Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa,Volume 4:  Chapter 5: Eyes in the Partition

Sima Hui also heard it with startling clarity. That voice was extremely unfamiliar, yet also somewhat familiar. He and the others were all terrified in their hearts, turning their heads simultaneously to look.

They saw in the pitch black cabin, where was there any extra human figure? Only the handheld recorder discovered in the Black Snake II was sitting conspicuously on the ground. So what had sounded familiar was the source of the voice.

Sima Hui thought this was truly seeing ghosts. He didn’t remember hearing that passage just now in the recording tape from the Black Snake II transport plane. Moreover, this speaking voice was hoarse and gloomy, completely different from “Wilson” of the British expedition team. It was a very unfamiliar voice. And who had pressed the recorder’s play button? Just now, everyone’s attention had been concentrated on that earthquake bomb, so they hadn’t noticed this detail.

Yu Feiyan picked up the recorder to examine it. She discovered that the original recorded contents on the tape had all been erased. Playing it back and forth several times, there was only one sentence: “I’m staring at you…”

Hearing it to the end, the battery was insufficient. The voice was gradually dragged slower, appearing even more strange. Luo Big Tongue asked: “What does this mean?”

A Cui told him: “It means ‘I am watching you.'”

Luo Big Tongue felt completely baffled, looking left and right: “Who’s watching us?”

When everyone left the Black Snake II transport plane, they had been rather hurried. No one remembered whose possession this small recorder had been placed in after listening to the British expedition team’s recording. But apart from the six living people, there were no other survivors in the cabin. Who could have secretly erased the contents of the tape and left such a warning?

Others might be dismissed, but Yu Feiyan was extremely familiar with this voice. Although she had always been contacted through intermediaries, she had also spoken on the phone several times with the mastermind behind the scenes, “Green Tomb.” The other party’s speaking voice was hoarse and stiff, sounding completely different from ordinary people, unforgettable after one hearing. So when she heard the voice coming from the recorder, she immediately knew it was precisely “Green Tomb” who had assigned the mission to the expedition team. Because apart from this person’s voice, name, appearance, identity, and everything else were unknown. Therefore she could only refer to him as “Green Tomb.”

Yu Feiyan thought carefully about this matter, truly feeling a chill run down her spine. It was so bizarre it was difficult to comprehend. Who exactly had turned on this recorder? The words inside originally didn’t exist at all. It couldn’t possibly have appeared out of thin air on its own. Could “Green Tomb” actually remotely sense events thousands of miles away? Thinking about it, there couldn’t be such supernatural arts in this world.

Yu Feiyan looked at the recorder again and again. She said to Sima Hui, if there truly were no clairvoyant eyes or wind following ears in this world, then there was only one possibility. At this very moment, “Green Tomb” was hidden in this Mosquito transport plane. Or perhaps among the six of them who survived, one person was a “sea ghost.” Every move of the expedition team in the giant rift valley of Savage Mountain could not escape “Green Tomb’s” eyes.

These words made a shadow pass over everyone’s hearts. Just now they had been discussing abandoning the operation plan, when suddenly this sentence emerged from the recorder. The facts couldn’t be clearer. This was “Green Tomb” warning the expedition team: “Do not harbor any greed or wishful thinking. You must detonate the earthquake bomb as soon as possible.”

The “sea ghost” Yu Feiyan mentioned was still an old term from the greenwood tradition. Nowadays it commonly refers to “inside man” or “mole.” Sea refers to secrecy, ghost refers to spy. This title indeed had its origins. In the past, the secret language used in the greenwood underworld was collectively called “Jianghu Haidiyan.” Legend has it that thousands of years ago, someone was fishing in the sea. But after casting three large nets in succession, they caught nothing. The final net, however, pulled up an iron box. Inside the iron box was hidden half an ancient book. The fisherman took it to the market to show people. Scholars could recognize every character, but the sentences in the book were obscure and difficult to understand, seeming to make sense yet not making sense. No one could understand what it actually recorded. Later this incomplete book fell into the hands of the greenwood founding master, who called it “Haidi.” Using the original text as a basis for revision and amendment, it gradually evolved into the later secret language and criminal jargon, claiming to be half a “Diamond Sutra” for the five lakes and four seas. This was the origin of “Jianghu Haidiyan.”

