Return to Britain

Back on the streets of London, Alex calmed his excited heart. He looked around, found his direction, and headed for the Royal Air Force airfield. Alex wasn't familiar with London; his visits had been too brief to recognize anything. The only place he vaguely remembered was the Royal Air Force airfield where his plane had landed.

After a short walk, Alex reached the vicinity of the airfield. Two British soldiers immediately approached him, their faces etched with caution. "Military restricted area, unauthorized personnel keep out!"

"Hello, I'm Alex Zhang..."

Before Alex could finish speaking, the two British soldiers raised their rifles, the dark muzzles pointed at him. They shouted sternly, "Leave immediately, or face death!"

Alex looked at the two soldiers, feeling a surge of anger but also helplessness. He raised his hands and slowly backed away. "OK, OK, I'm leaving, right now!"

He retreated more than ten steps before the two soldiers lowered their guns. However, they didn't relax their vigilance, their gazes still fixed on Alex with apprehension.

After retreating about a hundred meters, Alex turned around. He glanced at the surroundings, walking aimlessly in one direction, and muttered to himself, "Should I look for Churchill? Or the British royal family?"

A short while later, Alex entered the London city center. The heavy moisture settled on him, quickly forming droplets on his leather jacket before sliding off to the ground, splashing into puddles.

As he walked, a newsboy suddenly ran past him, clutching a stack of newspapers. The boy shouted as he ran, "The greatest escapees in history land in London today! Churchill himself will be at London Port to welcome them!"

Alex blinked in surprise, then quickly realized that the "greatest escapees in history" must be Audrey and the others. But why were they only arriving in London now?

Filled with questions, Alex followed the crowd surging towards London Port.

From a distance, Alex saw over a dozen large ships docked on the River Thames. People lined the railings of the ships, and the docks were a sea of humanity, with hundreds of police officers struggling to maintain order.

Alex's eyes were sharp, and he soon spotted Neil Grant at the bow of the first ship. Dressed in a Finnish military uniform, Neil looked exceptionally heroic. Alex chuckled and used Teleportation to appear beside Neil, who was waving to the crowd on the shore. "Hi, Neil, long time no see!"

Neil Grant jumped in surprise. Seeing Alex suddenly appear before him, he seemed to disbelieve his own eyes. After a moment of stunned silence, he exclaimed with delight, "Alex, you're alive!" After speaking in Finnish, Neil repeated himself in broken English.

"Killing me isn't that easy," Alex chuckled, feigning surprise. "Well, well, you've learned English now?"

"I'll be fighting alongside the Allied forces from now on, so I have to learn some English," Neil's English had a distinct Nordic accent, which sounded rather charming.

Alex nodded and looked around, asking with some surprise, "Where's Toby? I don't see him."

Neil's expression faltered. He asked cautiously, "You don't know?" Neil had initially assumed Alex's survival was due to Toby, but it now seemed that wasn't the case.

Alex frowned, looking confused. "Know what?"

Neil sighed and recounted the events on the Patsjoki River. Finally, he looked at Alex with guilt. "Alex, I'm sorry. For the sake of seventy thousand lives, I had no choice..."

"I'd rather you did that!" Alex shook his head, indicating he didn't mind. He then gave a bitter smile. "It's just that Toby and the others were implicated." Toby and the others were in Hydra's hands; they were doomed.

As they were both lost in thought, Audrey suddenly ran out from the ship's cabin, her face filled with anxiety. When she saw Alex standing at the bow of the ship, Audrey's steps faltered, then she accelerated and rushed towards him, burying herself in his arms. "Brother, you're finally back!"

Alex stroked Audrey's hair and turned to look at Neil.

"I told her you went to take care of some business and would be back soon!" Neil explained in a low voice, his expression full of pain. "These past few days, she's asked multiple times a day. It's been giving me a headache."

Alex nodded slightly and replied with a smile, "Thank you, Neil!"

While comforting Audrey, Alex looked at Neil and asked in surprise, "By the way, why are you only arriving in London now?"

Neil shook his head, looking helpless. "We blockaded the North Sea, so we came back around the Atlantic."

A moment later, the ship docked. Neil disembarked first, with Alex holding Audrey's hand as they followed. The rest of the ship's passengers followed them out.

"Neil Grant of the Finnish Defense Forces, greetings, Prime Minister!" Neil Grant stood at attention and saluted, his voice resounding.

Churchill, wearing a thick woolen overcoat, his figure slightly stooped, straightened his back and returned the salute. He said confidently, "The Allies welcome your joining. We will drive out the Germans, for sure." Churchill then turned to look behind Neil, asking with some confusion, "May I ask who Alex is?"

Alex stood behind Neil, carefully observing the great man from history. He looked like an ordinary old man, but his spirit exuded a powerful aura. Especially the confidence that radiated from his very core, which always brought a sense of peace.

Hearing Churchill's question, Alex stepped forward, a humble smile on his face. "Alex greets Mr. Churchill."

Churchill clearly hadn't expected that a young man barely twenty years old would be the one to complete this "great escape." He was momentarily taken aback before recovering. He firmly grasped Alex's hand and said with a hearty laugh, "With such a young hero, how can the Germans not be defeated!"

"Mr. Churchill, you flatter me!"

After a simple yet grand welcome ceremony, Alex was invited by Churchill to the Prime Minister's residence for dinner, a meal Alex would never forget.

When Alex left the Prime Minister's residence and returned to the apartment specially arranged for him by Churchill, Audrey eagerly surrounded him, asking with great curiosity, "Was the dinner at the Prime Minister's residence delicious?"

Alex wore a look of utter dejection and complained dramatically, "I swear, I'm never eating British food again. It's just too awful!"

"I thought it was okay!" Audrey tilted her head, looking surprised.

"When we get back to New York, I'll treat you to some real food!" After eating the British dinner, Alex immediately wanted to return to Chinatown. Compared to Uncle An's cooking, British cuisine was simply garbage!

"Alex, come try on these clothes. I had them made for you specially." As they were talking, Ella emerged from a side room carrying a set of clothes. "Tomorrow is the medal ceremony, so you need to look good."

Alex obediently changed into the clothes, stretching his arms and legs, and turning around. He said with satisfaction, "They fit perfectly, thank you, Madam!"

Audrey, who had disappeared for a moment, returned with a bow tie in her hand. "Brother, wear this!"

Alex put on the bow tie and looked in the mirror, saying somewhat narcissistically, "Audrey, don't you think your brother looks very handsome?"

Audrey, playing along perfectly, tilted her head and said with admiration, "Brother looks the most handsome!"

After the medal ceremony, Alex rejected the banquet invitations from the British royal family and various British dignitaries. He fled with Audrey and Ella, boarding a ship bound for New York.

Germany was relentlessly bombing Britain, and flying would have been suicidal. Alex had no choice but to take a ship, which was relatively safer.