Red Skull

"Ma'am, shall we leave now?" Having successfully persuaded Audrey's mother, Zhang Xuan could not wait to get the mother and daughter out of there. After all, the Netherlands was under Nazi rule now, and danger could strike at any time.

"Mr. Alex, you can call me Ella." Audrey's mother was somewhat surprised. "Is it really that urgent?"

Zhang Xuan looked worriedly at Audrey's mother, Ella, stepped closer, and lowered his voice. "Mrs. Ella, I accidentally heard some news. Hitler is planning to carry out a policy of racial cleansing. It's very dangerous for us to stay here."

Ella's expression changed drastically. She thought once again of her relatives who had died such tragic deaths and nodded unconsciously. "Let's go. We'll leave right now!"

"Mom, are we really leaving this place?" Audrey Hepburn was only an eleven-year-old child at the time. Hearing that she had to leave her familiar home, her little face was filled with sorrow. She was reluctant to leave.

Seeing the melancholy in Audrey's brown eyes, Zhang Xuan felt an inexplicable pang of tenderness and said, "Of course, Audrey. You're an angel who descended to earth. You don't belong here!"

In his excitement, Zhang Xuan failed to notice that he had actually spoken Audrey's name. At this time, Audrey's name was Edda. Fortunately, neither the distraught mother nor daughter noticed.

A short while later, Ella led Audrey, dressed in plain clothes, out of the house. In her right hand, she carried a huge bundle so heavy that the exposed skin of her arm had turned faintly blue.

Looking at the cloth bundle that was nearly half as tall as Ella, Zhang Xuan smiled wryly. "Mrs. Ella, there's no need to bring so many things!"

Ella froze slightly and looked down at the bundle in her hand, hesitating. These things were all they had left.

"Mrs. Ella, with money, what can't you buy?" Zhang Xuan pointed to the pocket of Ella's clothes, where she had tucked away the ten thousand US dollars he had just given her. "Besides, it won't be easy for us to travel with all this stuff!"

"I think we shouldn't bring anything. We should travel light." Seeing that Ella was still hesitating, Zhang Xuan took the bundle from her hand, set it aside, and led the mother and daughter back the way they had come.

Ella looked reluctantly at the bundle Zhang Xuan had tossed aside. In the end, she said nothing and took Audrey's hand, following closely behind Zhang Xuan.

After only a few steps, Zhang Xuan suddenly stretched out an arm to stop the mother and daughter behind him. His eyes narrowed slightly. Sidecar motorcycles began appearing on the distant road, each carrying three or four German soldiers in Nazi uniforms. They clearly did not come with good intentions.

An inexplicable unease rose within Zhang Xuan. He immediately pulled the mother and daughter into the forest beside the road, using the dense trees to conceal their tracks.

"What's wrong?" Ella had also seen the Nazis in the distance, but she did not pay much attention to them. In fact, neither she nor Audrey seemed worried; they merely looked at Zhang Xuan in confusion.

Zhang Xuan shook his head, his face solemn. "Something feels wrong. We should be careful." Then he looked up to get his bearings and led the mother and daughter through the forest.

In truth, Zhang Xuan's intuition was extremely accurate. These suddenly appearing Nazis had come for him. His reckless use of Teleportation had finally drawn the attention of a Nazi special department.

"Reporting, sir! The target has not been found!" A young corporal jogged up to an armored vehicle, stood at attention, and shouted loudly, "The target is suspected to have escaped!"

With a click, the armored vehicle's door was pushed open from within. A man with a red skull for a head stepped out. The eyeballs in his sunken skull sockets radiated a bone-chilling madness.

If Zhang Xuan had seen this man, he would have recognized him immediately. Wasn't this Red Skull from the movie Captain America?

"Then what are you waiting for? Go after him! You must find him!" Red Skull's muscleless face showed no expression. His flared nostrils heaved with rough breaths, making it clear that he was furious.

The young corporal did not even dare look Red Skull in the eye. He answered hurriedly, turned, and ran off. Before long, dozens of Nazis scattered in all directions to pursue the target.

"What the hell is going on?" Zhang Xuan was deeply frustrated. He led Audrey and Ella while avoiding the Nazis, hoping to catch a train out of Arnhem. Yet he had not expected the entire city to now seem occupied by Nazis.

Even now, Zhang Xuan did not know that he had drawn Red Skull's attention, and that Red Skull had even come personally.

At this point, Ella and Audrey also realized something was wrong. There had not been many Nazis in Arnhem before, but now, as far as the eye could see, Nazis were everywhere. Even the most secluded places were not free of them.

"What do we do now?" Looking at the Nazis constantly searching the streets, Ella's face was filled with worry.

Zhang Xuan's brow furrowed tightly. He had a feeling that the Nazis who had suddenly appeared in Arnhem were connected to him. If so, it would be difficult for him to take Audrey and Ella away.

"Where can I send a telegram?" After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan decided he needed to contact Howard.

"The newspaper office. The Arnhem Newspaper Office has a telegraph machine. I saw it once." Audrey raised her hand and spoke softly. She was still somewhat afraid of Zhang Xuan and did not dare get too close to him.

Zhang Xuan could only smile wryly at that. If he got the chance later, he definitely had to get closer to the goddess. For now, though, he needed to find a way back to the United States first!

Led by Audrey, the three of them traveled through streets and alleys, constantly avoiding the Nazis. After nearly half a day, they finally arrived at a small courtyard not far from Arnhem Music Academy. This was the location of the Arnhem Newspaper Office. Due to the Nazis, the office had long since been forced to close, and the place had been abandoned without a soul in sight.

"The telegraph machine is in there." Audrey pointed to a room in the southwest corner of the courtyard. After their nonstop travel, fine beads of sweat had already appeared on her forehead, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.

"You two wait here. I'll send a telegram." Zhang Xuan gave them an instruction, then entered the room in the southwest corner where the telegraph machine was kept. After testing it, he found that it still worked.

In his previous life, telephones and computers had already become widespread, and antiques like telegraphs had long been eliminated. Zhang Xuan had never even seen one before. Since coming to this era, however, he had no choice but to learn how to use this antique.

After somewhat clumsily tapping out a telegram, Zhang Xuan did not leave immediately. He knew Howard would reply quickly. Sure enough, only a few minutes later, the telegraph began clicking again.

Howard had sent him a route map described in words, telling Zhang Xuan how to return safely to the United Kingdom. After reading it, Zhang Xuan could not help smiling. Howard really is dependable.

According to Howard's description, Germany and France were now locked in fierce fighting, so returning to the United Kingdom through France was impossible. Sailing directly from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom was also wishful thinking, as German warships and aircraft filled the English Channel. Therefore, the best route was to pass through Germany, cross Denmark, enter Norway, and then sail from Norway around the North Sea back to the United Kingdom.

Looking at the route map Howard had sent, Zhang Xuan suddenly thought of something. He remembered that in Captain America, Red Skull had found the Tesseract in a church in Norway. Should I go look for it? The thought of the Tesseract stirred an impulse within him. The Tesseract was a good thing, after all.

But when Zhang Xuan turned and saw Audrey Hepburn shivering in the autumn wind outside in the courtyard, he immediately extinguished that thought. He had only one purpose in coming to Europe this time: to take Audrey Hepburn to the United States. He would ignore everything else!