Chapter 3: Day of Blood and Fire in Jutland

"Hainuo... Hainuo..."

In a daze, Zhang Hainuo suddenly heard someone calling his name. However, as his consciousness became slightly clearer, the first thing that struck his brain was a sensation of pain coursing through his entire body!

His forehead, both hands, abdomen, and thighs...

Good heavens, he found almost every part of his body in agony!

Yet, inexplicably, he couldn't control his body, not even manage to open his eyes!

What's happening to me?

Zhang Hainuo felt both shocked and anxious. He quickly searched his mind for his last memories before losing consciousness:

"My name is Zhang Hainuo, I am a student studying abroad, I am on vacation, this is a trip around Europe, I arrived in Greece, I reached Crete Island, I joined a sea diving tour..."

Suddenly, Zhang Hainuo remembered the strange object emitting a faint blue light. Could it be a sleeping electric eel? No, that's impossible, it couldn't be a fish! But what was it exactly? Could it be some special apparatus forgotten on the seabed, and he happened to be knocked unconscious by it, hence the pain all over his body, hence why he was now in the hospital receiving treatment?

Zhang Hainuo quickly accepted his own speculation. Yes, it must be like this! Since there was consciousness, since he could feel the pain on his body, at least it meant he wasn't dead yet!

"Hainuo... Hainuo..."

The voice came again, clearer this time. It was a male voice, sounding like a young lad, perhaps a companion from his diving tour group? Or a hospital staff member?

Zhang Hainuo tried to recall, but he still felt the voice was very unfamiliar.

After a couple more calls, the voice didn't resound again. The environment here seemed very quiet, yet faintly, there was a strange mechanical humming. As he thought about it, a wave of fatigue swept over him, and Zhang Hainuo lost consciousness once again.

Or more accurately, this time he drifted off into slumber.

In his dream, Zhang Hainuo saw a man wearing peculiar military attire. He was tall and slender, with neatly trimmed chestnut-colored short hair. His face was lean, his beard cleanly shaved, bearing the classical noble air of a Central European. His clear eyes seemed to carry a hint of melancholy. He wore a blue-black military uniform with double-breasted buttons, extending past the knee. Zhang Hainuo remembered this style of attire being issued only to some European military bands. His pants were gray, his shoes polished to a shine, and under his arm was a short-brimmed military cap with a shiny gold eagle emblem on a blue-black background.

Zhang Hainuo wanted to ask him who he was, but he couldn't utter a single syllable. The man's mouth moved as if he were saying something to him, but Zhang Hainuo couldn't hear a thing. The more he tried to make out what the man was saying, the more anxious he felt, until he unexpectedly opened his eyes.

In that instant, Zhang Hainuo's consciousness fully awakened, and now he could distinctly feel the pain he had experienced earlier.

But why, despite having his eyes open, was everything still pitch black before him?

"Uh... Is anyone there?"

Zhang Hainuo struggled to articulate these syllables. It didn't sound like his usual voice, but he didn't have time to dwell on that now.

"Hainuo, you're finally awake! Oh, thank goodness!"

A voice came from beside him, not very loud but filled with excitement. Soon, a faint light appeared before Zhang Hainuo. He strained to turn his head to look and saw a very unfamiliar face behind that dim light. It was a Westerner with blue eyes and a prominent nose, wearing a military cap that seemed oddly familiar.

"You... I... Where am I?"

Zhang Hainuo's mind was in disarray, unsure which question to ask first.

"You're in your own room. The military doctor has treated your wounds. He said other than the injury on your forehead, the rest aren't too serious! Do you know? I was afraid you'd remain unconscious forever, but now you're fine!"

The Western youth rattled off a string of words, almost overwhelming Zhang Hainuo's recently recovered brain. It took him much longer than usual to comprehend these words. It was only then that he noticed the Westerner had been speaking German all this while, and coincidentally, that was also the language he spoke upon waking up.

However, he still didn't understand what the Westerner meant by saying "this is your own room". Wasn't he traveling in Greece? And a military doctor? Did that mean he had been taken to some military hospital?

"Uh... Are the others okay?"

Zhang Hainuo meant to ask about the other dozen or so tourists on the cruise ship, but the response he received astonished him:

"Ah... It's terrible! Three dead and six injured in our torpedo room. I heard other battle stations also suffered heavy casualties! Right now, the 'Seydlitz' has basically lost its combat capability. The only good news is that we can still sail with the High Seas Fleet! Damn those British!"

