Several days later, the Allied forces intercepted a piece of secret intelligence.
Its contents were: Due to the evil Allied forces continuously destroying several important experimental bases in recent days, the Führer was extremely enraged and ordered Red Skull to immediately launch an effective counterattack, destroying the Allied resistance forces at all costs.
One had to know that the Allies intercepted hundreds of such intelligence messages every day.
Basically all of them were sent from Berlin, originating from the Führer himself and directed toward generals on the various frontlines.
From strategic plans involving entire armies, to ordering certain companies to hold their ground and never retreat, they fully displayed his obsession with micromanagement.
Originally, the Allied forces did not pay much attention to this sort of intelligence, because it held no practical significance.
But over the following few days, Berlin sent a total of eighteen telegrams, all urging Red Skull to take action as quickly as possible.
Then, an intelligence transmission sent from somewhere on the Siberian ice plains back to Berlin caused the Allied codebreakers to pay attention.
It was a message from HYDRA headquarters, Red Skull's reply to the Führer.
The message vaguely mentioned an experiment that Red Skull referred to as 'something capable of completely reversing the war situation,' 'easily destroying the Allied resistance forces,' and 'the key to humanity's evolution into a new era.' He merely requested that the Führer patiently wait half a month, and he would certainly lead HYDRA to trample all resistance.
Inside one of the bases previously destroyed by Captain America, a massive amount of human experimentation data had once been stored.
All of those experimental records indicated that HYDRA was conducting a secret research project. Through replicating the powerful abilities of the 'mother body,' they intended to create a massive spacetime stagnation field, and had even invented a 'weapon capable of accelerating time within a designated area.'
This secret project drew enormous attention from the Allied forces.
Because once this secret experiment succeeded, the enemy they would face would be monsters capable of manipulating time.
The Howling Commandos received the mission to thwart HYDRA's conspiracy at all costs.
Furthermore, all information related to this project had to be sealed away and sent to the Pentagon in America.
Based on the fragmented clues mentioned within the intelligence, Howard successfully used black technology left behind by the German army to reverse-track the signal source, locating Red Skull's hiding place inside an underground base within the Alps.
Now that Red Skull's hiding place had been confirmed, the next step was naturally to formulate an assault plan.
The members of the Howling Commandos were not limited solely to combat personnel. There was also a series of logistical and support staff, such as Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, and others. At this moment, everyone surrounded a war sandbox, engaged in intense discussion.
"I still think something's wrong."
Howard crossed his arms and frowned: "Red Skull has always been extremely cautious. Dense telegram communications like this can easily expose his position. There's no way he doesn't know that. I think there's definitely a problem!"
"I agree with Howard's view."
As the team's rear commander, Peggy likewise held a strongly suspicious attitude: "From our past experiences fighting HYDRA, Red Skull isn't the type of person who would expose such a huge flaw. This base was definitely leaked intentionally."
"Perhaps, as you all said, this is a trap."
Steve sat in a chair, his hands supporting his chin while his gaze quietly focused on the sandbox as he solemnly said: "But we have no other choice, unless we're willing to gamble the lives of tens of millions of frontline soldiers on the possibility that this secret base is a trap set by Red Skull."
The moment those words came out, Howard and Peggy were left speechless.
"Answer my question. Do you dare gamble on that possibility?"
Steve slowly stood up, a trace of pressure in his voice: "What if Red Skull really is hiding in this base? What if that project truly succeeds? What kind of consequences would it bring?"
"The Allied forces would suffer total defeat... and they would rule the entire world."
Howard bitterly said: "I cannot imagine what kind of dark abyss humanity would walk into under fascist rule."
"Perhaps... we can wait a little longer. Wait until the intelligence's authenticity is confirmed before taking action, instead of blindly charging into Red Skull's trap like this."
Peggy tightly bit her red lips. Even she herself could not convince herself with that reason.
"Peggy, you know very clearly this isn't the correct thing to do."
Steve stared into the woman's eyes. Deep concern was hidden there, yet he still firmly said: "We cannot afford to gamble. The Allied forces cannot afford to gamble. So I must go, even if it really is a trap."
During the argument between the three, a soldier burst in and brought astonishing news.
Through Allied spies planted in secret, they had captured images of Red Skull's whereabouts and confirmed that he was indeed inside that mountain base.
But the problem was... Red Skull would only remain there for eight hours.
After eight hours, he would transfer the entire base and hide himself once more.
The timing was perfectly calculated. The Allies had no way to mobilize enough aircraft within eight hours to bomb that region. Too few planes would never break through the base's defenses, while it also completely eliminated the possibility of a large-scale infantry assault.
One had to admit, Red Skull's calculations were remarkably precise. He had severed all routes for them to request reinforcements.
"So it really is Red Skull..."
After seeing the photographs, Howard remained silent for a long time before deeply sighing: "This is an invitation. He's inviting you over, openly telling us his location, and we have no way to refuse."
After dealing with Red Skull for so long, how could they not understand this man's temperament?
The excuse that Allied spies just happened to photograph his whereabouts was suitable only for deceiving children. Anyone with a brain could see that Red Skull intentionally allowed those photos to be taken. His goal was inviting Captain America Steve Rogers.
The thoughts and contest between both sides had now been placed openly upon the table.
Red Skull's intentions could not have been more obvious. He made no effort whatsoever to hide them. He wanted to openly force Captain America to come.
In order to make Captain America willingly jump into the trap, Red Skull even used himself as bait and added another heavyweight onto the already tilted scales—the time stagnation field and time acceleration weapon mentioned in the project.
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance that the project might succeed, Steve could not possibly sit by and ignore it.
He could not gamble the entire Allied war effort on that one-in-ten-thousand probability.
There was only one choice.
Accept Red Skull's invitation and charge into the dragon's潭 and tiger's den.
"Put all team members on standby."
A trace of sharpness appeared in Steve's eyes as he said: "Regardless of whether this is a trap or not, we have to charge in. Although it's dangerous, this is our only opportunity to destroy HYDRA!"
"I understand your meaning."
Howard deeply looked at him before finally nodding: "I'll go inspect the equipment now. Although some of the items were only recently invented... bring them anyway. They should be able to help somewhat."
After saying that, Howard glanced at Peggy again and said: "You two probably still have things to say. I won't disturb you."
After Howard left, Peggy's eyes glistened with moisture. Her white teeth tightly bit her red lips, and her hands fiercely gripped her sleeves as she tried hard to control her emotions.
Steve could no longer suppress the surging emotions within him. He stepped forward and pulled Peggy into his embrace.
Breathing in the faint fragrance drifting from her hair, his arms tightly held Peggy, as though he wanted to fuse her into himself.
"You still..... owe me one dance."
Peggy leaned within the man's embrace, listening to his heartbeat as she softly said: "Next Saturday... at the Stork Club, eight o'clock sharp. Don't be late, understand?"
"Wait for me, Peggy."
Steve firmly said: "I will definitely come back. At that time... you'll teach me how to dance."