Chapter 484: Warming Up

The night sky was very clear, with stars everywhere, reflecting the smooth snow on the ground like a mirror.

But Gerhard told Qin Chuan that the colder the weather, the warmer it would be. On the contrary, it would be warmer if it snowed.

Obviously, he was right.

The mercury column on the thermometer was dropping rapidly. Qin Chuan looked and saw that it had dropped to minus 36 degrees.

Everyone was huddled in a corner and shivering, even in the house.

No one could sleep in this situation. It could even be said that if they fell asleep, they would be frozen to death. They could only put on all the clothes they could find and fight against the cold in the dark.

Due to extreme fatigue, Qin Chuan felt groggy, and the collar of his shirt was already covered with ice crystals condensed from the exhaled water vapor.

Qin Chuan touched the backpack with trembling hands, and there was still a piece of bread inside.

Although he lost his appetite and even shuddered at the thought of bread as hard as ice, Qin Chuan knew that his body needed food, so he could only muster up the courage to take it out, broke off a small piece with a little effort and put it in his mouth, slowly dissolving it in his mouth, chewing it a few times and swallowing it.

When Qin Chuan saw Gerhard tearing up newspapers and leaflets he had picked up, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

Gerhard rubbed his hands, stuffed newspapers and leaflets into his clothes and said, "Try it, Captain, this will make you warmer!"

Qin Chuan was stunned, and soon realized that this was indeed a method... Paper is a poor conductor of heat, it can keep warm.

So without saying anything, Qin Chuan also imitated Gerhard.

"Is it always so cold here?" Qin Chuan asked.

"Tonight is special!" Gerhard replied, "Because we usually light a fire in the room and sleep next to the warm fire!"

"Hmm!" Qin Chuan nodded.

But that was just "usually". "Usually" Holm was a second-line soldier, and there was not much danger in making a fire, but things are different now.

However, what Qin Chuan didn't know was that although he had passed down the order that no one was allowed to make a fire, there were still people who disobeyed the order with a fluke mentality or because they couldn't stand the cold.

In an abandoned house, several German soldiers carefully covered the windows with raincoats, and then poured some gasoline on a small pile of split and stacked firewood.

"I've had enough of the severe cold here!" said a soldier, "We will die if this continues!"

"Yes!" Another soldier agreed: "They say there is danger, but what is the difference between being frozen to death and being blown up? I would rather choose to be blown up!"

"As long as we are careful, we won't expose our position!"

"That's right, the Soviets must be hiding in their beds and sleeping now!"

...

Then they looked at each other, and finally mustered up the courage to light a match and light the firewood. They waited outside cautiously for a while, and when they saw no movement, they laughed, and the next second they put their hands close to the fire and greedily absorbed the heat.

"I told you it would be fine!"

"Keep your voice down, don't let others find out!"

...

Before they finished speaking, the whistling sound of artillery shells came from the air, and the soldiers' faces changed drastically. They were about to run away, but it was too late. "Bang bang" a piece of artillery shells hit the house where they were, and then with a "bang", a wall collapsed.

Qin Chuan and Gerhard walked out of the door and saw that there was still a little unburned flame at the explosion site, so they understood.

"These bastards!" Gerhard said, "The order has been conveyed several times!"

"I think we should go for a patrol!" Qin Chuan said, "There will always be someone who can't help it!"

"Hmm!" Gerhard agreed, "It might be warmer if we walk!"

Qin Chuan and Gerhard patrolled in two directions. When they passed the repair shop, they heard the "clang clang" sound coming from inside, and there was a little light coming out from inside.

Qin Chuan couldn't help but frowned, lifted the raincoat blocking the outside, bent down and got in.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

...

Several German soldiers hurriedly stopped their actions and stood aside when they saw Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan looked at the kerosene lamp lit in the house, and said dissatisfiedly, "It seems that the lesson given by the artillery shell just now is not enough!"

"Report to the captain!" A soldier with an oily face replied, "We are repairing the tank!"

Qin Chuan knew they were not lying, because he could see that they still had tools in their hands under the light of the kerosene lamp.

"Why not wait until tomorrow to repair it?" Qin Chuan asked.

"We are worried that it will be too late!" the soldier replied.

"What do you mean by too late?"

"Captain!" the soldier explained: "This tank cannot move. This is very close to the front line, and this area is the area we have to give up..."

Then Qin Chuan understood.

Just as the soldier said, the repair shop is very close to the front line. The Soviets can get here with just one charge, which means that if it is not repaired as soon as possible, this tank will fall into the hands of the Soviet army at any time.

"Captain, please understand our feelings!" another soldier said: "We are tank soldiers, we don't want to be just infantry on the battlefield... Sorry, Captain, I don't mean to look down on infantry..."

"I understand!" Qin Chuan interrupted him and asked back: "Is it possible to repair it?"

"Kurutz said it won't take long to move, Captain!" the oily soldier replied.

"Kulutz?"

"That's him, Captain!" The greasy soldier turned his attention to a small German soldier in the corner.

"Hello, Kurucs!" Qin Chuan greeted him, but strangely, he looked confused and looked to the side with a confused look.

"Sir!" the greasy soldier explained: "Kurutz is a Latvian. He can't understand German, but he knows some English. We communicate more with gestures!"

Qin Chuan couldn't help but say "oh".

It is not surprising that there are Latvians among the German soldiers. From a modern perspective, Latvia is a member state of the Soviet Union, but it actually became independent during World War I. It was not until 1940 that the Soviet Union sent troops to occupy Latvia and annexed it. Entered the Soviet Union.

Similar to Latvia, there are several countries such as Lithuania and Estonia.

Wherever there is oppression, there will be resistance. The first thing these countries hated was the Soviet Union for annexing them for no reason. This made Germany considered a "liberator" when it attacked the Soviet Union and drove the Soviets from their territory.

In fact, the German army took advantage of this and gained the support of many local people.