On April 24, 1946, at 9:10 a.m., the southeastern part of the Norwegian Sea bordered the Barents Sea.

On this stretch of sea, where there is no end in sight, a lone inflatable kayak seems to be drifting with the current. The ship was deserted, and there were no other forms of floating debris nearby, so that the Allied planes that occasionally flew nearby did not make any further moves other than to fly lower to observe. No one expected that the rudimentary kayak was carefully equipped with a forked metal antenna, and a long hose wire extended from the bottom of the boat into the water to a depth of tens of meters. In the dimly lit deep water, a strange-looking man-made monster was in a state of immobility, its main body seemed to be made up of four submarines of different shapes, the largest one was in the middle and formed the torso of the underwater monster, the two smaller ones were placed on the left and right sides, as if the arms of the underwater monster were raised forward, and the smallest one was placed above and backwards, as if the head of the underwater monster was tilted back, and the shell between them was in direct contact and reinforced by welding with a metal pipe frame. The largest and smallest ships also have thick cylinders that connect their own access hatches. In this temporary special underwater vehicle, 11 carefully selected volunteers are working multiple roles in the main boat, and the space inside the boat, which used to store various daily necessities, is piled up with various barrels in a specific way, and the exterior is invariably marked with the words "Violent explosives - do not collide with them".

In the command room in the middle of the main boat, with the soft sound of "clucking" from the cipher machine, the submarine crew on a special mission was about to concentrate their attention, and the young and old communications non-commissioned officer among them held the note printed out from the cipher machine in both hands, and translated according to the code he knew by heart: "Go 80 nautical miles west, go below the enemy fleet, activate the delay, and evacuate the personnel...... This is the final operational order and must be executed immediately. ”

"80 nautical miles to the west?"

The submarine commander, who wore the rank of major, was obviously surprised by the new order, knowing that at this time the Soviet fleet that had come from afar was carrying out a landing operation near the shore no more than 10 nautical miles, and their Northern Fleet and Baltic Fleet combined had nearly 100 ships and tens of thousands of officers and men, which was several times larger than the previous Soviet army that had landed here and posed a serious threat to the base. In anticipation of the comeback of the Soviet troops, the base has made great preparations, and in the eyes of these officers and crew members who know the inside story, three of these four submarines are stuffed with explosives and radioactive substances with special effects in order to completely wipe out this unprecedentedly large Soviet landing force and make the Soviets, whose naval strength is very limited, lose all their money again. Now, 40 nautical miles to the east, the ocean is empty, can we find more valuable targets there?

The communications non-commissioned officer looked at the decoded note again with certainty: "There will be no mistake, 80 nautical miles to the west, sir!" ”

Of course, the superiors had the considerations of the superiors, the major thought to himself, and he quickly made up his mind: "Cut the communication cable, start the main motor, move forward at one-third speed, and calibrate the speed due west." ”

After a while, the motors hummed in, and the sound was very clear in the underwater environment, but it was much quieter than the most common VII series U-boats of wartime, and even the best sonar was difficult to detect from a slightly distance.

The two old Type VIIC submarines were given up, but it was a pity that this advanced and elite XXI-class attack submarine was abandoned, and the major captain wearing the Navy's Eagle Bright cap thought with regret.

A standard XXI-class submarine has a maximum speed of 17.2 knots underwater, and one-third of the speed is close to 6 knots, but because it carries three large and small submarines "on the shoulder", the speed indication of the submarine at this time is only about 3 knots, and it takes more than a day to reach 80 nautical miles away at such a speed. Twenty minutes later, seeing that the condition of the strange conjoined submarine continued to stabilize at low speed, the major commander changed the order and increased the speed to one-half. As the speed increased, the submarines cobbled together by this unconventional connection began to deviate due to uneven drag, so that the diversmen had to manually adjust the way to maintain the correct course, but in any case, the actual speed gradually increased, and the speed gauge read close to 5 knots, which means that it would be possible to reach the designated area in 16 hours - provided that the target fleet did not change position at will.

For submariners, the process of diving is long and boring, and not knowing the outside world is even more of an ordeal. More than an hour after the restart, the submarine non-commissioned officer who was on sonar reported: "Sir! There's a lot of propeller tones in the southwest direction! ”

The major stood in front of the navigation platform and glanced slightly, he knew that it was the Soviet fleet from near shore, and that the destroyers and frigates must be circling around the various troop carriers and cargo ships like hounds. It is conceivable that the number of Soviet soldiers on the Norwegian coast is increasing by the second, and the distance from their landing place to the base of the "refuge" is only thirty kilometers in a straight line. This time, the base has completely fallen behind in terms of the number of troops and the scale of equipment, and the enemy is advancing by sea and air and is prepared, and only by surprising victory can this extremely passive situation be reversed. After the twin explosions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the power of the atomic bomb was known to the world, and although it was learned from the technical experts who were also volunteers that the nuclear bomb was not an atomic bomb in the true sense of the word, it was natural that it would create an absolute death zone within a radius of a few kilometers and cause widespread damage within a radius of more than ten kilometers. Obviously, the Soviet officers and men who had just landed and had not had time to disperse and were still on board were in the most dense state, and their frigates were able to defend themselves against enemy air raids and conventional attacks by torpedoes and mines, and had almost no defense against a powerful nuclear explosion.

