In the fiery red sunset shrouded in gunpowder smoke, Wei Ran led Captain Katja and a small group of Soviet Red Army soldiers through the large ruins, and finally stopped at the edge of the basement exit.
"Dad Hans, Dr. Lodge, Marco, I'm back!"
Wei Ran stood on the edge of the cave and shouted, "Drop the gun and hold it up Come out with your hands!”
Soon after, Marco climbed out first, and then with the help of Father Hans and Dr. Rocky, he carried Mikhail out of the basement and handed him over. The Soviet Red Army soldiers waiting aside allowed them to put him on a stretcher.
After Dr. Lodge and Father Hans climbed out, Mario, who had a Second Class Patriotic Medal with a sickle missing on his chest, was the first to crawl out, letting his body wrapped in gauze Half of the butt is bathed in the sunset. He imitated Mikhail on the stretcher and raised his fists, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Wow!"
This voice directly caused the surrounding Soviet Red Army soldiers and Captain Katya to laugh. made a sound. But then, when children and women wearing hospital gowns, their faces covered with eczema and swollen red bumps from flea bites, came out, everyone fell silent amidst the flying gunfire.
Perhaps because they haven’t seen the sun for too long, or because they finally no longer have to worry about being chased by the stall army, these Jewish women and children couldn’t stop watching the sunset shine on their faces. Tears were left.
"Let's go back." Captain Katya waved his hand and led everyone to turn towards the direction of the Ministry of Interior.
Along the way, Dr. Lodge and others fell into silence as they looked at the city that had been turned into ruins, as well as the battlefield that was still being exchanged in the direction of King's Square behind them, and the corpses that could be seen everywhere at their feet.
In just two or three days, this city and the familiar and unfamiliar people in this city have become part of the ruins like the clinic that provided them with protection. Several lucky wild cats and dogs were hiding inside the ruins, feasting on the food that had been easily available in recent times.
Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the Ministry of Interior building, the little guy who was being held by Marco because his butt was injured let out an exclamation, pointed to a ruins not far away and shouted in surprise, " Oliver! That's Oliver!"
The little guy's voice was loud, and the Soviet Red Army soldiers immediately raised their submachine guns in the direction of Mario's finger.
Hearing this, Wei Ran quickly explained in Russian that he had met an acquaintance. After getting Captain Katja’s approval, Marco immediately carried Mario to the ruins not far away, and then saw a man covered by the floor. A child holding his ankle.
This little guy looks to be a year or two older than Mario. He is wearing a complete set of black youth uniforms and a helmet that is too big for him.
"Oliver, why are you here?!"
Mario jumped down from his brother's arms and asked in surprise, but when he saw that his legs had been pinned to the floor After suppressing it, call for help immediatelyHe seemed to be looking at his brother Marco and Wei Ran and others who were walking behind him.
The little guy named Oliver turned his head with difficulty to look at his good friend in front of him, but after seeing the white six-pointed star on his chest and the Soviet medal pinned on it, as well as the Soviet Red Army following behind him, , his eyes immediately widened, and he raised his finger and pointed at Mario's chest, "Mario, why are you..."
"What do you mean?"
Mario stretched out his dirty hands He picked up the six-pointed star on his chest with his peckish little hands and said with a grimace, "My brother said that I am a Jew now and am their trophy."
"Traitor! You traitor!" Oliver was heartbroken. Split Lung shouted, "Mario, you idiot! You are a traitor! You betrayed our leader!"
"I...I didn't..." Mario panicked Denied.
"Go to hell! You traitor! Go to hell!" Oliver grabbed a handful of dust and threw it at Mario with a cry.
However, just when Mario subconsciously covered his face, the little guy Oliver, who was still pressed under the floor, actually pulled out a P38 pistol from his arms!
Marco, who was squatting aside, changed his expression when he saw this, and pushed Mario away without even thinking!
"Bang! Bang!"
"Da da da!"
After a brief exchange of fire, Oliver, who was still pressed under the floor, was killed by a Soviet Red Army soldiers were shot to death with submachine guns. But Marco also "popped" and fell between Mario and Oliver. Dark red blood gurgled out from his abdomen and chest, and Mario was pushed aside dumbfounded.
"Help!" Wei Ran reacted and tore Marco's shirt open, revealing the two wounds not far apart.
Dad Hans, who stumbled over and saw the wound with blood and air bubbles coming out, sat slumped on the ground. The two shots hit the liver and lungs respectively, not to mention. Even if they can't be saved, they don't even have a scalpel now!
"Old...Dad..." Marco struggled to reach out his hand and hold it with Hans, and said intermittently, "Gold Bar...take care of...Mario. .."
