Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 522 Nameless Cemetery and X-ray Exploration, Soviet Aircraft: MBR-2
The plane landed in a pond not far from the church.

Because the pond is not very large, only 400 meters long, Fang Wen must make a short landing and gliding trip.

As a result, the aircraft's descent speed increased, and under heavy pressure, half of the fuselage was submerged in the water.

However, due to the buoy and watertight compartment, the fuselage quickly rose to the surface and paddled forward.

By utilizing the resistance of the water, Fang Wen successfully halved the descent distance and landed safely.

After the plane came to a stop, he turned to dock. Gong Xiuneng immediately opened the cabin door, jumped ashore, and tied the cable.

Pierre, still not quite understanding, asked, "Why did we land here?"

Fang Wen replied, "I have a feeling that the French army may have hidden the treasure in this area."

"Is it that church?" Pierre looked at the buildings on the shore.

Fang Wen felt that the treasure was not located in the church, but behind it.

But going directly to find the treasure would be too abrupt.

Therefore, he replied, "In Lake Van in Turkey, there is a small island in the lake, and the church on the island contains treasures from 1000 years ago. Since then, whenever I encounter ancient buildings during my treasure hunts, I always investigate them."

Hearing Fang Wen say this, Pierre became interested: "Will you compile your adventures and treasure hunts into a book? I'd love to know about your experiences."

“No need to wait for the book to be published, I can tell you now.” Fang Wen stepped ashore on the board and the group walked toward the church. During the process, Fang Wen recounted his experiences at Lake Van.

Of course, the identities of the participants at the time were somewhat special, which he did not reveal.

What attracts everyone the most is what's inside the treasure.

When Pierre heard that the treasure contained a cross of holy blood, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

This experience would be something he could boast about for a lifetime, but for Fang Wen, it was just a minor episode.

After telling the story of Lake Van, the group arrived at the church.

A pastor was standing at the church entrance; he must have spotted the plane when it landed and was waiting there.

Pierre asked, "Is this an Orthodox church?"

As he spoke, he made a prayer gesture toward the cross in the church, drawing a cross along his forehead, heart, left shoulder, and right shoulder.

The pastor made the same prayer gesture, but it was completely different: he touched his forehead, chest, right shoulder, and left shoulder with three fingers together.

This reveals their different religious affiliations: the one making the sign of the cross is Catholic, while the one dotting the cross is Orthodox.

After making the prayer gesture, the pastor replied, "Yes, if you are a Catholic visitor, you can enter and tour, but you cannot receive Holy Communion."

One was in French, and the other was in Russian; they could only communicate through Alyosha's translation.

Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng, being Easterners, remained bystanders.

Gong Xiuneng asked in a low voice, "Commander, what are they saying?"

“Pierre is Catholic, and this is an Orthodox church. The pastor just said that Catholics are allowed to enter and visit, but they cannot receive the Eucharist from them.”

What is the Eucharist?

Fang Wen knew a little about this and explained in a low voice, "It involves dipping yeast bread in wine, consecrating it with a priest, and then having believers swallow it. It is said that this carries the divinity of their God, thereby receiving God's blessing."

Gong Xiuneng, a Taoist priest, was very interested in this. "Is this what immortals give you to eat? Isn't it a celestial fruit or wine that grants immortality?"

This guy must have read Journey to the West. Fang Wen rolled his eyes and ignored him.

After Pierre finished his conversation with the priest, the priest led the group into the church.

The church is rather simple, with a few rows of long benches, a pulpit and a stone tray for holding holy water in front.

Fang Wen then spoke up and asked, "Have you heard of Napoleon?"

Alyosha translated his words, and the pastor replied, “Everyone here has heard of him, but you’d better not mention it in front of the local residents, because in those days, the French army killed many locals here. Their descendants hate the name Napoleon very much.”

Fang Wen's heart skipped a beat. This place should have been occupied by the French army at that time. There must have been a reason for massacring the locals.

Could it be because of the treasure?
He continued the conversation.

"Thank you for reminding me. How many people live around here?"

"Twenty households, scattered nearby, gathered at the church."

Through his conversation with the pastor, Fang Wen subtly inquired about the situation near the church.

He paid particular attention to the wooded area northwest of the church, where no one lived.

It was a large, unmarked cemetery, but it had been abandoned because there were no descendants.

As for how long it has existed, the pastor said it should be over two hundred years old, longer than the time when the nearby residents moved here.

Fang Wen then stopped talking and prepared to wander around.

Fang Wen left the church, and the others followed him out.

