Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa,Volume 4: Chapter 4: The Earthquake Bomb

It turned out that this aluminum barrel shaped cargo hold was actually a massive bomb bay, loaded inside with a heavy “shock bomb.” During World War II, the British Royal Air Force had been equipped with a series of large shock bombs, the largest weighing 22,000 pounds, called the “Grand Slam,” with astonishingly powerful destructive force.

These large bombs were mostly dropped from the air by Lancaster bombers, specifically used to destroy thick underground bunkers cast from reinforced concrete. Because the bomb fell at high speed, the shock wave formed after explosion would spread in all directions, causing effects similar to an earthquake, so they were also called “earthquake bombs.” But one must absolutely not underestimate the shock waves produced by violent explosions. They had extremely high lethality against enemy troops hidden in tunnels or air raid shelters.

Sima Hui and the others had personally experienced the most brutal “Gunong Battle.” At that time, the government forces had gathered many heavy artillery pieces to break through the Irrawaddy River defense line, repeatedly bombarding the positions defended by the Burmese Communist People’s Army. Although the People’s Army had prepared fully in advance, digging deep trenches and shelters, and arrayed themselves in a decisive battle posture, they still suffered heavy casualties under the fierce artillery fire. Among the fallen, ninety percent were not killed directly by the explosions, but were shaken to death alive inside the trenches by the heavy artillery. After this battle, the People’s Army was severely weakened, no longer able to confront the government forces head on, and had to break into smaller units, transferring to the mountain regions to carry out guerrilla tactics.

Therefore they all clearly understood that although the cargo in the Mosquito transport plane was an old model bomb, such a heavy shock bomb, even by today’s standards, was still the most terrifying weapon. Once detonated, even if one luckily wasn’t blown to powder on the spot, the shock waves would shatter their internal organs.

Although Sima Hui was quick witted, he never imagined that the Myanmar treasure loaded in the Mosquito special transport plane would turn out to be such a cold, hard “earthquake bomb.” This thing like a “cast iron weight” was several tons heavy. How could the six survivors of the expedition team possibly move it? Moreover, there was absolutely no logic in the world. Who would be so full as to hire an expedition team to search for a heavy bomb in Savage Mountain?

At this point, Sima Hui deeply felt that matters concerning this Mosquito transport plane were probably far more complex than what he currently understood. After all, they and Yu Feiyan were people on different paths, completely unrelated. According to the previous agreement, they were merely helping the expedition team find the transport plane missing in the giant rift valley of Savage Mountain, then bring the “cargo” out of the cabin. But now the situation had taken a sharp turn, and he had no choice but to ask her for the full story.

Luo Big Sea also issued harsh words to question Yu Feiyan: “Let me tell you the truth, I, Luo Big Tongue, haven’t killed a living person in several days. My hands are itching unbearably. If you can’t produce a reason that holds up, don’t blame us men for showing you some colors.”

Actually, Yu Feiyan was also beyond expectation when she saw the “cargo” in the cabin. But she did indeed have some hidden circumstances in her heart, and was just about to tell Sima Hui when she heard Luo Big Sea’s threatening words. She said irritably: “Only you, surnamed Luo, talk so much. Let me also tell you the truth. The only thing loaded in the cabin is this earthquake bomb. It is the cargo the expedition team came to search for. But the goal is not to bring it out of Savage Mountain, but to detonate it on the spot. Don’t ask about other matters. Just do as I say.”

Luo Big Sea said: “Your words are the same as saying nothing. Are you trying to fool ghosts? Making you say it yourself is me, Luo Big Tongue, giving you face. Do you know that? Don’t give face and not want it.”

How could Yu Feiyan swallow this? She sneered coldly: “Three sheets of paper to paste a donkey head. What big face you have.”

Hearing this, Luo Big Sea became even more indignant. He said angrily: “For me, Luo Big Tongue, to meet your kind of bandit, it’s really like a weasel crouching on a chicken coop: even with reason I can’t explain it clearly. I’ll just have to let my fists do the talking…”

Sima Hui saw that both of them seemed to have eaten gunpowder, their words clashing, completely unable to communicate. He had to step in to mediate. He said to Yu Feiyan: “These words are somewhat hurtful. A great man’s name is in his person, not in his title. If you slander us so arbitrarily, we’ll have to excuse ourselves and leave immediately.”

After speaking, he signaled to the other three partners, making a show of leaving.

Yu Feiyan let out a cold snort, glaring at Sima Hui: “Look at your bearing. The moment returning to the country is mentioned you glow with health. I’ve known you for two days and haven’t seen you this energetic. Do you have a little lover over there?”

