The train driver in the courtyard

Li Aiguo came to the outside of the command room and saw Professor He leading several explorers around a wooden box.

"Patriot, come and see!"

Professor He was holding a notebook, like a work log, and looked as happy as a child.

Li Aiguo took it. It was covered with dense Japanese text and many technical symbols, which Li Aiguo couldn't quite understand. It seemed to be material related to geological exploration.

"This is the geological and mineral survey report between Lainuoer and Manzhouli!" Professor He excitedly pointed to the notebook and explained when he saw that Li Aiguo did not react: "This records a copper-molybdenum deposit, which is the one we plan to explore."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo perked up, flipped through a few pages, and asked, "So, this investigation report is still somewhat useful?"

"It's more than just a little; it will save us at least six months. The report is very detailed, including not only information on the geological surveys of the route, rocks, and mineral deposits, but also many professional mining recommendations."

Professor He was amazed by the meticulous planning of the Japanese.

Li Aiguo was shocked by the cunning of the Japanese.

It's important to know that this report was dated May 1925, more than a decade before the incident, and the Japanese had already set their sights on the mineral resources of Northeast China.

According to this survey report, the General Affairs Department's Survey Division conducted geological and mineral surveys in the relevant area under the guise of economic surveys; however, this survey team traveled for as many as 124 days.

This also brings up a new problem.

"Why would the Rong 312 Exploration Unit, a team specializing in uranium mining, keep such classified information?"

"Come with me." Professor He seemed to have anticipated Li Aiguo's question and walked to the iron cage.

By this time, the guards had already dragged the semi-ossified bodies out of the cages and laid them on the ground.

Rows of corpses were neatly laid out on the ground, which looked particularly gruesome.

Professor He walked up to a skeleton missing an arm and pointed at it, saying, "I know this person."

Upon hearing this, not only Li Aiguo, but even Lao Mao, who followed later, was confused.

Several weather station team members drew their pistols and looked at Professor He warily.

These people came here in the 1930s, and they were all Japanese soldiers. Professor He, do you have any collusion with them?

Li Aiguo waved to the meteorologists, signaling them to point their guns downwards, then looked at Professor He: "Old He, this is no joke."

"You've misunderstood. We don't actually know each other; we've only seen each other in books." Professor He's mood was clearly off. Ignoring the meteorologists, he squatted down, staring intently at the corpse, and said softly, "His name was Harada Yoshito."

Harada Yoshito? Li Aiguo was confused. A meteorologist whispered, "Is this person famous?"
Before he could finish speaking, several members of the geological exploration team next to him exclaimed in surprise: "That's Professor Harada!"

Seeing that this person's identity was extraordinary, Li Aiguo asked him a few questions in detail before he finally understood Harada Yoshito's identity.

This person is the most famous geologist and paleontologist in Japan and even in East Asia.

His proposed theory of "subduction tectonics" in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras is a rare theory of plate evolution. He also has unique insights into popular geological issues such as the orogenic movement of green tuff and the tectonic stress field in the late Cenozoic era.

His proposed 'East Asian Plate Subduction Zone Theory' has been included in international geological textbooks.

Li Aiguo didn't understand geology very well, but seeing the team members' excitement, he realized that this person must be a geology expert, similar to a pioneering organization in later generations.

This indirectly explains the source of the data. Before joining Sakae 312, Harada Yoshito had secretly been in charge of the exploration work in this area, and most of the exploration data would eventually be compiled by him.

Harada Yoshito, a scholar, secretly made a copy of the exploration report and kept it.

Professor He was visibly somber: "Professor Harada Yoshito's achievements inspired countless young people to dedicate themselves to the field of geological exploration. I never imagined..."

“Professor He!” Li Aiguo suddenly raised his voice, interrupting him.

Professor He, still immersed in his sorrow for the Japanese professor, was startled by the shout and looked up blankly: "Comrade Patriot, I..."

"Harada Yoshito was nothing but a plunderer disguised in academic garb!" Li Aiguo squatted down, pointing at the skeleton. "Harada Yoshito's so-called 'theories,' no matter how brilliant, were merely tools serving their aggression and expansion. The Japanese bayonets and their 'scholars' were, in essence, tools of aggression!"

Professor He took a long time to recover, and then let out a long sigh: "Comrade Aiguo, you're right..."

