Chapter 135: Capturing the Winter Soldier, The Ancient One Awaits

"Is it necessary to start from before the Winter Soldier was born? Brother, could you please take this a bit more seriously? We are being chased by him!"

Natasha's displeased look was completely ignored by Clark, who had already started recounting the story nonstop: "In 1921, a springtime, the parents of the Winter Soldier met two couples from an indescribable, mysterious Eastern country in Brooklyn. They got to know each other and gradually became friends."

"In 1922, another spring. The mother of the Winter Soldier, along with the wives from the mysterious Eastern country, became pregnant at the same time. During a gathering, they shared that they had similar dreams the night before."

"In the dream, one of the mothers from the mysterious Eastern country dreamed of a dragon landing on a pavilion, so they decided to name their child after it."

"Another mother dreamed of a phoenix landing on a phoenix tree, so they decided to name their child accordingly."

"And the mother of the Winter Soldier dreamed of a chicken landing on a banana tree…"

Clark suddenly stopped speaking and turned his gaze to the other side of the road, where he saw a burly figure approaching with a submachine gun, looking menacingly in their direction.

"The enemy has appeared, it seems my story will have to be paused," Clark said, winking at Hill: "I'll continue after I return, it won't take long."

With that, Clark transformed into a red blur, charging directly towards the Winter Soldier.

Seeing Clark's speed, which challenged the limits of visual capture, Natasha began to believe he might actually defeat the Winter Soldier.

However, she had considered the outcome but not the process.

She could never have imagined someone defeating the legendary Winter Soldier in such a short amount of time!

As Clark approached with speed far surpassing his, the Winter Soldier finally stopped in his tracks and aimed his submachine gun at Clark, unleashing a barrage of bullets.

Clark, however, did not dodge or need to; he transformed his miraculous healing hand into a shield form and continued charging forward with the shield raised. The bullets, striking the vibranium cloak, left not a single mark, nor did they slow Clark's advance by even a half-second.

In less than a second, Clark had reached the Winter Soldier. With a swing of his shield, he knocked the submachine gun out of his hands and, as they passed each other, lightly chopped at the back of his neck with his left hand.

The Winter Soldier collapsed on the spot!

With a flick of his wrist, the shield transformed back into a cloak and automatically returned to Clark's shoulders. He then lifted the Winter Soldier by the collar and returned to the two women as a blur, throwing the unconscious Winter Soldier to the ground: "Done!"

Witnessing this scene, the Widow finally understood why Nick Fury was so wary of this man.

From the moment he charged at the Winter Soldier to the declaration of "Done," Clark had covered a distance of five hundred meters back and forth, completing the unprecedented feat of knocking out and capturing the Winter Soldier in less than ten seconds.

Natasha's expression was priceless, her eyes wider than usual, momentarily forgetting the severe pain of her wound.

With such speed and strength, was he even human?

Unlike the Widow, Hill, who had seen Clark display his powers before, wore a bizarre expression, holding something like a stopwatch. Clark glanced at it, indeed a stopwatch.

The numbers displayed made Clark give a wry smile: "It seems I really have a thing with this number."

The Widow wanted to see the stopwatch's number, but Hill reset it before asking Clark, "You haven't told us his real identity yet. He probably doesn't use a Chinese name, right?"

"Remove the mask, and all will be clear."

Following his instruction, Hill removed Bucky's mask. When she saw the Winter Soldier's true face, she was taken aback: "Sergeant James Barnes, Captain America's closest comrade. How did he become the Winter Soldier?"

"Hydra's doing," Clark said solemnly. "That's why I can't let you take him. He's still under Hydra's control. Just tell Fury that I took him. I'm confident I can restore him to normal."

Hill was stunned: "You're not going to see Nick Fury with us?"

"The mission is over. Now I want to go home. And..." Clark started to say but then stopped, waving his hand and glancing at the Widow's wound: "That wound of yours will leave a permanent scar."

The Widow gave a wry smile, spreading her hands: "Goodbye, bikinis."

"You don't need to be so pessimistic," Clark said with a chuckle. "Given your understanding of people, didn't you realize I was exaggerating the severity to inflate the cost of treatment?"

Impression points from Natasha Romanoff: +666!

Impression points from Maria Hill: +666!

The Widow, slightly excited, asked: "You have a way to heal it without leaving any scars? What do you need from me?"

"I haven't decided yet," Clark said with a slight smile. "Let's meet up when you're back in the States, and we can discuss the medical fees then."

"Let's go!"

With that, Clark picked up the unconscious Bucky, tucked him under his arm, and vanished from the women's sight as a blur.

After leaving their sight, Clark opened a portal directly to the London Sanctum, taking Bucky with him.

Portal magic had its limitations, and although the distance to England was relatively close, Clark still needed to use dark energy to make the direct crossing.

After greeting the guardian of the London Sanctum, Clark passed through the inner sanctum to the fixed portal leading to Kamar-Taj.

The three Sanctums were interconnected through fixed portals, with Kamar-Taj serving as the hub.

Clark intended to leave through the portal on the other side, but as soon as he emerged, he was greeted by the familiar figure of The Ancient One, standing with hands behind her back, smiling at him as if she had been waiting for a long time.

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