Chapter 458 - 458: The Mysterious Disappearance of 20,000 People!
Chapter 458 - 458: The Mysterious Disappearance of 20,000 People!
Chapter 458: The Mysterious Disappearance of 20,000 People!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Could this be the tomb of Sima Yi?” someone ventured.
The scoff came swiftly, “Laughable! During the Three Kingdoms period, did they use iron gates for tombs?”
Luo Feng, hearing this, reiterated, “This is not an ancient tomb. We need to cease this debate about whose tomb it might be.” He punctuated his statement by illuminating the dark interior with his flashlight.
The passage, about two meters wide, revealed clinging broken light bulbs on the walls.
“What kind of structure is this?” someone asked, puzzled.
“Didn’t the host say it’s not an ancient tomb?” another retorted.
“It appears somewhat like a bomb shelter!” a third observed.
Mocking laughter followed. “Did they expend all this effort just to find an abandoned bomb shelter? How utterly comical!”
“Indeed! The host risked his life against five poachers. If they don’t find Sima Yi’s tomb, all their exertions would have been in vain!”
Ignoring the comments, Luo Feng prepared himself for the descent. He donned an oxygen tank and a gas mask, announcing, “Whoever wishes to accompany me, sign up. Though there are potential dangers within, it certainly won’t be as perilous as our previous exploration of Cao Cao’s tomb!”
Upon hearing Luo Feng’s invitation, several affluent heirs glanced at each other, none willing to volunteer. As for Luo Feng’s three favored followers, they remained conspicuously silent, standing a step behind him.
Eventually, a team of seven or eight people formed. Luo Feng took the lead and stepped into the darkness. A drone whirred above, capturing the unfolding events.
As they delved deeper into the passage, Luo Feng wondered if it was a drainage channel? The original construction seemed to be done for long-term habitation. Otherwise, why would a comprehensive drainage system be included?
The passage wasn’t lengthy, spanning only about twenty meters before taking a right turn into another corridor. Offshoots within the passage were filled with canned goods. Picking one up, Luo Feng found it labeled in Japanese.
“This must have been a supply depot and communication point for the Japanese during World War Il!” After some consideration, Luo Feng shared his thoughts with the group.
“What?! The Japanese?”
“Why would the Japanese be in Mount Changbai?”
“Their construction projects here were indeed numerous!”
The first room was packed with canned food, meant for long-term sustenance. The second room contained a bed, beside which lay two skeletal remains – one adult and one child. The remnants suggested a woman cradling a child, likely seven or eight years old.
Upon closer inspection, Luo Feng noticed what appeared to be bullet holes in the woman’s clothing. Likely, she had been shot to death.
He moved on to the next room, a space of over ten square meters, containing more than thirty bodies. They were dressed in the distinctively styled military uniforms of the Kwantung Army. “These are Japanese soldiers! Let’s whip these bodies!”
“Japanese soldiers and their offspring!”
Luo Feng continued his inspection, observing, “These people seem to have been executed by firing squad!” Their uniforms bore clear bullet holes, and some bones still lodged bullets, while others littered the ground.
“Execution? Can you actually discern that?” Su Meiji asked, perplexed.
Luo Feng responded, “Think about it. If they died in a skirmish, the scene would be chaotic. If they died of natural causes, there wouldn’t be this many bullets in their bones. They would have received medical attention. Combining these possibilities, I can only conclude that they were executed by a firing squad. In other words, they were left here to die.”
Upon hearing Luo Feng’s analysis, everyone nodded their heads in agreement. The scene would not have been orderly if it were a gunfight, and it certainly wasn’t natural causes. Beyond these, it looked precisely like execution by firing squad.
Leaving the room, Luo Feng pressed on, discovering hundreds of bodies. It was a veritable house of horrors.
“How many bodies are there?”
“Which of our heroes did this?”
“It’s good that they’re all dead, they got what they deserved!”
As they ventured further, more rooms filled with bodies came into view. A preliminary count revealed over 1,400 bodies. Soldiers of the Kwantung Army, women, and children were among them. Several rooms were solely filled with women and children.
A massacre of such a large number deep in the mountains was truly bizarre. In such a small military fort, if shots were fired in one location, wouldn’t others be alerted? Why was there no resistance?
With a creak, Luo Feng pushed open the door to another room. Inside, it was brimming with firearms and ammunition, including unopened bullets. The weapons were primarily Type 38 rifles. Shockingly, dozens of rooms further in were also filled with weapons and ammunition. The sheer quantity was horrifying.
The following twenty rooms or so contained only supplies.
Creaking open another iron door, Luo Feng discovered a room housing several dozen more bodies. Unlike the previous ones, these corpses had fatal head wounds, with bullets lodged in their skulls. Most peculiarly, they were still clutching pistols in their hands..