In addition to cooperating with the Russia , Mainz had another channel for obtaining supplies: the mysterious System Mall.
Curiously, he opened it and scanned through its contents. A wave of relief washed over him.
Everything he needed was there—rice, flour, oil, and other staple foodstuffs. Beyond provisions, the Mall also offered medicine, clothing, tools, and a wide range of civilian necessities.
Best of all, these goods had virtually no restrictions. As long as one had the points—or the money—one could buy as much as desired.
Mainz's main concern, however, was the price. His balance was meager—just 2,000 points. If the supplies cost too much, he would be powerless to act.
To his surprise, the System Mall's pricing was absurdly generous. For instance, a single point could purchase a ton of rice—enough to feed thirty families for an entire month. With 2,000 points, Mainz could theoretically feed 60,000 households for the same duration.
And yet, considering the overall population of Germany, those points were still far too few. At best, they could serve as temporary relief, not a permanent solution.
Fortunately, the System accepted not only points but also real-world currencies and metals: gold, silver, pounds, dollars—any strong currency could purchase supplies. As long as Mainz could find a way to make money, he could secure limitless resources.
Thus, his next mission was clear: earn wealth, and fast.
Leaving the System Mall, Mainz remembered the other rewards he had yet to examine.
The second reward was a Skill Package. Within it were three tactical doctrines:
Submarine warfare tactics of the Navy.
Bombing tactics of the Air Force.
Infantry–tank coordination tactics of the Army.
Each had its own allure.
The submarine doctrine was tempting. The High Seas Fleet of the Second Reich—built with decades of effort and hundreds of millions of marks—was already lost, seized by the Allies as spoils of war. The coming Treaty of Versailles would cripple Germany's navy further, limiting it to six outdated battleships of under 10,000 tons, six light cruisers, twelve destroyers, and twelve torpedo boats.
Worse still, at Britain's insistence, the Allies had outright banned Germany from building or possessing submarines.
That prohibition effectively erased Germany's only means of threatening Allied naval supremacy. Once the world's second-strongest navy, Germany had been reduced to a third-rate maritime power, barely above irrelevance.
Mainz understood the consequences all too well. History proved that nations without naval defenses were helpless before seaborne invasions. In the last war, Britain—though weaker than Germany on land—used its naval supremacy to strangle and harass the Reich. Unable to cross the Channel, Germany was forced into endless defensive campaigns across Western Europe.
If Britain had not possessed such naval power, Germany might have concentrated its armies against the Soviet Union and very well changed the outcome of the Eastern Front.
Therefore, developing a navy was essential for the Third Reich's revival.
Yet large surface ships could not be hidden. The Allies would quickly discover any such construction. Only submarines, small and elusive, could be built in secret—and in that regard, the System's submarine tactics were invaluable.
Still, Mainz hesitated. The Versailles restrictions would not ease for years, and Germany already had a rising naval genius in Karl Dönitz. After some thought, he reluctantly abandoned the submarine option.
That left two: dive-bombing tactics of the Air Force, or infantry–tank coordination of the Army.
Aircraft had first entered combat during the Great War, rapidly evolving into tools for air supremacy, ground bombardment, and even naval attack. Though primitive, aviation had advanced at a stunning pace. By the war's end, heavy bombers were already reshaping battlefields.
Mainz, a man with knowledge of the future, understood the significance. In the 21st century, the Air Force reigned supreme: without air power, neither army nor navy could operate effectively.
And in the Second World War, Germany's dive-bombing tactics—embodied by the infamous Stuka—had torn cities apart, devastating enemy armies in partnership with the Panzer divisions.
The temptation was great.
But in the end, Mainz made his decision. He chose the Infantry–Tank Coordination Doctrine.
For he knew that the Third Reich had conquered Europe through Blitzkrieg, the lightning war. To replicate and surpass that, he needed armored warfare above all else.
With that choice, Mainz poured his newly earned Skill Points into Armored Tactics.
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Host: Lin Yu (alias Mainz)
Age: 22
Identity: Commander of the 1st Battalion, 1st Guards Corps of the Second Reich. Youngest son of Artillery General Eduard von Lewinsky. Member of a proud Junker military family.
Abilities:
Infantry Mastery – Exceptional command of infantry, raising their combat ability to elite levels.
Artillery Mastery – Command of artillery at the master level, capable of elevating units to unparalleled effectiveness.
Unforgettable Memory – Near-perfect recall of complex strategies, formations, and military classics.
Firearms Proficiency – Expert with pistols, rifles, machine guns, and sniper rifles.
Armor Mastery – Proficient in armored warfare, able to raise Panzer forces to the elite standard of 1943.
Reading the final description of his new ability, Mainz felt his heart settle.
For in 1943, titanic clashes such as Stalingrad and Kursk had defined the very peak of armored warfare. To command at that level was to wield one of history's sharpest blades.
The path to the Third Reich's return had just begun.
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