Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 515 New Treasures: The Insect and Rat Stone, Semiconductors, and Cigarettes Popular in Europe

“I already know what happened. You can all leave,” Fang Wen said.

The general manager's safe must contain secrets. Fang Shouxin, Manager Liu, and Sun Debiao were mainly worried about Fang Wen's safety, not about what was inside the safe. Therefore, they took the initiative to leave.

Gong Xiu, however, was worried: "Commander, let me stay. If there's anything strange going on, I can help you protect yourself."

Fang Wen glanced at Gong Xiuneng; he could trust this loyal bodyguard.

But some secrets are destined to be known only to him.

"Get out and close the door."

"Yes." Gong Xiuneng turned around and closed the door.

Fang Wen was alone in the room, and he began to open the safe.

He made the safe himself, using special Soviet steel welded together (10 centimeters thick) that could withstand most weapons. It could only be broken if hit by an armor-piercing shell.

That's why the rats died from exhaustion while gnawing on the safe, leaving only faint bite marks on its surface.

The lock is a combination lock and a key lock, requiring dual verification to open, and it also has a device to prevent trial opening; three consecutive incorrect entries will trigger a lockout.

This also ensures that no one other than Fang Wen can open it.

Fang Wen fumbled under the desk, pried open a hidden slot at the bottom of the second drawer, and took out a special key.

He held the key in his right hand and inserted it into the lock, while turning the combination lock with his left hand.

After turning the combination lock seven times, Fang Wen turned the key.

With a click, the heavy safe popped open a crack.

Fang Wen opened the safe and examined its contents.

Inside the cabinet.

The first floor contains some documents, all of which are real estate certificates for Taishan Aviation Industry, and they are in different languages.

The second layer consists of various financial instruments: promissory notes, checks, bearer bonds, and copies of $2 million in installment loan agreements.

The third layer contained Fang Wen's personal belongings: a marriage certificate, a family photo, a Browning pistol, a box of bullets, and a box.

(Marriage certificate from the Republic of China era)
Looking at the marriage certificate and family photo, Fang Wen was somewhat lost in thought. Ever since he saved three orphans, he often missed his wife and family who lived in the United States.

Brushing aside his thoughts, he picked up the small box on the third layer with his gloved right hand and opened it.

Inside the box was a piece of green jade mosaic gemstone, which Wen had taken from the green jade mosaic mask in the ghost ship's treasure three years ago.

Although Fang Wen sensed the gem's extraordinary nature through his supernatural abilities, he never developed it because it was associated with a mysterious ghost ship, and instead simply kept it in a safe.

But now, the green jade mosaic gemstone has started to attract mice and insects on its own, so Fang Wen decided to study it.

He took off his gloves and reached out to touch the green jade mosaic gemstone.

After coming into contact with the gemstone, try to absorb the spiritual energy within it.

Wait, why is the energy so weak?

Has the energy within the gemstone been lost over these three years?
Fang Wen immediately ruled out this possibility. So far, all the treasures he had discovered had been preserved over a long period of time and could not have lost their energy so easily.

Why is that?
Fang Wen picked up the green jade mosaic gemstone and examined it carefully.

Mosaic was very popular in the Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations of South America, and it was made by polishing and piecing together various gemstones.

Therefore, it seems that there is another layer of space inside this gem, and the real treasure is hidden inside.

Just then, he suddenly sensed that the mosaic gem was releasing a faint energy.

But it disappeared after only a very short time.

This tiny release of energy caused a strange change.

In the corner of the room, a mouse cautiously peeked out.

It was no longer afraid of humans. It ran over quickly, climbed up the leg of the desk, and headed straight for the mosaic gemstone that Fang Wen was holding in his right hand.

This bizarre situation convinced Fang Wen that it was this gemstone that had attracted the rats.

He pulled out a book, slapped the mouse flat, and swept it off the desk.

Then continue to examine the mosaic gemstones.

After a while, he made a decision, took out a paper cutter from his desk, inserted the tip of the knife into the crevice of the gemstone wall, and pried it open with force.

The gemstone piece was pried open, revealing the space underneath.

There was even a gemstone.

It is oval-shaped, with a color that is a mixture of green and black, and reflects a peculiar luster under the light.

Fang Wen continued disassembling, removing all the outer mosaic wall to reveal the complete green-black oval gemstone body.

He carefully wiped it off with a handkerchief, then turned it upside down to look at it in the light.

It is not transparent, but it refracts light very well and is extremely hard with no scratches on its surface.

This very thing was treasured by the ancient Native American civilizations of South America and hidden within a mosaic.

It was then seized by the Spanish, but was stolen by Caribbean pirates on its way back to Spain.

It eventually became a pirate treasure on a ghost ship.

Is it the real culprit behind the deaths of all the pirates on the ghost ship?
Fang Wen grasped the green-black gemstone and began to try.

