"Why didn't you kill me?"
Unlike Hydra's methods, Eren merely imprinted a deep mental brand of loyalty onto the Winter Soldier, Bucky, without altering his memories.
He hadn't erased Bucky's past like Hydra had.
To Eren, what he wanted was a competent subordinate with independent decision-making skills, someone who could handle most matters for him.
Not a mindless killing machine that only knew how to follow orders.
Inside the warehouse, Eren, dressed as a clown, looked at Bucky and chuckled. "Bucky Barnes, you're even more cowardly than I imagined. Hydra did all that to you, treating you like a puppet and controlling you for decades... Yet the first thing you do after waking up isn't to take revenge on Hydra, but to beg for death like a coward. That's truly eye-opening."
Hearing the blatant mockery in Eren's words, Bucky clenched his right fist tightly, veins bulging from his forehead.
He growled hoarsely, "You think I don't want revenge? You have no idea how enormous Hydra is now..."
Over the decades, though brainwashed into becoming Hydra's killing tool, Bucky had witnessed firsthand just how powerful Hydra had become.
Compared to such a colossal force, he was nothing but an ant trying to stop a chariot.
Even if he risked his life in resistance, what damage could he possibly do to Hydra?
Hydra had countless ways to crush those who opposed them.
Even someone like him, once their top assassin, was no exception.
"Tch!"
Before Bucky could finish speaking, Eren let out a dismissive snort.
"Just because Hydra is strong, you don't dare seek revenge? Decades ago, you followed Steve Rogers and helped bring down Hydra when they were at their peak. Now, you don't even have the courage to take revenge on a Hydra that hides in the shadows, afraid to reveal its true face? Looks like I misjudged you. I shouldn't have freed you from Hydra's control because you're not worthy to stand by my side and take revenge against them with me..."
As he spoke, Eren suddenly noticed multiple alarms outside the warehouse being triggered.
His eyes turned icy cold. Without hesitation, he tossed a fully loaded handgun in front of Bucky and said coldly:
"I don't have time to comfort a failure. Hydra has sent people to kill us. If you want to die, just shoot yourself—I won't stop you... But if you still have a shred of courage left, pick up the gun and follow me. Watch how I crush the so-called behemoth you fear."
With that, Eren ignored Bucky and strode toward the warehouse entrance alone.
"Hydra..."
Watching Eren walk farther away, Bucky muttered under his breath, his voice filled with hatred.
After a long silence.
He picked up the handgun before him, stood up abruptly, and followed in Eren's footsteps.
Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, the face hidden beneath Eren's clown mask curled into a faint smile.
At the former hideout of the Water Ghost Gang.
Wearing glasses and appearing somewhat scholarly, the bald-headed Sitwell crouched beside the corpse of Crossbones, Brock Rumlow, his expression extremely grim.
His face was so dark that it seemed like it could drip water.
To deal with the mysterious clown, Sitwell had not only sent the experienced Brock Rumlow along with twenty elite Hydra agents, but also deployed the Winter Soldier, their trump card assassin.
He had thought he was taking this matter seriously enough, but to his shock, such a powerful team was utterly wiped out in a seemingly unremarkable building in Hell's Kitchen.
Brock Rumlow and his team of twenty elite agents were dead.
Even Hydra's prized killing machine, the Winter Soldier, had disappeared.
So many of his forces had been taken down by that flamboyant clown.
As the mastermind behind this failed operation, Sitwell knew he bore inescapable responsibility.
If he couldn't make up for this loss, the power-hungry schemers within Hydra wouldn't hesitate to use this opportunity to bring him down.
And the fastest way to make up for his mistake—
Was to kill the one responsible—"The Clown"—and retrieve the Iron Monger's head from him.
A cold glint flashed in Sitwell's eyes as he slowly stood up, wiping his right hand with a tissue after touching Rumlow's corpse. He turned to his subordinate and asked coldly:
"Are the men in position?"
"Our forces have completely surrounded the warehouse where the clown is hiding. Kingpin's men have also arrived at the abandoned warehouse. At the same time, the New York City government has approved our request to use high-powered weaponry. We are ready to wipe out both the clown and his hideout at your command."
Sitwell nodded, his tone icy. "Tell Kingpin, his men can begin."
"Understood!"
"When Kingpin's men go in, position our snipers. I want them to shoot down anyone who comes out of that warehouse. Not even a fly gets out—understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
The subordinate hesitated briefly before asking, "What about Kingpin's men? Should we eliminate them as well?"
Sitwell shot him a cold glance, expressionless. "Did you forget the reason we gave the city government for using high-powered weapons?"
The assistant shuddered under Sitwell's chilling gaze.
He suddenly recalled that their official reason for deploying lethal force was to 'cleanse Hell's Kitchen of its rampant and dangerous gangs.'
So from the very beginning—
His superior had never planned to let Kingpin's men leave alive.
Realizing he had asked a foolish question, the assistant immediately straightened up and responded loudly, "Understood!" before retreating.
Once his subordinate had left, a sneer of mockery crossed Sitwell's face.
