Chapter 12 The Eve of the First Battle In the end, Himmelstoss never found out who did it, and even if he did, it wouldn't matter. Because at this time Lu Mingfei and his men were already singing military songs and heading for the front line. Their destination was the Champagne region of France, the place where the world-famous champagne is produced. Since they had beaten Himmelstoss before leaving, Lu Mingfei and the others were in a very good mood. They sat on the truck and sang. But at this time, a doctor in a white coat waved his hand to block the truck, and his waving palm was stained with blood. "Doctor, what's going on?" the truck driver stopped the car and stuck his head out to ask. "We have more than a dozen wounded people here who need to be transferred to the hospital in the rear!" the doctor shouted anxiously. "I'm sorry, doctor, our truck is used to transport new recruits to the front line." The truck driver spread his hands helplessly. "Get out! Get off! Everyone get off!" The doctor completely ignored the truck driver's words, walked to the back of the truck, waved, and shouted for Lu Mingfei and the others to get off. Lu Mingfei and his companions got off the bus in a daze before they could figure out the situation. The moment they got off the bus, a group of people in white coats ran past them carrying a stretcher and put it into the car.
Only then did Lu Mingfei notice that there were more than a dozen stretchers parked on the side of the road. A dozen soldiers in uniform were lying on the stretchers, wailing in pain. They were tied with bandages. Some of the soldiers' hands and feet had disappeared, and bright red blood was oozing from the bandages. "What are you standing there for? Come over and help!" A doctor shouted at Lu Mingfei and the others who were standing there in a daze. Lu Mingfei and his team finally came to their senses and hurriedly helped the doctors carry the wounded onto the truck. After all the wounded were loaded onto the truck, a doctor pulled the truck driver off the truck and drove himself in the direction Lu Mingfei and his team had come from. The driver who was pulled out of the car stared in amazement at the truck moving away from him. Although they had no trucks left, they still had to rush to the front line to provide support. Lu Mingfei and his companions had no choice but to follow the truck driver and walk to the front line. Having just seen the miserable state of the wounded soldiers, Lu Mingfei and his companions' enthusiasm began to wane, and they finally began to realize what the front line meant. They were still more than 20 kilometers away from the front line. When they were walking towards the front line with heavy equipment on their backs, it began to rain. The downpour extinguished their last bit of excitement from getting rid of the heavy training for new recruits. Lu Mingfei and his men hurriedly took out raincoats from their backpacks and covered themselves with them. It was more like a piece of plastic sheet than a raincoat. They did not find a place to hide from the rain. According to regulations, they had to reach the troops they were to support today. They continued walking forward on the muddy ground. The cold raindrops fell on their bodies and made them shiver, but they did not stop. At this moment, Lu Mingfei suddenly thought of Himmelstoss. They were now advancing in the cold rain and on the muddy ground, which was very similar to the way Himmelstoss had asked them to run and roll in the mud. Himmelstoss's training made them accustomed to the current environment. No one complained and they all kept moving forward. "Don't think I'm cruel. When you get to the battlefield, you will know what real cruelty is." Himmelstoss's hateful face and words appeared in Lu Mingfei's mind. Lu Mingfei originally scoffed at everything Himmelstoss said, thinking that they were just excuses to torture them, but now he was a little shaken. Could it be that what Himmelstoss said was really right? Lu Mingfei and his team walked from early morning till sunset and finally reached the camp on the front line. In order to save time, they didn't eat anything along the way. They walked into a dilapidated barracks, where three veterans were sitting around a fire, chatting and roasting. When they heard Lu Mingfei and his team open the door, they all laughed. "It seems that our supporters have arrived." said one of the middle-aged men with an honest look. "They are just a bunch of kids." Another tall man said disdainfully. There was also a skinny man leaning against the window, staring outside, as if waiting for something. Lu Mingfei and his friends saw several empty beds in the barracks and thought they should be their beds, so they walked over and put down their things. They took off their wet clothes and took out clean clothes from their backpacks to change into them. "Hans, do you have any food?" Kemmerich asked as he took off his clothes. His stomach made slight noises and his cute baby face wrinkled with hunger.
It would have been fine if he hadn't asked. After asking, Lu Mingfei's stomach started to growl. The last time they had food was last night. They should have arrived here at noon and had lunch by bus, so no one brought any food. "I'll go ask the veterans if they have any food." Lu Mingfei was a little hesitant. After hearing what the veterans said just now, he felt that they might not welcome them. However, they had been hungry for a whole day and had walked such a long distance, so they really couldn't bear it anymore. Now they had no choice but to go on. "Hello." Lu Mingfei said politely. Those old soldiers looked at the gentle Lu Mingfei as if they were looking at some strange animal. "Hahaha, Detlin, look, he's saying hello to us! It's been a long time since we heard such a polite greeting." The tall man laughed and poked the honest man sitting next to him with his arm. "My name is Hay Westerhuis, this guy is called Detlin, and the man lying on the window is called Tijon. Tell me what do you want from me?" The tall man was easier to talk to than Lu Mingfei had expected, which made him feel relieved. "Do you have any food here? We can buy it with money." Lu Mingfei said. Although it was not much, he still received some allowances in the barracks. The Oriental people's unique ability to save money prevented him from wasting the money and kept it in reserve for emergencies. Now seemed to be the time to use it, and he couldn't help but praise himself for his foresight, but the man's next words, Hay Westxus, disappointed him greatly. "Kid, the most lacking thing here is food. We arrived here yesterday and have been relying on eating hay to fill our stomachs. The truck that will deliver supplies will not arrive until tomorrow." Lu Mingfei felt a little desperate. Did he really have to wait until tomorrow to eat? He felt his stomach cramping from hunger. "Hahaha, don't worry, kid, don't be so desperate. Our leader, Kaczynski, is out looking for food now. He is a legendary figure. As long as there is food within 20 miles around here, he will definitely find it." Hay Westhus' words gave Lu Mingfei renewed hope. (End of this chapter)