cicada

Chapter 1486: Playing tricks
Gui Youguang and his group walked into the underground laboratory through the entrance. The laboratory was much larger than the Military Intelligence Bureau had expected, covering several thousand square meters and divided into several areas.

Each region has different research areas, such as rockets, radio remote control, gyroscopes, electromagnetic energy, and so on.

The group arrived outside a research room, where Heinz, with a hint of pride, introduced it to Gui Youguang: "Sir, what you see before you is the most advanced gyroscope laboratory in all of Germany, bar none."

"Inspired by our research, Dr. Wernher von Braun and his team successfully developed the V2 rocket, a powerful weapon capable of precisely attacking targets thousands of kilometers away."

Gui Youguang was a little surprised. Of course he knew about the V2 rocket. Six days after the Normandy landings, the first V2 rocket landed in London, England.

Although the V2's accuracy wasn't as exaggerated as Heinz claimed, the massive shockwave and the distinctive whistling sound in the seconds before the explosion still caused considerable panic among Londoners.

Looking at the lab full of instruments, Gui Youguang felt a headache coming on; there was no way he could take all of these things with him.

After much deliberation, he instructed his junior agent: "Take only the paper documents and experimental records. Set timers and add thermite to everything else."

While instruments are important, they are insignificant compared to the decades of research data accumulated by the Germans.

After all, equipment can be bought with money, but no one will sell data to the Military Intelligence Bureau.

The junior agents followed orders and entered the research lab to begin searching, leaving no stone unturned.

Heinz watched as documents fell into the hands of a mysterious enemy, his expression complex. These documents contained not only technology, but also his memories and youth.

Gui Youguang didn't care about the old man's thoughts and interrupted him, asking, "Where is the research lab related to the Tunguska explosion?"

"Please follow me to the Electromagnetic Energy Research Laboratory."

Heinz led Gui Youguang to the deepest part of the laboratory, where there were significantly more corpses than elsewhere, including SS soldiers and researchers.

Pushing open the airlock, one sees documents scattered everywhere due to the hasty evacuation. Heinz then honestly explains the situation in the research lab.

"Sir, during the last European war, His Majesty the Emperor regarded the Tunguska explosion technology as the key to changing Germany's fate and invested a lot of money and personnel in research, but without any results."

"All we know is that the explosion may have been caused by electromagnetism. In order to master this technology as soon as possible, His Majesty the Emperor once sent people to kidnap Tesla, but unfortunately they failed."

"These documents were sealed after the war ended. When the Führer learned of this, he immediately restarted the laboratory, and I became the chief scientist, an unqualified chief scientist."

Heinz joked that after decades of research, he hadn't figured anything out, and he couldn't help but feel a little disheartened.

Gui Youguang glanced at the other party and ordered his men to conduct a thorough search of the place. At the same time, he was very uneasy. He and his group had gone to so much trouble to only seize some documents. He hoped that the vice-captain would not be angry.

Damn it, it's all that British intelligence officer's fault. If he hadn't made it sound so miraculous, they wouldn't have come to this godforsaken place.

While cursing the British for being unreliable, Gui Youguang walked around the laboratory a few times and then discovered a problem: the number of corpses was incorrect.

A laboratory of this size should have at least a hundred researchers, but he counted them again and again and found fewer than fifty corpses, including the guards.

Gui Youguang summoned Heinz and asked in a cold voice, "Professor, why are there so few staff members in the laboratory?"

Heinz looked puzzled, as if he hadn't understood, until Gui Youguang asked again, at which point he realized what was going on and quickly gave an explanation.

It turns out that the laboratory had already begun its evacuation, with key researchers moving to safer locations, leaving only a small number of people behind to handle the moving of data and equipment.

This explanation was reasonable, and Gui Youguang dispelled his doubts. He followed Heinz to another room, where there was a machine filled with relays.

"What is this?" the bald man asked curiously.

Heinz shrugged and casually uttered a somewhat obscure word: "Computer, it can perform some complex computational tasks."

Gui Youguang tapped the device in front of him and stood there in silence. He didn't understand computers, but he knew very well the importance of computation.

The Military Intelligence Bureau's science curriculum taught that both codebreaking and scientific calculations are inseparable from computation.

So don't be fooled by how casually Heinz speaks; the computer is probably the most important piece of equipment in this lab. Gui Youguang gave him a deep look and beckoned to his little spy.

"Take this machine apart and take it with you, take more photos, so that we can restore it according to the images in the future."

Heinz, standing to the side, remained calm and even stepped forward to help disassemble the parts to prevent damage to critical components.

As the booming sounds of artillery grew closer, the junior agents loaded dozens of boxes of documents and equipment parts onto trucks. By this time, the flames rising from the front lines could already be seen from the mountaintop.

As the last batch of documents was packed and transported away, Gui Youguang and Heinz returned to the ground, and the two junior agents pointed their guns at the professor.

