American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 379 Finally, the Treasure is Obtained!

They walked one after the other into the secret warehouse that had been violently opened.

A completely different kind of air instantly rushed into their lungs.

It was no longer the natural scent of caves, a mixture of minerals and dust accumulated over millions of years, but rather a smell that was extremely unpleasant.

That smell was from the slow oxidation of engine oil mixed with calcium chloride, a metal used for moisture protection.

The warehouse was small, about ten square meters, like a standard cement box. The walls and floor had undergone professional moisture-proofing treatment and were painted with a layer of dark green waterproof paint that had long since peeled off.

Under the bright beams of their headlamps, the scene inside the warehouse was laid out before them, like an oil painting frozen in a moment of history.

“Looks like…we’re a bit too late.” Raven’s voice sounded somewhat muffled in the cramped space. She shone her flashlight beam into the left corner of the warehouse.

There, lying quietly, was an ancient hardwood box that had been violently pried open and whose wood was already rotten.

The trunk, in the style of the Spanish colonial period, clashed with its surroundings. The lid was carelessly tossed aside, and the interior was empty.

Next to the box, there were also several Spanish silver coins covered with an oxide layer, which were blackish-gray in color.

"The pirates' treasure... has already been taken." Lin Yu'an squatted down, picked up a silver coin, and wiped away the dirt with his fingers. The emblem from the early 18th century was still faintly visible.

He made a calm assessment: "It is clear that a group of later arrivals found the ancient treasure, then claimed this place for themselves and turned it into their own warehouse."

A profound sense of loss, like the rising tide, instantly overwhelmed Raven.

After overcoming countless hardships and unraveling layer upon layer of mysteries, they finally arrived at a scene that had already been completely looted. This feeling was even more frustrating than never having found it at all.

Lin Yu'an quickly composed himself, his gaze already drawn to the more modern items stacked on the right side and deeper inside the warehouse.

Deep inside the warehouse, against the rock wall, were some leftover materials from the construction.

Seven or eight nylon bags, hardened into stones and marked with the Cyrillic letters "ЦЕМЕНТ" (cement), were next to several bundles of rusty rebar.

"My God..." Raven muttered to herself as she looked at these things, "Are they completely not planning to reopen this place? Or do they just not want anyone to discover it?"

This discovery has raised the level of mystery and rigor of the entire event to another level.

Lin Yu'an's gaze fell on the neatly stacked military green wooden crates.

The box is made of thick pine planks, reinforced with sheet metal at the corners, and its surface is painted with a series of military serial numbers composed of Cyrillic letters and numbers using white Russian templates.

“An armory…” Raven also noticed the boxes. “Who are they… who found the treasure and left an armory here?”

Lin Yu'an found a rusty crowbar on the ground, signaled Ruiwen to stay alert, and then stepped forward and chose a smaller wooden box that looked like it was for holding handheld weapons.

"Squeak-"

With a sickening thud as wood tore apart, he forcefully pried open the crate lid, which had been sealed shut with nails. A strong smell of gun oil wafted out.

Inside the box, there was no gold or silver treasure, but rows of metal objects tightly wrapped in thick, yellowish-brown oil paper.

Lin Yu'an tore off a layer of oil paper, revealing a unique, cold luster from the phosphate treatment.

It was a brand-new Makarov pistol, along with ten spare magazines, also wrapped in tarpaulin, neatly stacked in the magazine well.

“That looks like 10 handguns…” Raven gasped. “That’s the standard equipment for an operations team.”

Lin Yu'an then pried open a larger, long wooden crate next to him. Inside were ten AKM assault rifles, also perfectly sealed with oil paper, their stocks folded, lying quietly in the crate.

Beneath the rifle were several sealed green tin ammunition canisters. Each canister was full of orange-yellow 7.62mm bullets, gleaming dangerously under the light.

There are also ten NRS2 reconnaissance daggers, a special type of dagger whose hilt can fire subsonic bullets.

In another, larger box, they found more specialized equipment:
Communication equipment: One R392 military shortwave radio, equipped with a hand-cranked generator and a folding antenna.

