Chapter 26: Revealing My Powers

Over the wilderness beneath the shroud of night.

A wild gale raged, rain lashed down, lightning and thunder tore through the heavens, and bullets streaked through the storm.

Kyle plummeted headfirst toward the earth, his body accelerating in freefall, the night wind whipping his trench coat so fiercely it snapped like a flag in a hurricane.

He had chosen to accompany Steve on this rescue mission for two reasons: first, to test his newly transformed strength in the heat of real combat; second, with so many opportunities for military achievements and spoils of war, how could he possibly refuse?

Below him, Steve deployed his parachute, and Kyle, gauging the timing, opened his own. The two of them drifted silently towards the wild earth below.

Ratatatat!

They had barely dropped to twenty meters when the enemy soldiers below must have spotted them, opening fire at the dark sky with a barrage of bullets.

“I’ll draw their fire!” Steve shouted, fearful lest Kyle take a bullet, and immediately steered his parachute into the line of fire, diving toward the ground.

Like I need you to shield me from bullets.

Kyle shook his head with a wry smile, drew the Nepalese combat knife from his belt, and, with a backward swing, sliced through the parachute cords on his back.

He was still a dozen meters above the ground—a perilous height to lose his parachute. With nothing to slow his descent, Kyle plummeted toward the earth at breakneck speed.

The sight left not only Steve but the German soldiers below dumbstruck.

“Is he trying to kill himself?” one of the Germans thought in disbelief.

But the very next moment, Kyle hit the muddy earth, rolled with the impact, and sprang lightly to his feet.

“My legs are a bit numb. But as I thought—this is something ordinary men could never do,” Kyle mused, a faint smile touching his otherwise cold features. Untested as it was, he had simply believed he could survive the fall, and taken the risk.

Now, with a body that surpassed human limits, combined with hundreds of combat skill cards, it was as though a treasure trove had found its key, a race car its open freeway—the synergy produced an unimaginable transformation.

“What are you waiting for? Open fire!” the German squad leader bellowed.

The German soldiers, still staring in shock, snapped to attention at the order, hastily raising their weapons to shoot.

But Kyle was faster. Without retreating, he advanced, left hand gripping his combat knife, charging straight at the muzzles of their guns.

Thud!

Kyle suddenly stepped left, and a hail of bullets tore past his right shoulder into the mud. As the panicked soldiers swung their guns left, he darted right.

His sidesteps alone were enough to avoid their fire, but what mattered was his peerless speed.

A sprinter covers a hundred meters in about ten seconds; Kyle could do it in three or four. At that rate, the scant twenty or thirty meters between them vanished in a single heartbeat.

Slick!

He gave them no chance for a second volley. Kyle closed in, knife flashing in a bright arc that whistled through the air.

The squad leader’s eyes were wide with terror as the barrel of his rifle clattered to the earth, sliced clean through. An instant later, a neat red line appeared across his neck, and his head tumbled from his shoulders.

“Monster!” a soldier screamed, turning to flee. Kyle stepped forward, seized him by the back of the neck, and lifted him off the ground with one hand.

“Let him go!” another soldier shouted in panic, aiming his rifle at Kyle. But before he could fire, a shadow dropped from above and landed squarely on him, pinning him beneath a boot.

“You took your time,” Kyle said with a chuckle, swinging the struggling soldier in his grip in a full circle before slamming his face into the mud.

“Kyle, your speed, your strength—what on earth happened to you?” Steve demanded, standing atop the writhing German, his face a picture of shock.

Kyle’s expression was calm. He had never intended to hide his super-soldier abilities from Steve; after all, if he wanted to use his new strength, sooner or later he would have to give the army an explanation.

“I didn’t tell you because I only just gained this power,” Kyle sighed, explaining earnestly, “Remember the counterattack ten days ago? In that enemy base warehouse, I found a vial on the enemy commander. I meant to bring it back for the scientists, but during the escape, the vial shattered and the liquid got into my wounds.”

Steve didn’t doubt him for a second and pressed on urgently, “Was the liquid pale blue?”

Kyle nodded. “Exactly. The liquid fused with my blood, and I blacked out from the pain. When I woke up in the hospital, my body had changed in ways I’d never imagined—my strength and speed were both superhuman.”

“Kyle, congratulations. It sounds like you found the original super-soldier serum and survived the transformation,” Steve said joyfully.

“Super-soldier serum?” Kyle feigned ignorance.

“Yes. The doctor who developed it was originally a German scientist who later defected. I heard the Germans used the prototype serum on some of their own. I never dreamed there’d be a vial left, and that you would stumble upon it. You’re lucky,” Steve said, genuinely happy for Kyle. The chance to become a super-soldier had been Kyle’s to begin with, and Steve had always felt guilty for taking his place.

Kyle knew the story he’d spun was flimsy, but Steve trusted him completely, so it would serve its purpose. Once Steve reported back to command, his super-soldier status would be officially confirmed.

“I was worried about you, but now you’re a super-soldier too, with even more combat experience than I have. Our chances of infiltrating the enemy factory and rescuing our men just shot up!” Steve said, excitement in his voice.

“In that case, let me take command of the infiltration,” Kyle said confidently, giving Steve a meaningful look. “First, let me teach you a simple lesson of the battlefield.”

Before the words had left his mouth, Kyle lifted his left foot and stomped down, driving the German soldier’s head deep into the mud.

The soldier flailed even more violently, mud flying everywhere, but under Kyle’s overwhelming strength, he soon suffocated and died.

“On the battlefield, never show the enemy mercy. Make every strike a killing blow. Killing may not always be just, but killing the enemy is military justice,” Kyle said coldly, his aura turning icy.

“I understand,” Steve replied hesitantly, nodding.

No matter how strong his body, he was still a greenhorn on the battlefield—he needed training—no, discipline.

“Follow me to the factory’s main gate. Avoid patrols where you can. If you can’t, don’t let them send an alarm—take them out up close and silently,” Kyle ordered before setting off in the direction of the factory he’d seen from the plane. Steve followed close behind.

The two of them vanished into the night rain once more.