章 23: Chapter 21 Deteriorating Injuries
However, the first problem Wang Zhong had to face was the growing urge to sleep.
He didn't know if it was because he was close to Su Fang, but late at night, Wang Zhong began to sweat profusely, and the breath he exhaled was frighteningly hot.
As his body heated up, his brain also became as slow as if it had been filled with lead.
In a daze, Wang Zhong wondered if he had a fever.
He remembered the wound on his shoulder.
He vaguely recalled someone saying the wound was in very bad condition and that he would likely develop a fever soon.
Who said that again?
His mind was too foggy to remember.
His consciousness gradually blurred, and he finally fell completely into a deep sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, the scenery flashing by the window indicated that the convoy was passing through a small town.
In a haze, Wang Zhong heard Prosen speech and immediately snapped awake—his head still foggy, of course.
His first instinct was to draw his gun, but a slender hand held down his weapon, "Don't worry, they just said 'be careful ahead, enemy-occupied zone.'"
Because his body felt so awful, it took Wang Zhong a moment longer than it should have to realize that the enemy-occupied zone mentioned by the Prosen devils was our army's controlled area.
He looked at his watch, but it took him a full second to understand the time: 3 a.m.
It was only three in the morning, but the eastern sky was already turning pale, and Wang Zhong, the southern spud, had never seen the day break so early.
Wang Zhong stared eastward for a few seconds before he remembered to switch to an overhead view to be vigilant of his surroundings.
Before he could switch, Su Fang said, "You have a fever, it's because of the wound, isn't it? The mobile field hospital is right behind us and they didn't even give you any penicillin."
Wang Zhong, "They didn't have the chance, they've mostly been chased around by the enemy."
When he spoke, the air coming out of Wang Zhong's mouth was scorching hot.
When he was silent, he didn't notice, but speaking made Wang Zhong feel thirsty, so he reached for his water bottle, only to find the broken strap.
Then a water bottle with the cap already off was handed to him.
Su Fang, "Drink more. Sorry, I... didn't realize you might be dehydrated."
"Thank you," Wang Zhong took the water bottle and took a large gulp. Perhaps because he was feverish, he felt like a sponge, absorbing the water as soon as it entered his mouth.
After guzzling water, Wang Zhong felt much better, and he switched to an overhead view, confirming that there were no enemies ahead.
That's when Su Fang said, "You should get to the rear to recuperate as soon as possible; you look very pale."
Wang Zhong, "But only after we've escaped danger."
After that, Wang Zhong saw four tanks stationed on a hillside in the overhead view.
He instinctively cried out, "Stop!"
The jolt from the braking almost made Wang Zhong vomit, and he was already feeling very uncomfortable, almost as if his brains were being shaken to a pulp.
The good news was that the tanks on the hill were not enemies.
The tanks of the Prosen Empire were painted gray, much like those of another German army in a different timeline, while the ones on the hill were all khaki.
Don't the countries in this timeline understand the concept of camouflage?
These khaki tanks seemed much larger than those of the Prosen Empire, aside from the main turret armed with a short-barreled gun, there were two smaller turrets in the front, looking as if they grew a weird pair at the front of their bodies.
This design looked somewhat familiar to Wang Zhong.
The Soviet T28 multi-turret tank?
Wang Zhong had driven that in "War Thunder", noting its standout feature of thin armor but good firepower, with the 45mm gun having decent penetration and damage.
Placing these things on top of a hill—
Suddenly, Wang Zhong realized something much more critical: they were sitting in a German truck!
Wang Zhong, "Turn off the lights, turn them off quickly! Signal the vehicles behind us to do the same too!"
Friendly fire is a common occurrence on the battlefield, especially when using captured equipment.
In the autobiography "Tigers in the Mud" by the German ace tank operator Otto Carius, he mentioned that the armored troops unanimously agreed the T34 tank was too good not to use, so they had no qualms about using captured tanks for themselves.
Despite painting huge iron crosses on the tanks, they still got taken out by their comrades. It was after that when old man Carius abandoned the idea of getting a T34 for himself to drive.
Wang Zhong didn't want to die by friendly fire.
He asked Su Fang, "There are our tanks on the hillside ahead, can you get in touch with them?"
