Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 561 The Secret Treasure for Controlling Insects, 'Ten Thousand Insects Devour the Body', Find the 'Owl'

The windows on the main side of the research building were all welded shut with iron bars, but these people were prepared in advance. They were suspended outside the windows by ropes, cut and pried open the steel bars with wire cutters, and then crawled inside.

They thought their operation had gone undetected, unaware that a large number of security personnel had been secretly hidden inside the research building.

As they entered the research building, all the lights in the courtyard came on, and sounds of fighting and gunfire rang out.

After a while, Shen Weitao's voice came through the walkie-talkie next to Fang Wen: "General Manager, two people resisted and were killed, and the other three were subdued."

Now that we've caught them, we shouldn't delay. It would be best to interrogate them overnight and uncover more information about the Japanese spies hiding in the area, so that we can capture them all in one fell swoop.

Fang Wen picked up the walkie-talkie: "Bring them all over."

After saying that, he looked at Gong Xiuneng and said, "It's up to you tonight."

"It's the regimental commander." Gong Xiuneng's face was fierce. He was still resentful about Fang Wen being attacked, and he went down from the rooftop with murderous intent.

He went to the temporary interrogation room set up on the first floor and directly used the "dislocating tendons and bones" technique on the three men in black.

Cries of pain echoed from inside the room, causing the security personnel outside to turn pale.

No one expected that Gong Xiuneng would be such a ruthless and ruthless person, especially when it came to dealing with the Japanese.

More than an hour passed.

Gong Xiuneng came out of the house.

He reported to Fang Wen with a guilty look on his face: "Commander, I'm sorry, one of them died and two others fainted. They seem to have been trained and have a high pain tolerance. I didn't control my strength and killed one."

Fang Wen asked in surprise, "They didn't say anything?"

"No."

This is the first time that Gong Xiuneng has failed to resolve the situation.

It's not that Gong Xiuneng's bone-dislocating technique was useless, but rather that time was of the essence. If Gong Xiuneng had more time, the Japanese could still have made their way out.

So what methods are available to get the Japanese to confess their situation?
Fang Wen thought of truth serum.

However, he had learned about this drug through intelligence channels. The truth agent he was using was a drug called sodium thiopental, which was invented a few years ago. This short-acting barbiturate drug was originally used for anesthesia, but because it can make people "relax their guard," it was also used by intelligence agencies as a truth agent during interrogations.

However, its effect is not so magical. It is basically ineffective against prisoners with strong wills, and they may even be deceived by the other party's lies.

Are there any other methods?

Fang Wen suddenly remembered the two secret treasures he possessed: the Odin Rune Ring and the Inca Mosaic Gem.

The former can unleash lightning, which is similar to the effect of electrocution.

The latter can summon and control insects, and can also be used as a form of torture.

Fang Wen thought for a moment and chose the latter.

Therefore, he said, "Then I'll go in and take a look."

After saying that, he and Gong Xiuneng went back into the interrogation room.

The body of the man in black was still lying motionless on the ground.

The other two were lifted up and placed back in their seats, their heads drooping, in a state of unconsciousness.

"Wake them up," Fang Wen ordered.

Gong Xiuneng stepped forward and pressed on the two of them for a while, forcibly waking them up.

When the two woke up, they looked at their companion on the ground, then at Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng, without saying a word.

He was clearly prepared to undergo another round of torture.

Fang Wen moved a stool over and sat opposite the two of them, watching them quietly.

“Over the past few years, I’ve been targeted and assassinated by you many times, but this is the first time I’ve seen two people as stubborn as you two. It seems you belong to a relatively elite intelligence department, better than the previous ones. But I think everyone has weaknesses, perhaps the method was not used correctly. I’ve decided to change my approach.”

As he spoke, he stood up, took out the mosaic gem, and tried to infuse it with energy.

As energy was injected, insects in the surrounding area seemed to be drawn out from the dark corners and crawled towards the interrogation room.

Spiders, ants, centipedes, millipedes
They crawled in through the cracks in the windows and doors, forming a circle around Fang Wen.

This scene left everyone else in the room speechless.

Gong Xiuneng swallowed hard: "Commander, is this the insect plague that caused the trouble in Yangon last time?!"

Fang Wen nodded: "Yes. Don't worry, they're currently controlled by this thing I have. I've mastered how to use it and can command them to do certain things."

