red moscow

Chapter 2939

As soon as Sokov returned to his room, he excitedly told Khabarov, "Anton, I have good news for you."

"Good news?!" Khabarov asked instinctively, "Does that mean I can go to the weapons and equipment department tomorrow?"

“Uh, no, that’s not it.” Sokov shook his head and said, “Yasha has something to do tomorrow and can’t pick us up, so our trip to the weapons and equipment department has been scheduled for the day after tomorrow.”

Upon learning that it wasn't about going to the weapons and equipment department, Khabarov couldn't help but feel disappointed. He muttered, "I can't think of any other good news besides this."

"It's Vika, we'll see Vika soon."

Khabarov raised an eyebrow: "Is it that policewoman from the same era as us?"

“Yes, that’s her.” Sokov gave Khabarov a positive answer and continued, “You probably don’t know, but Vika is staying at the military hospital we just left. After we visit Lukin tomorrow, we can go see Vika.”

Khabarov was shocked: "Is this true? What a coincidence! The person we're looking for is actually in the military hospital we just left."

“Yes, I didn’t expect it to be such a coincidence.” Sokov said with a relaxed expression, “Since Vika is in the military hospital next door, it saves us a lot of trouble.”

"That's wonderful!" Khabarov said, rubbing his hands together, somewhat excited. "Maybe when we see Vika tomorrow, we can come up with a way to return to the future."

Seeing that Khabarov was getting a little too excited, Sokov quickly poured cold water on him: "Anton, I hope you don't have too high hopes for tomorrow's meeting, lest the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. If she really had a way to return to the future, she wouldn't be stuck in this era living in fear."

……

Early the next morning, Sokov was woken up by Khabarov: "Misha, Misha, wake up!"

Sokov groggily opened his eyes and asked sleepily, "Anton, what's wrong?"

"It's getting late, get up quickly, have breakfast, and then we'll go to the military hospital next door to find Vika."

Upon hearing that he was going to see Vika, Sokov immediately sat up, but when he glanced out the window and then at his watch, he nearly snapped out of his rage: "Anton, it's not even dawn yet, and you've already woken me up. You know, it's only six o'clock, the hotel restaurant hasn't even opened yet, and even if we go, we'll have to wait at the door."

However, since Khabarov had already woken him up, it was obviously impossible for him to go back to sleep. Sokov simply got up, washed up, and chatted with Khabarov to pass the time.

After waiting for the restaurant to open, the two went there, gave their room number, and the cook handed them the prepared breakfast.

Breakfast was simple: a spoonful of mashed potatoes, two slices of bread, and a bowl of soup with only one vegetable leaf floating in it.

As Khabarov ate, he shook his head and said, "I really didn't expect the food in the hotel restaurant to be so bad, it's not even as good as the food in our troops."

“Be content, Anton.” Sokov looked around and, finding that there were only the two of them in the large restaurant, lowered his voice and said, “Leningrad, which is surrounded by the Germans, has already seen many residents die of hunger because they cannot get enough food.”

Upon hearing Sokov mention Leningrad, Khabarov's expression immediately turned serious: "Misha, you're right. According to later statistics, more than 150 million residents died of hunger and cold during the Siege of Leningrad. It seems that you and I are both lucky that we didn't travel to that city, otherwise we might have died of hunger."

After finishing their breakfast, the two slowly walked toward the nearby military hospital.

They first arrived at Lukin's ward with ease and found him having breakfast.

Upon seeing the two arrive, Lukin put down his cutlery and greeted them warmly, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you're here! Have you had breakfast? Why don't you come and have some with us?"

"Comrade General, thank you for your kindness." Sokov politely declined Lukin's offer. "We've already had breakfast before we came. How are you feeling?"

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” Lukin said with a smile. “I had a successful operation at your brigade’s field hospital first, and then I received excellent care at this military hospital. I believe that in a month or two at most, I will be able to walk normally again.”

After a few words of casual conversation, Lukin asked Sokov curiously, "Lieutenant Colonel, what are your plans next? Will you stay in Moscow or return to the front lines?"

“Comrade General, I also want to return to the front as soon as possible. However, there are still some matters to be taken care of, so I cannot leave Moscow for the time being.” Sokov said briefly, “I will return to the front as soon as things are settled here.”

“Comrade Lieutenant Colonel,” Lukin glanced at Khabarov standing beside him and continued to ask Sokov, “who do you think will be the final victor in this war?”

Faced with Lukin's question, Sokov smiled faintly and replied without hesitation: "Comrade General, is it even a question? The final victor will definitely be us. A hundred years ago, Napoleon's army stormed into Moscow, but they quickly fled the city and were forced to flee our country in panic by the troops under Kutuzov's command. I believe that it won't be long before the same history repeats itself."

Lukin's face was full of smiles: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I never expected you to be so optimistic about the future of the war. To be honest, since the outbreak of the war, I have heard people say to me more than once that we are no match for the Germans and will be the losers in this war."

After Lu Jin finished breakfast, when the nurse came to collect the tableware, she specifically asked, "Comrade General, would you like to go for a walk first? I can prepare a wheelchair for you."

"No need," Lu Jin waved his hand at the nurse. "I feel a little tired and want to rest for a bit."

"Yes, Comrade General." Seeing that Lu Jin was unwilling to go out for some fresh air, the nurse did not force him. Before leaving with the tableware, she pointed to a rope on the wall and said, "If you need anything, just pull that rope."

After the nurse left, Sokov, who was eager to find Victoria, stood up and said politely to Lukin, "Comrade General, since you need to rest, I won't bother you any longer. I'll come to visit you another day."

As soon as Khabarov left Lukin's hospital room, he asked impatiently, "Misha, do you know where Vika lives?"

"She's in the hospital building next door, let's go there now."

