Volume 4 Chapter 2: The Heracles Plan
Volume 4 Chapter 2: The Heracles Plan
“Lieutenant, these are your personal items delivered by the military police. If you require anything else, please contact the hotel reception!” The hotel manager, dressed in a black tailcoat, placed a small wooden box on the coffee table and bowed out of the room.
Qin Lun looked up, surveying the luxurious hotel suite. This hotel was just a five-minute walk from Marienplatz, making it one of Munich’s most upscale establishments. The furniture inside, primarily made of rosewood and mahogany, was elegant and dignified, reflecting the classic aristocratic style of the Renaissance period.
Opening the wooden box delivered by the hotel manager, Qin Lun sifted through the personal belongings Gerthard had stored with the military police before his imprisonment.
The box didn’t contain much: a Luger Pistol, a WEMPE German air force watch, and some miscellaneous notebooks and small items. The most eye-catching among them was an Iron Cross Medal with a tiny Nazi swastika “卐” in the center.
A gleam appeared in Qin Lun’s eyes. He took out the Iron Cross Medal, pinned it prominently in the center of his collar, and turned to admire himself delightedly in the mirror.
While reading history books in Handan Prison, he had grown quite fond of these medals representing bravery and devotion, especially the Iron Cross Medal awarded by the historical Third Reich.
After admiring himself for a while, Qin Lun finally poured himself a glass of red wine. He reclined in the mahogany chair, thinking back to what Skorzeny had said to him that day.
The Second World War in this timeline wasn’t quite the same as the history Qin Lun knew. The German Army had captured Stalingrad by the end of 1942. By the summer of 1943, they had again besieged the Soviet capital, Moscow, forcing Stalin to decide by year’s end to move the capital to the Far East.
The Allied Forces’ Normandy landing happened nearly a year earlier than Qin Lun expected, starting in July 1943. It lasted a full three months. The American decision to enter the war, expecting an easy victory, turned into a major disaster.
By the end of 1944, ignoring the Asian front, American casualties on the European battlefield had reached three million. Over sixty percent of that number were deaths—more than ten times the toll in Qin Lun’s original timeline.
However, perhaps influenced by the historical inertia of another timeline, although the Third Reich was stronger and more glorious here, it was still slowly marching towards its doom.
By 1945 in this timeline, the Third Reich had also bled itself dry under the onslaught of the world and uncontrollably entered its twilight.
Yet, the other Western powers were utterly weary of this prolonged war and desperately wanted to end it. At this crucial moment, the SS’s Foreign Intelligence Department obtained top-secret intelligence.
The leaders of the three main Allied nations—US President Roosevelt, Soviet leader Stalin, and British Prime Minister Churchill—were scheduled to hold a summit meeting in one week, in Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco.
The intelligence didn’t mention the meeting’s specific content. But based on existing traces, the Intelligence Department analyzed that the three principal Allied powers at this meeting intended to integrate their respective unconventional warfare capabilities. The combined Allied war effort might achieve a transformative leap, posing an extremely severe threat to the Third Reich’s future war situation.
Upon receiving this intelligence, the SS Foreign Intelligence Department immediately reported to Reich Führer Hitler. Hitler ordered the recruitment of Germany’s finest warriors and individuals with supernatural abilities to form a special operations team.
Once formed, this special operations team, led by Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny, commander of the Oranienburg Special Forces, would immediately head for Casablanca in Morocco. The primary objective was to assassinate the three Allied leaders. The secondary objective was to uncover the unconventional war power the three great powers were planning to integrate.
The operational plan for this special operations team was codenamed “Heracles” — the Main Quest of the Apostles!
Heracles was one of the most famous heroes in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Hated by Zeus’s wife Hera due to his birth, he later completed twelve tasks, deemed “impossible,” set by King Eurystheus.
The German High Command naming the operation “Heracles” signified the immense difficulties expected, much like Heracles’ twelve “impossible” tasks. Heracles’ ultimate success in completing these labors also embodied Reich Führer Hitler’s fervent hope for the special operations team.
Looking at the task details already displayed in his Death Notice, Qin Lun grinned, revealing a row of snow-white teeth. He liked this mission, challenging and filled with unknowns from the start.
No wonder the difficulty of this task spanned the rank range from Master Sergeant all the way to Warrant Officer. To participate in assassinating three Allied leaders, it really required a High-Rank Apostle from the third tier. Without the other powerful Plot Characters also in the special operations team, Qin Lun would have reluctantly declined. He loved challenges and mysterious adventures, but only if it wasn’t a guaranteed death.
He rested in the hotel for only half a day before the commander of the special detachment, Skorzeny, arrived. Accompanying him were not just the Oranienburg Special Forces Soldiers, but also two men and a woman.
“Gerthard, this is Captain Bock from the Airborne Corps… This is Baron von Wurdenbeller, and Madame Monica!” Skorzeny introduced the two men and one woman.