Sima Hui understood that Yu Feiyan’s words carried a double meaning. She was hinting that this “sea ghost” was hidden extremely deep, leaving no trace to be found. The “Green Tomb” who left the warning in the recording might not necessarily be a “person.” Because if it were a person, why was it shadowless and formless, yet speaking so clearly? Since the other party understood everything, they must be extremely close to everyone. Moreover, the cabin of the Mosquito transport plane was enclosed and cramped. Where could a “person” hide? Sima Hui thought, whether “Green Tomb” was human or ghost, the other party was definitely hiding in the Mosquito transport plane. But there were only six people in this cabin. He knew clearly that he himself had nothing to do with “Green Tomb.” That left five people. Counting on his fingers, it was clear: Luo Big Sea and A Cui naturally needed no explanation. Karaweik was a local Myanmar person, but what depth could a teenage mountain boy have? How could he be the leader of Southeast Asia’s largest underground arms trading organization? Moreover, Karaweik had been with the Burmese Communist guerrillas for quite some time. And meeting the expedition team in Savage Mountain had only happened in the past two or three days. He should have no connection with “Green Tomb.”

Then considering Yu Feiyan was the leader of the expedition team. If she truly intended to disregard consequences and detonate the earthquake bomb in the cabin, the others wouldn’t desperately try to stop her. Why would she need to play ghost tricks with herself? So Yu Feiyan could also be ruled out.

Logically speaking, if there truly was a “sea ghost” secretly observing the expedition team’s movements, it should be hiding among Yu Feiyan’s subordinates. But the expedition team had entered the mountains until now, with personnel almost completely wiped out. The only survivors were Yu Feiyan and the Russian Chegnev.

Sima Hui felt that the Russian was cold and cruel by nature, bloodthirsty and murderous, absolutely not a good person. But there was one point that couldn’t be ignored. This big nose was an expert in demolition work. Regarding the heavy earthquake bomb loaded in the transport plane, no one knew it better than him. If he hadn’t pointed out the time limit for detonating the bomb, others naturally wouldn’t know the danger. So based on this alone, it could also be shown that Chegnev was not “Green Tomb.” Sima Hui guessed wildly, rapidly screening through everyone in his mind several times. He basically negated the fact that one of the six people was “Green Tomb.” But that so called “Green Tomb” was definitely hidden in the cabin, only having slipped into a “dead angle” that couldn’t be seen. It wasn’t necessarily a visual dead angle. It was likely a psychological “dead angle,” a “dead angle” that normal thinking couldn’t imagine.

The others were also like Sima Hui, turning this matter over in their minds several times, the more they thought the more alarmed and uncertain they became. But at this moment, no one dared to speak and discuss it. Because loose lips sink ships. Knowing clearly that a ghost like “Green Tomb” was spying nearby in the cabin, since it could use the recorder to send warnings without anyone noticing, if it wanted to secretly harm them, it would certainly be enough to catch them off guard.

Luo Big Tongue suddenly had a strange idea. He said this recorder came from an uncanny source. Maybe there was a ghost inside it. Better to smash it early for stability, lest this thing make noise on its own again later, making them constantly guard against it in this pitch black place. Thinking about it was also a worry in his heart. After speaking, he threw it on the ground, used his gun stock to smash it viciously, pulverizing the recorder left by the British expedition team, tearing apart the tape inside as well, making it permanently impossible to restore.

For the moment, everyone was relatively speechless. Sima Hui saw that it was difficult to detect anything from outward appearance. He also didn’t want to startle the snake by beating the grass. To save energy, he simply turned off the searchlight in his hand, using only the camping lamp with LED lighting for illumination. This kind of light was very dim, but relatively low in energy consumption, able to sustain lighting for a long time. The cabin of the Mosquito special transport plane immediately became hazy with light and shadow, where man and ghost couldn’t be distinguished.