"What is it?" Gong Xiuneng subconsciously looked at the two prisoners, making them feel uneasy.

“It’s exactly what you think.” Fang Wenxian concocted an explanation: “There was an ancient form of punishment called ‘Ten Thousand Ants Devouring the Body.’ Honey was smeared on the prisoner’s body to attract countless ants, and the whole process would last for a long time.”

Gong Xiu swallowed hard.

The punishments the regimental commander described were quite gruesome to hear; compared to the dismemberment and bone-breaking techniques, they seemed much more merciful.

The two prisoners in black also panicked.

One of them struggled and said, "I protest. This kind of punishment is inhumane and should not be used on people."

"That's you."

Fang Wen sneered, pointing his right hand at the man, the mosaic gem in his palm gleaming eerily under the light.

At that moment, the insects actually started to move.

They moved in dense, black mass, like a shroud of cloth, towards the black-clad prisoner, climbing up the chair legs.

The swarm of insects climbed up and enveloped the chair in black.

They crawled up the chair onto the prisoner's body. Several black ants were the first to reach his face, burrowing into his collar along the stubble on his chin. The prisoner tensed his neck, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he clenched his teeth, refusing to make a sound. But when a spider the size of a fingernail crawled across the tip of his nose, its eight hairy legs brushing against his eyelids, he finally couldn't help but let out a suppressed groan. His head shook violently, and the chains rattled.

Fang Wen suddenly clenched his right fist, and the swarm of insects fell silent for a moment. He leaned closer, looking at the fear flickering in their pupils, and whispered, "It's not too late to tell us now. Who is your superior? Where are your other accomplices hiding in the base?"

The prisoner's temples bulged with veins as he struggled violently, but remained silent. Fang Wen opened his palm again, and the swarm of insects moved once more, burrowing into his trouser legs, collar, and cuffs.

The feeling of being crawled with insects all over their bodies was unbearable for the prisoners, yet they were unable to break free of their restraints.

Next, some insects, surprisingly, defied Fang Wen's control and began to open their mouthparts and bite.

"Ah—!" An uncontrollable scream escaped the prisoner's lips as his body convulsed violently. With each struggle, the chair dragged across the floor, leaving grating marks. The sensation was like being slowly devoured by insects.

If dislocating muscles and bones is an extreme form of pain, then this is endless torment.

Fang Wen's voice echoed in the room: "If I turn around and leave now, they can eat for two days and two nights, from skin to flesh to internal organs. During this process, you will stay awake because of the pain and clearly feel yourself being eaten by insects."

The devil's words broke the prisoner.

"I said."

"No!" another prisoner quickly called out to stop him.

Fang Wen pointed his palm at another prisoner, and insects swarmed onto his body, sensing his companion's plight.

"These little guys love to burrow, like into ears, crawling up the ear canal to build nests and gnaw..."

Another prisoner spoke up decisively: "I want to confess too."

Fang Wen sat down, still holding the mosaic gem in his palm. "Then hurry up, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on for long. If I can't control these insects, you..."

The two men eagerly began to confess, and Gong Xiuneng picked up a pen to take notes.

“We’re from the ‘Black Bee’ team, our online codename is ‘Owl,’ and our meeting place is at Public Warehouse No. 3. But every time we see him, we never see his real face.”

"Besides our group, there was another infiltrator who was responsible for providing us with topographical maps and information about the interior."

"In addition, we also have people in the villages outside the base who control the families of some of the base staff so that they will obey our orders and cooperate."

The trial ends.

Fang Wen left the interrogation room, having roughly grasped the situation.

The "Black Bee" team was the black-clad squad that was completely wiped out.

Ah Quan's wife is an undercover agent who uses her control over Ah Quan's family to force them to commit crimes.

There's a group of people outside the base, and inside the base, there's an even more deeply hidden commander, codenamed 'Owl'.

In other words, based on the information we have, there are still people to be arrested tonight.

He then informed Shen Weitao of the situation and instructed him to send a group of security troops to the nearby villages to arrest the people directly.

2 points in the early hours.

Shen Weitao rushed over to report the situation.

“We dispatched 300 armed security troops to search nearby villages and arrested a group of people. They claimed to be merchants from Yunnan who came here to sell cloth and were staying temporarily in the villages. After searching their residence, we found the kidnapped family, which was confirmed to be A-Quan's family. We also found a batch of firearms and ammunition.”

