Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa,Volume 4: Chapter 3: Dangerous Cargo

Sima Hui suddenly realized that before him was only empty void. Whatever was gripping his body seemed to be merely dense fog with form but no substance. His chest suffocated, his body unable to move, his mouth unable to speak, he was involuntarily being dragged into the fog. At this moment he was facing away from his friends outside the transport plane. The others’ line of sight was blocked, so none of them could detect that he had encountered an accident.

Sima Hui’s body leaned forward, only his toes still braced against the ground, unable to exert even half his strength. His left hand holding the searchlight was also enveloped by the dense fog, the yin cold piercing straight to his marrow. His life was in danger in an instant. He secretly cursed his bad luck. In his desperation, his right hand pulled the trigger of the “elephant hunting gun.”

The large caliber hunting gun fired out with a thunderous boom. The strong recoil suddenly knocked Sima Hui backward, sending him tumbling heavily onto the muddy ground. The roof of that Mosquito special transport plane was also shot through with a patch of holes by the scattered pellets. The bleak wind and cold rain poured in, instantly dispersing the dense fog that had filled the cabin.

Luo Big Tongue and the others only knew something had happened when they heard the gunshot. They rushed forward to help Sima Hui up from the ground. They saw Sima Hui’s body covered with bruises, his face pale.

Luo Big Sea and A Cui knew Sima Hui’s courage very well. Courage, perhaps, also comes in categories. Some people dare to harass women but don’t dare to fight their enemies to the death. Some people can skin and carve flesh without blinking an eye, but are especially afraid of getting injections at the hospital. Those who dare to steal wallets may not dare to commit highway robbery. Of course there are also those who are accomplished in both civil and military affairs, like Sima Hui. He was born a fugitive, always calm and collected, fearless in the face of danger. But seeing his expression now, he was clearly quite frightened. What exactly had he seen to scare him like this?

Sima Hui finally managed to steady himself. He touched his bruises, still feeling pain piercing to the bone. He couldn’t be certain what he had encountered in that instant. He could only describe it as the feeling of all fears叠加 together. He thought, “Could there be ghosts in that fog?”

But upon further reflection, it didn’t seem like it. Perhaps the British expedition team on the Black Snake II had encountered the same thing, and in the end not even a single corpse was left behind. Were they dissolved by the dense fog in the depths of Savage Mountain, or were they taken to some other place?

Luo Big Tongue asked Sima Hui: “Back then during the Gunong battle, the fighting was unprecedentedly fierce. The dead filled the entire mountain gully. You and I took advantage of the dark moon to sneak into the gully, searching for bullets on the dead bodies. Even then I never saw you furrow your brow. How come you’re hesitating today?”

Sima Hui shook his head and returned the large caliber hunting gun to Luo Big Tongue. If he hadn’t somehow grabbed this weapon just now, the consequences would have been truly unimaginable. Although Sima Hui didn’t take life and death to heart, he couldn’t explain what exactly he was afraid of. This was perhaps similar to the feeling of first hearing someone tell the story of Journey to the West. Although you have eaten pork and seen pigs run, you absolutely never imagined that pigs could wear clothes and speak human language. If you took it as true, you would naturally be quite astonished. Perhaps humans have an innate fear of unknown phenomena that exceed the scope of their own understanding, a fear that is always difficult to overcome.

Sima Hui didn’t want to tell the others about what had just happened, to avoid causing them unnecessary panic and mental pressure. He only said that the dense fog in this deep mountain rift valley was not right. The Mosquito transport plane had been sealed underground for many years. The fog inside had not been affected by rainfall, but now the cabin had been shot through with a patch of holes. The internal dense fog was rapidly dissipating. It should be safe now. They should quickly retrieve the “cargo” and then leave this damned ghost place.

Yu Feiyan saw that Sima Hui was unharmed and slightly relaxed her heart. She learned her lesson. First she raised her Uzi submachine gun and fired upward into the cabin, punching a patch of bullet holes through the transport plane’s roof, allowing more underground rainwater to pour in large quantities. Indeed, no abnormal conditions appeared. So she had A Cui and Karaweik follow her in to search for the “cargo,” while Sima Hui, Luo Big Sea, and the Russian White Bear remained outside to keep watch.

Sima Hui was extremely curious about what kind of “cargo” the client who hired the expedition team was looking for. Many planes and personnel went missing in the Myanmar primitive jungle during wartime. Why was this particular British Air Force “Mosquito” so highly sought after? Just from what Sima Hui had personally witnessed, dozens of lives had already been lost in searching for this transport plane in the perilous Savage Mountain. Over the years, who knew how many more people had died because of it.

