Chapter 32: Three Shots
At this moment, Qin Chuan and the others found themselves in a very awkward situation: surrendering wasn't an option, but neither was refusing to surrender.
If they surrendered, as Werner had said, they would all be at the mercy of Berger. Berger had an MP40, a weapon that held a magazine of thirty-two rounds, which would easily allow him to kill all six of the German scouts in an ambush.
If they didn't surrender, Qin Chuan and his men would face six German scouts plus Berger—that's a machine gun, three submachine guns, and two rifles. Their firepower was significantly greater than what Qin Chuan and his men had.
Of course, this wasn't a problem for Qin Chuan; with his sniper rifle, he could easily take out the German scouts one by one. The issue was that he couldn't do that!
After thinking it over, Qin Chuan gave an order to Werner and the others: "Find a place to hide, and no matter what happens, don't fire. Leave this to me, understood?"
"Sergeant…" Werner and Keller looked at Qin Chuan, confused.
"Understood?" Qin Chuan repeated, his tone firm.
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood!"
"… And one more thing," Qin Chuan added, "if I die, pretend to surrender, then find an opportunity to kill Berger."
It wasn't a great plan, because if they made a move, the scouts would likely retaliate.
But if Qin Chuan's plan didn't succeed, this would be their only option.
"Yes, sir!" Werner and the others replied, then quickly ran off to find a hiding spot.
On the other side, the scout sergeant checked his watch, growing impatient. "Time's up. My patience is running thin!"
He waved his hand, and the machine gun roared to life, spraying a hail of bullets toward Qin Chuan's position, kicking up clouds of sand like raindrops splashing in a puddle.
Qin Chuan ducked down, then quickly removed his helmet and carefully stuck it into the sand, just enough to make it look like he was still there.
With their firepower seemingly pinning down Qin Chuan, the sergeant ordered his men to advance.
Meanwhile, Qin Chuan moved to a new position and slowly set up his sniper rifle. As he had anticipated, Berger didn't join the assault—Berger knew how skilled Qin Chuan was and understood that if he showed himself, he would become Qin Chuan's first target. All it would take is one shot to bring him down and end the conflict.
Berger probably had a convenient excuse for not joining the fight—claiming he was too exhausted to continue. He might even be sitting somewhere, guzzling down water from the scouts' canteens.
The thought made Qin Chuan involuntarily lick his cracked lips, though it did little to relieve the dryness since his tongue was parched as well.
Steadying himself, Qin Chuan took aim and held his breath before pulling the trigger.
With a loud bang, the sergeant felt a sharp force at his waist, instinctively dropping to the ground. He turned his head to see his canteen hanging from his belt, now with two bullet holes—one where the bullet entered, the other where it exited. Water was pouring out.
The sergeant's scalp tingled with fear. If the bullet had been just a few centimeters off, it would have hit his waist, and it wouldn't have been water spilling out, but blood.
Another shot rang out.
The sergeant felt his hand jerk, and when he looked, he saw that his submachine gun had been hit, leaving a groove in the barrel.
Before the sergeant could react, a third shot followed. This time, the bullet struck his helmet, but didn't injure him. The bullet had grazed one of the helmet's side flares, causing it to shift slightly (the German M40 helmet had slight protrusions on both sides).
The sergeant, now disoriented, adjusted his helmet and suddenly realized what was happening. He ordered, "Cease fire!"
He then raised his submachine gun and aimed it at Berger, who had been watching from the rear. "Arrest him!" he ordered the machine gunner.
"What's going on?" Berger asked, confused.
It wasn't just Berger who was baffled; the German scouts didn't understand what was happening either.
"Did you hear me?" the sergeant repeated. "Arrest this scumbag!"
"Yes, sir!" The machine gunner hesitated, looking between the sergeant and the other soldiers. Once he was sure the sergeant wasn't joking, he reluctantly approached Berger and tied him up.
"Sergeant, what are you doing?" Berger protested. "Have you lost your mind? They'll kill us all if you do this—you can't let this happen…"
"I believe them," the sergeant replied, removing his helmet and showing Berger the bullet mark. "I don't know how he did it, but he made me realize that if he wanted to, he could have killed me, and all of us, at any time."
Berger's face turned pale as he realized what had just happened.
The sergeant continued, "He could have killed us all, but he didn't. Why?"
He crouched down, grabbed Berger by the collar, and snarled, "There's only one explanation—you were lying to us. You deceived us. They were telling the truth, you bastard!"
With that, the sergeant spat in Berger's face.
"Come on over!" the sergeant shouted at the others. "I believe you!"
Werner could hardly believe what he was hearing. He peeked out from cover and called out to Qin Chuan, "Sergeant…"
Qin Chuan understood Werner's concern—he was worried it might be a trap set by the scouts.
"Don't worry, Werner," Qin Chuan said, standing up. "It's real. We're safe!"
Werner hesitated but then stood up. Keller quickly ran forward to shield Qin Chuan, his actions making the scouts tense.
"Relax, Keller!" Qin Chuan advised. "They're on our side. Lower your gun."
Keller hesitated, looking at the scouts to see if they showed any sign of aggression. Seeing none, he nodded and lowered his rifle.
Alfredo cautiously brought up the rear, his hands raised. "I'm unarmed! Don't shoot! My pistol has no bullets—I'm a pacifist!"
"Enough, Alfredo," Qin Chuan said. "We're safe now."
"How did you do it?" Werner asked as he approached. "You didn't seem to do anything—I only saw you fire three shots."
"It was those three shots," Qin Chuan replied.
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