After a pause, Shen Weitao continued, "They did confess that they entered the Guizhou and Yunnan region from Hunan last year, with this place as their target. But the leader has been missing ever since he arrived last year. I suspect that the missing leader is the one codenamed 'Owl,' and he may have secretly infiltrated the base last year to direct everything from the shadows."

After listening to Shen Weitao's explanation, Fang Wen nodded: "We must find this person, otherwise there will be more trouble in the future."

Gong Xiuneng scratched his head: "But he disappeared several months ago. He's the only one who has contacted other people, and he never shows up. How are we supposed to find him?"

Fang Wen thought for a moment and decided to interrogate him again.

This time, all those arrested were detained separately and interrogated by Gong Xiuneng and Shen Weitao.

The focus of the interrogation was on their meetings with the 'owl'.

Over the past few months, each time I made contact with the owl, I would receive a message from the owl and then go to the designated place to meet.

Furthermore, the location of each rendezvous was different; sometimes it was outside the base, and sometimes it was inside the base.

Fang Wen and Shen Weitao discussed the interrogation content.

What kind of job do you think the 'owl' would have?

Shen Weitao frowned, pondered for a moment, and replied, "Being able to move freely inside and outside the base without attracting attention... it can't be a front-line worker whose activity range is tightly confined to the workshop." He paused, then suddenly looked up, "I guess it's someone from the logistics or maintenance department."

"Reason?" Fang Wen pressed.

“Think about it,” Shen Weitao leaned forward, “the fact that the rendezvous point is sometimes inside and sometimes outside means that he can either enter and leave the base at any time, or he is very familiar with the base’s terrain and can go to various parts of the base. The logistics department personnel often go out to purchase and distribute materials to various departments, which fits this characteristic. The maintenance department personnel inspect the water and electricity pipes in the base, and it is reasonable for them to go anywhere with their tool bags. Even if they appear outside the base, it could be to ‘inspect the lines.’”

He added, "Moreover, these types of positions have high turnover rates. Today they might go to workshop A to repair motors, and tomorrow they might go to warehouse B to change light bulbs. No one will specifically monitor their whereabouts. On the other hand, the logistics department manages garbage collection, and it's too easy for them to send a message to someone outside."

Fang Wen nodded in agreement: "Get the personnel lists of the maintenance department and logistics department, and focus on checking three conditions: First, those who joined after December last year, and whose time coincides with the time when 'Owl' infiltrated; second, those whose place of origin or resume is unclear; and third, those who have abnormal attendance records such as 'temporary overtime' or 'cross-regional maintenance' in the past three months."

Shen Weitao immediately stood up: "I'll take care of it right away."

"Wait a minute," Fang Wen called out to him. "Have Gong Xiu review the statements of those two spies again, especially the details of the 'owl' during the rendezvous. Even a catchphrase or a habitual gesture could match the people we've identified."

"Yes." Shen Weitao accepted the order and left.

It was already daylight.

The entire base became lively again, with workers from various factory areas chatting and laughing as they emerged from their residential areas, ready to begin a new day's work.

Looking out the window at the crowds walking on the street, Fang Wen couldn't help but think: the "owl" hiding in the shadows is probably mixed in with the crowd right now, and what he has to do is tear off that disguise and expose this night bird to the light of day.

The security personnel, who hadn't slept all night, were still working diligently to find the owl and prevent any future problems.

They retrieved the base's personnel files and searched them carefully.

Because they had a specific search scope, they quickly found what they wanted.

A total of 613 employees have joined the company since December of last year.

However, some of them were recruited from the Southwest Associated University in Kunming and Sichuan, while others were recruited from the base areas not long ago.

These 462 people can be excluded.

Of the remaining 151 people, 140 were recruited from the refugee program. They originally worked for a logistics company and were transferred here due to the manpower shortage.

These people were actually long-time employees of the company. If the Japanese had been able to infiltrate among these refugee employees, they would have caused trouble long ago.

Therefore, it can also be ruled out.

The remaining 11 people are the most suspicious.

Of these 11 people, 8 were cleaners recruited from nearby villages, and the other 3 got their jobs through recruitment by the headquarters in Yangon.

Clearly, the 'owl' is most likely among them.

(End of this chapter)