I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 770 - 668 Hans’ New Recruits

"Get off the vehicle, you swine!" A loud-mouthed sergeant was shouting as a row of military trucks lined up in front of him, and the new recruits were disembarking.

Like everyone else, amidst the sergeant’s roaring, Elwin grabbed his luggage and jumped off the truck with the others. Shivering in the snow, they formed a line and looked around, taking in the surroundings.

They seemed to be on a field where many transport trucks were parked, and a large number of people like Elwin were gathering there.

Numerous lamp posts stood around, and the floodlight beams illuminated the field as bright as day. Elwin couldn’t help but shield his face from the light, having not experienced such bright illumination for a long time.

Tall buildings surrounded the field, but perhaps due to the intense beams of the floodlights, these structures were mostly shrouded in shadows, appearing like giant beasts hiding their bodies in the darkness, exuding a unique aura.

At the sergeant’s command, Elwin and the others lined up into a simple formation and proceeded towards one of the buildings.

As they approached the building, Elwin recognized it as a massive hangar, which eased his mind considerably, creating a sense of familiarity with the building before him.

Having been a ground service staff for an airline before the disaster, Elwin was familiar with hangars, which greatly reduced his fear of this unfamiliar military camp.

Although the German army had not yet been deployed to the front lines against the alien creatures, everyone knew that with the war ongoing, it was only a matter of time.

And now, Elwin felt that various countries were preparing to send Germans to the front lines.

However, for Elwin, this posed no problem.

Compared to the potential dangers of going to the battlefield, Elwin thought that starving or freezing to death was much more terrifying.

For this reason, Elwin was among the few who voluntarily enlisted here.

The majority of the others were recruited through compulsory conscription by their respective countries, and to them, the scariest thing was feeding bugs on the front lines.

But for Elwin, as long as he could eat his fill by enlisting, he didn’t mind going to the front to fight alien creatures, even if he ultimately died and fed them. At least he wouldn’t die of starvation while alive.

Years had passed since the disaster struck, during which Elwin lost his family and rarely had a full meal himself.

Although he had been exchanging work for the German authorities for some food, in the current environment, if he didn’t save even a little, it was likely that once this meal was eaten, the next one would not come.

This led to his decision to enlist upon hearing that he could be well-fed, resulting in his arrival at this military camp.

Initially, Elwin thought he would be given some basic training and then sent to the front lines as cannon fodder.

Like the war stories his grandfather told him when he was a child.

During World War II, his grandfather was drafted into the military and sent to Stalingrad, surviving one of Germany’s harshest winters in history before miraculously making it through.

However, this German veteran, who survived WWII, had passed away before the disaster, unable to withstand illness and aging.

But as Elwin passed through the hygiene check at the hangar entrance and entered the hangar, he realized he might not be there to serve as cannon fodder.

Inside the enormous hangar, many soldiers were undergoing training, equipped with Exoskeletons and Power Armor that Elwin had only seen in sci-fi movies and games. Meanwhile, new recruits like him were randomly assigned to various squads.

Witnessing this scene, the anxiety in Elwin’s heart seemed to settle.

If he could wear Exoskeletons or Power Armor, he wouldn’t be merely expendable cannon fodder, would he?

After all, who would equip cannon fodder with such advanced gear, right?

Unexpectedly, however, Elwin was not assigned to the groups equipped with Exoskeletons and Power Armor, but rather brought before a group that looked like ground service technicians.

"These are your new recruits, all with prior experience in mechanical repair," the officer in charge distributed Elwin and two other new recruits to this group, then continued assigning others.

This left Elwin slightly disappointed. Although technicians had a higher survival rate compared to combat soldiers, the allure of those cool Exoskeletons and Power Armor, which only appeared in sci-fi works, tempted him.

An older soldier beside him seemed to notice Elwin’s thoughts, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "Kid, no need to be envious. We’re the maintenance team; those cool toys always find their way to us for repairs. You’ll have your chance to play with them."

"Thanks, I understand now." Reassured by the veteran’s words, Elwin responded promptly, greeting him, "Hello, I’m Elwin from Berlin. I heard you can get enough to eat here."

"Ah, another guy enlisting just to fill his belly!" The veterans laughed, showing kindness towards Elwin’s reason for joining.

One of the veterans even pulled out an energy bar and tossed it to Elwin, saying with a grin, "Eat up. You can indeed eat your fill here. Plus, we’re ground crews, so there’s no rigorous training like theirs; just fix these big toys, and we’re good."

Seeing the energy bar thrown to him, Elwin, despite wanting to pocket it, succumbed to his growling stomach and opened the package, putting the bar into his mouth.

"Hey, what did you three used to do? Did you have experience repairing things?" The older soldier who seemed to be the leader of their maintenance squad asked Elwin and the other two recruits.

The two recruits beside Elwin exchanged a glance, and one of them spoke up, "I studied auto repair, ran my own repair shop before the disaster. This is my brother. He learned the same trade as me."

"I used to be an aircraft ground crew, working for an airline. After the disaster, planes couldn’t fly anymore, and the company went bankrupt, so I was scraping by in Berlin," Elwin introduced himself to the veterans after finishing his energy bar.

While they were introducing themselves, other squads were doing the same, but apparently, other squads had higher standards compared to the maintenance squad.