Steel Soviet Union

"So how many people are left in the town now? How many people were there before? Have you investigated these data?"

There are many pressing questions that interest Malashenko, and one of them is how many people are left in the town.

Don't get me wrong, Malashenko doesn't want to catch strong men like the Germans, and scrape off another layer of land for the old, weak, sick and disabled population that is already very few in the town. Malashenko doesn't even bother to do it, and he doesn't even want to do it. Go do it.

The reason why I can ask this is just because Malashenko wants to figure out a question: how big is the burden that the Germans have left for themselves.

Yes, that's right, this is a baggage, the kind of baggage that "the Germans save themselves trouble and make it difficult for Malashenko".

When Malashenko heard that the Germans had swept away all the food in the town, and combined with the "capture of young men" that had already happened, why did the Germans only want to be able to be young men and seize the remaining old, weak, sick and disabled? They all stayed, and the reason became clear before their eyes.

Create trouble for the Red Army that will inevitably follow: Every living mouth must eat, and as long as you are alive, you must solve the problem of food and drinking water.

Wait for water?

broken!

I don’t know why, but the moment this seemingly insignificant thought flashed through my mind, a strong sense of foreboding surged into my heart.

Malashenko could not guarantee that his hunch would be accurate and that his guess would be the truth.

But if the premonitions and speculations come true, then the next problem before Malashenko will be a bit too big. It’s just that Malashenko, who felt that his head was so big, didn’t even think of how to solve it for a while.

No matter what, the most important thing is to quickly determine what the facts are.

Malashenko, who couldn't care less at the moment, thought of this, and immediately spoke to Kulbalov beside him.

"Water source! Have you checked the water source in the town!? How do people in this town drink water? Is there a fixed water point?"

"Uh this."

Malashenko had just asked him about the remaining population in the town, but he was organizing the conversation before he had time to answer.

Malashenko's sudden change of topic caught Kulbalov off guard. He was stunned for a long time and thought for a few more seconds before he finally heard someone in the town talking about it not long ago. The answer is found in the description.

"There is no running water in this town. People collect water from wells. I heard that there are several water points scattered in various corners of the town. I haven't heard any local people talk about water problems. The hotel owner I just asked didn't mention it. It was an old man who had done this.

""

"How come it's a well in Male Gobi!?"

Malashenko, who said something was not going well in his heart, no longer bothered to go door-to-door to inquire about the situation. When he had the time, he could go there and see the situation in person.

Malashenko, who just left, did not hesitate and acted quickly. He greeted Kulbalov and others and rushed to the nearest water point without saying a word. On the way, Malashenko only wished that he could Don't let your worst guess come true.

If it really becomes a reality, that would be so damn cheating! The kind of cheater who is so angry that no one can even scold her.

The nearest water point is not too far away. In terms of straight-line distance, it is only two streets away, about less than a kilometer away.

Although water is drawn from a well, it is not the old-fashioned hand-cranked bucket.

After all, this is a merchant town on the edge of Berlin. On weekdays, there are many outsiders coming and going, and the water consumption is also large. If you really want to fetch water from a hand-cranked bucket, how long will you have to wait in line?

After arriving at the scene, Malashenko saw at first glance a motor-driven well house. The German installed a simple but efficient water-fetching equipment in this small house. To put it simply, the electric water pump pumps water and then stores it in a large bucket in the well room. It has the same principle as the water reservoir in the toilet. When the water in the big bucket is full, the water will automatically stop.

It is also more convenient for people to get water. They do not need to operate the mechanical water pump. They only need to go to the bucket and turn on the water valve, and a large amount of water will flow out. The speed of getting water is fast enough and the efficiency is relatively high, so there will be no queues.

Everything looked better, and there didn't seem to be any signs of man-made damage in the well room. The water-fetching machinery, including the large water buckets, were intact and there was no leakage.

But Malashenko was not reassured by this appearance. In fact, what Malashenko was most worried about was not the things in front of him at all. He even said that if the Germans really destroyed this set of water collection and storage equipment, If he did nothing else, Malashenko would smile happily and lament that he was lucky today.

"Here, help me! Move this manhole cover away, Master!"

The impatient Malashenko couldn't even wait to order the soldiers to do it. Without saying a word, he rolled up his sleeves and went into battle himself. He rushed to the side of the manhole, grabbed the metal manhole cover, which was certainly heavy, and greeted him repeatedly. The soldiers on the side who didn't know what to do came up to help.

Comrade division commander had an order, so he would naturally carry out what he didn't say quickly, not to mention Malashenko's tone itself was full of anxiety.

"Quick! Come over and help me! Give me a hand!"

The first person who rushed forward after hearing Malashenko's order was not an ordinary soldier, but Kulbalov, who was the comrade of the brigade commander.

The division commander and brigade commander went into battle together, and there were a bunch of soldiers with big muscles and round waists working together.

The heavy casting machine manhole cover, weighing at least three to four hundred kilograms, was lifted almost immediately and put aside for the time being.

However, at the moment when the manhole cover was removed, what Malashenko was most worried about happened like misfortune.

Before Malashenko could say anything, an unpleasant stench rushed out of the opened shaft, almost like a volcanic eruption.

The smell was so strong and pungent that even Malashenko, who crawled out alive from the pile of blood and corpses in Stalingrad, couldn't help frowning and curling his lips when he smelled it, and had to cover his face and nose in public.

Now that things have developed to this point, even those who didn't understand what Comrade Commander wanted to do before now realize what the stench coming out of the well means.

Now, the trouble is really big.

And it's not even remotely "big trouble", it's a very big one.

Without waiting for the surrounding soldiers and Kulbalov to speak, Malashenko, who knew that his worst fears had become reality but still insisted on finding out the truth, quietly gave the order.