At this moment, Steve was in an alley behind the cinema, facing off against a tall, burly man.
The patriotic propaganda film before the movie had left Steve feeling passionate and eager to enlist and head to the European battlefield. However, a young man in front of him impatiently shouted, "Who cares about this? Just start the movie!"
"Hey, show some respect," Steve said, disapproving of his behavior.
When the film showed brave soldiers on the battlefield, severely wounded and lying on stretchers, many in the audience had tears in their eyes, and some women even cried.
The young man started shouting again, "Enough of this! Just play the movie!"
This time, Steve was really angry. "Shut up!"
The young man stood up, towering over Steve by a whole head and looking very burly and strong.
The two then went to the alley behind the cinema to settle their dispute like men. The burly man thought Steve looked easy to bully and wanted to take advantage of him.
The burly man looked down at Steve, thinking that such a small and weak guy dared to challenge him. He felt he needed to teach Steve a lesson.
Steve looked up at the burly man. His master had told him that when someone makes a mistake and words don't work, a good beating can help them remember the lesson and correct their behavior. Steve had often been beaten by Chen Mo and knew this well.
Seeing the small guy still daring to glare at him, the burly man roared and swung his fist in anger. If it had been the old Steve, he would have been knocked down immediately. But now, Steve saw the punch as slow and clumsy.
Steve easily sidestepped and punched the burly man hard in the armpit, a vulnerable spot. The burly man, who had been so aggressive, felt a sharp pain in his armpit, and his entire arm went numb and hung limply.
Unwilling to admit defeat, the burly man turned and swung at Steve with his other hand. With one arm unable to move, he couldn't maintain his balance, making his stance unstable.
To Steve, the punch seemed no threat at all.
Steve ducked and charged forward, dodging the attack while landing a heavy punch on the man's right side, hitting his vulnerable liver. The unprecedented pain spread throughout the man's body, his face turning pale as he instinctively clutched the struck area, bending over.
At the same time, Steve moved behind him and kicked the back of his knee. The man's leg buckled, and he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.
This time, the man was truly unable to resist, lying on the ground in immense pain, unable to move a finger.
Steve raised his foot again, aiming at the man's face. In the man's terrified gaze, Steve stopped his foot just in front of his eyes.
"When you bully the weak, you should be prepared to be bullied in return," Steve said, slowly lowering his foot.
"Soldiers are fighting and dying on the battlefield for us, and you're here using your strength to bully the weak," Steve said sternly, mimicking Chen Mo's teaching style. The man on the ground was speechless, thinking, "I wanted to bully the weak, but you're not weak at all! I'm the one being bullied here!"
"Using strength for the right reasons makes you a respected hero; using it for the wrong reasons makes you a despised bully. Do you want to be looked down upon forever?" Steve said, turning and leaving, leaving the man on the ground to ponder his words.
This was the first time Steve had won a fight when being bullied. He felt refreshed and liberated, both physically and mentally. The feeling of having strength was wonderful, and Steve couldn't help but think of Chen Mo, the person who had given him strength and changed his life. "Master…" Steve murmured to himself.
As soon as he left the alley, Steve saw his friend, James Barnes. "Hey, Bucky!" Steve called out happily, eager to share his joy with his friend.
"Steve, you rascal! We were supposed to watch the movie together, and you ran off here just because I was a little late," Bucky said, walking quickly towards Steve, grumbling.
As Bucky got closer, Steve noticed he was wearing a military uniform. "Did you get your orders?" Steve asked, sizing him up.
"107th Infantry Regiment, Sergeant James Barnes, departing for England tomorrow morning," Bucky said proudly.
Steve fell silent for a moment. "I should be going with you," he said, his tone a bit downcast. Although he had been rejected from enlisting several times due to his poor physical condition, he was confident that with his current strength, he could pass if he applied again. However, his master always said it wasn't the right time.
Steve had great respect and gratitude for Chen Mo. As long as it didn't go against his principles, he was willing to listen to him. So, despite his strong desire to enlist and serve his country, Steve hadn't applied again.
Although Bucky knew Steve was apprenticing at a martial arts school and had heard him boast several times about how skilled he had become and how none of his junior brothers could beat him, Bucky, who had grown up with Steve, believed he knew Steve's physical condition well. He thought Steve's "junior brothers" were just a bunch of kids and that Steve was exaggerating.
Seeing Steve's low spirits, Bucky assumed it was because he couldn't pass the enlistment test and quickly changed the subject.
"Come on, buddy! It's my last night before I enlist. Let's get you a new outfit," Bucky said, putting his arm around Steve's shoulder and walking forward.
"Where are we going?" Steve asked, trying to lift his spirits as they walked.
"The future," Bucky said, handing Steve a newspaper with a full-page ad for the "World of Tomorrow Exhibition."
"Wait, I need to go back to the martial arts school first," Steve suddenly stopped.
"Why?" Bucky asked, puzzled.
"Master said he had something to tell me this afternoon," Steve said, quickly heading towards the martial arts school. Bucky shook his head helplessly and followed, still unsure what made Steve's "master" so important to him.
"Master, I'm back!" Steve called out as he and Bucky entered the martial arts school, where Chen Mo was practicing throwing knives in the hall.
Chen Mo flicked his wrist, sending the knife flying through the air at high speed, hitting the target twenty meters away dead center. The target was already filled with dozens of knives.