Twenty Seven Years

   "This is contradictory." Cosmo shook his head, "If we can accurately distinguish between real comrades and undercover agents, then there is no need to notify them to evacuate, and just get rid of the undercover agents. Wouldn't the problem be solved?"

   "Well... evacuation is what I thought about on the way. What I really plan to discuss with you when I come back here is to evacuate, what should those comrades do?" Verak asked the opinions of the three.

  They seem to be stuck in a quagmire now, unable to advance or retreat, being undercover and traitors make it impossible to mobilize the whole.

Arseni and Vladislav looked at each other, and brought up an idea that had been discussed at the earliest: "The undercover must have been mainly concentrated in our original workers' mutual aid association, and our merger with the Bash branch of the International Equality League did not For a long time, their infiltration into your sub-station should not be serious, if you withdraw, find a way to check the situation of your original sub-station comrades first, contact them and leave..."

   "The members of the former Workers' Mutual Aid Association are all natives of Winterhold. Whether they are traitors or true comrades, staying here is the best choice." Vladislav followed suit.

   "What's this called? You and I were separated again when we were talking about evacuation?" Cosmo glared at the two, "Since they are merged, the people from the Workers' Mutual Aid Association are also our comrades!"

   "But this matter must be treated rationally now." Vladislav was moved, but not carried away.

  The workers' mutual aid association was infiltrated by scavengers and turned into a sieve, and then merged with the Bash branch of the International Equality League, spreading undercover and traitors like a virus, causing the branch to collapse quickly and never recover.

   To put it bluntly, the workers' mutual aid association is a burden.

   While the Bash branch of the International Equality League is not completely dead, throw away the burden now, maybe it can cheer up.

   As the sub-station manager, Cosmo couldn’t say such a thing, so the founders of the workers’ mutual aid association, Vladislav and Arseni, would bring it up themselves.

   This is not that the International Equality League is abandoning the workers' mutual aid association, but that they represent the workers' mutual aid association and voluntarily withdraw.

Verac was blocked by Cosmo, so he simply sat down and smoked a cigarette: "I understand what you each mean. Cosmo feels that since the merger, they are all his own, and now the separation is to eliminate most of the undercover traitors. Lost, but it also means abandoning other people in the workers' mutual aid association. Vladislav believes that, to put the overall situation first, it is the best way to separate from the comrades of the former workers' mutual aid association. He and Arseni, as workers The founder of the mutual aid association took the initiative to mention this, and others have no right to have any objections. My idea is that there is no separation, but we are divided into two groups."

   "What do you mean?" Cosmo asked.

   "Evacuate all the way to re-accumulate strength, stick to Winterhold all the way, and stabilize other comrades." Verak said.

   "...I think it's okay." Arseni agreed first.

  Cosmo still has a lot of concerns: "What do you plan to do with the comrades on Heping Street?"

   "They are currently carrying out their mission, which will be completed in about ten days, and they will withdraw from Winterhold when they are finished. With them here, we will be able to reintegrate our forces much faster, and we will be more confident in gaining a firm foothold in Winterhold by then."

   "So, we're leaving in ten days?"

  Villac took a breath: "Of course, the sooner the better, the five of them will just follow up."

  Vladislav looked at Verak, then at Cosmo: "Is it decided to withdraw now?"

   "What do you think?" Verak looked at Cosmo.

  He hoped that this decision was unanimously approved by everyone, so he didn't assign work when he first arrived, but persuaded a few people first.

  Cosmo was silent for a while and nodded: "I agree to divide the troops into two groups."

  Villac saw that all the members of the plan had passed, and immediately arranged: "It's not too late, let's assign work."

   "Comrades Vladislav and Comrade Arseni have just joined our alliance, and they are still incompetent in many things. I need to do it myself to find areas and contact comrades." Cosmo took over the main work.

   "Depending on you alone, the workload is not small." Verak worried whether Cosmo could bear it.

"It can't be helped. The comrades before the merger are not familiar with them, nor are they familiar with the city where we were originally active. Now that Comrade Dai Qian has sacrificed, the rest of the comrades may not be reliable, so I have to do it." Coz No way.