Heinz seemed to have anticipated this, closing his eyes and awaiting death. But after a long time, no gunshot rang out, and he could only slowly open his eyes. Gui Youguang crossed his arms, watching this scene with great interest. A scientist insisting on doing the work of a secret agent—did they really think he was a brute?

Faced with Heinz's questioning gaze, he held up two fingers: "Do you know that people who really want to live wouldn't be so calm? They would kneel down, crying and begging."

"There are two possibilities for someone like you who faces death so calmly: either you are determined to die, or you have a big secret."

“But you are clearly not prepared to die, otherwise you would not have surrendered to the Americans, am I right? Then there is only one possibility left.”

As Gui Youguang spoke, he moved closer to Heinz, emphasizing each word: "You are protecting a secret!"

Heinz remained expressionless and immediately tried to deny it, but Gui Youguang did not give him a chance to refute and pressed him for answers again.

"Answer me! Where are the lab staff? I know they haven't evacuated!"

These words made Heinz's breathing quicken. Gui Youguang was certain that the old man's surrender was indeed just a distraction.

As for drugging his companions, this would create the illusion that everyone was in the underground laboratory, and also allow him to kill them to cover his tracks. It is truly remarkable that a scientist would have such courage.

Thinking of this, Gui Youguang ordered in German: "Search carefully, there must be a second laboratory nearby."

The Germans' deliberately mysterious approach suggests that the contents of their second laboratory must be very important, at least more valuable than Tesla's manuscripts.

Heinz closed his eyes in pain. Seeing his reaction, the junior agents became even more confident and immediately dispersed to carefully search for the entrance.

Some people poured water all around the monastery in an attempt to locate another laboratory by observing the drainage speed, but this would take time, and the advance troops of the US Army were about to arrive.

After working for most of the night, it was already broad daylight.

Gui Youguang went to the top of the mountain and used his telescope to look southwest. Several Sherman and M18 tank destroyers appeared in the lens, followed by jeeps and accompanying infantry.

According to Allied reports to the Nationalist government, the U.S. forces active in the Alps consisted of the 10th Mountain Division and a small number of tanks drawn from the 1st Armored Division. The unit in front of us should be part of the 10th Mountain Division.

After putting down his binoculars, Gui Youguang estimated the distance between the two sides to be about ten kilometers. He knew he had to send someone to intercept them, or they would be trapped in the monastery.

After a quick thought, he called his chief of secret service to his side: "Take half of the men and hold back the American troops. We must not let the enemy rush down the mountain."

"When you go, bring all the weapons and ammunition from the US Army and the SS. I'll only keep one load of ammunition for myself, and you can have the rest of the bullets. Remember to wear a German uniform."

Gui Youguang felt a pang of pity, but he still emphasized, "If someone is killed, you should know how to dispose of the body. In short, we can't let the Americans know that we were the ones who did it."

"Whether the brothers live or die, whether the operation succeeds or not, depends entirely on you. Don't embarrass me. After the operation is over, I will personally write you a promotion report."

The intelligence chief nodded and solemnly assured him, "Don't worry, team leader. As long as I, Chen Mingjiang, am alive, the Americans won't be able to get through."

Gui Youguang's expression was complicated as he patted the other man's shoulder and said, "Mingjiang, take care."

Chen Mingjiang was his confidant, and he would never have sent him to fight a blocking action if the situation were not urgent, especially against a force with tanks and heavy firepower.

Chen Mingjiang smiled but didn't say anything. He turned around and led dozens of agents to move quickly toward the American troops, trying to increase the distance between the American troops and the monastery.

Mountain warfare was no stranger to Kuomintang agents. In such terrain, victory or defeat did not depend on the gun barrels, but on the ground beneath their feet.

To sum it up in one sentence: only those who can stand on the mountaintop have the right to fire.

The young spies ran at high speed along the ridgeline, leaping over cliffs and streams or using ropes to build makeshift bridges. They traversed nearly seven or eight kilometers of rugged mountain road in just over three hours.

In contrast, the mixed formation of the 10th Mountain Division only traveled less than three kilometers during this period, but this speed was not slow. After all, it takes a long time to travel even if you look at the mountain.

If it were the French or Italian army, it would probably take them two or three days to climb ten kilometers, even with ample supplies.

Chen Mingjiang found a steep mountain peak as a blocking position. He climbed to the top of the mountain and observed for a long time. Pointing to the cedar forest on both sides of the mountain road, he quietly assigned tasks to a few junior agents.

"Find some sturdy trees, plant bombs in them, and detonate them when the American tanks are almost there. Use the fallen tree trunks to block the mountain road. The timing of the explosion is crucial; it can't be too early or too late."

"clear."

The junior agents answered in unison that these cedar trees were very large in diameter, and once they fell, they were difficult to move; even dragging them with a tank would take a very long time.

After arranging the road blockade, Chen Mingjiang instructed another group of people: "Lay landmines and booby traps along the hillside towards the top of the mountain. The locations must be concealed."

Finally, he clenched his fist: "This time we must learn from the Northwest's tactics: when the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance. We must keep the American troops tied up here!"