at the muzzles was enough to tell they packed considerable power.

"We'll break in from here!" After carefully examining the scene beyond the window once more, Alex used Teleportation and disappeared.