The group followed Fang Wen and began exploring the surrounding area.

They traveled to several places and finally arrived at a valley.

This is a rare mountainous and forested environment in the Smolensk region, and the two small hills that form the valley are not very high.

The unmarked grave the pastor mentioned is on that small hill to the west.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng walked up the hill.

There is indeed a large cemetery on the mountain, but many of these cemeteries do not have tombstones, leaving only traces of the remains of graves.

Is it because the people here don't have the habit of erecting monuments?

No, Fang Wen saw some decayed wood chips and remnants, indicating that most of the tombstones here were probably made of wood.

Wood cannot withstand the test of time and will naturally rot away.

However, not all tombstones are made of wood.

Fang Wen discovered a stone tablet on the east side of the cemetery.

Because the stone tablet faces downwards, you cannot see what is engraved on it.

Fang Wen took off his helmet and gestured to Gong Xiuneng: "Let's flip this thing over."

Gong Xiuneng also put down the backpack, used a shovel to pry up a corner of the tombstone, and then lifted it with force.

The tombstone was only lifted a crack; it was too heavy.

After Fang Wen exerted his strength, the tombstone was actually lifted up.

Then, the monument was turned over.

Gong Xiuneng exclaimed in surprise as soon as he let go, "Commander, how come you are so strong?"

Fang Wen laughed and said, "I've always had this much strength, but I just don't usually have the chance to use it."

After he finished speaking, Fang Wen's attention was drawn to the overturned surface of the monument.

Insects crawled on the surface of the monument, which was covered with moss.

He took out a kettle, poured in water, and used a handkerchief as a rag to clean the surface of the monument.

Some text was engraved on the cleaned surface of the stele.

But it wasn't someone Fang Wen knew.

He looked down the mountain and called out, "Alyosha, come here."

Alyosha, Pierre's assistant and translator who was hiking with him, quickly jogged up.

"Do you recognize these characters?" Fang Wen asked, pointing to the surface of the stele.

"It's Latin, I've studied it." "What does it say?"

"Old Latin is quite different from modern Latin, so I can only try my best to translate it."

So Alyosha squatted down in front of the stone tablet and began to translate it carefully.

After a while, Pierre and the others also reached the cemetery on the mountaintop.

Pierre's face paled as he looked at the eerie, abandoned cemetery, but he forced himself to stay upright, bolstered by his treasure-hunting philosophy.

At this point, Alyosha finished translating: "I think the inscription probably says that this is the family cemetery of a branch of the Tukhachevsky family from a long time ago."

"Does anyone know about the Tukhachevsky family?" Fang Wen asked.

Pierre, who was still quite uncomfortable, spoke up: "I know that the Tukhachevsky family's coat of arms is a griffin with the body of a lion and the head of a griffin. This family was originally a noble family of the ancient Rus' Kingdom. Later, they pledged allegiance to the Kingdom of Poland and were sent to the Smolensk region, which was then under Polish control. Later, Tsarist Russia recaptured Smolensk, and the family disappeared from history."

So that's how it is. It's a family abandoned by history. Their descendants may no longer live here, or even have died out, which is why this cemetery has become desolate.

Could there be Napoleon's treasure hidden beneath that tomb?

Fang Wen thought it was very likely.

But instead of immediately trying to find a solution, he was considering something else.

If there were gold, a large number of works of art and treasures below, could they have smuggled themselves out of the Soviet Union without being discovered?

The key is 80 tons of gold, which is enormous. Even with the capacity of the Taishan No. 1 shipwreck, it would take more than a dozen trips to transport it.

It's estimated that the process of transporting the treasure will soon be reported by the public, and they might end up getting into trouble instead of getting the treasure.

This could also affect their own strategic planning.

If the Soviet Union stopped supplying materials as a result, where would Taishan Military Industry get so much cheap, high-yield, and high-quality special steel?

It was even said that other strategic materials would be obtained from the Soviet Union in the future.

Thinking of this, he looked at Pierre, who had just climbed up from the foot of the mountain.

"If we find the treasure, do you have a way to get it out of the Soviet Union?"

Pierre was stunned: "How could that be? I'm not Napoleon, of course I can't do anything about it. If we really find treasure, I'll contact the Soviet authorities, and they'll give us a reward."

This is the right way to discover treasure.

Fang Wen nodded. The Soviet Union was able to support the Spanish Revolution and would be able to stand up to the Nazis in a while. He couldn't let his wealth cloud his judgment and provoke that iron fist.