Vladislav and Arseni were both members of the former Workers' Mutual Aid Association. Although the Workers' Mutual Aid Association and the Bash branch of the International Equality League merged, they fell apart shortly after the merger due to frequent undercover agents. The comrades on the side got acquainted.

   Now to contact a trustworthy person to evacuate, I can only leave it to Cosmo, the sub-station chief, to do it himself.

   As for where to evacuate, of course it is best to evacuate to the city where the substation was located before entering Winterhold, and Vladislav and Arseni don't know anything there, and only Cosmo can handle it well.

   "How long will it take?" Verak was more concerned about time.

   "It's not clear yet, maybe ten days." Cosmo estimated a number.

   "Ten days..." Verak repeated in a low voice. This time is about the same as the days when Quentin and the others completed the Peace Street mission.

   "Then don't waste time, I'll contact a few reliable comrades first." Cosmo is a very straightforward person. Although he didn't agree with Verak's proposal before, he was not ambiguous at all after he actually decided to implement it.

   "Okay..." Verak wanted to follow to help, but his identity was too sensitive, and it was impossible to run around the city safely in broad daylight, and the same was true for Vladislav and Arseni.

  The three watched Cosmo leave the basement with his ID card and pistol, and fell silent again.

   After a long time, Vladislav apologized to Verak: "Sorry, Comrade Verak, we have no experience in building an organization, and we have caused you misfortune."

"What are you talking about?" Verak smiled a little, trying not to make Vladislav feel negative emotions, "It's not your fault, on the contrary, it is very rare that you dare to unite the workers to fight. If not You, the sub-station also has no chance of breaking into Winterhold."

   "You have entered Winterhold, but..."

"To put it bluntly, these are all things that must be faced. The earlier equality meeting in Laizein was no better than here, and in the end, it overcame countless difficulties and changed Brecy?" Willak Pass cigarettes to the two, "Since the merger, we are all comrades fighting for the same goal, you have to abandon this kind of thinking. Sometimes this kind of thinking will only alienate us and is not conducive to our unity."

   "Hmm..." Vladislav nodded silently, smoking a cigarette.

"This time we are evacuating Winterhold, I want you to stay. After all, you are very familiar with Winterhold, and you are the most trusted people of the comrades of the former workers' mutual aid association. However, your current identities are as sensitive as mine. The patrol team who went to investigate will definitely be arrested, and if you stay here to tell the truth, you will not be able to play your due role...I want to hear your thoughts first." Verak was not idle, and decided on the next destination of the two .

   "I can only hide in the basement if I stay here. I want to go to other places to study more and exercise more." Vladislav wanted to leave.

   "Me too." Arseni agreed.

  Verak nodded slightly: "Then arrange another person to stay here, and you will evacuate together."

"it is good."

"it is good."

Verac glanced at the door of the basement: "I can't help here, I have to find a way to go back to Heping Street at night. If necessary, I will ask Quentin and the others to terminate the mission and plan in advance the development after the evacuation .”

   "The two of us can't do anything if we stay here, so why don't we go with you?" The two of them stayed in the basement without seeing the light of day, almost going crazy.

   "When Comrade Cosmo comes back, say hello to him. If he doesn't need us here, we'll go there together." Seeing the vicissitudes of life on their faces, Verak couldn't refuse.

   Before dark, Cosmo finally came back.

   In the basement, after smoking one cigarette after another, Verak and others gathered around to find out the situation.

"I contacted the comrades in the two places and asked them to go out of Winterhold all the way and return to Xiling City, where we were originally active, to prepare for the evacuation of our large troops, and to contact other trusted comrades on my behalf to report the news of the evacuation. Pass it on." Cosmo explained his achievements in the afternoon to several people.

   "Are they all absolutely trustworthy comrades?" Verak was a little worried.

"I can only say that the comrades I contacted are people who I think will never betray us no matter what, but if you ask whether you can absolutely trust them and never betray us, I can't guarantee that..." Cosmo said helplessly shrug.

  They don't have any means of identification now, they can only rely on trust to contact.

