I'm having a blast in Marvel!

Page 9

They walked for about an hour, and Chu Hang was almost exhausted. He stopped, leaned against a big tree, and gasped for breath.

Just as he was about to take out his water bottle to get a drink, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a bright light on the distant horizon.

It was a continuous, dim yellow halo that made the sky over that area appear hazy.

At the center of that halo, several towering silhouettes, like black giant towers, could be vaguely seen.

Chu Hang's heart skipped a beat.

He took out the map, looked at the light in the distance, and confirmed the direction again and again.

That's right, that direction is exactly where the factory is located, as marked on the map!

They... they're already so close!

But then, an even more unsettling thought surfaced. The distance on the map meant they'd still have at least half a night to walk there. Why could they see it now?

Chu Hang's pupils suddenly contracted as he thought of the only, and most terrifying, possibility.

Unless, of course, that map is wrong!

Chapter 12 This map definitely has a problem.

Damn, I've been tricked.

These three words were like a bucket of ice water poured directly from Chu Hang's head to his heels, chilling him to the bone.

In that instant, all thoughts of Hydra, Captain America, and that ridiculous mission vanished from his mind. Only a chilling rage at being fooled and toyed with remained, followed by a massive, overwhelming fear.

He is not a fool.

In his previous life, he had been a seasoned veteran in the business world for several years, having witnessed too many word games in contracts and heard far too many empty promises from superiors. He had an almost animalistic intuition about the word "trap."

The distance shown on the map is vastly different from the distance he is seeing with his own eyes!

According to the map's scale, their current location is at least seven or eight kilometers away from that factory, separated by several mountain peaks. On a snowy night like this, let alone seeing lights, even if the other side were to set off fireworks, you would only be able to see a faint glimmer of light on the horizon.

He not only saw the continuous stretch of lights, but could even vaguely make out the outlines of the tall buildings in the factory. This meant that the straight-line distance between them and the factory was definitely no more than two kilometers!

That's fucking like they've practically put their face right in front of someone's security camera!

Why is this happening?

The only explanation is that the map is fake! Or rather, the map was never intended for them, "one of our own," to see in the first place.

Chu Hang's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

He remembered—he had found the map on the Hydra squad leader he had killed. At the time, he was so excited, thinking he'd struck gold, that he hadn't thought anything of it.

Looking back now and thinking about it carefully, there are too many doubts!

What kind of military unit would draw a patrol map like this? The lines are crooked and uneven, the scale is unclear, and key locations are just sketched in simple lines. This is clearly not a military map for soldiers to use on the battlefield!

What is this more like? More like... a piece of false intelligence deliberately leaked to lure and mislead the enemy!

Those Hydra guys must have captured Allied prisoners or spies more than once. It's entirely possible that they deliberately let prisoners see these erroneous maps "inadvertently" through various channels, or simply placed them on an officer who was destined to be discovered.

Then, those unlucky souls who barely escaped, or who thought they had obtained crucial intelligence, would, like me, take this map and arrogantly embark on a "safe" route.

But they never imagined that this so-called "safe route" was actually a death trap carefully prepared for them by Hydra!

That place marked "Hunter's Hut" might not be a hiding place at all, but an observation post riddled with landmines and surveillance cameras! If they had actually dragged Gabe there headlong, they would probably be the brightest star in the sky by now.

"Chu... what's wrong?" Gabu, who was on the trailer, also sensed that something was wrong. He saw Chu Hang standing frozen in place, staring intently at the factory in the distance, his face frighteningly pale.

Chu Hang didn't answer immediately. He suddenly squatted down and pulled the trailer behind several thick spruce trees. The dense branches and snow temporarily concealed their figures.

He then lowered his voice, speaking in an almost whispered tone, "Gabe, we've been tricked. This map is fake."

Gabe Jones, a seasoned veteran, was taken aback at first, then followed Chu Hang's gaze to the factory in the distance. In just one glance, his face turned deathly pale.

