Chapter 10

The Germans have always been meticulous, and they are also quite unpredictable!

In another timeline, the German High Seas Fleet was seized by the Allies after World War I. Although this fleet had been mocked by the army as a "fleet in existence only" after the Battle of Jutland, it was still a formidable and powerful fleet.

A total of 74 German warships, under the escort of the Allied fleet, entered Scapa Flow in Britain, awaiting the division of spoils after the peace talks. However, to prevent these elite warships from falling into enemy hands in case the negotiations broke down, the fleet commander took advantage of a moment when the British were not paying attention and launched the world-shocking "Rainbow Operation."

All 74 warships were scuttled in Scapa Flow, with 52 of them sinking completely, accounting for 95% of the total tonnage of the seized fleet. This directly stunned the Allied members who were eagerly preparing to divide the spoils, and Britain, which should have received the largest share, not only got nothing but even lost one of its naval bases, making them almost spit blood in anger!

In the timeline where Zhao Jian is, World War I ended with the intervention of the Tang Dynasty as a third party, allowing the High Seas Fleet to be retained by Germany. However, other sanctions were still imposed, and even more severe.

The Treaty of Versailles not only forced Germany to return all the space colonies it had seized during the war but also stripped it of many of its former colonies as reparations, leaving only a small piece of lunar territory as a "symbolic face." Additionally, Germany had to pay a colossal sum to the Allies, severely weakening its national strength.

"Is this divine core supposed to be this grayish color?"

"Master, the admiral poured a destructive liquid on the divine core before he died. This one is probably ruined."

"Ha!?"

Derek checked the divine core and regretfully informed Zhao Jian of the disappointing result.

The divine core is indeed very sturdy, but it is not indestructible!

There are two conventional ways to "kill" a Valkyrie: one is to physically destroy the divine core, which modern high-explosive can achieve. The other is called "exhaustion," where the divine core runs out of energy and enters a dormant state. This can happen through prolonged high-intensity combat or damage to the ship.

In most cases, when a ship is heavily damaged, the crew will choose to abandon the ship with the divine core to protect this precious asset. In this way, after a period of recovery, the divine core can be used again. However, once the energy is completely depleted, the divine core enters a deep hibernation, similar to a false death, and the natural recovery time can be over a century.

Combat in the atmosphere is relatively easier, as the crew can escape, but in space combat, this is not possible. Therefore, many Valkyries choose to sacrifice themselves to protect the crew they have a deep emotional bond with.

The Lützow must have been in a similar situation. The ship's integrity was largely due to the Valkyrie's persistence. However, the divine core not only ran out of energy but was also doused with destructive liquid, making the situation even worse.

This corrosive destructive liquid is a modern scientific achievement, specifically designed to destroy divine cores. Many countries' main warships carry a bottle of this "emergency potion." If the crew cannot take the divine core away in an unfavorable battle situation, they must destroy it on the spot to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

"Damn! This is a gem that can turn into a girl, how can it be destroyed so easily? These heartless Germans!"

Looking at the already decayed corpse, Zhao Jian, who was pounding his chest, seemed to see the mocking smile of the other party. Although he was seething with anger, he ultimately respected the dead and did not desecrate the body out of spite.

Although the divine core was destroyed, Zhao Jian still took it off the metal stand and put it in his bag as a keepsake, hoping that one day his great-grandchildren might see it shine again. He then searched the room with Derek and Wangcai, hoping to find something valuable to make the trip worthwhile.

During this time, Zhao Jian kept muttering, still upset about the destruction of the divine core.

While they were searching, the straightforward Wangcai saw a golden wall-mounted lamp and thought it might be valuable. Without thinking, he tried to pry it off, but he applied the wrong force and accidentally turned the lamp half a circle to the right. Zhao Jian, who was rummaging through a box on the opposite side, heard a "crack" under his feet and then fell through the floor. By the time Derek and Wangcai looked over, Zhao Jian and the hidden door had already disappeared.

"Hey! Where's Master?"

"I, I don't know."

A living person vanished in the blink of an eye, and the two looked at each other in shock. Derek suddenly slapped his forehead and rushed to where Zhao Jian had disappeared, frantically searching the ground, but the metal floor showed no seams. Fortunately, Derek was smarter than the single-minded Wangcai and quickly came up with an idea.

"Water! Water! Pour water on the ground!"

