.“ Mr. Niklov, do you have any family in Russia? ”

"No more!"

"Do you have anything important left in Russia?"

"No more!"

"Is there anything else you'd like to explain?"

"No more!"

"So, let's get in the car!"

A few hours later, the train was carrying Niklov, two of his assistants, and more than forty other distinguished passengers to East Prussia in northeastern Germany. More than ten years ago, it was still an area with rich farms and vast pastures, and now the industrial circle centered on Königsberg has become the second largest industrial area in Germany after the Rhine-Ruhr industrial area, where there are hundreds of shipbuilding, metallurgy, oil refining, iron and steel, military industry, aviation, automobiles and other enterprises, and these enterprises have a common characteristic, that is, they all have the same prefix on their names - Gigi Group.

Along the way, Niklov got to know the passengers in the carriage, who were the standout performers in the Schneider Cup race, nine of the 28 individual competitors who made it to the second round, a dozen or so who failed to make it to the second round but had a good level and character in their own aircraft, and the rest were assistants, technicians and pilots they brought with them.

At this time, Niklov finally realized what the Empress had said, that this so-called race was nothing more than a means for the Germans to recruit talent.

The train finally stopped at Königsberg Central Station, presenting Niklov and others with a highly modern industrial city. Former fields and hills have been transformed into factories, blast furnaces and urban gardens, and four straight and wide avenues divide the city into four parts: the port area in the northwest, the residential villa area in the northeast, the heavy industry area in the southeast, and the science and technology industrial area in the southwest, and the convergence point of these four avenues is also the center of the city. It turned out to be a large park with beautiful scenery covering an area of more than 30 hectares!

In Niklov's eyes, the city, although it does not have the noble and elegant air of St. Petersburg, and at the same time does not have the opulent palace architecture, it can give people a feeling that has never been felt before. The streets are crowded with pedestrians, but there is no crowding, and the tram tracks are scattered with a prominent platform at intervals. There are many factories around the city, but because the more polluting refineries, chemical plants, and metallurgical plants are far away from the suburbs of the city. It's not as smoky or smelly as London, and the city is far greener than any known industrial city.

Just as Igor, who goes by the pseudonym Niklov, looked around curiously, the staff in charge of receiving them came over:

"Mr. Niklov, Mr. Semenov, Mr. Ryberdev, please get into this car!"

The pleasant Russian language made Igor immediately understand what the other party meant, so he beckoned his two assistants to get into a small car next to him. After getting into the car, he heard the tall and thin man say that this was not the common Daimler brand car in Germany, but he didn't know what kind of brand it was as a car enthusiast. At this time, the receptionist sitting in the front row turned his head and told them that this was a "Jiji brand" car, from the engine, car shell to bearings, tires are produced by enterprises under Jiji Group. Such cars were usually sold and used only within the group, as well as in the East Prussian region. If they are interested. You can own one for 200 euromarks.

After arriving at a factory in Königsberg's techno-industrial district, the Igor trio were taken to a three-story office building, where he met his new leader, Dr. Matthias, vice president of the aircraft design institute of the Gigi Aviation Group.

After shaking hands. Dr. Matthias picked up a document from the table and said:

"Mr. Niklov, welcome to join us! I read your material earlier, you are 29 years old, you worked as a technician in the design group of Dr. Zhukovsky, and later worked for a time at the Baltic Vehicle Plant, where you designed several types of civilian aircraft, right? ”

Of course, Igor nodded and admitted that the situation inside was not purely fabricated. He did work with Dr. Zhukovsky and learned a great deal from the father of Russian aviation theory, and he spent some time at the Baltic Vehicle Plant, where he designed and built the four-engine heavy bomber Russian Warrior and its modification, Ilya Muromets.

"Here I would also like to ask your opinion, would you like to participate in our military aircraft research, or civil aircraft research? It is important to note that regardless of the type of study you are participating in, we recommend that you work as a project technician for a period of time to familiarize yourself with our design research models and mechanisms. When the time comes, you can take charge of your own project alone. Of course, that's just our advice! ”

With that, Matthias looked at Igor very seriously.

Although he had already thought of the answer before he came, Igor pretended to ponder for a while, and from the technical point of view of his expertise, of course, it would be better to work on bombers, but he had always had a dream, that is, to build the kind of helicopter that Leonardo da Vinci depicted. However, now he does not have the power to choose the future of his own, and a few minutes later, he told the vice president:

"I want to design military aircraft, preferably fighters!"

"Well, fighter, very good, very good!" Dr. Matthias took a few steps back and forth in place with his hands behind his back, "Designing a fighter jet is the dream of most aircraft designers, but designing a fighter jet is not a simple task. Mr. Niklov, you have not designed a fighter before, not even a military aircraft, and it will take a long time to become a fighter designer all at once! If you insist on being a fighter designer, design a fighter on the blueprint so we know how adaptable you are, so we can better organize the rest of your work! Of course, we will still pay your salary during this period, and you will receive your signing fee immediately after signing this contract! ”

Igor received the contract in the nature of a labor contract from Matthias, the contract was in Russian, and when he read the terms of the contract, he was thinking about what the German vice president had just said. Although the other party's words were very polite, in the final analysis, they still did not want a designer who had just joined to come into contact with highly confidential fighter information. Otherwise, the Russian top would not have allowed themselves to acquire their technology in this way.