Li Aiguo nodded: "We conduct exploration for the prosperity of our country and to prevent history from repeating itself. We must never forget who our enemies are and who our compatriots are, and we must never allow the shadow of the invaders to remain even slightly blurred in our hearts!"

The old cat nodded silently to himself.

Professor He's words just now really made him nervous. You see, this exploration requires writing a report, and every word and action of the relevant personnel must be faithfully recorded and reported to the higher authorities.

If Li Aiguo hadn't stopped him, Professor He might have been in big trouble.

Li Aiguo glanced at the meteorologists and added, "Professor He has done a great job this time, finding evidence of the Japanese devils' crimes. When we use this information, we must use it with hatred and vigilance!"

"Actually, it's not just this one piece of evidence; there are many more in that box." Professor He perked up upon hearing this.

In addition to the Rong 312 exploration log, the box also contained a large amount of domestic geological exploration data.

[Exploration and Survey Report of the 41st Division on the Yanchang Oilfield]

[Investigation Report on Basalt Platforms Near Zhangbei Area, Zhangjiakou]

[Report on the Heavy Stone Mining Area in Miyun County]

Some of these exploration reports have lost their value as our exploration work has progressed, but a large part can supplement our exploration, and a small part can fill in the gaps.

In addition to the mineral exploration report, there were also several sociological surveys.

One document was from the Chifeng area, detailing the types of pasture grasses, how goats and sheep were raised together in Chifeng, and the horse trade situation in Chifeng... all of which were of interest to the Japanese.

The other document is from the Baotou area, which records the area's dependence on water resources and how local residents use water trucks to transport water for daily life and production.

It was also specifically noted that the spring water flows year-round, providing a continuous supply of high-quality fresh water, ensuring a sufficient supply of fresh water for the later military garrison.

These investigations took place in the 1920s and 30s.

At that time, the Japanese had not yet occupied those areas. In order to avoid being discovered by the locals, they went to the area under the guise of businessmen, scholars, and tourists, and spent a lot of money to trick some locals into working for them.

Li Aiguo felt a chill run down his spine; the Japanese devils had gone to great lengths to seize this area.

After reviewing the reports, Professor He's expression turned grim.

He never expected that Yoshito Harada would lead a sociological survey, which is enough to show that he was not forced to participate in these things.

Professor He leaned close to Li Aiguo and whispered, "It was my wavering stance that almost led me to make a mistake... Thank you for reminding me in time, Comrade Aiguo. From now on, I will definitely 'stand firm on my position, distinguish friend from foe,' and never make such a mistake again!"

"What mistake? I don't remember it." Li Aiguo put the materials together and into the box, then called over a few meteorologists to seal the box, planning to take it out later.

The discovery of these top-secret documents boosted morale; although there were no gold or silver treasures here, there were things of far greater value.

The exploration team re-searched the cave and discovered a large amount of professional technical data, more than a dozen exploration instruments, and in particular, two radiation monitoring instruments.

These items are quite valuable, and this exploration has yielded fruitful results.

Old Cat's team was mainly responsible for investigating the identities of the Japanese soldiers inside the cave, and they discovered a total of thirty-seven corpses inside.

This included twenty members of the Japanese special forces, including Colonel Watanabe and Noto, and seventeen exploration personnel, including Yoshito Harada.

The reason this can be confirmed is that special forces members have identification tags, while exploration personnel have identification documents.

"Where is the personnel list?"

Li Aiguo squatted on the rock, handed a cigarette to the old cat, lit one for himself, took a puff, and asked, "As an exploration team, Rong 312 should have a roster or something like that."

"We didn't find it. We practically turned this place upside down, but we found nothing." Old Cat's brows furrowed.

Without a roster, it is impossible to determine the exact number of people in the Rong 312 Exploration Team, nor is it possible to ascertain the true identity of the missing Nojiri.

"I can find the roster right away, and we'll ship it out along with the other documents later." Li Aiguo took a couple of puffs of his cigarette, stubbed it out on the rock, and stood up.

"You mean...?" Old Cat was taken aback at first, but when he understood and was about to ask, Li Aiguo had already strode towards the box.

Old Cat threw away his cigarette butt, stood up, and followed behind. He heard Li Aiguo shout, "What is this document? Why are there so many names on it?"