Entering the adjacent inpatient building, Sokov went straight to the nurses' station and politely asked, "Nurse, I'd like to ask you about someone. Her name is Victoria, she's a policewoman, and she was recently injured and admitted here. Do you know which ward she's in?" The nurse looked at the two people in front of her warily and asked, "Who are you, and what do you want with her?"

Seeing that the nurse was suspicious of the two of them, Sokov quickly took out his military ID and handed it to her: "Nurse, this is my ID. Victoria is my friend. I heard she was wounded, so I took the opportunity of returning to the city on a business trip to visit her."

The nurse took Sokov's military ID, examined it carefully, and handed it back to him: "Lieutenant Colonel, if you want to see Victoria, you might as well wait for her in the lobby for a while. She is wheeled out by the nurses every morning at ten o'clock for some fresh air."

After thanking the nurse, Sokov led Khabarov to the corridor and sat down on a bench against the wall.

"Misha, how long do we have to wait here before we see Vika?"

“I don’t know either,” Sokov said, shaking his head. “Be patient, she should be out soon.”

After waiting for another ten minutes or so, just as Khabarov was about to lose his patience, Sokov suddenly heard a nurse at the nurses' station calling him: "Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel!"

Sokov quickly got up and walked over, politely asking, "Nurse, is there anything I can help you with?"

The nurse pointed to the other side of the corridor: "Look, Comrade Victoria, whom you're looking for, is here."

Sokov looked in the direction the nurse was pointing and saw Victoria sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed outside by a nurse. He quickly thanked the nurse and then walked towards Victoria.

"Vika!" He stepped in front of the wheelchair and asked softly, "How badly are you injured? How long will it take to heal?"

Victoria, who had been sitting expressionlessly in her wheelchair, showed impatience when she saw her wheelchair being blocked. But upon hearing that familiar voice, she abruptly looked up at the speaker.

When she realized that the speaker was Sokov, she stared in surprise, her eyes widening: "Misha, how could it be you? Shouldn't you be at the front lines right now? What are you doing in a military hospital in Moscow?"

Sokov grinned and explained to Victoria, "I received last-minute orders yesterday to come to Moscow on a special mission. I found out you were in this military hospital, so I came to see you. Are you going out for some fresh air?"

“Yes.” When Victoria heard Sokov ask this, she immediately realized that he might want to say something to her, so she quickly turned to the nurse pushing the wheelchair and said, “Nurse, this is my good friend. Let him help me push the wheelchair.”

The nurse pushing the wheelchair gave Sokov a meaningful look, then nodded and handed the wheelchair to him: "Comrade Commander, thank you for your help."

As Sokov pushed the wheelchair out, he whispered to Victoria, "Vika, is there a suitable place? I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

“Please get me out of the inpatient building first,” Victoria said. “There’s a small garden outside that’s quieter, so we can talk without being disturbed.”

Guided by Victoria, the three quickly arrived at the small garden where the wounded usually went for a walk and some fresh air.

Sokov pushed the wheelchair to a bench and then gestured for Khabarov to sit down. They sat facing Victoria, with a 36-degree unobstructed view of their surroundings, allowing them to spot anyone approaching immediately.

“Misha!” Victoria asked Khabarov, “Who is he?”

“He is Anton Khabarov,” Sokov said bluntly. “We accidentally traveled to this era while searching for him.”

Upon learning that the person in front of her was Khabarov, Victoria's face lit up with surprise. She looked at Sokov and asked, "Misha, now that we have found your friend, does that mean we can return to our own time?"

To everyone's surprise, Sokov shook his head and said with a bitter face, "Vika, you're probably going to be disappointed. Anton didn't come to this era alone; he had a friend who traveled through time with him. If we want to return to our own time, we'll probably have to find that person to have a chance to go back."

Victoria's smile froze on her face. After a long while, she finally asked, "Anton, tell me, where is your friend now?"

“Vika! Please allow me to call you Vika, just like Misha,” Khabarov said. “My friend has gone missing. Based on my analysis, he is most likely with the Germans.”

"What? He's with the Germans?" Victoria asked, her eyes wide. "Has he become a German prisoner?"

“No, Vika, he was not taken prisoner by the Germans.” Khabarov quickly explained to Victoria, seeing that she had misunderstood, “He was originally a German.”

“What? He’s actually German?” Victoria frowned. “How did you become friends with a German?”

“Why is that impossible?” Khabarov’s gaze shifted between Sokov and Victoria as he said, “You and Misha are from different countries, but aren’t you friends now?”

Upon hearing Khabarov's words, Sokov simply smiled faintly but remained silent.

Victoria, however, frowned and said, "So, if we want to go back to the future, we first have to find Anton's German friend. Am I right?"

“That’s right, that’s exactly it.” Sokov nodded and said, “Although we don’t know where Anton’s German friend Braun is now, we have to find a way to find him. Once the four of us are together, we’ll look for a way to go back to the future.”

"Even if the four of us get together, what method should we use to return to the future simultaneously?"

After Victoria finished speaking, Sokov turned to look at Khabarov beside him and continued, "Vika, when I first met Anton, we also discussed this issue. He used the movie 'We Are From the Future' as an example. The first way is to complete the designated mission and return to our own time smoothly. The other way is more risky; we would be blown back to the future on a battlefield amidst heavy gunfire."

“Ridiculous, Misha, these ideas are utterly absurd,” Victoria said seriously. “The first method is to complete the mission and return to our own time smoothly. I want to ask, what is our mission now? Is it to gather four people from the future? Even if we do, how are we going to return to the future? Misha, are you really planning to adopt Anton's method and have the four of us run to a battlefield amidst the gunfire, waiting for the artillery fire to blow us back to our own time?”

(End of this chapter)