Future Technology Dream Factory

The first transport warplane returning from Berlin landed at the New York military headquarters in the United States at around eight in the evening.

The New York military base was brightly lit. When the warplane landed and its cabin door opened, thunderous applause immediately erupted from the airfield outside.

As several vanguard officers disembarked first, the applause clearly grew fiercer and more impassioned when Kyle, dressed in a black Combat Uniform, stepped down the aircraft stairs.

As Kyle walked forward, he swept his gaze across the area and discovered dozens of uniformed officers and suited officials waiting to receive them. General Chester, who had commanded this campaign, was among them. Outside the restricted area guarded by American soldiers, a crowd of reporters and photographers held up old-fashioned cameras, snapping away as flashbulbs continuously flashed with blinding white light.

"Everyone, you’ve worked hard!" General Chester first greeted those disembarking, then stepped forward. To the astonishment of many officers and officials, he warmly patted Kyle on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Kyle, well done! You truly deserve to be called a War Hero!"

"At least I lived up to the Major General rank insignia you gave me." Kyle shrugged and pointed at the rank badge pinned to the left shoulder of his uniform—it had been put on specially before he got off the plane.

Quite a few military and government officials nearby shook their heads with wry smiles. Probably only Kyle would dare speak so casually to a Five-Star General.

General Chester did not mind. Smiling, he said, "You’ve spent more than a month fighting on the front lines. You’ve worked hard too. Go home and rest for a few days first."

"Then after a few days of rest, there’ll be another campaign for me to join?" Kyle asked casually. After all, Germany, the largest main combatant, had just been conquered, signaling the complete end of all warfare in the European Theater.

World War II was also nearing its final stage.

"There’s a plan…" General Chester moved his lips, but quickly paused. He gave Kyle a meaningful look and said softly, "I’ll have a soldier notify you when the time comes. For now, just go home and rest properly. As a hero the entire nation is proud of, you can’t afford to collapse from exhaustion."

Though his final remark was teasing in tone, it still contained genuine concern.

Kyle nodded. "Then I’ll be leaving first. Fury will handle the handover for everything that happened in Germany."

At some point, Fury had become his personal representative for official duties.

As soon as he finished speaking, Fury, wearing an eyepatch over his left eye, led the way off the transport plane. Armed soldiers behind him escorted hostages down one by one.

The welcoming officials also shifted their attention to the hostages. Defeating Germany was one matter, but obtaining German scientists and military intelligence was equally important.

Taking advantage of their diverted attention, Kyle lightly waved a hand, signaling Logan, who was mixed in among the disembarking soldiers, to follow him. The two left together toward the military airport’s exit.

Seeing Kyle leave, a large number of reporters and photographers hurriedly hoisted their equipment and chased after him, hoping to get an interview.

After all, Kyle was not like Steve. As the government-promoted Captain America, Steve had already done plenty of interviews and publicity appearances before he went to war.

Kyle, on the other hand, had been a hero fighting continuously on the battlefield. There were plenty of documentaries about him, but no one had ever interviewed him.

Every media outlet and newspaper in New York dreamed of obtaining Kyle’s first exclusive interview.

The reporters sped up with their cameras, and just as they were about to catch up at the main gate of the military airfield, an extended luxury car abruptly stopped outside.

Kyle and Logan directly opened the doors and got in. The car immediately pulled away, leaving the panting reporters with nothing but exhaust fumes.

Inside the extended luxury car, a professional bodyguard sat in the driver’s seat as the chauffeur. The middle and rear sections of the vehicle were hollowed out, providing ample space, with luxurious sofas arranged along both sides by the doors.

Under the comfortable ceiling lights, Kyle and Logan sat on one side of the car. On the other sat a suited gentleman with a small mustache and impeccable manners. Who else could it be but Howard?

"Good thing you weren’t caught up by those reporters, or it would’ve been hard to get away." Howard patted his chest with lingering fear. Clearly, he had become accustomed to dealing with reporters.

"If I wanted to leave, how could they stop me?" Kyle smiled faintly, then asked with slight surprise, "What about you? When did you return from the base in Europe?"

Howard replied, "The scientific research institute here in the United States called me over to help half a month ago. It only wrapped up a few days ago, otherwise I wouldn’t have had time to pick you up."

"The institute’s current project is nuclear weapons, isn’t it?" Kyle asked bluntly.

Howard did not say it outright, but he slowly nodded. "The research is already in its final stages. Before long, we should be able to manufacture an actual prototype for testing."

"Looks like the war really is about to end." Kyle murmured, leaning back on the sofa as he became slightly lost in thought.

Once the war ended, it would be time to begin arranging his private power!

"By the way, who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce him?" Howard looked toward Logan, who sat beside Kyle and had not said a single word since getting into the car.

"Just call him Logan. I met him on the battlefield. He’s sort of my…" Kyle hesitated, unable to find an appropriate way to describe their relationship. In the end, he simply said, "Bodyguard."

A national hero who symbolized conquest and strength, a warrior whose personal strength stood at the very pinnacle of the American military, needed… a bodyguard?

Howard stared dumbfoundedly. He looked at the still-silent Logan, then at Kyle’s serious face, and asked in disbelief, "Really?"

"I’m not lying to you." Kyle smiled. "Once Logan shows his strength in the future, you’ll understand. You’ll definitely be very interested in him then."

"Anyone you chose as a personal bodyguard certainly wouldn’t be ordinary." Howard turned toward Logan with some anticipation and enthusiastically introduced himself. "Hello, my name is Howard Stark."

Logan gave a cold nod and said nothing more. He was still not very good at interacting with others.

Howard awkwardly touched his mustache, then suggested to Kyle, "At the Training Base last time, I promised I’d buy you a drink when you came back. Since we’re free tonight, how about we have a few?"

"Sure." Kyle nodded in agreement. Having just returned to New York, he truly had nothing to do for the moment.

The luxury car drove away from the military base, traveled down the city’s main roads, and entered the bustling central district of New York. It eventually came to a stop before a towering skyscraper.

"I thought you were taking me to a bar. Why the change this time?" Kyle got out and looked up at the skyscraper before him, rising from the heart of New York’s streets. Even looking more than a hundred meters upward, he could not see its roof.

The modern industrial building had around sixty floors and was constructed from sturdy reinforced concrete. Every floor’s windows shone with bright white light, and the faint silhouettes of busy workers could be seen within.

Across the center of the highly technological skyscraper were enormous English letters formed from lights: "STARK INDUSTRIES."

Howard stood in the open space before the building, spread his arms toward Kyle and Logan, and declared loudly with complete confidence, "Welcome to Stark Industries! The dream factory of future technology!"