Cold.
Bone-deep, soul-freezing cold.
Levi felt as if all the blood in his body was about to turn into ice shards. Slumped against the damp reeds, every breath felt like swallowing broken glass, scraping its way from his throat down into his lungs, burning with pain.
Gabe was in even worse shape. His shivering had gone from violent convulsions to faint, barely perceptible spasms. Levi knew what that meant—it wasn't improvement. It meant Gabe's body no longer had the strength to generate heat through shivering. At this rate, in at most half an hour, Gabe would be nothing more than a cold corpse.
And Levi himself wouldn't last much longer either.
A healing factor was powerful, sure—but it wasn't a perpetual motion machine. It still required energy. In this extreme cold, the little energy his body had left was draining away like oil from a leaking engine.
What now?
Wait to die?
Levi's gaze cut through the swaying reeds, toward the distant ridgeline that flickered with intermittent artillery fire.
Captain America.
Steve Rogers.
That muscle-bound man with the star-spangled shield, hailed as the embodiment of justice, was over there—surrounded by Hydra's main force like dumplings in a steamer. His situation was probably no better than Levi's.
Counting on him to come save them?
A fantasy.
But…
What if it wasn't about letting him save them?
A bolt of lightning seemed to strike Levi's mind, illuminating the darkness wrapped in cold and despair.
His nearly frozen brain began spinning at an unprecedented speed.
A thought—so insane it sounded ridiculous even to himself—forced its way to the surface.
Why should I wait for him to save me?
Why can't I drag him into this mess too?
"Gabe," Levi's voice was hoarse as he forcefully shook his half-conscious teammate. "Wake up. Listen to me."
Gabe's eyelids lifted with great difficulty, revealing dull, unfocused eyes with barely any light left in them.
"I… have a plan," Levi whispered urgently into his ear. "A plan that could let us both live. But it's crazy. One wrong step, and we die without a trace."
Perhaps the words live triggered something—there was finally a faint ripple in Gabe's eyes.
"Y-you… say…" he forced out.
"Listen," Levi spoke rapidly. "Right now, Hydra's main force is all tied up on the western ridge with Captain America. And that damned 'Hound' was tricked into going upstream. That means this entire area we're in is a massive manpower vacuum. It's our disadvantage—but also our greatest advantage!"
"We're going to use that vacuum to invite Captain America out of that damn encirclement!"
Gabe's eyes widened slightly. He didn't quite understand yet.
"How?" Levi's lips curled into a vicious grin that looked downright feral in the cold night.
"By using Hydra's own methods."
He patted the cold metal box tucked against his chest—the radio.
"We already used this thing once to fool the Hound. Now we're going to use it again. But this time, we're going to fool Hydra's entire command system."
Gabe's breathing suddenly quickened. He finally understood what Levi was suggesting—and it was a hundred times crazier than the diversion earlier.
"Y-you want to… impersonate a Hydra commander?" His voice trembled with disbelief and fear.
"Exactly!" Madness gleamed in Levi's eyes. "I'm going to pretend to be a high-ranking officer and issue a fake order to the forces surrounding the western ridge—an order they cannot ignore!"
"I'll order the eastern side of the encirclement—closest to this riverbank—to pull back and open a gap. I'll say the Allied main force has been spotted to the south and needs immediate reinforcement! Once that happens, Captain America—unless he's an idiot—will spot the only opening and charge straight toward us!"
Gabe was completely stunned.
This wasn't just dancing on a knife's edge—it was doing backflips on it.
"But… but then won't we be exposed too?" Gabe said shakily. "The Hound, Hydra command—once they compare notes, they'll know it was you! Then everyone will be after us!"
"Yes! We'll be exposed!" Levi nodded without hesitation, eyes blazing with conviction.
"So what? Gabe, listen—we're like two people who fell into an ice hole. Sit still, we freeze to death. Try to climb out, we don't have the strength. The only way is to grab the biggest guy on shore and drag him in with us! Once he's in the water, it'll cause chaos—maybe enough to draw everyone's attention!"
"Captain America is that biggest guy! Once he breaks out toward us, Hydra's pursuit will follow! This place will turn into a new battlefield—a chaotic one! And only in chaos do we have a chance. Only then can we muddy the waters and survive!"
Levi's words were like a shot of adrenaline straight into Gabe's failing heart.
Yeah.
Either way, it was death.
Better to gamble loudly and fiercely than freeze here like a coward with no dignity.
Win—and live.
Lose—and at least die fighting.
"Okay… let's… let's do it," Gabe gritted out. A spark of survival reignited in his eyes.
"Good." Levi took a deep breath. From this moment on, there was no turning back.
He tuned the radio back to Hydra's public command channel.
Static and shouted German voices flooded in instantly.
"Reinforce the western firepower! Don't let him break through!"
"Medic! Where the hell is the medic?! We've got wounded here!"
"Repeat, target is moving east along Hill Three! Requesting fire support!"
From the chaos, Levi knew the fighting around Captain America had reached its peak.
Now.
He closed his eyes, recalling the tone and cadence of the Hydra officers he'd heard earlier—their arrogance, their unquestionable authority.
He mimicked the accent of the Hydra squad leader he'd killed.
Cleared his throat.
Pressed the transmit button.
"Silence."
A short, commanding German bark—low, steady, authoritative.
The entire channel went quiet.
Every voice cut off, stunned by the sudden, unfamiliar authority.
Levi's heart climbed into his throat. This was the critical moment.
"This is 'Observer,'" he continued, using a fabricated callsign that sounded weighty enough to belong at the top.
"I've just received Supreme orders from Herr Schmidt. Southern line, Sector A7, has detected the Allied main force attempting a flanking maneuver. Orders are as follows: all units responsible for the eastern encirclement—Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth squads—are to abandon their current positions immediately and redeploy to Southern Line A7 to establish a new defensive perimeter. Repeat: this is a highest-priority order and must be executed within ten minutes!"
He released the button.
Dead silence filled the channel.
Levi could hear his own heartbeat—and Gabe's—pounding like war drums.
Did it work?
Would they believe it?
Seconds ticked by.
Just as Levi was about to bark another order, a young officer's hesitant voice came through.
"…Order received, 'Observer.' But if we withdraw, the eastern encirclement will open a massive gap. That American—"
"You idiot!" Levi slammed the transmit button again, roaring with fury.
"Are you questioning Herr Schmidt's decision?! Which is more important—one American soldier, or the security of our entire base's flank?! I don't care how you do it—execute the order! If the southern line falls, I'll personally twist your head off and kick it like a ball!"
The rage-filled threat worked.
The young officer didn't dare question it again.
"Y-yes! Understood! Executing immediately!"
Soon, the sounds of troop movements and engines starting came through the channel.
It worked.
Levi and Gabe exchanged a look—both seeing the same flash of desperate, almost unbelieving joy.
They had actually moved Hydra's forces with a fake order.
But before they could celebrate for even three seconds—
A cold, emotionless voice filled with pure killing intent cut into the channel.
A voice they would never forget.
The Hound.
"What a wonderful performance, my little mouse."
"You not only know how to dig holes… you even learned how to imitate your masters' voices."
The voice paused, savoring their fear, before continuing slowly, cruelly, word by word:
"But you seem to have forgotten one thing."
"I am the one responsible for southern reconnaissance."
"There is nothing there but wind and snow."
"Now, I know exactly where you are."
"The game is over."
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🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉
I'll release one bonus chapter for every 200 Power Stones we hit!"
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