Chapter 9: Extreme Cold

Emerging from a long and deep dream, the first subconscious judgment Lin En made was about his location: a dark, confined space filled with coldness—could it be that he had returned to that winter night before the crossing?

His body still felt weak and powerless, yet the overwhelming fatigue was gone. Lin En initially thought he had returned to the modern world, feeling both astonished and somewhat melancholic, even reluctant. After a brief pause, the soreness and numbness in his shoulders and legs brought a sense of relief. He struggled to raise his left hand and felt the cold metal. His movement woke someone beside him, who exclaimed in German, "Commander Gargoyle, you're awake!"

In his dreams, he had mostly spoken Chinese, so Lin En had to adjust his thoughts to adapt to the German environment. He replied, "Oh, how long have I slept?"

"Three days!" came the immediate response.

Recalling the memory, Lin En realized the speaker was Brewer, the smartest among his six soldiers.

"Three days... that's quite long!"

"Yes, the medic said it was normal sleep, or we would have been very worried!" Brewer said with a smile. Soon, the voices of Noah, Tanze, and Teichmeyer also came from the darkness:

"The commander is awake?"

"Commander, how do you feel?"

"Commander, are you alright?"

Their concern warmed Lin En's heart. He calmed himself and, feeling the coldness through his nose, confirmed the low temperature of the surrounding environment. It seemed that during the past three days, the submarine had continued northward, entering a high-latitude, frigid area.

"Uh, much better than before. Where... are we now?"

Brewer replied, "I heard we left the North Sea and entered the Norwegian Sea yesterday. Now we are heading northeast!"

"Oh!" Lin En estimated based on his memory of the European map. It seemed the submarine was still in the Norwegian Sea—a northern European country with a coastline of over 1,600 kilometers (nearly 1,000 nautical miles). With a surface speed of less than 20 knots, a standard submarine would need at least three days to navigate this stretch. They had entered the Norwegian Sea just a day ago!

"Commander, have some water!" Brewer had already opened the canteen, pouring a bit of water and carefully bringing it to Lin En's lips. Lin En leaned his head forward slightly and drank the water smoothly. Though not ambrosial, the cold taste was refreshing. He swallowed it, and his empty stomach, like a drought-stricken land, finally received the moisture it craved, a wonderful feeling.

"Thirsty, huh!" Brewer said with a smile, seeming in good spirits. He poured another capful of water and said, "While you were unconscious, we took turns feeding you water, just a few drops on your lips each time to avoid choking you!"

Grateful for his comrades' care, Lin En drank another mouthful of icy water and remarked, "It's so cold! The water in the canteen is almost freezing!"

Tanze, leaning behind Brewer, laughed and said, "Because of the cold, we've been trying to sleep close to you these past two days for warmth! The temperature keeps dropping, but they said we should reach our destination by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest!"

"Oh!" Lin En responded, but the rough information wasn't enough to determine the exact location of the "sanctuary." He thought for a moment and realized that the quirky and sarcastic Major Ziegenkurt had been silent since his awakening. Lin En quietly asked Brewer about him.

Brewer replied, "The Major and the Captain should be in the control room, maybe on deck with the Captain!"

Tanze added, "Commander, you must be hungry. We've kept your rationed food safe, look!"

Feeling capable of movement, Lin En raised his left hand and took a few warm potatoes from Tanze. Seeing him pull out more from his coat, Lin En quickly stopped him, saying, "Enough, enough, I can't eat that much in one meal! You're injured too; you need to eat more to recover faster!"

Tanze laughed, "The daily rations on the boat are limited, but enough to fill our bellies! It's just a pity we can't save hot soup for you, but dinner time is in a bit over an hour!"

Slowly chewing and swallowing a potato half the size of an egg, Lin En rested for a moment and drank another sip of water with Brewer's help. Feeling his strength steadily returning, he didn't rush to get up but chatted with his brothers. From them, Lin En learned about the events of the past three days. Despite the dangers along the way, the submarine hadn't been delayed significantly and seemed on track to reach its destination as planned.

"Today is May 3rd..." Lin En thought of the historical records he knew. The Führer had taken his life with his wife, the Goebbels family had perished, Berlin was completely captured, and Dönitz, following the Führer's will, had begun negotiating surrender with the Allies. Did all these events still happen as scheduled, with the "Aryan Ark" plan in progress?

Curious, he asked his soldiers about the outside world. They had heard bits and pieces during their shifts, mentioning Berlin's fall and the Führer's "death." Most of them believed it was an Allied trick to demoralize the German army.

