Camping in a Mountain Cave

When Zhang Xuan finally crossed the German border into Denmark with Hepburn and her mother after immense hardship, a piece of bad news arrived: the Little Mustache's genocidal racial policy, which had been hunting down Jews across the European Continent, had finally begun!

"Alex, what do we do now?" Ella held Hepburn as she crouched beside a low wall, her bright eyes peeking out cautiously, her dust-covered face full of worry.

On the streets, squads of German soldiers armed with submachine guns were escorting a group of ragged people—old men, women, and children. Their destination was the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. At this time, Auschwitz's infamous reputation had not yet spread; each face showed only slight reluctance, not much fear.

They didn't know that a bloody death awaited them, but Zhang Xuan did. He desperately wanted to save these people, but looking at the streets filled with fully armed German soldiers, he had to abandon this impractical idea.

Zhang Xuan's face darkened as his mind raced. This small Danish town was crawling with German soldiers, arresting people everywhere. Staying in the city was extremely dangerous. Although the Little Mustache's racial extermination mainly targeted Jews, in reality, anyone who wasn't Aryan was marked for extinction. If they stayed in the city, they might be captured by the German soldiers.

After days of continuous travel, little Angel Hepburn was exhausted and had fallen into a light sleep. The moment they stopped, she woke up immediately, rubbing her dazed eyes and asking in confusion, "Why aren't we moving?"

Zhang Xuan gave a bitter smile and said helplessly, "We can't move now. We need to find a place to hide!"

"Okay!" In just a few days, Hepburn had developed a strong dependence on Zhang Xuan. Whatever he said, she obeyed without question.

There was no place to hide in the city. Zhang Xuan led Hepburn and her mother, avoiding the German soldiers along the way, escaping out of town and into the dense mountain forest outside.

Denmark is located in Northern Europe, with a cold climate. Although it was only September, the nighttime temperature had already dropped below freezing. The mountain forest was windy and even colder. Even though they found a cave to shelter in, they were still shivering from the cold.

Watching Hepburn sneeze again, her delicate nose turning purple from the cold and running with clear mucus, Zhang Xuan finally couldn't take it anymore. He stood up with a pained expression: "I can't worry about that anymore. Let's start a fire!" Initially, Zhang Xuan had refrained from lighting a fire for fear the flames would attract German soldiers, but now he had no choice. He couldn't let Hepburn freeze, could he?

"Wait for me!" Zhang Xuan said, then quickly ran out of the cave. The moment he left the cave, he used Teleportation and reappeared in the small town at the foot of the mountain.

Zhang Xuan had zero wilderness survival experience and no skill at making fire by friction, so he had to "borrow" some fire from the town. If he could also find some hot food, that would be even better. After days of travel, none of them had eaten a hot meal.

Fortunately, it was just after nightfall, and many families had only recently finished dinner. Zhang Xuan was lucky enough to find plenty of food: thick butter spread on black bread, single-slice sandwiches with beef and vegetables, and a large plate of red cabbage roasted pork. Leaving a few US dollars behind, Zhang Xuan unceremoniously swept up all the food and also took a few thick leather coats.

Back at the cave, Zhang Xuan draped a leather coat over Ella, who was shivering while holding Hepburn, and set down the food: "Eat something first. I'll find some dry wood to start the fire."

"Thank you, Alex!" Ella tightened the coat around her, turned to look at Zhang Xuan, and said with gratitude, "If it weren't for you, we would probably..."

"I'm truly ashamed. If not for me, you and Hepburn wouldn't be suffering like this." Watching the drowsy Hepburn, Zhang Xuan began to doubt whether his trip to Europe was right or wrong.

"If it weren't for you, we'd probably be captured and sent to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp by now!" Ella was clear-headed and smart. Although they had endured hardships along the way, compared to staying in the German occupied territory and facing constant danger to their lives, this pain was nothing. She felt grateful to Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile, turned, and ran out of the cave. He returned shortly, carrying a large bundle of dry branches and dead wood.

After lighting the fire, the cold cave finally gained some warmth. A bit of color returned to Hepburn's small face as she rubbed her eyes and slowly woke up: "So warm!"

"Hepburn, this is for you!" Zhang Xuan pulled out an aluminum lunchbox from his chest. Opening it, it was filled with a generous portion of Spaghetti, still steaming. Zhang Xuan knew that Hepburn especially loved Spaghetti. He had searched the small town for a long time before finding this portion in the kitchen of a German officer.

Seeing it, Hepburn immediately jumped out of Ella's arms, eagerly took the lunchbox, twirled the Spaghetti with her fork, and stuffed it into her mouth, forgetting all about ladylike manners. She slurped away happily.

"Audrey, have you forgotten what I taught you?" Watching Hepburn's unladylike eating, Ella glanced awkwardly at Zhang Xuan, then frowned and scolded her in a low voice.

Zhang Xuan smiled slightly and said soothingly, "Madam, Hepburn is still a child. No need to be too strict. Besides, she's really been through a lot these past few days. Let it go!"

Ella sighed, stroking Hepburn's soft hair with a pained expression. It hurt her too to see Hepburn suffer. But Hepburn's next words made Ella feel a pang of "a daughter grown too fond of another."

Seeing her mother wasn't angry, Hepburn grinned at Zhang Xuan and said smugly, "Thanks, big brother! You're the best to me!"

In no time, Hepburn had devoured the entire lunchbox of Spaghetti. Wiping the meat sauce from the corner of her mouth, she patted her slightly bloated belly with a satisfied look.

After enjoying the meal, the three of them chatted in the warm cave until they drifted off to sleep.

The firelight in the mountain forest soon caught the attention of the German soldiers in the town below. Fortunately, the night in Denmark was so cold that even the disciplined German soldiers didn't want to go out. They all huddled in their warm rooms, planning to wait until the next day's sun came out before heading up the mountain to investigate.

Thanks to the German soldiers' laziness, Zhang Xuan and the others escaped disaster.

The next day, when Zhang Xuan woke up, he recalled how he had fallen asleep without any guard the night before and broke out in a cold sweat. He silently warned himself: "I need to be more careful from now on. Last night was lucky—no one came. Next time, I might not be so fortunate!"