Capítulo 33: Life
"Was it you who fired the shot?" The sergeant called out to Qin Chuan from a distance, noticing that Qin Chuan was the only one holding a rifle.
"Yes!" Qin Chuan replied.
"Good shot!" The sergeant said, "Maybe I should thank you for not taking my life!"
"Where's Berger?" Qin Chuan asked.
The sergeant pointed towards the back, and when Qin Chuan and the others walked over, they saw that Berger was already restrained, sitting on the ground with his hands tied behind his back.
"What happened?" The sergeant asked.
"We got separated from the unit!" Qin Chuan explained briefly. "We found this guy had killed his subordinates and stolen their water. We tried to arrest him, and then you guys showed up!"
"We were tricked by him, sorry about that!" the sergeant said.
"Didn't you realize how dangerous it was just now?" Qin Chuan said. "While you were mistaking us for the enemy, this guy could have attacked you from behind..."
The sergeant was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "So, I've cheated death twice today!"
The sergeant contacted other units, and soon two sidecars and a car arrived. The scouts loaded Qin Chuan and the others into the back of the car, along with Berger. Of course, two scouts were assigned to sit on either side of Berger to keep an eye on him.
Berger seemed to realize that his end was near, sitting there in a daze, his face ashen.
After a long time, he finally said to Qin Chuan, "Why couldn't you just let me go? I just wanted to survive, I have a wife and children, I've fought for three years and earned several merits!"
"Yes!" Qin Chuan replied, drinking the water handed to him by a scout. "I know you wanted to survive, but did you ever think about your subordinates? They also wanted to survive, they also have wives and children, and they have also fought and earned merits!"
"But if I hadn't done what I did, everyone could have died!"
"You said it yourself, 'could have'!" Qin Chuan replied. "That's just a 'could have.' In reality, if you had used that half jug of water to hold on for a few more hours, you and your men... would all be saved now, every one of you!"
"But I didn't know that..."
"Private!" Werner, listening impatiently, said to the scout next to Berger, "Can you gag him? I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense..."
The scout quickly pulled a towel from his backpack and forcefully stuffed it into Berger's mouth.
Unable to speak, Berger could only glare at the others in the car, occasionally glancing outside as if contemplating whether he had a chance to escape, but he quickly gave up on that thought... there was no chance of success, and even if he managed to escape, it would still be a death sentence in the desert.
The convoy soon rejoined the unit. When Qin Chuan and the others got off the vehicle, the baker and others rushed over with surprise, saying, "Look who's back! We thought we'd never see you again!"
Bushra bowed slightly to Qin Chuan and the others, saying, "Praise be to God, you've returned alive. I am redeemed!"
Then the baker noticed Berger, bound and gagged, being led out of the vehicle and asked curiously, "What happened?"
Qin Chuan didn't answer, and Werner and the others didn't know how to respond either. After all, Berger was from their platoon, and this wasn't exactly something to be proud of for the unit.
However, even if Qin Chuan and the others didn't say anything, the soldiers could guess what had happened... in the desert, events are almost always related to "water" and "survival."
Bazell and the scout sergeant walked to one side, whispering to each other, occasionally glancing over. Soon, Bazell's expression turned grim.
Before the scout sergeant finished speaking, Bazell strode over to Berger, punched him hard, knocking him to the ground, then kicked him and cursed, "You bastard, you're a disgrace to the Empire, a disgrace to the unit!"
No one stopped Bazell, because everyone knew... Berger was beyond saving.
After a while, when Bazell was too tired to continue, he went to the communications vehicle to report to his superior... Bazell couldn't make the decision on his own; he needed to report and receive orders.
But everyone knew what the order would be.
Sure enough, the order soon came. Bazell turned to Kuhn and said, "Execution, by the first platoon!"
"No!" Berger cried out, his gag somehow having fallen out, pleading desperately, "Captain, please don't do this! I've earned merits, I can earn more to make up for my mistakes... please believe me..."
Bazell grabbed Berger by the collar, pulling him up and said, "Berger, die like a man, do you understand?"
Berger fell silent, realizing that shouting wouldn't change anything.
Bazell pushed Berger towards Kuhn and said, "Execute immediately!"
"Here, Captain?" Kuhn asked.
"Yes, right here!" Bazell said, "In a prominent place, let the whole unit see!"
"Yes, sir!" Kuhn turned and ordered Qin Chuan and the others, "First platoon, form up!"
All the riflemen of the first platoon lined up on the side of the road. Two soldiers dragged the trembling Berger to stand in front of the formation, about thirty meters away... at this distance, it was almost impossible to miss with the K98K, especially with fifteen rifles.
Qin Chuan was part of the formation. When he saw Berger's helpless expression, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. Was this really necessary? Berger was just someone trying to survive, and now he was being pushed into the abyss of death, his last hope extinguished.
But when he thought of the soldiers who had died at Berger's hands, Qin Chuan felt that what they were doing was right.
In any case, it was too late to change anything now, and no one could reverse the situation.
"Ready, aim!" Kuhn ordered.
After a brief pause, Kuhn shouted, "Fire!"
"Bang, bang, bang!" A volley of bullets struck Berger, blood splattered, and he collapsed to the ground like a log.
But he wasn't dead yet. He convulsed painfully on the ground, each spasm causing more blood to spew from his mouth.
Kuhn walked up, perhaps to finish the job or perhaps to end Berger's suffering. He drew his pistol, aimed at Berger's head, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!" The shot echoed across the desert wasteland, resonating for a long time.
It was finally over... though the entire process had only taken a few minutes, to Qin Chuan, it felt like an eternity.
It wasn't just because it was the first time Qin Chuan had killed someone at such close range, nor because Berger was one of their own, but because Berger's death was his doing.
In some ways, Berger was just someone trying to survive in this world, and Qin Chuan was the same, as was everyone here.
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