Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 206, page 205: Harbin Fireworks, Zhongmabao Destruction
Day four of the Northeast Operation.

It's 8:30 p.m.

Sitting at the bedroom table, Fang Wen turned on the telegraph machine, picked up the receiver, and put it to his ear.

Then the radio waves came through, and he translated them into plain language.

The growing number of members of the Anti-Japanese United Army fueled everyone's anger; they wanted to do something big and completely destroy Zhongmabao.

We have tried to stop it, but it didn't work. We are reporting this to you and request your help.

It's normal that we can't stop the Anti-Japanese United Army's actions, Fang Wen thought for a moment and then sent a telegram back.

Observe the situation calmly; cooperate if possible, but prioritize your own safety.

After this order was issued, the special operations team had a direction.

Over the next few days, the team members integrated into local life by finding their own ways to make a living.

They lurk in the streets and alleys.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces also began their operations.

On the ninth day of the Northeast Operation, heroes from all walks of life gathered in Lalin Town.

This small town is located southeast of Machátóibá, accessible by railway.

They agreed to launch a joint attack tonight.

Wu Yingzong and Zhao Wanping were among them. Their current leader, Li Shanhe, instructed them: "When the operation takes place, follow me. Once the power plant is bombed, we'll rush over and wipe out all the Japanese."

The two nodded silently, which was taken as agreement.

After 12 o'clock, everyone set off from Lalin Town and followed the railway to Beiyinhe Station. On the other side of the railway was Zhongmabao, and searchlights kept shining across the nearby open space.

The members of the Anti-Japanese United Army crept closer, waiting.

They were waiting for the moment when the power plant was bombed and the enemy lost their light and became disoriented.

The man in charge of bombing the power plant was a short man who nimbly dodged the searchlights and rushed into the power plant with a sack of homemade bombs.

A while later, a chain of explosions occurred at the power plant, and all the lights in Zhongmabao went out immediately.

"Brothers, charge!"

Various forces emerged from the shadows and charged towards Zhongmabao.

Zhao Wanping tried to move, but Wu Yingzong stopped her. "Don't do anything rash. Don't you think it's too easy?"

"Is it easy?" Zhao Wanping squatted down.

Suddenly, the searchlights that had been extinguished came on, shrouding the men charging on the flat ground, followed by machine gun fire.

Damn it, the Japanese were prepared all along. The heroes and brave men of each unit, who had suffered minor losses, immediately retreated.

The attack failed, causing only some damage to the power plant in Masborg.

The attack on Zhongmabao was unsuccessful, the heroes left temporarily, and everything returned to calm.

People are still frequently arrested on the streets, and the large chimney in Zhongmabao is belching black smoke every day.

The Japanese army thought they had won.

Little did they know, another group was secretly preparing in the shadows.

These 11 people quietly gathered together and moved to Lalin Town.

During the day, they each go out to make a living.

That night, however, these people quietly arrived near Zhongmabao.

They have their own way.

The three Peng brothers dug a hole under the railway, and everyone helped with the digging.

This tunnel runs through the railway and extends underground all the way down to the bottom of Mazdaburg.

The skills they used to build tunnels finally came in handy.

The exit of the underground cave was located behind the incinerator in Zhongmabao.

Few people come there; according to the Japanese, it's a place where wronged spirits gather.

However, these wronged souls did not have any impact on the task force, and they successfully opened the exit.

The group that emerged from the cave were the four thieves: Chen Suoxin, Liu Yingshou, Qian Yinxing, and Zhou Pomen.

The four were fellow students, working together skillfully, and applied their inherited burglary techniques to infiltrate a Japanese biochemical laboratory.

Qian Yinxing scouted ahead, Chen Suoxin opened the door, Liu Yingshou acted as lookout, and Zhou Pomen searched for something.

They infiltrated very cautiously and gradually figured out what was going on here.

There are four buildings here, each two stories high, forming a camp that looks like a prison.

The building where the tunnel exit is located has a crematorium specifically for burning corpses, as well as various human laboratories that resemble torture chambers.

The other three buildings are a dormitory, an office, and a prison.

The truly valuable things are in the office area, which is guarded by soldiers 24 hours a day. Obviously, there are a lot of important documents and unspeakable secrets there.

That building was the furthest from the tunnel exit and the most difficult to reach.

The 11 people discussed a solution in the cave.

"How about we dig another tunnel to get there?"

"No, the soil here is not suitable for digging. If the digging process causes a collapse, it will be discovered."

"Digging is too slow now, I don't want to wait, let's just charge straight in."

"Once exposed, who can deal with hundreds of Japanese soldiers?"

"What should we do then?"

Everyone was racking their brains, but couldn't find a solution.

Liu Ying, who was observing and scouting outside, climbed down and came up with an idea.

“I saw those Japanese soldiers patrolling, going around every building. Why don’t we disguise ourselves as patrolmen and, in the dark, they might not be able to recognize us?”