Explosives: Several strips of TNT, a whole box of electric detonators, and some pressure and pull fuses.

Reconnaissance equipment: one P107M night vision device, and some eavesdropping and counter-eavesdropping equipment.

Medical supplies: A complete field surgical kit, which even contains morphine.

“This is no longer a simple armory,” Lin Yu’an’s voice became extremely solemn.

"This is a complete set of sophisticated equipment that can support a ten-person team in long-term, high-intensity special operations. It has everything from assault, demolition, and reconnaissance to communications and medical care."

This should be a Soviet-style safe house for spies, forgotten by time, where agents can be equipped to the teeth.

However, these conventional weapons did not completely dispel Lin Yu'an's doubts.

To hide these things, would it really be worth going to such great lengths to transport cement from underwater to seal off a cave? That still seems like making a mountain out of a molehill.

Unless... there's something here that's a thousand times more important than all of these things combined...

His gaze passed over the wooden crates and locked onto the deepest part of the warehouse, where a military-style briefcase was placed separately.

It is not large in size, roughly the size of a regular cylindrical box.

However, its outer shell is made of some kind of heavy alloy material, presenting a dull military green color, with reinforced anti-collision ribs at the corners.

There were no other markings on the box except for one extremely conspicuous and terrifying symbol, which was painted in the center in a striking red Russian template.

A universally recognized warning sign for radioactive materials, consisting of three black fan-shaped blades!
Below the sign, there is a line of smaller text: ВНИМАНИЕ:СПЕЦИАЛЬНЫЙЗАРЯД (Warning: Special charge).

In that instant, Lin Yu'an's heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

Anyone with a modern education should be able to instantly decipher the suffocating true meaning behind this line of text.

"We...were we exposed to radiation? Are we going to die?" Raven's voice trembled violently.

Almost instinctively, he took two steps back, shielding himself with his arms as if to ward off the unseen demon. His face was deathly pale under the headlamp.

Fear is contagious. Seeing Raven on the verge of collapse, Lin Yu'an knew he couldn't show even the slightest panic.

He forcibly suppressed the turmoil of fear churning within him, turned around, and stood between Raven and the suitcase, using his broad back to shield her from that unknown terror.

His voice was deliberately steady and powerful, like a giant anchor dropped by a ship in a storm: "Don't panic, Raven, this device was designed for long-term, secret storage."

"Its shielding layer is likely depleted uranium or lead, which, under normal circumstances, is sufficient to block most radiation."

“In our daily lives, when we fly or have a CT scan, we are exposed to much higher radiation doses than here.”

He paused, then gave Raven a reassuring look. "The fact that the Soviets dared to hide it here proves that they have absolute confidence in its safety."

This explanation, half-true and half-false yet logical and well-founded, acted like a tranquilizer, calming Raven's wildly beating heart somewhat.

"Then... what do we do now?" She looked at Lin Yu'an, whose calm and powerful figure was her only support.

"We must leave immediately." Lin Yu'an's tone left no room for argument. "We have no protective equipment. Every second we stay increases the risk."

When he said these words, he was far from as calm as he appeared. He knew that what he had just said was only "theoretical" security.

However, for a Soviet-style nuclear device that has been stored for at least fifty years, no one can guarantee that its internal components have not aged or that the shielding layer has not developed minute cracks.

He was just as scared, terrified. But he knew better than anyone that, as the team leader, his fear had to be the last thing he showed.

"Don't touch anything, don't take anything, let's leave now." Lin Yu'an gave the order to evacuate.

He pulled Raven along and began to retreat out of the warehouse. But in the instant they turned to leave, his eyes, sharp as a high-speed camera, had already made a lightning-fast assessment of the potential value of every item inside.

Firearms and ammunition? They're cumbersome and pointless.

Nuclear devices? Absolute death traps, absolutely untouchable.

His gaze finally settled on the lead file box that they had initially overlooked, quietly placed in the corner.

Lead is one of the most effective materials for shielding radiation.

This thought was like a glimmer of light in the darkness, allowing his reason, which was about to be consumed by fear, to regain the upper hand.

