I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 252

Chapter 252: The Intelligence of "The Lady in White"

At 5:30 p.m., Charles walked alone into the officers' club.

Lucia had told Charles that this was her shift change time, and the club was relatively empty at 5:30. The officers' habit was to have dinner, take a bath, and freshen up before gathering around 6:00 p.m. for a drink.

Thus, this time was ideal for them to meet and exchange information.

Lucia, who had just started her shift, was wiping down the bar. When she saw Charles walk in, her eyes brightened. Her previously tired eyes instantly lit up with a smile. She gave her colleague a signal and, with practiced ease, prepared two cups of coffee, placed them on a tray, and walked towards Charles, trying to maintain an air of calm.

Lucia didn’t want Charles to sense that she had another expectation beyond her work. That would make her seem unprofessional. After all, in the face of war and missions, especially with someone like Charles, such expectations were almost an indulgence.

"Miss me?" Lucia whispered.

She deftly placed the tray on the table, and as she sat down sideways, she placed the coffee in front of Charles.

Charles stared at the coffee in front of him in a daze. "I thought you'd give me two glasses of wine."

"No!" Lucia smiled and shook her head. "You don't like alcohol at all, including wine."

Charles looked at Lucia, confused.

Lucia tilted her head slightly. "This is how others drink..."

Saying this, she held up the coffee cup as if it were a glass of wine. With eager anticipation, she took a sip, slightly raising her eyebrows, almost savoring it, as if enjoying the taste.

"And this is how you drink alcohol..."

She picked up the "wine glass" again, first furrowing her brow, carefully bringing the "glass" to her lips. She took a small sip, lowering her eyes, her face contorting as if in pain.

Her imitation was so vivid that it reminded Charles of the pain he felt when drinking. He indeed drank like that, and he certainly didn’t like alcohol. He even wondered how anyone could like such a terrible-tasting thing.

"What did you used to do?" Charles asked, somewhat curious.

Lucia let out a silvery laugh, answering half-jokingly, "You guessed it, Colonel. I used to be an actress. My best role was the clown."

She even pinched her nose as she spoke.

Charles smiled faintly, knowing that wasn’t true, but Lucia was very good at disguising herself, including controlling her expressions.

Perhaps this was exactly why "The Lady in White" had sent her here to make contact with Charles.

When it was time to get down to business, Charles leaned forward, his movements a little stiff.

Lucia, however, naturally leaned in and gave Charles a light kiss near his lips, like a dragonfly skimming the water. Then, in a soft voice, she whispered in his ear, "This is how it should be, Colonel. This is what a couple should do!"

The sensation of electricity coursing through him caused Charles to freeze for a moment. The faint scent of perfume that came with it unexpectedly stirred something in him, causing his breathing to become rapid.

Lucia's gaze lingered in front of him, her beautiful eyes just inches away from his, her breath faintly brushing against his face.

A flash of surprise, even a hint of delight, passed through Lucia's eyes. She gave him a teasing smile, her tone carrying a touch of pride. "This can’t be your first kiss, can it, Colonel? I’m honored!"

Charles was reluctant to admit this, quickly steering the conversation back to the task at hand. "The intelligence you provided is accurate, Lucia! I need to know more about the Germans—artillery positions, airfields, warehouses, and so on. This could be a long-term mission!"

"Of course!" Lucia smiled, gently stroking Charles's cheek, murmuring in a lover’s tone, with an alluring nasal voice. "We've always done it this way. We just didn’t know who to give it to. Now, I’ve finally found the right person. Unwavering!"

For a moment, Charles almost believed her. The tender gaze, the charming expression, and the passionate lips… until he felt a note sliding down the collar of his shirt into the base of his neck.

Charles believed Lucia. She must be an actress, or she couldn't have performed so convincingly and so vividly.

...

Charles received the intelligence he wanted—the exact locations of two German artillery positions.

What surprised Charles was that one of the artillery positions had just been set up eight days ago, meticulously camouflaged, and not a single shot had been fired. Yet, "The Lady in White" still managed to get its location, down to the detail of 32 105mm howitzers.

How did they do it? Could it be that, like Harley, they infiltrated the dance halls and extracted information from German officers?

That seemed unlikely.

First, the Germans were excellent at keeping military intelligence confidential. Ordinary officers had no access to such information, and it was inconceivable that they would leak it.

Moreover, even if German officers "spilled the beans" after drinking, it would be impossible for them to provide such specific details as the number of guns.

If someone were to ask, "How many guns are there in this artillery position, and what calibers?" it would be akin to publicly admitting they were a spy.

Later, Charles learned that "The Lady in White's" method was quite simple. They just watched the trains pass by in front of the windows: how many guns were being transported, how much material was headed in which direction, and how many troops were being deployed to certain areas.

Then, they could track the snow-covered tire tracks at the destination.

The Germans, naturally, assumed that with so many vehicles coming and going, the ground was covered with tire marks, and no one could discern which ones came from the artillery units and which ones were from supply convoys or troop movements. Therefore, they made no effort to clean them up.

What they didn’t realize was that while the tire marks alone wouldn’t reveal much, when combined with the information about train transportation, and knowing that artillery units had already arrived in the area, it wasn’t difficult to analyze and pinpoint the exact location.

Charles immediately sent the location details to Carter.

At this point, the bomber squadron had been placed under Carter's command.

Previously, the squadron had been commanded by Eric for secrecy, as the military had not yet purchased bombers.

Once the bombers successfully destroyed the German airfield, proving their effectiveness, the military purchased all 20 bombers for 55,000 francs each in a lump sum.

Charles made another 600,000 francs in profit, and whether there would be more orders in the future depended on how well the bombers performed.

When Carter received the call, he exclaimed, "Colonel, your intelligence was so detailed, down to the number of guns and their calibers. The second team is already this formidable?"

"This isn't your concern, Major!" Charles replied. "You just need to figure out how to destroy it!"

(Note: Carter had been promoted from Captain to Major.)

"Yes, Colonel!" Carter responded, hanging up the phone and immediately taking action.

He quickly called the army staff. "There is a howitzer position across from your defense area, at 49.16 degrees North, 5.386 degrees East, in a valley. Mark its direction and distance by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow!"

"Yes!" The army staff replied, immediately sending out an observer with high-powered binoculars and a map to the front line to locate the position.

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