At about 10 o'clock in the evening, the roar of the truck came from the window, and Pate, who was lying on the bed in a kimono, got up, opened the curtain to observe for a while, and said happily to Lynn: "Sir, our people are back, I will go down and open the door." ”

It's freezing outside, and Lynn hasn't left this attic since he came, except for a small solution, and he can't see a chance when he stares at the map, and he's sitting by the stove wiping and fiddling with his guns. Although he was good at archery, the ordinary Mosin-Nagant rifle was not suitable for him, so he asked Pate to find a pistol for himself from the hidden weapon in the dark grid, which was actually a German-made Ruger 08. According to Pate, most of the firearms and equipment here were secretly bought by them from rural residents in the guise of waste recyclers -- the reason why they were "secretly" was because the Soviet Union officially required the people to hand over all the military firearms they had found to the public, and most of them did it honestly, and there were also a small number of people who felt that it was impossible to hand them over to the public for free, and they could not openly transfer and sell them, so they had to sell them at a slightly higher price than the scrap products in the name of scrap, and the recyclers also tacitly gave the price, and it didn't cost much to buy these guns together. However, due to the lack of storage and the lack of clear use, and the risks associated with such acquisitions, the scale of the acquisition was not expanded.

Under the dim kerosene lamp, Lynn carefully examined that the gun was indeed a genuine good gun, but it had only been soaked in the mud, and then it had not been properly maintained, so the appearance was dirty, and some parts inside were also affected, so it was wiped again and dripped with oil, and it basically returned to its previous brightness, but the only ammunition available was the three bullets in the magazine.

After Pate went down, Lynn went unhurriedly to the window, and through the gap in the curtains, he saw that the gas car he was riding in had driven into the repair station, and out of the car were Finterrig and Franz, who was drawing the map.

Mitigo went out and still hasn't returned.

In the distance, the world without moonlight and starlight is almost dark, and the position of sporadic lights is fixed, except for the end of the sight, the night in the north, glowing with a strange orange, presumably reflected by the lights of the city of Leningrad.

After a while, Finterrig and Franz climbed the stairs up the attic, and Pate carefully closed the door to the mechanic station.

"Sir, we didn't find a chance to attack, the hotel is full of newly added sentries and spies, it seems that you judged correctly, that Russian general is likely to recognize you!" As soon as Fenterrig came up, he reported eagerly.

Lynn was not surprised by this, he nodded calmly: "Sure enough! ”

Fenterrig sat down by the stove, took off his gloves and warmed his hands eagerly, and said in German at a rapid pace: "Your judgment is so accurate, sir, if we had been a little late, we might have been trapped!" It's all made up like that, but I didn't expect to be recognized, it seems that next time I go out, I still bring more equipment with me, if I make up as a gray-haired old man today, if the Russian general can still recognize you, I will be completely convinced! ”

Lynn replied blandly: "There is an old saying in the East: you can recognize it if you turn into ashes. It refers to a person who has a deep hatred, no matter how the other party's appearance changes, he can still recognize him when he meets. ”

Finterleg shook his head helplessly: "It's a pity that I didn't have a chance to approach the hotel, and I didn't see the waitress at the front desk come out, it is estimated that she is under special protection, so that the military can use it for identification after catching us." ”

"That's it! If she had remembered, she would have informed the Soviet military of the situation a long time ago, and General Matsov would have been able to recognize me, and it would not have made much sense to kill her. Lynn walked over to the stove and sat down next to Fritz, "Your name is Fritz?" ”

There was a heroic air between the young man's eyebrows, and he looked like he should be an ambitious person, and he hurriedly replied, "Yes, sir, how do you know? ”

Lynn rubbed his hands: "It was Major Mitigo who told me, we carefully studied your hand-drawn battle map in the afternoon, and felt that its production was very fine and standard, comparable to the work from the Great Staff." ”

The young man grinned and said, "It's my honor to be recognized by you, and the fact that this battle map can be completed quickly depends on everyone's tireless efforts to conduct field surveys. ”

Lynn nodded: "Cooperate sincerely to overcome difficulties." ”

"Sir, we've heard about ...... You were promoted directly from lieutenant to special brigadier general because of your unprecedented feats, and you were also a special award issued by the Führer? On a safe side, Finterrig asked curiously.

