You've been ruined by games all your life!

Chapter 47 In the Name of Stolt (Seeking monthly votes and continued reading)

Korchagin was indeed very efficient. Not long after Chen Lai finished speaking with him, he had Ulia organize the remaining staff to come and see Chen Lai.

"Please come in, everyone."

When Chen Lai opened the door, the golden pupils had already disappeared, and his voice was sincere and powerful, not at all like a patient who had just woken up from a coma.

"May God bless you, Rosa's child."

An elderly woman, wearing a headscarf and reading glasses, hunched over and stepped forward to pray for Chen Lai in the Orthodox style. Then the two touched cheeks together.

“This is Grandma Joanna, Julie’s mother. She volunteered to stay… She is old and has difficulty walking, and the organization took that into consideration and granted her request.”

Ulia stepped forward and explained that several elderly people had poured into the room. One of them was an old man who was missing an ear and was smoking silently, but there were more old women. The young men and women had to leave, leaving only these old bones in the enemy-occupied area.

Oh, and Ulia is also left behind. She's a young woman and a member of the Rosa Communist Youth League.

"Comrade Warrant Officer, I've heard that the Prosen people eat people. Is that true?" the old man smoking asked somewhat uneasily.

“The Prosenians don’t eat people; they eat bread, cheese, and butter,” Chen Lai tried to ease his tension.

"Don't lie for these devils who deserve to go to hell, Warrant Officer. You can't fool me." The old man's eyes widened. "What don't I know? If they didn't eat people, how come the bustling village is now empty? Not a single young man who left here has returned!"

"And the girls, those blonde girls who sang and danced, as beautiful as Ulia, they're all gone, never to return!"

Faced with the old man's questioning, Chen Lai remained silent.

Old Kant, seeing that he had stumped the warrant officer in front of him, did not feel smug, but simply smoked his cigarette in silence.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Ulia quickly stepped in to explain:
“Sigh, Warrant Officer, please don’t take it to heart. Old Kant is getting on in years; he’s lived through the Tsarist era. Everyone is afraid of the future. Nobody knows what the village will be like after Prosen takes over…”

Chen Lai nodded slightly. He understood the old man's thoughts. Although the Prosen army's performance in 1939 was not yet so brutal and savage, there were already some signs of what would happen later.

"Comrades, I understand what you are thinking. Anyone who sees the beautiful land of our motherland being trampled under the hooves of the enemy would be furious but also terrified."

"This winter, our army, under the leadership of Stolt, successfully defeated the Prosen army in Moscow, which is why they are trying to open a breach from both flanks, while our main force is concentrated in Moscow and unable to return to reinforce."

"But I believe that as long as we persevere and fight tenaciously even behind enemy lines, the liberation of the entire Rosa will be just around the corner!"

Chen Lai's tone was calm and convincing, and the rifle on his bedside table and the grenade tucked into his belt further demonstrated his determination to resist.

“With your words, sir, I think I can rest assured,” old Kant suddenly said.

“Old Kant, this is the Rosa Federation now, where did this ‘master’ come from?” Ulia glanced at Chen Lai nervously, afraid that he would get angry and call Old Kant a “white bandit” who “doesn’t change his feudal ways.”

"Who can tell the difference? When the Tsar was in power, there were lords everywhere, and golden-eyed people roamed around. Now they've created some kind of federation, purged the golden-eyed people, and now the Prosenians are back..."

"They come here simply to act like lords. In Rosa, how long has the history of lords been?" Old Kant smiled bitterly. Chen Lai didn't reply. He was thinking about how to make contact with General Pskov smoothly and how to cover up the fact that he had "lost" the assault nitroglycerin.

After all, he didn't really know any "Pskov the guerrilla," and he had only said that to get his hands on the medicine.

And so, Chen Lai frowned in thought, while old Kant silently smoked, and the old ladies sat on the edge of the bed and on small stools without saying a word.

Seeing that the atmosphere inside the room was getting increasingly strange, Ulia took the lead and led the elderly people out. Then, somewhat uneasy, she poured Chen Lai a glass of water and nervously watched his expression.

"Comrade Commander, please don't be angry with Old Kant. He joined Kolchak's White Army when he was young and fought with us. He didn't quite agree with the Federation's ideology, but his life has improved in recent years, and he has gradually stopped saying those things..."

"It's only recently, with the economic downturn caused by the war, that he's started talking about these things again."

After speaking, Ulia glanced nervously at Chen Lai's face out of the corner of her eye. She knew the gravity of the situation; if the commander was unhappy, he could execute old Kant on charges of "disloyalty to the Federation and counter-revolution."

"Angry? I'm not angry."

Chen Lai snapped out of his reverie, shook his head at Ulia, and thought, why should he be angry? He wasn't Political Commissar Rosa, just a lowly warrant officer.

"Oh, you scared me to death! I thought you were like those blue-hatted guys we sent before, always making a mountain out of a molehill!"

Seeing that he was really not angry, Ulia patted her chest with relief, causing a "ripple".

"Ahem, Ulia, I have a question for you. Are there any good sniping spots or secret passages in the village where we can hide?"

"What are you going to do?" Ulia covered her mouth, somewhat surprised.

“I don’t intend to be a submissive citizen of the Prosen people, but for some reason, I need to stay in the village for a few days. Once things are settled and you are sure it’s safe, I will leave.”

"Then you've come to the right person, Warrant Officer. I've been stealing chickens and dogs in the village since I was a kid. I know exactly what everyone hides in their attic!"

Ulia looked somewhat proud, but blushed under Chen Lai's slightly smiling gaze.

"I mean, secretly, stealthily investigate..."

Chen Lai didn't expose her: "Then I'll leave this to you. The Prosen will arrive at the latest tomorrow. I need to move to a hidden location tonight. The traces in this room need to be cleaned up, otherwise the Prosen won't let anyone in the village go."

"I fully understand, comrade commander. Rest assured, I guarantee to complete the mission—in the name of Stolt!"

As she spoke, Ulia suddenly gave a military salute, her short, golden hair swaying with it.

Chen Lai was taken aback for a moment, then took a serious look, stood up straight, put his legs together, and saluted her in the best possible way.

"In the name of Stolt!"

(End of this chapter)