He quickly walked over, took the document from Li Aiguo's hand, pretended to look at it carefully for a couple of seconds, and then nodded and said, "This is the roster of Rong 312. Let's send it out together later and study it slowly when we get back."

Old Cat casually tossed the documents into the box.

It was already close to evening, and considering that the team members had been busy all day, Li Aiguo announced the end of the exploration and that a larger force would be sent down the next day.

"Take those boxes containing the documents with you, leave the rest behind."

After the exploration team left the excavation area, Li Aiguo asked Professor He to turn off the power, and the cave was plunged back into darkness.

****
At this moment, Tang Guangwu and his exploration team members were guarding outside.

"Comrade Aiguo and the others have been down there for almost ten hours, and there's still no news. Could something have happened to them?!" Liu Tianquan, despite his leg injury, came to the cave entrance leaning on his cane.

"What nonsense are you talking about? We brought so many people down this time, along with guns and ammunition, so everything will be fine." Huang Ting gently patted his forehead, her eyes fixed on the cave entrance, eagerly awaiting the team's return.

The other exploration team members also started to get anxious.

Old Rong quietly approached Tang Guangwu and whispered, "Captain, how about sending a few more men down? What do you think of me?"

Tang Guangwu chain-smoked: "That Cat Team Leader made arrangements before he left. Our group is to stay outside."

“It’s not that I’m being nosy,” Old Rong said in a low voice, “There must be something good in this cave. Now that those people from the capital are leading the way in, the credit will definitely go to them, and we’ve just been freezing for nothing.”

"Old Rong, what kind of attitude is this! We are a collective, and it's a good thing no matter which side makes a contribution." Tang Guangwu frowned, staring at Old Rong with some doubt.

Lao Rong is usually quiet and unsociable, but he has a good sense of ideology and his behavior is quite positive.

The team was about to approve his application to join the organization, but it looks like they'll have to reconsider.

Lao Rong quickly gave an awkward smile: "Captain, I'm only thinking of our team."

Just as Tang Guangwu was about to give Lao Rong a lecture, the rope below was pulled, and the bells hanging on the wooden stick jingled.

"They're back! Quickly pull them up!" Tang Guangwu immediately stood up and organized his team to pull the people up.

After Li Aiguo and the others went down, Tang Guangwu didn't sit idle either. He set up a simple winch at the cave entrance and installed a basket under the rope.

"Captain, I'm here. Don't let my skinny appearance fool you, I'm quite strong." Old Rong volunteered to take on the task of operating the winch. Tang Guangwu felt that this was his way of making up for his earlier mistake and demonstrating his pursuit of advanced ideas, so he agreed.

As the winch swung, Professor He was the first to be pulled up.

"Old He, how's it going?" As soon as Professor He arrived, the team members couldn't help but ask.

"Major discovery!" Professor He exclaimed excitedly as he climbed down from the basket. "Down there is the Japanese Army's 312 Exploration Team, a unit specializing in uranium exploration."

"Huh?! Where is that person?"

"They've all turned into corpses! We also found a large amount of data." Professor He, remembering Li Aiguo's instructions, simply explained the situation, omitting many details.

This had already drawn gasps of amazement from the team members. "Alright, everyone, stop crowding here and get everyone up here!" Tang Guangwu was also excited about the exploration team's discovery. He stood up to help Professor He, but saw Lao Rong standing there, stunned.

"Old Rong, what are you doing? Hurry up and get to work."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes," Lao Rong hurriedly continued to crank the winch.

Tang Guangwu watched his retreating figure and shook his head: "This kid's thinking has been a bit off lately. If we have the chance, we should have a good talk with him."

Li Aiguo was in the second batch to come up. He first greeted Tang Guangwu and Liu Tianquan, and then began to direct the winch to lift the boxes up.

"A box?" Tang Guangwu asked, puzzled. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it over.

Li Aiguo took the paper and lit it, saying with a smile, "We have also discovered a large amount of geological exploration data, which may be helpful to our exploration work."

"That's great! I'll take some people to inspect it tonight and pick out the important ones." Tang Guangwu exclaimed excitedly.

Li Aiguo looked around and lowered his voice: "Captain Tang, it might not be possible for now. Besides the geological exploration data, there are also some Japanese files and lists in that batch of materials, which are classified information."

