Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa, Volume 4: Chapter 1: The Hunting Rifle

Almost all explorers who enter the Savage Mountain fully consider the stagnation and harm they will face. But the most unpredictable threat is the mist that continuously surges from the depths of the earth. Apart from those missing persons who have been lost in the fog and never returned, there is no one in the world who can answer what exactly one might encounter in the mist, nor where its origin lies. If we reason by common sense, the dense fog might cause hallucinations, or the fog might contain poison. But with abundant experience, advanced equipment from predecessors, plus some indispensable luck, there should be an opportunity to escape unscathed.

Not only did Sima Hui and Yu Feiyan think this way, but even the British expedition team aboard the “Black Snake II” transport plane harbored this same fluke mentality. To deal with the millennia old mist in the depths of the giant rift valley of Savage Mountain, they made many preparations in advance, including various poison prevention measures and strong light illumination equipment for use in the fog. But they never anticipated that the dense fog contained something completely beyond imagination.

The recording tape left by Wilson left everyone looking at each other in dismay, unable to speak for a long time. The contents mentioned in the recording completely overturned their previous understanding of the entire incident. Yu Feiyan was very clear in her heart that her own group and the British expedition team on the “Black Snake II” transport plane must both have the same behind the scenes “employer.” According to international convention, since a client commissioned a team to search for the missing Air Force transport plane, before this team fails or abandons the mission, no one else should be allowed to interfere. If she had known this earlier, she wouldn’t have waded into these muddy waters.

Yu Feiyan also recalled that when she and Sima Hui previously discovered this transport plane, the dense fog in the rift valley was descending. At that time, the Black Snake II transport plane showed no abnormalities, and no British corpses were visible in the cabin. Based on this, she estimated that the “lifeform” mentioned in the recording was limited to moving within the fog, and that “light” would attract it from the depths of the mist.

At this moment, Sima Hui pried open the cargo crates inside the cabin. As expected, they were all equipment and supplies carried by the British expedition team, not the “Myanmar treasure” that Yu Feiyan’s group had come to seek. Seeing that the others all had grave expressions, as if facing imminent disaster, he wanted to find a reason to comfort everyone. He could only say: “At least this recording tape… explains that what we encountered earlier above the rift valley was this Black Snake II transport plane, not a ghost that has been wandering in the dense fog for decades.”

Yu Feiyan looked at Sima Hui and said: “Stop deceiving yourself. What we encountered was indeed the Black Snake II, but what did the Black Snake II collide with in the fog?”

Sima Hui said that since the “Black Snake II” collided head on with the Mosquito transport plane on the opposite side, but no explosion occurred, he thought this might be due to the “fog.” He had heard that mirages and mountain city illusions often appeared in the world, and at night in wild graveyards there would be “ghost markets.” What suddenly appeared in the dense fog was mostly likely the shadow left by that missing British Royal Air Force transport plane from decades ago.

At the end of the Pacific War, an entire squadron of American Mustang fighter planes was carrying out patrol missions in the Pacific region. They suddenly discovered Japanese Zero fighter formations appearing in the airspace opposite them. However, at that time the Japanese Combined Fleet no longer existed, and the naval air force had also been decimated, having long lost air superiority. How could there still be such a large scale formation appearing so neatly? Just as the American fighter pilots were about to initiate an attack, they lost sight of the enemy aircraft formation. Before their eyes there was only the vast sea and sky, boundless blue. Through communication they learned that the nearby carrier based radar had never shown any abnormal reactions. At that time, the pilots of the Mustang fighter squadron were all dumbfounded. No one knew what the scene they had just witnessed was all about.

Later there was evidence showing that it was merely an optical refraction phenomenon like a mirage. There were also many witnesses who had seen ancient battlefields with clashing weapons and armored horses appearing on the horizon at the edge of the sea or in the desert. But to this day, scientists still cannot explain why projections formed on clouds and sea surfaces often appear many years later.

This was something Sima Hui had heard by word of mouth while in the Burmese Communist People’s Army. He himself didn’t know whether it was true or false. He brought it up now because he felt the expedition team’s experience in Savage Mountain had considerable similarities to the various bizarre phenomena in the vast seas and raging sands. Saying it this way seemed to make sense.

But Yu Feiyan did not accept this inference. If it was a virtual image formed by dense fog, then why did the Black Snake II, at the moment of collision, seem to encounter a strong magnetic field that caused all equipment to stop functioning simultaneously? Additionally, after this transport plane fell into the rift valley, what was the “lifeform” drawn out from the mist by the strong searchlight? How did the members of the British expedition team meet their deaths? Why did they leave no corpses or bloodstains?

A Cui was equally deeply puzzled. She couldn’t help but ask Sima Hui why the British described what appeared in the dense fog as a “lifeform.” Sima Hui said: “That word is quite intimidating, they’ve got it all backwards. Actually speaking plainly, isn’t it just saying that some kind of ‘living thing’ exists in the dense fog surging from the depths of the earth?”