It was with the courage to see death as if he were at home that the major captain would fall into a deep entanglement with the right to change the direction of the submarine. He didn't speak, and the submarine continued westward, and for the next nearly two hours, the sonar crew continued to destroy his spirit with reports until there were no more anomalous displays on the sonar sonor. The major closed his eyes, as if he saw the landing Soviet troops rushing in droves in the direction of the base hill, and the soldiers of the Guards stationed there were extremely nervously waiting for the end of their fate, those family members, female workers, and thousands of imperial babies who had been born one after another for more than a year, the fate of which was all in the thread.

From the moment the communication cable was untied, the communications non-commissioned officer fell into a blank state of idleness. Following the planned route, they will not use radar in the later stages of the operation, nor will they use radio to receive or transmit signals, to ensure that this life-threatening attack will not be caused by a major accident due to some minor situation. During the voyage, he boredly checked the telegram strips over and over again, and the thin paper soon became like narrow strips cut from old newspapers. Suddenly, as if he had thought of the key, he looked up and said to the major captain with a heavy face: "Sir, it is estimated that the fleet assembled in the western sea area is the American and British fleet!" Will they take advantage of the Soviets' landing to launch a surprise attack from behind, so that the siege of the base will be lifted naturally, and then the Soviets will be furious and attack Western Europe by land until they drive the American and British [***] teams out of the continent? ”

Such conjectures had been hotly discussed at the strategic meeting of the Imperial base camp half a month ago, but these lower-ranking officers and soldiers had no right to know the confidential inside information. The Lieutenant Commander pondered for a moment and said: "A mere Norway -- a wasteland in the north of Norway to be exact, is not worthy of a direct war between the United States and Britain against the Soviet Union, and I think the reason why we are going west is to inflict fatal damage on the American and British fleets and intensify the contradictions between the two mighty warhawks to a sufficient heat." ”

Going down the train of thought, the communications non-commissioned officer easily thought of something more far-reaching: "Destroy the American and British fleets with super bombs, and then use submarines deployed on the periphery to forcibly attack the Soviet convoy that landed?" Oh my God, if the enemy knew what was going on, it would be another war of the Empire, and we would be the most fearless army in the world! ”

"It's hard to say exactly how things will develop, now all we have to do is carry out the orders of the command and send this scorching bomb under the enemy's ass." At this point, the Captain Major looked at the speed gauge, the speed of the strange structure of the submarine was still stable, still at about 5 knots, and the two welded-connected VIIC submarines had removed the power facilities to accommodate more explosives - even if the motors were retained and activated, the excessive noise could attract the attention of the enemy frigates.

"Two-thirds of the speed." The major finally gave the order to speed up for the second time, and then instructed the first mate: "Ross, you go to submarine No. 2, activate the double-action electric motor, stay there and keep in touch at all times, we need to keep this clumsy underwater wagon steady." Kate, you're at the helm! ”

"Yes, sir!"

The first mate on the boat then handed over the position of helm to the communications non-commissioned officer who had no task for the time being, a XXI-class submarine was fully staffed with 57 crews, and a XXIII-class submarine was equipped with 14 people, and now the two were combined to have 11 crew members, one of whom was also an expert in nuclear explosions, which meant that the remaining 10 people needed to rotate 23 positions that did not need to be required to ensure that this unprecedented strange submarine could maintain normal operation in a short period of time.

At 2:10 p.m., the base of the "Shelter", the command center of the base camp.

"Sir, in accordance with your orders, the three-proof equipment and safety detectors of all vents have been activated normally, all spare vents have been closed, gas masks have been issued in place, all non-combat personnel have entered the protective facilities, and the reserve storage capacity of the auxiliary oxygen supply system has reached 85 percent, which can maintain the personnel in the base for 72 hours while completely isolating the internal and external ventilation."

Kyle, who is in charge of base security. When General Sterling reported to Rommel, the commander-in-chief of the base, in a dignified and solemn manner, Lynn stood alone at the window, looking through the glass at the hurried figures in the square in front of the base camp. It brings together the condensed essence of the Waffen-SS and the Wehrmacht, the most stubborn, the most evil and the most persistent souls, as well as generals like Rommel who are extremely good at tricks and tricks and Lynn with a vision of the times.

Rommel only replied lightly to this series of apocalyptic projects: "Okay, I see!" ”

Under the current technological understanding, people are deeply aware of the direct destructive power of nuclear weapons, but do not pay enough attention to the great harm of radiation. Lynn almost single-handedly comprehensively improved the anti-chemical level of the base, of course, many facilities have been established a long time ago, otherwise it would not be possible to complete a substantial strengthening in just ten days -- the three-proof equipment is used to prevent poisonous gas penetration and purify the internal air, and the German tanks in the late stage of World War II have been installed in large quantities, and this time at Lynn's request, a lead controllable partition has been added to the ventilation duct, and the natural outer wall of the base cavern is equivalent to a thick concrete wall, which is enough to block the radiation invasion from the outside world. However, because there was not enough time and resources to produce enough radiation suits, fighters had to be equipped with gas masks to protect them from dust and toxic gases should they have to go out on a mission in response to a crisis situation, so Lynn had to set up a plan for personnel isolation.

