"Come on, guys, we're on the same team," Steve said helplessly.
"Hey! Captain, sign here!" A soldier in the audience suddenly stood up, turned around, and pulled down his pants, exposing his buttocks.
Someone even threw a few tomatoes at Steve on stage.
Raising his shield to block the flying tomatoes, Steve looked at the cheering soldiers below and walked off the stage with mixed feelings.
The next group to take the stage was a bunch of beautiful girls in short skirts, who received enthusiastic applause and cheers from the soldiers. These American soldiers on the front lines hadn't seen so many pretty girls in a long time, and they stared at the stage with shining eyes.
Seeing Steve's disappointed face as he walked off the stage, the congressman's assistant tried to comfort him, "Don't worry, they'll like you."
The assistant's comfort didn't ease Steve's feelings. Although he hadn't been to the battlefield, Steve always remembered that he was a soldier. Being mocked and attacked by his comrades made him feel very uncomfortable.
The weather seemed to reflect Steve's mood, and it soon started to rain.
Steve sat alone under a makeshift shelter behind the stage, drawing in his notebook with a pencil. The continuous raindrops, accompanied by the dull sound of thunder, fell on the muddy ground in front of him, but they didn't affect him at all.
"Hello, Steve." A gentle, magnetic female voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Steve, engrossed in his drawing, turned around and was stunned to see the beautiful Agent Peggy Carter, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
…
While Steve was catching up with Agent Carter, thirty miles behind the German front lines in Italy, a large factory-like base nestled between two mountain ranges was bustling with activity.
Many ragged prisoners were working hard under the supervision of fully armed Hydra soldiers. They continuously moved heavy machinery parts and various supplies, each one exhausted and weary.
But under the threat of the Hydra soldiers, they had to grit their teeth and persevere. Any slack would result in a severe beating.
In one corner of the massive factory, piles of enormous bombs were being produced. Judging by their size alone, their power was undoubtedly immense, and being Hydra technology, they could easily level a small town.
Standing beneath these giant bombs was a tall, cold-looking bald man in a trench coat, accompanied by a middle-aged engineer who looked at him nervously.
"Baron Strucker, our speed is already very fast, but the number of giant bombs you require is enormous," the middle-aged man said cautiously, watching the baron's expression.
"The Führer can't wait much longer! Damn Schmidt! He suddenly transferred the 'Valkyrie' construction plan from the Alps headquarters to my base, severely affecting the construction speed. The Führer has urged me several times to complete the Valkyrie on schedule and execute the doomsday plan!" Baron Strucker's face was filled with hatred when he mentioned "Red Skull" Schmidt. Hitler had originally entrusted Hydra to him, but Schmidt somehow gained Hitler's trust and took over Hydra, continuously suppressing Strucker until he was forced to retreat to the Polish base, losing control of Hydra.
Outwardly, he obeyed Schmidt's leadership, but secretly, he was always looking for an opportunity to regain control of Hydra.
"But I should also thank him. If he hadn't transferred the plan to me and then disappeared for so long, I wouldn't have had the chance to regain control of most of Hydra's bases and continue serving the Führer!"
"Schmidt never imagined that the doomsday plan he painstakingly initiated would become the key to the Führer's world domination! Who told him to disappear silently for so long? He really thought he had complete control of Hydra? How arrogant!"
"Hydra will always be the Führer's strongest sword. It was only temporarily stolen by him. Now that he's loosened his grip, Hydra has returned to the Führer's hands!"
In these bases that Chen Mo planned to abandon, Schmidt had mysteriously disappeared for over half a year. Originally loyal to Hitler or ambitious individuals, without Schmidt's suppression and threats, their rebellion was inevitable.
Under the leadership of Hydra's former leader, Baron Strucker, these bases once again pledged allegiance to Hitler. Whether out of loyalty or ambition, no one could say for sure.
"Schmidt has been missing for so long. Could there be a conspiracy?" The base's leader asked nervously, still deeply fearful of Schmidt.
"So what if there is! Now, except for the Alps headquarters and a few small bases hidden in the mountains, the most powerful large bases are under our control. Although the Strategic Scientific Reserve destroyed two front-line bases, our strength is still much greater than Schmidt's. Most of the weapon factories are in our hands. What can his small mountain bases do?"
Having been suppressed by Schmidt for years, Baron Strucker had long lost control of Hydra. He knew little about Hydra's current strength, especially Schmidt's secret forces, and could only speculate based on the power and intelligence they controlled.
He didn't know that under Schmidt's leadership, Hydra had developed rapidly, far beyond his imagination. What he saw and controlled was just the tip of the iceberg.
Not to mention the top-secret base being built in Norway and the Alps headquarters, even the small bases hidden in the mountains, which he dismissed, had far more power than their so-called large bases. How could Schmidt reveal his true strength to these unstable elements, let alone hand it over to them?
The technological power they controlled was indeed stronger than the Allies, but it was what Schmidt had left behind. The core high-end technology and powerful weapons were firmly in Schmidt's hands.
This not only allowed him to fully control Hydra but also made it easier for Chen Mo to clean up.
Perhaps Schmidt had intended to clean up himself, but before he could act, Chen Mo took him out and replaced him.