A Cui shook her head and said: “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. That word is too broad. You could say a blade of grass or a tree is a lifeform, or even say the entire universe is a lifeform. Even if we saw with our own eyes what appeared in the dense fog, we might not be able to describe it accurately. After all, the universe is vast, and what humans know is extremely limited. But one thing is certain: whatever was drawn out from the dense fog by the searchlight is absolutely very dangerous. It’s still better not to encounter it.”

Sima Hui pondered: “Whether we can uncover the truth hidden in the fog is probably the key to escaping from the fire pit of Savage Mountain.” But he was rendered speechless by the barrage of questions from everyone, thinking: “I’m still confused myself, why are you all asking me?”

He could only say: “What cannot be fully seen are the affairs of the world; what cannot be fully comprehended are the principles of the world.” The matters before them were truly too unexpected, almost devoid of logic. No one could figure them out. In this situation, they should try to handle things with “elastic thinking.”

Yu Feiyan and A Cui both felt puzzled, asking curiously: “What does elastic thinking mean?”

Luo Big Tongue explained on Sima Hui’s behalf: “That word is quite intimidating, they’ve got it all backwards. Actually speaking plainly, right now he’s like a weasel stealing a duck, completely out of options. He can only simplify complex problems, treating them as nothing out of the ordinary. We don’t need to make things difficult for ourselves, otherwise if we break our heads thinking, the ones who suffer the losses won’t be anyone else.”

Yu Feiyan nodded and said: “That does make sense. Right now, torrential rain is pouring outside the mountain, causing underground water to continuously seep through rock layer cracks, resulting in this subterranean cavern interior also being obscured by rain curtains, causing all the dense fog in the depths of the rift valley to disappear. We are currently favored by heaven’s timing. If we abandon this now, it would be like failing at the final hurdle. That missing British Air Force transport plane had confirmed through radio contact that it landed in the fog and had not sunk into the mud marsh. The subterranean area is mostly marshland. The only region that could allow a Mosquito transport plane to land is a stretch of wetland that is long and narrow in depth. If we continue searching southward on foot, we still have a chance to find the cargo loaded in the missing transport plane.”

In the past, Yu Feiyan had always acted according to her whims, never needing to explain much to her subordinates. But Sima Hui and these others had joined temporarily. If they really threw up their hands and quit halfway, she couldn’t do anything about them. She could only suppress her temper and negotiate in gentle tones. She also instructed everyone: “Speed is precious in military affairs. We cannot delay too much now. We must take action quickly. Because there’s no telling how long the tropical storm system’s violent winds and rain will last. If it happens to change direction midway, or suddenly weakens, things will get troublesome. At that time, the dense fog will definitely reappear. Before departure, everyone should carry as much as possible of the necessary supplies left by the British expedition team, especially weapons for self defense and food, plus lighting equipment. If dense fog suddenly appears along the way, immediately turn off the searchlights and focused beam flashlights. In absolutely unavoidable circumstances, you may switch to cold fluorescent agents and similar chemical light sources that produce no heat.”

After speaking, she began searching through the British expedition team’s cargo crates for applicable equipment.

Yu Feiyan unexpectedly discovered a backpack style communication radio set. She asked Sima Hui and the others if anyone knew how to use it. A Cui looked at it and said: “This is a PRS25/77 model military tactical radio, American made. I know some communications. I should be able to use it, but there are no other survivors in this subterranean cavern. Who would we use it to contact?”

Yu Feiyan said: “Even if we can escape this giant rift valley after succeeding, without support in Savage Mountain we probably won’t be able to get out. Bringing it as a precaution against future needs, it will always come in useful.”

Sima Hui saw that Yu Feiyan’s arrangements were quite methodical, like sitting bare bottomed on an orange, vivid and colorful. Even if it were himself, he couldn’t come up with a better strategy, so he didn’t say anything more.

The others also had no objections. They immediately began preparing, each taking their own actions. Only Luo Big Sea had never been commanded by a woman in his entire life. Though he didn’t say anything aloud, inwardly he couldn’t help feeling a bit mutinous. He accidentally discovered a long rectangular box at the bottom of a cargo crate. Opening it, he found a disassembled old style four barrel hunting rifle with two types of special ammunition. Luo Big Sea assembled it in three moves and two shakes. He saw that this hunting rifle was oversized, and the gun body material was carefully selected, the craftsmanship exceptionally fine. The four barrels were arranged in a “cross” configuration, with the left and right barrels for shotgun shells and the upper and lower barrels for large caliber rifled rounds. He had heard people locally mention that in the past, British nobles hunting wild elephants and rhinoceroses in places like Myanmar and India specifically used this kind of hunting rifle. The rhinoceros’s thick armor plating was sufficient to defend against rifle bullet fire, but it could not withstand the extra large caliber “elephant hunting gun.” Luo Big Sea was overjoyed. He said to Sima Hui: “This gun is no different from a breech loading cannon. With it at my side, I feel much more solid in my heart.”

