Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa,Volume 5: Chapter 8: The Other Survivor

Sima Hui had thought the entire ancient city was the underground mausoleum of the Cham king. Hearing Yu Feiyan’s words now, he couldn’t help but show a face full of astonishment. King Anu Jaya was not “human”? Could it be that an ancient dynasty flourishing for a thousand years had actually let a monkey be the ruler of a nation?

Yu Feiyan gave Sima Hui a white look: “Did I say it was a monkey? Don’t get all tangled up in this. First listen to me finish. The Cham king…”

She was about to speak in detail when they heard a splash on the pitch black water surface not far away. A crocodile floating in the water like a log was swiftly swimming toward them.

It turned out that when the marsh collapsed, several giant crocodiles couldn’t escape in time and also fell down. They moved chasing damp and dark air, somehow drilling into the tunnel through some crack. But this underground river was all stagnant water. They couldn’t find any food. And Luo Big Tongue’s pant legs and shoes were soaked through with blood. This immediately attracted the crocodiles in the water.

Although the four carried guns and weapons, they were limited by not having searchlights. They didn’t dare to rashly engage the enemy in the darkness relying only on flashlights. Hearing the abnormal movements, they immediately retreated onto the narrow stone platform on the side of the tunnel.

That stone platform was only a little over half a meter wide in total. Every certain distance, there was one low kneeling stone statue. And Sima Hui and the others all knew that crocodiles were always vicious and greedy eaters. Although their bodies appeared clumsy, with short and thick limbs, when hunting they were swift beyond compare. For example, if several monkeys squatted on branches several meters above the river surface, the crocodiles lurking in the water could suddenly leap out of the water several meters, biting down both the branches and the monkeys in one mouthful. How could this stone platform of barely a person’s height be placed in their eyes? So everyone crouched and hid behind the stone statues, not daring to move slightly. In their ears, they could hear the sounds of crocodiles dragging their heavy bodies crawling. There was more than one.

Sima Hui poked his head out from behind the stone statue. Looking at the underground river at the bottom of the tunnel, he had long thrown the previous topic behind his head. He said to the other three: “This is truly having just left the tiger’s den and entered the dragon’s pool. What is the origin of that person who led us into the tunnel? If he was truly an Allied soldier missing during World War II in the northern Myanmar mountain region, how could he possibly survive over thirty years in the underground where sunlight never reaches?”

Although Luo Big Tongue’s waist injury was painful, he still couldn’t help but interject: “I think that guy doesn’t look like a living person at all. According to the theory of relativity, if there are people in this world, there should also be ghosts. Perhaps we have truly encountered a ghost.”

Sima Hui shook his head and said: “I also thought so previously. But when I shone the chemical signal stick over, I clearly saw he had a shadow. Those with shadows behind them are not ghosts. However…”

Before these words were finished, they heard a light sound from behind the stone statue on the opposite side of the tunnel. At this moment, the light sources beside Sima Hui and the others, apart from several chemical signal sticks and white phosphorus grenades, only had two flashlights and one camping lamp left. The camping lamp was shaped like an old fashioned horse lantern. Inside were energy saving light emitting diodes. Around it was installed a lens to diffuse the light. It was windproof and waterproof. It could be hung in a tent as a fixed light source. Not too bright, and unable to reach far. Only the focused beam flashlight could illuminate five or six meters out. This kind of focused beam flashlight’s beam could be adjusted. The more concentrated the light circle, the farther the illumination range. But the amplitude would correspondingly shrink. Sima Hui adjusted the flashlight beam to the limit. He raised it and shone toward the area where the sound came from on the opposite side. The other three had also quietly pulled back their gun bolts. Like arrows on the bowstring, ready to fire at the slightest touch.

The flashlight’s light circle was only the size of a palm. The illumination distance had increased considerably. Across the underground river, it could just reach the other side of the tunnel. But looking over with the naked eye, what was seen was extremely fuzzy. They only saw what seemed to be a human hand on the shoulder of a stone statue. A steel helmet half hidden and half visible behind it. It seemed to be that “person” who had previously fled into the depths of the tunnel, crouching on the opposite side and peering out.

Sima Hui was about to call out and question when he heard the other party speak first: “Stop using the flashlight to shine. I’ve been trapped underground too long. My eyes can’t stand light. Who are you people?”

The voice was weak and breathless. If not listening carefully with ears propped up, it was fundamentally inaudible.

Everyone was startled upon hearing this. Hearing the other party speak, he was also a Chinese person. And he even had some Yunnan accent. Could it be that he wasn’t the American soldier who had gone missing back then? Additionally, Sima Hui also knew that people who lived in darkness for a long time couldn’t suddenly see light. Otherwise, they would immediately go blind on the spot. So he lowered the flashlight beam slightly. He responded: “We are the Burmese Communist People’s Army Northeast War Zone Special Duty Company. What unit are you from?”

The person wearing the steel helmet on the opposite side of the underground river seemed somewhat surprised. He said in surprise: “Burmese Communist People’s Army… Special Agent Company? What do they do?”

