People are strange, contradictory creatures.
Take Levi, for example. Right now, it felt like two little versions of himself were fighting inside his head.
One wore a suit and tie, looking sharp and calculating. It leaned close to his ear and whispered:
"Hey, Levi, wake up. Why did you come to this world? To survive. To grow stronger. The opportunity is right in front of you. As long as you go alone and ditch this burden, you've got a real chance to get close to Captain America and copy the Super Soldier Serum. Once you have that, the sky's the limit. What are you afraid of then? Sentimentality will only get you killed."
The other little man wore a World War II uniform, reeking of gunpowder and smoke. He kicked the suited guy flying, then jabbed a finger at Levi's nose and cursed:
"Are you still a man or not? Why do you think Gabe is lying here? Was it to save you? No! It was for the whole team, for the mission! Now that he's hurt, you want to throw him away? Then how are you any different from those Hydra bastards who stab people in the back? Have you forgotten how Logan fought alongside you? Forgotten how Dugan clapped you on the shoulder and said 'welcome aboard'? The Howling Commandos don't abandon their own! You said that yourself—are you just going to treat it like a fart?"
Levi irritably ran a hand through his hair.
To be honest, the suit guy made a lot of sense. It perfectly matched his survival logic from his previous life as a corporate drone: avoid risks, maximize personal gain. Bringing Gabe along multiplied the danger tenfold, while the chance of success dropped to less than ten percent.
No matter how you calculated it, it was a terrible deal.
And yet—damn it—he just couldn't get past that mental hurdle.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Gabe's expression from earlier, that resolute look when he told Levi to go on alone. That was the look of a real soldier, ready to sacrifice himself for the collective.
And Levi? What was he? A transmigrator gaming the system with a cheat ability?
If he really abandoned Gabe here today, then even if he copied a hundred superpowers and became godlike later… would he be able to sleep at night? When he looked at Captain America's shield again, wouldn't he feel ashamed?
To hell with it.
He'd finally found comrades in this messed-up world—people he could trust with his back. He'd even started to feel a bit like a hero. How could he turn back into that selfish coward just because things got hard?
"Levi…"
As Levi wrestled with himself, Gabe spoke again. His voice was weak, but unusually clear.
"Don't hesitate. Go. I know what you're thinking. You're stronger than me. Smarter than me. Only you have a chance of finding the captain and finishing the mission. If I stay with you, I'll just slow you down. Listen to me—this is the right choice."
Levi snapped his eyes open and turned, staring straight at Gabe.
"Say that again?" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried suppressed anger.
Gabe froze for a second, then insisted, "I said, you should go alone—"
"Shut up!" Levi cut him off roughly. "I'm not deaf! Let me ask you—what the hell is the 'right choice'? Leaving a wounded man to freeze to death out here? Is that 'right'? Then what are we? What are the Howling Commandos? A bunch of cold-blooded machines who throw away teammates for the sake of a mission?"
His emotions surged, his voice rising despite himself.
Gabe fell silent. He looked at Levi, his expression complicated. He hadn't expected this usually laid-back, even slightly slick Eastern kid to have such a stubborn, foolish streak deep down.
"But… the mission—"
"The mission is to take down Hydra, sure!" Levi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "But the premise of any mission is that we fight like human beings, not animals! I'm telling you, Gabe—today, either we walk out of this forest together, or we die here together. There is no third option."
With that, he stopped looking at Gabe and pulled a black metal box from his pack—the radio he'd taken off the Hydra squad leader.
Gabe stared at it, stunned. "What are you planning to do?"
"Wait to die?" Levi smirked, that familiar roguish grin returning. "Of course not. Since they set a trap for us, it's only fair we give them something back."
He handed the radio to Gabe. "You know how to use this thing, right? Can you understand what they're yelling about?"
Gabe took it and nodded. "Yeah. I know how. I understand some German—basic military chatter shouldn't be a problem."
"Good." Levi's eyes lit up, like a starving wolf finding a trail. "Right now we're blind and deaf—we don't know a damn thing about what's going on at the factory. That fake map screwed us, but it also gave us an opportunity."
"What opportunity?"
