Chapter 749: Goddess Avenue

If there truly is such a thing as fate in the world, then some people are undoubtedly its darlings, while others are doomed to be unlucky souls abandoned by it. Just as Akado was murderously preparing to raise his butcher’s knife and have a serious discussion with a group of bastards who were “undermining the imperialist corner” about what patriotism meant, a woman suddenly appeared beside the group.

Judging by her attire alone, this woman could be considered the epitome of avant-garde. In such cold weather, she was actually wearing a pair of thin silk stockings and a dark long dress. Below her exposed neck, just above her sexy collarbone, hung a pearl necklace of very fine quality. Over her shoulders was a black fur shawl, which was arguably the only thing she was wearing that matched the weather.

“Mr. Alston, long time no see.” As an obvious socialite, this glamorous woman had called out Frank Alston’s name from a distance. This had saved her from being pinned to the ground and beaten by two SS special service agents. Her high heels clattered on the stone slabs, and soon she was standing beside Frank Alston.

Up close, Akado realized that the woman’s face was heavily made up. At least on the surface, with makeup, she still fell into the category of beautiful. However, after having seen the likes of Mercedes, Anna, and Fanny, a woman with heavy makeup could, in Akado’s eyes, at best get a score of 80 for stability. But what made Akado wary was the strong perfume she was wearing, which stung his nose and made him involuntarily frown.

“Miss Dofinger, I didn’t expect to run into you here.” Frank Alston was no stranger to high society. Of course, he knew who she was. He quickly introduced her to Akado, who was beside him. “This is Miss Dofinger. She is a very famous movie star in the autonomous province of Holland.”

He introduced Dofinger purely out of politeness. On the other hand, he had heard that the young Führer had many lovers in private, so he wasn’t sure if this god-like Führer beside him would, on a whim, entertain the idea of spending a night with a star. So he had no choice but to introduce her and then let the Führer, Akado, handle it himself.

However, after he had introduced this woman, Dofinger, when he glanced at Akado out of the corner of his eye, he happened to see the moment Akado frowned in disgust. For Frank, who had clawed his way up for years to become a hot-shot industrialist with Akado’s backing, it took him only a fraction of a second to understand Akado’s attitude towards the woman before him.

“Miss Dofinger, I… I and this gentleman still have some matters to attend to. We’ll talk another day.” Knowing the Führer’s attitude, Frank naturally changed his own stance. He hoped to end the conversation quickly so that this woman, whom the Führer was not fond of, would get lost.

Get lost? What a joke. Dofinger had been in the entertainment industry for many years and naturally had a good eye. From a long way off, she had spotted the most sought-after playboy in Dutch high society, Frank, and had seen the respectful way he treated the person beside him.

And looking at the tall, thin man in a handmade Italian suit, plus the watch on his wrist that, just from its workmanship, was clearly extraordinarily expensive—how could she possibly let such a gold mine go? If she could really succeed in getting into this man’s bed, then she would have truly entered the circle of high society in the Third Reich. Wasn’t it for this very day that she had been desperately learning German? This opportunity, she couldn’t let it go, even if she had to die for it!

Her judgment was very correct. If she could really get Akado to take off her clothes, then she would absolutely and immediately become the highest-ranking socialite in the Third Reich. Of course, the premise was that she could get Akado to take off her clothes, or that she could take off Akado’s clothes. Taking off Akado’s clothes required taking out about 40 special service guards. Getting Akado to take off her clothes was even more difficult than that…

“This gentleman doesn’t look familiar. Is this your first time in Rotterdam? I can be your guide, for free,” Dofinger said, showing no intention of leaving. She spoke to Akado, who was standing there wanting to leave. Her tone was full of seduction. She clearly did not want to waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Frank Alston slapped his forehead with his hand, really wanting to go over and kick Dofinger. The number of people in all of Germany who could say “You don’t look familiar” to the Führer’s face was probably less than five. By Reinhard Heydrich’s standards, not standing at attention and shouting “Heil Führer” was already a capital offense.

Of course, there was another person who found this glamorous and seductive woman a bit of an eyesore. This person was the little girl who had been standing by Akado’s side all along. Akado had promised to pay her a tip of 10 Imperial Gold Marks. If this woman snatched her job, wouldn’t that be a huge loss of income? And so, this little girl stared at the woman who was trying to steal her business, her eyes filled with hostility.

