cicada

Chapter 1430 Entering the Factory
In the dead of night, more than 100 kilometers west of Oslo, a blizzard from the Arctic swept across the Hallandj Plateau in Norway, making the area around Baren Mountain even more desolate.

Such a harsh natural environment has caused even wild animals that are used to living in the snow and ice to hide in deep caves.

But at the bottom of a certain canyon, a group of hazy figures were struggling to move forward in the snow. These people were Gui Youguang, Wu Chunyang and others who were driving snowmobiles to the designated location.

Jack, representing the OSS, glanced at the compass, examined the surrounding terrain, and then turned to the Kuomintang members, saying, "This is the place."

Hearing this seemingly random statement, Gui Youguang and Wu Chunyang nodded, and the three agents immediately dispersed in a triangular formation.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, a low humming sound faintly came from the air. The three agents turned on their flashlights covered with red cloth and swirled them around in the air a few times.

Meanwhile, a Halifax bomber was flying close to the mountains, and the faint red glow of the ground could be seen from the aircraft.

The pilot, sporting a British-style mustache, pressed a switch and maneuvered the plane to circle above the signal.

A yellow light illuminated inside the cabin, and two operatives got up, hooked on their safety hooks, and checked each other's parachutes and equipment.

After a while, the pilot pressed the switch again, and the yellow light turned green, which meant he had to parachute out immediately.

Upon seeing the lights, the two operatives jumped out of the hatch without hesitation. They pulled their parachute lines in mid-air and drifted shakily toward the ground signal.

Gui Youguang looked up at the sky and noticed that one of them had strayed far off course, so he gently nudged Wu Chunyang's shoulder.

"A veteran and a newcomer, what exactly do the British mean by sending a newcomer for such a dangerous operation?"

Wu Chunyang narrowed his eyes and casually replied, "Regardless of what the British are thinking, keep an eye on these two guys during the operation."

Britain's betrayal of its allies is a common tactic, as seen with the Czech Republic and Poland, which were sacrificed. Wu Chunyang would rather believe pigs can fly than trust the other side.

After the two finished speaking, the two British parachutists landed and covered their parachutes before coming to meet them. The one in front was young, followed by a middle-aged man.

After the two parties met and verified their identities, the former introduced himself: "Good evening, gentlemen, my name is William, and this is George, Professor of Physics at Cambridge University."

Gui Youguang curled his lip. This pseudonym was too perfunctory. The American named Jack was the same. However, "William's" words did explain why George's parachute error was so large.

Wu Chunyang glanced at the professor, said nothing more, and took the lead in moving towards Balun Mountain.

The blizzard intensified, and the group braved the strong winds for another two hours before finally stopping below an icefall on the back of Mount Baron.

Gui Youguang glanced at the time; it was 4:30 a.m. He immediately ordered the operation to begin. The junior agent opened his backpack and took out ropes, ice axes, and other tools.

“Wait a minute, gentlemen, it’s almost dawn. If we climb now, the Germans will find us.” Professor George stepped forward and spread his arms to try to stop them.

Gui Youguang pushed him aside, pointed at his nose, and threatened, "Obey orders, or there will be another dead man here."

As Wu Chunyang passed by, he coldly said to Jack and William, "Keep an eye on this guy. From now on, all your actions must be under my command, understand?"

Jack shrugged to indicate that it was no problem, and William nodded at the unfriendly-looking KMT agent, showing no intention of standing up for his comrade.

At this moment, Gui Youguang had already climbed up the icefall, which was a cliff hundreds of meters high. The young spies looked up and observed, each of them looking tense.

To reduce the number of people, Gui Youguang would climb to the top of the mountain alone, and the rest of the people would then use his ropes to climb up.

As they ascended, chunks of ice occasionally fell onto the snow with a dull thud. Wu Chunyang walked over to William and started chatting with him.

"SOE (Special Operations Executive)?"

"Yes, sir."

William had read the mission briefing and knew that the man in front of him was a colonel, so he answered in a very respectful tone.

Wu Chunyang glanced at the bewildered professor and asked a question: "This operation is very dangerous, why did you send a bookworm?"

"Sir, London needs to gather more information to assess Germany's progress on new weapons, and Mr. George is an indispensable member of the operation."

William's answer was reasonable, but Wu Chunyang didn't believe a word of it.

Gathering information and assessing progress are all just excuses; the British are probably eyeing the German research data.

The thought flashed through his mind, and a faint smile appeared in Wu Chunyang's eyes as he looked at George and William with increasing kindness.

As dawn approached, Gui Youguang stuck his head out over the edge of the cliff to make sure there were no German patrols around. He then pushed himself up to the top of the cliff, tied the rope to a rock, and gave it a good shake.

Half an hour later, the first spy successfully reached the top, and then the second rope was lowered.