As a soldier, he understood the relationship between distance and field of vision better than Chu Hang. At such a close distance, the fact that they had been dragging the trailer for so long in the open area was practically the same as taking a stroll right under someone's nose.

"You son of a bitch Nazi bastard!" Gabe cursed under his breath, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He instinctively gripped his carbine tighter, scanning the surrounding darkness warily.

"We...we weren't discovered, were we?" he asked nervously.

"I don't know." Chu Hang shook his head, unsure himself. "But we can't gamble. From now on, we must assume that a search team is already heading our way."

Fear, like an invisible hand, gripped the hearts of both of them tightly.

At this moment, Chu Hang truly understood what war was. It wasn't a movie, it wasn't a game, there was no chance to reload and start over. One wrong step, one insignificant oversight, could lead to utter ruin. His pitiful, movie-derived foresight was as fragile as a sheet of paper in the face of truly cruel reality.

Go back? Back to that cave? No, it'll be discovered sooner or later.

Continuing towards the "Hunter's Hut"? That would be suicide.

For a moment, they seemed to be trapped in a dead end.

"Chu, listen to me." Gabu's voice suddenly turned unusually calm. He grabbed Chu Hang's arm, his eyes filled with a soldier's resolute determination. "Leave me here and find a place to hide. You'll be less of a target and easier to avoid them if you go alone. Go find the captain and complete the mission. Don't worry about me, that's an order!"

Chu Hang looked at him, feeling both annoyed and amused, and also a touch of indescribable emotion.

He patted Gabe's hand back and shook his head: "Save your breath, Gabe. First, you're not my commander, you can't order me around. Second, the Roaring Commando never abandons a teammate, I don't want to say that a third time."

He paused, took a deep breath, and forced his wildly beating heart to calm down.

The more dangerous the situation, the more you need to stay calm. This was the only useful thing he learned from countless overtime hours and being harassed by his boss.

“The map is fake, but our brains aren’t.” Chu Hang’s eyes sharpened again. “Hydra wants to play us, so we’ll play along.”

He crumpled the damn map into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he closed his eyes and focused all his attention on his hearing.

The self-healing factor's ability is essentially brought about by the X gene. After it is copied, in addition to the greatest recovery ability, the enhancement of Chu Hang's body is all-round. Although the improvement is not much, at least his hearing is much more acute than that of ordinary people.

The sound of the wind, the rustling of snowflakes falling on the leaves, the cracking of branches breaking under the weight of snow in the distance... countless subtle sounds, like trickling streams, flowed into his ears, sketching an invisible sound map in his mind.

Gabu looked at Chu Hang, who had his eyes closed as if listening to something, and didn't disturb him. He sensed a maturity and reliability beyond his years from this young Eastern comrade-in-arms. This feeling gradually calmed his flustered heart.

A few minutes later, Chu Hang suddenly opened his eyes.

"follow me!"

Without further hesitation, he pulled up the trailer and turned to walk in a direction completely opposite to the original plan.

It was a lower depression with denser trees.

"Where are you going?" Gabe asked, puzzled.

"Let's find a truly safe place," Chu Hang explained as he struggled to drag himself through the deep, uneven snow. "Listen, can you hear the sound of flowing water from upwind?"

Gabe listened carefully and, sure enough, he could hear a very faint "whooshing" sound in the gaps between the wind.

"That river!" Gabe immediately realized, "The river we jumped into when we were hiding from our pursuers!"

“That’s right!” Chu Hang’s lips curled into a smile. “Hydra’s map led us to the high, open trap zone. What does that mean? It means that this area, which is lower in elevation and closer to the water source, is actually their weak point in defense. Because in their view, no one would be foolish enough to run to the river in winter.”

"Moreover, a river means a riverbank. Riverbanks are constantly eroded by the water, making them ideal for forming natural caves and crevices. That's much safer than any man-made hunter's lodge!"

Gabe was dumbfounded. He couldn't understand how Chu Hang's mind had gone through so many twists and turns in just a few minutes, and how he had immediately come up with a brand new, damnably feasible plan.

