Somewhere in North Wales, in a farmhouse where you can often hear the roar of airplanes, thick curtains block the sunlight outside the room, giving people a feeling of suffocation and oppression, but the sound of relaxing and melodious music wafts in the ears. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Lieutenant Martin-Petersen, a pilot of the Royal Irish Navy who had been shot down on a combat mission and had been taken prisoner by the British, sat in an uncomfortable position on a wooden chair with his hands tied behind his back, and a table was placed opposite him, on which a lamp was placed on it, and the harsh light made him reluctant to face it, so he tilted his neck awkwardly.

Behind the desk sat a British officer in a khaki uniform and big riding boots, smoking a cigarette and saying in a threatening tone: "Mr. Ensign, let's put it this way, I am a very patient man, and so are my colleagues. If you insist on not answering my question, we will keep asking, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, it doesn't matter, we can take turns asking, when you have an answer, when you can eat and sleep. Now answer my three questions: Which air wing do you belong to? How many planes are there in your wing? Which airport are you flying from today? ”

"My name is Martin Peterson, I'm 27 years old, Second Lieutenant in the Royal Irish Navy, fighter pilot." Peterson took the trouble to repeat his identity, and remained silent.

The British officer remained unfazed, and he casually looked through the items on the table, including pistols, identity papers, watches, chocolate candy, first aid kits, pound bills, and family photographs, all of which were found on the Irish pilot's body, revealing no military value.

The British officer's gaze finally stopped at the black-and-white photo: "This is your wife and daughter?" Well...... You have a charming little princess who is as lovely as my daughter. I think the happiest thing in life is to be with my family, but unfortunately as soldiers, we are separated from our families most of the time. ”

Peterson squeezed out a wry smile and said nothing.

"How about we make a deal?" With that, the British officer turned the glare lamp in a different direction.

Peterson frowned and slowly twisted his neck back.

"As long as you answer my questions truthfully, I guarantee that you will be treated as a prisoner of war, that you will be able to live in a private room, that you will be able to move freely within a certain range, and most importantly, that you will be able to communicate with your family, although it will be less time-sensitive than in peacetime, but it is very important to be able to ensure that your family receives your letter and thus confirms that you are still alive. How's that, Mr. Peterson, do you need a moment to think about it? ”

Peterson chose to remain silent on this question rather than repeat the previous sentence over and over again.

"We have a ten-minute break, ten minutes without problems." The British officer stood up from behind his desk, paced to the door, and knocked rhythmically. The door opened from the outside, and the officer gave a few words to the sentry guarding the door, and the soldier with a steel helmet and a rifle nodded and let the door remain open, and the man stood outside the door staring at the prisoners of war sitting in their chairs.

Walking out of the farmhouse, the British officer threw his cigarette butt on the ground, stretched out his arms, and the sense of superiority he displayed in front of the Irish pilots was almost gone. After repeated bombing by coalition fighters, the military airfield in the distance was in shambles, with considerable losses in personnel and equipment, and serious damage to the airfield facilities. As a weak party, how can you not feel lost and helpless at this time.

A grass-green painted truck was parked next to the farmhouse, several British soldiers were loading goods in the back of the truck, and from the outside, a very hidden cellar was storing a whole box of ammunition and supplies, and an elderly non-commissioned officer stood by with his hands behind his back and watched silently. Seeing the officer coming out of the room, he walked over and sneered, "Hey, doctor, how's it going?" Did you pry that guy's mouth open? ”

The officer was obviously familiar with the visitor, and although he was in a bad mood, he did not mean to be angry.

"Before I joined the army, I was a dentist, not a psychiatrist, if someone here needs to have a tooth extracted, of course I am happy to serve, interrogating prisoners of war, I have no experience, whether I can succeed or not."

The non-commissioned officer put away the bitter smile, handed over a cigarette, and when he saw the other party waving his hand, he put it in his mouth, drew a match and lit it, and said in a low voice: "If it's not soft, then let's have some hard ones, few people are not afraid of tooth extraction pliers." ”

The officer glanced at the guy and shook his head slightly: "Don't let it up." ”

"I don't understand this, what kind of politeness to the Irish? Their country is now run by a group of Germans, and the people are given material benefits and spiritual vanity, as if they have been poured into ecstasy soup, and they are all like wolves and tigers on the battlefield, but will anyone show mercy to our men? The non-commissioned officer was full of complaints, but he could only talk behind the backs of others.

"The more ruthless we are, the more desperate the Irish will be to play for the Germans...... I think that's how you think about it! The officer's tone was uncertain, and it was evident that he also had doubts in his heart.

