The Well Bottom and the Sea

Chapter 94: The Well Bottom and the Sea

Brooklyn District, Harlem Street intersection.

Centered around Kyle’s villa, the area within fifty meters beyond the walls was tightly guarded by checkpoints and armed soldiers.

Having removed his rank insignia and changed from his uniform into a trench coat, Fury had barely approached the area before two American soldiers at the outermost perimeter stopped him. "Sorry, unauthorized personnel must stop here!"

"I’m Kyle’s comrade. I want to see him!" Fury said in a low voice as he stepped forward.

The two American soldiers exchanged a glance, then removed their protective helmets, which had concealed even their faces. The moment Fury saw them, his mouth fell open in shock. "Why are you two…?"

"Long time no see. Ever since Captain Steve’s plane crash and Major General Kyle’s disappearance, the Howling Commandos were completely disbanded during those two weeks. Every one of us was assigned to different units."

"Commander Fury, we didn’t expect to see you here again." The two armed soldiers looked at Fury with slight excitement.

"You…" Fury sighed emotionally, then seemed to recall something. His brows furrowed as he asked, "Why have you gathered again? Could it be that everyone sealing off and guarding this place is from the former Howling Commandos?"

"Yes." One of the soldiers nodded and said happily, "General Chester personally proposed that we be reorganized into an elite unit directly under the command of the Five-Star General."

Fury’s dark face immediately turned cold, and he said angrily, "So you’re following General Chester’s orders and guarding Major General Kyle, the man who originally promoted you?"

"Don’t put it that way." The armed soldier hurriedly waved his hands and corrected him, "We’re not guarding him. This is only to protect Major General Kyle’s family."

The other armed soldier chimed in, "That’s right. We’ve tightly sealed off this area with military force mainly to prevent enemy agents from entering, and also to keep the media from disturbing Major General Kyle before his expedition."

"I’m neither an enemy agent nor a member of the media." Fury said as he walked forward, intending to enter the cordoned-off area.

The instant he took a step, the two armed soldiers stretched out their hands to stop him:

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

"Please cooperate. This is General Chester’s order. Without his permission, no one may meet Major General Kyle during these next few days."

Fury stared at the former comrades blocking his path, his fists silently clenching. "If I force my way in, will you carry out your mission and shoot me dead?"

"Uh… of course not!"

"Commander Fury, please don’t make this difficult for us…" The two armed soldiers wore troubled expressions, unsure what to do.

"You don’t need to call me ‘Commander.’ I’ve already resigned from my post as a captain." Fury felt a chill in his heart. Knowing he could no longer get inside, he decisively turned and left. "Besides, I’m ashamed of your stupidity! If Captain Steve were still alive and learned of this, he would definitely smash his fists into your faces and beat some sense into you!"

The armed soldiers stationed there were stunned, but they still respectfully saluted as they watched Fury leave.

Inside the bathroom of the three-story villa.

Kyle wore nothing but a pair of loose shorts and a white undershirt, shuffling about in slippers as he washed up without the slightest worry.

Water rushed from the faucet. He scooped it up with both hands and splashed it over his face, even pushing back his soaking wet blond bangs.

Kyle took a deep breath, and his handsome face gradually turned serious, shedding its former lazy, casual air.

It was as if he had returned to the battlefield—the invincible demon tyrant who dominated the course of every war.

"Let me think. What should the first step be? Right…" Kyle curled his hand in the air and drew out a green Item Card from Card Space, materializing it into a keypad mobile phone resembling a brick phone.

He dialed a string of numbers. In less than five seconds, the call connected, and Howard’s delighted, hurried voice came through. "Is that Kyle?!"

"Who else in the world can communicate by wireless phone right now besides you and me?" Kyle said with a light laugh.

"Luckily, you took that new mobile phone product last time, and since we’re both in New York, we can communicate in secret like this." Howard laughed, then continued solemnly, "Fury came to see me and told me some things about the military’s top brass."

He paused, then went on, "As far as I know, when the president died suddenly the day before yesterday, a large number of New York citizens actually called for you, as a War Hero, to become the leading candidate. That should have been the trigger for the national legislators and military leaders to discuss assigning you this mission."

"Those higher-ups merely made what they believed was the right choice when the situation reached a turning point." Kyle’s voice was cold, but he was not surprised.

If Captain America, with his perfect human physique yet still capable of being wounded and fatigued, remained within the range of what America’s upper echelon could understand and believed it could firmly control—

Then the combat power Kyle had displayed during the campaign against Germany—ignoring gunfire, fearing no artillery bombardment, and single-handedly terrifying tens of thousands of soldiers—had already far exceeded their current understanding.

"Their horizons are still too low and narrow. They only see the surface of worldly things. It’s normal for ordinary people to harbor concerns." Kyle spoke indifferently.

This era had come too early. It had not yet experienced the sudden emergence of genetically mutated humans in the twenty-first century—Hulk, Spider-Man, and the like; the blazing clash of the Light of Technology—Iron Man, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and the like; the transcendent reality of myth and magic—Asgard, Thor, Doctor Strange, and the like; or the higher-dimensional races of the alien cosmos—the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos’s legion, and the like…

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

Most people believed that someone as powerful as Kyle would covet and monopolize the water in that well. Little did they know that he had long since climbed out and set his sights on the stars and sea beyond!

Standing atop Stark Industries Tower, Howard clenched the phone in his hand and said angrily, "No matter what, you’re a War Hero! You’re covered in achievements and glory. No matter how wary they are of you, they shouldn’t threaten you into going alone to Japan…"

Before he could finish, Kyle’s words from the other end nearly made him stagger and fall to the ground. "No, no. They didn’t threaten me."

Howard let out a breath and asked in surprise, "What? They didn’t threaten you? That’s an extremely dangerous mission with no return!"

"There are indeed quite a few things in this world that can threaten me, but America’s upper echelon just happens not to possess those capabilities." Kyle smiled faintly. "Those old men are all shrewd. They weren’t naive enough to think they could force me with armed troops and the Five-Star General’s orders. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent the former Howling Commandos soldiers here to stand guard."

"Then why did you agree?" Howard was stunned on the other end of the line. He knew that reorganizing and promoting the Howling Commandos was not enough to sway Kyle.

"Go to Japan, force them to surrender by my own power, and return peace to the world. I personally think it’s worth trying."

Kyle spoke coolly, yet with undiminished dominance.