cicada

Chapter 1499 Establishing Contact
In the low, dark cave, a group of American laborers swung hammers and smashed rocks, their uniforms already torn into tattered, smelly rags.

In this green hell of Luzon, the air is so humid it feels like you could squeeze water out of it, clothes never seem to dry, and all sorts of insects, known and unknown, can be seen everywhere.

In such harsh working conditions, sweat streamed down the workers' chins, eventually dripping onto the stones and forming white salt stains.

Exhaustion and dehydration caused one of the American soldiers to slow down his stone-breaking movements for a moment, and the Japanese soldier in charge of supervising the work immediately came over.

"Baka! Lazybones! Speed ​​it up!"

Accompanied by curses, the Japanese soldiers lashed out with their whips, and the American soldiers screamed in agony as their backs were instantly covered in blood.

"Hey! You Japanese guy, he's got heatstroke! Do you want to kill him?"

Upon seeing this, another American soldier shouted and threw his chisel to the ground in protest.

With a leader in place, the other laborers also threw down their tools and sat cross-legged, refusing to get up no matter how the Japanese soldiers beat and scolded them. The news quickly reached the ground.

Just as the American troops were feeling smug, a series of footsteps came from outside the cave. The sound grew closer and clearer, each step striking the hearts of the Americans.

"Bonsodo".

When the Japanese guards saw the newcomers, they all bowed their heads in greeting, a hint of fear flashing in their eyes.

The young man called Honjo looked at the American soldier sitting on the ground, his expression gradually turning cold, and he gently stroked the hilt of his saber with his right hand.

The guard in charge stepped forward and explained the situation. Honda's gaze slowly shifted to the American troops who had stopped work first.

"Kacha~Kacha~Kacha~"

The sound of metal cleats hitting the rocks echoed in the cave. Honda walked to the American soldier's side and looked at him without saying a word.

The American soldier broke out in a cold sweat, swallowed hard, and opened his mouth to mention the Geneva Convention.

"I demand that your army abide by Geneva. Ah!!"

A flash of cold light, and the American soldier's head fell to the ground and rolled a long way, while his body remained seated, blood gushing from his neck.

Honda sheathed his sword with a standard Iaido technique, not even glancing at the still-bleeding corpse, his cold gaze sweeping over the other American soldiers in the cave.

"start!"

He said something in English, and all the laborers hurriedly got up and continued smashing stones, working even harder than before.

The guard handed over a handkerchief with both hands, his attitude extremely respectful, both out of fear and because of the military knife in the other party's hand.

The top six graduates of the Army University receive a royal sword from the Emperor, and these people are known as the Sword Group. Honda is one of them.

Compared to regular Army Academy students, those in the Sabre Group are promoted much faster, and most of the Army's senior generals come from this small circle.

Honda took the handkerchief, wiped the blood from his hands, and gestured for the person in charge to accompany him for a walk around the cave.

The two walked along a long corridor into the depths of the cave. Horizontal warehouses appeared from time to time on both sides, some already equipped with explosion-proof steel doors, while others were still being excavated.

The reason why the Japanese General Headquarters set up the treasure cave on Luzon Island was because the local mountains were mainly composed of limestone, tuff, and volcanic rock.

These geological features are ideal for tunneling, and existing caves can be modified to accelerate construction.

Honda stopped outside the door of a horizontal warehouse. He took out a tape measure and measured the wall, finding that it was two millimeters thinner than the blueprint data. His face immediately turned cold.

The guard in charge turned pale with fright and stammered, "I'm sorry, Major, we only obtained a small amount of cement before we started work."

Honda's murderous intent vanished upon hearing this. Due to the unfavorable war situation and American bombing, the cement production at Luzon Island was extremely low, and transporting cement to the camp was a major problem.

Although the responsibility did not lie with the guard, he still coldly reprimanded him, "Baka! No matter what, you must construct according to the blueprints. I will find a way to solve the cement problem."

After checking the progress of the project, Honda walked out of the cave. A damp breeze blew by, and his sweaty clothes became cool.

A soldier brought over warm water and a towel, respectfully reminding him, "Major, please take care of yourself."

Sudden changes in temperature can easily lead to colds or chills, and in camps lacking doctors and medicine, even minor illnesses can be fatal.

Bendon let out a sound, took off his coat, and wiped his body with a towel dampened with warm water. At that moment, a large number of birds suddenly took flight from the distant forest.

This alerted Honda, who shouted to his men, "Warning! Someone is approaching!"

The Japanese guards quickly dispersed, taking cover behind bunkers and aiming in the direction where the anomaly had occurred.

Half an hour later, a large group of people walked out of the forest, led by an army captain.

The group included a large number of Allied prisoners of war and a company of Japanese soldiers. Each prisoner of war carried a wooden box on his back, which looked very heavy.

The captain handed over the duties to the outermost guard, and then came up to Honda alone and saluted him.

"Captain, 1,763 prisoners have been successfully escorted to their destination, with 229 lost en route."

Honda nodded, waved for his men to take the prisoners away, and then asked the captain.

