Chapter 353: The Contest

“These are the external photos of the helicopter. They’ve named it the ‘Crusader’. Our people have seen this aircraft in Berlin. It can take off at any time, without a runway. It was because of the appearance of this aircraft that Ghost was unable to escape his pursuers,” an old man from the British intelligence department said, carefully examining a photo. He then picked up another report and began to read it.

Aina sat opposite the old man, waiting for his analysis of this intelligence. When the old man mentioned Ghost, Aina’s eyebrows twitched, but she did not speak. She knew that anything she said now would be meaningless.

After a long while, the old man continued, “This is a report on the engine’s power performance and improvement plan. It mentions that the sealing of the pistons is insufficient, which has caused a slight decrease in the overall power. The position of the spark plugs needs to be improved…”

He closed the report, frowned in confusion, and thought for a moment, as if he felt that something was wrong. “How can the Germans’ engine manufacturing technology be so backward? The technical specifications of this engine seem very low. As far as I know, it’s about the same as the one used on the export-model Me-109C. That shouldn’t be right.”

“Could it be that they have discovered something and are using a fake document to deceive us?” Aina asked coldly. Her feelings had become dispensable with Ghost’s death, which was why she could be more decisive and efficient when carrying out her missions.

The old man shook his head and waved his hand. “No, it shouldn’t be that they’ve discovered us. This intelligence doesn’t look like a forgery either. If they had discovered our activities, arresting us would be the most beneficial course of action.”

What they didn’t know was that this intelligence was indeed real, and those very strange-looking data were also real. When Germany had decided to mass-produce the Crusader helicopter, Akado’s production department had discovered an embarrassing problem.

The problem was that all the first-class engines were being used by the frontline units such as fighters and bombers. If the production of helicopters had to wait for these frontline aircraft to be satisfied and even have a surplus, then it would really be until who knows when. But many departments were still waiting for this kind of vertical take-off and landing aircraft, so Akado’s production department had come up with a simple solution.

Since it was impossible to get the advanced engines, there must be some inferior engines that no one wanted, right? After looking around, everyone had set their sights on the engine of the export-model Me-109C. The engine for this plane was produced in an engine factory in Austria. The scale was not large, and the technology was not very secret.

The German army, as if they had found a treasure, immediately increased their procurement of the Me-109C’s engine, ordering 2,000 units in one go. Of course, they had requested the manufacturer to improve this engine to meet the military’s needs. As a result, due to the limited technical level of the manufacturer itself, the problems mentioned in the report had appeared.

This was mainly because this engine manufacturer was an OEM, and its design capabilities were very average. In addition, the priority level for material allocation was too low, which had led to the raw materials this company received not being as good as those of the frontline manufacturers. The final compromise was to copy the original design and make do with it for the time being. So in fact, the engine performance of the German helicopter was roughly the same as that of the export-model Me-109C.

In war, not everything will develop according to someone’s imagination. The competition between the various branches of the military, and the struggle for the number of models between the branches, are all very complex and terrible. No matter how many engine production lines there are, they can never satisfy the division of so many big customers as fighters, dive bombers, medium bombers, and strategic bombers. Most of the time, as soon as the engine output is increased by 100 units, there will be a corresponding demand to increase the number of aircraft by 100.

So most of the time, the production needs of additional projects and non-major projects can only compete for development space on low-end products or even civilian products. Although the performance is somewhat reduced, at least having something is better than having nothing, isn’t it?

In the beginning, it was precisely because Germany did not attach importance to the research and development of the most numerous inferior weapons that it had later led to the armored forces being overwhelmed by the Soviet tank sea. The reality is just that cruel—you can’t just stop all the production lines of the Panzer III just because the performance of the Panther is better, because even if there are more Panthers, there are still units that can’t even get their hands on a Panzer III. Of course, this way of thinking is based on the condition of having sufficient raw materials.

“Let’s put this matter aside for now. You first find a way to get the structural drawings of this helicopter. At the very least, we need to know what the performance of this so-called Crusader helicopter is. If possible, we should also copy and produce it,” the old man said, tossing the report aside. “In the evening, I will send someone with this document to Switzerland, and from there, they will take a plane to France.”

“Then I will, according to the plan, continue to get close to these damned Germans, sleep with them, and extract all the intelligence they have access to,” Aina said with an expressionless face.

