Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 90 89's Parachute Arrival in Shenyang: A Plot to Steal the Sky and Change the Sun
12pm late at night.

The area around Taishan Airlines Jinan Airport was quiet.

The patrolling security guards reported: "General Manager, we took the dog for a walk around outside and didn't find anything unusual."

The security team's dogs are all mongrels used for guarding homes and property. They are very territorial and are usually kept on a leash. They only recognize security guards and will bark at anyone else. Since the dogs' keen sense of smell did not detect anything, it can be basically ruled out that someone is spying outside the airport.

Fang Wen glanced at his watch and spoke.

"Check the time."

The 19 members of the heist team took out their pocket watches to check them.

To ensure timely coordination among all departments during this operation and to prevent any problems, each person was issued an El gold pocket watch worth 15 silver dollars for timekeeping.

After everyone checked the time, Fang Wen boarded the plane first, followed by the others carrying their parachutes and other supplies.

The passenger cabin has only 10 seats, and with the cabin crew's seats, there are only 12 seats available. The rest of the passengers can sit on the floor inside the cargo hold after opening the cargo door.

Fang Wen waited in the driver's seat.

A few minutes later, security personnel lit the torches on both sides of the runway.

The light of the torches became the only guide for taking off at night.

Fang Wen started the plane, and it steadily accelerated, taking off into the sky.

When flying at high altitude, he enters a state of mechanical awareness, focusing intently on finding a course for the night.

This is an aerial positioning method that only he possesses.

In a human-machine integrated state, it transforms into an iron bird and flies, using night sky constellations, aircraft compass equipment, and mental maps as its positioning core.

With the aid of both the North Star and the compass, the course in the sky was determined, and the aircraft adjusted its fuselage to fly northeast.

After a 40-minute flight, covering approximately 200 kilometers, the plane arrived at the mouth of the Yellow River.

During the day, when viewed from above, it appears as a vast bay, known as Laizhou Bay.

At night, only faint lights can be seen on the ground.

Guangliang is the county seat of Guangrao, an ancient city that has existed since the Han Dynasty.

Using Guangrao County as a secondary location, Fang Wen confirmed that the flight route was correct.

The plane flew over Guangrao County and then from Laizhou Bay into the airspace over the Bohai Sea.

This distance is about 400 kilometers.

The journey will pass through the Liaodong Peninsula.

Apart from Dalian, which could potentially serve as a ground reference point, there are no other options.

But this flight was unlike the first night flight to Northeast China.

Back then, Fang Wen wasn't familiar with mechanical perception, but now, after a long period of training, coupled with the enhancement of the Four-Faced Buddha's mysterious energy, he no longer needs a night navigator to assist him and can complete the flight on his own.

The plane flew smoothly in a straight line towards its intended destination.

Nighttime provides the best cover; in this era, no one can challenge Fang Wen in the air at night.

The flight took more than two hours.

Fang Wen called out, "Attention, we are about to arrive at the drop zone. All personnel, begin preparations."

The people in the cabin stood up and checked their equipment again.

They put on their parachute backpacks, then strapped other supplies to their waists, and lined up in two rows to wait.

Chief Wang commanded in a deep voice: "Those in the cargo hold jump first, followed by those in the passenger cabin. Remember, after landing, retrieve the parachutes and take them with you without letting the Japanese find out. Then use the code to contact your comrades to regroup. Everyone must follow the plan and not enter the city without authorization."

Everyone nodded and waited solemnly.

Fang Wen did not immediately issue the parachute order; he needed to determine the drop zone.

The drop zone is located southwest of Shenyang, in a place called Pearl Lake. The area is relatively remote and has dense forest cover, making it ideal for an airdrop.

He first circled over Shenyang to re-establish his direction before heading southwest.

A few minutes later, the location was confirmed, and Fang Wen gave the order.

"Start jumping."

Chief Wang immediately opened the boarding gate.

The first team member leaped out of the plane, followed by one after another.

Finally, it was Chief Wang's turn. He shouted, "Fang Wen, we will definitely succeed!"

After saying that, he turned around and jumped down.

Fang Wen quickly turned around and ran to the boarding gate, closed the cabin door, and returned to the pilot's seat.

After circling twice in the air, bidding farewell to the members of the treasure-hunting team, the plane began its return journey.

For him, returning home was easy, but he was a little worried about whether the treasure-hunting team could land safely.

In the pitch-black night sky, 19 dark figures opened their umbrellas and drifted down.

They don't have to worry about being discovered, but they do have to face various problems during the landing process.

The first team member landed safely, and he quickly took off his backpack and collected his parachute.

