#328 - If you don't take the blame, who will?

No one, not even the most saintly, came to dissuade Lin Mei from being so ruthless towards Pierce's plight!

Lin Mei used alchemical means to temporarily conjure a large iron basin and began filling it with clean water.

Before long, Lin Mei quickly created a simplified version of a meditation basin, extracting some of Charles' memories and placing them into the basin.

Soon, the meditation basin revealed where Pierce had frozen Bucky!

"Bucky! It's Bucky!" Steve, who had been by Lin Mei's side, was so excited that his face turned red.

Steve grabbed Lin Mei's arm, his eyes flashing with anxiety and urgency: "We have to go save him immediately! That bastard Pierce, he actually froze Bucky!"

Lin Mei reached out and pried open Steve's thick fingers, saying helplessly, "I think you should consider how to explain Bucky's situation to Tony Stark!"

Steve's tone faltered: "Tony? How does Tony get involved?"

"Hahahaha! Of course, there's a connection, who told you that I woke up the Winter Soldier who killed Tony's parents?" Pierce's words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up layers of ripples.

At this point, he knew that all his secrets had been discovered by Lin Mei, and there was no point in hiding anything anymore!

Steve's face instantly turned pale, and he stared at Lin Mei in disbelief, as if he had heard the most incredible thing in the world.

"You… what did you say? Bucky killed Tony's parents?" Steve's voice trembled, each word seeming to be squeezed out of his throat with difficulty.

Lin Mei sighed. He knew that this truth was too heavy for Steve, but the truth was the truth, and it could not be changed.

Moreover, Tony's father, Howard, had helped him tremendously!

Steve's basic equipment came from Howard. The shield was made by Howard personally, who funded the search for all the vibranium on the continent at the time, plus an accidentally generated metal during an experiment. No one else could make it!

The serum radiation equipment was also made by Howard, otherwise Steve's serum wouldn't have worked!

After Steve fell into the iceberg, Howard never gave up looking for Captain America. Even though Peggy gave up on him, he never gave up, even researching the serum and the Tesseract to get Captain America out!

The military had Colonel Phillips establish S.H.I.E.L.D. and then execute Operation Paperclip, which was to recruit scientists to study the Tesseract and the serum, also to ensure Captain America could come out safely. Peggy, whom Steve admired, was in charge, while Howard was a technical consultant. Howard didn't have the authority to do that!

In the end, Zola, who feigned surrender, sent the Winter Soldier to kill Howard!

Of course, Pierce, as the manager of the Winter Soldier at the time, knew and executed the mission to have the Winter Soldier kill Howard and his wife.

Howard could be said to have died without knowing anything. Steve, as Howard's friend, also received a lot of favors from Howard.

Steve stood there, his eyes empty, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

He felt heartache for Bucky's plight and grief for the fact that Tony had lost his parents.

It was as if the whole world had lost its color at that moment. Lin Mei's words kept echoing in his mind, each word like a sharp knife, cutting at the emotional ties deep within his heart.

Bucky, the comrade-in-arms who had fought alongside him and experienced countless storms together, was actually burdened with such a heavy sin… And Tony, the friend who always wore a cynical smile, his parents were killed by Bucky…

"This… how is this possible…" Steve muttered to himself, his voice full of disbelief and pain. He tried to find a glimmer of rebuttal in his mind, but Lin Mei's words were like ironclad evidence, and Pierce had just admitted it himself, leaving him with no way to argue.

Lin Mei didn't quite understand Steve's struggle and pain, but he knew that although the truth was cruel, it was the reality they had to face.

He gently patted Steve's shoulder: "Steve, I know this is hard to accept, but we must face the seriousness of this matter in order to gain Tony's understanding. Bucky did these things while under Hydra's control, it wasn't his intention. Moreover, he is still being controlled by Hydra now."

Steve raised his head, his eyes flashing with complex emotions. He looked at Lin Mei, his voice low and firm: "No matter what, I will find Bucky and ensure his safety. At the same time, I will also confess everything to Tony and take on the responsibilities I should."

Lin Mei nodded, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes. He knew that although Steve was struggling inwardly, he had never shirked his responsibilities.

"Prepare everything, and rescue Bucky after this incident is over. As for Tony's side, I will also do my best to help coordinate." Lin Mei stored another portion of Pierce's memory into a glass bottle, and also extracted a portion of his own memory into another bottle, handing it to Steve.

"One of these two memories is Pierce ordering Bucky to kill Howard and his wife, and the other is Pierce admitting that he ordered Bucky to kill Howard and his wife. I think after seeing these, Tony should put all the hatred on Pierce. As for Bucky, you take the time to apologize sincerely. Although Tony will vent his anger on him, at least it won't escalate the conflict too much!"

Pierce stared at Lin Mei's divine operation in stunned silence. He gritted his teeth and said, "You damn bastard, you're really good at shifting hatred!"

Lin Mei spread his hands: "There's no other way! Who told Zola, the mastermind, to die already? I can only push all the responsibility onto you. Who told you to be the one who carried it out back then? If you don't take the blame, who will?"

"Fack!" Pierce spat out this sentence viciously, only to have Lin Mei seal his mouth shut!

Steve held the two glass bottles filled with memories tightly, as if they were the compass guiding his next actions. His eyes held both determination and deep worry about the unknown.

He knew that Tony was not someone who was easy to talk to, and he did owe Howard and his wife too much. This road would be exceptionally difficult, but he had no way back and had to move forward.