As soon as General Sterlinck left, the phone on the table rang, and Rommel seemed to anticipate the identity of the caller before he could pick up the microphone, and he said solemnly and respectfully: "I am Alwin. Rommel ...... Yes, my Führer, everything is going according to plan...... Yes, the American and British fleets show no signs of continuing to approach, they are merely observing, your instructions are very crucial, and we will certainly make people as far away as London and Washington jump from their chairs...... Yes, my Führer, you recuperate, for there may be violent shocks later, and we are fully prepared for the structures of the caverns to withstand such shocks......"

Hanging up the phone, Rommel returned to his previous heavy and somewhat erratic demeanor.

At this time, Lynn involuntarily yawned, and a thick sleepiness followed, and he joked to himself: "You don't have to sleep for a long time before you die, you will sleep forever after death." After today, if you don't live or die, sad? Luckily? ”

This office cubicle for the commander-in-chief of the base is located above the side of the command center operations hall, and the floor-to-ceiling glass windows allow you to see the people in the hall and vice versa. The sound insulation effect of the glass doors and windows is very good, and when it is completely closed, it is impossible to hear the noise of people coming and going, and in the exceptionally quiet situation, Rommel heard Lynn talking to himself, so he walked to the window: "General Gargo, did you just speak Chinese or Yue?" ”

Lynn turned her head unfazed: "Chinese, of course." Do you understand? ”

"I've heard it, I have some impressions, but I don't understand the meaning." Rommel replied, "I have read the translation of the Art of War many times, the classic of the classics!" ”

"I have a deep understanding!" Lynn said casually.

Rommel shook his head: "Rough skin, don't eat the essence." In other words, this time we are smoking firewood under the pot, or are we taking a shortcut? ”

Lynn thought about it, what Rommel said should be the two tactics of drawing salary from the bottom of the kettle and secretly crossing Chen Cang, I have to say that many classics of oriental culture have lost their original charm when translated into foreign languages.

"It should be made out of nothing, borrowed a knife to kill people."

There is a difference between the corresponding words in Lynn's self-translation and the German translation, but it is not difficult to understand the meaning when you think about it. Rommel's eyes were on the square that Lynn had been looking at for a long time, and at the moment, except for the naval and submarine forces that had been deployed to the periphery early, the land and air forces were all nested in the base and stood by. In fact, if the defensive operation can be carried out openly, the defense system of the base mountain is not inferior to the British fortress of Gibraltar, and there is more room for expansion and contraction in geography, but now the Imperial Guard is like a vampire, with miraculous combat skills but unable to use them in the sun, and the advantages and disadvantages are extremely distinct.

After a long silence, Rommel suddenly sighed: "If the Soviet troops rush here in one go after landing, we will lose, completely lose." Will you choose to surrender or self-judge? ”

This is a completely logical assumption, and the fate of the entire empire now rests on the bombing submarine loaded with more than 1,200 tons of explosives and 4.4 kilograms of enriched uranium. According to the calculations of nuclear physicists, there is a minimum mass of fissile material needed to maintain the chain reaction, the critical mass, below which the chain reaction cannot continue. Based on the tests and use of three atomic bombs by the United States, the critical mass of uranium-235, the most commonly used, should be more than 120 pounds, and the critical mass of plutonium-239 is much lower than this number, but its refining is more complicated, and the empire is still concentrating on separating uranium-235. For Lynn, who is from the 21st century, this theory is very easy to understand, and he knows very well that all the current concentration of enriched uranium is still far from the minimum value of the critical mass, but it is possible to use the current limitations of people's cognitive and measurement methods to make a "pseudo-nuclear explosion", using a large amount of conventional explosives and a small amount of enriched uranium to create a "dirty bomb" that can be faked and real.

"I'm not going to surrender, I'm not going to run away, and if I could, I'd rather die in battle and move on to the next reincarnation." Lynn said, "Orientals pay attention to reincarnation, sir, do you believe in reincarnation?" ”

Rommel didn't say whether he believed it or not, but looked down at his hands: "If I could live again, I would not choose a military career, be a farmer, a priest, or a small clerk in the city, live an ordinary life, and enjoy a different kind of life." ”

Isn't this the way I lived before I came and was disappointed and tired of it? Lynn smiled stunned: "If God lets you choose the difficulty mode for survival in the next life, don't be overconfident in challenging the highest difficulty, you will regret it out of ten." ”

Rommel did not seem to take this advice seriously, and while there was hope, he was reluctant to dwell too much on this nihilistic question. The well-dressed and well-dressed marshal took the opportunity to look at his watch: "The fateful moment should be near!" ”

Lynn also looked at his watch: "Yes, it's coming, life or death, it's decided at this snap of a finger." ”

(End of full volume)

(To be continued)