This training has been done many times. Although the parachute is difficult to put back into the bag, it can be bundled up and taken away.

A few minutes later, he was carrying a large bundle of parachutes and searching the surrounding area, occasionally making magpie calls.

The response came quickly, and he found his first partner.

The two continued their search together.

Two hours passed.

Most of the team members found their teammates, and they headed towards the planned location in twos and threes.

Finally, they met by the stream on the east side of Pearl Lake.

Chief Wang counted the number of people and said in a deep voice, "There is still one person who is missing. Didn't you notice him?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"We must find him, alive or dead."

Chief Wang issued a strict order: the missing person must be found; such a huge loophole cannot be left in the first place.

After an hour of searching, the team members returned.

It is almost certain that the missing team member did not land on the east bank of Pearl Lake, but most likely fell into the lake or onto the opposite bank.

But Pearl Lake is so big, and it was nighttime, so it was really hard to find it in a short time.

Therefore, everyone gathered their parachute backpacks together, placed them on the shore, and set them on fire.

They attempted to attract the team members with the firelight and destroy the parachutes in the process.

As the fire ignited, everyone carefully hid and remained on guard.

The remoteness of the place and the late hour meant that no Japanese people were attracted.

Just as the parachute was about to burn out, the familiar call of a magpie was heard, and the members of the treasure-hunting team happily searched for it.

The sound was definitely coming from the lake.

Four team members familiar with swimming went into the water to check.

They brought the missing team members back.

It turned out that he had fallen into the water and had been swimming on the lake to get his parachute ashore. If it weren't for the firelight attracting his attention, he would have had to abandon the parachute and go ashore alone.

With the last member returning, the heist team had no more worries. They then disposed of the last parachute and headed northeast towards Shenyang.

Their first priority is to find a foothold, and then they can make further plans.

Manager Liu and Sun Debiao are locals, and this time they will be the ones to lead the way.

The group walked along the stream beside Pearl Lake for more than ten miles before arriving at the local town.

Sun Debiao and Manager Liu went in first, while the rest waited at the town entrance.

After a while, the two returned, bringing with them two carriages and some old but clean cotton-padded coats.

The group changed into tattered cotton-padded coats, put their belongings on the carriage, and instantly transformed into local merchants.

Next, it was Manager Liu's turn to shine. He entered Shenyang City in two horse-drawn carriages.

Japanese soldiers guarded the city gate and searched everyone entering the city.

In this regard.

How should the action team bring their weapons in?

The hand-cranked telegraph machine that Manager Liu brought must also not be discovered by the Japanese soldiers.

Just as Chief Wang was about to have the action team bury the weapons on the spot, Sun Debiao came up with an idea.

"I have a way to keep all the guns in one bag."

He gathered the weapons of the others into a bundle, then went around to the city wall while he went into the city first.

After a while, this guy actually climbed up a section of dilapidated city wall.

Because the place had been in disrepair for many years, it was no longer safe to walk on, so there were no Japanese soldiers guarding it, which gave Sun Debiao an opportunity.

He dropped a rope from the city wall.

Immediately, the bundle containing several pistols and the hand-cranked telegraph machine were hung on ropes and pulled up to the city wall, thus eliminating the threat of entering the city.

The subsequent entry into the city proceeded without any problems; the group was searched by Japanese soldiers before entering the city.

People in the city looked at Manager Liu in surprise, greeted him, and asked about his recent situation.

Manager Liu took the opportunity to explain:
"It was tough. I originally wanted to go to the interior of China, but I couldn't go. I also fell seriously ill on the way. Fortunately, my new employer gave me food, which is why I was able to come back alive."

His account of his escape was so vivid that it drew sympathy from his fellow villagers in the city, who offered him words of comfort.

With this, Manager Liu reintegrated into the business district of Shenyang and arranged for the members of the treasure-hunting gang to rent a courtyard in the city to settle down.

At 5 a.m., the Boeing 247 landed at the airport.

Fang Wen, who had just disembarked from the plane, showed no signs of fatigue and immediately went to the airport office.

There, he turned on the telegraph machine, tuned it to a specific rate, and then waited.

Time passed slowly, but the radio remained completely silent on that particular frequency.

Fang Wen thought for a moment, perhaps they hadn't settled in yet, so he decided to answer the phone again at the agreed time that evening.

He then lay down on the bed in his office and had a good sleep.

He slept until sunset before waking up.

Starving, he grabbed something to eat at the airport cafeteria and returned to his office at the appointed time of 8 p.m. to turn on the telegraph machine.

At exactly eight o'clock, at the same frequency, a sudden electrical sound appeared.

Fang Wen immediately took notes.

