Chapter 519

"Hey, Steve."

Natasha appeared beside Rogers, looking serious.

"Natasha, what is it?"

Rogers looked at her with confusion, not understanding why she was here.

Then he noticed she was carrying an unconscious man with one hand.

"This is the Winter Soldier?"

Rogers asked in confusion.

Because Bucky was still wearing his mask, Rogers didn't recognize his old friend – though something about him felt familiar.

"If you saw his face clearly, I think you'd be very shocked."

Natasha said cryptically.

She then removed Bucky's mask, revealing his true face.

"Bucky!"

The moment Rogers saw his face, he immediately recognized who it was.

Shock filled every corner of his being.

In his mind, he suddenly recalled the scene of Bucky falling from the train back then.

That nightmare had haunted Rogers countless times.

Recently, with everything going on, he had gradually let it fade.

He thought he had finally moved on. But now, his long-lost friend was suddenly back in such a dramatic way, leaving Rogers completely stunned.

"Bucky! It's really you!"

Rogers hurried forward to support him, shaking him in disbelief, afraid this was all just a dream.

"Calm down. He's been brainwashed by Hydra. He's lost his sense of self."

Natasha reminded him.

"What?!"

Rogers looked at her in shock.

"I checked his brain. After falling into the Arctic seventy years ago, he was frozen just like you. A few years back, Hydra retrieved him and turned him into a super soldier – then brainwashed him into a killing machine."

Natasha explained further.

"Right now, Barnes has two personalities. One is your old friend. The other is the Winter Soldier – a cold-blooded killer with countless lives on his hands."

"No… how could this happen…"

Rogers' face turned pale. His lips trembled as he stared at Bucky in disbelief.

His once-passionate friend who had dedicated himself to serving the country… was now a brainwashed assassin.

He couldn't accept it.

"And there's something even more shocking. Brace yourself."

Natasha added quietly.

Before Rogers could react, she brushed her hand over Bucky's head, then quickly pressed her palm to Rogers' eyes.

In the next moment, a new scene unfolded before him.

It was nighttime. A car was driving down a road.

Bucky suddenly stepped in front of the car, dragged the driver out, and the image zoomed in to show who it was.

Howard Stark – Tony Stark's father.

The footage ended right as Bucky killed Howard, returning Rogers to reality.

"Oh, shit! My god!"

Seeing such a shocking memory left Rogers trembling. He rubbed his face and hair desperately, his complexion drained of all color.

"What I just showed you was the Winter Soldier's memory. Tony's father… was killed by him."

Natasha said quietly.

"No… no way, why… no, that wasn't Bucky, he was just being controlled…"

Rogers' lips quivered as he spoke, desperately trying to deny or escape from the truth.

"Wake up, Rogers. Whatever the reason, his hands still carried out the act."

Natasha sighed helplessly, reminding him of this cruel fact.

"Our conversation… it didn't show up on the screen, did it?"

Rogers suddenly remembered and quickly looked up.

Luckily, nothing about their conversation appeared.

"Seems you're too flustered to notice. As long as we don't intentionally address the screen, it won't reveal us."

Natasha reassured him.

She then crouched down to look at Rogers.

"So what do we do next? Tell Tony the truth?"

"No!"

Rogers immediately refused, shaking his head forcefully.

He ran a hand over his forehead.

"We can't tell him. If he finds out, it'll be disastrous. Tony will be hurt… and Bucky will be ruined. I don't want that for him, I…"

The more he spoke, the more incoherent he became.

He could only clutch his head in his hands, completely at a loss.

Natasha didn't say anything further. She simply patted his shoulder in silent comfort.

...

[Next, we will predict the upcoming SCP: Vampire Factory.]

The screen continued its broadcast.

Everyone turned their attention to it.

Mordo: Vampire Factory? Is it a place that mass-produces vampire creatures?

Suneo: How would that work, a bunch of vampires biting crowds of normal people?

Nobita: Ew! That sounds disgusting!

Ryuu: Stop interrupting. Just watch.

[The Vampire Factory is a temple-like structure located deep within Hoia Forest in Romania. The building's first two floors resemble typical Eastern Orthodox monasteries, likely as a means to disguise its true nature.]

[Thracian and Dacian architectural styles are found on the lower levels, and artifacts from the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture have been discovered in its deepest tunnel systems. The cave housing the Vampire Factory is believed to be man-made, constructed between 4800–3000 BC.]

[Inside the Vampire Factory lives a group of entities designated as Subject-1. Genetically, they are human, but each has undergone severe and seemingly lethal mutations.]

[Subject-1 lacks most major organs, retaining only the lungs and brainstem. Their skin is devoid of pigmentation, resembling cracked porcelain – potentially linked to Harlequin ichthyosis.]

[These entities appear to be hermaphroditic, either lacking or having removed secondary sex characteristics. Their eyes are degenerated, covered by skin, leaving them nearly blind but still responsive to light (typically repulsed by wavelengths >100 nm).]

[Other differences from normal humans include upturned, flattened noses and funnel-shaped ears, believed to aid their reliance on smell and hearing. Subject-1 does not communicate via speech, instead producing continuous clicking noises with their tongues – presumed to be a form of echolocation.]

[Subject-1 exhibits little to no aging. Since containment, no signs of aging have been observed. Further analysis shows their metabolism is abnormally slow. While not biologically immortal, their tissue necrosis rate is extremely low.]

(End of Chapter)

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