“Raven, retreat behind the cover in the corridor,” he said in a very low but unusually calm voice. “I need to do a final check.”

"What?" Raven was in a state of extreme panic. She just wanted to escape from this place immediately and didn't understand why Lin Yu'an was still staying.

“Listen to me,” Lin Yu’an turned around, put his hands on her shoulders, and forced her to look into his eyes.

"I need to do one last check to make sure that apart from the traces of the explosion, there are no traces that are unique to us, such as the size of the footprints or scratches on the equipment."

"We can't let anyone, whoever they are, know that we opened this place up, or we'll be in big trouble."

This is a reason that cannot be refuted under any circumstances. In Raven's view, this is precisely a manifestation of Lin Yu'an's outrageously rigorous thinking even under extreme pressure.

“But…radiation…” Her voice still trembled.

"Give me thirty seconds." Lin Yu'an's tone left no room for negotiation, but her eyes softened slightly. "Trust me. Go behind that stalactite first."

“Okay… hurry up! Thirty seconds!” Raven was finally convinced by him; she knew that arguing would only waste more time.

Without further hesitation, she turned around and quickly retreated to the huge stalactite shelter where they had previously taken refuge from the explosion. She nervously checked her watch and began to count down.

The instant Raven's figure disappeared into the darkness at the doorway, Lin Yu'an moved!

He didn't clear away any rubble, but instead held his breath and silently slid to the lead file box.

Instead of touching the box surface that might be contaminated with radioactive dust, he simply put the lead file box into his storage space.

Inside the space, Lin Yu'an could easily sense everything within, seeing it all clearly. His consciousness, like a scanner with the highest authority, instantly pierced through the barrier of the lead box.

At the very top was a document that had yellowed, but was well preserved thanks to the perfect seal of the lead box.

The cover features a striking printed Russian title—Operation Swift.

Just this code name made Lin Yu'an's pupils shrink sharply!
In the KGB's operational codename system, "Swift" specifically refers to the highest-level suicide attacks or sabotage missions targeting the core objectives of Western countries.

His heart skipped a beat, and his thoughts, like an invisible hand, gently turned the first page of the plan within the space.

The mere outline of the operation at the beginning was enough to freeze Lin Yu'an's blood.

Phase One: Caribbean Ravens

Operation Overview: The Swifts team retrieved a nuclear bomb suitcase from a safe house in the Dominican Republic, departed from northern Dominican Republic, crossed the Windward Channel, and headed directly to Guantanamo Province in eastern Cuba. The entire voyage perfectly avoided the patrol area of ​​the U.S. Navy at Guantanamo Bay base.

Mission: At the rendezvous point in Cuba, secretly hand over the briefcase to the second-phase execution team.

Phase Two: The Scorpion of Cuba

Operation Overview: The GRU task force stationed in Cuba secretly transported the received "beacon device" to a secret missile base within the country, codenamed Scorpion Tail!
Mission: To integrate and modify the core components of the nuclear bomb briefcase with the guidance system of the R17 Scud short-range ballistic missile.

Phase Three: Doomsday Trigger

Operation Overview: During the "Z Hour," when US-Soviet relations broke down and entered a state of war, a portable signal transmitter was activated by a KGB "Carrier Pigeon" agent who was lurking in the United States.

Attack Procedure: Domestic agents activate a high-powered signal transmitter hidden in the United States, sending a set of encrypted signals containing precise coordinates toward Cuba.

Upon receiving this doomsday signal, the missiles at the Scorpion Tail base in Cuba will automatically unlock and launch, ultimately causing maximum destruction and panic on the east coast of Florida!
At the end of the document, there was a handwritten date of issue and several blurry but still legible blue ink stamps.

The date is: 1973.

There is also a stamp next to it—(Soviet KGB, "S" Bureau).

S Bureau—an illegal intelligence agency under the KGB, specializing in carrying out the most classified and clandestine sabotage and subversion missions abroad. It is the KGB's sharpest dark scalpel!

