On the street side of a café in Vienna, a group of laughing children ran past Josh, who was leisurely savoring his coffee.
If it weren't for the mix of English and German chatter occasionally drifting from the nearby tables occupied by vacationing American soldiers and local civilians, Josh might have thought he was back in America.
Without the Battle of Vienna of the original timeline, without the forceful looting by the Soviets, and without the division of Austria among the four major powers, Vienna—and indeed all of Austria—had hardly suffered much from the war.
Furthermore, with a relatively small population, there wasn't the kind of material shortage that plagued France and Britain, except for a few particularly scarce goods.
The atmosphere was remarkably peaceful.
This also meant that Josh couldn't profit here by selling basic supplies.
Fortunately, Josh had foreseen this situation. When coming to Vienna, he hadn't brought Lyndon along but left him in Paris with several warehouses of goods to sell at a slow pace.
At this moment, a car stopped near the café, and a fashionable, beautiful woman stepped out, drawing whistles from the surrounding American soldiers and officers.
The woman, however, seemed accustomed to such behavior and paid no attention to it.
After all, Austria had now transformed, much like Italy, into one of the Allies' members.
While it was unlikely to gain the status of a victorious nation, Austria had successfully positioned itself as a war victim.
With ample resources and an army still boasting decent combat strength, Austria wouldn't even need American troops stationed there if not for the potential military threat posed by the Soviets.
So the American soldiers stationed in Austria, after repeated warnings from their officers, generally didn't go overboard.
When the woman walked up and sat beside Josh, the whistles and noises quickly faded.
Most of the Americans in the vicinity had followed the First Army from Paris and knew Josh well—both as a prominent American businessman and a guest of their commanding officer. Naturally, they wouldn't risk offending him.
"Mr. Kahn, you seem to be in good spirits today," the woman greeted as she sat down beside Josh. The woman was none other than Ophelia.
Though she had long submitted to Josh's authority, that was a private matter. Publicly, they were still just business partners.
In such settings, words like "master" were naturally avoided.
"Ah, Miss Ophelia. How is business going lately? (How's the Hydra integration coming along?)" Josh asked with a faint smile, putting down his newspaper.
Josh hadn't directly intervened in the Hydra restructuring. He had handed the matter to Ophelia, as she was far more familiar with the local situation in Austria. Josh simply needed to maintain control over the Hydra matriarch herself.
"Business is going very well (the integration is proceeding smoothly). Although there were a few minor issues, with your support, Mr. Kahn, they were easily resolved. To expand further, I plan to establish a club, but I haven't decided on a name yet. Do you have any suggestions?" Ophelia replied with a charming smile as she leaned closer.
Like the Council of Nine's 'competitive social club' front, this new Hydra faction also needed a public-facing identity. They couldn't exactly go around shouting 'Hail Hydra' without drawing the wrath of the Allies.
"Hmm, let me think… Ah, I've got it. Call it Ouroboros," Josh suggested after a brief moment of thought.
The Ouroboros, or tail-eating serpent, originated from Greek mythology but was not exclusive to it. Similar symbols appeared in over forty mythologies worldwide.
In Norse mythology, it was Jörmungandr; in Egyptian myth, it was Apophis; in Indian mythology, it was the snake god Shesha; and in the Aztecs, it was Quetzalcoatl.
The precise origins were untraceable, but across all these myths, the symbol represented immortality, completeness, infinity, wisdom, and the world itself.
"Ouroboros? I see," Ophelia mused on the name. Her vast knowledge allowed her to quickly grasp its significance, and she nodded approvingly.
As the two were discussing the name of the new organization, a commotion suddenly erupted in the distance.
Josh and Ophelia frowned and turned to look. The noise was coming from a group of American soldiers.
"Vito, go find out what's going on," Josh ordered Vito, who was seated at a nearby table.
Vito nodded, got up, and went to inquire. After a while, he returned.
"Boss, I found out. It's about Captain America—they defeated Red Skull!" Vito reported.
"Oh? Then why don't they look very happy?" Josh pointed to the soldiers, who, despite the noise, showed little excitement. Their expressions seemed tinged with sorrow. He already had a suspicion—could it be that despite all his changes, Captain America had still ended up frozen?
"They said Captain America was lost… sacrificed in the battle," Vito confirmed Josh's suspicion.
"Do they know any details? Like how he died?" Josh asked, his brow furrowing.
"Sorry, Boss. They only know he's gone but not the specifics."
"Take me to the First Army headquarters!" Josh ordered after some thought. These soldiers might not know the full story, but General McGinnis surely would.
"Understood, Boss!" Vito ran off to prepare the car.
Half an hour later, Josh's group arrived at the First Army headquarters on the outskirts of Vienna.
Familiar with Josh, the guards let them through without issue. After being announced, Josh soon met General McGinnis.
"Oh, that? Well, it's technically classified, but there's no harm in telling you. To say Captain Rogers was 'sacrificed' isn't quite accurate—his body was never found," McGinnis explained.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked, puzzled.
"The report I received said Captain Rogers pursued Schmidt deep into Hydra's base. By the time reinforcements arrived, all that remained was the Tesseract. There was no sign of Captain Rogers or Schmidt," McGinnis replied.
Josh froze upon hearing this.
Nothing but the Tesseract?
Did that mean Captain America hadn't died but had disappeared?
Wait… no way! Had both Captain America and Red Skull been transported away by the Tesseract?
1st Extra Chapter Goal =100 Stones.
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