Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 796 The Rescue Operation in Eastern Tibet: Planning for Japanese Graphite Resources

Fang Wen took the telegram from Zhao Junping, his gaze falling on the few words, and his heart sank.

Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice are in danger in the Nyainqêntanglha Valley, eastern Tibet. They are seeking help.

The telegram was very brief, clearly sent under extremely urgent and hasty circumstances, with no time to send any more information.

Gong Xiu had followed him for many years, proving himself not only to be a loyal subordinate but also a brother to whom he could entrust his future.

Over the years, Gong Xiu had risked his life for him, stepping forward in dangerous situations on several occasions. The relationship between the two had long transcended that of superior and subordinate, and a deep friendship had developed between them.

Upon learning that Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice were trapped in the desperate situation in eastern Tibet, Fang Wen could no longer sit still. He immediately said, "Zhao Junping, bring me the maps of western Sichuan and Tibet right now!"

Zhao Junping didn't dare to delay and quickly turned around and left for the archives. After a while, he held a Tibetan topographic map and spread it out in front of Fang Wen.

The map was densely marked with mountains, rivers, and villages, but Fang Wen searched repeatedly in eastern Tibet and still could not find the name "Nyainqêntanglha Valley".

He frowned, deep in thought.

This place must be extremely remote, so small that it is not even recorded on official maps.

"Zhao Junping, immediately send an urgent telegram to Sun Debiao of the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Logistics Company, instructing him to immediately ascertain the exact location of Nyainqêntanglha Valley in eastern Tibet, as well as the local situation, the more detailed the better, and to reply as soon as possible!"

"Yes, General Manager!" Zhao Junping responded immediately, turned around and rushed to the telegraph room, quickly drafted a telegram, marked it with the words "extremely urgent," and sent it out.

At that moment, in the telegraph duty room of the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Logistics Company in Chengdu, the telegraph machine suddenly responded on the company's frequency. Upon seeing this, the telegraph operator on duty quickly received the telegram.

Upon seeing the "extremely urgent" telegram, he dared not delay for a moment, grabbed the telegram, and rushed to Sun Debiao's residence.

When Sun Debiao received the telegram, he had just lain down to rest. Upon seeing the contents of the telegram, he was instantly wide awake. He immediately got up, put on his coat, rushed out of his residence, and took the company car to a Tibetan-populated area in Chengdu.

As night deepened, Sun Debiao knocked on the door of the Tibetan merchant who was said to know the snowy region very well.

The Tibetan merchant was awakened by the noise and saw that it was Sun Debiao. Although he was annoyed, he knew that Sun must have come for something.

When Sun Debiao asked about Nyainqêntanglha Valley, the Tibetan merchant's previously calm expression instantly turned serious. He waved his hands repeatedly, his tone filled with awe and fear: "Manager Sun, that place is off-limits. It's a 'ghost's nightmare,' a forbidden zone!"

“Abu, I have urgent business and must find that place. Please be sure to tell me.” Sun Debiao said earnestly.

The Tibetan merchant did not answer.

Upon seeing this, Sun Debiao added a condition: "From now on, our logistics company will handle all your goods."

The Tibetan merchant was immediately intrigued and said in a heavy tone, "Nyainqêntanglha Valley is located on the eastern edge of Tibet, near the foothills of the Qinling Mountains. It is a remote and dangerous place where Tibetans and Han Chinese meet. It is a sacred place of the ancient Bon religion. Legend has it that the secret treasures of the Bon religion are buried beneath it. Locals have never dared to venture into it easily."

He paused, then added, "The terrain there is complex, with crisscrossing valleys and many cliffs. There are also several scattered tribes nearby, who are fierce and do not usually interact with outsiders."

Upon hearing this, Sun Debiao quickly asked, "Abu, do you know exactly how to get there? Do you have a guide familiar with the local terrain?"

The Tibetan merchant replied, "I have a nephew named Sangji. He went to Nyainqêntanglha Valley when he was buying furs before, but that place is too dangerous, and he may not be willing to go. I'll ask him for you and try to persuade him."

Sun Debiao quickly thanked him and waited patiently to the side.

The Tibetan merchant went into the inner room, woke up the sleeping Sangji, and they talked in hushed tones for a long time.

Ultimately, Sangji agreed to be the guide.

Without delay, Sun Debiao immediately took Sangji back to the logistics company and quickly drafted a telegram, sending the specific location of Nyainqêntanglha Valley, its terrain features, the situation of nearby tribes, and the news of finding a guide to the base in northern Myanmar as an urgent request.

At the base in northern Myanmar, Fang Wen remained in the telegraph room, his heart filled with anxiety, each minute and second feeling exceptionally long.

The moment the telegraph machine rang, he immediately picked up his earpiece and began copying down the Morse code.

After reading the telegram, his worries deepened.

