Chapter 3 Recruitment A red and white bus was parked outside the classroom. Kantorek stood in front of the open bus door, looking at Lu Mingfei and Paul impatiently. "Everyone is waiting for you two, hurry up and get in the car." At Kantorek's urging, Lu Mingfei and Paul boarded the bus. Lu Mingfei touched the metal door frame of the bus and sighed in his heart. He didn't expect that there were buses in Europe a hundred years ago. After everyone was seated, the car began to move forward slowly. In the car, those young boys sang excitedly. They were only seventeen or eighteen years old, in the prime of their lives, and some of them even went to the barber shop to shave for the first time yesterday. The newly sprouted stubble seemed to prove their physical growth, but their eyes as pure as amber proved that their blank hearts had just been painted with color. "Drink this cup of tea, coffee and sugar~" "Another glass of red wine~" "Girl, girl, I really like you~" "But I can't marry you now~"
"Just wait another year and it will come true~" "Just wait another year and it will come true~" The car slowly moved forward, carrying these young people who were inexperienced in the world to an unknown direction. The scenery outside the car window flashed by quickly, and the sun shone through the green trees, as if paving a golden road for their future. At this time, there was a sound of trumpets and drums outside the moving bus. Lu Mingfei looked out the window and saw a group of young soldiers in military uniforms carrying guns walking on another road, followed by a band playing "Watch on the Rhine". The soldiers marched forward with their heads held high to the singing, their faces filled with pride and honor. When the passers-by saw them, they all cheered, and some young and beautiful girls even presented flowers to the soldiers. People on both sides of the street waved flags in their hands, as if they were seeing these soldiers off and were proud of their courage and dedication. "Hey, Hans, do you think we will be like them?" Paul heard the music and cheers and leaned against the window looking out. "Of course, there will be a lot of girls who will like us then!" Before Lu Mingfei could reply, another young man leaned over the window and looked out, then took over the conversation. His name was Le Er, and he was the only one in the class who had had close contact with the girl. The other students also leaned against the windows and looked out, watching the soldiers with envy until the team of soldiers completely disappeared from their sight. After an unknown amount of time, the car drove to a house. There were a lot of people queuing outside the house. Led by Kantorek, Lu Mingfei and his group also joined the queue. As the team moved forward, Lu Mingfei saw the person in front of him taking off his clothes, leaving only a pair of shorts. A middle-aged man in a white coat looked left and right at the man's body. Soon it was Lu Mingfei's turn. "Take off your clothes." said the middle-aged man calmly. Lu Mingfei hesitated for a moment, then took off his clothes. The middle-aged man began to look around at Lu Mingfei, and occasionally touched her, which made Lu Mingfei feel a little embarrassed. This was the first time he showed his naked body to others in public, not counting the time when he was stripped naked in the toilet. "Stand over there." The middle-aged man pointed to the wall, where there were rulers and a scale. After measuring Lu Mingfei's height and weight, the middle-aged man recorded the data in detail on a piece of paper. "Jump up and wave your arms."
Under the command of the middle-aged man, Lu Mingfei began to jump and wave his arms. He felt like a jumping monkey. The middle-aged man looked at Lu Mingfei who was jumping up and down, and wrote something on the paper. After writing, the middle-aged man stopped Lu Mingfei who was still jumping, and then handed him the paper and signaled him to go in. After getting the paper, Lu Mingfei finally understood why he had done those actions. It was a physical examination form, which recorded his height, weight, and whether there was anything wrong with his body shape and posture. Lu Mingfei walked into the house, and was then pulled into different rooms by other people in white coats. In these rooms, Lu Mingfei received different examinations, from heart to blood pressure, vision, hearing, nose, and even teeth, from top to bottom and inside to outside, and they almost put their fingers into the anus to check. After all indicators were tested qualified, the doctor gave Lu Mingfei an injection of vaccine and then let him enter a hall. Everyone in the hall was naked, holding their medical examination forms and lined up in several rows. The hall was very quiet, with only the shouts of the recruiting officer at the front of the line echoing in the hall. "Next!" It was Lu Mingfei's turn, and the conscription officer took the conscription registration form and physical examination report from Lu Mingfei. "William Hans, 18 years old, orphan..." Seeing this, the recruiting officer raised his head and looked at Lu Mingfei. "My child, the country raised you, and you were able to stand up when the country needed you. I am proud of you." The middle-aged recruiting officer's eyes revealed a gratified look, and he solemnly handed a neatly folded military uniform next to him to Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei looked at the gray-green military uniform and felt a surge of fear in his heart for no reason, as if a voice was telling him that if he put on this uniform, there would be no turning back. But under the gratified gaze of the recruiting officer, Lu Mingfei still took the military uniform and said thank you with a forced smile. Lu Mingfei took the military uniform and walked to the side to change into it. After changing into the military uniform, he saw a mirror in the corner. He walked in front of the mirror and looked at himself in the mirror. His face now is no longer the soft Asian face he used to have. He now has a pair of black pearl-like eyes, fair skin and a high nose bridge. Not to mention, he is quite handsome. This body is not strong but not thin either. His height of 1 meters looks tall and straight against the gray-green military uniform. If he puts on the leather helmet with a metal spike, his height will reach 77. "How about it, Hans? Handsome, right?" At this time, Paul and Kemmerich came over together, and Paul even posed. "Hans, are you okay? Why do you look so ugly?" Kemmerich ignored Paul's funny face. He saw that Lu Mingfei's face looked uglier than if he had eaten shit, and he couldn't help but worry. "I'm fine. I think I ate something bad last night." Lu Mingfei still forced a smile and made up an excuse to put Kemmerich off. In the memories he had received, Kemmerich, Paul and he were childhood friends who grew up together and had the best relationship in school. Kemmerich is not physically strong, his skin is whiter than a woman's, and his personality is relatively gentle. His tender face makes him look more like a child. The other students in the class also changed into military uniforms and were chatting and laughing together, all imagining how heroic they would be on the battlefield, how many Iron Cross medals they would receive, and how many beautiful girls would fall in love with them. Everyone's face was filled with excitement and anticipation, as if the battlefield was an adventure full of glory rather than a cruel fight of life and death. (End of this chapter)