"There's nothing wrong with the contract, it's just the work below." Igor took out his pen, but stopped when the tip of the pen was about to touch the paper, and he raised his head, "Mr. Vice President, can I understand the conditions of the factory and the design and research mode while designing my ground fighter?" ”

Dr. Matthias pondered for a moment, stared at Igor for a few more seconds, and nodded in agreement.

"That's good. May we have a happy cooperation! ”

Igor quickly signed his "big name" on the contract: Taras. Niklov.

Subsequently, two of his assistants, Symenov the technician and the pilot Ryberdev, also signed their respective contracts, and on Igor's recommendation, they were to work in the aircraft technical department and the flight test department, respectively, with an annual salary of 10,000 and 15,000 euromarks, respectively.

After signing, Igor received a signing fee of 200,000 euromarks, which made his hands tremble, and his two assistants also received a signing fee equivalent to one-fifth of their annual salary, and Slim Highland Ryberdev immediately decided to use this money for a small part of the Gigi car they had just ridden.

A signing fee of 200,000 euromarks, an annual salary of 1,000,000 euromarks, and the attendant reputation, villas and women. Igor felt lost for a moment. He suddenly wondered why he had come here, and the rewards and titles promised by the Russian Empress were not as desirable as they had been compared to the generous terms offered by the Germans. But. Thinking of his homeland and his family, Igor still made up his mind, and he had to do his best to complete the scheduled task.

After signing the contract of work with the Gigiel Aviation Group, the three Igor left the office of Dr. Matthias and were taken to their respective residences, where the Germans promised that the accommodation conditions were also quite superior, and that Igor, as an aircraft designer, could enjoy a luxury apartment on his own, and then be rewarded with an apartment or a villa depending on the results of the design. As for the technicians and test pilots, they will live in suites of officer rank. It is also well equipped, and the only drawback is that life will be a bit monotonous, especially for women, because they will not be able to leave the work area without permission in the future.

After the Russians left, Dr. Matthias picked up the phone, "Help me pick up Colonel Schiffer from the Intelligence Department!" ”

On his first night in Königsberg, Igor tossed and turned in bed and fell asleep until near dawn.

The next day, Igor began a guided tour of the famous but mysterious German aviation company. Due to the assignment to different departments. Two of his assistants did not go with him.

To Igor's somewhat surprise, the guide and assistant he was assigned was a Russian, and a beautiful and young Russian woman, who introduced herself as Nastasia, whose mother was Russian and whose father was German, and that she had spent her childhood in Russia before moving to East Prussia at the age of 10.

"This area is a research and design area, and the aircraft parts are produced in the south of the factory, and the west is the aircraft assembly area!" When Nastasia walked in front, Igor couldn't help but look at her slender back in a uniform blue-gray short sleeve and short skirt from behind, and when she turned around, Igor pretended to be very curious about her surroundings.

"Well, the area is really large, and it can probably produce hundreds of planes a year!"

"To be exact, this is just one of the main design and production sites of our airline group, with an annual output of up to about 2,000 aircraft, but this is only a quarter of the entire airline group! There are also several factories of the same size scattered in other places, because the production in one place is easy to be damaged by the enemy, especially air raids! In the war four years ago, Russian planes bombed Königsberg, fortunately those bombs were not too powerful, and the accuracy was not high, so the city, port area and industrial area were not seriously damaged, and later the military strengthened air interception, and deployed a large number of anti-aircraft artillery around, plus the battle line moved forward, the Russians could not continue to bomb here! ”

Nastasia did not show obvious anger at the mention of these situations, after all, both sides of the war were considered her homeland.

This time Igor has nothing to say, you must know that those bombers happen to be his masterpieces, and the bombing of Königsberg was also actively suggested by him, the Germans obviously ignored the Russian air power during the first bombing, and they did not send fighters to pursue until the 3 bombers returned, but after that, the Germans re-examined and organized their own air defense system, and the 2nd and 3rd bombardments of Russian bombers were ferocious intercepted by German fighters, and after the loss of 4 bombers, Russia ** The bombing of the German mainland was cancelled, and the subsequent defeats in the East Prussia, Galicia, and Polish campaigns erased the only glimmer of joy that the Russians had at the successful bombing of the German mainland.

"Mr. Niklov, do you have anything on your mind?" Nastasia suddenly stopped to look at Igor, which made Igor, who was a little distracted, almost bump into her, and such a close distance still made Igor clearly smell the faint fragrance of Nastasia's body.

Igor reflexively took a step back, and then said in a panic:

"Uh...... Nothing, I was just thinking about something about design! Heh, you know, the vice president wanted me to design a fighter jet first, so I was thinking about it all night! ”

In such an embarrassing situation, Igor had to find some excuses to prevaricate, but when he saw Nastasia's cheeks flushed slightly, he couldn't help but have a very strange feeling in his heart.

"If you're not feeling well today, we can visit again tomorrow!" Nastasia smiled at the sudden embarrassment.

Igor's smile was a little overwhelmed, "Oh, oh, that's it...... But it doesn't matter, let's move on! ”

In the following time, Nastasia led Igor around the neighborhood and entered the civil aircraft design room for a close-up look, but when she passed through the military aircraft design area and production area, Nastasia's introduction was very simple, and her pace was much faster, which made Igor want to know more and more how many secrets were hidden inside.

In the evening, Nastasya returned Igor to his lodgings. After that, she went straight to Dr. Matthias's office.

"Doctor, everything is normal at the moment, I think it won't be long before the fish will be hooked!"