Chapter 796: Slaughter is the Eternal Main Theme.

After the photos were taken, Akado smiled and left his seat to converse with Madame Curie, who held no great affection for Germany. “How is your health recovering?”

In another timeline, Madame Curie had died in 1934 from acute leukemia due to excessive exposure to radioactive materials. But in this timeline, Akado, in the private capacity of the White Orchid Group, had sponsored the Curies, providing them with a better experimental environment and saving this famous scientist in the field of physics.

However, due to her long-term engagement in radioactive physics experiments, Madame Curie’s health had never been very good, which was why Akado asked. Perhaps only he himself in the entire world knew that he had saved Madame Curie’s life, extending the life of this great scientist by more than two years.

“My Führer! I hope you can fulfill your promise! Urge that cruel subordinate of yours named Heydrich to restore order in Poland as soon as possible, and to help the Polish people as much as possible to get out of their predicament.” Madame Curie had always identified as Polish. The reason she and her husband had agreed to come here, to help Germany develop a terrifying superweapon, was because Reinhard Heydrich, on his own initiative, had threatened the Curies with the lives of tens of thousands of people in Poland.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Madame Curie. I know you still do not agree with my view of starting a war, but you must understand that Poland can only have a future when it is with Germany,” Akado said to Madame Curie with confidence.

“There is no point in saying these things now, Mr. Führer. Even if we were forced to come here, we will still do our duty,” Madame Curie said, coughing softly before speaking. “Our research was personally funded by your wife, so in fact, we are the ones who owe you a favor. You do not owe us anything.”

In the early years, Akado had used the hidden funds of the Wehrmacht to finance some down-and-out physicists. Einstein and others had become his close friends, and the Curies had also once worked for the White Orchid Group, receiving a salary that was considered astonishing at the time. It was precisely because of these tangled personal and emotional ties that the Curies, after the fall of Poland, had agreed to stay in Germany to continue their scientific research.

“No, Madame, I owe you and your husband a promise,” Akado said solemnly. “After the war is over, I assure you that the Polish people will all receive the normal treatment of a Third Reich citizen. I will do my best to compensate for the suffering they have endured during the war.”

“Believe me, Mr. Führer. The harm the war has done to the Polish people, and the harm the fall of Poland has done to me, is a wound that no compensation can heal,” Madame Curie said with a somewhat sad expression as she walked with Akado towards the building.

“I know, but I can assure you that the suppression of Poland will be gradually reduced, and that place will become a new paradise,” Akado said. “We did not invade there for destruction, but to lead the world, to build a new order—that’s all.”

“I hope so!” Madame Curie said as she entered the building and, along with the other scientists, followed Akado into the conference room. The banquet would begin shortly. The atmosphere of discussion was very lively due to Einstein’s arrival.

“Yes, to a certain extent, this formula can be simplified to a result like (m1-m2)v1/…” Bohr and Einstein had been discussing topics of interest to them all afternoon. Akado quickly used the excuse of an inspection tour to escape these scientific madmen. If he stayed with these people, he would probably expose his liberal arts background in less than 20 minutes and then be sneered at by a large group of physicists. The high-and-mighty prophet image he had so painstakingly built would be instantly shattered.

Because the Führer was in a hurry to leave this place and return to Berlin to visit the long-ill Chancellor August, dinner was to be held a few hours early. A group of scientists had no interest in wandering around with the Führer, so they were also more than happy to see him off and quickly record what they had just discussed.

A sumptuous dinner immediately began. All kinds of delicacies were in unlimited supply here. With a special fund sponsored by the White Orchid Group, one could eat almost the best food in the world here. Ingredients that were unimaginable in other parts of Germany were all prepared here. It was said that Madame Curie liked to eat sea fish, and there was even a special refrigerated display case prepared for her.

This dinner was very enjoyable, with fine steak, classic French cuisine, and beautiful music. In the huge fireplace, the dancing flames filled the entire dining hall with a warm and poetic atmosphere.

Vast land, abundant resources. While it was still afternoon near Berlin, Germany, the German soldiers on the distant Eastern Front were already looking at the gradually darkening sky and beginning to eat their dinner on time. Some people needed a fireplace, music, and silver cutlery when they ate dinner. Others, when they ate dinner, were very happy as long as the enemy’s shells weren’t exploding beside them.