“Thank you, I already have a guide,” Akado said, pointing to the little girl beside him. He had no desire to wander around with a starlet who was desperate to latch onto a rich man. If word of this got out, the women at home (a plural, in any case) would surely be in an uproar. Most importantly, Akado still had a lot of things to do. Where would he find the time to wander around with such a superficial woman? So he quickly demurred, using the little girl beside him as a shield.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were into such young ones. Your taste is really unique. I don’t mind a threesome. Perhaps you haven’t tried a star before?” Dofinger clearly had not yet realized just how dangerous the person she was trying to latch onto was. This tall, thin, and somewhat ordinary-looking man ordered the deaths of tens of thousands of people every day. From the Ruhr to west of the Caucasus, the heads of millions had rolled, all on his orders!

Hearing this, Akado felt there was no point in continuing to entangle with this woman. He glanced at Frank Alston and then ordered coldly, “Summarize her background and identity and report it to Mercedes. Let her handle this kind of thing. I don’t have time to get involved with such riffraff.”

“Yes! I understand!” Frank Alston said, nodding respectfully under Dofinger’s terrified gaze. “Should I hand it over to General Heydrich? He’s good at handling this kind of thing.”

“There’s no need to kill her. Just let her know how to behave in the future,” Akado said, glancing at Dofinger, who was still standing there in a daze, not knowing what had just happened. He snorted coldly and continued to walk forward.

As he lifted his leg, the little girl who disliked Dofinger also quickened her pace to keep up. The guards protecting Akado naturally also disliked the uninvited guest who had made them tense up, so they all followed the Führer’s footsteps. As for Frank Alston, whose skill in reading people was first-rate, he did not fall a single step behind.

“Find a better job, a suitable one, and settle this little girl’s father,” Akado said as he walked, arranging things with Frank Alston who was following beside him. “The Empire wronged their family first, so we must compensate them as much as possible. I’m leaving this matter to you. Don’t be perfunctory, and don’t brush it off. You can judge the extent yourself. Understood?”

“That’s no problem, my Führer.” With no outsiders around, Frank Alston directly used the most natural form of address. He had just witnessed the terrifying power of the top authority in the Empire to change fates with a flip of his hand. He certainly did not want to experience it personally.

“Are you interested in investing in the film industry?” Akado suddenly asked, out of the blue.

“If it is your need, my Führer, I still have some spare cash,” Frank Alston replied.

Akado was clearly very satisfied with Frank’s answer. He nodded and said, “Cultivate this little girl. I guarantee you, if you invest 100,000 marks today, you’ll have 100 million in ten years.”

“Führer, you think so highly of this little girl?” Frank Alston was taken aback for a moment, then glanced at the still-bewildered little girl beside Akado.

“Miss.” Akado suddenly stopped, then took a notebook from the interpreter’s bag, uncapped a fountain pen, and bent down to hand them to the little girl. He said with a smile, “Could you give me your autograph? As the Führer of the Third Reich, it is very likely that one day in the future, I will be a great fan of your performances.”

The interpreter relayed Akado’s words to the little girl. After hearing them, she stared at Akado, puzzled, really wanting to know why he would say such a thing. After a while, she realized she had been staring for a long time and quickly took the pen and notebook, writing her name: “You said I can perform on stage? But I…”

“Miss, I will arrange for a famous acting school for you. I will take you home in a little while. I need to have a good talk with your parents,” Frank Alston said quickly.

Akado took the notebook from the little girl’s hand. On the flyleaf, a name that would shock the world in a later era was written in a childish hand: “Audrey Hepburn.”

Twelve years later, at the Berlin Film Awards ceremony, the crowned Best Actress, Hepburn, mentioned this chance encounter. Only then did people learn of a small commercial street on the south side of a street called Fillem Bach in the Netherlands. On the morning of January 27, 1939, at a corner of this street, a minor star of the time was blacklisted and was never heard from again. And a girl, from that day on, rose through the ranks to become the goddess of all men in the world.

Twelve years later, that place was called Goddess Avenue. And at that street corner, a few years later, a statue was erected: a tall, thin man, holding the hand of a little girl.

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