Chapter 111: I Want the Sky Carrier

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Triskelion headquarters, the director’s office.

“What? It’s gone?”

After hearing Coulson’s report over the phone, the bald director wore a deeply troubled expression. He almost felt like buying a bottle of hair-growth tonic, growing himself a head of hair, and then plucking it all out strand by strand.

The secret research base had been breached.

The only mysterious item classified at Level Ten, the Obelisk, had been stolen.

Nearly a hundred soldiers stationed there were dead or wounded.

The rapid-response special forces had been completely wiped out.

Other than Coulson and Melinda, every field agent had been killed.

The Quinjet, worth hundreds of millions, was practically scrap.

Most importantly—

The Winter Soldier was gone, and so was the Obelisk!

What a complete disaster!

“Director, Agent May believes that the Immortal Iron Fist killed those Hydra operatives. He’s hunting the Winter Soldier, most likely because of that case,” Coulson’s voice came through the phone.

The bald director froze.

So it was him!

Strange. What did he want the Obelisk for?

He had read the relevant research reports. Anyone who touched the Obelisk would suffer unimaginable pain, feeling as though, “This thing is killing me.” Within an extremely short time, the victim’s body would turn even darker than the director himself, as if all its life force had been drained away, followed by death.

Without exception.

In the end, the only option had been to seal it away.

Could the Iron Fist know what the Obelisk was and how to use it?

Could the Obelisk have come from K’un-Lun?

At that thought, the bald director hurriedly grabbed the phone and dialed a number.

On the screen, a green fist appeared.

…

…

Deep in the forest, the Winter Soldier fled with one arm missing.

The mechanical arm gripping the case had vanished along with it, yet that detestable man behind him was still pursuing him. Was his target not the case at all, but him?

He knew no fear, and he never panicked. But clearly, neither did his opponent.

During this unprecedentedly perilous mission, his identity had changed again and again—from infiltrator at the beginning, to killer, robber, fugitive, and counterattacker, until at last he became the hunted.

What a thrilling experience.

Every bit of it was because of the man following behind him:

The Immortal Iron Fist!

With the need to avoid exposing too much, the organization’s support had been limited. Even Crossbones had been killed in an instant. At present, the only person he could rely on was himself.

“Do you really think you can get away?”

Old Wang strolled leisurely behind the Winter Soldier, like a hunter pursuing its prey.

He had come from more than a hundred kilometers away. By splitting his soul and transferring himself, he had appeared behind the Winter Soldier at the first possible moment. His two slightly chubby, fair hands had crossed violently, and with a powerful yank, he had torn off the sturdy mechanical arm. Along with the case containing the Obelisk, he had thrown it into the Heart of Azeroth.

But he had come here for two purposes, and the Obelisk was only one of them.

“Third time’s the charm. This is the second time we’ve met today. You still think you can escape?”

Old Wang had been thinking about the Winter Soldier for a long time. He had engraved the image of that massive, powerfully built man—cold as the Arctic—deep in his mind. How could he possibly let this opportunity slip by?

The Winter Soldier was nearly impossible to track. His mechanical arm contained Hydra’s most advanced technology and blocked every form of detection. If he failed this time, who knew when he would ever encounter the man again?

The last time, at the Roxxon power plant, he had been occupied with protecting Skye and the others. Besides, he had only just acquired the Heart of Azeroth and was not yet strong enough, managing merely to suppress the Winter Soldier.

But now…

Three months apart, and he was leagues beyond his former self!

Old Wang could have defeated the Winter Soldier with ease, but Crossbones and the others had been a nuisance, so he had dealt with them first. The Winter Soldier, however, had chosen not to fight and had taken the opportunity to flee. Old Wang had no idea what Crossbones had been thinking.

Hydra was even more ruthless than S.H.I.E.L.D. The Winter Soldier had only one objective in any mission; he did not care in the slightest whether anyone else lived or died.

“I told you. Running is pointless.”

“Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, do you still remember Captain America of Brooklyn?”