Sima Hui, hearing her speak like this, couldn’t help but feel somewhat angry: “Does your family sell vinegar?”

The three of them couldn’t see eye to eye. The more they spoke, the more rigid it became. Meanwhile, the Russian White Bear was always cold and detached. He was currently examining the structure of the earthquake bomb’s casing, paying no attention to other matters. Karaweik was clumsy of tongue, and others didn’t take his words seriously. Fortunately, A Cui stepped in to mediate, finally diverting the conversation.

Yu Feiyan calmed down, knowing that she was currently isolated and weak. She couldn’t afford to anger Sima Hui, or it would be difficult to resolve. She had no choice but to explain the course of events. Her group was indeed hired by a “client” to enter Savage Mountain and search for a missing British Air Force transport plane. But she had never seen the true face of this “client.” She only learned that this Mosquito special transport plane was loaded with Myanmar antiquities prepared for secret transport to the British Empire Museum. And the expedition team’s mission was to enter the subterranean rift valley and find the “cargo” in the cabin. The expedition team was informed in advance that the “cargo” in the cabin was extremely dangerous. Before departure, they would receive a sealed envelope with wax seal. Only after finding the missing “Mosquito” and confirming the markings of the cargo in the cabin could they open the sealed envelope and handle the “cargo” according to the method described in the letter. The information in the sealed envelope was written with cuttlefish ink. After the writing touched air, it would not take long before disappearing completely, leaving no trace.

Yu Feiyan found the cargo hold, read the instructions in the sealed envelope, and learned that the purpose of this trip was actually to detonate the “earthquake bomb.” And the matter of the British Royal Air Force transport plane being loaded with Myanmar treasures was probably just a cover story to conceal the true nature of the operation.

Regarding the “client’s” situation, Yu Feiyan only knew that it was an underground tycoon called “Green Tomb.” The origins of this organization could be traced back to the “British East India Company” established in the sixteenth century. The East India Company conducted ocean trade in South Asia, selling opium, smuggling tobacco, and plundering economic resources on a massive scale, carrying out colonial expansion for the British Empire while amassing enormous profits. The British government granted the East India Company various powers, such as monopoly trade rights, army training rights, peacemaking and war declaration rights, and the right to establish courts to try British or colonial residents. It almost became an overseas agent of the British government.

But prosperity leads to decline. With the rise of industrial capital, the East India Company, which relied on commercial capital monopoly, could not avoid the fate of bankruptcy and dissolution. But what disappeared on the surface was merely the shell of the East India Company. Its true manipulators behind the scenes, on the contrary, used this to break free from their bloated and cumbersome body. Using the network left by the East India Company, they secretly formed a new force, and sold intelligence, weapons, and drugs, amassing wealth through the opportunities of war, controlling many puppet like armies. Their influence was deeply rooted in various places, but their operations were low key and secretive. Most of the outside world didn’t know of their existence.

Although Yu Feiyan’s knowledge was limited to this, after seeing the special markings on the heavy bomb in the cabin, it wasn’t difficult to guess the entire course of events based on logical deduction. This Mosquito transport plane and the earthquake bomb loaded in its cabin most likely both belonged to “Green Tomb.” The terrain of the giant rift valley in Savage Mountain was special. The underground was not only obscured by dense fog, but the rift valley also contained strong air currents. If bombers were used to drop bombs from the air, it would be impossible to judge the depth of this vertical cave, making accurate detonation difficult. If the rift valley were blown up, it would only backfire. And the only vehicle capable of entering the depths of the rift valley was the uniquely designed Mosquito special transport plane. So “Green Tomb” sent people to pilot the “Mosquito” carrying the earthquake bomb into the rift valley. But perhaps they hadn’t anticipated the threat of the underground dense fog. The pilots on the transport plane hadn’t had time to detonate the bomb before encountering an accident. So they still needed to use other suicide squads to continue completing the original plan. Only no one knew what unspeakable reason lay behind all this.

After Yu Feiyan explained the course of events, she once again emphasized to Sima Hui and the others that anyway, coming into the mountains to do this “stick job” was taking people’s money to eliminate their disasters. Even if the transport plane truly contained Myanmar treasures, they wouldn’t fall into their own pockets. Facing the current situation, they certainly couldn’t fail at the final hurdle. They had no choice but to continue following instructions and detonate the “earthquake bomb.” Sima Hui thought, the tropical storm system “Pagoda” was fierce in scale, rarely seen in decades. Without this opportunity, their expedition team couldn’t have avoided the fatal dense fog to enter the depths of the rift valley. Now detonating this heavy earthquake bomb was merely a simple task. But this matter was extremely suspicious and questionable. The “Mosquito special transport plane,” relying on its unique construction, could enter the deepest part of the rift valley. But exactly which area it could land in was difficult to judge beforehand. The shock bomb loaded in the cabin couldn’t be moved again. Moreover, this underground area was empty and boundless. No matter how powerful the shock bomb was, it would ultimately be difficult to completely cover the entire rift valley. The effect of this plan was fundamentally unpredictable. So why would someone scheme so painstakingly to destroy the earth veins of Savage Mountain? Thinking about it, this matter had extremely deep roots, and probably involved no small entanglements.