This time, instead of absorbing energy, he tried to activate its ability by injecting energy.

As the energy of faith was infused into the body, the gemstone changed.

Suddenly, Fang Wen's mechanical perception ability merged with the gem.

He sensed an invisible energy being released, penetrating the walls of the room and spreading further afield.

To determine the function of this treasure, Fang Wen did not stop inputting energy, but maintained this state.

Energy waves are spreading outwards from the Taishan Aviation headquarters building.

In the staff canteen of the building, fine ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the coffee in the teacup.

The employee was stirring with a silver spoon, unaware that outside the floor-to-ceiling window, a cockroach was crawling vertically upwards along the exterior wall—its glossy back reflected an unusual sheen in the morning light, and its antennae trembled rapidly, as if being pulled by invisible threads.

Climbing upwards.

This invisible energy wave seems to have no effect on humans, and it is extremely penetrating, unable to be stopped by metal and cement walls.

Gradually, the energy wave spread to a radius of 500 meters.

And the impact it caused has also been realized.

Those rats and insects in dark, damp places, in ditches, seemed to be attracted by an invisible energy, and all headed towards the direction of Taishan Airlines headquarters.

Swarms of cockroaches and rats emerged from every corner, completely forgetting their fear of humans, and walked on the streets in broad daylight.

A black river of insects and rodents is flowing through the streets.

Pedestrians on the street were terrified by the scene. Women screamed and ran away, and men were also unable to remain calm in the face of all this strangeness.

Meanwhile, the monks who were passing by were chanting scriptures and asking for the protection of the gods and Buddhas.

No one noticed that the compound eyes, simple eyes, and tentacles of all creatures pointed to the same source: the Taishan Airlines headquarters building.

After a while, a black circle surrounded the Taishan Airlines headquarters building. Taishan Airlines security personnel, alerted by the alarm, came out to drive away the strange creatures.

But they soon discovered that these small things could only be temporarily dispersed by their brooms, burning smoke, and even open flames, and would soon gather again.

dong dong dong.
Gong Xiuneng pounded on the office door.

"Commander, are you alright? There are so many rats outside, it's really weird."

Upon hearing Gong Xiuneng's words, Fang Wen immediately stopped inputting energy.

As the energy input stopped, the energy wave also stopped being released.

Fang Wen put the green-black gemstone into his pocket and opened the door.

"Let's go outside and take a look."

He and Gong Xiuneng took the elevator to the first floor, where they saw Taishan Airlines security guards and cleaning staff cleaning up a floor full of insects and dead rats.

The security supervisor, still shaken, reported to him: "General Manager, this is really strange. Just now, a huge swarm of rats and insects came over, and we couldn't get rid of them no matter what we tried. In the end, we had to use gasoline to create a barrier, which only temporarily stopped them. But even that had loopholes, and some of them crawled into the building. But just now, they suddenly disappeared."

Fang Wen was surprised; the energy he had injected was not much, yet it had attracted so many insects, rats, and snakes.

However, this ability is not controllable. The rat earlier pounced on the gem frantically, showing no fear despite being the gem's owner.

In other words, this South American treasure is very primitive and barbaric, and even the person who created it probably couldn't control it.

That's true. If they could control it, they could command swarms of rats and snakes to attack the enemy, and the Spanish colonists wouldn't have made things like that.

Therefore, Fang Wen was certain that it was this secret treasure that attracted a large number of rats onto the ship, which led to the pirates being infected with the plague and ultimately turned the ghost ship into a domain of sea rats.

Brushing aside his thoughts, he said, "Clean up the outside. This is indeed strange. I will find a Taoist priest to exorcise it."

After the incident at the Taishan Aviation Building, local monks and shamans from Yangon were immediately invited to perform exorcisms.

Gong Xiuneng participated in it, imitating his master by setting up an altar to perform rituals.

Fang Wen, the instigator of the whole affair, acted as if nothing had happened.

Now that he had confirmed the power of the green-black gem, he carried it with him in case of emergency.

This ability is unlikely to be useful most of the time, but it might be surprisingly useful in certain situations.

While the sorcerers were exorcising the evil spirits, Fang Wen didn't go to his office. Too many rats had died there, and the smell lingered. The office needed to be renovated.

Therefore, he moved to his wife's office, which was also the deputy general manager's office.

There, I had a meeting with the company's senior management to learn about the company's recent situation.

Shao Sichen, who manages the airline's operations, was the first to report: "General Manager, following your suggestion, I launched the affordable Coastline Airlines, which uses our domestically produced seaplanes, and the response has been very good."

The so-called affordable coastal airline is actually a way to open coastal routes for domestic seaplanes that were put on hold due to the war to cities along the Indian Ocean.

These quick and easy projects, due to their affordable prices, quickly became popular with some passengers who originally traveled by sea. These passengers were primarily British, of Chinese descent, and relatives of some South Indian maharajas.