The terrain of Nyainqêntanglha Valley is treacherous and the environment is harsh. Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice must have been in an extremely difficult situation when they were trapped in such a place.

Gong Xiuneng's skills were such that three to five ordinary people couldn't even get close to him. His master was also quite skilled, and Gong Xiuneng even brought a gun back to China.

For the master and his apprentice to be forced to send a distress telegram, their opponent must have been numerous, well-versed in the local terrain, and perhaps even influential in the area.

The local environment was complex, with many cliffs and steep slopes, making it unsuitable for aircraft landings. The only way to rescue the master and his apprentice was by airdrop.

After careful consideration, Fang Wen made his decision. He personally piloted the plane to the airspace above Nyainqêntanglha Valley in eastern Tibet to conduct reconnaissance. Using his special abilities, he located the exact position of Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice, ascertained the deployment of the unidentified armed personnel, and prepared for the subsequent airborne rescue operation.

He then left the telegraph room, returned to his residence to change into his flight suit, and went to the No. 2 aircraft manufacturing plant to request a modified seaplane.

The seaplane accelerated across the water, took off, and flew towards Chengdu.

The night was deep, the stars in the sky were dim, and the plane was shuttling through the clouds. Fang Wen was focused, with only one thought in his mind: to reach eastern Tibet as soon as possible, find Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice, and rescue them safely.

After several hours of flight, the plane finally landed smoothly at Chengdu Water Airport as dawn approached.

Sun Debiao, who had been waiting at the airport, stood on the dock with a dark-skinned, tall man.

The plane docked at the pier, and Fang Wen opened the cabin door.

Sun Debiao introduced, "General Manager, this is our guide, Sangji. He is familiar with the terrain of Nyainqêntanglha Valley and can help us find the exact location."

Fang Wen nodded, looked at Sangji beside him, and said sincerely, "Brother Sangji, thank you for your hard work."

Sangji grinned, showing his teeth: "I'm not tired."

Sun Debiao quickly explained, "People there are all so stubborn; they can't be tactful in their speech."

Fang Wen nodded, "Come on up first. We'll take off after the plane refuels."

After refueling, Fang Wen restarted the plane and flew towards eastern Tibet.

Sangji sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window with a pale face.

"So tall!"

"You'll get used to it," Fang Wen comforted him.

The further the plane flew into eastern Tibet, the more treacherous the terrain became. The mountains below stretched endlessly, with peaks and ridges that were covered in snow and wind all year round. As far as the eye could see, there was only desolation and barrenness.

Two hours later, the plane arrived at the location Fang Wen had predicted.

This place is at the western end of the Qinling Mountains. Further west is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, to the north are the Kunlun Mountains, and to the south are the Hengduan Mountains.

It is located in a desolate mountainous area with few people.

Fang Wen said, "Look down there and see where Nyainqêntanglha Valley is."

Sangji said with difficulty, "I've never seen it from the sky before, and I'm afraid I might mistake it for something else."

"Don't rush, tell me what its characteristics are?"

"feature?"

After thinking for a moment, Sangji replied, "Some local elderly Tibetans go to the bottom of the ravine to add stones to the mani piles."

Fang Wen knew about Mani stones. They are stones that Tibetans carve scriptures into by hand and then stack them together as a way to pray to the gods and Buddhas.

In such a desolate place, there are already mani stones, so they are even easier to find.

Fang Wen activated his supernatural ability and first searched for ravine-like terrain.

Then observe in the ravines to see if there are any things similar to mani stones.

Through this process of elimination, he quickly found his target.

The narrow valley meanders and twists, with steep cliffs on both sides. At the bottom of the valley, a small mani stone pile can be vaguely seen, and prayer flags flutter in the strong wind, making it look particularly lonely.

Fang Wen lowered the plane's altitude and circled over the ravine.

"Is this the place?" he asked.

Sangji opened his eyes wide and looked down. When he saw the mani stones, he quickly said, "Yes, this is it."

Immediately, Fang Wen began using his supernatural abilities to search for traces of Gong Xiuneng and his disciples.

Nothing was found on the east side of the valley.

The plane then flew towards the west side of the valley.

Here, Fang Wen suddenly sensed a fluctuation of energy.

I haven't felt this way in a long time!

Unexpectedly, they discovered traces of the secret treasure while searching for Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice.

He piloted the plane, slowly flying towards the direction from which the energy fluctuations were coming, eventually pinpointing the source to a mountain peak on the west side of the valley.

The energy fluctuations are coming from this mountain peak.

"Could it be in the mountains?"

In the past, this situation would have required organizing a treasure hunting team to investigate.

But now that we have the X-ray vision of the vertical gemstone, it's much simpler.

He took out the necklace hanging around his neck, gripped the gemstone tightly, infused it with energy, and activated the gemstone's X-ray vision.

Layer by layer, the rock strata were penetrated, from the surface layer of gravel to the deep rock layer. Just as he reached a depth of twenty meters in the rock strata at the top of the mountain, a hidden interior space appeared in his field of vision.

It was not a naturally formed cave, but an artificial one, resembling an ancient underground temple. The walls were built of dark blue-green stone slabs, engraved with intricate totems and scriptures, which matched what Sangji had described as the ancient Bon religion.

In a corner of the underground temple, Fang Wen saw two familiar figures: Gong Xiuneng and his master, Daoist Jingyuan.

Master Jingyuan's face was ashen, and he leaned weakly against the corner of the wall, with bloodstains still hanging from the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating that he was injured;

Gong Xiuneng stayed by his master's side, his eyes warily fixed on the entrance of the temple, a Tibetan knife tightly gripped in his hand, his expression weary but still persistent.

The source of that energy came from the small box in Master Jingyuan's hand.

Unexpectedly, they killed two birds with one stone and even found the whereabouts of Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice!

Fang Wen was immediately excited and thought of lowering the altitude further to make a noise so that Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice would know that he had arrived.

But just as he was about to act, he suddenly stopped. Gong Xiuneng and his disciples were hiding in such a secluded underground temple, obviously to avoid something. If they made a commotion rashly, they would surely alert the people outside and put them in danger.

"No, we can't alert them." Fang Wen forced himself to calm down and continued to use the Vertical Eye Gem to conduct a second reconnaissance of the surrounding area to find out the deployment of those unidentified armed personnel.

He piloted the plane, flying towards the surrounding area to continue reconnaissance.

The plane flew out of the desolate mountain area and into a larger valley.

Within this valley, there is a water source and a meadow. On one side of the valley, there are rows of wooden houses and some tents.

Nearby, some cattle and sheep graze freely.

In addition, Fang Wen also saw more than twenty horses neatly tied to one side, dozens of people dressed in messy clothes sitting around a fire, and people patrolling nearby, holding old-fashioned muzzle-loading muskets.

Fang Wen activated his X-ray vision and looked into the houses and tents.

He witnessed a bloody scene; the room was filled with corpses.

It seems this place has been ravaged by blood, and those people now gathered around the fire are the murderers.

"So that's how it is. These are the people who trapped Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice."

A cold glint flashed in Fang Wen's eyes as he roughly ascertained the enemy's numbers and deployment.

The enemy force numbered several dozen, equipped with outdated weaponry. They occupied the flat ground in the valley and blocked the main passage in and out of Nianqingdawa Valley.

Dealing with these people is not difficult. We just need to airdrop a paratrooper unit here. With Taishan's superior equipment, they will be absolutely crushed by them.

After understanding the enemy's situation, Fang Wen immediately turned his ship around and returned to Chengdu.

After the plane landed at Chengdu Water Airport, Sun Debiao saw the guide off the plane, while Fang Wen used the plane's radio to send an emergency telegram to the base in northern Myanmar.

He requested that the base in northern Myanmar immediately dispatch two seaplanes, carrying 50 fully armed special forces soldiers, equipped with sufficient weapons, ammunition and supplies, to fly to Chengdu Sea Airport in the coming days.

Afterwards, Fang Wen sat in the driver's seat and closed his eyes to rest.

After seeing the guide off, Sun Debiao returned and, seeing that the cabin door was not closed, entered the plane.

He asked, "General Manager, what exactly happened?"

Fang Wen opened his eyes. "Gong Xiuneng and his master are surrounded in eastern Tibet. I plan to lead a team to rescue them tomorrow."

"Is this the place we flew to before?" Sun Debiao asked.

“Yes.” Fang Wen paused, then looked at Sun Debiao: “Saving people shouldn’t be a problem. There’s another matter I’m returning to China for, and you need to be involved.”

Sun Debiao replied without hesitation, "General Manager, please make the arrangements."

“The Japanese have opened a factory in Shanxi that specializes in refining graphite. This stuff is very important for the group’s development, and I plan to take it over. Once that factory is taken over, you will be in charge of receiving the supplies and transporting them. Fly the logistics company’s planes to the nearby waters and bring back all the graphite from their warehouse.”

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, Sun Debiao immediately perked up: "General Manager, you should have brought me into this kind of business a long time ago. Doing business every day is so boring. You know my background. I like to steal things, and I especially like to steal things from the Japanese."

Fang Wen smiled and said, "That's good. Let's discuss this properly after we've rescued them."

Northern Myanmar base.

Upon receiving Fang Wen's telegram, the special forces immediately sprang into action.

Fifty special operations team members quickly assembled.

They weren't wearing combat uniforms; instead, they disguised themselves as ordinary people.

After loading various combat equipment, as well as parachute backpacks, cold-weather clothing, and supplies, they were boarded on two seaplanes.

The plane took off and flew towards Chengdu. (End of Chapter)