Chapter 68: Pondering and Seeking

After lunch, the first group of sixteen lucky civilians boarded a German Wehrmacht SdKfz 251 medium armored transport vehicle and left the "Oliver Line". With a wounded soldier from the army and three severely wounded civilians in the cabin, the crowding was imaginable, but many people who couldn't board still looked on with envy.

"Let's go! It's such nice weather; we should walk more!"

The casual words of the bearded soldier dispelled Lynn's concerns. As escort soldiers, he and Private Carl could influence the selection of boarding passengers. Besides, the bearded soldier was old enough, and the young widow Alice with her young daughter Käthe were prioritized. However, they ultimately abandoned this selfish idea and, together with other soldiers, transported the most difficult and disadvantaged civilians, including a mother with her baby in a cradle, on this uncomfortable but fast half-track armored vehicle.

For Lynn and Private Carl, the task of preparing lunch had been successfully completed, earning them verbal praise from the Unteroffizier of the Waffen-SS. Subsequent tasks followed: leaving the group first and preparing dinner for the rest of the troops. It sounded somewhat mundane, but the two young soldiers of the Waffen-SS accepted the task without hesitation. Considering the further reduction in the number of people, only half a bag of bread and half a bag of potatoes were needed for dinner. Carl combined them into one, along with a simple and clear large black pot, which he carried on his back. Lynn freed one hand to help the bearded soldier and Alice with their luggage— he even learned a German phrase from Carl: "It's okay, I have strength."

Upon hearing this phrase, the bearded soldier remained expressionless, while Alice smirked. This was the second time Lynn had seen her smile, and both times were closely related to himself, making him somewhat elated, and his steps as light as they were at the beginning of the journey.

"Dad, where are we going?"

Sitting in Lynn's arms, little Käthe asked in her childish voice— in Lynn's awareness, this tone was characteristic of her age group.

"To the seaside... to ride a boat, okay?"

To maintain sentence coherence, Lynn used two English words for "ride a boat", leaving little Käthe puzzled. At this moment, the young woman spoke in German beside them. Upon hearing this, little Käthe clapped her hands joyfully: "Okay! Ride a boat!"

Lynn turned to Alice and quickly said in English, "Can you speak English?"

"Of course!" the woman replied playfully. "But not much!"

"That's enough!" Lynn nodded with a smile. From Alice's reaction when she heard him accidentally speak English last night, she probably understood some English.

Alice subconsciously pursed her lips. As Lynn turned back to continue walking, she whispered in English, "But I think you should learn more German and try to master it as soon as possible!"

Without stopping his pace, Lynn turned his head to look at her and said, "Thank you for the reminder!"

"You're welcome!"

The simple and smooth English conversation between the two enhanced their understanding of each other imperceptibly. However, English had become Lynn's "native language", and he had to thank the wise decision of the country to promote English. It was also a matter of fate— his English proficiency was just enough to pass the CET-4 and CET-6 exams. If he encountered some slightly unfamiliar sentences at a critical moment, he would be at a loss— it's like a mute person eating bitter melon!

On the way from the "Oliver Line" to Königsberg, the vast fields still belonged to the typical landscape of East Prussia: open terrain, rolling hills, and lush vegetation. The white snow covered the land like a natural cotton quilt. If it weren't for this brutal war, the prosperous East Prussia should have had a good year next year. The small and large forests here were like herds of cattle and sheep strolling on the grassland, appearing naturally in sight without any abrupt feeling, but the real cattle and sheep had long disappeared. They might have been processed into cans early on and shipped to the Eastern Front to help German soldiers get through the difficult winter, and a considerable part of them eventually became trophies of the Soviet army.

"Look, an airplane!"

