Chapter Twenty-One: Two Consecutive Draws

The United States' premier military hospital, midday.

Because it was wartime, the hospital was filled with injured officers and soldiers receiving treatment, as well as family members visiting their loved ones. Yet, since this was a military hospital, everyone present kept their voices low and behaved with strict discipline, careful not to disturb others.

Kyle, dressed in the hospital's standard patient attire, walked through the main hall. His youthful, handsome features instantly drew the attention of many women. Thanks to the relatively restrained flow of information—nothing like the frenzy of the twenty-first century—few recognized Kyle as the greatest hero of the recent counteroffensive.

In truth, Kyle, America's youngest second lieutenant, was still less famous than Steve, whose “Captain America” moniker had become a household name.

Facing the frequent, meaningful glances from the nurses, Kyle responded with a gentle smile, stepping out of the hospital building and into the verdant garden outside.

The sunlight was bright, the trees and grass lush and green, the pool fountains sparkling with clarity—a perfect scene for recovery and rest.

Of course, Kyle was not someone who could patiently endure convalescence.

He drew in several deep breaths of fresh, natural air, then began stretching and warming up, going through a standard set of military exercises. After finishing, his bones crackled like popping beans, blood coursing through his stiff body, and his complexion grew noticeably more vibrant.

“Comfortable,” Kyle exhaled warmly. Though his still-healing left shoulder protested with pain, he found this far preferable to languishing bedridden—after all, he was used to the rigors of combat.

He was leaving for the training base with Joseph tomorrow and didn’t want to look lethargic. Since he’d resolved to stay ahead of Steve, everything had to be perfect.

Somehow, Kyle had developed his own pride and principles.

“Almost forgot the spoils from the counteroffensive,” he mused.

Sweating from his workout, Kyle sat on a bench in the garden, closing his eyes for a moment’s rest as his mind slipped quietly into the card space.

Unlike previous battles, the vast white space hadn’t been flooded with a jumble of white and green item cards.

But this time, the gains were greater than ever before!

There were only twenty-five unclassified blue item cards, prominently floating at the center of the card vortex. Each was a block of infinite energy, capable of granting modified weapons astonishing destructive power.

Kyle had already decided how to use these blue-tier infinite energy blocks.

Rather than expending them on weapons, he’d use them as offering materials for the card draw ritual!

“Two blue card offerings—even if nothing above blue tier appears, at worst I’ll get two blue cards to greatly enhance my personal strength.” Kyle, full of anticipation, suspended the twenty-five blue item cards before his mental avatar.

The card draw’s lower and upper limits were worlds apart. With the possibility of drawing anything, sometimes it was a loss, sometimes it brought unimaginable rewards.

The blue ability card [Stealth] was a prime example—a masterpiece from the offering draws.

Without the stealth ability, Kyle wouldn’t have dared infiltrate the enemy base alone; he might not have even reached its gates.

“Goddess of Victory in New York, bless me with luck—let something good appear.” Kyle felt as though he’d returned to the gacha draws of his previous life, his heart pounding, hands trembling as he sacrificed ten blue item cards.

Offering draw!

‘You offered [Gem Residue] ×10!’

‘Draw successful—congratulations, you received [Blue Eagle].’

A blue card, clearly of the biological category, floated before Kyle, its azure glow dazzling, marking its rare tier.

“On the first try—a blue rare already?” Kyle hadn’t expected such luck; drawing a rare blue card was like winning the lottery. He quickly took the new card and examined it.

[Blue Eagle]: A strange avian creature dwelling atop ten-thousand-meter cliffs. Rare blue card.

Its size was three times that of a normal hawk, with wings spanning ten meters, feathers a deep blue, and exceptional vitality and defense—able to withstand ordinary firearms.

It could see for ten thousand meters, unleash sonic attacks with its call, and reach a maximum flight speed of Mach 4, halved when carrying passengers.

“A rare flying mount?” Kyle was dumbfounded. In an online game, this would be a luxury mount reserved for the wealthiest players.

In the Marvel universe, the Blue Eagle would qualify as an extraterrestrial monster.

“Mach 4—that’s faster than a jet fighter,” Kyle thought. He was personally fond of the Blue Eagle, but its uniqueness made it impossible to use openly.

Imagine him flying the Blue Eagle in the real world or summoning it to fight; he’d risk being shot down by his own country’s jets or hounded by biologists eager to capture and dissect it.

In terms of practicality, the rare blue [Blue Eagle] might be less useful than the rare green [Poison Wasp Nest].

“Better keep it for now—it’ll surely have its uses in the right environment. After all, it’s my first rare blue card!” Kyle comforted himself, placing [Blue Eagle] in the emergency space, ready for urgent use.

Next, the second offering draw. After this, the five remaining [Gem Residue] wouldn’t be enough for another round.

“Please, let me get a card with high practicality.” Kyle prayed.

He understood now: the most important aspect of a card was usefulness. The best card was one suited for the current situation.

‘You offered [Gem Residue] ×10!’

‘Draw successful—congratulations, you received [Vibranium Armguard].’

“Vibranium—what a find!” Kyle’s face lit up with excitement at the new card’s name.

Any item prefixed with vibranium was bound to be impressive!

Vibranium, the Marvel universe’s top-tier material, originated only from the hidden nation of Wakanda, home of the Black Panther. In the outside world, the only vibranium artifact was Captain America’s future shield.

Kyle, exhilarated, gripped the new item card, inspecting its properties closely.

[Vibranium Armguard]: A pure vibranium armguard for the right arm. Blue item card.

Perfectly fits the wearer’s right forearm, easily absorbs various physical damage and firearm impacts.

“This is basically the right-hand piece of the Black Panther suit—just missing the claws.” Kyle was thoroughly satisfied.

Though not an ability card, it was precisely the kind of cutting-edge equipment he needed now.

With the soon-to-be-acquired super soldier physique, the vibranium armguard, and stealth skill, Kyle could truly become unbeatable on the battlefield as a one-man army!