Sima Hui had spent years coming and going amid blades and guns, treating life and death as commonplace. Added to his naturally strong rebellious psychology, how could he allow himself to be manipulated by others? Although he didn’t know the specific details of this person called “Green Tomb,” seeing how secretive and dangerous their methods were, he figured they must be heretical and evil. Why should he sell his life for such a person? If I say I won’t do it, I won’t do it. What can anyone do to me? Thinking this, he once again signaled to his several partners from the Burmese Communist People’s Army, preparing to “pull legs and leave.” But Sima Hui caught sight of Karaweik’s bandaged head, and immediately remembered: “When the Burmese Communist guerrillas were disbanding, Karaweik disregarded danger to lead us through the Ghost Highway across Savage Mountain. Now how can I disregard his life or death?”

However, Sima Hui and the others’ current situation was also beyond their own ability to save themselves. The only person who could bring Karaweik to escape from Myanmar was Yu Feiyan. He had no choice but to suppress his temper and ask Yu Feiyan what she planned to do now, whether she intended to leave one person behind to detonate the earthquake bomb?

Yu Feiyan understood perfectly clear in her heart. Whoever stayed behind would be a “dead” person. She wouldn’t worry about this, because in her eyes, the value of human lives was absolutely different. It wasn’t difficult to make a choice from among them. Yu Feiyan had a plan in mind. She said to everyone: “Now we have no choice but to flip cards to determine life and death. Whoever draws the black card stays behind to detonate the earthquake bomb. Whether they live or die is up to heaven…”

Sima Hui heard this and thought secretly to himself: “Yu Feiyan’s ancestors were grave robbers from the Guandong region. Perhaps no one could match her skill in this card drawing business. It seemed everyone had equal opportunity, but in reality it was all secretly controlled by her.”

Sima Hui thought to this point and was about to speak and expose it. But before his words left his mouth, he heard A Cui say to Yu Feiyan first: since the earthquake bomb’s fuse time was limited, and the “Green Tomb” who just used the recorder to warn everyone was truly hidden among them, then he might also draw the black card and be blown to powder. Perhaps these few minutes would be enough to escape. Yu Feiyan lowered her head and replied: “May it be so.”

Sima Hui and Luo Big Sea couldn’t agree with this inference. Though they didn’t say it aloud, they both thought: “What kind of madman doesn’t exist in this world? Perhaps we really have encountered one who fears nothing. Moreover, the other party hides in the darkness, like a shadowless and formless ghost. Whether it’s even a living person is hard to say.”

Sima Hui heard the sounds of the grass green dragon lizards crawling outside the “Mosquito special transport plane” had already weakened somewhat. He and Luo Big Tongue together urged Yu Feiyan, trying to make her abandon the idea of detonating the earthquake bomb: “You don’t seem like the kind of stubborn person either. Think carefully. This huge thunderbolt is enough to blast the Savage Mountain rift valley into heaven collapsing and earth overturning. Moreover, in the deep regions of the rift valley bottom, there is still dense fog that hasn’t dispersed. Even if only one person is left behind to detonate it, if a large amount of mist suddenly surges from the earth veins after the explosion, the others who escaped first would also have no way out. Besides, when we first discovered this handheld recorder in the Black Snake II transport plane, we were indeed quite frightened by it. In the end we learned it was merely a false alarm. Perhaps the warning that suddenly appeared in the recorder just now was also because everyone was temporarily panicked, failing to discern the true nature of the matter. Suspecting gods and suspecting ghosts and suspecting people, suspecting for half a day…”

Sima Hui and Luo Big Sea, the two of them, randomly found some reasons that even they themselves found hard to believe, merely wanting to use this to dispel Yu Feiyan’s notion. But halfway through their words, they saw Yu Feiyan’s expression suddenly change before them. The two discovered the direction of her gaze was toward the cockpit position behind them. They immediately felt cold air invade their muscles, hurriedly turning around to see what was going on. The moment they turned, they saw in the darkness an enormous eye with an aura of ghostly menace. Its gaze flickered like candlelight, silently and noiselessly staring at everyone in the cabin.