The team consisted of inexperienced young people who were bold enough to do anything they thought was feasible.

Ultimately, it was decided that Li Tiezhu, Zhao Wanping, and Zhang Yunfei, the three most capable individuals, would take action, which would be perfect for dealing with the three patrolmen.

The three men crouched quietly in the shadows, waiting for the patrolmen to come.

After it appeared, the three of them made their move at the same time.

The three unsuspecting Japanese soldiers were killed on the spot and dragged into a room. After a while, three fake Japanese soldiers in different clothes came out and continued along the original patrol route.

After circling around, the patrol team arrived at the office building.

The two guards were yawning and didn't even greet each other.

The patrol team cut in front of them, ready to take action.

"Ah."

Li Tiezhu gave a coded signal, indicating to his companions not to act rashly.

As the patrol continued, just as they were about to go upstairs, a soldier appeared from the shadows and asked in Japanese, "Do you have a fire?"

This is a hidden sentry, forming a protective triangle with the visible sentry.

The team members were all specially trained in Japanese. Zhang Yunfei took out a match, approached, and lit it for the person. However, he quickly pressed down on the person's neck with his left hand, and the sentry fainted a few seconds later.

Meanwhile, the two companions also took care of the visible sentry.

The sentries on the first floor were dealt with, but there were more on the second floor. After repeating the same method, the patrol team left the office building again. They had to continue patrolling to ensure that no one would be discovered astonished, while also providing cover for the thieves to enter the office building and unlock the doors to steal.

With some coordination, the thieves opened the doors to several rooms in the office building.

There were no hidden mechanisms or alarm devices, only locked cabinets.

These things were no challenge for the thieves. After they opened the cabinet, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.

Those horrific photos and written records meticulously documented every disgusting incident that occurred.
The thief was devastated and refused to look at the information again.

They simply packed up all the documents in the entire cabinet and took them with them.

Now that I have the materials, it's time to say goodbye to this place.

Eleven people quietly left, with ten of them heading to Anda County ahead of the others, carrying irrefutable evidence of their crimes.

Only Wu Yingzong remained to locate the aircraft bombing positions.

He hid in a pit east of Zhongmabao. The pit, which could only accommodate one person, was covered with a roof made of bamboo strips and dry grass. Unless you looked closely, you couldn't see any flaws.

By extending the telescope halfway out, Wu Yingzong could see the situation in Zhongmabao in the distance.

There are now many Japanese soldiers coming and going there, which means that what happened last night has been exposed.

But it doesn't matter, my friends are all gone, and it's time for me to avenge my parents, sister, and brother.

"Father, Mother, Eldest Sister, Third Brother, I'm offering incense for you tonight. A big incense stick." He said in a low voice, carefully checking the radio wave positioning device repeatedly, waiting for night to fall.

(Inside the Zhongmabao Hotel; other pictures are not included.)
Day 17 of the Northeast Operation.

The bombing campaign by the Taishan Volunteer Army has resumed.

More than half a year has passed since the last bombing of the Great Wall. To be honest, the Taishan Volunteer Army members really want to continue.

Today I finally have the chance.

Participants in this bombing.

Driver: Fang Wen.

Co-pilot (also ammunition handler): Pan Jiafeng.

Bombardiers: Fang Shouxin, Shao Sishen, Sun Debiao.

Ordnance handlers: Manager Liu, Howard.

Taishan-1 took off in the evening and landed at Xiangxi Airport.

Shunzi, newly married, was arranging ammunition loading at Xiangxi Airport.

The pallets of napalm bombs were loaded into the cabin.

There were also five 70-kilogram copper-cased bombs.

This bomb is an improvement on the previous tin-cased bomb. The main difference is that Yangon now has the capability to manufacture bomb casings, so they changed to copper casings, making it more powerful. The explosive inside is the propellant from a 7.92mm bullet, which is very powerful.

After all the bombs were loaded, Shunzi reported the situation.

"General Manager, all 200 bomb loaders, totaling 7200 bombs, plus 5 70-kilogram high-explosive bombs, have been installed. I have a question."

"what is the problem?"

"Was it worth bombing Marburg with so many bombs?"

"I don't know if it's worth it, but I just want to raze that place to the ground," Fang Wen said coldly. There's a saying, "It's hard to let go of the grievances," and he felt relieved once he blew Zhongmabao to the ground.

The plane then took off and flew to Jinan.

After refueling in Jinan, we continued our flight to Harbin.

Four hours later, the plane appeared over Harbin.

Fang Wen, having entered a state of mechanical perception, clearly received the radio wave feedback.

He was 100% certain of the location and immediately turned the plane around and drove over.

As the aircraft approached the airspace above Zhongmabao, Fang Wen gave the order: "Prepare to drop bombs."

Pan Jiafeng got up and jogged to his missile rail; everyone was ready.