As a result, his greed for 80 tons of gold quickly subsided, and at the same time, another idea arose.

Even if they don't get the gold, as the ones who unlock the treasure, it shouldn't be unreasonable for them to get something they want from the Soviet Union.

For example, the military industry personnel and equipment that we lack most.

Would the other side agree to exchange a complete military factory for 80 tons of gold and countless Russian treasures?
Once the idea took hold, it was irreversible. Fang Wen felt that he wouldn't know if it would work if he didn't try.

But we must first confirm that Napoleon's treasure lies beneath the tomb before we can discuss anything else.

He ended the conversation and told Gong Xiuneng to go to the plane to retrieve his equipment.

Gong Xiuneng returned to the plane and retrieved a box and a helmet attached to the box.

That was Fang Wen's special equipment for activating his superpowers without piloting airplanes or cars.

I used it in Guangzhou last time and it worked very well.

This time, it was used again to explore Napoleon's treasure and for Fang Wen's bold idea.

At the foot of the mountain, Fang Wen took the helmet from Gong Xiuneng, put it on, and began to activate his supernatural ability detection.

Mechanical perception ability activated.

X-ray vision activated.

It is superimposed on the helmet's visualization capabilities.

Fang Wen's mechanical vision penetrated the soil layer, allowing him to see what was inside.

The underlying soil layer is loose and consists of a thick layer of black soil.

It is formed from the fallen leaves and withered vegetation here over thousands of years.

Clearly, the depth of his X-ray vision wasn't enough, so Fang Wen touched the bone bead necklace hanging around his neck to enhance his X-ray vision.

As the intensity of his vision increased, his gaze penetrated the black soil.

Below a depth of one meter, it is no longer black soil.

The soil is a mixture of clay and silt.

Occasionally, you can also see seashells and ancient fossils among them.

Therefore, it can be seen that this layer of soil has not been developed.

Immediately, he and Gong Xiuneng headed up the mountain, exploring the soil conditions along the way.

He finally noticed something amiss when he reached the halfway point up the mountain.

At a depth of 20 meters in the soil, there are stone strips with obvious artificial traces buried deep in the soil.

These stone slabs, along with specially treated wood, were used to construct an underground space.

It was probably built by the Tukhachevsky family.

Was Napoleon's treasure hidden inside?
Fang Wen continued upwards.

With the subsequent X-ray vision, he saw even more.

In the middle section of the underground space, many metal boxes with completely different decorative styles are neatly stacked together.

Using his X-ray vision, he saw through the metal box and found it contained gold!

On the upper levels, he saw many skeletons and the collapsed entrance.

Having read this far, Fang Wen roughly guessed the ending.

Perhaps back then, those officers who were loyal to Napoleon returned here, but Napoleon's death shattered their beliefs. For so much treasure, they began to scheme against each other and ultimately perished here.

With the collapse of the entrance, this place was no longer known to the outside world and became a secret for over a hundred years.

At this point, Fang Wen finished his X-ray exploration and found Pierre, who had gone down the mountain and returned to the plane to rest.

He was prepared to confront the art dealer.

“I’ve found the treasure, and just as you thought, we can’t take it. So, I’m going to use it as leverage to exchange for something I want. As for you, what do you want?”

Pierre readily agreed, "If you hand the treasure over to the Soviets, you probably won't get much. If you're looking to make a deal, good luck. What I want is simpler: your plane, and to learn how to fly it at your aviation school. Actually, I'm more interested in the process of exploring the treasure. When it's opened, can I participate?"

Fang Wen replied, "As long as the deal is done, I can give you the plane. As for opening the treasure, I'm not sure if the Soviets will let you in. Alright, I'll go find someone now."

After speaking with Pierre, Fang Wen decided to use his connections in the Soviet Union.

His connections consisted of Soviet air force aid to China and those with whom he had material transactions.

In order to contact these people, he telegraphed back home, asking his company to go to Chongqing to find the Soviet Air Force pilots who had evacuated from Wuhan to Chongqing.

Through these intermediaries, Fang Wen finally made contact with the Soviet leadership.

Upon learning via telegram that Fang Wen possessed the secret of Napoleon's treasure, they immediately sent someone to negotiate with Fang Wen in person.

Two days later, a uniquely shaped airplane flew over Lake Samliobo.

This is the MBR-2, of which the Soviet Union had 1200 units in service, and it is currently the most produced seaplane in the world.

As the plane landed on the lake, Fang Wen couldn't help but compare it to his own Shuiyun-1.

(End of this chapter)