Chapter 271: Ch.270 Going Solo
"In case you're still worried, the doctor is now hiding in a place no one will ever find him. Every day, he feeds the horses, chops wood, cares about food and vegetables, faces the mountains, and enjoys the spring bloom. That's the kind of peaceful life he always wanted," Su Ming explained.
And in his heart, Su Ming added, That's also the life I want to give him.
Although Peggy and Nick found it hard to accept, they nodded. After all, the world was already a mess, and perhaps it was best if the Super Soldier Program stayed out of sight for now.
Nick, however, instinctively analyzed what Su Ming had said about feeding horses and facing the mountains. Did he hide the doctor deep in the Rocky Mountains? he wondered, but quickly dismissed the thought.
"We understand. As soon as Steve regains his ability to move, we'll withdraw from France and admit the mission's failure," Nick decisively stated. "However, as the current leader of the squad, Peggy may face some disciplinary action."
The original team leader had died, but someone still had to take the blame for the mission's failure.
Peggy smiled. She glanced at the unconscious Steve on the stretcher and touched her face, now smeared with dirt from the sewer, making her look like a painted clown.
"It doesn't matter. What can they do to a woman anyway? At most, they'll just have me answering phones, making tea, and being company for Lorraine. After all, in their eyes, isn't that what women are supposed to do?" she said with a sarcastic tone.
Su Ming sighed and patted Nick's bald head. Nick could do nothing against Su Ming's speed and strength, only glaring at him indignantly.
"You two spies really have no idea, do you? Don't you know Steve by now? He'll take all the blame upon himself. After all, he's Captain America."
The two of them froze but realized that Su Ming was right. That was exactly the kind of man Steve Rogers was.
Under the guidance of the resistance fighters, this motley group of people continued walking through the underground for a long time before finally arriving at the resistance headquarters beneath the center of Paris.
The headquarters was a large ossuary, filled with countless bones of ancestors. There were also a few benches for resting worshipers.
The monks who had designed the place had put in great effort. The benches, like the bones, were ghostly white.
Apart from the bones, the people moving around in the ossuary looked almost like the dead themselves—gaunt and pale-faced.
If not for the burning spirit and light in their eyes, it would be hard to tell them apart from the skeletons they rested beside.
They had limited food and supplies here. There were no medical facilities, no communication equipment, and for safety's sake, they didn't even have a radio. Messages were delivered by hand.
The resistance fighters were wary of the newcomers at first, but after a few minutes of conversation in fluent French, Su Ming eased the tension. After learning from the returning resistance fighters about what had happened, the group soon broke into a rendition of "La Marseillaise" alongside Su Ming.
Su Ming had always been a solo mercenary. Acting alone wasn't an issue for him. Now, with the symbiote and the Cloak of Levitation filling in his weaknesses, he could complete his mission by himself.
"You all stay here. I'll take care of the rest."
Without waiting for a response from Peggy or Nick, Su Ming called for the Cloak of Levitation to fly to him. After bidding farewell to the resistance fighters, he turned and left the command post.
Walking through the empty catacombs, surrounded by piles of bones, Su Ming noticed how cold and lifeless the place felt. Even rats and small creatures stayed away.
Indeed, the catacombs were incredibly clean. No insects, no rodents—nothing but bones.
He moved from the catacombs into the sewers, then quietly emerged back on the surface.
Night had fallen.
It was around 9 p.m.
There were few people on the streets, only patrolling German soldiers and the powerful searchlights from airships scanning the city.
These massive beams constantly swept over the rooftops, searching for any suspicious figures lurking in the shadows.
"The night has fallen. If I'm right, those three crazy women will likely make their moves under the cover of darkness. I need to keep an eye on the sky."
The plan required the enemy to react. A "rattle the snake" strategy needed the snake to actually feel rattled.
Not only did the three women need to cause chaos on the ground, but Su Ming also had to show that he posed a threat to the airborne units.
First step—find an anti-aircraft gun.
His plan was to take control of an anti-aircraft battery, disguise himself as a resistance fighter, adjust the airburst fuses, and make the enemy feel threatened enough to withdraw their airborne laboratory.
Once the lab separated from the airships to escape, Su Ming would use the Cloak to catch up and take it down.
Though he might face anti-air fire, as long as he could identify which airship housed the lab, he was confident he could seize the Namor fragments and make a safe exit before the lab was shot down.
That's the plan.