Chapter 131: The Winter Soldier and the Black Widow

Outside New York, at the Carl family estate.

“Don’t let go! Hold him down!”

Under the trembling gazes of the children watching from the second-floor corridor, the spacious hall below had descended into noisy chaos, a savage struggle between cornered beasts.

Four or five elite bodyguards in suits and sunglasses, clutching the severed ends of heavy-duty military rope, were hurled out of the melee one after another. They crashed to the floor in disarray, crying out in pain.

“Ordinary rope won’t hold him! Send someone for chains!”

Logan’s face was flushed as he locked his arms around Bucky’s powerful limbs from behind, the claws extended from his hands. Bucky, hair flying wildly, fought like a rampaging beast, roaring and snarling as he struggled with all his might.

Under the force of their contest, the ornate floor beneath their feet was nearly cracked apart.

“I’m about to lose him!” Logan warned.

Bucky swung his powered mechanical left arm and smashed it into the floor. The brute force sent Logan flying forward.

“I’ve got him!”

Natasha, her vivid red hair blazing, rushed forward at exactly the right moment. Dragging a ten-meter length of iron chain, she swiftly looped it around Bucky’s neck.

Bucky moved to attack, but Natasha nimbly slipped around him, circling several times as she bound the chain around his waist and neck.

At last, Natasha, still wearing her long dress, knelt atop Bucky’s broad back and hauled fiercely on both ends of the chain. The links groaned and snapped taut.

In a low voice, she said, “Bucky, remember who you are. Don’t let false memories consume your mind!”

Bucky ignored her completely. His eyes were empty and cold. Pulling with all his strength, he slowly dragged the chain from Natasha’s hands.

“Move!”

The chain was on the verge of snapping free. Logan growled and charged at Bucky, while Natasha reacted instantly and leaped away.

The next moment, Logan slammed into Bucky with tremendous force. Still wrapped in chains, Bucky was sent flying several yards, tumbling through the estate’s front entrance and rolling down the stone steps onto the lawn.

Bucky rose in mechanical silence. As he tugged at the chains binding him, he began moving away from the estate alone.

“We can’t let him leave in this condition.”

Logan exchanged a glance with Natasha. They were just about to give chase when the chains around Bucky suddenly rose into the air.

With a clattering rattle, they transformed into something like a living serpent, winding around and restraining all four of Bucky’s limbs. Their two ends then pulled taut and drove themselves into the lawn beside him.

Natasha emerged from the hall and looked up in astonishment. The extended car that had gone out to purchase supplies had returned and come to a stop in the courtyard. Lucy, the mistress of the estate, and Rain, the family’s number-two enforcer, had just stepped out.

Rain raised one small, fair hand. Her silver eyes fixed on the out-of-control Bucky. Clearly, she had used her telekinetic powers to control the chains at the critical moment.

“Beautifully done.”

Logan exhaled in relief. At last, he understood why Kyle had told Rain to keep an eye on Bucky. Without causing the man excessive harm, only a power focused on restraint could effectively stop him.

“What do we do with him now? Leave him tied up like this?”

The people at the estate were struggling to decide how to deal with Bucky when sparks suddenly flared at the front gate. They spun into a dazzling circular portal large enough for a person to pass through, and Kyle stepped out in a black battle suit.

“Kyle?”

“Boss.”

“Head of the family…”

“Chief!”

Different voices rang out across the estate in quick succession. The young man who had returned was the foundation and pillar of the Carl family. There was no question of that.

“Boss, how did you get back?”

Logan voiced the question on everyone’s mind. Behind Kyle, the mysterious portal was gradually fading. Through it, one could still vaguely see the rooftops of New York and the distant, scattered sounds of a bustling city.

“It’s magic. I’ll explain it to you later.”

Kyle looked around. Seeing Bucky restrained before the front entrance, he frowned slightly.

“He lost control?”

Logan nodded. The first floor of the estate bore the unmistakable marks of the Winter Soldier’s rampage. No explanation was needed to understand how fierce the struggle had been.

Kyle looked at Bucky, then raised the hand bearing a sling ring. With a continuous circular motion, sparks whirled and formed a portal that expanded across the lawn beneath Bucky’s feet.

“Rain, release him.”

“All right.”

Rain loosened the chains at both ends with her mind. Before Bucky could struggle or even take half a step, he dropped through the portal with a thud. The ring of sparks vanished with him.

Everyone present blinked, unsure what Kyle had done.

“Let him get some fresh air and clear his head,” Kyle said.

He then turned his gaze to Natasha, considering how best to arrange matters for her.

Natasha instinctively took several steps backward. Even a top agent was no more than a lamb before the young man standing before her. But she quickly came to her senses and stopped. After all, she had come over of her own free will; no one had forced her.

“In half an hour, we’ll hold a family meeting in the second-floor hall. I have something to discuss with all of you.”

As he spoke, Kyle opened another portal. On the other side lay the family conference room on the second floor of the estate.

“Natasha, come with me.”

Kyle stepped through the portal, and Natasha obediently followed behind him, leaving the members of the Carl family gazing after them in admiration and awe.

There was no denying that magical portals not only saved an enormous amount of travel time, but also elevated one’s grandeur by several levels.

They were a method of movement exclusive to sorcerers. Aside from their shorter range and smaller entrances, they were in no way inferior to the spectacular way the Rainbow Bridge made its entrances.

In the family conference room on the second floor, Kyle sat in an office chair, his fingers tapping lightly against the desktop.

“I have not placed my complete trust in you,” he said bluntly. “You betrayed the Red Room. One day, under pressure from a stronger power, you may very well turn against me as well.”

“Then why did you save me?”

Natasha lightly bit her lower lip and calmly sat down on the sofa. She had been used and discarded too many times; she had long since grown accustomed to the feeling of being distrusted.

She was far from the frail, helpless girl she appeared to be. She was the Black Widow in truth.

Her character, her memories, even the shameful experiences buried in her past—once stained, such things were very difficult to cleanse.

“Because you still have value to me. And as for the consequences of betraying me, so long as you remain on Earth, you will never escape the Carl family’s pursuit.”

Kyle spoke with absolute confidence, and Natasha believed him without question.

Kyle continued, “For the next two months, you will remain at the estate. You are not to leave, not even once. Every three days, you will come to see me for half an hour.”

“Ah? Why?”

Natasha’s beautiful eyes flickered strangely as she listened, and an inexplicable sense of anticipation rose within her.

If Kyle had taken a liking to her, she would not have minded…

“After two months, I will recommend you to Nick Fury. You will take a position in the newly established S.H.I.E.L.D. Whether you can earn the recognition of my family’s power and wash away the stains upon your name will depend entirely on your own performance.”

Kyle interrupted Natasha’s speculation and fantasies, laying out the arrangement in an unhurried voice.