He had already paid such a steep price—there was no way he would let Kingpin sit by and watch the show.
Besides.
Wiping out a few dozen ruthless gangsters, if handled properly, could help offset some of the consequences of his previous mistake.
Meanwhile.
Outside the abandoned warehouse where Eren was hiding, a group of bald-headed thugs with iron chains around their necks hung up after receiving a call from Kingpin.
Then, they sneered and waved their hands.
The next second—
Five black modified vans were flung open with a loud clank, revealing heavy single-shot rocket launchers.
One by one, massive henchmen pulled out the weapons from the vehicles.
The bald thug pointed at one of his subordinates, signaling toward the warehouse door.
The underling immediately understood, raising the shoulder-mounted rocket launcher and aiming it at the abandoned warehouse's entrance before pulling the trigger.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the warehouse doors were instantly blasted apart.
Shards of debris shot inside like bullets, scattering across the interior.
"Heh heh!"
Lowering the spent launcher from his shoulder, the burly thug carrying the rocket launcher nodded in satisfaction, clearly pleased with his precise shot.
The bald thug with the iron chain around his neck also grinned menacingly.
As expected of Stark Industries' rocket launchers—far superior to the defective products from Hammer Industries.
If not for the tricky nature of their target this time, their boss wouldn't have been willing to part with these precious Stark-manufactured weapons.
After all, now that Tony Stark had shut down his company's weapons division, these high-quality rocket launchers were no longer available for purchase.
The ones they had were from an old stockpile, meaning that every one they used was one less in their arsenal.
But if these weapons could take care of the clown inside the warehouse, then it was all worth it.
The bald thug with the iron chain was certain that if he helped his boss eliminate this nuisance—who had cost them so much—his boss would reward him generously.
With anticipation for the future, he waved his hand.
The next moment—
Whoosh!
Another Stark Industries rocket launcher was fired at the already-breached warehouse door.
The Hellfire missile from Stark Industries streaked through the air like an enraged bull, its tail ablaze, crashing directly into the abandoned warehouse.
Boom!!
A dazzling fireball erupted within the warehouse.
But it didn't stop there. Soon after, the third, fourth, and fifth missiles followed, all fired into the same warehouse.
The sheer force of the explosions made the entire warehouse tremble.
"Move in!"
Before the thick smoke from the explosions could settle, the bald thug with the iron chain leaped into a nearby Hummer, slamming the door shut before driving straight into the destroyed warehouse.
With their boss charging in, his subordinates naturally wouldn't stay behind.
Within moments, forty to fifty gangsters followed behind three vehicles, storming into the warehouse.
"The show begins!"
Watching dozens of gang members recklessly rush inside, Eren pulled out a remote control from somewhere and pressed the red button.
BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion, one of the advancing vehicles was suddenly flipped into the air by a powerful blast.
As flames engulfed the car, the men inside screamed as they were swallowed by the fire.
"Watch out, landmines!"
Seeing this, the occupants of the remaining two vehicles immediately shouted in alarm and hastily scrambled out of their cars.
If the warehouse was filled with hidden explosives, sitting inside a vehicle would be far more dangerous than running on foot.
But before they could escape—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of consecutive explosions erupted.
Within seconds, the remaining two vehicles were consumed by roaring flames.
"Damn it!"
The bald thug, rolling out of the burning Hummer, spat out a mouthful of blood before roaring at his men, "Fight back, you idiots! Stop standing around—kill that damn clown!"
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
At his furious command, several gangsters raised their guns and fired blindly into the smoke-filled depths of the warehouse.
In an instant—
The walls of the abandoned warehouse were riddled with bullet holes, turned into a beehive by the relentless gunfire.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang...!
As Kingpin's men blindly fired into the smoke, Eren—hidden near the warehouse entrance—took advantage of the chaos, swiftly raising his guns and firing back.
Dual-wielding pistols, his shots were like a death sentence—each bullet claiming a life.
In just a few moments, over a dozen men had already collapsed under Eren's fire.
"He's behind us!"
"What?!"
"That damn clown is behind us! Seven o'clock position—take him down!"
Amidst the thick smoke and gunfire, Eren could hear the frantic shouts of the gangsters.
Feeling his heartbeat quicken in excitement, he licked his lips and exhaled. "So you've finally noticed... Then—die!"
His pupils turned jet black, instantly revealing the positions of all his enemies.
As the gangsters turned to aim their weapons at him—
Eren whipped his arms outward in opposite directions and fired.
[Curved Bullet Trajectory]
Bang! Bang!
Two bullets curved through the air in graceful arcs, piercing through the skulls of two gangsters.
But they didn't stop.
The bullets continued onward, drilling into the heads of the second wave of enemies.
By the time the bullets finally lost momentum and embedded themselves in the last set of skulls—
In mere seconds—
The entire group of gangsters who had turned to shoot at Eren had collapsed, lifeless on the ground.
Their corpses lay still, as if they had been summoned to hell by Mephisto himself.
Meanwhile.
On the other side of the battlefield.
Bang!
With a single gunshot, Bucky executed the bald thug who had been attempting to escape.
(End of Chapter)
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