Tang Guangwu understood the procedure and nodded repeatedly, instructing people to put the box aside and arranging for guards to watch over it.

Things seemed to be going very smoothly.

Sudden.

The rope suddenly loosened, and a box that had just been raised halfway down crashed down.

The meteorologists below were tying up another box and hadn't noticed it at all, so they couldn't get out of the way.

The team members never expected the winch to reverse, and it was too late to stop it.

Tang Guangwu was arranging the work of the guards, and they were several meters away, making it impossible for him to rush over.

The heavy boxes were about to fall on the heads of the meteorologists.

The scene almost froze.

At this moment.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side and grabbed the rope that was sliding down.

The rope was moving very fast as it was being dragged by the box, and it continued to slide down at high speed even after being grabbed.

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

The box weighs at least a hundred pounds. Can one person hold it under the influence of gravity?

With a whoosh, the rope scraped against flesh and blood before finally coming to a steady stop.

Everyone was stunned.

Who is he?

They have such great strength.

"Hurry up, help Comrade Aiguo lift the box!" Tang Guangwu was the first to react and shouted.

The team members then snapped out of their shock and rushed over to help crank the winch. The rope tightened little by little, and Li Aiguo finally let go.

"Your hand is injured." When the box was rocked up, Tang Guangwu saw blood flowing from Li Aiguo's palm and became somewhat nervous.

Li Aiguo glanced at his palm; it was just a scrape from the rope, looking bloody and somewhat frightening, but it was actually nothing serious.

"It's nothing. What was wrong with the winch just now?" Li Aiguo asked.

Tang Guangwu's attention was first on the box, then on Li Aiguo's palm. Only after mentioning this matter did he turn to look at Lao Rong, who was standing aside in a daze.

"Old Rong, what are you up to!" Tang Guangwu also had a fiery temper.

Especially since Lao Rong almost caused a tragedy, he rushed over and kicked Lao Rong.

The kick was very powerful, knocking Lao Rong to the ground.

"Captain, I... I don't know what happened. My hand suddenly cramped up and I couldn't hold onto the rope."

The fear, shock, dread, and confusion on Lao Rong's face were perfectly intertwined, and even Li Aiguo couldn't tell whether he had done it intentionally or unintentionally.

Although several team members felt that Lao Rong had indeed made a mistake, they also came up to dissuade Tang Guangwu because they were all comrades in the same team.

Tang Guangwu kicked him twice more, pointed at Lao Rong's nose and said, "Tonight you'll write a self-criticism and hand it over to me."

This action was a way of protecting Lao Rong. Lao Rong nodded cooperatively and said, "Captain, this is my mistake. Don't worry, I promise I won't do it again."

Although the team members were somewhat dissatisfied with Lao Rong's oversight, they didn't pay much attention to it. After all, who can work in the field without making mistakes?
Li Aiguo didn't pursue the matter further. He simply gave Lao Rong a deep look and then ordered the meteorologist to take over the work of cranking the winch.

Old Rong squatted down beside them, his eyes fixed on the boxes, unable to look away.

The rest of the work went very smoothly. After the five boxes were shaken up, the meteorologists returned to the ground.

The last one to come up was Old Cat. He knew something had happened up there, but he didn't know the details.

After asking Li Aiguo the reason, he whispered, "There might be a ghost in this group."

"Whether it's something fishy or not, we'll find out soon enough." Li Aiguo clenched his fist tightly; it did hurt a little, but it was bearable.

As night fell, Li Aiguo reported his findings in the cave to the weather station via a makeshift radio.

The farmer was overjoyed upon hearing the news.

The geological exploration data was secondary; the most crucial information was Colonel Watanabe's diary, which recorded that the Japanese water supply unit had conducted **experiments.

Although the Japanese had been defeated, they refused to admit to committing these crimes. This diary will become an important source of information to reveal the truth.

The farmer instructed the old cat to protect the documents carefully, as the station would send someone to the Northwest to escort them to Beijing.

Subsequently, Li Aiguo contacted the 915 Base through Tang Guangwu. The base indicated that the geological exploration drilling vehicle had been dispatched and would take approximately two more days to arrive.

After doing all this, Li Aiguo left the tent and saw medic Xiao Qin standing there with a box in his hand.

"Comrade Qin, what brings you here?"

