Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 266 Curiosity killed the cat
Outside of Bludenz.

Night had fallen, but the military branch line at the foot of the mountain remained busy.

A dozen or so temporary searchlights were erected on a concrete platform, illuminating the entire work area as bright as day.

Tetsuo Ito stood on the makeshift command platform, followed by an unusually young aide.

At this moment, he was looking down at the loading progress, occasionally glancing up for a few seconds before quickly jotting down the numbers.

"Confirmation complete. Numbers 72 to 79, all sealed and secured."

At that moment, a German man in a brown overalls walked over, raised his right hand in salute, and said simply:
"The above are the second batch of components, totaling eight pieces."

Ito remained silent, only nodding slightly to indicate that he understood.

"Should we use a helium-cooled transport frame?" the young man asked at the opportune moment.

"Yes, execute according to the revised parameters provided the day before yesterday."

"The inertial buffer layer, secondary thermal control, and transportation process will maintain the temperature below -190 degrees Celsius."

As the young man translated, Ito turned and looked behind him.

There, three special flatbed trains have been assembled.

"The train departs at six o'clock tomorrow morning." The German man paused, then continued:
“Fairderkirchen, Ulm, Tübingen, and finally to the outer ring of the Karlsruhe Institute.”

"*The guard has coordinated with the Air Force Command to block the air routes simultaneously, with no communication relays and no ground interference."

"very good."

"very good."

Ito nodded, repeated it, and then pointed to the container furthest to the side: "What's that?"

“Cold storage compartment B-12,” the German quickly said, “is responsible for transporting the core components.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man took a half step closer and whispered a reminder: "Sir, it's almost time."

"Thank you for your hard work tonight," Ito said.

Sensing the implication in his words, the German did not linger any longer, and after a brief greeting, stepped down from the observation platform.

A mountain breeze blew by, and the nighttime temperature approached zero degrees Celsius.

In the distance, a bird flew over the searchlight pylon, casting an irregular shadow on the ground.

“Sir,” Isozaki broke the silence first, “aren’t you planning to attend Schwarzenwald’s dinner tomorrow?”

Ito shook his head. "I need to report back to the mainland, including the transfer of parts today, and the conditions for the next phase of handover."

"But the German side has arranged quite a few people, I heard that they include—"

“I know.” The young man’s question was abruptly cut off. “You go, Kiyoshi. Send the others too.”

"Yes."

"Afterwards, please convey my gratitude to the organizers."

"The Japanese government fully understands the various constraints that Germany faces under the current circumstances and will continue to demonstrate the greatest possible cooperation and sincerity."

This is the twenty-fourth door that Schneider is about to knock on.

Before that, there was no panic, no resistance, and no gain.

Passports, temporary travel documents, and even conference invitations were handed out.

Schneider's steps had long since become mechanical, and the young soldiers around him no longer held their heads high as they had at the beginning.

The two walked across the hotel's wooden floor, their footsteps sounding particularly jarring in the empty corridor.

“It’s too peaceful,” the young man complained. “It’s nothing like what they said.”

“That’s because we haven’t encountered the real problem yet,” Schneider said without turning his head.

Now, they are standing in front of the room marked with the number 1033.

There's nothing special about it.

The brass lock and the paint on the frame are peeling off, and a "Do Not Disturb" card hangs below.

Schneider raised his hand and tapped the button three times as per procedure.

no response.

He waited three seconds, then knocked three more times.

This time, the door slowly opened a crack.

It's a woman.

Her hair was disheveled, she looked tired, and she was wearing an out-of-season gray cardigan.

Her left hand was pressed against the back of the door, as if afraid it would be blown open by the wind.

"Good morning. There is an important event tonight, and identity verification is required."

Schneider patiently spoke, his tone neither warm nor cold.

"Please show me your identification and accommodation registration documents." The woman didn't speak, just nodded, and went inside to look for the documents.

The door was not closed, but half-open.

The room was dimly lit, as if the curtains were blocking out the sun.

Schneider rubbed the holster at his waist, suppressing the rising drowsiness and forcing his back straight.

Tonight's event will be held at the Schwarzenwald Hotel.

Important guests will be attending.

The instructions from above are that the investigation must be completed before 3 p.m.

At the current pace, they need to speed things up.

A dozen seconds later, the woman returned and handed over a few sheets of thin paper.

Schneider unfolded them one by one and began to peruse them.

Elena Novak.

He was born in Moravia.

I checked in the night before last.

The purpose is academic exchange.

Pass, Category D, issued in Lviv, Carpathia.

Upon seeing this, Schneider frowned.

Type D passes do not grant access to the core area of ​​Germania City.

The young man next to him might not know, but he did.

This is the latest notice issued by the Ministry of Public Security in response to the train tragedy that occurred a few days ago.

Schneider then raised his head.

"Miss Elena."

"Are you aware that your identification is not allowed in the core area?"

The woman paused for a moment, seemingly still not fully recovered from her confusion.

"I'm so sorry, a friend arranged for me to stay here at the last minute," she said softly.

"He must have made a mistake, but I'm leaving tomorrow, so it won't cause any trouble."

The woman did not raise her voice, nor did she try to deliberately hide anything.

Everything seemed natural.

But Schneider suddenly didn't want to hear her continue.

because--

That smell.

A faint scent in the air entered my nostrils, damp and carrying the smell of rust.

He frowned.

The smell was very faint, yet extremely familiar.

The taste of blood.

No matter how much you try to dilute or conceal it, it will always slowly seep through the fabric.

Schneider stared intently into the woman's light-colored eyes and drew his Walter P38 from his waist.

"Stumshar!"

The young man, oblivious to the situation, couldn't help but whisper a reminder, his fingers unconsciously tightening their grip on the rifle sling.

Schneider remained unmoved, simply raising his hand to signal him to stay put.

“Miss,” he said, “I need to go in and check.”

The woman's eyes widened, her expression revealing fear.

Very normal.

In this situation, and in this capacity, a woman living alone facing a man wielding a weapon should naturally react with fear.

But Schneider Electric was unwilling to miss out on that potential risk.

"Open the door and take me in." He raised his voice, without looking away.

After a long pause, the woman sighed and stepped aside.

“Please come in, sir,” she said. “I assure you, things are not as you imagine.”

　I'm a bit busy today, so I'll just post one chapter to top it off. Orz
　　
　
(End of this chapter)