But Sima Hui also felt that what “Green Tomb,” who hired the expedition team, wanted to do, and whether it was related to the ancient secrets buried in Savage Mountain, these matters had nothing to do with the four members of the Burmese Communist guerrilla team after all. Why bother with them? He observed Yu Feiyan’s expression and knew she had nothing left to conceal. Moreover, according to the rules of the road, these matters originally could have been left unsaid. There was nothing worth pursuing now.

Luo Big Sea and the others shared Sima Hui’s view, having no patience to dig into the details, nor wanting to ask more. They only hoped to quickly finish this “stick job,” then find a way to escape Savage Mountain. For now, they only needed to wait for the right moment, then let the Russian White Bear take action to detonate the bomb.

Who would have thought that at this moment an unexpected turn of events occurred. After carefully examining the earthquake bomb, the Russian White Bear signaled to tell everyone: “This bomb is fitted with a time delay fuse. Activating and detonating it is very simple. But possibly due to severe jolting, the shock bomb’s detonation mechanism was damaged and cannot be repaired. So after detonation, there will only be a few minutes of evacuation time. This bomb’s power is too great. The shock wave coverage range is very wide. Now one person must be left behind to take charge of detonation, while the others must leave in advance. Otherwise everyone will perish together. But the person who stays behind last to detonate the bomb certainly won’t be able to escape.”

This cruel fact was like a basin of cold water poured over their heads. Whose life was picked up for free? Who would be willing to serve as cannon fodder? Sima Hui knew deeply the power of the earthquake bomb. Even now, within Myanmar’s borders, there were still many enormous craters, mostly left behind when British planes bombed Japanese bunkers back then. They were simply like meteorite craters formed by falling from the sky. The ground inside showed wave like patterns spreading outward in circles. Nothing grew there for years. Where the shock waves reached, jade and stone were burned together. Truly, touch it and you die, bump it and you perish.

Sima Hui’s mind turned, thinking that no one should die. He said to Yu Feiyan: “Objects are dead, people are alive. Living people should know how to adapt. If it really won’t work, let’s just leave this bomb alone. After you return, you can report it however you like. Just say you already detonated the earthquake bomb, but unfortunately it was a dud that wouldn’t explode. Or claim that although you detonated it, the power wasn’t enough and didn’t achieve the expected result. Anyway, with one flick of the upper lip against the lower lip, you can say whatever you want. After the tropical storm passes, the underground will still be shrouded in dense fog. Would they dare come here for an on site investigation?”

Yu Feiyan immediately shook her head and said: “Absolutely not feasible. You don’t know Green Tomb’s situation. These tricks of ghost blowing out lamps and smoke bubbles won’t fool anyone.”

Sima Hui disagreed: “In this era where the more serious you are the more you’re treated as an idiot, one can’t be too honest. Don’t forget that there are absolutely no clairvoyant eyes or wind following ears in the world. How could outsiders know what happened in the giant rift valley of Savage Mountain? There are only six of us here. After Luo Big Sea, A Cui, and I leave Savage Mountain, we all have to cross the Menggu River to return to China. We’ll never have a chance to meet again in this lifetime. That Russian is also a half mute. Besides, isn’t he also afraid of death? Are you afraid that Sunday, this ignorant kid, will let it slip? I think as long as you yourself don’t reveal it, it will absolutely be unknown to gods and ghosts.”

Luo Big Tongue also said, without rules there is no order, but rules are made by people. So we can’t be bound by conventions. We should know how to avoid the heavy and choose the light. Once this huge thunderbolt explodes, saying it would make heaven collapse and earth split would be putting it lightly. The marsh is so muddy. With just our two legs, we definitely won’t be able to escape in time. Wouldn’t we all end up “Kan San Wu Ga”?

Yu Feiyan was moved by the group’s persuasion and was about to agree, when suddenly she heard a cold and gloomy human voice from behind: “I’m staring at you!”

(Note: Kan San Wu Ga is the Myanmar language transliteration for permanent health, meaning death)