People say there are things “worth thousands of gold” in the world, but that is merely a figure of speech. Paying such a great price just to search for a batch of antiques unearthed from Myanmar? Sima Hui couldn’t understand the mentality of the behind the scenes instigator. He also didn’t know what was special about the “cargo” in the Mosquito transport plane that made it worth mobilizing such forces. He only felt: “In the eyes of those tycoons whose wealth rivals nations, human lives are like worthless grass. They are probably the least valuable things.”

When Sima Hui thought of this, he thought: “So many people have died for the ‘cargo’ in this British Air Force transport plane. Even if it is truly worth a fortune, it must be an inauspicious object. Why should I bother thinking about making it my business?”

At this moment, he suddenly heard rustling sounds in the sawtooth grass deep in the marsh, as if something was crawling rapidly. Sima Hui had previously noticed similar movements outside the Black Snake II’s cabin. Now that they appeared again, he immediately became alert. Luo Big Tongue and the Russian White Bear beside him also raised their guns respectively, ready to shoot at any moment.

These three were all veterans with combat experience. Before seeing their target, they would never fire blindly. The three raised their searchlights and observed intently. They saw a green grass lizard crawl out from the depths of the grass. It was only about the size of a palm, with a slender body and tail, emerald green like jade. Its protruding eyes were like two red lanterns. It continuously extended its long tongue, swallowing the mirror moths knocked down by the rain into its mouth. Its movements were extremely fast, swift beyond compare.

That grass lizard did not avoid humans, crawling all the way to the three people’s vicinity. Sima Hui and Luo Big Sea both recognized this as the grass green dragon lizard that roamed the jungle. The smaller ones were called grass lizards, the larger ones dragon lizards. Normally they were quiet as maidens, but when crawling and hunting they moved like escaping rabbits. They grew extremely slowly. It was said that in the Myanmar mountain regions, someone had once caught a dragon lizard that had lived for over one hundred eighty years. Its body was so massive it could compare to a water buffalo.

Seeing this, Luo Big Tongue had already let down most of his guard. Having marched through deep mountains and old forests for so long, he was most skilled at catching lizards and capturing snakes. He slung the four barrel hunting gun on his back, and while the grass lizard was unprepared, grabbed it from behind with one hand, pinching its head and tail. He said to Sima Hui: “I didn’t expect these things to be in the mud marsh too.”

Sima Hui frowned and said: “Four legged snakes carry blood poison inside their bodies. Touching even a little is enough to do you in. Be careful it affects your health for the second half of your life. Hurry up and throw it on the ground, stomp it dead.”

Luo Big Tongue said: “This is a life after all, no matter how small. It would be a pity to stomp it dead…”

He had originally planned to play a trick, secretly throwing the grass lizard onto the Russian White Bear’s body. But before his voice fell, they heard the long grass in the nearby marsh rustling wildly. Countless grass lizards were continuously emerging. They had all been attracted by the night moths. Moreover, their crawling speed was extremely fast, truly like wind sweeping away clouds, eating all the moths in their path clean. Those moths had phosphorus wings but couldn’t maneuver in the rain, all becoming the grass lizards’ feast. But more and more grass lizards were crawling out from the underground marsh. Some that were slightly slower in the competition would anxiously hiss and squeak, crawling in circles on the ground, appearing restless and uneasy.

The three saw the grass lizards appearing in groups, their numbers astonishingly large. Goosebumps rose all over their bodies. They couldn’t help but simultaneously retreat several steps. The grass lizard that Luo Big Sea was pinching also struggled free with determination. Its entire body was covered with sharp, blade like fine scales. With one struggle, it had already cut both of Luo Big Tongue’s hands, instantly causing blood to flow profusely.

Luo Big Tongue became furious. He tore off his clothing to wrap his wounded hand, cursed a few times, and immediately wanted to use the hunting gun to kill a few to vent his hatred. But the lizards crawling out from the marsh were innumerable, swarming in like bees. Let alone relying on firearms, even if they had a flamethrower, it would probably be difficult to stop them.

Sima Hui saw that this momentum was wrong. He and Luo Big Sea exchanged a look with their eyes, and immediately dodged into the Mosquito transport plane’s cabin door. The Russian White Bear also didn’t dare to be slow, scrambling to squeeze in after them. The three hurriedly closed the cabin door, found things to block the gaps and holes everywhere, to prevent grass lizards from crawling in and harming people.

