Chapter 20 "Killing Intent Stick"

  The so-called dry dock doesn't necessarily have to be completely dry, for example, the small dry dock in front of Zhang Hainuo used for repairing submarines still has a lot of water inside, and the U21 with the German naval war flag is like a master of lightness floating on the water surface - if there's no need to repair the bottom of the ship, people sometimes won't completely drain the water from the dry dock, as long as the ship can stably sit on the dock.

  Next to the dock, Austro-Hungarian workers with different facial features are lifting some heavy components from next to the dock with a crane, while the submarine with a torpedo-shaped body now has its fore and aft decks wide open, with the dismantled deck gun lying quietly on the dock.

  "It was that damned British destroyer, if its gunfire had been a bit more accurate, we might not have made it back!" Patrick Proll, the chief engineer of U21, said to Zhang Haino as he gazed up at the diesel engine being slowly lowered into the submarine.

  This was the sixth hour since Zhang Hainuo arrived at Port Bora, and he had been working on U21 for a full four hours. He checked every torpedo tube on the boat and corresponding equipment, helped Prohl and several other crew members install detection parts, which were not purely physical work, but judging from Zhang Hainuo's current oil-stained body and face, it was not easy either.

  At this time, Zhang Haino finally deeply understood the true meaning of Hersen's sentence "There are still many tasks waiting for you to complete". As for that guy called "crazy", while everyone was busy, he stood alone on the dry dock, looking around, occasionally elegantly lighting a cigarette.

  "Do you smoke on the submarine?" Zhang Haino remembered that when he was in naval school, his instructor had told him about the few major "prohibitions" on submarines, one of which was the absolute prohibition on smoking during dives. This would make the already murky air inside the boat even worse, and for the hydrogen gas emitted by the battery, a lit cigarette was a huge hazard.

  "No, of course not! Unless the submarine is traveling on the surface and there are no enemy forces nearby!" Prohl glanced up at Hessen standing above him.

  "But after the submarine returned to port, it didn't matter, restaurants, bars or brothels, smoking was allowed!"

  Zhang Hainuo was surprised that the word "whorehouse" would come out of Prohl's mouth so directly and without disguise, because on the Sedlitz, officers were always gentlemen.

  Pu Ruo didn't respond to Zhang Hainuo's confusion and continued to loudly direct the workers in charge of the hoisting machine:

  "Move left... move a bit more to the left! Right, good, now lower it down by an inch! Good!"

  As Prohl's last "good" sound, the diesel engine that was longer than a truck finally arrived. For submarines, diesel engines are like human hearts, providing the most basic power guarantee. The batteries of this era can usually only sustain the submarine for one to two hours, and when the battery is depleted, it must float on the surface to charge with a diesel engine. In the current situation where anti-submarine capabilities are relatively weak in various countries, submarines will spend most of their time sailing on the surface. As one of Germany's more advanced submarines at the moment, the UBIII type has two such diesel engines installed, which means that when one of them fails, the submarine can still return to base at half speed.

  "Captain, would you mind passing me a small plier... thank you!"

  "Ensign, would you mind holding down the other end of this oil pipe... harder, a bit more force... got it!"

  The oil pipe is done, but Zhang Hainuo's face is covered with a layer of oil and sweat. This Lieutenant Colonel, who keeps calling him "Lieutenant", is actually ordering himself around like he would to his subordinates. Of course, Zhang Hainuo knows this isn't his intention, because Hersen has arranged for him to be his deputy today.

  Taking advantage of the break at work, Zhang Hainuo gave Hersen a puzzled look, but that high-and-mighty guy still had a cold expression. Fortunately, Zhang Hainuo's temper was always easy-going and didn't bother to argue with him too much.

  When the sun sets in the west, the installation work of the diesel engine on the left side is finally completed. Prohl said that as long as the engine is debugged again tomorrow, there will be no major problems. The remaining work to be done is not much, just replacing two oil pipes, inspecting and repairing all electrical circuits on the boat, and reinstalling the deck gun. After that, it's just a matter of transporting torpedoes, fuel, and supplies onto the boat.

  Hesen didn't know when he left, but when he reappeared, he had somehow managed to get a small car and was honking the horn repeatedly. Proel and several other sailors saw this and immediately put down their tools, ran back to the dormitory with big smiles on their faces, and Zhang Haino vaguely heard them say: "Wow, Lieutenant is going to treat us again tonight!"

  Zhang Hainuo was puzzled, but saw Hersen carrying a rifle walking towards himself.

  "Captain von Falkenhausen, you've had a hard day today!"

  Hesen seemed polite, but Zhang Hainuo knew there must be something behind it.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, he handed himself that rifle and said:

  "We're going to the city area for dinner now and will be back in about three hours. During this time, you'll be in charge of the submarine's lookout duties!"

  Zhang Hainuo was stunned, but he could only watch as Hersen turned and got back into the car. Prool and the others quickly changed clothes and came out of the dormitory, then got into Hersen's car without exception. Next, Zhang Hainuo watched as the car sped away in a cloud of dust.