After recording the complete Morse code, he deciphered it according to his own code.

The translated Chinese pinyin is: 【jin cheng, luo jiao, ping an.】

[Arriving in the city, finding a place to stay, and staying safe]

Fang Wen smiled, and the anxiety that had been hanging in the air finally subsided.

He took out a hand-cranked telegraph machine and sent a reply.

[8 PM, Daily]

After confirming that they would contact each other at 8 p.m. every night, Fang Wen could receive Liu's reports regularly and stay informed about the situation there.

The temporary aircraft maintenance has been completed, and flights from Shanghai to Jinan have resumed.

On the surface, Fang Wen and his apprentice Pan Jiafeng took turns flying flights, but at night they regularly received telegrams from Shenyang.

Everything is going smoothly, with new progress every day.

Chief Wang posed as a business owner operating in Shenyang.

Manager Liu and the others were all employees of this business.

They ran a pawnshop business, a business with no initial investment, and rented a shop on a street near the Young Marshal's Mansion.

Using this as a pretext, they carried out their follow-up work.

After initial investigation.

There are more than 100 troops stationed in the Marshal's Mansion, working in three shifts a day, each shift lasting 8 hours.

Furthermore, there were regular patrols nearby, machine guns on the city walls, and a military camp not far away, making the area heavily fortified.

With such precautions in place, the key to getting the treasure out lies in finding a loophole.

As the saying goes, "Heaven helps those who help themselves," and Manager Liu played a crucial role.

He learned about a new situation through his existing connections.

The young marshal's mansion contains a vast amount of valuables of various kinds, which need to be classified and appraised.

Since the Japanese couldn't do these things themselves, they wanted to hire professionals who were experts in gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, and the like to take inventory.

Such people are best suited to be shop assistants or managers in antique shops, pawnshops, and money exchanges.

Therefore, the Japanese wanted to recruit a group of people from among them to work for them.

Manager Liu is also an expert in this field, and he was successfully selected through the recommendation of his colleagues.

As Manager Liu entered the Young Marshal's Mansion to conduct an inventory check, he obtained more information about the mansion.

This includes information such as where the treasure vaults were located within the Young Marshal's Mansion, where the sentry posts were situated, and the patrol positions.

Manager Liu memorized this information and drew it into a map after returning home, which became the most important data for studying the treasure-stealing plan.

After some research, the treasure-stealing team devised a plan.

December 10, 19pm.

Fang Wen left the office on time.

As he passed the general ledger room, he took a special look and saw Fang Shouxin, who was temporarily working for Manager Liu, still engrossed in doing his abacus work.

Fang Shouxin is not as capable as Manager Liu in financial management, but he can manage for the short term.

"Uncle Fang, let me bring you dinner," he asked.

"No need, young master. Shunzi will be back soon. You can go back now," Fang Shouxin replied.

Fang Wen nodded, went downstairs, and left.

After leaving the company, he went to the company cafeteria for dinner, and as usual, he drove around the airport for a while before going home.

It was already 8 p.m.

Close the door, take out the hand-cranked telegraph machine, take out the receiver, and listen to the telegrams on a fixed frequency.

The secret telegram arrived on time.

This is a longer one; Fang Wen took notes and then translated it.

[The plan changed; a switch was made. The target was Warehouse C2. The plan was to exchange fake gold for real gold and smuggle it out via a tunnel.]

[Master Liu has connections; you can contact him directly to find a way to have the fake gold airdropped over.]

Upon seeing the coded telegram, Fang Wen immediately understood.

He knew from the previous secret telegram that Warehouse C2 contained gold, specifically gold bars weighing one tael each, totaling approximately 64000 bars. According to the Republic of China system, 16 taels equaled one jin, and two jin equaled one kilogram, meaning there were roughly two tons of gold inside.

The thieves' plan was to dig an underground tunnel to reach Warehouse C2, and then replace the real gold bars with fake ones.

Even if they take everything away, the Japanese won't notice for a while.

But to realize such a plan, one would need something of equal weight and color as gold to be able to cross the seas.

This method of counterfeiting is a unique skill of Master Liu, the former kingpin of bandits during the Qing Dynasty. You can ask him to make fake gold bars.

Immediately, Fang Wen put away the telegraph machine and went out to find Shunzi.

He returned to the company and saw Shunzi carrying an empty food box downstairs.

"Shunzi, here are the car keys. Drive to the city. Go to the brothel that Old Master Liu frequents, bring him here, and tell him you have something urgent to discuss."

Shunzi took the car keys and ran off quickly: "Young Master, don't worry, I'll be back with Old Master Liu soon."

(End of this chapter)