This clearly wasn't their doing.
He was a doctor kidnapped by the Ten Rings. While his irreplaceable medical knowledge granted him a certain degree of freedom, he was still under strict surveillance. Every move he made was likely being watched.
A surveillance camera in the corner of the ceiling silently observed everything in the room. He didn't know if the guards behind the monitor were actually paying attention.
The image on the TV was frozen. No matter how many buttons he pressed, nothing changed. The words YES and NO flashed repeatedly, as if urging him to make a decision quickly.
Ho Yinsen fell into silence. Truly living? What did it mean to truly live? His fellow countrymen back home couldn't even manage the most basic survival, let alone 'truly living.'
Yinsen had originally planned to return home after finishing his studies to contribute to the medical field. He never expected that war would have long since torn this place apart. Rules no longer existed; all that remained was barbarism and bloody, dog-eat-dog survival.
After being imprisoned and subjected to bullying, Yinsen finally came to a profound realization: practicing medicine would not save Afghanistan!
"Is this a sign from God?"
Yinsen laughed self-deprecatingly, thinking he was just overthinking things. Nevertheless, he reached out and tapped the word YES on the screen.
The tactile sensation of the screen brought him back to his senses. For a moment, he felt incredibly foolish. This wasn't a touchscreen—how could it possibly receive his input?
However, the TV seemed to have actually received his command. The YES button flashed twice, and then the entire interface vanished. The program that had been interrupted reappeared.
Yinsen rubbed his face, certain he was dreaming. He stared intently at the TV, his eyes filled with expectation.
A moment later, nothing happened.
Yinsen shook his head, thinking he had finally gone crazy from being locked up. But when he turned around, he found a high-tech-looking helmet sitting at the head of his bed. Inside it was a business card.
"Future Technology... Virtual Reality game? Virtual reality?" Yinsen picked up the card and read the information. He had encountered the concept of virtual reality while working on his doctorate and knew it was an extremely advanced gaming concept.
But where did the helmet come from? Had someone entered his room just now?
That was impossible. The outside of his quarters was swarming with Ten Rings members. Aside from the gang members themselves, no one could have delivered something that large without making a sound.
Just as Yinsen was wondering, the heavy iron door was struck loudly. After a series of metallic clangs, the door swung open. Five or six gang members armed with AK-47s filed into his room, lining up against the walls.
Seeing this display, Yinsen knew a high-ranking figure was arriving. He immediately stood up to show respect, discreetly hiding the helmet behind his back.
But he was just a doctor, after all. His panicked movements and darting eyes were immediately noticed by a gang member. The man aggressively pointed his rifle at Yinsen, signaling him to move aside so he could inspect the bed.
Yinsen had no choice but to step away. If the helmet was discovered, regardless of whether it was his doing, they would likely beat him as a warning against pulling any tricks.
To Yinsen's surprise, however, the gang member completely ignored the helmet and the business card on the bed. He even reached out and roughly tossed Yinsen's blanket aside, checking the mattress with his gun, yet found nothing.
The helmet was sitting right on the blanket. When the blanket was pulled, it fell to the floor with a heavy thud, yet all the gang members acted as if they hadn't seen the helmet or heard the sound.
"You'd better not be up to anything!" Having found nothing, the gang member glared at Yinsen and returned to his position.
Half a minute later, a man with a thick beard walked in. He wore a military uniform and leather boots, his build sturdy and imposing. Yinsen looked like a small, frail chick compared to him.
"Hey, be polite to our doctor." The bearded man gave his subordinates a theatrical glare, then walked up to Yinsen with a smile. "How is it, Doctor? Are you getting used to the food here?"
"It's fine. Being able to eat enough is plenty," Yinsen said, feeling somewhat awkward.
The bearded man's gaze was highly aggressive, and his movements were exaggerated and bold, as if he might strike Yinsen at any moment, causing the doctor to pull back his shoulders.
"Low requirements. That's good. The most important qualities for a person are contentment and gratitude. We have supported you for so long, and it's finally time for you to contribute." The bearded man's smile held a cryptic expression. "In a little while, a special patient will be delivered to you for treatment. He might be severely injured, but you must keep him alive. Otherwise..."
The bearded man patted Yinsen's shoulder. "Otherwise, you can die along with him."
The immense force on his shoulder made Yinsen stumble. He happened to trip over the helmet at his feet. He looked down instinctively before immediately shifting his gaze away. "I understand. Can you tell me about the person's physical condition? I need to prepare specific supplies."
The bearded man was keen enough to catch Yinsen's deliberate glance. He followed Yinsen's line of sight but saw nothing. Dismissing the minor distraction, he continued his instructions: "He's a playboy whose body has been hollowed out by wine and women. Write a list of what you need for me. As long as the Ten Rings can get it, you'll have it."
The bearded man provided more details, all regarding the upcoming victim.
From his words, Yinsen deduced that the Ten Rings seemed to be planning an ambush using the latest advanced weapons they had just acquired to intercept an important target. Since they couldn't guarantee the target wouldn't be harmed in the battle, they were preparing the doctor in advance to do everything in his power to keep the person alive.
'Sigh, another poor soul is about to be victimized,' Yinsen sighed inwardly, feeling like he had become an accomplice to these villains.