"To listen in on them." Levi lowered his voice, excitement flickering in his eyes. "They think we've already walked into their trap—or are on the way to it. They'll never imagine we're hiding in their weakest defensive zone, using their own radio to steal all their intel."
Gabe's breathing instantly grew rapid.
He got it. Completely.
It was a bold—borderline insane—plan. But without question, it was their only way out.
"Quick, turn it on," Gabe urged, momentarily forgetting about his injured leg.
Levi carefully adjusted the knob and powered up the radio.
A faint zzzt of static filled the cramped cave. Levi turned the volume down as low as it would go—only audible if you leaned in close.
Both of them held their breath.
Broken snippets of German came through. Gabe tilted his head, brow furrowed, listening intently.
"…Post Three, all clear."
"…Patrol Team B has returned. No contact."
"…Supply truck arriving at South Gate in thirty minutes."
Mostly routine chatter. Levi couldn't understand it, but Gabe's expression told him nothing critical yet.
Levi wasn't in a hurry. Under such a tight search, it was impossible that no useful information would surface.
Sure enough, about ten minutes later, the radio traffic suddenly grew clearer and more frequent.
A voice that sounded like a commanding officer issued orders in a stern tone.
Gabe's face changed instantly.
"What did he say?" Levi asked at once.
Gabe raised a hand for silence, focusing hard. When the transmission ended, he turned back, his face grim.
"Bad news. They've confirmed that at least two people successfully parachuted from the crashed plane. They found two cut parachutes in different areas."
Levi's heart sank. Just as he feared—they were exposed.
"And?"
"They say regular search teams are too slow. Schmidt himself—the Red Skull—is very dissatisfied." Gabe swallowed. "So they've deployed the 'Hounds.'"
"'Hounds'?" Levi frowned. "Attack dogs? We jumped into the river—that should've wiped our scent."
"No," Gabe shook his head, his expression even worse. "'Hounds' isn't literal. It's the codename for an elite Hydra tracking unit. Their leader is a true hunting expert. Leave even the smallest trace, and you won't escape him."
Levi's heart skipped.
Damn it. Just escaped one trap, only to draw out the professionals.
Hydra's base really was crawling with monsters.
But before he could process that, the radio delivered another piece of news—one that neither of them had expected.
A patrolman reported excitedly, clearly eager for credit:
"Report! Target spotted on the western ridge! Blue-and-white uniform, carrying a round shield! Matches the photos exactly! We're moving to encircle him!"
Boom.
Levi's mind exploded.
Captain America.
Captain America had been found.
What the hell? This wasn't how it was supposed to go. In the movie, Captain America was meant to sneak in silently, rescue everyone, then lead them out in glorious fashion.
So why was he being surrounded instead?
Levi's first thought was the butterfly effect—had his presence changed the timeline?
"Do not open fire! Schmidt wants him alive!" the commander barked.
"All units converge on the western ridge! Repeat—all units converge immediately! Box him in!"
The channel erupted with chaotic confirmations.
Levi could picture it clearly—Hydra soldiers swarming from all directions like sharks smelling blood.
The western ridge was about to become a killing net.
And Captain America was the fish caught inside.
What now?
Levi's heart pounded.
His ability was still on cooldown for over two days. Even if he rushed there now, he couldn't do much—he'd probably just get himself killed.
But if he didn't go…
That was Captain America. His ultimate objective. The hero he genuinely admired.
Was he really going to just sit here and watch him get captured and dissected by Hydra?
As Levi's thoughts spiraled, Gabe suddenly grabbed his arm hard.
"Levi—listen!"
Levi froze and focused on the radio again.
Amid the noisy chatter of reinforcements moving out, a calm, emotionless male voice cut in—one that made both their hairs stand on end.
It was the leader of the so-called Hounds.
"Command, this is Hound Leader. I've reached the parachute landing zone. There are drag marks—two people. One is injured. They did not head toward the trap zone."
"They turned downstream, toward the river."
"They're smart. Trying to use the water to erase their trail."
A brief pause.
"But they made a mistake."
"Arnica doesn't walk itself into a cave."
Another pause, the voice chillingly flat.
"I can smell them."
"They're nearby."