IMUC-CHAPTER 16: INFINITE ENERGY

[Tesseract's Energy]:

The power derived from the Cube could furnish tanks and guns with astonishingly destructive force, an energy of infinite potential nestled within the realm of abstract concepts.

Blue Item Card.

Do you want to extract it?

The above is the card message displayed by the block-shaped blue energy entity.

"Oh my…" The card's message shimmered in blue, catching Kyle's attention. His face contorted with astonishment, a rare crack in his typically composed demeanor. He had never anticipated stumbling upon a god-tier artifact from the Marvel World so swiftly.

The Tesseract! A bona fide god-level item, it had once served as the receptacle for the Space Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones—a tool of cosmic magnitude.

"Indeed. During World War II, the Hydra organization stumbled upon the Tesseract and harnessed its limitless energy for warfare," Kyle mused aloud, his gaze fixed upon the enigmatic energy cube before him. A sense of trepidation washed over him, and a cold sweat broke on his brow, both for himself and the makeshift U.S. military unit stationed in the combat zone.

To this day, such energy remained absent from the front lines. It was evidently a recent creation by the German forces, as yet untested in an official capacity.

Unbeknownst to an unsuspecting world, the sudden introduction of energy-boosted German forces into the theater of war could result in catastrophic consequences for the European front lines.

Yet, serendipitously, the present circumstance played to Kyle's advantage.

Eyes glinting with excitement, he picked up one of the energy cubes. Each of these possessed the potential to serve as a Blue Item Card—a tribute worthy of extraction.

"There should be at least twenty of these in this crate, right?" Kyle pondered, on the verge of embarking on a card-drawing spree. However, a faint sound reached his ears from behind, causing his expression to shift abruptly. Before he could react, a cold metallic object collided with the back of his head.

"Don't move. If you make a move, I'll blow your head off." The man behind him, holding a gun, spoke in German. With a click of mechanical sound, he had already released the safety on his pistol.

Carelessness.

Kyle tensed up his body and sighed inwardly. He never expected that he would let his guard down while drawing cards, and he never expected that there were people hiding in this underground basement.

"Put down what's in your hands and raise your hands." The gunman continued with a commanding and forceful tone.

"Don't shoot," Kyle said as he put the energy cube back into the box and raised his hands.

In this life-or-death situation, Kyle remained calm and pondered his options.

The simplest way would be to directly use Stealth to forcibly teleport out of the enemy base. However, that was the last resort, to be used only if absolutely necessary.

"Very good. I didn't expect you to speak German. You truly are an American rat that managed to infiltrate my base." The gunman said coldly, without any immediate intention of shooting. This made Kyle dismiss the idea of forced teleportation.

"What were you hoping to accomplish by infiltrating this place?" The gunman persisted, but this time Kyle remained silent, refusing to provide an answer.

"Heh, I'll find a way to loosen that tongue of yours," The gunman sneered, maintaining the firm pressure of his pistol against Kyle's head. In his other hand, he retrieved a walkie-talkie. "Hello, this is Commander Leo. Dispatch soldiers to Warehouse No. 2's basement immediately. We have an American rat in our midst…"

So this guy is Commander Leo, the one who was provided with girls in the name of resources. He must also be the highest-ranking commander of this large base.

Kyle still stood motionless with his hands raised, but at some point, a card had silently materialized between his fingers.

"Commander Leo."

Before the man behind him finished his conversation, Kyle suddenly spoke in a cold tone, "Do you know a saying from my hometown?"

Commander Leo slightly paused, hung up the walkie-talkie, and asked coldly, "What saying?"

His pistol was pressed tightly against the back of Kyle's head. As soon as there was any movement, he would immediately pull the trigger.

Kyle replied softly, "That saying is, 'Villains die due to being talkative'."

"Villain?"

Commander Leo's brow furrowed, perplexed by the meaning behind Kyle's words, when suddenly, an Evil Dog emerged from the nearby darkness. Its menacing teeth glistened with a cold, sinister light as it swiftly clamped down on his wrist, still gripping the gun.

[Evil Dog]: Summon a vicious Evil Dog infected with rabies to fight for you.

Green Lifeform Card.

"Ahhhhhh!" Commander Leo cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. The Evil Dog appeared to be a large dog resembling a Tibetan Mastiff, with green glints in its eyes. Its incredibly strong bite tore a large piece of flesh from his wrist, exposing bone.

"Tonight, I'm the Hero, and you, of course, are the Villain."

A smile curved on Kyle's lips as he gently caressed the fluffy fur of the Evil Dog.

"Please, I beg you. Don't kill me. Even if you kill me, you won't be able to leave this place alive!" Under the intense desire to survive, Commander Leo, who had previously displayed a stern and ruthless demeanor, pleaded for mercy.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you," Kyle said with a smile. Before joy could appear on Commander Leo's face, the next words drained the color from his face, "The thing I hate the most is when people put a gun to my head. So, I'll use you to feed the dog."

As soon as the words left Kyle's mouth, as if attuned to his command, the nearby Evil Dog emitted a savage roar and lunged forward, sinking its teeth into Commander Leo's neck.

Unperturbed by the agonized screams of his adversary or the gruesome sight of the Evil Dog feasting on flesh, Kyle proceeded to extract the energy cubes scattered throughout the basement.

Even at the rate of drawing one card every three seconds, it would still take over a minute to extract more than twenty energy cubes. By the time the German soldiers within the base received the communication call, alerting them to the presence of an intruder, they should already be converging upon Kyle's location.

"One minute from now, the base's defense mechanisms must be compromised, and I must break through the enemy's ranks to make my escape. Time is of the essence," Kyle muttered to himself, his eyebrow raised in determination as he continued extracting the energy Item Cards. Simultaneously, he retrieved another Lifeform Card from his Card Space.

[Toxic Hornet's Nest]: Summon a beehive housing hundreds of venomous hornets. These deadly insects can inflict fatal injuries within half an hour. Rare Green Item Card.

Current Status: One-time summon, lasts for half an hour. Will you use it?

"Now is your time to shine," Kyle murmured meaningfully, his gaze fixed upon the card.

Meanwhile, in the forested area adjacent to the sprawling base, hundreds of American soldiers lay in wait, their expressions grave. Sergeant Fury, their steadfast leader, couldn't help clenching his fist in mounting apprehension as they awaited a certain occurrence.

"Sergeant Fury, the designated raid time is drawing near. What should we do?" George inquired anxiously.

"Wait a little longer," Fury replied in a deep voice, uncertain of the exact event they were anticipating.

Perhaps Kyle had not yet successfully infiltrated the base and had met an untimely demise.

Even if Kyle had managed to infiltrate the base, how could he, with his individual capabilities, dismantle the defense mechanisms comprising thousands of soldiers and advanced equipment?

"Give it another five minutes. If there is no sign of activity from the large base within that timeframe, we will abort the raid mission and retreat immediately." Fury took a deep breath. Just as he uttered those words, exclamations erupted from several soldiers nearby.

"Sergeant Fury! It appears that there is a movement within the enemy's stronghold!"

(End of this chapter)