Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 250 Commander Wang Wei
Four fifty in the afternoon.

The sun had not yet completely set, but the room was already dark, as if it had sunk into the night.

The glass windows were shattered, and the iron gate was rusted shut.

The cement floor was covered in engine oil and dust, with several messy footprints.

A middle-aged man with graying temples leaned against the wall, his right hand hidden behind his waist, nervously scanning his surroundings.

Not long after, footsteps could be heard outside.

His expression tightened, and he quickly stood up straight.

The next second, Schleck walked in, wearing a tattered coat.

"Are you all crazy?"

He didn't bother with pleasantries at all; he immediately launched into a stern interrogation.

Do you know what they did in Vasskburg?

The man opened his mouth, somewhat flustered, and tried to explain:

“I swear—this was not part of the plan.”

"We...they only have three pistols, there's no way we can get close to Weissman!"

"Then how do you explain his death?"

Schleck's voice wasn't loud, but it made the man's face grow even paler.

"I don't know either, but it was definitely not in the plan."

"We've known each other for so long, please believe me, really."

"Your tacit approval of this operation is why I dared to—"

"Shut up!"

Schleck's rebuke made the man tremble twice.

Then, he sighed to himself.

"We really need to embarrass the SS—that's the consensus."

“But you should understand that Weissman is different.”

"His arrival represents the will of the Führer."

"Especially at this special time."

The man lowered his head, sweat dripping from his forehead and down his nose to the ground.

I know how important he is.

"The operatives had photos of Weissman, but they simply didn't have enough firepower to get past the cordon."

“I swear, given their status, they can’t even get close to the upper floors.”

"Perhaps, maybe someone changed their plans at the last minute, or maybe it was them themselves—"

"Don't talk nonsense."

Schleck interrupted his confession.

"Now that it has happened, there is no need to continue to shift the blame to each other."

“Give me the list,” he said, “before everything completely spirals out of control.”

The man's posture was somewhat stiff.

"I can't give it to you, you know how we operate—"

“No, you can,” Schleck interrupted him again.

“You’ve done it before, you can do it now, and you will continue to do it in the future.”

“I’m not asking you to hand over the entire organization—that’s not within your authority.”

"But all members who could have been involved in planning this operation."

“Write down their location, contact information, recent movements, and possible hiding places.”

Schleck paused for a moment, then said, "I can buy you at most twenty-four hours."

“After that, this damned area will be turned into scorched earth.”

"You want to see a real 'rectification'? Then wait and see."

The man looked up, his tone tinged with urgency:

"Didn't you promise that the 'core' wouldn't be damaged? I—"

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” Schleck said. “If anything were to happen, you should have been buried in the yard long ago.”

He calmly looked into the other person's eyes.

The room fell silent.

A moment later, the man lit a cigarette, but his hand was trembling.

“Let’s be honest with each other,” Schleck said.

"Tell me, who could possibly have caused such damage?"

Upon hearing this, the man shook his head, still at a loss for words: "I don't know. Really."

“Those operatives were all handpicked and had no military background.”

"."

Schleck stared at him intently. After a long pause, he finally relented: "Perhaps you really don't know."

He walked to the window.

A gray car without license plates was parked not far away, its engine still running.

The driver sat motionless in the driver's seat, his hat pulled low.

For some reason, Schleck suddenly felt very tired.

So he turned around and walked towards the man, reached out and asked for a cigarette, lit it, and took two deep drags.

"The major from the General Security Bureau just left my office."

Schleck stared at the drifting smoke in front of him, his eyes unreadable.

"After that, there will be a new purge, a new death."

"Jews, Slavs, Gypsies. And then? Who will it be?"

"So what do you plan to do?" the man asked.

"."

Schleck did not answer directly, but instead seemed to be lost in thought.

"In Germania, the **army is chanting the call to protect the Führer, and the Defense Forces are planning to revive their traditions."

"And my boss and my colleagues just wanted to keep the fire from getting to them."

At this point, Schleck's voice lowered.

It makes men unable to tell whether he is talking to himself or having a conversation with himself.

"Long ago, in the far east, there was an emperor who attempted to establish his own thousand-year empire."

"ending"

"Of course, I'm not a historian, but an old friend once told me about it."

"he died."

"But that might also be my thought."

Schleck's eyes flickered slightly as he turned to look at the man.

"That's why I'm still willing to come here and talk to you."

"The tacit understanding between us has never been based on faith."

"It's about interests."

Please don't misunderstand.

The man was alarmed but dared not reply.

"Now, write down the list."

As he spoke, Schleck took out paper and pen from his pocket and handed them over.

"We have less than half an hour left."

The man gave an awkward smile but didn't take it.

Then, under Schleck's cold gaze, he took out a file bag from his pocket.

"To be honest, all I brought with me today was a pistol and this."

"All the information you need is in there."

Upon hearing this, Schleck's expression flickered momentarily.

"You organized all of these yourself?" he asked cryptically.

“It took me several years,” the man said. “Most of them were hideouts that had been observed, and some were possibly intermediaries.”

"We use a honeycomb structure."

"There is no central authority; everyone only knows their own direct contact."

"Task instructions are one-way; once issued, they are not retrieved, explained, or questioned."

"Therefore, it took a lot of effort to sort out these things."

"I hope you can understand my sincerity."

Schleck casually flipped through a few pages and immediately frowned.

When did you start collecting these?

“From the moment I realized that a declaration can only be a declaration,” the man said softly.

Which year?

"1950".

Schleck looked up and observed him seriously for the first time.

"From then on, resistance had no future, only delusion and sacrifice remained."

"I'm not mocking them. It's just..."

The man paused, seemingly considering his words, "...Perhaps there is another way."

Schleck closed the file, turned and left without a word.

Just before leaving, he turned back and said, "Perhaps."

　The world-building is similar to The Man in the High Castle but not entirely (it lacks Zentradi technology/dimensional travel and similar concepts, and the geopolitics are very different). Also, the author originally intended this volume to be about the May Storm.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)