He watched Chu Hang pulling the trailer ahead; his not-so-tall figure seemed incredibly tall and reliable at that moment.

The road ahead will be much more difficult than before.

The snow was deeper in the depression, and every step Chu Hang took required tremendous effort. The tow truck would also frequently get stuck on tree roots or rocks, requiring him to stop and clear them. His strength was rapidly depleting, and sweat streamed down his forehead, quickly forming a layer of frost on his eyebrows.

But his steps never stopped, nor did he show the slightest panic.

After walking for a while, they finally heard the clear sound of flowing water. Pushing aside the last patch of bushes, a river about seven or eight meters wide, not completely frozen, appeared before them.

The river water was steaming with white mist in the cold air, and the riverbank, just as Chu Hang had predicted, was covered with rocks and crevices of all sizes, eroded by the water flow.

Chu Hang's eyes scanned the area quickly, and soon he locked onto a target.

It was at an inconspicuous corner of the riverbank, beneath a huge rock, where there was a dark opening hidden by vines and withered grass. The opening wasn't large, just big enough for a person to bend down and crawl through.

"That's it!"

He pulled the trailer to the cave entrance, and first cautiously poked his head in to check, making sure there were no wild animals or anything else strange inside, before calling Gabu down.

Together, the two managed to get Gabu into the narrow but unusually dry and warm cave.

The cave was small, less than ten square meters, but for two fugitives who desperately needed a place to hide, it was like a five-star presidential suite.

Chu Hang brought all the equipment inside, and then brought in some dry branches and vines from outside to cleverly disguise the entrance to the cave. From the outside, no one would notice that there was a cave hidden there.

After doing all this, Chu Hang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt completely exhausted and sat down against the cold rock wall, not wanting to move a single finger.

It's not just physical fatigue, but also a high level of mental stress and exhaustion.

Gabu looked at his exhausted appearance, his eyes filled with gratitude and guilt: "Chu, thank you. If it weren't for you..."

"Alright, enough of that." Chu Hang waved his hand, interrupting him. "We're safe for now. You should rest and take care of your leg. I need to... I need to calculate how much time we have left."

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his mind.

That cold countdown continues to tick tirelessly.

[Super Copier] Cooling time remaining: 2 days and 19 hours.

time is limited.

He didn't know how Captain America was doing, or where the rest of the Howling Commandos were. All he knew was that he had to get to that damn factory within two days.

But right now, he hasn't even figured out the factory's exact location yet, and he's also carrying a seriously injured person with him.

Chu Hang opened his eyes and glanced at the deep, seemingly eternal night sky beyond the camouflaged gaps at the cave entrance. For the first time, he felt a slight wavering about this mission.

Perhaps Gabe is right.

Perhaps I really should... walk alone?

Chapter 13 Brothers, we can't lose them!

Humans are sometimes such contradictory creatures.

Take Chu Hang for example right now; it's like there are two little people fighting in his head.

A shrewd-looking little figure in a suit and tie whispered in his ear, "Hey, Chu Hang, wake up! What are you here for? To survive, to become stronger! The opportunity is right in front of you. As long as you go alone and get rid of this burden, you'll have a great chance to get close to Captain America and replicate the Super Soldier Serum! Then the sky's the limit, what are you afraid of? Being too soft-hearted will only hurt you!"

Another small figure, dressed in WWII military uniform and reeking of gunpowder, kicked the small figure in the suit away, then pointed at Chu Hang's nose and cursed: "Are you even a man? Why is Gabe lying here? Was it to save you? No! It was for the whole team, for the mission! Now that he's injured, you want to abandon him? What's the difference between you and those Hydra scum who stab you in the back? Have you forgotten how Logan fought alongside you? Have you forgotten how Dugan patted you on the shoulder and welcomed you? The Howling Commandos never abandon a teammate! You said that yourself, do you think it's nothing?"

Chu Hang scratched his hair in frustration.