This compensated for the disruption to civil aviation operations caused by the war.

Fang Wen nodded, indicating his approval of the civil aviation business.

Then, Sun Debiao reported: "General Manager, because our logistics company has made advance arrangements for logistics distribution and transshipment in the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, the Nationalist government will contact us first when it wants to allocate scarce materials to see if we can solve the problem."

Sun Debiao smiled broadly. He had been in charge of the logistics company, and he was very proud of the results it had achieved.

He then added, "The National Government's Ministry of Transport has handed over the 30 seized aircraft to us. After that, they contacted me several times, wanting to contact you through me so that you could allocate a batch of Myanmar air transport capacity to them."

“No, I only recognize the Agricultural Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs as a partner.” Fang Wen refused directly.

The current Myanmar airlift capacity is still under our control, and at least the flow of purchased supplies is clear.

If it were a different group of people, who knows what supplies they would use to transport by plane.

As a person from the future, Fang Wenke was aware of this; during the War of Resistance against Japan, high-ranking officials of the Nationalist government frequently used airplanes to smuggle goods.

After seeing that the general manager refused, Sun Debiao hesitated and ultimately said nothing.

Manager Liu observed this and advised, "We owe our success today entirely to the General Manager. Don't let small favors from outsiders cloud your judgment."

Sun Debiao froze, his face turning red. "Old Liu, don't you know our relationship? I'm doing this all for the good of the company. Now that the Nationalist government has finally eased tensions with us, isn't this a good opportunity to mend things? If I take even the slightest benefit, may I be struck by lightning."

No one else got involved in the argument between the two. Everyone could see that Manager Liu was saying those words because he was looking out for Sun Debiao.

Fang Wen also remained silent.

Manager Liu continued, "Sun, you need to understand what it took to get where you are today. Don't think you're so capable just because you manage a branch company. Think about it carefully: from the moment the logistics company was established until now, every step has been the general manager's idea. And now you dare to tell the general manager what to do? You think you've grown too big for your britches?"

This is the real reason why Manager Liu initiated the argument with Sun Debiao. He was worried that Sun Debiao would become arrogant and forget himself, and he was also afraid that Fang Wen would have a bad opinion of Sun Debiao.

Once Sun Debiao understood, he immediately lost his momentum.

Nuonuo replied, "I... I didn't mean that. Oh, yes, I was presumptuous. General Manager, please transfer me back to headquarters."

Fang Wen shook his head: "You know the logistics company best, and it's your life's work. I won't transfer you. But I want to make a statement here. I stand with the Communist Party and will never play both sides. The reason we are still cooperating with the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Agricultural Bureau on Myanmar air transport is for the sake of our people, not the Nationalist government."

This was the first time Fang Wen had formally stated his position. After he finished speaking, he looked at everyone present.

A moment later, everyone expressed their willingness to follow Fang Wen's path.

Company update continues.

Next, Manager Liu, who was in charge of Zhongxing Electric Appliances' business, gave a report.

"Semiconductor radios are also selling very well in Europe, especially in France, Britain, and Germany. People are very welcoming of these portable radios. In particular, fashion-conscious people in big cities are replacing their bulky vacuum tube radios with these new semiconductor radios."

According to Manager Liu's report, transistor radios have become a fashion trend in Europe.

With this radio, you can receive radio broadcasts in every corner of the city simply by inserting batteries.

The proliferation of portable radios spurred a boom in radio broadcasting.

In Paris, Berlin, and London, numerous private and commercial radio stations sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

Because there are too many radio stations and their frequencies are not easily remembered, a new form of advertising has emerged on the streets: promoters distribute printed cards to passersby, which contain the radio station's frequency, content, and broadcast time.

Influenced by the strong sales in Europe, there is also a great demand in the United States.

The problem is insufficient production capacity.

We need to wait for the assembly plant in Yanchuan to ship the goods before we can deliver to Europe and America.

Following that were the cigarette and other retail businesses, reported by Fang Shouxin.

Cigarettes are mainly sold in France, and people in not only Paris, but also in surrounding cities have begun to like this oriental tobacco.

Taking this opportunity, Taishan Airlines' French branch established a new retail business department.

This retail division not only sells and distributes cigarettes, but also uses this channel to sell Taishan's own convenience foods in Paris.

This food, which was originally only available on Taishan Airlines passenger planes, is now also being purchased in Europe.

People readily accepted this convenient food that only required hot water to prepare.

After listening to the report from the company's senior management, Fang Wen was very satisfied with all aspects of the situation.

Now, he no longer needs to personally oversee the commercial sector, but the military industry is still in its early stages of development and requires his personal leadership.

After the Guangzhou campaign, he had a new inspiration, which he used to develop new military equipment.

Therefore, after spending a few days in Yangon, Fang Wen flew to the base in northern Myanmar.

(End of this chapter)