The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943-Chapter 179 - 192: The Princess and the Doctor

The SS!

Realizing that she might have run into the SS, Margaret was gripped by extreme fear and anxiety.

She found herself surrounded by Germans—what’s worse, they were SS men.

"How did I end up here? I was clearly..."

Once again, Margaret tried to recall the past two days. She had been out with her sister Elizabeth to celebrate Victory Day—finally, a hard-won day of freedom.

After all, as the daughter of the King, the number two in the British Empire, she had almost never experienced such carefree moments.

And then?

Like everyone else celebrating victory, she wandered between bars and dance halls. In the end, she hitched a ride on a soldier’s truck to the barracks, where she danced and drank with the soldiers.

Of course, given her age, these things were definitely inappropriate, but she had never felt so free in her entire life—not until yesterday!

God bless, that day of freedom lasted only a single day.

And then?

She had never drunk so much—actually, she had never drunk alcohol at all before. Even now, she couldn’t remember how she got on the plane, or how she ended up here.

How did she even get on that plane?

Her mind was still a bit foggy.

All she remembered was that when she woke up, London had turned into Tunis.

The cold and damp had suddenly become blazing sunshine.

And then, she was surrounded by Germans—among them, even SS men!

Afraid that her identity would be exposed, Margaret became Lily Marlene.

In fact, at the time, when the Germans questioned her, she instinctively thought of her sister’s name.

"Lily,"

That’s what they usually called Elizabeth. Then she thought of a German song. And so, she became Lily Marlene.

She still remembered the look of surprise on everyone’s faces when she told them her name.

"You really are an idiot..."

Thinking of the name she’d chosen, Margaret couldn’t help but blush with embarrassment. What a fake-sounding name!

But here, it seemed no one paid any attention to such things.

It seemed everyone here had their own secrets.

Who could say?

"Lily, I know you’re not a nurse, but you must adapt as quickly as possible, do you understand?"

Once again, Head Nurse Michelle shouted at Margaret, whose thoughts had drifted far away.

"I don’t care what your background is, and I won’t ask about your story. But Lily, right now you are a nurse, and you must be one. Understand?"

"Y-yes, ma’am."

Faced with the reprimand, Lily became meek and submissive—she had no choice, she was scared!

Scared of these Germans.

Who knew if any of them were ruthless Nazis?

Nazis... There were definitely Nazis among them!

If they ever found out who she really was, she’d be done for!

She must not reveal her identity!

Clad in a white nurse’s uniform, Lily prayed once again—for God’s protection, for her family to rescue her.

One thing was certain: her family must be searching for her—though only in London. She didn’t even know what a stir her disappearance had caused. The intelligence services, the police, and the army had practically turned London upside down.

But how many drunks would remember a girl in a brown tweed coat? After all, that night in London, such girls were everywhere.

One thing was certain: London was in even more of a panic than she was now. After all, the King’s daughter had gone missing—a truly rare event.

No, to be precise, something like this had never happened before in history: while a country was celebrating victory in war, the King’s daughter suddenly—vanished!

As all of London was thrown into chaos over the princess’s disappearance, in Tunis, Margaret had become Lily Marlene—a name so obviously fake that some even suspected she was the daughter of a high-ranking Nazi official.

Who could say?

After all, among the Nazi leadership, aside from those who had committed suicide or been arrested, the rest were on the run. Their children, of course, were also fleeing. In fact, many who had come here were not just seeking a paycheck—many were escaping Germany, like Josef Mengele.

As the "Angel of Death" in the concentration camps, he knew full well that if he were ever captured, he would...

Joseph Mengele, whose death was beyond doubt, managed to disguise himself as a doctor and successfully secured this job.

No passport was needed, not even any identification—just proof of being a doctor was enough to board a plane out of Germany.

For someone like Mengele, proving himself a doctor was laughably easy. All it took was performing a single surgery, or diagnosing a single case.

That was enough to convince others he was an outstanding physician.

There was nothing more wonderful than this. Here, he even ran into former colleagues—of course, everyone pretended not to know each other.

Everyone here was a stranger; no one would inquire about anyone else’s past identity. That was taboo in this place.

All that mattered was working diligently. Who would care about the past?

As a doctor, Mengele—or rather, Dr. Hans Haiger—was highly competent, especially skilled in surgery, which was exactly what was needed at the front lines. So, not long after arriving in North Africa, Dr. Haiger led his medical team and set sail from Tunisia.

He wasn’t the only one on board; there were also some Nazi fugitives. After all, there was an agreement between Boss Li and Berlin.

And there was another person on the ship... Lili Marleen. As she boarded, she was filled with confusion, realizing she was getting further and further from home, and, worse still, she had no idea how to return.

Though a bit lost and even somewhat nervous, the almost fifteen-year-old Margarete was full of anticipation for the adventure ahead. After all, in the past, she’d felt like a canary trapped in a cage; now, she could finally enjoy the freedom of the open world.

In a brand-new world where no one knew her.

"All right, Lili, from now on, you are Lili Marleen—free Lili Marleen!"

"Young people really do have it best!"

Standing on the upper deck, Dr. Haiger watched the young girl stretch out her arms at the rail to feel the sea breeze. While he sighed inwardly, he felt no confidence about the uncertain journey ahead—he had no idea what kind of future awaited him.

Perhaps death, perhaps...

Who could say? Taking a drag on his cigarette, Dr. Haiger gazed into the distance once more, his eyes full of worry.

...

As the princess and the Nazis set sail for Borneo, in Southeast Asia, the troops were also on the verge of launching their attack.

Compared to the recruitment efforts in Germany, Borneo was the real key. If Borneo couldn’t be retaken and the necessary facilities established before those experts and scholars arrived, everything else would be empty talk. Even the recruited scientists would eventually choose to leave.

Therefore, retaking Borneo was not only imperative, but it also needed to be completed as soon as possible, with preparations made for the incoming personnel.

Besides, the things sent by old friends always came at a price.

After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

In the headquarters at Zamboanga, Pierre once again conducted a war game simulation with his staff and advisors. The operation plan was drawn up by the Allies, since the security forces had no experience with amphibious landings, nor did the German advisors.

This group was skilled at airborne operations, armored warfare, and mountain combat—just not amphibious landings. But that didn’t stop them from conducting war games.

After repeated simulations, they finally reached a conclusion: the operation could succeed, and at minimal cost.

"Hmm..."

Staring at the map of Borneo, his eyes fixed on the tiny Japanese flag, Pierre pondered for a moment before saying,

"Notify Allied headquarters: our forces will proceed as planned with Operation Oboe!"

After issuing the order, Pierre couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety. After all, this operation would determine not only whether he could establish a foothold in Borneo, but also the fate of many lives.

"God bless us..."