Yu Feiyan was leading A Cui and Karaweik, lighting a camping lamp to search for the “cargo” in the cabin. Sima Hui briefly explained the situation outside. For the time being, they couldn’t get out. They could only wait until the grass lizards had eaten all the surrounding night moths. The grass green dragon lizards of the Myanmar primitive jungle had peculiar habits. Even the most experienced local natives didn’t dare to easily provoke them.

According to common sense, poisonous lizards were rare. The various dragon lizards living in the Myanmar jungle should not carry poison sacs. But偏偏 many people had died from the dragon lizards’ severe poison. It was said that the Myanmar ground dwelling dragon lizards were not poisonous themselves, but their blood became venom the moment it flowed outside the body. Moreover, the toxicity was overbearing, with no cure. To this day, the composition of the lethal blood poison could not be identified. Back then, someone had conducted related research but also obtained no results. In the end, they could only use the theory of the Japanese religious master Fujita Reisai to explain: the creature itself is not poisonous, but can accumulate the emotion of anger, attacking where the human spirit is weak.

Everyone knew well the terrifying aspects of the grass green dragon lizards. But these things were after all just simple minded reptilian creatures. The expedition team had the transport plane as cover, so they didn’t pose too great a threat. The only unknown was how long the rainfall in the giant rift valley of Savage Mountain would continue. Because what was even more terrifying than the dragon lizards was this murderous fog shrouding the underground.

Sima Hui had nearly lost his life in the fog just now, and still had lingering fears. The depths of the dense fog seemed to contain nothing at all. And there was no pilot’s corpse in the cabin. Perhaps they, like the British expedition team aboard the second transport plane, had permanently “annihilated” in the fog. He told Yu Feiyan and the others, absolutely do not contact the mist surging from the underground. The thicker the fog, the more dangerous it was. Although the tropical storm system “Pagoda” had come fiercely, it had given them a rare chance to escape, possibly allowing them to bring the “cargo” out of Savage Mountain.

But Yu Feiyan was staring at the cargo hold in a daze, as if she hadn’t heard Sima Hui’s words. Sima Hui saw that Yu Feiyan’s expression was strange and was about to ask what was going on, when he heard A Cui say to him from the side: “Do you still remember, in the recording left by that British cave exploration expert, he once mentioned one thing. He said the cargo loaded in the Mosquito special transport plane was extremely dangerous.”

Sima Hui suddenly remembered upon hearing this. He had completely forgotten about this matter just now. The cold blooded reptilian creatures in the underground marsh, the violent winds and rain raging outside the mountain, and the dense fog that could reappear at any time, all still belonged to potential threats. However, the “cargo” in the cabin was already within reach. Looking at it this way, this Mosquito transport plane was not absolutely safe either. But what did the British mean by “dangerous”? And to what degree would it “harm”? Could it be that they couldn’t touch it or even look at it?

A Cui had just thoroughly searched the interior of the transport plane with Yu Feiyan. She said in a low voice to Sima Hui: “There is no ‘cargo’ loaded in the Mosquito transport plane at all. We may have been tricked.”

When Sima Hui had just crawled in, he had already seen that the rear of the transport plane was fitted with a huge aluminum barrel shaped cargo hold, almost filling the entire transport plane. But up to now, he still didn’t know what was inside it. He only hoped to succeed quickly and settle this debt of worry. But now hearing A Cui say there was no “cargo” in the transport plane, he couldn’t help but say in surprise: “The cargo hold is an empty shell?”

According to what Sima Hui and the others currently knew, this Mosquito special transport plane before them belonged to the British Royal Air Force. While carrying out its mission, it encountered severe weather and went missing in the giant rift valley of Savage Mountain. The cabin was loaded with a batch of Myanmar treasures, their value should be beyond estimation. And the expedition team led by Yu Feiyan was precisely hired by some underground tycoon, to find the “cargo” in the transport plane at any cost. Now they had already found the Mosquito transport plane. Even if that batch of “cargo” was still missing, it would merely be coming up empty. How could there be any talk of being “tricked”?

Sima Hui knew that A Cui would never say something without basis. He felt something was fishy. Without bothering to ask further, he hurriedly went with Luo Big Tongue to push open the cargo hold’s lid to see what was really going on. The two raised their searchlights and looked inside. When they saw clearly what was in there, both their hearts trembled. They exclaimed in unison: “Good heavens, this huge thunderbolt!”