The world-devouring dragon

After that, as if the knot in his heart was finally resolved, Adolf became less irritable and continued his life.

Reading, painting, opera, these are the only things in his life. He is not good at drinking or gambling, and he does not like women, and even hates women. Although his cold appearance was often welcomed by women, every time he walked out of the opera hall, women would look at him sideways and even extend invitations, but he simply ignored him.

Once, a young and beautiful female student from Kubisik came to their narrow room and asked about music problems. Adolf's face suddenly turned ugly. After the female student left, he turned to Kubisik. Ke was furious.

"This grand piano and this monster have already made us miserable. Do you still want to turn our room into a date place with these musical girls?"

He is strict in self-discipline and conservative to the point of being rigid. Even wearing short-sleeved shirts and exposing his arms feels inappropriate. He only likes reading and reading all kinds of books, which makes people almost doubt whether he can live without books.

According to the regulations at the time, the widow of a civil servant could receive a monthly subsidy of 100 kronor, while the orphan could receive a 50-kroner subsidy until the age of 24. This 50-kronor orphan subsidy was shared by Adolf and his sister, which meant that Adolf personally Able to have 25 crowns per month.

But these 25 kronor are really not enough for a young man in Vienna. After deducting the monthly rent and book expenses, etc., Adolf's daily food is often just a bottle of milk, a piece of bread, and some butter, so he can barely cope with it. In the past, I was hungry every day.

Kubicek did not dare to give Adolf money directly because he knew that this proud and conceited good friend would never accept it and would only scold him angrily. He could only go to the restaurant for a meal with Adolf in the name of a "treat" when he was out for leisure. Adolf would not refuse this.

But even so, Adolf still did not let go of his stubbornness. During his days in Vienna, he and Kubicek often visited various magnificent buildings. His love for architecture was second only to his love for opera and reading. Every time he saw those magnificent buildings, he would stare at them intently, and then he would give an impromptu speech in front of Kubicek, telling him impassionedly his vision for the buildings he conceived.

Only at that moment, he seemed to be able to abandon the embarrassment of reality and place himself in the magnificent city he imagined.

Occasionally, though, Kubicek will act as an unintelligent intruder.

"So, where's the money?"

Facing his friend's confusion, Adolf would widen his eyes and wave his hands angrily.

"None of this is important! It's not important!"

In addition, he is happiest every month when he goes out to watch the opera with Kubicek. He has an extreme love for opera, and his speaking ability was learned from opera. The encounter with Kubicek was also due to their chance encounter at the opera house. The two young people talked about music and opera. This is how the two of them formed. The beginning of the encounter.

At other times, Adolf would force his friends to go to the Vienna Parliament to listen to the speeches of the city councilors. He has the same strong interest in politics and sometimes expresses his own opinions. However, Kubicek does not like this thing and does not understand it. He is often called a "political idiot" by Adolf angrily.

One night he was talking about the Wright Brothers' airplane. Quoting a newspaper article, he said that these famous aviators installed a relatively light heavy machine gun on their aircraft and conducted several tests on its effect, hoping to achieve aerial shooting in the near future.

Adolf, who considered himself a pacifist, was quite angry. He criticized that whenever people invented something, it would be immediately used in war.

"Who wants war?"

he questioned.

Certainly not the "little people" - no way.

The war is in the hands of the uncrowned kings, who control the arsenal and take turns launching wars driven by interests. These respectable gentlemen are far away from the smoke of war and earning a lot of money in the rear, while those "little people" who don't know the truth are working for them on the front line.

Just like half a year after arriving in Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's conscription order arrived, and Kubischik was asked to join the army. As a result, Adolf became furious.

"Gustave, you are not allowed to register under any circumstances. If you do, you are a fool. The best thing to do is to tear this bastard into pieces."

He held the conscription letter and roared angrily.

In the end, Kubicek was dismissed because he failed the physical examination.

Kubischik thought that the relationship between the two would always be like this, just as Adolf's mother Mrs. Clara wanted to see, two people with the same withdrawn personality eventually became each other's best friends for life, but...

Everything changed because of that opera.

On the evening of June, Kubicek was invited to watch Wagner's opera "Rienzi" with Adolf. Wagner was a playwright they were both obsessed with, but they had never had the opportunity to see "Rienzi". So happy.

It is a story about the tribune of Rome in the middle of the 14th century, Rienzi. The tribune who was dedicated to the city and the people of Rome did not want to be the king, but was eventually betrayed by the Roman people and burned to death in the palace.

Magnificent scenes, gorgeous performances, and profound stories. Normally, Adolf, who is obsessed with opera, would always give an impassioned speech afterwards to comment on the gains and losses. But unexpectedly, after watching "Rienzi" "After that, he remained silent for a long time, which surprised Kubicek.

So Kubicek took the initiative to ask him what he thought after watching the opera. However, he cast an almost hostile look at Kubicek.

"Shut up!"

he said rudely.

The narrow streets were filled with damp and cold mist, and there was a bit of heaviness in the air. The only sound was the footsteps of two people on the sidewalk. Adolf walked towards the road leading to the top of the mountain. He just strode forward without saying a word. He looked almost menacing, his face paler than ever. His turned-up collar only heightened this impression.

Kubisik wanted to ask him.

"Where are you going?"

But his pale face was so intimidating that Kubicek swallowed the question.

As if there was an invisible force pushing him forward, Adolf reached the top of the mountain. Kubicek suddenly realized that they were no longer in the middle of nowhere and in the dark, because above us the stars were shining brightly.

Adolf stood in front of him. He grabbed Kubisik's hands and held them tightly. He had never done this before.

When he held Kubisek's hands tightly, Kubisek felt that he had been deeply moved, and his blazing eyes revealed an expression of extreme excitement. His words did not come out of his mouth as coherently and logically as usual. His voice seemed hoarse, rough and even a little out of control. Kubicek could tell from his voice how deeply shocked this experience was.

His speech gradually became more relaxed, and his words became more free-spirited.

Adolf Hitler spoke words he had never heard before at that moment, and they stood under the stars as if they were the only living things left in the world.

Until now, Kubicek had been convinced that his friend wanted to be an artist, a painter, or an architect, but that no longer seemed to be the case. At this time, he already had a higher pursuit, but he couldn't fully understand it yet. This surprised Kubicek because he once believed that an artist's career was the highest goal he pursued. But now he is talking freely.

"One day, the people will grant me power, and I will lead the people out of slavery and strive for the greatest freedom."

When saying this, Adolf's eyes were shining.

…

Two months later, the semester is over. Kubicek will return to his hometown of Linz, while Adolf will remain in Vienna. This was a rare separation between two good friends. However, Kubicek thought it was just an ordinary goodbye until he returned to Vienna three months later...

"What, not here anymore?"

Looking at the confused look of the housewife in front of him, Kubicek's face was filled with astonishment.

Shortly after he returned to Linz, Adolf did not rent this narrow house again, but moved out without saying a word. The housewife thought that Kubicek knew about it, but the fact was that Kubicek did not know about it. Nothing.

Obviously, Adolf deliberately avoided his best friend. Maybe it was because his friend was admitted to the music conservatory but he failed to achieve anything, or maybe it was for other reasons. In short, Adolf avoided his friend and disappeared silently. .

The dazed Kubisik was at a loss. He had long been accustomed to Adolf's existence. Only after Adolf disappeared did he realize how important Adolf was to him...

At the same time, in another part of Vienna, in a place with only stalls, a young man was drawing what he saw on a drawing board.