As more and more people reached the summit, more and more ropes were lowered, and the team's climbing speed suddenly increased. When the first rays of sunlight shone on the mountaintop, everyone successfully climbed the cliff, including physics professor George, who had been dragged up.

After resting for a while, the little spy retrieved all the ropes, and Gui Youguang and Wu Chunyang put on white cloaks and lay down among the pile of rocks to look at the situation on the other side of the cliff.

Not far from the two were many metal pipes that extended down to a building halfway up the mountain, which was the target of Operation Edelweiss—the heavy water factory.

"Do you know what kind of pipe this is?" Gui Youguang asked, lowering his head.

Wu Chunyang recalled the intelligence provided by the Norwegian resistance and gave the answer in a low voice: "It should be the water pressure pipeline of the power station attached to the factory."

Upon learning that it was a water pipe, Gui Youguang immediately lost interest. He climbed back to the group and ordered them to rest on the spot.

"Everyone will take turns sleeping. We will move out at 8 p.m. sharp. We will be divided into two groups: one for cover and one for demolition. The three of you will come with me to destroy the equipment."

As he said this, he stared intently at Jack, William, and George. The three of them did not object, as this was their task after all.

Gui Youguang turned his head with satisfaction, then pointed to his collar and gave the final order, his expression extremely serious.

"This contains potassium cyanide. If you are captured, immediately bite open the sachet. We cannot let the Germans capture any prisoners, understand?"

Everyone nodded, except for George, who looked terrified. Gui Youguang glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and decided to help him if necessary.

The day passed quickly. In those dozen or so hours, Gui Youguang verified the guards' patrol routes and shift schedules from the intelligence report, and the results were quite good.

Apart from some changes in the shift changes of a few guards, the intelligence was basically accurate, which indirectly proved the reliability of the resistance organization.

The biggest fear in overseas operations is the breakdown of intelligence channels. Gui Youguang breathed a sigh of relief and whispered with Wu Chunyang to continue refining the operation plan.

Perhaps overconfident in their own defenses, or perhaps unprepared for someone to infiltrate from the cliff, the Germans failed to deploy any security forces between the water pressure pipeline and the factory.

Gui Youguang raised his thumb and calculated the distance between the pipe and the ground, which was about 60 centimeters, enough for an adult to crawl through.

At 8 p.m., the team members who were supposed to set off did not move because the bright moonlight illuminated the mountaintop clearly, and going out at this time would be tantamount to becoming live targets.

Finally, a dark cloud drifted in and obscured the moon. Gui Youguang crawled away from the shelter and reached the gap under the pipe.

The rest of the group also crossed the open area as quickly as possible. The junior agent at the end of the group even made a simple cleaning device out of tree branches to erase all traces left by the group.

Just as the operatives took cover, a beam of light swept across the pipe. The German soldier operating the searchlight yawned and casually moved the light away.

Gui Youguang climbed a long way down the mountain along the pipeline and finally came to a barbed wire fence. The roar of machines inside the factory building inside the fence could be clearly heard.

He looked around, but instead of cutting the wire immediately, he plucked a hair from the spy's head and placed it between the two wires.

Hair is an insulator, and when it comes into contact with a charged conductor, it will tremble slightly due to electrostatic induction.

Gui Youguang's hair didn't move, which meant the barbed wire wasn't electrified. He took out wire cutters and made a small cut in the bottom wire, then gently broke it off by hand.

Jack and William, who were following behind Gui Youguang, originally wanted to help, but seeing how quickly the other party acted, they immediately gave up on the idea.

Through these actions, the two men gained a more accurate understanding of the Military Intelligence Bureau's operational capabilities and silently increased their vigilance.

Gui Youguang was unaware of the British and Americans' ulterior motives. He quickly got up and rushed towards a small iron gate through the barbed wire fence. According to intelligence, the heavy water production workshop was behind the gate.

After listening intently to the door for a while, Gui Youguang inserted two iron plates into the keyhole and twisted them. With a crisp "click," the lock opened.

The remaining demolition team members, armed, followed him into the factory, while Wu Chunyang and the cover team spread out outside to keep watch.

Watching the last member of the demolition team gently close the iron gate, Wu Chunyang put down his weapon and lay down in a concealed position to silently observe the surrounding situation.

As for Gui Youguang, after entering the room, he walked a few steps in the dark corridor and found that there was no one there. The noise from the machines was getting louder and louder, so he quickened his pace.

After passing through a long corridor and an iron staircase, a small door appeared before them again, through which faint German songs and conversations could be heard.

Through the half-open door, Gui Youguang saw two German soldiers in army uniforms sitting inside.

The two men, with their backs to the door and their feet dangling off the control panel, were discussing the situation at the front lines, completely unaware of what was happening behind them.

Behind the control panel stands a huge glass curtain wall, and below the curtain wall, several machines are operating at full capacity in the workshop.

Based on the professional training before the operation, Gui Youguang recognized that it was an electrolytic cell for producing heavy water; they had found the right place.