"Of course I'm bandaging your wound! I've never seen anyone like you, a grown man injured and hiding away. Hurry up and put your hand out!" Xiao Qin seemed a little angry, her two ponytails shaking back and forth in the light.

Li Aiguo didn't try to avoid it, but the minor injury was nothing to him. Now that the nurse had taken care of it, he had no choice but to extend his hand.

Xiao Qin is a professional medic. His medical skills may be average, but his ability to treat external injuries is top-notch.

She first used cotton balls soaked in iodine to wipe the wound on her palm, then sprinkled some dark stuff on it, which she said was collected from the Gobi Desert. After that, she took out gauze and wrapped her palm layer by layer, and finally tied it into a pretty bow.

"Remember, don't get it wet. Change the dressing in three days." Xiao Qin glared at Li Aiguo before leaving.

"Well, have you experienced the might of our exploration team's female tyrant?" Liu Tianquan came to call Li Aiguo for dinner and happened to witness this scene.

"They are indeed quite capable." Li Aiguo could understand Xiao Qin. Most of the members of this exploration team were tough guys. If they weren't capable, even if they broke their legs, no one would probably ask her for medical treatment.

Dinner was simple again: dry biscuits and porridge. Considering that supplies wouldn't arrive for another two days, each person only received one lunchbox, which was just enough to fill them up.

As a "wounded soldier," Li Aiguo was given an extra compressed biscuit, which he shared with another "wounded soldier," Liu Tianquan, before returning to his tent.

Seeing Li Aiguo lying on his sleeping bag, not sleeping for a long time, the wildlife expert asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just waiting," Li Aiguo mumbled.

Li Aiguo was waiting, and so was the tall guy from the exploration team.

He has a big appetite and wasn't full at all in the evening, but some people in the team don't like dry biscuits and porridge, so they would save some for him.

A cold wind howled, and the big guy, crouching behind a rock, couldn't help but hunch his neck and muttered under his breath, "Is that kid still coming or not?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure walked out from behind.

"Why are you so late?!" the big guy said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Well, I made a mistake today, so I have to write a self-criticism." The figure said, handing over the lunchbox: "There's still half a lunchbox left, you should eat it."

"Brother, you're the best to me, you're my real brother." The big guy's face lit up when he saw the porridge in the lunchbox. He didn't even use chopsticks, and just picked up two twigs to scoop it up.

The dark figure crouched down next to the big man, lit a cigarette, and asked in a low voice, "Big guy, you guys have really done a great job this time."

“That’s right, Professor He said that batch of exploration data is worth a fortune.” The big man said while eating.

"I think those people in the capital are quite nervous too. Are they also interested in the investigation data?" the shadowy figure continued.

"No, those documents contain lists, probably to verify the identities of those Japanese soldiers."

Upon hearing this, the shadowy figure's hand trembled slightly. The big guy also sensed something was wrong and quickly looked up from his lunchbox: "Brother, Team Leader Cat told us that this matter cannot be leaked to outsiders. Please don't get me into trouble."

"Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person. Hurry up and eat."

Hearing the shadowy figure's assurance, the big man picked up his chopsticks again.

There was only half a lunchbox of porridge to begin with, and it was done in a few minutes. He handed the lunchbox to the shadowy figure: "Brother, thanks a lot. I'm going back to sleep now."

"Sleep, sleep," the shadowy figure said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched his retreating figure.

The night was quiet.

It was pitch black at night.

A fierce wind howled across the Gobi Desert as two patrol team members walked past the tent.

A figure saw the team members disappear into the distance, crouched down, crawled out from the pile of rocks, and went into the tent.

Upon seeing the dozen or so boxes, the shadowy figure was overjoyed. He took out a flashlight from his pocket, opened the boxes, and began to rummage through them stealthily.

Seeing the exploration materials inside, the dark figure cursed inwardly, "I originally planned to use these materials to get back, but now they've all benefited these despicable bastards."

The shadowy figure wanted nothing more than to destroy all the data, but after a moment's hesitation, it put it down.

He opened each box and searched through them, his flashlight beam sweeping rapidly across the documents, but he found nothing.

"Where is it? Where is it?" Beads of sweat appeared on the dark figure's forehead.

At that moment, the lights inside the tent suddenly came on.

"Is this what you're looking for?" A hand wrapped in bandages reached out from outside.

(End of this chapter)