"You've worked hard. Have there been any new orders from headquarters? What supplies did you bring this time? What's the situation at the front?"

The captain looked around and, seeing that the others were far away, whispered the situation report. "Besides food, daily necessities, and cement, there are also some wooden crates brought from the mainland. Headquarters has ordered that they be buried along with the collected valuables."

"As for the war situation, US President Roosevelt died last month, and the Imperial Army is conducting a strategic counter-offensive."

"In addition, according to rumors, the Yamato sank in the waters off Okinawa. Only the Yukifu survived the entire fleet, but the US military also suffered heavy losses."

As the two were talking, the newly arrived Japanese soldier informed the guards of Roosevelt's death, and a thunderous cheer erupted in the camp.

"Onboard load! Onboard load! Onboard load!"

Unlike the Japanese soldiers' excitement, the Allied prisoners of war who overheard the incident were devastated, and their already low morale plummeted even further.

Honda smiled, but after the supplies and prisoners were settled, he stopped smiling and looked at the captain with a serious expression.

"The location of the camp is a top secret of the Empire and must not be leaked. I think you received the order before you set off."

"Hai!"

The captain bowed sharply, his eyes filled with fervor as he looked up. He took off his sword and solemnly handed it to Honda.

"It is an honor for me and my subordinates to be able to dedicate ourselves to His Majesty the Emperor."

After saying this, the captain led his men to the outside of the camp, knelt down, put down their weapons, and took out short blades.

Under the watchful eyes of the guards, the escorts carefully wiped the blades with handkerchiefs, their movements meticulous.

The short blade gleamed in the sunlight. The captain shouted, "I will live seven lives to serve my country!" He gripped the hilt in reverse, pressed the blade against his lower abdomen, and thrust it in forcefully.

One by one, the guards committed seppuku (ritual suicide). Some of them did not die immediately but lay on the ground struggling in agony.

Ten minutes later, the last guard stopped breathing, and all the guards, including Honda, bowed to the body.

Allied prisoners of war were shocked and terrified by what they saw; they simply could not understand the Japanese actions.

Some astute individuals realized that if the Japanese wouldn't even spare themselves, how could they possibly spare their enemies?

For a moment, a small disturbance broke out among the prisoners, and the guards forcibly suppressed the rioters with rifle butts and whips.

Honda's adjutant glanced at the prisoner with disdain, then said excitedly, "Captain, will the death of the US President improve the situation?"

Honda did not answer this question directly, but instead asked in return, "Why is the headquarters transferring new laborers?"

The adjutant was stunned, but then realized that if the battle situation really improved, they would not need to continue building the treasure cave.

Having figured this out, he hung his head dejectedly and stopped talking, following Honda into a bamboo shed covered with camouflage netting, which was filled with wooden crates.

Honda noticed that some of the boxes were marked with a chrysanthemum symbol. His expression shifted slightly, and he turned to instruct his adjutant: "No one is to approach the warehouse without my order. Once the treasure cave is completed, move it immediately."

The adjutant responded, and the two returned to the command post together. Honda sat down at the simple wooden table and began studying the map.

According to the map, there are no people within a radius of 50 kilometers in the camp, and the nearest indigenous settlement is 80 kilometers away.

As evening fell, Honda summoned his adjutant again, stating that he would personally lead the patrol and hand over command of the camp to the adjutant.

"Major, the jungle is dangerous at night. I should patrol instead," the adjutant objected.

Honda patted him on the shoulder: "It's alright. As the commander, I have to ensure the safety of the area around the camp."

Without waiting for his adjutant's reply, Honda led a small squad into the jungle and began patrolling around the camp.

Visibility was extremely poor in the pitch-black forest. The Japanese soldiers did not use flashlights, but relied solely on the moonlight filtering through the treetops to move through the forest without making a sound.

As the patrol was drawing to a close, Honda sat on a rock, took off his boots, and tapped them against the ground before returning to camp.

After the Japanese troops left, insects and small animals began to chirp, and the jungle gradually came back to life.

After an unknown amount of time, a dark figure appeared beside the rock where Honda had been standing. The figure bent down, groped around for a while, and then quickly left.

The shadowy figure was very familiar with the surrounding terrain, skillfully traversing the forest and river, and finally arriving at a cave.

"Director Song."

Several junior agents of the Military Intelligence Bureau were resting around the campfire when they saw the dark figure enter. They stood up and greeted him.

"Okay, you guys go out first, and keep watch."

After dismissing the little spy, Song Minghao sat down by the fire and unfolded a piece of paper with architectural drawings of the treasure cave on it.

This blueprint includes the coordinates of the treasure cave, the thickness of the cement layer, and the internal layout.

After quickly noting down the above information, Song Minghao turned on the radio and pressed the power button to send a coded message to Shancheng.

Contact has been established with Canned Food No. 3.

After more than a decade of preparation, Zuo Zhong's "Canned Food Plan" finally came to fruition, and the Military Intelligence Bureau successfully planted countless spies within the Japanese army.

The Golden Lily Project is just the beginning; the real battlefield for these canned goods will be in the future, ten, twenty, or even fifty years from now.