Although Luo Big Tongue was injured, his mouth wouldn’t stop. He asked back: “What do they do? They are the most dangerous armed guerrillas on this planet. Our宗旨 is to let poor folks celebrate every day, going to those rich and unkind wealthy people’s homes, eating their food, sleeping their beds, and checking whether their wives look pleasing to the eye…”

Sima Hui warned Luo Big Tongue in a low voice, telling him to shut his mouth quickly and stop talking nonsense. Now was not the time for idle chatter. Then he raised his voice and said to the opposite side: “Our matter is rather complicated. One or two sentences can’t explain it clearly. You first tell us who you are.”

The other party seemed to sense that Sima Hui and the others had no hostility. So he gave his name: “I am Qian Baoshan from the communication squad of the mixed supply company of the Sixth Independent Engineering Combat Regiment.”

Sima Hui remembered that in the diary left by Karaweik’s grandfather, it recorded the detailed situation of the Allied forces building roads in Myanmar during the war against Japan. The American Sixth Independent Engineering Combat Regiment with tiger emblem badges on their arms was responsible for carrying out the mission of building the Savage Mountain section of the road. This unit’s communication call sign was “AAD.” Due to the need for harmonious communication at that time, the American forces also assigned many Chinese soldiers. It seemed this person was one of them. Since the other party mentioned “supply company,” those American ten wheeler trucks must have all been driven by them. But why did this unit appear in the deepest part of the Savage Mountain rift valley? How did they drive the vehicles in? How did the entire supply company end up with only him as the sole survivor? In such a harsh environment, what did he rely on to survive until now? Could it be that in these nearly thirty years of long time, he had never found an opportunity to escape?

Not only Sima Hui, the other three were also full of confusion. The most important question was that they wanted to know as soon as possible: “Is there still any chance to escape from Savage Mountain?”

Qian Baoshan also sensed the confusion of these four people. He sighed and said: “I’ve been trapped in this tunnel for how many years, I can’t even count myself. If I tell you the things I experienced, you will understand the situation you are in now.”

Qian Baoshan then spoke of the course of events. During World War II, the channel for foreign aid to the Chinese battlefield was only the Hump air route. But relying solely on air force transport capacity was difficult to support the enormous material demand. The other land routes had all been cut off by the Japanese. So counterattacking Myanmar and opening the China India road was the Allies’ primary strategic goal at that time. Qian Baoshan was from Yunnan. He had followed the Expeditionary Force to receive training from American instructors in India. Finally he was transferred to the supply company of the Sixth Independent Engineering Combat Regiment to participate in the mission of building the Savage Mountain road.

The Savage Mountain road was distributed in a “Y” shape. The left branch was A line, the right was B line. At that time, the first road built was B line with the shorter straight line distance. Because long before the Japanese invaded Myanmar, there already existed secret tunnels dug by British colonialists in Savage Mountain. But during the construction process, many accidents occurred. The obstacles faced exceeded estimates. They had no choice but to additionally开辟 the circuitous A line road.

However, the A line road bypassing Savage Mountain from the outside also didn’t progress smoothly. Because the remaining Japanese hidden in the mountain regions weren’t cleared in time, the engineering troops frequently suffered harassment from small groups of Japanese. Scattered battles almost never stopped. That time, it was the supply company where Qian Baoshan was, driving Dodge transport trucks to deliver a batch of military supplies to the front line troops. When the convoy drove to the vicinity of Kansas Point, they encountered an ambush and fell into the Japanese encirclement.

After brief exchange of fire, the supply company discovered that this group of Japanese was equipped with several Type 97 tanks designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, commonly called “turtle shells” in China. At this time, engaging the enemy hastily, their own side was sandwiched and blocked on the road. The terrain was extremely unfavorable. Getting entangled would definitely result in losses. At the critical moment of imminent danger, the guide vehicle at the very front, taking advantage of its relatively close distance to the enemy, risked artillery fire, stomped the accelerator and charged straight at the Type 97 tank.

Although the Japanese Type 97 tank was called a medium tank, it could barely be considered a light tank. Its total combat weight was only 1.5 tons. While the American ten wheeler weighed nearly ten tons. Speaking of size and weight, they were fundamentally not in the same class. The lead vehicle driver went red eyed. Plus the mountain road was steep and narrow. The result was that both the truck and the tank rolled into the mountain stream. Both sides perished together.

The convoy blocked behind took the opportunity to break out of the encirclement, fighting while retreating. They finally left the battle. Unexpectedly, by mistake and by chance, they actually drove into the abandoned B line road. At that time, the military leader and interpreter accompanying the troops was a Burmese person called Mu Kan. He led the supply company transport convoy, driving into a tunnel.

Then to block the pursuing Japanese behind them, they sent engineers to blow up the tunnel entrance. They didn’t expect that the explosion caused continuous large scale collapses. Although they shook off the enemy, it also cut off their own retreat. They had no choice. They could only follow the half built China India road tunnel, continuing deeper into Savage Mountain.

Qian Baoshan was an orphan who grew up in a Yunnan church school. So he was also a devout Catholic. Until before entering this pitch black tunnel, he had believed in the true essence of God from the bottom of his bones. But he had never thought: “Does evil spirit exist?”