This sentence sounds normal at first glance, but after all, they are intelligence officers stationed overseas, and it is customary not to disclose the truth about the base to them, and this sentence contains a lot of key information. Lynn looked at the flames from the stove with a calm expression, and said, "I am not working hard for the sake of military exploits, but for my own beliefs, like most of you. We cannot turn back the clock, we cannot change the mistakes we have made before, so we have to redouble our efforts and endure beyond the imagination of ordinary people to overcome this most difficult and dark period. When I think of the millions of our comrades suffering in the enemy's prisoner-of-war camps, and of our civilians who are starving and cold, and living in fear, I put all my hesitation and fear behind me and stride forward without hesitation. Now, the opportunity of the historical surname is in front of us, and I believe that we will be able to seize it! ”

Listening to Lynn's tactful expression, Fenterleg did not continue to ask the questions just now, but went on to say: "If we can get rid of the beard this time, will Germany have a chance to revive again?" ”

"All I can say is that it's a very critical part of it, and we've done a lot of good work and we're going to continue to work on it until we get there," Lynn replied. ”

Fenterrig must have understood the meaning, and he sighed softly, "This is really a long-distance goal. ”

Suddenly, Pate came up, and muttered, "It's so cold outside, it's almost minus 20 degrees!" In such ghost weather, it is difficult for the car engine to play. ”

"It's cold!" "This is Russia," replied Fenterrig, "a place we hate and have to stay there for a long time, and we have to pretend to giggle at the Russians every day." ”

There was a whining and annoyance in the words, which Lynn could understand. Not to mention in the distant and cold Russia, even in a warm and comfortable "shelter", you will feel tired and irritable after staying for a long time. So, he kindly reached out and patted Fenterrig's shoulder, and said with a kind expression: "One day, history will change because of us, and all this we have done is not a pipe dream, it is all worth it!" ”

Finterleg was encouraged, and he nodded in response to Lynn, "Yes, sir, I really hope that day will come sooner rather than later." ”

Lynn took out a newly-wiped Ruger 08 from his pocket, reloaded it with a reload, to show how well it was at present, and translated the famous saying into German: "Winter is coming, will spring be far away?" ”

Fritz, who seemed to like to listen more than to express, quickly praised: "That's a great saying! ”

Lynn smiled and shrugged.

Although it was not known how Mitigo would find out about Matsoff's residence, he said that he would try to come back before midnight, and Lynn decided to sit and wait for him to return, so he arranged for the three of them to sleep first, Finterrig and Pate had no objection, but Fritz said that he had slept enough recently, and there was no physical exertion in his daily work, so he insisted on waiting with Lynn, and shouldered the guard duty of the machine repair station by the way. After the two men went to sleep, Lynn and Fritz sat by the fire and talked quietly, at first talking about very basic things such as birth and family situation, and gradually extended to their own war experiences, beliefs, pursuits, and understanding of the meaning of war. Fritz was not a talkative person, but thanks to his clarity of thought, he was always able to express his opinions in concise language, and Lynn was always the same, and the conversation between two smart men was able to say common ground in a few words, and the atmosphere was much more harmonious and relaxed than when Lynn and Pate were alone before.

From Fritz, Lynn learned that the station had become an intelligence base in the winter of 1944 with only two people, one of whom was an old spy in his fifties, who was disguised as an old mechanic from southern Russia and lived here with his young apprentices. Because he did have a hand in repairs, and there were indeed a large number of old equipment on local farms that needed to be repaired, and because there was indeed someone in the place of origin, he was trusted by the local government and allowed to stay, and was in charge of the operation of the repair station in a similar way to a contract, and before the end of the war, he naturally recruited a few young apprentices from southern Russia and Belarus, and after the surrender of the Third Reich, the old spy decided to retire and flee to Sweden to live a quiet life incognito, so he left in the name of finding his lost family, The machine repair station was left to Finterrig, who had served as a maintenance sergeant in the Luftwaffe and was equally skilled in mechanics, and this station became one of the last three intelligence stations of the Reich in Soviet Russia.

A quarter of an hour before 12 o'clock, the roar of cars could be heard outside, and a single truck could be seen in the distance, the one Mitigo had driven away the one he had been repairing in the garage below.

Fritz went down to open the door, and Lynn stood at the window expectantly watching. It hadn't snowed when they came back before, but now they could already see snowflakes under the headlights, the temperature was really low, and people were constantly bubbling out of their mouths and noses outside, and coming out of the unair-conditioned cab, Mitigo eagerly rubbed his face and ears with his hands, and driving at night in such weather became an ordeal.

"Fortunately, this trip was not in vain!"

Mitigo climbed up to the attic with a deep chill, and the whole person was literally a popsicle.

"Sir, I've heard the news, Matsov's office is located in the Cheka barracks east of the city, and he basically goes back every day to the residential area of Maria-Porospec, which is a concentration of high-ranking officers in the garrison, and this is the house number of his residence, where he lives with his wife and newborn daughter, and where his mother spends more than half of his time."

(To be continued)