Chapter Ninety-Four: The Bottom of the Well and the Sea

Brooklyn, at the intersection of Seabreeze Street.

Centered on Kyle’s villa residence, a tight military cordon surrounded the area, with checkpoints and armed soldiers standing guard in every direction within a fifty-meter radius beyond the walls.

Fury, having removed his insignia and changed out of his uniform into a trench coat, had only just approached the district when he was stopped by the two American soldiers at the outermost perimeter.

“Sorry, no unauthorized personnel beyond this point.”

“I’m Kyle’s comrade. I need to see him!” Fury said as he stepped closer, his voice low.

The two soldiers exchanged a glance, then removed the protective helmets that concealed even their faces. When Fury saw who they were, he stared in surprise.

“It’s you...”

“Long time no see. Ever since Captain Steve’s plane crash, and the half month when Major Kyle went missing, the Howling Commandos were fully disbanded, and the members were assigned to different units.”

“Chief Fury, I never expected to see you here again.” The two armed soldiers looked at Fury with visible excitement.

“You...” Fury sighed, then seemed to think of something. His brow furrowed as he said, “Why have you all gathered again now? Don’t tell me the ones sealing off and guarding this place are all former Howling Commandos?”

“Yes.” One of the soldiers nodded and said happily, “It was General Chester’s personal recommendation. He had us reorganized into an elite unit, assigned directly to special missions under the five-star general.”

Fury’s expression turned even colder. With anger in his voice, he said, “So you’re obeying General Chester’s orders and standing guard over Major Kyle, the very man who once promoted you?”

“Don’t say it like that.” The soldier waved his hands in panic and hurriedly corrected him. “It’s not guard duty. This is just to protect Major Kyle’s family.”

The other soldier echoed him. “That’s right. We’ve sealed off the area with military force mainly to keep enemy agents from getting in, and also to keep the media from disturbing Major Kyle before he sets out.”

“I’m neither an enemy agent nor the media.” As Fury spoke, he moved forward, about to enter the restricted zone.

The moment he took a step, the two armed soldiers raised their hands and blocked him.

“We’re very sorry, but we can’t let you in.”

“Please cooperate. This is General Chester’s order. Unless he gives permission, no one may see Major Kyle during these few days.”

Fury looked at the old comrades standing in his way. His fists tightened silently, and he said in a cold voice, “And if I force my way in, would you carry out your duty and shoot me dead?”

“Uh. Of course not!”

“Chief Fury, don’t make this difficult for us...” The two armed soldiers looked troubled, at a loss for what to do.

“You don’t need to call me ‘chief.’ I’ve already resigned my commission as a captain.” Fury felt a chill in his heart. Realizing he could not get through, he turned and left without hesitation. “Also, I’m ashamed of your stupidity! If Captain Steve were still alive and heard about this, he’d plant his fist in your faces and beat some sense into you, hard!”

The armed soldiers on guard were stunned, but they still saluted respectfully and watched Fury depart.

Inside the three-story villa, in the bathroom, Kyle was washing up, wearing nothing but a pair of loose shorts and a white undershirt, slippers tapping lightly beneath him, utterly without concern.

Water rushed from the tap. He cupped a handful and splashed it over his face, even his blond bangs damp and swept upward by the water.

Kyle drew in a deep breath. His handsome face gradually took on a serious expression, shedding the lazy, relaxed air from before.

It was as though he had returned to the battlefield once more, to that demon tyrant who had never known defeat and who commanded the entire shape of war itself.

“Let me think. What should the first step be? Right...” Kyle flexed his hand, drawing a green item card from the card space, which materialized into a keyboard-equipped mobile phone that looked somewhat like a brick.

He dialed a string of numbers. In less than five seconds, the call connected, and Howard’s surprised, hurried voice came through.

“Kyle?!”

“Who else in the whole world can make wireless phone calls right now besides you and me?” Kyle said with a faint smile.

“Luckily, you took that new product phone last time, and since we’re both in the New York area, we can keep this communication secret.” Howard gave a dry laugh, then said gravely, “Fury came to see me. He already told me some things about the military high command.”

He paused, then continued, “As far as I know, when the president died suddenly the day before yesterday, a large number of people in New York actually started calling for you, the war hero, to be selected as the first candidate. That should have been the real spark behind the national议员 and military high command deciding to discuss sending you on this mission.”

“The people up top only made what they believed to be the right choice when the situation reached a turning point.” Kyle’s voice was cold, and he did not find this strange at all.

If a Captain America who could be injured, could grow tired, and still possessed a perfect human physique remained within the range the American high command could understand and believe they could keep firmly under control—

Then the combat power he had displayed in the war against Germany, where he ignored bullets, feared no shellfire, and single-handedly shook tens of thousands of soldiers, had long since exceeded the current understanding of the American high command.

“Their vision is still too low and too narrow. They only see the surface of the world, and it’s normal for ordinary people to feel caution from that perspective.” Kyle said indifferently.

This era was still too early. It had not yet experienced the twenty-first century: the sudden emergence of mutated humans, the clash of brilliant technological light, the reality-transcending existence of myth and magic, the extradimensional races from outer space...

Right now, the world was still in the era of the Second World War. Humanity was like frogs living at the bottom of a well, filled with awe toward the unknown and fear toward the powerful.

Most people assumed that such a formidable individual as Kyle would covet and monopolize the water in the well. They did not know that he had already climbed out of the well and was now looking toward the stars and the sea beyond.

Standing on the top floor of Stark Tower, Howard gripped the phone tightly in his hand and said in anger, “No matter what, you’re a war hero! You’re covered in achievements and glory. No matter how wary they are, they shouldn’t be threatening you to go alone to Japan...”

Before he could finish, Kyle’s words on the other end nearly made him stagger and fall flat on the floor.

“No, no, they didn’t threaten me.”

Howard caught his breath and asked in confusion, “What do you mean, they didn’t threaten you? That’s a mission with a very high chance of never coming back!”

“There are really not many things in this world that can threaten me. Unfortunately, the American high command doesn’t have those abilities.” Kyle smiled faintly. “Those old fellows are all very shrewd. They didn’t naively think they could force me with armed power and the orders of a five-star general, otherwise they wouldn’t have sent former Howling Commandos to guard the place.”

“Then why did you agree?” Howard froze on the other end. He knew very well that the reorganization and promotion of the Howling Commandos would not be enough to move Kyle.

“To go to Japan, force them to surrender by my own strength, and restore peace to the world. Personally, I think it’s worth trying.”

Kyle’s tone remained cool, yet carried undeniable dominance.