Sima Hui warned him: “Luo Big Tongue, are you planning to go fight tanks? I’m telling you, you need to be careful with this kind of large caliber hunting rifle. Its power is considerable, but it was produced relatively early, so its design and construction still seem rather backward. It has many flaws, easily misfires, and especially the recoil is shockingly strong. If the shooter has a slight build, when firing the gun it can knock them tumbling backward.”

Luo Big Sea was naturally born big and tall, with sturdy strength in his arms, and didn’t care at all. He said: “Those British guys weren’t they just raised on tap water and foreign flour? They don’t have three heads and six arms. If they could use it, we can handle it too.”

After speaking, he slung the elephant hunting gun’s ammunition belt across his body, then instructed Karaweik: “You kid better stick close to us. If you dare to slack off and fall behind, see if I don’t skin you like an eggplant.”

Karaweik also knew the danger of their current situation. His face was full of panic. He closed his mouth and didn’t dare say much.

Once everything was packed up, the group successively crawled out of the “Black Snake II” transport plane’s cabin, each carrying submachine guns, using the searchlight to clear the path, groping their way southward through the rift valley to search for their target. Water seeping down from rock layer cracks in the stratum was swept up by the air currents in the upper parts of the cavern, becoming scattered rain and mist falling everywhere. Vision was affected, gradually becoming blurred and unclear.

The bottom of the rift valley was wetland like a wasteland. In the middle was a large area stretching long and deep, its terrain resembling a python. On the surrounding water surface grew dense patches of sawtooth grass and clumps of reeds, all nearly half a person’s height, dividing the marshland into a checkerboard like crisscross pattern.

A Cui said curiously: “This vast and deep subterranean space is sealed by dense fog all year round, never seeing daylight, receiving not the slightest bit of photosynthesis. How can such lush and abundant marsh plants grow here?”

Sima Hui had the same feeling: “The most abnormal thing is that this place is truly too empty. And the depth of the cavern is no less than two thousand meters. I originally thought the underground would hide certain things, but apart from fog, there seems to be nothing here.”

As he spoke, in the beam of the searchlight, he saw several log like things floating on the nearby water surface. He knew in his heart they must be crocodiles. If the surroundings of this rift valley were completely isolated from the world, then creatures and plants that fell from above into the underground could only multiply and thrive in this nearly sealed environment. It would be no surprise at all to find crocodiles and Burmese pythons and other reptilian creatures near the subterranean marsh. But what exactly was the lifeform that attacked the “Black Snake II” transport plane in the fog? Its body must be quite large, and it could swiftly move to high places using the dense fog. It absolutely could not be crocodiles or Burmese black pythons.

Sima Hui saw there was no clue, so he simply stopped thinking about it. He looked up toward the heights. Previously he had no good feelings toward the tropical storm system “Pagoda,” only feeling that the severe weather was a fatal threat. But now he was hoping that this storm that had dispersed the dense fog would absolutely not stop.

Just as he was walking and feeling anxious, he suddenly saw ahead another giant crocodile nearly ten meters long and weighing several tons, exposing its mouth full of densely packed sharp teeth, lying across the path motionless. It was suddenly startled by the searchlight and footsteps, but did not attack. Instead, with a splash sound, it twisted its clumsy body and swiftly plunged into the depths of the reed clusters. From the sound, it was going far away.

Yu Feiyan immediately warned everyone: Absolutely do not get too close to the reed clusters, lest a hidden crocodile bite and drag them into the mud marsh.

But at this moment, the Russian White Bear suddenly stopped walking. He pushed aside the area where the giant crocodile had just crawled past, breaking a layer of rotten wood. Beneath the thick soil and moss, large patches of liver colored layers were exposed. He successively dug open several more spots on the ground, and it was all the same, appearing to extend all the way into the depths of the marsh. The Russian White Bear seemed to feel this was quite extraordinary. His already cold face was covered with another layer of dark clouds.

Sima Hui didn’t understand what this Russian guy was up to, but this place was extremely dangerous. How dare they casually stop? He asked: “Coward driver, are you digging for landmines here?”

The Russian White Bear heard the sound and raised his head. Expressionlessly, he opened his mouth toward Sima Hui, revealing only the remaining half of his tongue root, indicating that he could not speak. Then he used his dagger to scratch several letters on the ground.

Everyone leaned in with the light to look. Seeing only four English letters “MOHO,” they all felt completely baffled: “Is this someone’s name?”

Yu Feiyan knew something of the Russian demolition expert White Bear’s past experiences. Seeing this line of English written on the ground, she already understood what he wanted to tell everyone. She asked in alarm: “You mean we’ve fallen into a telescope?”

(Note: Machine water refers to tap water)