The crowd fell into complete silence, as if everyone had suddenly woken up at the same time. The greatest threat still hadn't appeared. The true cause behind the destruction of the Earth Age was it really the purple-skinned monster who had tried to shoot himself? Yes. And No. That alone was enough to leave everyone deeply shaken.
[Inside Bucky's room, a man wearing glasses walked in calmly. "Hello, Mr. Bucky. May I begin? I was sent by the World Alliance to conduct a psychological evaluation."]
[Rogers stared at the surveillance footage on the screen. His expression was heavy, yet he said nothing. Behind him, Carter stepped inside.]
[Sam took the file she handed over and said helplessly, "A bird costume? Seriously?"]
[Carter replied flatly, "I didn't write that."]
[She then pressed a button on the table. Instantly, the video and audio feed from Bucky's side appeared.]
["I didn't come here to interrogate you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are right now? I can't help you if you don't speak, James." Rogers and the others watched the footage in silence.]
[After a long pause, Bucky finally spoke his own name.]
[Rogers took the additional materials Carter handed him and asked slowly, "Why did the task force release those photos in the first place?"]
[Carter answered without emotion, "Maybe… to let more people find him."]
[Rogers nodded slightly. "Yes. It's an effective way to locate someone. Detonate a bomb and let the camera capture a clear image? Let billions of people search for the Winter Soldier together?"]
[Carter frowned and thought aloud, "You're saying someone framed him… just to find him?"]
[Sam shook his head. "We searched for two years and found nothing."]
[Rogers said bluntly, "Because we didn't directly bomb the World League before. That kind of explosion attracts attention."]
The live broadcast instantly erupted.
"I'm losing my mind! What Rogers said actually makes sense!"
"Framed? Just to locate him?"
"This thought is terrifying."
"That photo flashed by earlier, if you look carefully, the other party was clearly staring at the camera!"
"It's too precise. Explosions don't just conveniently frame a face like that."
"So Bucky might not have done it at all?"
"Then Rogers was right all along? But nobody believed him!"
"Who the hell is behind this?"
"It feels like someone is deliberately trying to tear the Avengers apart."
"This whole thing was just a massive trap to find the Winter Soldier?"
"Blow up the World League, assassinate leaders, frame Bucky, and force the entire world to search for someone who couldn't be found before?"
"So the real target… was Bucky from the start?"
The viewers' minds burned with curiosity.
Inside the Administration, the director's eyes suddenly lit up. "That's it! I knew it wasn't that simple!"
Xiaotian frowned deeply. Rogers' reasoning went far beyond his earlier statements. The difference was enormous.
Kasey said quietly, "If someone wants to find Bucky so badly… maybe they want something only Bucky has. After all, he's from the same era as the captain."
Johan shook his head and raised another point. "I think we've uncovered a far more important piece of information."
Everyone turned toward him.
Johan drew numbers in the air with his pen. "At that time, Earth already had seven billion people."
Only then did everyone realize what they had overlooked.
"How many people does the current Terra Federation have?" someone asked.
The director answered, "To be precise, 19.3 billion."
Johan nodded. "The population gap is enormous. And with Terra's current resources, supporting twenty billion people is completely feasible. Which means we can rule out resource depletion as the cause of extinction."
Darwin agreed immediately. "Johan's inference is correct. At least one major possibility has now been eliminated."
Everyone froze. Seven billion people, compared to today's Terra Federation, was practically nothing. The atmosphere eased slightly.
Then suddenly, Kasey shouted in shock, "Wait, holy hell! He's the mastermind?!"
Everyone snapped their eyes back to the screen.
[Rogers was still discussing matters with Carter and the others. Carter frowned, "Even if people all over the world find him, they still won't catch him. Only our people will go after him."]
[The moment she finished speaking, Rogers suddenly turned toward the monitor.]
[Inside Bucky's room, the psychologist was calmly taking notes. "Tell me, Bucky. You've seen a great many things, haven't you?"]
[Bound to the chair, Bucky replied coldly, "I don't want to talk about it."]
[The psychologist continued patiently, "You're afraid that once you start talking, you won't be able to stop. Don't worry."]
[He glanced at the control panel in his hand, a remote button sitting beneath his thumb. He looked up at Bucky. "You only need to say one thing."]
[Meanwhile, near the city's power grid, inside a large wooden crate that had just been delivered, a compact electromagnetic pulse suddenly detonated, sending a violent surge rippling outward. In an instant, the entire power station shut down, plunging half the city into darkness.]
[In Bucky's room, or even the entire base, lights flickered out simultaneously.]
["What's happening?" Bucky asked, startled.]
[The psychologist stared straight at him. "Let's talk about your home."]
[He opened his backpack. "Not the apartment you rented and not Brooke's place."]
[He pulled out a red notebook with a black five-pointed star emblazoned on its cover.]
["I mean your real home." He removed his glasses and opened the book as he walked closer.]
[The moment Bucky saw it, his expression twisted violently. He slammed his head back against the steel restraint. "No! Stop!"]
[The psychologist illuminated the pages with a flashlight. Strange, fragmented words spilled from his mouth. "Eager. Rust."]
["Stop!" Bucky screamed in agony.]
["Seventeen." Cold sweat poured down Bucky's face, and his steel left arm clenched uncontrollably. "Make it stop!"]
[The psychologist leaned in. "Dawn."]
["What, !" Bucky roared. Pain surged through him like lightning as he thrusted wildly. The left mechanical arm erupted with terrifying force.]
[Bang! The restraint shattered, and he smashed the steel cuff holding his right arm.]
[The psychologist screamed, face twisted with frenzy. "Stove!"]
[Bang! Bucky tore free, his left fist smashing into the isolation wall repeatedly.]
[Bang! Bang! Bang! The ultra-reinforced chamber shook violently.]
["Nine!" The psychologist circled behind him. "Be kind. Go home!"]
[Bang! Bang! Bang! Cracks spider-webbed across the supposedly indestructible glass.]
["Truck!"]
[Boom! With a final punch, the bulletproof glass door exploded outward.]
[The psychologist stepped toward him. "Soldier?"]
[Bucky's eyes were suffocatingly cold. An ocean of violence lurked beneath that calm surface.]
[When the psychologist finished speaking, Bucky suddenly became still. He replied in the same coded language, "Please issue orders."]
Everyone, the audience and the Administration, felt a chill crawl up their spines. No one understood the words, but the obedience and resignation in Bucky's voice were unmistakable. Bucky had been fully conditioned.
They didn't even know each other, yet Bucky responded to a stranger with the absolute submission of a subordinate.