Capítulo 119: Chapter 119 War Correspondent
Due to the Soviet bombardment, the headquarters of the 4th Night Assault Combat Group had also moved from above ground to underground. The communication room, meeting room, along with the commander's office, were all compressed into a single basement, damp, dim, and permeated with the smell of mildew.
Upon entering, Lin En immediately spotted Luca Motchig, the staff officer of the assault team. Initially, when he reported to the Third Assault Squad from the headquarters, he hitched a ride with this SS lieutenant. Half a month later, Lieutenant Motchig had been promoted, becoming an Armed SS Captain.
Ignoring the less-than-pleasant expression of Captain Kalieger, Lin En walked directly to Motchig. "Hey, Captain Motchig, what brings you here personally?"
"Cough!" Motchig seemed unaccustomed to such enthusiastic greetings. He stood up from his chair, shook hands politely with Lin En, and said, "Hey, Lin En, it's been a while!"
Finally seizing the opportunity to vent his frustration, Lin En continued, "Yeah, it's been a while! Is Colonel Bach doing well?"
Motchig, being somewhat savvy, probably guessed Lin En's intention and adjusted his tone and content accordingly. "Oh, the Colonel is fine. Just a bit busy lately. Before I came here, he asked me to convey his personal greetings to you!"
The phrase "personal greetings" struck Lin En as particularly clever. He intentionally glanced at Captain Kalieger, the guy lacking in vision, breadth of mind, and decisiveness, who was sitting there absentmindedly.
"Oh, by the way, let me introduce you. This is Eva Furtich, a senior war correspondent dispatched by the propaganda department!"
Motchig stepped aside, and Lin En noticed for the first time that the "sergeant" next to him was actually a woman. She wore a slightly loose "pea" combat uniform, had short hair, wore an ordinary military cap, and had a holster for a pistol on her armed belt. The dim light in the basement had caused Lin En to completely overlook her earlier.
Although dressed as an ordinary SS officer, when this senior war correspondent spoke, Lin En would never again mistake her gender. Her voice was as melodious as a silver bell, exuding a spirit of vigor and determination.
"Hello, Sergeant Galgo!"
"Oh, um, hello, Miss Furtich!" Surprised but not flustered, Lin En responded to the greeting while awkwardly shaking her hand, which was much daintier than he expected, with skin as smooth and tender as Alice's, suggesting she hadn't practiced much shooting.
"Alright, let's get down to business!" Motchig spoke after realizing his earlier statement wasn't quite appropriate, quickly apologizing to the senior war correspondent, who politely smiled and thereby relieved his embarrassment.
Eva Furtich, Eva? Lin En suddenly remembered that the Emperor's mistress was also named Eva. If history followed its course, this unfortunate pair of lovebirds would officially marry soon and commit suicide together on the same day. However, this Eva was not that Eva. The war correspondent in front of him appeared to be in her twenties, not particularly beautiful, and her features were not delicate, but her face was symmetrical, and she had a pair of bright, watery eyes.
"Captain Kalieger?" Motchig called out.
The guy still sitting in the chair, lost in thought, finally woke up as if from a dream. He stood up abruptly, glanced at Motchig, then looked somewhat unwillingly at Lin En, straightened his uniform, and said, "Shall we begin?"
"Good!" Motchig took out a document from his briefcase and publicly read out a commendation order highly praising the actions of the 167th Night Combat Squad, with Lin En and the four soldiers of the group all being mentioned. As the commander, Lin En was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and promoted to Armed SS Corporal. Corporal Wolfram, Private Graff, Private Tanze, and Private Techmeyer each received a Second Class Iron Cross.
After reading, Motchig took out a rectangular wooden box from his briefcase and handed it to Kalieger. "Please."
For the second time, Kalieger tugged at his uniform. Compared to Lin En and the others who had to crawl on the training ground and battlefield, his attire was already neat and tidy enough.
Expressionless, he took the medals out of the box one by one and handed them to Lin En and his comrades, saying "Well done" to each of them. At this moment, Lin En felt extremely happy, not only dispelling the frustration from yesterday morning but also erasing the unpleasantness of being ruthlessly rebutted the day before yesterday.
After handing out the medals, Motchig congratulated Lin En and the four soldiers and then had Kalieger award Lin En the Armed SS Corporal's collar tab, shoulder boards, and armband. The brief commendation ceremony was thus concluded. Next, Motchig gave way to the war correspondent and introduced her to Kalieger and Lin En.
"Miss Furtich is here this time to write a field report, truthfully documenting the combat exploits of our night assault team. Just as the 167th combat group has made a daring and skillful night raid on the Soviet army, captured a rocket launcher, and smartly and bravely fired at the Soviet positions on the way back to our defense line, greatly disrupting the Soviet offensive plan. I hope you can fully support her!"
"Of course!" Kalieger turned to Eva Furtich with a smile, while the war correspondent simply responded with a polite smile.
Mochtig continued, "Alright, my task is also completed. It's time to return to headquarters. Captain Kalieger, please arrange for Miss Furtich to be sent back to Berlin after her work is completed!"
"Certainly!" Kalieger replied politely.
Mochtig picked up his briefcase and walked out alone—Lin En had seen an empty Horsch military car outside the basement just now. Did this guy drive here by himself again?
Lin En admired Mochtig's lone wolf habit, but suddenly he remembered that the headquarters of the "Vampire" Assault Team was located northwest of Berlin, near the Baltic Sea. Could Mochtig still drive directly back there now? Or would he go to the airport and then take a plane through the Soviet front lines?
Like stumbling in the depths of a dark cave for a long time, finally seeing a glimmer of light ahead, Lin En felt as if he had found a treasure and said "Sorry" to the war correspondent before running out.
Luckily, he reacted quickly and wasn't too slow. When he came out, Mochtig had already sat in the driver's seat, put on his sunglasses, and was about to start the car.
"Hey, Captain, wait!" Lin En shouted loudly, afraid that the hope within reach would fly away, while running towards the car.
Mochtig leaned out of the open window. "What's up, Lin En?"
"Are you going back to headquarters now?" Lin En got straight to the point.
"Yeah!" Mochtig replied frankly.
"Is it still in the same place?" Lin En asked again.
"No!" Mochtig looked at Lin En. "The headquarters has moved to Berlin, on William Street. The original headquarters barracks are now used to train new recruits!"
Upon hearing this answer, Lin En's hope was shattered.
"What's wrong?" Mochtig asked.
Unable to see the other's eyes through the sunglasses, Lin En made up a reason. "Um... I heard that the Soviet army has surrounded Berlin. But if you can still return to the original headquarters barracks, doesn't that mean the news is just a rumor?"
"Of course, it's a rumor!" Mochtig seemed unhappy—no one would like those who shake the morale of their own army.
"Oh, that's good, that's good!" Lin En stepped back, ready to watch Mochtig leave.
As his gaze returned to the front, the military car started, and just as it was about to leave, Mochtig turned to Lin En and said something meaningful, "No one can surround us!"
The Horsch military car sped away, and Lin En watched it disappear into the distance, pondering Mochtig's words carefully. According to history, the Soviet army did indeed surround Berlin and eventually conquer it. Was history changing, or was there some hidden meaning behind "no one"? And what did this have to do with the UFOs he saw?
With a series of unanswered questions temporarily plaguing his mind, Lin En returned to the basement, where Kalieger and the senior war correspondent were sitting smoking, and his four soldiers were still standing there obediently. He came to his senses, apologized to the war correspondent again, and prepared to tell his glorious deeds. Perhaps he would even be recorded in history and become a classic tactical case?
Using an old cliché advertising slogan, anything was possible!
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder