Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 798 New Secret Treasure Ability: Forgetting Memories, Planning the Datong Graphite Factory

Fang Wen put down the wireless telephone receiver and looked out the porthole at the mountains and rivers below.

Now that the bandits in the valley have been completely wiped out, the biggest obstacle to rescuing Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice has been removed. The most crucial thing now is to find a suitable landing spot.

Seaplanes rely on water for takeoff and landing, but the terrain in the eastern Tibetan mountains is rugged and crisscrossed with ravines, making it difficult to find a wide and calm body of water. If no water is found, the only option is to find a flat and hard enough open space and make a forced landing. Although there are risks involved, he is confident that he can land safely.

He piloted the aircraft, circling around Nyainqêntanglha Valley and the surrounding area, while activating his mechanical perception ability to survey the terrain below from all angles.

His superpower was like an invisible net, covering an area of ​​several kilometers in radius. Every ravine, every patch of grass, and every stream was clearly presented in his perception.

The Nianqingdawa Valley is flanked by steep cliffs, with only a narrow stream at the bottom that has very little water, making it impossible for seaplanes to take off and land. The surrounding valleys are mostly piles of rocks and dense forests, with no suitable open space.

Fang Wen remained patient and skillfully maneuvered the aircraft, exploring further out to the surrounding area.

A few minutes later, his supernatural ability suddenly detected a suitable terrain.

About three kilometers northwest of Nianqingdawa Valley, there is a wide river valley with a sizable lake in the center. The lake is clear and calm, and the surrounding terrain is flat, making it perfect for seaplanes to land.

"Found it." Fang Wen breathed a sigh of relief and immediately informed Zhou Pomen of the lake's exact location via radio: "Zhou Pomen, I have found the landing point. It's a lake in the valley three kilometers northwest of Nianqing Dawa Gully. Find Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice, and lead them along the stream in the gully to the lake to meet up. I'll be waiting for you there."

"Received, General Manager!" Zhou Pomen's voice came through the radio.

After hanging up the communication, Fang Wen switched to an airborne frequency and spoke to his co-pilot: "Follow me; we will be landing in the nearby waters shortly."

After the call ended, Fang Wen piloted the aircraft, leading the co-pilot towards the valley lake. A few minutes later, they reached the target airspace, and the two seaplanes descended and landed on the lake in the mountains.

On the other side, all the bandits with their hands stained with the blood of the herdsmen were executed. Zhou Pomen led his soldiers out of the valley and headed towards Nianqing Dawa Valley.

The soldiers shouted loudly in the valley.

"Gong Xiuneng, we are from the Taishan Independent Regiment, where are you?"

"Gong Xiuneng, the general manager has brought us to rescue you. Come out."

On the cliff face, there is an inconspicuous little hole.

The soldiers' shouts echoed through the valley and also reached the secret passage.

Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice, who were hiding in a stone temple in the mountains, also heard it.

Gong Xiuneng stood up and tilted his head to listen: "Master, I think I heard someone calling me."

Master Jingxu opened his eyes and said weakly, "I heard it too."

"Master, you wait here, I'll go out and take a look."

Gong Xiuneng walked towards the cave entrance and cautiously looked down.

He saw fully armed special forces soldiers.

The familiar clothes and weapons made him feel especially at ease.

He rushed back: "Master, my telegram worked! The general manager has sent troops to rescue us."

Jingxu was very surprised; the unexpected surprise came too suddenly.

Supported by his apprentice, he walked to the cave entrance, and Gong Xiuneng shouted loudly down, "I'm here!" "I am Gong Xiuneng!" "Look this way, I'm here!"

The special forces soldiers heard the sound and all looked over.

From this distance, all you can see is a small black dot moving on the cliff.

Zhou Pomen picked up his binoculars and excitedly confirmed, "It's Gong Xiuneng. Go up the mountain and find a way to rescue them."

The soldiers immediately went up the mountain and lowered themselves down from the summit using ropes.

Unexpectedly, Gong Xiuneng didn't need ropes and climbed directly up the cliff.

He took the rope back to the cave entrance, tied up his master, Daoist Jingxu, and escorted him up the mountain.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, Gong Xiu's first words were: "Is there any water or food?"

Clearly, they had been in a state of water and food shortage for some time.

Zhou Pomen knew that people in this situation should not overeat, so he gave the two of them a small amount of water and compressed dry rations that had been mixed into a paste.

After eating and drinking, Jingxu did not seem to improve, but Gong Xiuneng became more energetic.

He asked, "Where is the commander?"

Zhou Pomen replied, "The regimental commander told us to go downstream along the stream, where there will be a lake, and the plane will land there."

“I can still walk, but my master can’t. Let’s get him a stretcher,” Gong Xiuneng said.

Zhou Pomen nodded and ordered the soldiers to do it.

Mount Tai's equipment includes tools for making temporary stretchers.

The soldiers took off their backpacks, unfastened the buckles, and they became unfolded canvas sheets. These canvas sheets had buckles at both ends, so they could be hung on wooden sticks to make temporary stretchers.

A stretcher made from two backpacks was quickly prepared, and Gong Xiuneng and the soldiers carefully lifted their master onto the stretcher.

He wanted to carry the stretcher himself, but Zhou Pomen stopped him: "Your physical condition is not good, so don't force yourself. My men can carry your master in the same way."

Gong Xiuneng didn't say anything, and then the group went down the mountain and followed the stream.

The straight-line distance was only three kilometers, but it took the special forces team three hours to reach the lake.

The lakeside is all mountain walls, and there is no easy way down.

The soldiers could only tie one end of the rope to a protruding stone pillar on the mountainside and then drop the rope down.

Two planes that were parked in the lake then flew over and landed on the water next to the rock wall.

The two planes opened their cabin doors, and the crew members threw the deflated inflatable rafts onto the water. Then they opened the foot-operated inflation valves, and the rafts gradually inflated as they pedaled.

The crew then boarded two inflatable rafts and used wooden oars to slide towards the ropes.

The first one to come down was Gong Xiuneng.

He was carrying his master, Master Jingxu, on his back, and with his last bit of strength, he helped his master down onto the kayak.

Upon seeing this, the crew members quickly caught him and helped carry him on their backs, then untied him and laid him flat.

The inflatable raft went back first to take the master and his companion to the plane.

Subsequently, the others also descended via ropes, boarded inflatable rafts, and boarded the plane.

After everyone had boarded, the two planes taxied over the lake and took off, heading towards Chengdu.

After a two-hour flight, the plane landed at the Chengdu Logistics Company's sea airport.

Fang Wen brought the plane to shore, and the cabin door was immediately opened.

Gong Xiuneng quickly carried his master ashore, where two doctors were already waiting. They had been brought by Sun Debiao, whom Fang Wen had notified via the airborne radio.

"Doctor, please save my master!" Gong Xiuneng pleaded urgently.

His master, Jingxu, said weakly, "I'm fine, I'm just hungry. When I used to fast, it was even worse."

Gong Xiuneng was speechless. He knew his master's lifelong stubbornness all too well.

At this moment, Fang Wen got off the plane. "Master Jingxu, please stop talking. You are a patient now."

Strangely enough, Master Jingxu listened to Fang Wen's words and immediately shut up.

Immediately, the doctor took out a stethoscope to examine Master Jingxu.

After a while, the doctor replied, "His heartbeat is very slow and he is very weak. I recommend that he be hospitalized for treatment."

Fang Wen asked, "Is it alright to treat him here? I can pay for all the equipment and supplies he needs for treatment."

The doctor hesitated for a moment before nodding: "Okay, I'll go back and get the things now."

After the doctor left, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng helped Master Jingxu to his airport dormitory.

Upon arriving at the dormitory, Master Jingxu lay on the bed and said to Gong Xiuneng, "Go and close the door."

Gong Xiuneng closed the door, leaving only Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng, his apprentice, in the room.

Master Jingxu then took out the small box from his personal bag.

"This is the Brahma Jade Box that my master and I obtained, which we also found for you. See if it's of any use to you?"

Fang Wen took the wooden box and opened it.

Inside was only an irregularly shaped piece of jade, which didn't seem as valuable as the exquisitely carved box.

However, in Fang Wen's perception, this thing was constantly emitting energy fluctuations that attracted him.

What kind of unique abilities will they have this time?

Eager to know what the new ability was, Fang Wen immediately said, "I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back in a bit."

"Please go ahead, Mr. Fang," Jingxu said weakly.

Hurriedly leaving Jingxu's room, Fang Wen said directly to Sun Debiao, who was waiting outside, "Give me a quiet room."

“Then come to my office,” Sun Debiao said.

Fang Wen was slightly surprised by this. Sun Debiao was actually willing to let him use his office. Didn't he have any secrets in his office?

Without thinking twice, he went straight to Sun Debiao's office and closed the door.

There were no surveillance devices in this era, so he confidently took out the jade pendant and infused it with energy.

This energy injection, however, caused him some inexplicable disturbance.

It seemed as if someone was confiding in him, not through words, but through some kind of consciousness.

As he continued to pour out his heart, he actually came to understand what it meant.

This is an ancient religious tradition, through which Fang Wen learned how to operate this secret treasure.

But it is a very complex religious ritual process that requires the recitation of intricate incantations.

Actually, it's useless to Fang Wen. Fang Wen only needs to inject energy to activate the power of this treasure.

As for the abilities of the secret treasure, they are rather peculiar.

Its ability is to erase memories.

But it's not the kind of perverse permanent deletion. Instead, it uses a hypnotic command-like method to specify a memory, a piece of information, a person, an event, or a place, allowing the target to gradually and completely forget it over two days.

Two days later, the deleted memories will return, but the target will not suspect anything.

The thought of how interesting this ability was made Fang Wen want to experiment with it.

He then opened the office door and said to Sun Debiao outside, "Come in."

Sun Debiao came in.

Fang Wen held the jade piece in his right hand, infused it with energy, and designated Sun Debiao as the target of the jade piece's output.

In an instant, Sun Debiao entered a state of stagnation.

This state could only last for a few seconds, and Fang Wen quickly said, "Your memory doesn't include anything about me borrowing your office."

Sun Debiao said blankly, "I don't remember lending it to the general manager's office."

Fang Wen added, "You don't even remember me ever being in your office."

Sun Debiao continued to reply blankly, "I don't remember the general manager ever coming to my office."

Fang Wen then left, leaving Sun Debiao standing there in a daze.

A moment later, Sun Debiao recovered, but he had no recollection of what had just happened. He glanced at the office and then walked out.

He saw Fang Wen standing outside, walked over and said, "General Manager, Gong Xiuneng has been saved, so shouldn't we start preparing to deal with the Japanese factory?"

Fang Wen was surprised by the effects of the new ability, but he didn't show it on the surface. Instead, he discussed it with Sun Debiao.

"This factory is very important to Japan's military industry because Japan does not currently produce graphite domestically, which is why they built a factory in Shanxi. All the graphite produced will be shipped to Japan."

"What can graphite do?" Sun Debiao still didn't understand the importance of graphite.

Fang Wen continued to explain: "This thing is indeed rarely heard of in normal times, but it is very important in the military industry. Graphite crucibles are one of the products. Graphite crucibles must be used to melt steel, copper, and aluminum. They are heat-resistant and non-stick to metals, and are the basic tools for making cannon barrels, gun barrels, grenade casings, and bullet heads. Without high-purity graphite, qualified military steel cannot be produced."

Sun Debiao suddenly realized.

Fang Wen didn't finish his sentence.

"There are also graphite electrodes, used in electric arc furnaces and smelting furnaces. Japan plundered graphite in Datong to produce graphite, mainly to transport it back to its homeland to make electrodes to support military steel production capacity."

"In addition, graphite also has great uses in actual military applications. High-temperature bearings in tank, automobile, and aircraft engines must be inlaid with graphite for lubrication. Graphite components are also used in artillery recoil mechanisms and engine exhaust systems."

"The carbon brushes in generators and motors. The carbon components in radio transmitters and radios. The key components in telephones and communication equipment. They all use graphite."

Upon hearing this, Sun Debiao finally understood the importance of graphite and solemnly said, "General Manager, I understand. We must take over this factory."

“Yes, we must win.” Fang Wen nodded.

But pulling off such a heist in Datong is no easy feat.

Datong, as an important resource city, was also one of the first cities to fall to the Japanese. As early as September 1937, the Japanese army occupied it.

Over the past few years, the Japanese forces there have only increased.

Even with superpowers, there's no guarantee of success if we act rashly.

Fang Wen wanted to know the true situation in Datong so he could prepare for his next move.

He then telegraphed his contact Qiu Shanhe, hoping to obtain intelligence with the help of the underground Communist Party in Datong.

Two hours after the telegram was sent, Fang Wen received a reply.

[Datong is heavily guarded and has undergone multiple purges, making underground work difficult. However, in the Shuoxian area, an anti-Japanese force led by our army is persisting in fighting the Japanese. We can contact them to discuss a surprise attack on Datong.]

Fang Wen still vividly remembers Shuoxian County.

During the Battle of Taiyuan, he led his troops to set up blocking positions in the Xinkou area south of Shuoxian County, where they engaged in their first battle with the Japanese 5th Division. (End of Chapter)