  The sky gradually darkened, and the workers all went home. The dry dock where U21 was located was left with only Zhang Haino. Italians rarely sent planes to bomb, so Pola Port did not implement blackout restrictions, and several docks that were loading and unloading cargo still had lights on, but this made Zhang Haino's side even more desolate and cold.

  In early January, the northern coast of the Mediterranean was not below zero degrees Celsius, but it was also very cold inside the port. Zhang Hainuo came to Pola wearing a thick woolen coat, but during the day he put it in his dormitory with his luggage for convenience. Now he is wearing a double-breasted winter military uniform, which has hardly changed in style since the Prussian Navy was founded in 1848. Although it is also made of wool, it is much thinner than that coat.

  The cold wind kept blowing in from the collar, cuffs and hem of his clothes. Zhang Hainuo really wanted to go back to the dormitory to put on his overcoat, best to tie a scarf and wear gloves, although the dormitory was only a hundred steps away, but as a sentry, it was not allowed to leave the post half a step during the duty period.

  Zhang Hainuo did not receive long-term formal training, but he is very clear about this point.

  Helplessly, Zhang Haino glanced at the dormitory building and began pacing back and forth on the dry dock, partly to "warm up" and also out of a sense of vigilance. As for the rifle that Hersen had given him, he would sometimes carry it on his shoulder and then take it down and hold it in his hand. It had been more than seven months since Zhang Haino arrived in this era on June 1st, the day the Battle of Jutland ended, but strangely, as a naval officer, he rarely handled guns, especially not this kind of long rifle.

  Based on his understanding of the Mauser rifle, Zhang Hainuo can basically confirm that Hersen gave him a Mauser 1898, also known as Gewehr98, which was the standard-issue rifle for the German army during World War I. Its advantages are high shooting accuracy and reliable performance, but its length is quite long, reaching 1.25 meters, and its weight of 4.2 kilograms is somewhat heavy.

  "Three hours..."

  Zhang Hainuo smiled wryly to himself, would that guy Hersen be back on time in three hours? He didn't dare to confirm, but this ace boatman with the nickname "madman" was far beyond his expectations in both appearance and behavior. He was handsome, cool, and clean, but he wasn't friendly to himself at all. Today's "show of force" was indeed enough to show off, but Zhang Hainuo hadn't come here to steal the spotlight from him. Zhang Hainuo wondered, why did that guy want to target him like this? Was this the usual way U21 welcomed new people?

  Other people's thoughts are the most difficult to guess, Zhang Hainuo is not a psychology expert, and he can't figure out the reason, so he can only continue to walk back and forth on the dry dock. When Hersen brought the rifle, he didn't even give himself a bayonet or an extra ammunition pouch, which means that this rifle at most had only 5 bullets, and it was still a slow-firing manual rifle. If something really happened, Zhang Hainuo would probably be finished off here.

  Fortunately, Pola Harbour was originally the number one military base of Austria-Hungary, and after nightfall, there would be no idle people walking around at will. So it took a long time for Zhang Hainuo to see a small car, but it just passed by from the road in front of the dock.

  For such a "cold field", Zhang Hainuo really didn't know whether to be happy or depressed.

  The night grew deeper, and Zhang Hainuo's body became colder. If a crew member came back at this time, he could at least ask the other person to help him get his jacket. Unfortunately, this was just his wishful thinking. He secretly despised Hersen in his heart while taking out a handkerchief from his pocket, and...

  Damn it, I've got a runny nose!

  "Captain, what's our great hero from the Sedlitz doing now? Is he grumbling at the air or preparing to report to his superiors?" A brown-haired and curly-haired guy said loudly in the carriage, and his words immediately triggered a burst of laughter.

  "Guess if he will hold onto his rifle for three hours on the dry dock?" The voice came from a big-headed, small-eyed man opposite to Curly.

  "I bet he will, he's from the great unsinkable ship and was seriously injured in the Battle of Jutland, it took him three whole months to recover! Do you think someone like that would just leave their post on their own?" Another somewhat childish voice chimed in with its opinion.

  "It's hard to say! Look at him, so young and already a lieutenant, maybe it's just because of his noble status! I think he may have never stood guard before!" The brown-haired curly-haired man said with some disdain.

  "Hey, but he's a very kind person, didn't you notice?" It was still that slightly childish voice.

  "Gentlemen are all very kind!" The little whisker sitting at the back of the car said this with great reason, and everyone laughed, but although they laughed, there was not a bit of malice on their faces.

  The brown-haired curly-haired one continued:

  "Just think, three hours later when he's in a foul mood, we show up with a sumptuous welcome dinner and his expression must be priceless, haha! Just like when Lieutenant Proell first reported to our submarine!"

  "Yes, yes, I remember it too. Sergeant Proell was stunned at the time and couldn't say a word for half a day!"

  Hahaha...

  Just then a man stuck his head out of the cab and yelled back:

  "What are you talking about me again? Don't think I didn't hear, a bunch of little rabbits!"

  The carriage erupted into another fit of laughter.