School

The baker was quite surprised by Qin Chuan and Werner's observations because he believed that such insights should be qualities of an officer—a person who could quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.

To verify Qin Chuan and Werner's viewpoints, and believing it might be beneficial for the unit, the baker decided to report the situation to the captain.

The captain, named Basil, was the commander of Qin Chuan's company. It was said that he had fought in World War I, which was evident from the three fingers missing on his left hand, a detail that had earned him the nickname "Captain Three-Fingers" among the soldiers.

Initially, Captain Basil didn't want to talk to the baker, as he was busy gathering his troops and preparing to launch an attack on the enemy lines. Qin Chuan noticed this and felt a surge of anxiety, as he realized that if the Germans attacked in such a way, they would likely end up like the bodies strewn across the battlefield—dead and never rising again, himself included.

But to Qin Chuan's relief, Captain Basil soon showed interest in what the baker was saying and glanced in Qin Chuan's direction.

Then the baker waved to Qin Chuan and shouted, "Come over here, Frick, the captain wants to speak with you!"

Qin Chuan quickly grabbed his rifle and ran over. Standing at attention in front of Captain Basil, he said, "Private Frick, sir!"

"You're a sniper?"

"Yes, sir!"

"You haven't seen the battle situation yet you can tell the 88mm flak guns won't be effective?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Hmm." Captain Basil looked Qin Chuan up and down, then said, "Soldier, what you've described is happening right now. I just want to know... do you have a solution?"

Qin Chuan was taken aback by the question. He had merely pointed out something based on the environment, but when it came to finding a solution...

"Sir!" Qin Chuan replied, "In any case, we shouldn't attack the way we did before, because it will only result in needless sacrifice of our tanks and soldiers!"

"Soldier!" Captain Basil frowned, "I'm asking for a solution, not for you to tell me what we should or shouldn't do!"

Qin Chuan quickly realized that they had no choice but to attack.

Rommel's style of command was attack, attack, and attack again. In his eyes, any obstacle could be overcome, and the British defensive line in front of them was no exception.

"I..." Qin Chuan looked back at the building and then answered, "I'm not sure, sir. I need to inspect the situation more closely!"

"Hmm!" Captain Basil seemed surprised by Qin Chuan's response. He gave Qin Chuan a look and then ordered the baker, "Take your men and accompany this private to inspect the situation. You have..."

Captain Basil lifted his left hand and looked at the watch on his wrist. Qin Chuan noticed that half of the white glove covering Basil's hand was empty, making it look like a deflated balloon... the nickname "Captain Three-Fingers" was certainly well-deserved.

"You have fifteen minutes!" Captain Basil said, "If you haven't come up with a plan by then, I'll send you into battle. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" The baker glanced at Qin Chuan, seemingly regretting his decision to get involved.

"So, what do you want to see?" the baker asked Qin Chuan as they ran along the defensive line with the squad.

"I want to look at that building!" Qin Chuan answered as he ran, "Because... I think it's the key point of the British defensive line. If they lose it, they'll lose their eyes, and things will be much easier for us!"

"Oh, God!" Paul complained, "You should know that the British aren't fools; they would have thought of this too!"

"Yes!" the baker agreed, "The British will certainly defend that building heavily. It will be difficult for us to break through there!"

Qin Chuan didn't respond because he wasn't entirely sure either.

Werner chimed in, "It doesn't hurt to try!"

"Doesn't it?" Paul retorted, "We'll end up being sent to the front line in front of the British tanks... and you know he'll do it!"

Werner laughed, "You say that as if we wouldn't face the British tanks anyway!"

"At least we wouldn't be sent into battle so soon, right?"

"What difference does it make whether it's sooner or later?"

...

"Enough!" the baker interrupted impatiently, "We shouldn't be arguing about this. We should be focusing on the task at hand!"

"Alright!" Paul said sarcastically, "Our current task is to accompany this private on a 'tour' of that building. And if possible, he might even ask us to clear out the enemies there so he can measure it personally!"

"Paul!" Qin Chuan couldn't help but respond, "I'm also following the captain's orders, and we only have fifteen minutes... no, we don't even have fifteen minutes anymore. Are you planning to keep this up and push us all into a hopeless battle?"

Paul fell silent at that because continuing like this wouldn't be good for him, the squad, or the entire German force.

Soon, Qin Chuan and his team reached the front of the building, which turned out to be a school.

And just as Paul had said, the British were well aware of the school's importance, so they had heavily fortified it.

This was evident from the more than ten tanks, both in plain sight and hidden, positioned below the building, as well as the rows of sandbags and machine guns at the doors and windows of the classrooms. The British had turned every classroom into a bunker, and with the school being five stories high and having over fifty classrooms, that meant there were over fifty points of fire.

It was easy to imagine that if the Germans launched an attack, they would soon face three-dimensional fire from the upper, middle, and lower levels. Particularly troublesome were the "Matildas" below, which formed an almost impenetrable steel barrier.

"Great!" Paul couldn't help but sarcastically remark again, "I'm all ready to attack now!"

Qin Chuan ignored Paul's sarcasm. He lay quietly behind the sandbags, observing the school through his binoculars, occasionally using a bullet to draw something on the ground and marking some numbers beside it.

"What are you doing?" the baker asked curiously.

Qin Chuan didn't answer; he continued his calculations. After a while, he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Sergeant, I think I've got a plan!"