Little Käthe pointed to the field on the right, where there was a crashed plane near the grove. The damaged fuselage still showed the olive green paint, and the broken tail wing had a dazzling red star. Judging from the silhouette, Lynn roughly speculated that it belonged to the DB or SB series of twin-engine fast bombers. Its power and function were naturally incomparable to the main bombers of the Allies. By the end of World War II, the land forces of the Soviet Union were exceptionally powerful, and as a result, the tactical air weapons of the air force had risen strongly due to the war. The strategic forces of the navy and air force were obvious weaknesses— such a structure was very similar to that of the German team during its heyday. Therefore, many people analyzing the post-World War II European situation believed that if a direct war broke out between the Red Camp led by the Soviet Union and the Western capitalist camp led by Britain and the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, even without considering the advantage of US nuclear weapons, the Red Camp would still lose the war in the end.

Lynn had also done some analysis on the prevailing "speculation about the outbreak of the Third World War in 1946". According to speculation on paper, even if nuclear weapons were excluded, the Soviet Union would still fail due to the inadequacy of its war potential. However, European countries such as Britain and France would also not escape. The real beneficiaries would still only be the United States. However, Lynn believed that the strategic bombing power of the United States dominating the world was not a decisive factor in determining the outcome of the war but rather because of its strong economic and industrial strength and unique geopolitical advantage— strategic air forces were just a powerful weapon for this super giant to win the war. Considering various factors such as manpower, material resources, national character, and international environment, if one side was significantly stronger than the other, then the outcome of the war was already determined before the war began, with the difference only in the time and process of the war.

Unfortunately, Lynn's analysis so far was still just paper talk and self-admiration. In that era of peace when the "end of the world" was widely discussed, as a civilian, he had no chance of war practice. Mercenaries? Not to mention that he was physically unfit, even if he joined those legendary mercenaries, they would only act as front-line thugs for behind-the-scenes forces.

Returning to reality and looking ahead, the straight road under his feet extended all the way to the blue-gray distance. It was a place of hope, but also a very practical reminder to himself: you're just a small foreign volunteer, hurry up and save your life! Daydreaming about national politics here is just wishful thinking!

Laughing self-deprecatingly in his mind, Lynn stepped forward. Anyway, there were still people to talk to and converse with along the way, to practice German well, just in case he returned to his own time and space after biting the dust. By then, knowing an extra language would mean an additional survival skill.

"Daddy, daddy, I'm thirsty, I want to drink water!"

Like most children her age, little Kaceli would shout out new requests every now and then. Lynn didn't find it annoying this time; instead, he felt like his role as a surrogate father was playing a positive psychological role. This girl was a typical war child just yesterday, with worrying psychological issues. In just a day, she had become cheerful, happy, and everything seemed normal again. Once the root of the problem was addressed, even the mood of the young widow and the bearded man improved.

"Okay, our Kaceli wants to drink water!"

Lynn stopped in his tracks and took out a water bottle from the pouch behind him. The water that had possibly been stored for several days was poured out and replaced with fresh water when they cooked at the "Oliver Line". He unscrewed the cap and let little Kaceli take a few sips. Suddenly, he felt that children's stomachs were delicate, so if conditions permitted during dinner, it would be better to give her boiled water. It seemed like he was really taking on the role of a father—being a responsible actor and whether he should also play the role of a woman's husband?

Lynn subconsciously turned his head to look at Alice and found the young widow staring at his back. Could it be that his figure resembled her deceased husband's?

Meeting Lynn's gaze, the woman quickly lowered her head, concealing her pretty face with a hint of blush under her shawl.

Although his mother had always taught him to be an upright person, being alone with a woman like this, even if unintentionally sparked, in this era of war and chaos, it wouldn't be considered improper conduct...

Lost in his thoughts, Lynn suddenly heard Carl say, "Hey buddy, can we take a break?"

Turning back, the second-class soldier carrying the black pot was wiping his forehead, and following his gaze, Lynn noticed a small stream to the right of the road ahead. It flowed quietly through the culvert beneath the road, extending into the distant woods across the snowy fields.

Considering that the old man and the young widow might be a bit tired from walking this stretch, Lynn replied, "Sure!"