Chapter 368: Operation Rescue Nanaue Underway
"Allen!"
Just as Allen retrieved the round shield and was about to leave, Bucky called out to him.
He and Falcon were currently trapped in this location, and escaping from the heavy encirclement wasn't going to be easy. They hoped to use this opportunity—and perhaps Allen's influence—to find a way out.
"Bucky and Sam—what a coincidence."
Seeing his old acquaintances, Allen waved casually and swaggered over to them, completely ignoring the military's growing impatience. With a teasing look, he said, "You two vacationing together? Didn't know you swung that way, Bucky—traveling with the Black Batman."
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm perfectly normal," Sam retorted immediately. "Bucky and I were tracking down the super soldier serum."
"Serum?"
Allen's eyes lit up. "Does it make you, you know, hard as a rock?"
"It's the one you modified before—an optimized version," Bucky explained.
"You two must be bored out of your minds, chasing after that worthless crap."
"…"
Worthless?
On the black market, a single vial could fetch over a million dollars.
But to Allen, it wasn't even worth mentioning. If he wanted, he could whip some up with his own hands.
Of course, the serum offered no real benefit to him. With a body seventy-two times stronger than a normal human's, no current enhancement formula could make a difference.
Besides, Allen had nothing but disdain for power that came from technology—dead muscle from scientific fitness, flashy but ultimately useless.
Honestly, he was more worried it might shrink the goods, leaving his kun-kun permanently drooping.
"The rampant spread of the serum has created a surge of superhumans. If left unchecked, the consequences could be catastrophic," Bucky said gravely.
"Let me take a look."
Allen turned his gaze toward the criminals hiding in a nearby building and dashed in at lightning speed.
Gunfire erupted, then fell silent. One by one, bodies were hurled out of the building.
Moments later, Allen emerged, casually carrying a password-locked case.
At once, the military officer's pupils contracted. He raised his hand, signaling the soldiers to be on full alert.
Their entire mission revolved around retrieving that serum. With the objective now in plain sight, their focus sharpened.
After all, the temptation of superhuman strength was hard to resist.
Even the officer—still in his prime—was already dreaming of gaining power, toppling his current warlord bosses, and ruling a nation of his own.
"Friend, would you mind handing over the serum?" the officer asked.
Allen cracked open the case barehanded. Inside were three vials, embedded in foam padding to prevent damage during transit.
But Allen didn't reply. Instead, he broke one open and took a whiff of the liquid.
"Disgusting!"
The stench was so foul that Allen immediately flung it away in disgust, casting a pitying glance toward the criminals.
As expected, the serum was flawed.
"Keep it. It's yours," Allen said, dropping the case.
Then, raising his hand, he conjured a portal and called out to Bucky and Sam, "I'm heading home. You two coming?"
Without hesitation, Bucky and Sam exchanged a glance and jumped in.
"Wait! Take me with you!" shouted the new Captain America, Walker.
But the portal snapped shut right in his face—clearly, Allen had no intention of bringing him along.
In the next instant, the three of them had returned to America.
As for how Allen tracked Walker down to retrieve the shield, all it took was for Unita to hack into the surveillance network and trace his movements.
"Why did you just give away the serum?" Sam asked, confused.
With a cryptic grin, Allen replied, "It's a failed product. When men inject it, they end up getting taken. Women inject it, and suddenly they want to do the taking."
"…"
No wonder.
Bucky and Sam suddenly recalled how every male criminal in that group had unusually smooth faces—not even a hint of stubble—while the few female ones were unusually brawny.
They exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.
Turns out the serum was completely useless.
So what if it gave you strength? If you still couldn't perform, what good was being a beast?
"By the way, where are we?" Sam asked, looking around the enclosed hallway. The place looked an awful lot like a secret military facility.
WEE-OOO-WEE-OOO…
Suddenly, blaring red lights flashed and piercing alarms rang out.
"Crap. We've been found," Sam muttered.
Allen, however, remained calm. "Don't worry—I've got a Plan B."
That's when they realized—they'd accidentally teleported into a secret military base.
Sam, staying cool-headed, said, "I can talk to them."
He had an official background and enough connections to de-escalate the situation without unnecessary violence.
"Really?"
Allen eyed him skeptically. "You sure your face is that influential, Black Batman?"
"I'm Falcon. And don't call me Black Batman. Also—drop the racial slurs. If you call me that again, I'm filing a discrimination complaint," Sam said, irritated.
"Got it. Black Falcon it is."
"…"
Realizing Allen was basically insane, Sam could only sigh and let it slide.
Can't beat him in a fight, can't win in an argument. Total nightmare.
Just then, footsteps echoed down the hall.
Heavily armed guards were closing in fast.
"Guys, relax—I'm Falcon, active-duty Air Force major…" Sam declared confidently, believing his identity would command respect.
BANG BANG BANG—
"Holy crab…"
A hail of bullets forced the trio to retreat around the corner.
Unwilling to give up, Sam poked his head out and shouted again, "I'm Major Sam Wilson! I know Colonel Rhodes—we're on the same team!"
Unfortunately, the only reply was a wall of suppressive fire.
Bucky gently patted Sam on the shoulder.
"I don't need comforting," Sam said quickly. "This is just a misunderstanding, I'm sure."
But Bucky merely pointed at the writing on the wall.
It read: LexCorp Employee Code of Conduct.
Sam's dark face flushed with a tinge of red.
Turns out… they'd accidentally invaded Lex Luthor's research base.
At that moment, Allen stretched out his legs, idly spinning the shield in his hand to get a feel for it.
Suddenly, he hurled it at the squad holding a tight formation down the hall.
Without even looking, he ducked back behind cover.
"Based on my precise calculations, the angle of my throw plus the shield's rebound should've cleared the room," Allen said with full confidence.
Sure enough, the gunfire stopped.
The three cautiously peeked around the corner.
In reality, the throw had completely missed. The shield was now embedded deep in the wall.
The guards hadn't resumed firing because they were stunned by the sheer force of the impact.
This was an underground base, built to withstand nuclear strikes. The walls were reinforced with dense rebar and designed to absorb artillery blasts.
Watching from the command room, Lex Luthor frowned at the monitors.
"Pull them back," he ordered. "No point in wasting lives."
On another screen, data was being analyzed.
The round shield's destructive force had been calculated in full—confirming that sending more guards would be suicide.
Sure, LexCorp could afford the death benefits, but unnecessary losses were still a liability.
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