Chương 138: Chapter 138 Return to the Soviet Headquarters
In terms of luck, besides the timing of crossing and the factions involved, Lynn could be considered very lucky.
At the end of the stairs was a dark room, unlike the previous sewer junction. Judging from the old walls and large pipes, it looked more like the basement of a building, housing sewage pipes and pumps. It was a space rarely visited unless there was a malfunction.
There was a door in the room, but the flashlight revealed that it was completely rusted shut. No matter how much force they applied, the heavy doorknob remained unmoved.
"Let me try!" Wolf Lurum lifted his assault rifle and smashed the door handle with the butt - a memento left by Eric's predecessor, the tall officer who had handed it to Lynn.
"Thud, thud." Just as Lynn worried that these noises would attract the attention of the Soviet troops outside, the door handle finally broke off. Wolf Lurum reached out and pulled, and the ironwood door creaked open.
Without hesitation, Flinks squeezed through the door first, holding his assault rifle with the infrared light switched on, ascending another set of stairs.
There was no sound outside, eerily quiet.
The order of exiting seemed to be associated with honor. Bruck also squeezed in front of Lynn.
The silent change made Lynn feel gratified and proud.
The stairs outside had only ten steps. After ascending, the space suddenly became unusually vast.
Despite the pitch-black surroundings, Bruck whispered, "It's a subway station!"
Although Berlin's subway system was not as ancient as London's, thanks to the powerful industrialization of the Second and Third Reichs, by the first half of the 20th century, it had reached an impressive scale. However, many backward countries had never seen what a subway looked like.
Upon reaching the stairs, Lynn stood quietly on the side. Infrared night vision goggles couldn't detect terrain or other objects without heat, so he focused, listening intently.
Unfortunately, the footsteps of the soldiers below slightly disturbed his concentration. Without hearing anything, he decided to turn on the flashlight.
Compared to searchlights or car headlights, the light emitted by the portable flashlight, powered by two batteries, was very weak. Surveying the surroundings, it was indeed a subway station platform. However, both sides of the tracks leading outward were blocked by huge blocks of collapsed concrete, so not even a subway carriage could be seen.
"The stairs are over here!" Teichmüller, with sharp eyes, pointed to the side steps. They appeared wide enough to accommodate five or six people side by side, likely leading to the subway entrance.
In this enclosed and quiet space, speaking softly was still very clear.
"I think it's blocked!" Lynn made a judgment based on logic and continued searching for other exits with the flashlight. However, the soldiers who attempted to find a way out quickly returned disappointed.
Bruck and another soldier each opened their portable flashlights, sweeping the three beams back and forth in the deep darkness. After a few minutes, someone said, "Hey, Captain, there's an emergency exit!"
Before Lynn could respond, the soldier had already walked over, pushing the door open and peeking inside. "Maybe it leads to the surface!"
If this abandoned subway station was indeed sealed off, Lynn had the sneaky idea of hiding here until the end of the war. However, his knowledge of history made him discard this lucky thought: even if Germany surrendered, Berlin still faced the prospect of being occupied jointly by the Soviet and Western Allied forces, and there was no guarantee of survival even if they managed to escape.
"I hope the exit isn't on an open street corner!" Brüel muttered.
Unless they went back the way they came, there seemed to be no other passage here. The soldiers one by one passed through the emergency exit door, climbed several folded stairs, and still saw no signs of air movement. Just as Lynn was about to give up hope, he suddenly heard a creaking sound from above. In an instant, a cold wind poured down.
"Captain!" The soldier walking at the front whispered, "There's a way out!"
Not only Lynn, almost everyone involuntarily hastened their pace, yet cautiously avoided making any noise.
Outside the door was not an empty street but the interior of a partially collapsed building. The collapsed floors and furnishings inside, combined with the partial collapse of the outer walls, made it look like the ruins of the ancient Roman Colosseum.
Lynn didn't have time to ponder why the emergency exit of the subway station was connected to a mall-style building. Moreover, the war's destruction had already transformed the surrounding environment beyond recognition. Just seeing the remnants couldn't infer their original appearance. Seeing the two soldiers who had come out before had taken up positions for vigilance behind collapsed columns and remaining cement blocks, he stepped out slowly, holding the infrared night vision goggles with his right hand - Wow, so many bright contours!
Sweeping the field of vision, Lynn immediately made a downward motion with his right hand, signaling the soldiers behind him to be careful. Based on the size and brightness of the outlines shown by the infrared telescopic sight, Lynn roughly estimated that the enemy soldiers were more than fifty meters away, which meant they were across the street in front of the building, and figures could also be seen on the first and second floors!
Could it be the Soviet headquarters?
Suppressed, anxious, resentful, angry, sorrowful - these complex feelings intertwined and surged from the depths of Lynn's heart. Lynn leveled his assault rifle, then turned to look at his soldiers, all of whom were ready to obey his instructions carefully.