After pouring the water from their water bottles, a 1-meter square frame appeared on the ground. However, even though they found the hidden door, they could do nothing about it. The gap around the door was so small that not even a hair could fit through, and no matter how they knocked, it wouldn't budge. Helpless, Derek could only bang on the door and shout.

"Master! Can you hear me?"

At the same time, below the hidden door, Zhao Jian had hit his head on a hard object during the fall and was now unconscious. He remained in a state of semi-consciousness, his mind buzzing, until he saw a light and two moving figures, gradually regaining consciousness.

"Master, Master, wake up, Master!"

"I... How long have I been out?"

"About ten minutes."

"I feel like I've been out for several centuries..."

After Zhao Jian fell, the two people above were in a panic. Fortunately, Derek remembered what Wangcai had done and also turned the lamp to open the hidden door. When they came down, they saw Zhao Jian lying on the floor with a lot of blood on the back of his head, which scared them.

After Zhao Jian woke up, Derek wrapped his head with bandages, but the wound soon became painful due to the sweat, so he had to remove a few layers. Derek suggested that Zhao Jian return to the rear, but Zhao Jian insisted that it was just a minor injury and would not affect his "combat effectiveness."

The accidental discovery of the hidden room, which caused Zhao Jian to be injured, also rekindled their hopes.

The German Navy would not waste precious ship space to build such a hidden room unless it was to store valuable items. However, this hidden room was no longer a secret, as the left side of the floor was missing, and through the large hole, they could clearly see the flowing lava below.

"Thank goodness I have a big destiny. If I had fallen there, I wouldn't have left a trace."

The three of them looked over the edge of the floor for a while and then carefully moved to the right side of the room. Zhao Jian wiped the "cold and hot mixed sweat" from his forehead, still feeling the aftereffects of the fall. When he fell, he hit his head on the ladder, which caused him to roll to the right side of the hidden room instead of falling directly into the lava through the large hole on the left.

"Master, rest here for a while. Let me and Wangcai search for things."

"Thanks, Uncle Derek. And Wangcai, don't feel too bad about what happened. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have found this hidden room."

The hidden room was not very large, about the same size as the room above where the divine core was kept. However, on the wall directly opposite the ladder, there was a round vault door, the kind used in banks. Who knows what considerations the Lützow's builders had when they installed such a safe inside the ship, and the door even had the emblem of the German royal family.

As the last emperor of the German Empire, Wilhelm II was one of the main instigators of World War I. Zhao Jian's knowledge of him from his previous life was limited to this. He didn't know how different the Wilhelm II in this timeline was, but he knew that this Wilhelm II was a hardcore otaku, and a "late-stage incurable" one at that.

There were too many bizarre issues to list, but this man with uneven arms had more psychological problems than physical ones. His "excessive self-esteem" and "loose tongue" alone caused his cabinet officials a lot of headaches.

The most famous incident was when Wilhelm II gave an interview to the British "Daily Telegraph" in 1908. He intended to promote friendly relations between Germany and Britain but ended up offending five countries—Britain, France, Russia, Japan, and the Tang Dynasty—due to his loose tongue.

Wilhelm II pointed out that the Germans did not like the British, that France and Russia had incited Germany to intervene in the Second Boer War, and that Germany's naval expansion was aimed at Japan, not Britain. He also insulted the then Emperor Lingzong of Tang as a young man lacking imperial dignity. His radical remarks even frightened the interviewer.

In addition to his endless brain-dead statements, Wilhelm II was also a fanatical enthusiast of the Ancients.

He misappropriated royal funds to support a group of unproductive archaeologists, hoping they could prove through academic research that the Germans were descendants of the Ancients and that the Hohenzollern family had the purest bloodline. However, this "S密达特色" (S-Mida characteristic) action only wasted money, and Wilhelm II got nothing in return.

Notably, although this otaku emperor initiated World War I, he was merely deposed and did not face any other punishment. After the war, he was protected by the Queen of the Netherlands, with whom he had close ties, and he still lived a comfortable life, occasionally making public appearances.

Rumors have it that Wilhelm II even used warships to transport ancient artifacts from around the world, and he did not stop this activity even after the war broke out. The British "Armored Trooper" being deployed in the Battle of the Somme further convinced him that the advanced technology of the Ancients would bring a new turning point to the war. If these rumors are true, then the safe in front of Zhao Jian and his companions is definitely worth looking forward to!