Chapter 232: First Contact with the Winter Soldier
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Daisy was filled with doubts and abandoned the idea of a ruthless counterattack and instead floored the accelerator, speeding forward.
Just as she had driven about 500 meters and was about to turn into Philadelphia at the next intersection, a tall man with a metal arm blocked her path.
"Run him over, run him over!" The bald brother, recognizing the Winter Soldier as a killing machine, yelled hysterically.
Daisy's gaze narrowed as she saw the Winter Soldier holding a strange weapon, launching a disc-like object.
"A mine launcher?!" Daisy felt the Director's treatment had come a bit too soon. The disc moved slowly in her eyes, but the Winter Soldier had calculated precisely, and given the performance of the vehicle, it was already too late to dodge.
She grabbed the bald brother and kicked open the car door. The explosion sounded timely, and the car was tossed into the air, flipping forward.
Daisy, leveraging the momentum, pulled the bald head and jumped out of the car.
The car had significant inertia, and the road was extremely empty. Daisy, not revealing her ability to fly, grabbed the bald brother with one hand. Her body twisted in mid-air, her right leg slightly bent, her left leg half-kneeling, holding the bald brother steady with her right hand, and her left hand's nails dug five shallow trenches into the ground as they slid nearly ten meters, finally counteracting the inertia.
"Run!" Daisy pushed the cumbersome bald brother aside and faced the Winter Soldier herself, eager to test the skills of Captain America's old buddy.
The bald brother wanted to call her stupid, but his fear of death kept him silent, and he turned and ran.
The sound of gunfire "bang bang" continued non-stop. The Winter Soldier, Bucky, discarded the mine launcher and took an M4 from his back, spraying a burst of fire at Daisy. She returned fire in time, and the two maneuvered rapidly, maintaining a zigzag pattern as they ran, dodging bullets while emptying their magazines, realizing neither had hit the other.
Undeterred, Bucky tossed the empty M4 aside, drew a P226 from his belt, and fired repeatedly at Daisy.
Daisy cursed under her breath, forced to dodge again. This guy had strong combat skills, but he carried a significant number of firearms in battle.
The power of modern firearms was considerable. A close-range hit wouldn't be fatal given her physical strength, but it would still bleed and hurt. Unlike Bucky's Kevlar combat suit, her shirt offered no protection.
She leaped to dodge the gunfire, kicking off a roadside advertising column to propel herself towards Bucky with her strength.
Bucky's pistol ran out of bullets, and he pulled a submachine gun from his back. Daisy couldn't allow him to continue attacking; that would be too passive. With a flick of her fingers, she used a gravitational pull to stagger Bucky's stance, though he quickly regained his balance. Daisy had already closed the distance and kicked toward his face mid-air.
Bucky's expression remained lifeless; he didn't underestimate her because she was a woman. His metal arm went up to block, and Daisy's kick landed on it, numbing her leg from the impact. Bucky was pushed back by the force.
He didn't back down but instead drew a double-edged combat knife from his waist, using his height advantage to thrust, chop, and slice in rapid succession, continuously changing his moves to press the attack.
Daisy's physical attributes were superior to Bucky's, but she lacked his combat experience. Bucky excelled at desperate, all-or-nothing attacks. Facing Daisy's assaults, he neither dodged nor evaded, aiming his blade straight for vital points. Daisy, not wanting to trade blow for blow, had to adapt her tactics.
Bucky's combat knife was knocked away, and he withdrew his right hand while twisting his waist, simultaneously extending his left mechanical arm to punch Daisy head-on.
"Who's afraid of you?!" Daisy didn't have her vibranium wristbands, but she believed her strength was not inferior to his. She threw a punch back at Bucky.
Their metal fists collided with a dull "bang," creating a small shockwave. Daisy was forced back two steps and shook her hand. It really hurt! While their strength was comparable, Bucky's arm was made of metal, while hers was flesh and bone. She clearly took the worst end of that punch.
"What does your mechanical arm run on? Metabolism?" She couldn't help but ask.
Bucky completely ignored her, and the two continued their fast-paced exchange. After over a dozen moves without using their abilities, Daisy, with her shorter range, couldn't gain the upper hand.
"Keep going!" Ward, retreating under pressure from the Hydra gunmen, saw Daisy and Bucky engaged in close combat and tossed his own handgun to her without even thinking about it.
Daisy caught it speechlessly. What was the meaning of giving her a gun like this? But she couldn't refuse and could only raise her hand and fire several shots, driving back the Winter Soldier.
Two of Ward's men died, but there were still over ten pursuers, making the situation unfavorable for them.
Well, it looked like it was...
Bucky took the weapons handed to him by his gunmen. His firepower was formidable, and crucially, he wasn't afraid of death, with reflexes faster than ordinary people. With his joining, Daisy, together with Ward and his men, plus the bald brother who hadn't run far, finally regrouped. With Ward's cooperation and Daisy's marksmanship, the casualties on both sides remained roughly equal.
Just as the situation reached a deadlock, a heavily armed helicopter swooped into the battlefield.
Accompanied by the roar of heavy machine guns, a barrage of bullets hit the center of the battlefield, and Crossbones, controlling the machine gun, watched the two groups with a menacing look.
"Stop!" From his elevated position, he brought pressure to both sides. Not only that, but Crossbones also brought the special forces team, all Hydra agents dressed in SHIELD uniforms.
Over 30 special forces surrounded them.
Daisy turned to Ward and the bald brother. She felt that she needed an explanation. Does your Hydra usually have internal parties like this?
As a SHIELD agent infiltrating a Hydra division, classmate Daisy felt a lot of pressure on her shoulders!
Satisfied with his intimidation, Crossbones strode down from the helicopter. He looked at Daisy first, as if cutting meat, and shouted, "Hail Hydra!"
Daisy felt no psychological pressure and naturally echoed, which shocked Ward beside her. He had purely come to her rescue, completely unaware of the underlying connection. For a moment, his expression was extremely complicated.
"This isn't a personal grudge. There seems to have been a misunderstanding in the middle. I assure you; this won't happen again." Crossbones explained sincerely to Daisy, then tossed Bucky a phone. On the other end, Pierce ordered him to retreat. Bucky turned around without a word and left.
As Bucky left, silence fell over the scene. Crossbones looked at Daisy, regardless of whether it was coerced or not. Now that Pierce had backed down, whether it was war or peace depended on Daisy's choice.
If Daisy were a true Hydra agent, she would have taken the opportunity to kill Pierce. But she wasn't. There were limits to pretending.
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