“Aina, your emotional state is very unstable right now. This is not a situation that an outstanding agent should be in,” the old man said, his eyes narrowed. “You know what we have paid for you to successfully go undercover. So your life is no longer your own, but a national asset of the British Empire! Understand?”

“I understand! I just want to destroy Germany as soon as possible, and I just want to send those damned people to their doom!” Aina said fiercely through gritted teeth.

“Pay attention to controlling yourself! Even if I am lost, you cannot have an accident! Understood?” the old man finally asked.

“Yes, sir!” Aina replied with a nod.

“You must be careful to hide and not to show the slightest flaw! In Britain, Germany has two very formidable spies, codenamed ‘Poison’ and ‘Gray Wolf’. These two enemies have already destroyed most of our intelligence contacts, so we must be extra careful with what’s left!” the old man thought for a moment and then reminded her again.

A Ju-52 Junkers “Auntie” transport plane slowly landed on the runway of an airfield on the outskirts of Cologne. The three ugly propellers in the front were still spinning when the plane’s door was impatiently pushed open from the inside.

A second lieutenant in a German SS uniform jumped off the plane, followed by a technical sergeant in a steel helmet and tactical vest. He was not equipped with a long gun, but only had a large-caliber, special-made revolver at his waist.

Following behind him was an ordinary SS soldier, with an MP-44 assault rifle on his back and a military knife hanging from his shoulder. His tactical vest was full of magazines. On his arm was a special insignia. Anyone who was familiar with it would know at a glance that it was the special symbol of the 0th SS Division.

Following that was a fourth, a fifth. From the plane, ten German 0th SS Division special forces soldiers slowly walked down. Two of them were equipped with submachine guns, and two were equipped with sniper rifles. Of the remaining six, two were carrying G43 semi-automatic rifles, and four were carrying the newest MP-44 assault rifles.

Advanced equipment and reasonable tactics had made them the most elite combat unit in Germany. An action team like this could even infiltrate behind enemy lines to carry out sabotage missions. Of course, up to now, most of the special forces were still carrying out combat missions within the country. They were gradually expanding in scale, until one day they could become a sharp sword of Germany and appear on the battlefield.

“Heil the great Führer Akado Rudolph! Good afternoon, Second Lieutenant! I have been notified of your mission here. May I see your identification and the special action permit?” The commander of the local SS garrison who was welcoming this action team, a lieutenant colonel, stood at attention and saluted very formally.

The lieutenant colonel’s thinking was very simple: although his rank was higher than the other party’s, this second lieutenant was from Berlin, and he worked in the highest command organization of the intelligence department. It was said that he was also a student of that perverted Colonel Guldo—so it was better to be respectful. Otherwise, if he were to displease the other party for no reason, it would not be worth the loss.

“Lieutenant Colonel, sir! You are too kind!” The second lieutenant immediately took out his identification and the special action permit and handed them to the lieutenant colonel. “We will act tonight. Is there any problem?”

After verifying the documents, the lieutenant colonel handed them back to the second lieutenant, then smiled and nodded. “The operation can begin at any time. If you feel it is necessary, I will assemble a company of soldiers to assist you in the arrest.”

“That would be for the best, of course!” The second lieutenant nodded and smiled. “But please be sure to use your most reliable subordinates. I don’t want to alert the enemy and let these guys who are trying to harm the Reich get away.”

“I understand! I will deploy the most reliable troops here to go with you,” the lieutenant colonel nodded and then asked, “Is this batch of spies really so important? Worthy of the intelligence bureau’s personal attention?”

“Important? This spy was sent to Germany along with the spies who assassinated the Führer,” the second lieutenant said as he walked forward. “What level do you think that is?”

The lieutenant colonel was taken aback for a moment, then, as he followed the second lieutenant’s steps, he took out a handkerchief to wipe the beads of sweat that had appeared on his forehead. “I understand! I will deploy my men at once. This time, not a single one of them will escape!”

“Our work is very special, so we usually don’t make promises we can’t keep! We only say that not a single one of them will escape after we have caught everyone,” the second lieutenant stopped for a moment, then turned his head and said seriously, “If they escape this time, you and I will both be sent to the front… So, we must do our best!”

“Yes, sir!” the lieutenant colonel said with a nod.

In the evening, in the SS’s camp, a dozen or so trucks rushed out of the main gate. On the trucks, neatly standing were the fierce-looking SS soldiers. In a car at the head, the second lieutenant and the lieutenant colonel sat side by side in the back seat, their faces expressionless.