Qin Lun looked up, examining the three from left to right. Captain Bock, like himself an officer holding the rank of lieutenant, wore a field gray officer’s uniform. Stern and straight-backed, he shook Qin Lun’s hand briefly and formally. His reserved smile held a hint of coolness, making him a typical German soldier.
Baron von Wurdenbeller had handsome features and looked about thirty years old. He sported a slicked-back hairstyle and a neatly trimmed moustache. He was dressed in a gray suit: a vest and white shirt underneath, topped with a black top hat.
Seeing Qin Lun look at him, the Baron doffed his hat, tucked his walking stick under his arm, and politely extended his hand.
“Delighted to meet another German war hero!” Baron von Wurdenbeller’s gaze swept past Qin Lun’s Iron Cross Medal as he nodded with a smile.
“I’m likewise pleased to meet a genuine Junker!” Qin Lun adopted the cold demeanor he remembered belonging to Gerthard, speaking impassively. “However, the Reich abolished aristocratic titles long ago. Calling yourself ‘Baron’ seems rather inappropriate!”
(Germany abolished the noble peerage system during the Weimar Republic period.)
“Ho ho! My title was bestowed by the German Emperor, not something I claimed myself!” von Wurdenbeller chuckled easily, shrugging his shoulders without any offense. “I don’t personally care much for the title, but friends are accustomed to it, and the name has simply stuck.”
“My apologies for my presumption!” Qin Lun offered the appropriate apology, though inwardly he was quite surprised.
After all, only three individuals could be called “German Emperor”: Wilhelm I, Frederick III, and Wilhelm II. Even if it was Wilhelm II who abdicated in 1918, that was a full twenty-seven years ago.
If von Wurdenbeller spoke the truth, that his barony was personally bestowed by the German Kaiser and friends had called him that habitually ever since, he must have received the title before 1918. Moreover, he would have had to be an adult at the time, meaning he couldn’t possibly be the thirty-something he appeared to be now.
It seemed he was likely one of those extraordinary individuals Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny had mentioned! Qin Lun’s mind raced, his eyes shifting to the last member of the detachment, the only woman.
Dressed even less appropriately for a combat mission than von Wurdenbeller was Madame Monica. This lady wore a small hat with flowers, resplendent court dress: a black princess gown over a shirt embroidered with ribbon lace, and surprisingly, a velvet shawl draped over her shoulders.
Besides her outfit clashing with the tense atmosphere, Madame Monica cut a cultured and refined figure, a mature woman of the cool beauty archetype. Her tall figure, accentuated by the princess dress, curved strikingly. She had slender eyebrows, a rounded chin, sharply defined cheekbones, and the uniquely Eastern European air of cold hauteur.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Madame,” Qin Lun said, bowing deeply with perfect posture.
“Please, Lieutenant Gerthard, there’s no need for formalities!” Madame Monica replied. She took off her long gloves and extended a fair, jade-like hand toward Qin Lun.
The gesture momentarily threw Qin Lun. He recovered quickly, hurriedly taking the woman’s small hand and clumsily kissing the back of her hand using his lips.
“Heh heh!” The young man’s awkward execution of the reverence drew light, instinctive chuckles from everyone present.
“Alright, apart from Herr Kluge, the interrogation expert the Intelligence Department hired, all of the Munich-based detachment members are here!” Skorzeny clapped his hands, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. “Please bear with it and stay indoors! This afternoon, we’ll take a special military train to Hamburg. After meeting additional detachment members arriving from Berlin, we depart immediately for Casablanca!”
Skorzeny then inquired about the weapons and equipment everyone needed before leaving them alone. By late afternoon, the SS Lieutenant Colonel returned not only with the requested gear but also accompanied by the interrogation expert, Kluge.
Despite Kluge looking completely different physically, Qin Lun instantly recognized him: the familiar “interrogation expert” was, in fact, the other Serial Killer – Clown Grant.
Later, arriving at the military rail station on the outskirts of Munich, Qin Lun spotted Lin Feng, Little Lian, and Lady Feng among the accompanying Oranienburg Special Forces Soldiers. Lin Feng was assigned as the detachment’s communications officer, Little Lian as a field medic.
However, when Qin Lun discerned Lili’s assumed role, he couldn’t help but let a slight twitch pull at his mouth. Lili had indeed transformed from transgender persona into a sultry Plot Character beauty, assigned the role of a secretary. If this wasn’t Shattered Starry Sky’s childish humor, it had certainly calculated the most fitting role for each Apostle’s personality when assigning these identities.
This train was an armored military train provided by the German military. The carriages and locomotive were clad in thick steel armor. The middle section mounted a 650mm Railway Gun. Apart from that, a whole company of Oranienburg Special Forces Soldiers was aboard – the core manpower of the detachment.
If they reached Casablanca safely, this company would be responsible for creating diversions within the city and performing rear-guard actions as part of the Heracles Plan. Every single one of these German special soldiers—including the medics and comms personnel—had written their last letters. None of them planned on leaving Casablanca alive.