While the two were chatting, an air raid siren suddenly sounded from the direction of the airport. Before yesterday, people only heard this low whimper during the exercise, but now Britain is like a sheepfold with an open fence, the wolves outside are in and out with impunity, the last vestiges of dignity of the British Empire have been trampled on, and the Royal Air Force has fought back, but in just one and a half days, the loss of the first-line fighter force has reached an astonishing 44%, and the bomber force has also suffered heavy losses due to the deterrent air raid on Ireland, plus the strong landing of the coalition forces on the Isle of Man and the Coen Peninsula, The tide of the war was moving in a very unfavorable direction for Britain.

After a while, an unknown number of black dots could be faintly visible in the western sky, and the non-commissioned officer hurriedly took two puffs of cigarette, turned to his soldiers and shouted: "Half of the people go to the woods with the car to hide, and those who stay behind quickly lay out camouflage nets, and then disperse to hide." ”

"Don't worry, the enemy won't be wasting their precious bombs on non-military targets right now." The officer said this, but his eyes showed deep worry. He turned back to his room, told the guards to close the door and go out, then turned the lamp back on the captured Irish pilot.

"Aren't you glad your planes are bombing again? Do you think you can quickly crush Britain and even turn Britain into a colony, as the Romans did? Even if Britain loses the war, it will last longer than most people expected, perhaps about the same as the last, maybe longer. Unfortunately, your war journey began yesterday and ended today, and fighter pilots are usually excluded even if there is a prisoner swap, so you'll have to spend a long time in the UK. If we can build a friendly relationship from the start, it will be good for both of us, and I believe you should be able to figure this out. ”

Peterson turned his head away from the lamp as usual, and then spoke: "Thank you for your kindness, it is my honor to sacrifice my life for the country, even if I die, I will not do anything to betray the country, so I cannot accept your advice." As for how long this war will last, you and I don't count, time will tell us the correct answer. ”

The British officer slammed the table in annoyance, and after a moment of silence he said in a polite tone: "You must understand one thing, Mr. Peterson, that not every Englishman has the patience to reason with you. There are many people who are eager to torture the invaders from Germany and Ireland, and by the time you regret it, I am afraid I will not be able to help anything. ”

The more annoyed the other party became, the more the situation was unfavorable to them, and the more unmoved Peterson became, and even laughed self-deprecatingly: "This is an era of strong survival, and the only thing I regret is that I didn't do my best in my daily training, otherwise, I should now be praised by my superiors and my colleagues somewhere in Ireland, instead of sitting here and suffering from you." ”

When Peterson said this, the anti-aircraft fire in the distance began to roar, but it no longer sounded as intense and dense as it had been in the morning. After only a few minutes, a violent explosion struck, and the ground trembled faintly and intensely, and sometimes the roar of warplanes could be heard.

This inconspicuous farmhouse was not bombed by coalition fighters until the bombardment was over, and the room was filled with only the smell of dust and no smell of gunsmoke, but the lamp on the table was extinguished.

The British officer fiddled a few times, and soon realized that it was a problem with the power supply, so he went to the window in the dark, pulled the curtains hard, and the room instantly lit up.

The guy turned to face Peterson, gritting his teeth and looking a little hideous: "Even if this kind of bombardment comes ten times a day, the British army will not give in." Don't forget, there's a limited amount of time you can fly each day, and in bad weather, you may not be able to carry out even a bombardment, so how long will your landing force be able to resist? ”

Peterson's answer immediately choked the other party: "It's not something you and I can control, why worry so much?" ”

The British officer actually took a pair of tooth extractors out of his pocket and glared at Peterson viciously: "Now I ask you one last time - which air wing do you belong to?" How many planes are there in your wing? Which airport are you flying from today? ”

The Irish pilot was taken aback by the other party's movements, and when he saw the guy in the other party's hand, he gasped even more.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and the British officer hesitated for a moment, and quickly stuffed the tooth extraction pliers back into his pocket: "Come in!" ”

The guards hurriedly pushed the door in: "The air defense forces shot down three enemy planes, and one parachuted one behind the woods. ”

"Let Joel bring the soldiers over, don't let that guy escape!" The British officer hurriedly gave the order, and then said to Peterson with a cruel smile: "Look, soon someone will come to keep you company, maybe that guy is more interesting than you, and in the future you will eat steak and drink red wine while you will eat black bread in the prisoner of war camp...... The opportunity was once in front of you, but you didn't cherish it. ”

Peterson scoffed, "Years from now, I will still be proud of today's decision, and the traitor will eventually be spurned by his country." ”

The British officer glared at him viciously, then looked out the window, where several British soldiers with rifles on their shoulders hurried towards the woods.

(End of chapter)