Chapter 64: Awakening from the Dream

"Hey, Soldat!" (German: Hey, soldier!)

Hearing this voice drowsily, Lynn didn't realize it was calling him until his left shoulder was gently nudged. He jolted awake with a start, opening his eyes. Bending beside him was a German soldier with a steel helmet and a submachine gun slung over his shoulder, whose name Lynn couldn't recall, but knew he belonged to the civilian escort team.

Seeing Lynn awake, the soldier gestured for him to follow. As Lynn attempted to rise, he realized his right shoulder, arm, and side were "occupied" — the woman leaned against his shoulder, the little girl grabbed his elbow, her head resting on his abdomen, somewhere near the liver and spleen area, sleeping soundly.

Seeing the mother and daughter, Lynn recalled the brief conversation he had with them earlier and how he had watched them fall asleep. He had intended to spend the time reading the two "sacred books" but had unwittingly dozed off. Glancing at the "White Goat Beard," who seemed to have been awakened by the soldier calling Lynn just now, Lynn carefully moved Kaeseli's small head. With a helping hand from the soldier, they gently shifted the woman's head and upper body slightly to the right. Surprisingly, neither the mother nor the daughter woke up; they just moved naturally in their sleep.

Nodding towards the old man, Lynn got up quietly, picked up his assault rifle, and followed the soldier outside. The dim moonlight illuminated the snowy fields, and everything in sight was so tranquil. Over a dozen soldiers had already gathered near the first carriage, and when Lynn and two others arrived, the soldiers responsible for escorting the civilian convoy were mostly assembled.

The lead sergeant of the Wehrmacht, not particularly tall with small eyes and protruding cheeks, not as fierce as the "Butcher" but still giving off an impression of someone not to be trifled with, spoke in a low voice, "At this rate, we won't reach Königsberg until this time tomorrow. The condition of some of the wounded isn't good; we need to get them to the hospital as soon as possible!"

He referred to the wounded civilians transported in the carriage, mostly elderly people with some middle-aged women. Their physical condition was already not comparable to the soldiers', and without proper wound treatment, simple bandaging could only deal with minor injuries. If the injuries were severe, they indeed needed to be transported to a hospital with certain treatment conditions as soon as possible.

The soldiers instinctively glanced at the two carriages; although the road was difficult, the endurance of horses was generally better than that of people. As for the previously lagging civilians, although some had arrived during this time, it was clearly unrealistic to let them continue marching without rest.

"My idea is to send two people to escort the carriages first and then return to rendezvous after reaching Königsberg." Perhaps not wanting the civilians to hear, the sergeant intentionally lowered his voice. He glanced around at the soldiers' faces; seeing no objections, he continued, "I know a fellow townsman at the Königsberg garrison headquarters. If I can find him, there's hope of getting a car. This way, after a few trips back and forth, we can transport all the civilians to the city, and our mission will be considered accomplished!"

These words were easy for the other soldiers to understand — to try to save the lives of the severely wounded while also trying to get a car, the sergeant needed to accompany the carriages to Königsberg first. However, Lynn, whose German proficiency was not even comparable to that of a three-year-old German child, found it quite confusing. He could only memorize the sentences he didn't understand and later have the old man, Kaeseli's grandfather, translate them into English, which would at least make it easier to understand.

"If there are no objections, Korl and I will escort the carriages!" The sergeant spoke in a tone that suggested he was seeking opinions, but who would have a better opinion at this moment?

"Then it's settled! In my absence, the team will be led by... you, SS junior squad leader," the sergeant pointed to a thin SS junior NCO opposite him.

Among a group of Wehrmacht and SS soldiers, this SS junior squad leader had no choice but to accept the task, albeit reluctantly.

The sergeant then instructed the soldiers to unload a black pot and six large linen bags from the carriages. Judging from their appearance, they likely contained bread, potatoes, and similar items. If used sparingly, it should be enough for seventy to eighty people to eat four or five meals.

"All right, dismissed. Rest up and stay alert!" The Wehrmacht sergeant calmly issued the final order before departure.

Seeing the surrounding soldiers dispersing and not being specifically chosen, Lynn returned quickly, eager to recite the words and phrases he had memorized to the old man. With time pressing, there were inevitably some mistakes, but fortunately, the old man was quite knowledgeable and pondered for a moment before roughly recounting what had just happened to Lynn in English.

"Oh..."

Lynn realized but didn't fully comprehend. While he was familiar with the development trends of this period, the main weapons and equipment of the warring parties, famous generals, and some classic battles, he was unable to decipher the habits and conventions of handling small matters. Whether the Wehrmacht sergeant was genuinely concerned about civilians or taking advantage of the situation, Lynn couldn't tell, nor did he have any say in the matter.

The old man refrained from making any additional comments and just asked Lynn for some water to drink. After screwing the lid of the water bottle back on, Lynn remained kneeling on one knee, his gaze shifting from the old man to the mother and daughter. They nestled closely together, sleeping soundly.

In no time, the sound of the carriage moving awakened some of the civilians. As the last group to mobilize, their desire to leave their homes wasn't strong, so they didn't panic in this situation. Moreover, the soldiers who stayed behind quickly explained the situation to them. Consequently, the vast majority of civilians returned to their temporary resting places, and as the sound of horse hooves and rolling wheels faded away, the forest fell silent once again.

Gently lifting a corner of the blanket, Lynn stretched his legs and bent them, slowly shifting back to his previous position. In the chilly air, he could smell the fragrance of the woman's hair and the girl's scent, faint yet natural, unlike perfume but something that no perfume could replicate. It was a part of ordinary life, only detectable by those close.

Lynn wasn't inclined to sleep, so he lowered his head to look at the woman and the girl. Alice and Kaeseli, such beautiful names. Were they destined to be connected to him?

Due to the scarf, Lynn could only see Alice's slender, straight nose from his angle, reminding him of the female protagonist, Kate Beckinsale, in the Hollywood blockbuster "Pearl Harbor." Slim represented fragility, straight represented stubbornness, and when fragility and stubbornness combined, it formed a deeply pitiful and irresistibly sad state.

Despite being dressed as a boy, Kaeseli had the same delicate and beautiful face as her mother. Her eyes were large, her skin was fair, and whether in a jacket and pants

 or a dress and coat, she looked like an incredibly cute little toy in winter. Having such a daughter was the happiness of any father, but unfortunately, the German who followed Rommel to North Africa had no chance to enjoy it.

Thinking of the controversial "German God" Rommel, Lynn suddenly felt some resentment: Oh, Rommel, if only you had crossed the Suez Canal in one go, Germany in 1945 would not be in such a situation. Coming through time, at least you could enjoy the flavor and atmosphere of history without struggling for survival like a cockroach all day long.

Unfortunately, even if Erwin Rommel could understand Chinese, he couldn't respond to Lynn's emotions at this moment. According to historical records, this distinguished field marshal was implicated in an assassination attempt and committed suicide by poisoning on October 14, 1944, leaving endless regrets and speculation for military fans in later generations, leading to various discussions about "what if Rommel had lived until 1945."

Why couldn't he have transmigrated into Rommel in 1941 or even earlier? Lynn thought whimsically, that way, he would have had ample space to display his talents. Sweeping through North Africa, flattening the Soviet Union, and even invading Britain and America, only those who transmigrated through history could possess such unparalleled enjoyment!

Back to reality, however, he was still a poor soldier, and whether he could survive until the end of the war was still a big question. Buying one and getting two free, did he have the strength to support it?