CHAPTER 226: STEVE’S SHOCK

’Why can’t I understand what they’re saying, even though it’s all English?’

Despite hearing the people around him talking about him, Steve just couldn’t make sense of what they were saying.

’Heroes are divided by region? And they need to gain popularity?’

The concept baffled him, but he didn’t dwell on it either. He just chalked it up to some kind of entertainment trend unique to this era.

However, he would soon be forced to learn more about this so-called "hero culture" of the modern world.

Because in Brooklyn, the well-known immigrant district of New York, a store robbery had just occurred.

The second he heard the noise, Steve didn’t hesitate. Even without his shield, he rushed toward the scene.

It was during this period that he noticed something strange: there were others like him. People in flashy, tight outfits, with all kinds of skin tones and styles, were also heading in the same direction. The crowd cheered for them as they passed.

’Those guys... could they be the ’heroes’ those people were talking about?’

Though surprised, he didn’t lose focus.

In this era, while super soldiers weren’t exactly rare anymore, someone like Captain America, whose physical capabilities were enhanced in all aspects, still stood out. Even among those who had been modified by cosmic energy, there were only a few who could match his strength.

As such, Steve, dressed in plain clothes, managed to run ahead of everyone.

"That guy’s fast! Is he trying to steal the credit?"

His performance naturally drew the attention of the other heroes, but they didn’t have time to act. All they could do now was run as fast as possible. At the very least, they couldn’t let the onlookers see them getting left behind so easily.

Ultimately, it was Steve who arrived at the scene first. There, he saw the robber, armed with a strange weapon and powered by Scarlet Serum, raiding a store.

"Stop!"

Kind at heart, he tried to reason first. But the man clearly had no intention of talking. The moment he realized Steve might be a hero, he turned the barrel of his weapon and pulled the trigger.

A bright red laser burst from the muzzle, making Steve surprised. He twisted his body into a near-impossible shape to dodge the attack just in time.

Seeing that the weapon could fire continuously, he had no choice but to keep rolling and dodging to avoid getting hit.

’A strange weapon... could Hydra’s tech have become standard issue now?’

Steve had seen energy weapons before in Hydra’s hands. Some were even more powerful than this laser—he’d once used a weapon capable of leveling an entire barracks with a single shot.

"This guy’s weird. Did he not get any training? Looks like he’s never even seen a laser weapon before."

Already breaking out in sweat, Steve heard the people around him whispering and was instantly left speechless. He picked up a nearby manhole cover and used it as a makeshift shield, calling out to the spectators.

"That man has a dangerous weapon. You all need to leave right now."

"Dangerous? No way."

But his good intentions were only met with even more heated discussions from the crowd.

"I told you, he’s a rookie. With so many heroes around, how could we possibly get hurt?"

"Yeah, just lacking battle experience, that’s all."

"You all..."

Steve was at a loss for words. When he was about to say something more, the robber attacked again as a red laser burst from his gun barrel. Steve quickly raised the manhole cover to block the blast, then took advantage of the opening to close the distance between them.

But he had underestimated the power of that laser weapon, or perhaps he had mistaken the manhole cover for the same kind of shield he used to wield.

After blocking two shots, the third one pierced straight through the cover and hit his arm.

"Ah!"

This had nothing to do with willpower. An arm injured like that couldn’t follow any command from the brain. No matter how strong the will, he couldn’t hold anything anymore.

As the manhole cover slipped from his hand and Steve was about to face the laser directly with nothing but his bare body, the heroes he had left behind finally arrived.

But there was a reason they had been assigned to street patrols. They weren’t particularly powerful.

Many of them weren’t even stronger than Steve himself, and they were in no position to pull him out of danger now.

Then, something unexpected happened.

Besides Steve, there was one more outsider in this hero community.

Just as the robber pulled the trigger once more, a red baton flew through the air, landing right in front of Steve and blocking the blast.

"Wha...!"

The attack was blocked. Although Steve didn’t know who had done it, he immediately seized this rare opportunity.

He caught the red baton that had shielded him from the laser and hurled it toward the robber.

"Ahhh!"

The baton struck the robber straight in the head. With the combined force of the metal weapon and Steve’s strength, the blow left the man seeing stars.

In that instant, Steve charged from the front while a man in a red bodysuit leapt down from a rooftop. Together, they surrounded the robber.

Seconds later, they had subdued him.

"He’s pinned! Did someone call the police?"

Holding the robber firmly beneath him, Steve could now take a moment to glance at the stranger who had helped him.

"Thanks."

The man didn’t say much in response to Steve’s gratitude. He simply pressed a button on the ring he wore, and in a flash, his bodysuit retracted, revealing a sleek brown suit underneath.

"You’re... not from New York?"

"Huh? I grew up in Brooklyn," Steve instinctively replied, then realizing what the man meant, corrected himself. "But I’ve been living overseas. I just got back to the States."

"I see."

The man gave a slight nod. While his eyes remained closed, he reached his hand out toward Steve with uncanny precision.

"My name is Matt Murdock. A bit of advice: robbers like this, who possess special weapons or enhanced abilities, don’t require a regular police response. And unless you’re a registered hero, it’s best not to jump in. That’s not discrimination. It’s for your own safety."

Soon after, staff from LexCorp arrived and took the robber away. They would investigate the origin of the weapon and any possible serums the man had used. Depending on the complexity of the findings, that information would then be assigned to more popular heroes as part of official hero activities.

Though Vought had only been around for a short while, an entire industry surrounding heroes was already beginning to take shape.

But Steve’s mood was anything but cheerful.

Those heroes, whose spotlight had been stolen, didn’t say much once they found out was just a civilian. The unspoken rules they followed only applied to official heroes.

As for Daredevil, even if they could beat him—which they couldn’t—his backstory was far more gripping than any of theirs. Most of them had been slotted as street-level heroes from the very start, while Daredevil enjoyed far more popularity and recognition. Given that, none of them dared to pick a fight with him.

And so, with a head full of questions, Steve returned to the hospital affiliated with LexCorp.

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