Lin En wasn't surprised by the soldiers' thoughts; he just used the external news to confirm some of his conjectures. During dinner, Major Ziegenkurt and Captain Motechig returned to the stern compartment. Seeing Lin En awake and able to eat on his own, the major sarcastically remarked about the "nine lives of a Danish cat." The captain, mindful of his superior's attitude, didn't say much but gave Lin En a cigarette and a piece of chocolate, both much-needed by someone recovering from an injury.

With his body only just beginning to recover, Lin En didn't have the energy to extract information bit by bit from the major, knowing that Motechig wouldn't easily disclose anything either. After finishing dinner, he tried to get up and move around. Although he still felt a bit lightheaded and weak, he managed to walk without losing his balance. Once he had adjusted a bit, Lin En made his way through the submarine's passageways to the command cabin. SS soldiers and submarine crew members were still packed into the cramped space, indicating that the number of personnel on board hadn't decreased. Upon reaching the command cabin, he saw his naval colleagues and SS officers busy at their stations, which reassured him.

Not seeing the pipe-smoking captain and his deputy, Lin En greeted the chief engineer and then walked over to the helmsman's position. "Hey, Lambert!"

Due to the drop in temperature, the helmsman had a scarf wrapped around his neck and a woolen cap on his head, turning to Lin En with the same half-asleep expression. "Hey... Lin En! I heard you were in a coma due to an infection. How are you feeling?"

"Much better!" Lin En replied while glancing at the dials in front of the helmsman. The submarine was heading north-northeast at about 35 degrees, and its depth of less than 5 meters indicated it was in surface navigation.

"Good to hear! Want to take over?" The helmsman immediately stood up as if the seat were burning hot, eager to leave it.

Lin En sat down, finding the cushioned seat much more comfortable than the cold, hard floor. Although the command cabin was crowded, cold winds carrying icy spray blew in from the hatch leading to the conning tower, making it far from warm.

"I must have forgotten a lot while I was unconscious. You might have to teach me again!"

"You're joking!" The helmsman punched Lin En's left hand. "Because you were out, I've been up for three nights straight. I haven't even slept 10 hours in the past three days!"

At this point, Lin En didn't feel the helplessness of cramming for exams before, and he smiled cheerfully. "Go ahead! Go ahead! If I have any problems, I'll ask the chief engineer for help!"

The helmsman yawned, unwrapping the large gray scarf from his neck and wrapping it around Lin En's. "He hasn't slept in forty hours either! But... we might reach the port tonight. When that happens, come get me from my cabin! Only a professional helmsman can handle the finer work."

"Sure!" Lin En replied promptly. Before the helmsman turned to leave, he asked, "Is 'reaching the port' a technical term?"

The helmsman, still yawning, replied, "Uh-huh! Whether entering a port or directly into a submarine cave, we call it 'reaching the port.' Good night!"

Seeing Lin En settled, the chief engineer walked over, checked the dials, and then advised, "In these cold waters, our rudder and propeller might respond sluggishly or even freeze. If you notice any abnormalities, report to me immediately!"

"Got it, sir!" Lin En replied, then checked his watch. It was 7:40 PM. He remembered that the Arctic Circle experienced long days and short nights in the summer, and being May, it was probably still bright outside. Since the sinking of the "Tirpitz" by the British with massive bombs, the threat of the German Navy to Allied Arctic convoys had diminished. With many submarines recalled to the homeland and the Baltic Sea, Allied ships had shifted focus to the Pacific War. Thus, it should be relatively safe for the German submarine to navigate the cold, remote waters of the eastern Norwegian Sea at this time. Consequently, during the first half of the night, Lin En only received three steering commands, all minor adjustments to course or to avoid reefs.

After midnight, the air coming in from the hatch grew even colder. Lin En's toes started to go numb inside his boots, and his fingerless wool gloves became useless. Like the other crew members, Lin En kept rubbing his hands and stamping his feet but still shivered uncontrollably. Close to 1 AM, the conning tower transmitted the order to prepare for port entry. Before Lin En could call him, the helmsman, Lambert, showed up, sleepily pushing Lin En aside. "Go get some sleep, comrade Lin En!"

The prolonged watch had indeed made his recovering body tired, but the thought of the long journey ending with the submarine entering the mysterious "sanctuary" filled Lin En with excitement and curiosity. He wanted to see this hidden refuge from the outside but was firmly refused by the chief engineer when he requested to go on deck. At that moment, some crew members who had been on deck were also sent back inside, leaving only a few, including the captain, outside. Moreover, the captain issued strict orders through the voice tube: all personnel were to stay at their posts, not move around, and were forbidden from going to the deck or the conning tower. No one was allowed to use the periscope, and the navigator was to destroy the charts immediately.

With the issuance of these orders, a heavy and solemn atmosphere settled in the submarine. When the navigator tore up the charts and burned them in a bucket, the smell of burning paper spread, and everyone waited anxiously and expectantly for the impending moment.