"Alfred! Bruck! Gut!" Lynn lightly called out the names of the soldiers carrying the infrared night vision equipment, and they came to stand beside the commander.
While the distance from the enemy was still far, Lynn quietly briefed his combat plan, saying, "After the attack starts, except for Bruck leading two men to stay here for vigilance and support, everyone else follows me in charging! Alfred, you and Gut, one left, one right, shoot quickly and accurately, targeting those most likely to counterattack!"
The order sounded simple, and the three night combat soldiers accepted it without any objections, but it was not easy to execute - even Lynn himself couldn't guarantee it. However, judging by the quality of the Soviet soldiers and officers in 1945, such a battle would inevitably be a matter of who dares wins.
Next, Lynn spoke alone to the soldier operating the "Tank Killer" rocket launcher: "Noah, listen to my orders later. You'll be the first to hit the position slightly below the second-floor window across from us with a rocket, understand?"
This SS second soldier didn't belong to Eric's combat team; he was more like an additional "bonus" thrown in by the command headquarters. According to him, he had destroyed six Soviet tanks and armored vehicles in previous battles, but Lynn couldn't verify the accuracy of this claim. Noah's deputy, assigned to him, hadn't received specialized training. Unfortunately, besides Lynn, there was no one else here proficient with anti-tank weapons, so they had to undergo impromptu training on the move. Lynn wasn't sure how effective this would be.
Finally, Lynn called for Teichmüller, the youngest and weakest member of the night reconnaissance team. Although there had been opportunities to have Mottke, a more experienced soldier, help instead, perhaps Teichmüller's youthful appearance and fragile demeanor had stirred Lynn's protective instincts, so he ultimately brought the private along.
"Hey, buddy, listen up. You're pretty good at throwing grenades. Smash those damn Russians who try to attack us!" Lynn said, demonstrating the action of pulling the grenade pin with extra patience, which actually took only a few seconds.
Teichmüller nodded awkwardly. "Yes, sir, don't worry!"
Lynn lightly patted his shoulder with his left hand, then, in one swift motion, pulled down the rifle bolt without hesitation, giving the order, "Attack!"
In the dilapidated mall hall, fourteen shadows swiftly moved forward. Some jumped directly over the glassless French windows, some followed the leader out of the main entrance, and one person, holding a particularly large barrel with a small shield attached (as the original large shield was too heavy, many German soldiers preferred using smaller shields or removing the shield and wearing a mask to launch), knelt in front of a hole in a wall larger than an adult, aimed quickly through the glass window on the shield, and then a long spindle-shaped object with a bright tail flame and thick white smoke flew across the street toward the opposite side.
Suddenly seeing a group rushing over, some Soviet soldiers across the street tried to shoot with the machine guns set up on sandbags, while others directly picked up submachine guns to face them. But before they could pull the trigger, the German 88mm caliber Panzerschreck anti-tank rocket launcher's rocket, capable of penetrating 200mm armor plate, took the lead, carrying a hollow charge containing 660 grams of potent explosive, equivalent to six M24 long-handle grenades. The attacked Soviet soldiers had no chance to pick it up and throw it back - with a loud bang, three out of seven Soviet soldiers within a five-meter radius were directly blown away by the powerful explosion, and the remaining four had no chance to escape!
The nitrous smoke generated by the rocket explosion provided cover for Lynn and the attacking German soldiers. Lynn held his assault rifle with the infrared spotlight switched on, waiting for the flames from the explosion to disappear. Then he raised the assault rifle to shoulder level, slowed down his pace, and began a very rhythmic alternating stride. Initially, the infrared sight was bright due to the explosion's impact, but it dimmed shortly after. The bright outlines of the human figures appeared, and ignoring those who were lying or prone on the ground, he aimed at a crouching figure and fired two shots. In the sight, the person seemed to be struck by an invisible punch, immediately arching his body backward and falling, his hands uncontrollably spreading to the sides.
Next, another bright figure appeared in the line of sight, but before Lynn could pull the trigger, he was hit by several bullets in succession and fell trembling like a dry leaf in the wind.
Smelling the strong smell of gunpowder in the air, Lynn roared suddenly, "Soldiers, attack!"
If time had stopped at this moment, Lynn and his night soldiers' glorious image might have become the most beautiful scenery in the late-war German camp. However, they never expected that, in the blind spot directly opposite the building they were attacking, where they couldn't directly observe, there were a line of tanks and armored vehicles, with Soviet soldiers wearing boat-shaped caps or leather tank caps, replenishing ammunition and fuel for their combat vehicles, preparing for the battle to advance into the Berlin city center. Upon seeing this small group of German soldiers, they were all stunned, followed by strong indignation - wasn't this like slapping a tiger's butt?
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