"I will take good care of him, I will take good care of him!" Father Hans promised with tears streaming down his face, reaching out in vain to try to hold down the blood that was pouring out from the wound. blood.
"Brother, brother" Mario crawled over with tears streaming down his face. He didn't know if the remaining blood on his face belonged to his brother or his former good friend.
"Mario...Mario...don't be afraid...the war...will soon..."
Marco took the other one stained with blood He reached out to his brother Mario, but before he could touch his tear-filled face, he hung down weakly and fell heavily to the ground full of dust and gravel.
"Pah!" Father Hans slapped Mario hard on the face"You idiot! Get away!"
Ignoring Mario who was stunned by a slap, Father Hans held Marco's body in his arms and looked at it with a pair of old eyes. Heading towards the direction of the Capitol, he murmured to himself, "Look at the good things you have done, look at the good things you have done!"
Doctor Lodge, who was standing aside, sat down holding on to the ruins of the wall. , holding Mario in his arms who dared not cry at all, and looked at the two corpses on the ground in silence, unable to speak for a long time.
"Victor, we can't waste too much time here." Captain Katja urged.
Wei Ran nodded, knelt down and said, "Dad Hans, Dr. Lodge, Mario and I will send him back to the basement. You and Dr. Lodge will take the others there first."
Dad Hans sighed, gently placed the body in Wei Ran's arms, and then stood up staggeringly with the help of Nurse Leni, "Dr. Rocky , let’s go and save other people now, whether they are the damn Germans or the damn Soviets!”
Dr. Lodge glanced at the Soviet Red Army soldiers around him, gritted his teeth and stood up too! , gently pushed Mario to Wei Ran.
Wei Ran raised his head and looked at Captain Katya, "Comrade Captain, you take the others back first, can I come over later?"
Captain Katya nodded after hearing this. , waved silently, and led the others to continue towards the direction of the Ministry of Interior building. Even though there was a language barrier, she had already seen similar tragedies more than once on her way from the Soviet Union to Berlin. She was numb rather than indifferent.
Bending down to pick up Marco’s body, Wei Ran freed up a blood-stained hand, took Mario and turned around towards the basement where they came from.
Before he could take a few steps, the Jewish girl Maura caught up with him, grabbed Mario's hand from the other side, raised her head and said to Wei Ran, "He is my trophy, I I promised Brother Marco to take good care of him."
"Then follow..." Wei Ran sighed and continued walking towards the basement a few hundred meters away.
Returning to the entrance of the basement, the complicated footprints on the damp ground were still clearly visible, but just a few hundred meters away, Marco died at the hands of an eleven or twelve-year-old child. inside.
Looking up at the opera house where the firefight was still taking place in the distance, Wei Ran carefully lowered Marco's body. Then he saw that in the inner pocket of the clothes that he had torn open, there was still a crudely made Youth League knife. The edge of the scabbard of this knife had been damaged by a bullet, but it was precisely because of this unnecessary impact. , causing the meaningless bullet to roll into Marco's body, causing even greater damage.
"How ironic..."
Wei Ran glanced at Mario, who was still holding Marco's cold hand and was in a daze and crying, and looked from the other side of the body. He took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his side pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes.He took a strong breath at the base, and then he choked and coughed repeatedly.
Putting the lit cigarette into Marco's mouth that was still stained with blood, Wei Ran leaned against a collapsed brick wall, closing his eyes and listening to the sound of gunfire and artillery fire that seemed to come from all directions. , quietly waiting for time to pass minute by minute.
Until the cigarette burned out, Wei Ran flicked the cigarette butt away, patted Mario's shoulder to signal him to let go, and then carefully sent Marco's body into the basement and placed it there. He took the folding bed farthest from the door.
Finally, he picked up the Youth League knife in his arms. Wei Ran silently stuffed it into the vent and blocked it with bricks before crawling out of the basement.
"Mario, let's block the hole together." Wei Ran asked, squatting next to Mario.
Mario looked up at Wei Ran with tears in his eyes, "I killed my brother"
"It wasn't you" Wei Ran sighed, "The person who killed your brother, He committed suicide a few hours ago."
Seeing Mario looking at him in confusion, Wei Ran sighed, bent down and picked up a large piece of bricks held together by cement. He threw it effortlessly into the basement entrance.
"Mario, come here and help." The Jewish girl Maura picked up two bricks and threw them into the basement like a fireman.
Mario looked around blankly, then looked in the direction of the basement hole, then endured the pain from the wound on his butt, picked up a brick and walked towards Marco's temporary grave.