Infinite Formula and the Winter Soldier

Taras, Norris, the Red Room executive, and the Red Room’s upper echelon—the three giants—emerged from the conference room, followed by several female agents in black leather bodysuits.

Seeing this, Kyle glanced at the clock in the reception hall and said with a calm smile, "Ten seconds remain. It seems you’ve already discussed and made your decision."

"Mr. Kyle, we hope to resolve the conflict between us as much as possible. After all, fighting here would benefit neither side—you wouldn’t want the world that has finally regained peace to be engulfed in war again," Taras said first.

"This is between me and your Red Room. It has nothing to do with America. I believe the Soviet leadership won’t rashly make an enemy of me over the Red Room." Kyle shrugged, speaking with confidence and unmistakable dominance.

He still possessed intelligence on Soviet nuclear testing. He had far too much leverage and backing, and with the vast gap in strength, the Red Room simply could not negotiate with Kyle as equals.

"We will pay an appropriate price as a bargaining chip for compromise." Taras lowered his head and clenched his fists in humiliation. Even Natasha, who lay beside Logan in a half-conscious state, furrowed her brow.

This was the first time the Red Room had compromised. Kyle’s influence was terrifyingly immense.

"You agree to give me the Super Soldier Serum formula?"

Kyle looked at the three executives with a faint smile. The Red Room had always fed off others—were they finally being forced to pluck feathers from themselves?

"We agree to hand over Natasha and offer another item in place of the Super Soldier Serum formula," Taras said gravely. He clapped lightly, and a female agent behind him immediately stepped forward with a vial, respectfully presenting it to Kyle.

"This is?" Kyle asked, his gaze falling on the vial as the relevant Item Card information instantly appeared.

Infinite Formula: A serum capable of slowing the aging of all bodily functions. Blue Item Card.

It could grant the injected person an extremely long lifespan and peak physical fitness. It had to be used continuously, with one injection required every three years. Once injections stopped, the body would rapidly age.

"The Infinite Formula, a serum equal in value to the Super Soldier Serum. It requires no prolonged inhuman training and has no rejection or side effects. A simple injection is enough to produce its miraculous effects of extending lifespan and halting the aging of bodily functions," Taras explained, though his brief words concealed much information, such as the fact that the Infinite Formula required continual injections.

But Kyle already understood after reading the card information. He nodded lightly, picked up the Infinite Formula, and slipped it into his leather jacket pocket.

With Natasha in hand, he could draw cards from Super Agent and spend time endlessly replicating and granting its abilities.

The Infinite Formula did not fall within the scope of an Ability Card even when injected, but it could be handed to Howard as an experimental drug for research. If it could be cracked, it could be mass-produced.

In his eyes, the Infinite Formula was more than ten times as important as the Super Soldier Serum!

"Pleasure doing business. From now on, the conflict between us has been resolved."

Kyle smiled warmly, rose to his feet, and snapped his fingers. Logan understood and hoisted Natasha over his shoulder, while Yutong jumped down from the sofa chair, her feet unable to reach the floor.

"Taras, see the three guests out." Norris and the Red Room executive secretly breathed sighs of relief and hurriedly had Taras escort these uninvited guests away.

At the main gate of the Red Room base.

Under Taras’s eager send-off, Kyle and the others passed unimpeded through the base, drawing astonished looks from the armed soldiers as they made their way to the entrance.

"Mr. Kyle, this is as far as I’ll accompany you," Taras said, forcing out an ugly smile.

"Taras, you truly are such a warm and hospitable person. Next time I come to the Soviet Union, I’ll definitely come visit you properly."

Kyle patted Taras on the shoulder in a friendly manner, making Taras’s expression change drastically as he nearly failed to catch his breath.

"Just kidding, just kidding. If you don’t offend me, why would I have so much time to pay you a special visit?" Kyle said righteously.

Taras’s face turned livid. He looked as miserable as if he had swallowed a silent loss along with a lump of shit.

"I’m leaving, then." Kyle waved and led Logan and Yutong out through the gate. At that moment, a figure suddenly burst from the crowd of soldiers and lunged forward without warning.

"Careful!"

A faint silver glimmer flashed in Yutong’s eyes. Before she could use telekinesis, the figure had already closed in on Kyle. An icy mechanical arm swung down with explosive force, its fist carrying a fierce pressure of wind.

Kyle twisted aside. The mechanical arm only grazed his chin, leaving a tiny wound, before slamming into the ground after missing its target. The concrete immediately cracked and caved in beneath the tremendous impact.

Only then did everyone clearly see the figure’s true appearance—

He was clearly a tall, muscular young Western man, dressed in a cool black jacket, with disheveled brown hair hanging to his shoulders. What drew the eye most was his entirely mechanical left arm, marked with a red five-pointed star.

"What terrifying strength." Logan’s pupils narrowed as he looked at the cracked floor spanning half a meter in radius. Carrying Natasha made it inconvenient for him to join the fight, so he could only watch as the young man who had launched the ambush continued his cold assault on Kyle.

"You dare attack the boss?!" The silver light in Yutong’s eyes blazed brightly. Armed soldiers within ten meters cried out as all the guns on their bodies rose under her telekinetic control, dozens of muzzles densely aimed at the young man.

"Don’t interfere." Kyle suddenly stopped her. Looking at the familiar young man before him, he greeted him with slight surprise. "Bucky? Are you Bucky Barnes?"

The young man’s movements stalled slightly. He stared directly at Kyle through his tangled hair, a faint ripple of emotion surfacing in his eyes before quickly returning to emotionless coldness.

He continued closing in, relentlessly attacking Kyle.

"Have you forgotten me? We were once comrades!" Kyle shouted, anger in his words—not directed at Bucky, but at the Red Room that had brainwashed him into this War Machine.

As if he had not heard, Bucky attacked with his completely metal left arm. Boosted by mechanical power, each punch easily broke through a ton of impact force.

"Wake up!" Kyle raised his brows. This time, he did not dodge, instead gathering strength and throwing a right punch head-on.

Fist against fist, Vibranium Bracer against mechanical arm!

Neither of them retreated even half a step. With a tremendous muffled crash, waves of dust surged outward.

"Still not awake? Then I’ll beat you awake!" Kyle said coldly, driving his other clenched fist into Bucky’s chest and sending him flying like a sandbag.

Bucky crashed through the base wall. He climbed out of the rubble and dust completely unharmed, staring blankly at Kyle.

No one had given the Winter Soldier an order. Even he did not know why he had attacked this familiar-looking blond young man.

The last remnants of memory and humanity reminded the Winter Soldier that only by attacking Kyle would he have a chance to leave this hellish place that bound him.