Fang Wen was completely focused, determined to hit the target. He could even feel the amber cross on his chest increasing its energy output under his intense desire.

He had a clearer grasp of the aircraft and even realized the errors in his previous judgments.

This sudden improvement boosted Fang Wen's confidence, and he made more accurate bomb-dropping commands.

"Throw, 5 seconds."

The moment the call was made, the three bombardiers began throwing bombs, pulling the lever, throwing bombs, returning to their original positions, placing the bomb rack, and continuing.

The ammunition handlers were also working together skillfully.

In 5 seconds, each person completed an average of 2 bomb throws.

Once these munitions were dropped, they poured down in a straight line.

The explosion sent sparks flying, and Zhongmabao was engulfed in flames.

Strangely, only three houses were hit by the bomb, while the other one was completely unharmed.

That was a prison, and the innocent experimental subjects inside were cheering.

A second round of bombing came a few minutes later.

Then came the third round, and the fourth round.

Then three high-explosive bombs fell, turning the place into complete ruins. The flames purified all the evil, including those damned executioners.

Pan Jiafeng reported: "Master, a total of 864 bombs were dropped, 24 bomb racks, and 3 high-explosive bombs. There are still 176 bomb racks and 2 high-explosive bombs left."

Zhongmabao was destroyed, but only one-tenth of the bombs were used. The rest could not be taken back and had to be thrown at the Japanese.

Fang Wen had an idea.

“Send a telegram to Wu Yingzong and tell him that he will lead the way tonight and bomb wherever he wants within two hours, but it must be a Japanese facility.”

Manager Liu found the spare telegraph machine in the plane and sent out Fang Wen's message.

"No, he doesn't have a radio station."

Even if the radio station isn't running, Fang Wen has another solution.

In a pit 1000 meters east of Zhongmabao, Wu Yingzong sat with tears in his eyes. He felt it was all worth it; he could finally avenge his parents, siblings, and other family members.

Suddenly, an incendiary bomb exploded in the area east of Zhongmabao.

Wait a minute, this is a prison. Weren't we supposed to not drop bombs here?
Another napalm bomb exploded in the East District, seemingly not targeting the prison.

The continuous explosions of napalm bombs in the air and on the ground seemed to be sending Wu Yingzong some special message.

He suddenly realized, "This is Morse code!"

The translation is simply "telegram".

He quickly turned on the telegraph machine and received a telegram from above.

After translating the telegram, Wu Yingzong's heart warmed again. He felt that his parents, eldest sister, and third brother would prefer bigger fireworks.

Without hesitation, Wu Yingzong climbed out of the pit and ran towards the city.

At this moment, he transformed into a flame messenger, bringing fire to the world.

After more than ten days of learning about Harbin, he learned about many Japanese strongholds.

They ran along the railway and simply blew up the railway that was transporting supplies to the Japanese.

Further up the railway, there are also military troops stationed there, specifically to protect the railway.

Wu Yingzong aimed the radio wave device at the transmitter.

The enormous black shadow in the sky arrived as scheduled, unleashing a torrent of deathly flames.

The sight of the barracks engulfed in flames sent Wu Yingzong into a frenzy.

He went to the puppet army camp and also arrived at the puppet police station.

Wherever it went, everything was engulfed in flames.

Suddenly, the entire city of Harbin was in chaos.

No one knows how the demons in the sky bring down disasters with such precision that no one can escape them.

They were lost and fearful, but no one noticed a ragged scavenger in the distance holding a broken piece of copper.

The two-hour bombing finally ended, and all 200 bomb-carrying plates were used up. Two high-explosive bombs landed inside the Japanese military camp.

That night, half of the bomb factory's inventory in western Hunan was depleted.

And everyone's energy.

Even Fang Wen felt exhausted under this intense state of mechanical perception.

That's it. After climbing to an altitude of 7000 meters, Taishan-1 turned around and headed back to base.

At that altitude, it's impossible for anyone to know where he came from or where he's going.

Wu Yingzong returned to his residence with great joy, ready to get a good night's sleep before heading to Anda County the next day.

The next day, ash was still floating in the sky above Harbin.

People both inside and outside the city were not angry about what happened last night; they whispered the myths that had occurred the previous night.

Outside Zhongmabao, a rail armored vehicle drove up.

The armored vehicle stopped, and the driver reported, "The railway ahead has been destroyed; we cannot proceed."

The man in military uniform looked at the ruins of Zhongmabao amidst the smoke of battle, silently jumped off the armored vehicle, and walked over.

He rummaged through the still-warm ruins and found what he was looking for.

Several pieces of bomb shrapnel.

"Another tin-plated incendiary bomb. Why are the Russians always targeting us? Is it just because of the conflicts from the last war?"

He stared thoughtfully at the deliberately worn marks on the shrapnel, the words of which were still faintly recognizable as Russian.

(End of this chapter)