In 1973... under the illusion of a "détente" between the US and the Soviet Union, the arms race and proxy wars reached their most frenzied stage!
These two pieces of information alone caused the countless fragmented pieces of information about the Cold War in his mind to begin to be reorganized and pieced together at an alarming speed!
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down, and mentally replayed the devilish script he had just seen:

Step 1: Starting point temple.

Soviet agents may have found the pirate treasure here based on clues from 300-year-old gold coins. They then designated this place as a safe house, ready to be activated at any time. The purpose of this safe house, once activated, is to conceal the "special explosive."

Step Two: Cuban Missiles
Their next step was to use disguised fishing boats to secretly transport these goods to Cuba. There, missile experts from the KGB's sister unit, the GRU (General Directorate of Military Intelligence), were already waiting for this "core component" at a secret base.

Step 3: Nuclear bombing of the United States
The most crucial page of the plan was clearly displayed in Lin Yu'an's mind. GRU's mission was to replace the conventional high-explosive warheads already deployed on R-17 Scud missiles in the mountains of Cuba with the "special explosive" in that briefcase—a miniaturized tactical nuclear warhead!
At this moment, all the clues connected to form a chilling and incredibly clear truth!

The Soviets were not planning to launch a new "nuclear missile," which would have been immediately detected by American reconnaissance satellites.

They're planning a scheme to steal the beams and replace the pillars!

They used the Scud, a conventional tactical missile with limited destructive power already well-known to the United States, as cover. Unbeknownst to anyone, they secretly inserted nuclear warheads capable of destroying a city!
From the outside, these missiles are no different from ordinary Scud missiles and will not arouse any extra vigilance from the US military.

But once launched, they will no longer deliver a conventional strike of a few hundred kilograms of explosives, but rather nuclear annihilation equivalent to thousands of tons of TNT!

The viciousness and ingenuity of this plan far exceeded Lin Yu-an's imagination!
It perfectly utilized information asymmetry and conventional weapons as cover, attempting to deliver a devastating blow to the United States that its adversaries could not have foreseen at the moment the war broke out!

In the 1970s, the United States had virtually no effective means of intercepting the Scud missiles, which were launched from near the sea and had a flight time of only a few minutes!
This is an apocalyptic scenario that could drag the entire world into the abyss of nuclear war!
Lin Yu'an felt a deep chill. He knew that he had not opened a secret warehouse from fifty years ago, but a ghost from the abyss of the Cold War that had never truly died!
Lin Yu'an forced himself to look away and glance at the bottom of the plan—it was a book.

Beneath this crucial plan concerning the apocalyptic war lay a book. It was certainly not something a KGB agent would read to pass the time!

A crazy yet perfectly logical thought exploded in Lin Yu'an's mind—could it be a password on the book pages?

This book is very likely the complete encrypted directory and activation key of the entire "Swift" network! Its value even far surpasses that nuclear device!
Because a nuclear device can only destroy a city, while the secret hidden in this book may be a Cold War specter that is still dormant around the world!

This realization allowed Lin Yu'an to instantly overcome his fear of radiation. The surge of adrenaline brought him to peak mental processing speed.

But then, an even bigger question instantly overwhelmed his excitement.

He closed his eyes, forcing his chaotic mind to rethink.

why?
Why was this plan not implemented?

KGB agents located the temple cave, emptied the pirates' treasure, built this top-tier safe house, stockpiled nuclear weapons, and hid "Project Swift."

Finally, they even went to great lengths to seal off the main passage from the inside with two concrete walls, one in front and one behind, making it appear to be permanently sealed off.

This means that the first phase of the Caribbean Ravens was completed the moment they left!
All supplies are in place, and the safe house has entered a dormant state, awaiting instructions for the second phase: dispatching the Swifts team to deliver the nuclear bomb to Cuba.

However, this group never set off.

If we were to set off, these spare weapons, the remaining cement, and the tools should all be disposed of, instead of being left here untouched as they are now.

From 1973 to today, for more than fifty years, the "Swifts" that should have set off from here have never knocked on Cuba's door.

Various possibilities began to flash wildly through Lin Yu'an's mind.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(This treasure shouldn't be poisonous, right?)
(End of this chapter)