   And trust can be priceless or worthless.

   "Once there are undercover traitors here, all of us will die, and the dawn of Bash will be delayed for a long, long time." Verak reminded everyone of what they knew well.

"I don't have many contacts, there are less than twenty people in total. These twenty people were the first to start the revolution with me. If there are infiltrated undercover traitors among them, it means that we will not escape the end of being wiped out. ’ Cosmo sat down to rest.

"Hmm... Is there anything we can help here? If not, I want to take comrades Vladislav and Arseni to the Heping Street to see if the situation allows us to discuss the matter of Heping Street." Finished." Veraker asked.

   "You really can't do anything here, if you can go to Heping Street, go there." Cosmo agreed to stay alone.

  Vladislav said worriedly: "Can you do it alone?"

   "I haven't seen any big storms, don't worry about me." As the station master, Cosmo is confident to complete his work well.

   "Be careful, there is something we can help here, and we will come back anytime." Arseni said.

   "Well. The same is true for you on Heping Street. Be careful not to be discovered by the inspection team." Cosmo urged in turn, "Okay, let's eat."

"Um."

  The four of them ate some hard bread together, and after finishing the dinner, they chatted about some minutiae together until the night got deeper.

   "It's almost there." Seeing the darkness outside, Verak decided to leave and return to Heping Street.

   Vladislav and Arseniteng, who had held back for long enough, stood up abruptly, looking eager to go out to breathe fresh air immediately.

   "See you later." Cosmo stood at the back and said.

   "You must be careful yourself." After finishing Veraker's words, he gently opened the door, crept up the stairs, took Vladislav and Arseni out of the basement, and walked all the way back to Heping Street in the dark.

On Heping Street, due to the curfew, the door of the tavern secretly established by the branch station was closed tightly. Verac knocked on the door regularly. Soon, the bartender Victor opened the door and let the three of them in. .

"You're back." The bartender Victor didn't expect Verak to come back so early, and brought Vladislav and Arseni back together, "Comrade Vladislav, Comrade Arseni, tonight it is good."

   "Good evening, Comrade Victor." Vladislav and Arseni said in unison.

   "There are some changes in the plan now, so I brought them here." Verac helped Victor lock the door again, "Where are Quentin and the others?"

   "The four of them are summarizing the situation in the cubicle and arranging tomorrow's work." The bartender Victor lit a candle on the bar counter to make the tavern less dim, and the light would not leak out to be noticed by the inspection team.

  Verak walked to the cubicle: "Is there anything you can do?"

   "No." The bartender Victor said.

   "Come here together, for a meeting." Verak went straight to the compartment door and opened it.

  The discussion inside came to an abrupt end, and Quentin, Connie, Stuart, and Oscar all looked at the door opener, Verac.

   "Why did you come back so soon?"

   "Scare me..."

   "How's the situation over there?"

   Several people froze for a moment, and asked in a hurry.

  Vilak was not in a hurry to speak, and first greeted Vladislav, Arseni, and Victor to go in and sit down.

   "Comrade Vladislav, Comrade Arseni, you are here too."

   "Where's Stationmaster Cosmo?"

"what's going on?"

After a total of eight people sat down crowded together, Verak officially spoke to answer the doubts of several people: "Comrade Cosmo is busy with something, Comrades Vladislav and Arseni are sensitive and cannot help. I'll bring them back with me."

   "What's the matter, Comrade Veraker." Quentin looked directly at Veraker, and intuitively told him that there was a major change in the sub-station.

   "Yeah, this is..." Stuart also sensed something was wrong.

  Verak didn't pay attention to their work progress immediately when he came back, and even brought together all the comrades present at the moment. This must be a big deal.

"In view of the fact that it is difficult to make a breakthrough in the revolutionary work of Winterhold, Comrade Kozmo, the sub-station chief, Comrade Vladislav, the deputy station chief, and Comrade Arseni, the commander of the combat team, and I have decided to temporarily withdraw from the winter castle after careful consideration. Fort, return to Xiling City, the original activity area of ​​the sub-station to develop.” Verac disclosed the final decision of the sub-station to several people without any warm-up.