Sufang looked ahead with suspicion. Although the eastern sunlight was becoming more apparent, visibility on the ground was still less than five hundred meters. They couldn't see any tanks at all, and even the distant hills were only silhouettes. There was no trace of tank tracks to be found.
Sufang, "You must be delirious with fever, right?"
Wang Zhong, "Can we establish contact or not!"
He was sick now, feeling terrible, so his temper was a bit bad, too.
Sufang shrank his neck and replied, "Then I need time to perform Mass, and I also need to see if there is a Hymn Monk on the other side."
Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, realizing that they would have to think of another method.
"The tanks should have radios; we have captured radios, let's try to see if we can call them," he said.
Sergey, "We do not know the communication frequency of the tank units, nor do we know their agreed-upon codes and radio call signs. They won't believe us with the current situation on the battlefield."
Wang Zhong leaned on his forehead, feeling a headache—but this was probably not because of the difficult problem before him, but because he was running a fever.
In such a state, Wang Zhong made a decision that the usual him would definitely not have made.
He said, "Tie a white flag and the Ante Army Flag to our vehicle; let everyone get out of the car. You get out, too, Sufang. When it gets lighter, we'll drive forward. If we successfully make contact with the tank units, we'll fire a signal flare."
Sergey's face turned green, "Do we both really have to go? Can't someone else do it? Can't others make contact with the tank units too?"
Wang Zhong simply didn't hear Sergey's words. He was feverish, feeling as if his brain might start boiling at any moment.
After waiting a few seconds without a response, Sergey sighed and said with a sob in his voice, "Alright, alright."
Sufang, "How do I get out? Should I climb over the two of you? Sorry, that's a bit..."
Wang Zhong opened the door, but when he tried to get out, his legs gave out, nearly causing him to fall headfirst.
Luckily, someone caught him in time.
In a daze, he saw familiar silver hair.
Ludmila was supporting his shoulder, asking with concern, "Alyosha, you...you look very pale!"
It took Wang Zhong half a moment to remember Alyosha was a nickname for his own name, Aleksei. Indeed, this girl was very familiar with him.
As he thought this, Wang Zhong released all his strength, leaning on the girl.
Ludmila stepped back to support the weight of the grown man.
After hesitating for a moment, she still asked, "Monk Yeca Neiko sent me to ask why we've stopped. What happened?"
Wang Zhong, "There are our armored troops up ahead, we stopped to avoid friendly fire."
Ludmila looked ahead, her voice filled with doubt, "Ahead?"
At this moment, Sufang poked her head out of the car, looking embarrassed—she had just been blocked by Wang Zhong and couldn't get down.
Seeing this, Ludmila pulled Wang Zhong back a few steps.
Sufang got out of the car, awkwardly straightening her slightly disheveled clothes, and said, "Uh, I am a Hymn Monk, and according to the rules, I must stay by the side of the highest commander."
"Oh," Ludmila nodded, "You've worked hard."
At that time, Yegorov came to report, "The military flag and the white flag are both tied properly."
"Got it," Wang Zhong replied, reluctantly leaving Ludmila to climb back into the driver's seat.
At that moment, his limbs were still without strength, especially his injured right hand, which was limp and made it difficult to even hold a telescope.
Currently, he certainly couldn't climb back onto the vehicle. Seeing his state, the two girls quickly came over and together pushed him up.
Ludmila, worried, asked, "What are you going to do?"
Wang Zhong, "To establish contact with the tank units to avoid friendly fire."
Yegorov, "Shouldn't I go instead..."
Wang Zhong, "No, this is my job. Your soldiers trust you, not me. If I stay, I can't command them."
In reality, Wang Zhong's ability to think was severely limited at the moment; otherwise, he would definitely realize that the most rational action would be to send two volunteers.
Unfortunately, he was not capable of thorough consideration now, and the people around him, after a whole day of maneuvering, had become accustomed to following his orders.
Sergey, with a morose face, "Can't you switch with me, Yegorov?"
Wang Zhong closed the car door and with a wide sweep of his hand, declared, "Drive."
Though Sergey appeared to be a timorous wreck on the surface, he still started the engine.
Thus, the car bearing the white flag and the Ante Army Flag drove eastward, facing the dawn.
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