A large pot was steaming. The containers in their hands were filled with the fragrance of chemical oils. No one cared that these were originally packaging boxes for chemicals; they had now been used many times as lunch boxes.

To be able to eat a delicious meal in the severe cold of winter was already a very happy thing for the soldiers who had been fighting all along, not to mention that this meal was even heated and cooked. This could simply be said to be a gift from God. A smile was on everyone’s face. It seemed that the soldiers of the entire 502nd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion were in a pretty good mood at this moment.

The cold wind whipped against the tent. For any unit, camping in the wild was a very complicated and extremely tedious job. However, for an armored unit, this was still tolerable. After all, most of the time, they were sitting in their tanks, enjoying the noise and warmth brought by the roaring engines.

“Potatoes again? My God, why don’t these idiots from the farms plant beef in the ground?” Bruce complained loudly, pouring boiling water into a bag of potato powder. This food, along with cornmeal and roasted flour, made up almost the entire emergency ration system for the frontline soldiers of the Third Reich.

Rein was sitting on an empty gasoline drum by the side of the tank, cleaning his MP-44 assault rifle. Hearing Bruce wailing there, he looked up and glanced at Andre and Baumann, who were wolfing down their food in the distance. On the road not far away, one truck after another drove by, filled with infantry. Behind the trucks, they were also pulling ammunition box trailers or a 105mm howitzer.

These vehicles belonged to a mechanized infantry division of the 1st Panzer Corps. The front line had already engaged the Soviet army, and they had been ordered to rush to support the 1st Panzer Division, which was breaking through the enemy’s defense line. As for the 3rd SS Panzer Division, where Rein was, they were currently waiting for reinforcements to arrive and had no offensive mission for the time being.

“Hey! Rein! Do we have any sausages left? Can we cut some up and put them in the mashed potatoes? Otherwise, this stuff really doesn’t have much taste,” Bruce shouted, complaining to Rein on the side that his food was not to his liking.

“You asked that question a few days ago. Our sausage ration is long gone. With you around, what the hell can we have left?” Andre said with a laugh, eating the mashed potatoes in his mess tin while cursing the yelling Bruce. Alice, holding her mess tin, was leaning against the tank beside Rein, laughing so hard she couldn’t close her mouth.

On the battlefield in the distance, the German army was fighting with the Soviet soldiers who were defending the Caucasus. The sound of cannons rumbled, and more German soldiers, along the road or on the desolate ridges further away, were trudging towards the battlefield on the horizon. Their vibrant lives, like bullets fed into the chamber of a gun, were being consumed bit by bit on the front line, which was like a meat grinder, in exchange for the inspiring great victory that would follow.

Rein’s company had not suffered any combat losses, so no new replacement soldiers had come in. In the 2nd Company next door, because they had lost two tanks in the last battle, the company commander of the 2nd Company was now giving a lecture to the new recruits on the two new replacement tanks.

Just as Rein had finished cleaning his weapon, the famous and battle-scarred tank No. 112 of the 1st Company rumbled over and stopped a dozen or so meters from Rein’s tank. Markus climbed out of his tank and, while complaining, walked over to Rein.

“Damn it, you didn’t even say to wait for me. The tank’s track breaking is none of my business. I’ve already gotten more than 100 kilometers out of it. The fact that it only broke now is because I’ve maintained it well, you understand?” he said, plopping down beside Rein with a huff. “Do you know how long I waited for the repair team to arrive? Two hours, a full two hours!”

“Is it fixed?” Rein just asked this one question.

“What else? Did you think I pushed this 40-plus-ton tank over here?” Markus pointed to his tank. When this Tiger tank had left the factory, it was a full two tons heavier, with strengthened frontal armor, side armor, and even side skirts. So its total weight exceeded 40 tons, which was quite a bit of an increase.

Rein smiled and then said no more. Markus also found something more interesting and walked over to see how the 2nd Company commander was dealing with the new batch of rookies. He was one of the many unlucky crews. These tanks had broken down on the road and could only wait for the repair teams to arrive before they could catch up with the main force. And the vast majority of them had missed the unit’s hot dinner.

Maybe tomorrow morning, maybe at noon, or maybe the day after tomorrow. In any case, the good days will eventually pass—on the Eastern Front, slaughter is the eternal main theme.

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