On Victory Strasse in downtown Berlin, there is a three-storey building built from the time of Frederick the Great. It is said that it was originally a private residence, but the owner was arrested for breaking the law, and the house was subsequently confiscated by the government. At present, it still has its original appearance, the high wall on the street side is crawling with climbing vines, and there is no sign at the entrance except for a sign that reads "33 Victory Street". All that is known is that people in hats and suits come and go, but few people know what exactly this institution is.

If radio waves were visible, people would be surprised to learn that this is a place where information is exchanged very frequently.

On April 25, 1915, a seemingly ordinary day, 33 Victory Avenue was still as busy as usual. Among the radio waves coming from all directions, there is one from the other side of the strait that seems ordinary, but contains very important content.

It was a rough morning in the middle of the Atlantic, and the sky was eerily gloomy with dark clouds. In the midst of unpleasant weather, a large, white steamer flying the American flag was heading in the direction of the Americas.

Shortly after lunch, two black dots appeared at the intersection of the sky and the sea to the south, and they grew in size, and people could soon see their appearance with the naked eye, as well as the flag on their masts that was even more terrifying than the pirate flag. In a short time, the two ships coming from a distance identified themselves by signal lights, and the steamer was lowered.

It was only when one of the German battleships, the "gendarmes" in the Atlantic, approached the steamer, that one realized how huge it was, and that the German cruiser was like a hound crouching next to a camel! A few minutes later, a group of German sailors boarded the huge, brand-new, luxurious cruise ship, built by the Americans, along the soft body of the ship's side.

"You're the captain?"

When he had ascended to the deck, the German naval officer spoke very politely and gentlemanly in fluent English, and across from him stood some of the crew, led by an old man with a crooked hat and a cigar in his mouth.

"Yes, Mr. Officer! I am the captain of this ship. We are the American cruise ship 'Kempini'! ”

The American captain replied equally politely. At this time, the American captain and crew had become very cooperative in the face of the German Navy's inspection, which was also the advice of the American government to them: Do not go against the Germans in the Atlantic!

"Oh! What a big ship! The officer looked up at the steamer's tall mast and chimney, which was indeed a very large ship with three chimneys, not inferior even to the German battleships not far away.

"Thank you!" The American looked at the German officer in front of him with the eye under his hat, his figure and appearance, his epaulettes and rank hidden under the black waterproof raincoat.

"Mr. Captain, I think you must know. We have the right to inspect passing ships in this area! Now, please show me the ship's technical drawings and passenger list! Thank you for your cooperation! ”

Behind the officer, there were two reinforced platoons of German sailors on board, but for such a large ship, they would probably have to take some effort and time to inspect it.

"Okay, please come with me!"

The captain turned and walked toward the control room, while the German officer said a few words to his lieutenant, and then left the deck with two sailors with guns on their backs. As usual, the other German sailors quickly gathered the crew on deck to a corner and took control.

Arriving at the richly decorated control room, the German officer looked surprised. Because this is indeed a cruise ship worthy of the word "luxury". He took off his raincoat as he looked around at the decorations. His navy captain's crisp uniform was revealed, and underneath the blue-gray military hat was a not-so-handsome but very youthful ground hole. The captain quickly took out the technical drawings of the ship from the safe, which contained detailed data on the ship and a map of the distribution of all the cabins. Another crew member brought a thin list of passengers.

"Cruise ship 'Kempeny'...... Completed on April 2o, 1914, with a displacement of 2,715o tons, a length of 19o meters, and a width of 24 meters......" the officer read softly, "uh, it must be as big as the Titanic!"

"No, sir! The Titanic is much bigger than us, and ...... Our luck won't be like that ship! The captain shook his head, he didn't like to be compared to the Titanic, because it was considered a "bad luck" ship. But it is very coincidental that the month of the sinking of the "Titanic" is the month when the cruise ship was completed. However, there are also people who believe that the "Titanic" was sunk by German submarines, because the superior performance of the German submarine forces after the outbreak of the war is really surprising.

"Oh!"

The officer handed the drawing to the soldier next to him, who then departed, and the German sailors below were to be guided by the drawing and soon began to inspect it. Then, the officer opened the passenger list and flipped through it unhurriedly, in fact, it was not easy to find anything from these names, if it was an important person or a spy agent, it was obvious that his real name would not be used here.

The officers read the names of the passengers as if they were amusementing. When he encounters a rare, unique or familiar name, he pauses, occasionally asks the ship's crew member in charge of the passenger list, and then scrolls on. This lasted for almost an hour before the review of the passenger list was completed.

"Okay!" The officer stood up from his comfortable chair, "Now I'm going to go around, okay?" Captain sit first! ”

Polite requirements for Germans. The captain had no choice but to agree.

"Of course! It's just that...... Please don't disturb my passengers! ”

At this time, the deck and the passage of the cabin were full of German sailors with rifles on their backs and in a hurry. For these Germans, who always had a straight face, the American sailors were mostly cold-eyed. As for the passengers on board, they either watched the Germans go about their business in silence, or a few people gathered in the corner to talk quietly, and for most people, as long as the Germans did not encroach on their lives and property, it was perfectly acceptable to delay some time.

"Report to the captain, we have checked the cargo hold and baggage hold, and there is no problem for the time being! Next, we're ready to check the cabins where the passengers and crew live! A sergeant who led the team on the inspection order reported to his commander the progress of the inspection.

The captain only admonished: "Be careful!" ”

In the seemingly aimless "just go around". The officers went to many places where it was possible to hide things. It is a pity that during the inspection, which lasted a whole afternoon, he and his soldiers had little decent gain. By the time it was time for the ship's meal, it was getting dark, and the Germans decided to finish their work.

The result of the inspection was acceptable to both sides, for the Germans, after all, it was a ship from England to the United States, and under normal circumstances, it was basically some civilians trying to escape the war. Most of the baggage carried in the cargo hold is passengers' luggage.

"Mr. Officer, aren't you dining on board?" The captain's tone was flat, but the tone was mocking.

The German officers did not do it. Instead, he politely replied:

"Thank you for the invitation, but the food on our ship is much better than here! If I had brought my dog, he might have stayed for a meal! Good bye! ”

When night fell, the American cruise ship "Kempney" said goodbye to the German warship and continued on its way, but the story did not end there. The captain of the "Kempeny" was relieved to see the German warship drifting away, but the captain had just begun to enjoy his own dinner. Watchtower Report: Two more unidentified ships have appeared to the south, and they are heading towards the ship!

"Is it the Germans again?"

The captain was shocked. There is a subtle change in expression on his face that is difficult for ordinary people to detect. After a few seconds of pause. He continued to use the silver spoon to feed the food into his mouth, but the food on the plate did not look so hearty and tasty, and was even a little shabby compared to the silver cutlery. Nevertheless. This dinner is out of reach for most people in mainland Britain.

Dinner ended in a hurry. The captain wiped his mouth.