After the gang members left, the iron door slammed shut. A series of locking sounds echoed from outside before silence returned.
Yinsen turned his eyes back to the helmet by his feet, his gaze flickering with hope. The helmet clearly possessed some special ability that made others ignore it.
Was it technology? Or some kind of supernatural power? What was the deal with this Future Technology company?
The indicator light on the surveillance camera glowed red. To avoid making his behavior look strange, Yinsen pretended to adjust his pant legs. Noticing his shoelaces were untied, he crouched down to tie them. As he stood up, he smoothly hooked the helmet and tossed it onto the bed.
A small line of instructions was marked on the inside of the helmet. The method was simple—it was practically foolproof. Yinsen planned to try it when he went to sleep tonight. Whether his fate could be changed depended entirely on this.
In the North Pole, the cold was bone-chilling.
Massive glaciers stood silently amidst a blizzard. The vast ice fields stretched as far as the eye could see. During the polar day, the plains were draped in silver and white, the ice and snow constantly reflecting sunlight, leaving only pure white and the grey of the sky in one's vision.
Staying here for a long time made it easy to contract snow blindness. The fierce blizzard kicked up waves of snow. Even wearing heavy cold-weather gear, ordinary people couldn't stay out for long. Before snow blindness could strike, they would already be frozen solid by the low temperatures.
Makiya, wearing only short sleeves and flip-flops, stepped onto the Arctic continent. His tropical island vacation attire was completely out of place with the Arctic's harsh environment. However, his extraordinary constitution allowed him to ignore the cold and wind as he looked around, his gaze piercing through the blizzard.
He had indeed come to the North Pole on a whim. His target was the 'Cap-sicle,' Captain America, and to see if the Tesseract was nearby.
Makiya didn't intend to thaw Captain America early; he had other arrangements.
The Tesseract, also known as the Space Stone, was one of the six Infinity Stones in the universe. Its wielder could use its power to travel through space at will. During the final battle between Captain America and the Red Skull of Hydra, the Space Stone had fallen into the ice and vanished.
Its next appearance would be in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s underground research facility. Makiya knew exactly when S.H.I.E.L.D. would find it—perhaps dug up alongside Captain America.
The Space Stone was originally part of Odin's private collection, but the old man sensed it would bring misfortune and war. So, he had secretly hidden it on Earth. After being discovered by the Red Skull of Hydra, it was used to develop energy weapons. Later, it even drew Thanos, leading to the alien invasion of New York and a string of events.
Countless clones of Makiya scattered across the ice field, sensing through the deep layers of ice to find the target. Since Captain America had crashed with a strategic bomber, the target was fairly obvious. After a short while, Makiya discovered the massive steel wreckage.
Hydra's strategic bomber was quite conspicuous within the ice. As long as one was willing to spend the money and effort to send a search team, finding Captain America wasn't that difficult. So the question arose: why did America allow their war hero, Captain America, to remain frozen for seventy years without interest?
Because he had lost his utility. During the war, Captain America was the best fundraiser and commando. But once the war ended, his value vanished. Dying in battle was the best end for someone holding countless honors. Merchants made a fortune exploiting the public's nostalgia for the hero; even Captain America's old underwear had been auctioned for astronomical prices.
Half of the strategic bomber's wreckage was trapped deep beneath the ice. Makiya phased through the ice, entering the interior of this fallen war beast. He followed the ruined corridors all the way down until he found the completely frozen Captain America.
The iconic shield was nowhere to be found, likely lost in some corner of the wreckage. Makiya didn't bother searching for it. He flicked a spark from his fingertip, melting all the solid ice encasing Steve's head.
Captain America's body still held signs of life. His breath was long and condensed, suggesting he could hold on for much longer.
Makiya pulled out a gaming helmet, entered the activation code, and placed it directly onto Captain America's head.
"Have a nice game."
A burst of Water Style was poured into the hole he had just melted. The low temperature quickly froze the water back into solid ice. Makiya clapped his hands and returned to the surface, flying toward a distant glacier based on memories sent back by a clone.
Beneath Makiya's feet, a small expedition team was sheltering from the blizzard in a camp. Technically, they didn't belong to any nation; they bore the insignia of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This was likely S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation team searching for Captain America. Based on their search speed, they would probably discover the bomber wreckage in another few months.
Makiya didn't disturb them. He turned and returned to his base.
The game was about to launch, and he had a pile of things waiting for him to handle.
"Where is this? Heaven? Or Hell?"
The consciousness of Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, gradually woke up. Upon opening his eyes, he found himself in a space of pure white.
"Welcome to [ORIGIN CONTINENT], Mr. Steve Rogers." A pleasant female voice came from all directions. A long set of terms titled [USER AGREEMENT] manifested in the void before Steve's eyes.
The situation was eerie. Was this another of Hydra's plots? Some kind of unknown technology?
Steve frowned, realizing things weren't simple. His left hand felt strangely empty, a feeling he wasn't used to. The enemy seemed to be hiding in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity. He needed his shield!
[Support the story with Reviews, Power Stones, and Comments—they mean a lot and keep me going! 30+ chapters waiting on patreon.com/elite_reads]