Chapter 332: Poison Gas Warfare

Inside the officers' club, Lucia turned off the incandescent lamps used for lighting, leaving only a few low-wattage colored lamps, and the light instantly became dim.

Soon, officers came in in twos and threes, ordered drinks, and discussed topics of interest.

Amid the weak sound of the piano, Lucia mechanically waved the cocktail shaker, poured the prepared liquor into the glass, put half a lemon on the rim of the glass, and pushed it in front of the officer in front of the bar.

The officer looked at the glass in astonishment, then raised his head to look at Lucia: "But I ordered a Bloody Mary, Lucia?"

Lucia immediately realized that she had made a mistake and quickly replied: "I'm very sorry, Major, I transferred it for you."

The major hesitated, then replied sensibly, "No, it's okay. I suddenly want to try a Margarita. Let's have this one."

Lucia is Charles' girlfriend, and the officers all know this, so they are very polite to Lucia.

Even the guy who used to always like to make some inappropriate jokes to Lucia has become much more restrained. Of course, that was after he was beaten black and blue by a group of officers who admired Charles.

"What's wrong, Lucia?" Garrel asked, "Do you need to go back and rest?"

"No, nothing." Lucia shook her head in distress: "I just didn't sleep well."

But Lucia was still upset, and kept glancing at the club entrance, as if she was waiting for someone.

Finally, a familiar figure came into Lucia's sight.

Lucia was delighted at first, but then her face darkened again. She frowned and looked stern, pretending not to see anything and mixed the drink in her hand.

"A cup of coffee." Charles shouted towards the bar and found an empty corner to sit down.

Seeing that Lucia was indifferent, Garrel smiled bitterly and took the cocktail shaker from her: "Go ahead, haven't you been waiting for him?"

"No, Garrel." Lucia quickly denied: "I didn't!"

"Okay!" Garrel laughed. "Well, you won't leave him waiting there, will you?"

Lucia glanced helplessly in the direction of Charles. Not only was he her "boyfriend", he was also a guest of the club and even her boss. What else could she do?

…

It was not until Lucia placed the coffee heavily in front of Charles with a crisp sound that Charles noticed that Lucia's expression seemed wrong.

"What happened?" Charles asked.

Charles' innocent expression made Lucia even more furious. He didn't even realize that he had done something wrong!

"Do I need to remind you, Colonel?" Lucia sat down in front of Charles unceremoniously, with anger burning in her eyes: "If a lady is your girlfriend, shouldn't you say goodbye to her before going to the battlefield?"

"That's a military secret, Lucia," Charles answered. "I can't tell anyone."

This is an excuse, and there were actually reporters taking pictures at the port when the 105th Infantry Regiment set out, but it cannot be refuted.

"Okay." Lucia continued, "So, when you come back from the battlefield, should you look for her first?"

Ciel nodded calmly: "I will pay attention next time."

Lucia was very disappointed. She had thought that Charles would coax her or give her a small gift to apologize, but in the end nothing happened.

In his mind, this might be purely a job, a task, nothing else, Lucia thought, and couldn't help feeling a little bitter in her heart.

At this moment, Lucia suddenly realized that she was the one with the problem, and she became uncontrollably involved in her personal feelings.

Thinking about it, Lucia tried to calm herself down and said in a calm tone: "I'm sorry, Colonel, I was too harsh."

"No, you're right," Charles replied, "I really need to put some effort into pretending to be more convincing in the future."

These words were like a steel needle, piercing Lucia's heart deeply, causing her so much pain that she was speechless.

But Charles asked expressionlessly: "What has Grevy done during this period?"

"No, Colonel." Lucia said bitterly, "Grevy seems to have noticed something and has done nothing during this period of time."

Charles frowned, what did he notice?

Perhaps Layom's hand was exposed. His contact with the Pito Arsenal under Steed's close surveillance must have been a little strange. This might have fooled the Pito Arsenal and Schneider, but not Grevi.

This cunning fox, Charles cursed inwardly.

"We have intelligence about Ypres. But..." Lucia hesitated.

"But what?" asked Charles.

"We're not sure, Colonel." Lucia said hesitantly, "The Germans seem to have made some moves in the direction of Ypres. In a village called Brute, they blocked and massacred dozens of families, but we couldn't find any bodies."

"If there are no corpses, how can you be sure that it was a 'massacre'?" Charles looked puzzled.

"Because we found that many animals were poisoned," Lucia explained. "Plants also withered, but we don't know what it is."

Charles looked at Lucia in shock. It was poison gas!

The gas warfare of World War I began in Ypres, and the first use caused more than 10,000 casualties among the Allies.

Charles actually forgot about this!

"Do you know what that is?" Lucia looked at Charles's confused expression.

Charles hesitated. He couldn't just tell Lucia what it was. It was the Germans' top secret, and no one in the world, including the British MI6, knew about it.

If Charles knew, he would have to explain the source of the information, otherwise he would be a German spy.

After thinking for a while, Ciel answered in an uncertain tone:

"I don't know either."

"But if animals and plants were poisoned nearby, can we assume it was a poisonous gas that could kill people?"

"We thought so too." Lucia nodded. "Its range does look like some kind of poisonous gas. But is there such a thing? If so, why did the Germans use it in Brute Village?"

"Their target may not be Brute Village, Lucia." Charles's expression turned cautious: "If I'm not mistaken, they are likely to use it on the battlefield."

Lucia's eyes widened instantly: "Use it on the battlefield, you mean..."

Charles nodded. "Think about it. The Germans are not doing well on the front battlefield. They are blockaded at sea and the Gallipoli war is about to fail. In addition, the two defense lines in the east and west make them exhausted. They can only hope to find an unconventional method."

After Charles' analysis, Lucia felt that it made more and more sense: "And Brute Village is probably just a test by the Germans?"

"Yes," Charles answered. "They were not sure whether the gas would be suitable for the climate of Ypres, so they took this action. And its success means..."

Lucia looked at Charles with horror: "It means that the Germans may soon use poison gas on the Ypres Line!"

(End of this chapter)