Torpedo room... Heavy casualties... Seydlitz... High Seas Fleet... British...

The match went out, plunging the surroundings back into darkness. Zhang Hainuo's head was pounding as if it were about to explode, relentlessly repeating these words. Having lived in Germany for over three years, he couldn't possibly misunderstand these words.

Seydlitz... High Seas Fleet... British...

For others, they might not know what "Seydlitz" meant, but as a long-time part-time employee at Hansen's Antique Shop and the frequent target of Mr. Hansen's nagging, Zhang Hainuo was more familiar with this term than most. The former owner of Mr. Hansen's most cherished command knife was none other than Vice Admiral Sturantav Graf, the captain of the "Seydlitz". Thanks to this connection, Mr. Hansen was well-informed about the situation of the "Seydlitz". Under his influence, Zhang Hainuo, who already had an interest in military affairs, could even sketch out the basic layout of this warship!

Ship Name: Seydlitz

Ship Type: Battlecruiser

Affiliation: High Seas Fleet Reconnaissance Squadron, Imperial German Navy

Era: Laid down in February 1911, Launched in March 1912, Commissioned in November 1913

Tonnage: Standard 25,000 tons, Full load 28,500 tons

"Features: Fast speed, strong seaworthiness, excellent defense

War experiences: Battle of Dogger Bank and Battle of Jutland during World War I

Final fate: Sunk during Operation Rainbow in 1919

Thinking of all this, Zhang Hainuo was shocked. From the current situation, he was on board this famous battleship, and it had just experienced a naval battle. If everything was as he understood it, then this battle must be the famous Battle of Jutland - the only naval battle in the entire First World War involving the German High Seas Fleet!

Dizzy! A wave of dizziness!

"Hainuo! Hainuo! Are you alright?"

The Western youth beside him struck another match.

"I'm fine, just feeling a bit disoriented..."

Zhang Hainuo didn't know what to say. He gingerly touched his forehead with his left hand. It was heavily bandaged, clearly the most serious injury according to the young man. Perhaps he was hit by shrapnel directly?

Right hand - excruciating pain, obviously immobilized with splints and bandages. It seemed to be a fracture, hopefully without any lasting effects. Zhang Hainuo didn't want to end up with something like Parkinson's syndrome at such a young age.

Left hand - wrapped in thinner gauze, painful but still movable within a certain range. Probably just some superficial skin wounds. At least he could still use it for basic activities like brushing teeth, washing his face, eating, and so on.

Abdomen - darn it, very painful, wrapped in thick gauze. Who knew if there were shrapnel inside, or if there would be serious complications. Hopefully the medical technology of this era could handle it better.

Left foot - painful, fortunately the pain was in the thigh rather than the knee or the sole of the foot. It shouldn't hinder his ability to walk.

Right foot - probably the least severe of all. Pain in the side of the calf, seemed like a shallow abrasion.

After finishing his self-check, Zhang Hainuo could confirm that he still had some mobility. But he still wanted to understand one thing: how did he get injured, and why was he able to survive with injuries all over his body?

Before he could get an answer to this question, Zhang Hainuo began to feel around the surroundings with his left hand, the only part of his body he could move. He was lying on a bed wide enough for one person, moderately firm. Probably due to the higher temperature, he was only covered by a thin blanket. On his left was the cold bulkhead, and on his right was a small bedside table with the water glass the young man mentioned. At this moment, he realized he was very thirsty, so he picked up the glass and took a sip. There was nothing unusual about the taste, but after swallowing, the pain in his abdomen increased slightly. Could it be that his stomach was leaking?

In the darkness, Zhang Hainuo chuckled bitterly to himself. This was truly a disastrous time travel, a not-so-optimistic beginning!

After setting down the glass, he continued to feel around the cabinet for a while and found a knob switch that might control the bedside lamp. However, to his slight disappointment, turning this knob did not bring any light to the room.

Had the electrical system of this warship been completely destroyed?

That was Zhang Hainuo's first reaction, but he quickly thought of another possibility: during wartime, some ships would adopt light discipline during navigation, depending on the situation. To prevent inadvertent or malicious exposure of their own ships, some captains would order the closure of the ship's normal circuits and only retain essential power supplies. The lamps in the crew compartments clearly belonged to the former.