The world finally—finally—went quiet.
The explosions louder than a rock concert, the metallic shrieks more miserable than a pig being slaughtered, all vanished in that final detonation that felt like a small-scale nuclear blast.
Levi collapsed onto the snow on his ass, feeling like he'd just run an eight-hundred-kilometer marathon and then been run over by a dump truck three times for good measure. His chest heaved like a broken bellows, and there wasn't a single part of his body that didn't feel like it was about to fall apart.
Too tired.
Seriously—more exhausting than pulling all-nighters on a month-long project back in his old life.
This was the first time since transmigrating that he'd fought a truly high-end world boss. That thing was basically a stitched-together nightmare of giant mecha and eldritch monster, with the mental pressure cranked straight to max. Every second, his nerves had been stretched tighter than guitar strings, terrified that one slip would get him flattened into a two-dimensional lifeform.
The muscle fibers torn during that violent burst of output were now repairing themselves at an astonishing speed under the dual effects of the super-soldier serum and his healing factor.
Two terrifying abilities, working in perfect synergy inside his body.
Levi subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling the solid, explosive strength coursing through it—strength that felt capable of crushing metal. He understood now: after this battle, he had truly stabilized the power of the super-soldier serum. Compared to before the fight, he was on a completely different level.
A long, wheezing breath came from nearby.
Levi turned his head and saw Steve Rogers kneeling on one knee, propping himself up with his iconic shield. Captain America was breathing hard, but his blue eyes shone with relief and unwavering resolve.
"You okay?" Steve asked hoarsely, concern clear in his voice.
"Not dead yet." Levi grinned, flashing white teeth as he sprang lightly out of the snow pit. "Actually… I feel better than ever."
Steve studied him for a moment, then smiled with genuine relief. He nodded and looked toward the other side.
Logan was sprawled in the snow in a big starfish shape. The arm Levi had used as a "penetration drill" was already mostly healed under the effects of Logan's regeneration, as if the horrific injury earlier had been nothing but an illusion.
"Hey, old man," Levi called out. "You still alive?"
Logan didn't answer—he just raised one hand and gave the gray sky a perfectly clear middle finger.
"Good. Plenty of spirit left," Levi shrugged.
Steve stood and walked over, extending his hand. Levi paused, then took it. With one pull, Steve hauled him upright.
"Excellent work, Levi," Steve said, clapping a heavy hand on his shoulder—hard enough to make a normal person wince. "If it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't have made it out."
"Can't take all the credit, Captain," Levi replied quickly. "If you hadn't jumped first and drawn fire, we wouldn't have had a chance to get close."
They exchanged a look—an unspoken understanding forged in shared life-and-death.
"We should confirm it," Steve said, eyes shifting toward the still-smoking wreckage in the distance. "Make sure it's really finished."
Levi and Logan both agreed. Double-tapping was standard procedure.
Supporting each other, the three trudged toward the ruins, sinking into the snow with every step. The closer they got, the stronger the stench became—a nauseating blend of oil, burnt circuitry, and unknown substances. Logan sniffed and frowned.
"No living scent," he said. "It's dead. But that smell… something's off."
Levi focused, sweeping the wreckage with his enhanced hearing. Silence—no heartbeat, no signs of life.
"Wait." Levi suddenly stopped. "There's something."
Steve instantly went on guard. "What is it?"
"Something's humming," Levi said, pointing toward the center of the ruins—the spot they'd attacked earlier. "High frequency. Sounds like a device in standby."
They exchanged a glance and rushed over. After prying open a twisted armor plate, they found it—a metal sphere about the size of a basketball, etched with unfamiliar runes and marked by three fresh claw scars (clearly Logan's handiwork). The sphere emitted a soft blue glow, the humming coming from deep within.
Steve instinctively reached out.
Levi grabbed his wrist. "Don't touch it, Captain. This thing's wrong. Very wrong."
Levi could feel it—inside that sphere was a violently familiar energy fluctuation.
The Tesseract.
The intensity was nowhere near the original, but the spatial vastness of the energy was unmistakable. Hydra had already figured out how to tap into Infinity Stone power—at least partially.
A primal hunger rose from deep within Levi. Every cell in his body screamed, craving that energy.
---
[Ding! High-purity Tesseract energy source detected. Initiate copy?]
[Warning: Energy source extremely unstable. Host's current physique may not fully withstand it. Forced copy carries risk…]
[System Tip: High risk, high reward! Kid, take the gamble—turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!]
---
Levi's heart pounded.
This was it. He had to gamble. Chances like this didn't come twice.
Copy.
[Ding! Copying "Tesseract Energy (Degraded)"… Progress: 1%… 5%…]
Outwardly, Levi remained calm. Inside, every nerve was stretched tight.
"We have to take it with us," Steve said, interrupting his focus. "This can't stay here. Howard Stark will want to see it."
In the end, they carefully wrapped the dangerous "power bank" in canvas, with Steve personally carrying it.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from the distance.
The Howling Commandos arrived.
When they saw the flattened battlefield and the mountain-like corpse of the monster, every one of them froze in shock.
"My God…" Dum Dum Dugan muttered. "Did you three… kill a dragon?"
Steve smiled tiredly. "Cleared a roadblock. What about our people?"
"All rescued! Everyone's safe!" Dugan reported excitedly.
All eyes turned to Levi, Steve, and Logan—filled with awe, disbelief, and reverence.
Levi met their gazes, a strange satisfaction rising in his chest. He glanced at Captain America beside him, then at Logan in the distance, struggling to light a flattened cigar.
He knew that from this moment on, the name Levi would no longer be just a codename.
Steve's gaze swept across the group, then settled on the Hydra base still glowing in the distance.
He took a deep breath, voice steady and resolute.
"Everyone—rest ten minutes."
"Then we're going to bring our brothers home… from that hell."
---
Meanwhile — SSR Secret Command Room
On a snow-flecked monitor, satellite footage froze on the colossal remains of the destroyed monster. The command room was deathly silent.
"Replay," the lead agent ordered coldly. "Last three minutes. Zoom in. Frame by frame."
The footage rewound—Steve diving off the cliff, Levi hurling Logan like a spear from the sky.
"Stop."
The image froze on the instant Levi threw Logan forward.
"Analyze trajectory and force output of both targets."
Data flooded the screens.
"Report, sir! Based on modeling, Levi's takeoff burst exceeds Captain Rogers' recorded peak output! The force applied when throwing Logan is estimated to be sufficient to launch a heavy tank dozens of meters!"
"And the final kick boost…" the technician's voice trembled. "Impossible to calculate accurately. The instantaneous force stacking exceeds all known physical models! The results show they penetrated over 300 millimeters of unknown high-strength alloy using purely physical attacks!"
The lead agent stared at Levi's frozen image, suspicion filling his eyes.
"Levi…" he murmured. "Our initial assessment was catastrophically wrong."
"He's not a simple enhanced soldier. He's hiding his true capabilities. That final strike… the power involved was abnormal—almost like a burst of energy we can't explain."
"And the energy core," he added, pointing to another report. "The Tesseract-derived unit Hydra created. Rogers recovered it—but when Levi touched it, our sensors detected a brief, anomalous energy fluctuation."
A sharp intake of breath rippled through the room.
"Sir… are you saying he can use—"
"I'm saying nothing," the agent cut in sharply. "Only that this man is far more complex than we ever imagined."
He slammed a fist into the console.
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