"I'm on my way."
When the cold voice in the radio finished that last syllable and fell into silence, the air inside the cave seemed to freeze solid.
Gabe's face drained of all color. He stared at Levi, his lips moving, but no sound came out. His eyes were filled with doubt and fear.
Did he fall for it?
Did that monster really believe the lie and rush upstream to chase a shadow that didn't exist?
Levi's heart was hammering like a pile driver gone out of control. To be honest, he wasn't sure either. The man codenamed "Hound" felt far too dangerous—like a venomous snake hidden in the dark. You never knew when, or from which angle, he'd strike.
And that last line—"more interesting than I expected"—sent a chill straight down Levi's spine. That didn't sound like the reaction of prey slipping away. It sounded more like… a child discovering a new toy.
Damn it—there's no time to think!
Inside Levi's head, the little man in a suit jumped up again, jabbing a finger at him and yelling:
"What are you hesitating for? Planning to stay here and have tea with him, talk about life philosophy? This is your only window—your only one! One step slower and you'll be stuffed and mounted on his wall!"
Right. Run.
Now. Immediately.
"Move!"
Levi growled, yanking Gabe up from the ground. He didn't give him a second to think or argue. He slung Gabe's arm over his shoulder and, using every ounce of strength he had, half-dragged, half-carried him out of the narrow cave.
Whooo—
The moment they emerged, cutting wind and icy snow pellets smashed into their faces.
"Levi… do you think—do you think he really took the bait?" Gabe shivered violently as he was dragged along, unable to stop himself from asking.
"How the hell should I know?!" Levi gritted out, feeling Gabe's dead weight pulling him down as he staggered through the snow.
"All I know is if we don't run right now, we're dead! Stop talking—save your strength!"
He didn't dare slow down. Didn't dare even glance back upstream. Every shred of focus he had went into his footing and the man leaning on him. Not fast—but steady—he pushed toward the downstream riverbank.
Each step crunched loudly in the deep snow, the sound piercing in the deathly quiet forest. Levi's heart climbed into his throat. He was terrified that the bastard's hearing might be just as terrifying as his tracking ability.
One hundred meters.
Fifty.
Twenty.
The river—dark and rippling under the moonlight—loomed closer and closer.
Finally, they stumbled onto the riverbank.
"No time—jump!" Levi shouted, shooting a glance back at the black forest behind them. He had the horrible feeling that something was watching. Without thinking further, he roared and lunged forward, dragging Gabe with him.
Splash!
Freezing water swallowed them whole.
"Fuck—!"
Even with his Wolverine-level physique, Levi couldn't help but curse the instant he hit the water.
This wasn't just cold.
It was pain—like tens of thousands of ice needles stabbing into every pore of his body at once. His blood felt like it was freezing mid-flow. His heart skipped a beat.
And that was him.
Gabe didn't even cry out. His body seized up violently, and between the cold shock and the wound in his leg, he nearly blacked out on the spot.
"Stay awake! Gabe! Don't you dare pass out!"
Levi felt Gabe go limp and nearly panicked. In this temperature, losing consciousness was a death sentence.
He slapped Gabe hard between the shoulders and dragged him toward the center of the river with everything he had.
The water wasn't deep—mostly chest-high—but the current was fierce. Icy water tore heat from their bodies relentlessly. Levi's teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. He could feel his physical functions plummeting.
The healing factor made him far tougher than an ordinary man—but it wasn't magic. He could feel wounds knitting, stamina recovering, yet the rate of recovery was nowhere near fast enough to offset the heat loss.
They had to get out of this damned river—fast.
As he struggled downstream, Levi used his enhanced vision to scan the riverbank ahead, desperately searching for somewhere to hide.
Then his ears twitched.
Through the roar of water and howling wind, he caught something else.
A faint sound—from upstream.
Not footsteps.
Something lighter. Faster.
Like branches shifting—like a monkey leaping through treetops.
Levi's pupils shrank.
The Hound.
He wasn't on the ground.
He was moving through the trees.
The realization made Levi's scalp explode with dread.
No wonder they hadn't heard pursuit. That bastard wasn't tracking them normally at all—he was moving through the canopy like a true jungle ghost, silently gliding above them.
Had he taken the bait?
Maybe.
But the Hound clearly trusted his own tracking ability absolutely. He might truly have believed he misjudged things and rushed upstream—but once he found nothing?
He'd realize instantly that he'd been played.
And then he'd race down the river after them at full speed.
Levi's heart sank like a stone.
He'd thought the river meant safety.
Turns out, they'd only pushed Death's scythe a little farther away.
Move. Faster!
Levi screamed inside his head, dragging Gabe downstream, nearly crawling through the water.
After almost ten more minutes of torture, Levi felt his consciousness starting to blur. Then he spotted it—a dense patch of reeds along the downstream bank, where the shoreline dipped inward. A natural hiding spot.
There.
Summoning his last strength, he hauled the half-unconscious Gabe out of the water, and the two of them collapsed into the withered yellow reeds.
The thick stalks blocked some of the biting wind.
Levi lay on the frozen mud, gasping for breath, his chest burning. He felt like a slab of pork just yanked out of liquid nitrogen—his body stiff and barely his own.
He didn't rest. Forcing himself upright, he checked on Gabe.
Gabe's lips were purple. His face was white as paper. His breathing was shallow, his body shaking violently and uncontrollably.
"Gabe! Hey! Gabe!"
Levi slapped his face hard.
Gabe's eyelids fluttered, opening just a crack. His eyes were unfocused—he was on the edge of hypothermic shock.
This was bad. Really bad.
Levi clenched his teeth, ripped off the driest inner layer of his own clothing, stripped the soaking wet jacket from Gabe, and rubbed his body hard, desperately trying to generate heat.
By the time he finished, Levi himself was close to collapse.
He leaned against the reeds, his eyelids feeling like they weighed a ton.
No.
Can't sleep.
He dug his nails into his thigh. The sharp pain snapped him back a little.
Instinctively, he pulled up the system interface in his mind.
[Ability Copier]
Available Copies: 0
Cooldown Remaining: 1 day 16 hours 23 minutes…
Still more than a day.
If he could just last that long, he could use the ability again.
Then—if he could find Captain America—copy the Super Soldier Serum—
No.
That was wrong.
Captain America himself was surrounded right now. Whether he'd even survive was an open question.
Levi looked through the sparse reeds toward the western ridge.
The battle there had probably already started.
He could almost hear the distant thunder of gunfire.
In his current state, saving anyone was a fantasy. Keeping himself and Gabe alive was already pushing it.
So what now?
Hide here like a beaten dog, shivering while waiting for fate to decide?
No.
Levi's eyes slowly sharpened again.
He wasn't the old office worker who could only accept whatever life threw at him.
He had a top-tier physique for this era.
He had the most broken cheat ability in this world.
He didn't come here to run.
He came here… to hunt.
He glanced at Gabe, barely clinging to life—then at the ridge blazing with distant fire.
A far crazier, far bolder idea began to take root in his mind.
Maybe…
He didn't need to go looking for Captain America.
Maybe he could make Captain America come to him.