As soon as she stepped out of the room, Lynn saw new faces looking for shelter in the hallway of the hotel, and she was somewhat glad for her decisive decision, but it was far from the time to be happy. He hurried downstairs, the golden sunlight shining down the street, but every face here looked so sad and anxious.

Approaching a soldier nearby to ask for the location of Kyle's hotel, Lynn involuntarily walked briskly. As he walked two streets, he suddenly heard a hoarse and deep voice:

"Hey, friend, is there a number plate to enter the waiting area? Is there a number plate that allows me to enter the waiting area as soon as possible? I have bread, gold and silver goods and watches to exchange here! ”

Turning his head curiously, a thin man in a black trench coat stood on the corner of the street and asked others. Because of the black hat with a round brim, at first glance Lynn thought he was a Gestapo, but his face was haggard, his body was thin, and his eyes did not have the ruthlessness of the secret police, but a kind of cunning to survive.

Sensing Lynn's gaze, the man turned his head suddenly, and saw the SS soldier with an assault rifle staring at him, but he didn't look afraid, but asked timidly, "Hey, soldier, do you have a number plate that you can board the ship as soon as possible?" If it were today, I'd buy out two pounds of brown bread! ”

"What if I want to buy it?" Lynn's pronunciation of this sentence is not too accurate. Fortunately, in the current situation, ordinary civilians are still too busy to take care of themselves, where can they be vigilant against the annihilation of the Soviet Union?

The man hesitated slightly, then took a step closer and whispered: "A kilogram of black bread, if you have gold, silver, watches and jewelry, you can do it, see the price!" ”

What he meant was that Lynn was only half-guessing and half-understanding, and simply asked the question he was most concerned about: "Then how many number plates do you have that can enter the docklands immediately?" ”

The man still looked a little wary, and he said in a consultative tone: "Not for the time being, but if you are sure that you need to, I can help you keep an eye on the queue for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow!" ”

Lynn shook his head silently, even if this war scalper really had a license plate in his hand, he didn't have anything of value to exchange. Gun? Don't you dare to ask for this guy's appearance!

"Hey, soldier, you can talk about it if you really want to......"

The thin man's words in the back reminded Lynn of the vegetable seller in the vegetable market.

Continuing along the east-west street, I thought that "Königsberg" would cease to exist in the near future, and my heart suddenly became clouded with a layer of gray.

"Hotel Kyle? Here! That is! ”

Looking along the arms of the Wehrmacht soldiers, Lynn saw a half-collapsed dome, devastated but still imaginable in its size and remnants, and the mutilated two-letter sign above the gate and the soldiers coming in and out showed him that this was the place to look.

By this time, Lynn had walked for about forty minutes away from the hotel where the White Goatee family had been staying, and he did not feel very tired, nor was he particularly worried about Alice and Little Catrili, but he felt confused and apprehensive about the road ahead: if he had been given the opportunity to board the ship first by virtue of his military status and the need to return to the team, as the officer on the defensive line had said, but he could not take the White Goatee family with him, then what should he do?

With a deep sigh, he straightened his back to his assault rifle and stepped forward......

Twenty minutes later, Lynn walked out of the Kyle Hotel and looked up at the sky, the blue sky was dyed a faint orange by the rays of the setting sun, which was the direction of heaven, far away from him.

His right hand reached into his pocket and touched the cold flake metal, which was naturally not as elaborate as the medal, but much more exquisite than the ordinary number plates received by the civilians.

Mind is in turmoil!

Bowing his head and moving forward, he bumped into pedestrians one after another along the way, but Lynn just said "sorry" with his head down.

There is a famous saying in Daoming Temple: If an apology is useful, what else do you need the police to do?

Lynn had no time to care about the eyes of others, and he carefully considered a very real problem: this special boarding number plate only allowed those who had the status of soldiers to board the ship alone, and as long as he turned around and headed north, he would soon be able to enter the dock waiting area, and if it went well, he would be able to leave here by boat on the same day. If he pats his ass and leaves, of course the White Goatee family can't help themselves, but ask yourself, how can a person with a conscience do such a wolf-hearted thing?

The warm pictures along the way are vivid.

From the perspective of a young woman, it is obvious that the overnight warmth is not just a physiological need for a different surname.

Lynn couldn't imagine what a heavy blow her farewell would inflict on Catrily, and her innocent soul might collapse.

Even a white goatee who is always calm and unhurried will be extremely sad when facing the surname of an ugly person!

Between going and staying, Lynn resolutely made a choice.

On the other hand, from the officer who had just arranged for his embarkation, he heard that the Soviet troops bypassing East Prussia to attack the German mainland had crossed the Oder, and that the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division, the "Nordic" division to which he was subordinate, was building a defense at Andewass, not far from the port of Stettin, and it seemed that the situation would soon engage the Soviets.

The officer added that one out of every third ship currently sailing from Königsberg headed for Stettin, taking only one day to make the way. The rest of the ships would make a longer journey to northern Germany and to the ports of Denmark, which had not yet been occupied by the Anglo-American Allied forces attacking the German mainland, but where food supplies were severely inadequate and there were not even enough houses for the refugees to shelter as large numbers of refugees from the Eastern Front arrived.

As she walked, Lynn came to the same intersection as before. The emaciated man is still buying and selling boarding plates to passing refugees - in some cases, the small card is enough to decide the fate of a person or even a family.

With mixed feelings, Lynn walked over: "Hey, you! ”

"Man, you have today's ......" When the thin man realized that the guy in front of him had asked him about the price not long ago, he stopped, but his eyes were blinking and looking at the other person again.

"How much is this worth?" Lynn pulled out a silver-gray piece of metal from his pocket.

The thin man didn't bother to reach out and grab it, but lowered his head and approached Lynn's palm, and studied it carefully.

"This is your SS privilege number, you can enter the docks at any time and wait, as long as the ship to your destination can be boarded at any time!"

"How much is it worth?" Lynn was completely uninterested in its ins and outs.

The thin man straightened up: "To civilians, it is worthless, because only military personnel can use it!" ”

Lynn tried her best to wait patiently for his next words.

"The soldiers' willingness to buy priority plates is not high, but ......" The thin man thought for a while, and the second half of the sentence directly turned into an offer: "Half a pound of black bread!" ”

In the past, I had dealt with ticket sellers a few times because of celebrity concerts and winter vacations, but Lynn put his palm away and shook it coldly: "Then forget it!" ”

The thin man apparently didn't expect Lynn to react like this, and it wasn't until the SS soldier took a few steps that he let out a "whoa."

Lynn didn't look back, just slowed down slightly.

The thin man really caught up: "Hey, man, although this thing is not as useful as the number plate of the day, fortunately, there is no expiration date, and you can get it at any time and use it at any time." So be it! Half a pound of black bread plus a nice sterling silver cigarette case! ”

"Those soldiers who want to return home as soon as possible have valuable loot in their hands!" Lynn deliberately replied in a cold and hard tone.

"Do you want a watch or something?" The thin man asked tentatively.

Lynn paused: "All I need is food and three civilian number plates that I can board the ship as soon as possible!" ”

The thin man thought about it for a moment: "A piece of black bread, three 228 number plates - it is estimated that you will be able to enter the dock area in three days!" ”

At first glance, three days may seem like an acceptable time, but the enemy is well aware of the strategic role of the port of Königsberg, and the situation of the retreat by sea may deteriorate at any time, and perhaps the expected three days will become five days or a week. You can eat less bread every day, but staying here for an extra day is an extra risk.