Chapter 10 Who am I?

Dimitri Drukovich Malashenko, this is the name Lin Jie is now known and recognized by people around him.

On July 31, 1916, a baby boy with this name was born in a small village on the outskirts of Moscow to a typical Russian peasant family that had been farming for generations.

When Malashenko was 19 years old, he volunteered to join the Soviet Red Army and was admitted to the Ulyanovsk Tank Corps Academy in 1935 of the same year.

There, the young Malashenko learned for the first time how to drive a tank and how to master a tank gun and make it more accurate.

In this regard, the young Malashenko is undoubtedly full of hope and longing for the prosperous years ahead.

After studying for several years at the Ulyanovsk Tank Corps School and graduating, the smug Malashenko soon became a second lieutenant officer and happened to catch up with the Soviet military operation against Poland in 1939. He experienced the first actual battle of blood and fire in his life.

During this short-lived military operation, Malashenko, who commanded his T26 light tank crew to advance all the way, met the crispy German army who were also "socialist brothers" out of curiosity for the first time.

Seeing the scene where the commander of his unit was chatting happily with the German generals and even calling each other brothers with gestures and laughter, Malashenko, who was unable to speak or even express his opinions due to his identity, was invisibly It feels like something is wrong.

Today the combined attack of the two socialist brothers divides Poland.

In the future, two armies that were once brothers could turn against each other in order to compete for living space and ideological conflicts that are essentially irreconcilable.

In the battle in which Captain Brasovsky, the original commander of the No. 177 T34 tank, was sacrificed, Lieutenant Malashenko, then deputy company commander, had to fight due to mechanical failure at the most critical moment before the battle. He left the T34 tank he commanded and temporarily joined the No. 177 command T34 tank commanded by Captain Brasovsky as a loader.

What happened next was what Lin Jie saw after he woke up.

Relying on Lieutenant Malashenko's profound skills accumulated in the Ulyanovsk Tank School in his early years, as well as the war experience accumulated in the previous invasion of Poland.

Lin Jie, whose life was seriously threatened by German tanks, finally used the body of Lieutenant Malashenko to explode with amazing combat skills and combat effectiveness. He shouldered the triple responsibilities of commander, gunner, and loader in one person. With the help of the T34 The tank's superior and overwhelming mass advantage killed all the German Panzer III and IV tanks on the opposite side, leaving nothing behind, and in one fell swoop won the 20th Tank Division's top kill count in this battle.

But even so, Lin Jie, who was sitting in the turret, couldn't help but feel doubts after clearing his thoughts.

Now that his identity is confirmed, who is the beautiful young girl in his arms in the photo?

Lin Jie held the back of his head and thought about the question for nearly a minute. Lin Jie, who was searching for the memories inherited from Lieutenant Malashenko in his mind, finally came to a sudden realization.

"Natalia Pokalonskaya, the daughter of the former Tsarist Russian nobleman, survived because she was too young when the Soviets came to power and was exiled to my village for adoption. She is a good friend who grew up with me. "Also a childhood sweetheart"

Thinking of this, Malashenko, who was silent for a while, couldn't help feeling a little speechless.

"It's not even sure whether you can save your life or not. It's bullshit to just deal with all these things!"

After some heartfelt sighs, he was about to stick the photo back to its original position on the tank bulkhead, but Malashenko felt that it was inappropriate halfway when he reached out.

I have almost nothing on me except this photo, so it seems inappropriate to put it in a place where it can easily be worn.

After a brief inner struggle, Malashenko sighed and finally chose to follow the guidance of his true inner will.

After putting this old black-and-white photo of two people holding arms intimately on the inner layer of his jacket and putting it away properly, Malashenko, who had been running around in the war all day, couldn't help but feel sleepy. After a sudden attack, he stretched out his hand and yawned twice, then fell asleep in his commander's position with his arms folded in a reclining posture.

The rising sun in June breaks away from the shackles of the night and fills the earth like golden wheat fields.

Feeling the slightly dazzling sunlight entering his eyes, Malashenko, who had been hastily dealing with it all night in the tank, finally opened his eyes and woke up to the call of the driver Seryosha.

"Comrade Malashenko, we have all heard that you have been promoted to captain and become the commander of our first company! Congratulations to you."

Struggling with some aches and pains, his rickety body straightened up from his seat. Malashenko, who had not completely faded away from his sleepiness, then reached out and took the piece of Black Leba bread from Seryosha's hand, which was only a little bigger than his fist. Entered the mouth.

"The so-called promotion and wealth during the war is actually a talisman to death, Seryosha. Sometimes you can get this position not because of your talents and abilities, but because you were suitable for this position before you. Most of the people are dead, and you are the only one left, so I will send you up based on the principle of choosing the taller one among the short ones, that’s all.”

Putting the last piece of bread left in his hand into his mouth, Malashenko, unwilling to waste even a little bit of food, continued after licking the crumbs remaining on his fingers.

"Perhaps one day you will face the same promotion as me, Seryosha. But please remember, you must not get carried away because of this kind of promotion in war and some so-called false titles. Flying towards you Bullets and cannonballs don’t matter whether you are a soldier or a general, life is only once for each of us.”

After listening to these heartfelt words from Malashenko's mouth, he nodded in understanding. It is clear that Seryosha, a young driver who has been in the army for less than a year, still has a lot to learn.

"By the way, sir, the field maintenance team had repaired the damaged armor of our tank when you were resting last night. I saw that you were resting in the tank at the time, so I simply didn't wake you up. I didn't expect it to be so big during welding. It’s surprising that the noise didn’t wake you up.”

After listening to Seryosha's somewhat excited words, a big question mark immediately appeared on Malashenko's head, which made Monk Zhang Er scratch his head.

"Welding repaired the armor? Didn't you wake me up? What kind of story is this?"