“Or does the name Steve Rogers mean more to you? Does it stir up that deeply buried bromantic passion in your heart—the feelings you’ve kept hidden for sixty years?”

“Could you really have become so heartless that you’ve forgotten even him?”

“Don’t forget that poster!”

The taunts kept coming without end. The Winter Soldier wanted desperately not to hear them, but with only one hand left, he had no way to cover his ears. He could only resign himself to enduring them.

Every time something went wrong, his mind was reprogrammed all over again. The name Steve Rogers was both distant and familiar. Even repeated brainwashing could not erase it completely, as though it had already been carved into his muscles and bones.

What exactly was his relationship with me?

The Winter Soldier did not know.

Yet the heart that had always remained so quiet suddenly grew restless. His icy thoughts were heated by the warmth of his own heart, and emotions long buried began to sprout again. He could no longer remain as indifferent as before.

He had feelings again.

Hearing the Winter Soldier’s heartbeat grow unsteady, Old Wang smiled faintly. His verbal assault was working.

He was just about to press his advantage and vividly recount the bromantic years between the two men when his phone suddenly rang.

One glance showed him the brightly lit screen: a dark, gleaming bald egg trembling with the ringtone, its rapid vibration carrying an oddly suggestive rhythm.

“It must be Coulson tattling!”

Earlier, he had gone to see Tony in the name of S.H.I.E.L.D., then beaten Tony to the punch by giving him the clues about the new element. In effect, he had stolen the “Tony favorability points” that should have belonged to him. Now he had stolen the Obelisk as well.

Old Wang felt a little guilty.

Of course, after doing this sort of thing so many times, he had plenty of experience. He quickly settled himself and answered the call.

“Keep it brief. I’m busy.”

The bald director’s weary voice came through. “Master Wang, where is the Winter Soldier?”

“How would I know?” Old Wang countered.

“…I can hear the wind. You’re running at high speed. Are you hunting the Winter Soldier?”

The bald director suddenly wished he could install a high-powered laser emitter in his artificial eye. The next time he saw that Wang fellow, he would simply glare him to death.

“I’m out for a morning run,” Old Wang replied casually.

It was the middle of the night, and he was racing after the Winter Soldier. Was that not a morning run?

The bald director turned his head toward the black sky outside the window, then lowered his gaze to the hands of his watch. It was not even three in the morning.

Young man, do you lie without even preparing your excuses?

“Don’t play games with me.”

The bald director thought, So it really is you.

Though he could not understand how the pudgy Wang, who had still been in New York, had suddenly appeared thousands of kilometers away, who knew what other tricks the man had hidden?

Perhaps the Darkhold contained a spell for teleportation. Perhaps K’un-Lun possessed a flying vehicle faster than a Quinjet. Perhaps Pudgy Wang had summoned a divine dragon as a mount.

Who knew?

“Bring the Winter Soldier back alive, and recover the Obelisk. Name your price.”

Ever since learning who the Winter Soldier was, the bald director had regarded him as vastly more important than the Obelisk.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had no idea what the Obelisk actually was. Perhaps they could extract some information from Pudgy Wang.

As for the Winter Soldier, the director did not know exactly what had happened to him, but he could make a rough guess. Most likely, the man had been injected with the Super-Soldier Serum and then brainwashed.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was already researching methods of altering memories. Reversing the brainwashing would not be difficult. With careful handling, the Winter Soldier could become a second Captain America—and the best possible candidate for the Avengers.

Pudgy Wang clearly had no intention of joining them. No one could yet say for certain how Tony had escaped, and that playboy was not especially reliable. Black Widow and Hawkeye were still not strong enough. The bald director had never before yearned so desperately for a powerful, dependable man.

Someone like the Winter Soldier.

He secretly made up his mind:

Even if Pudgy Wang demanded a Quinjet, he would give him one!

“I heard you’re building a helicarrier,” Old Wang said with a chuckle, his tone anything but well-intentioned.