Chapter 87: The Sweet Harbor Tempest - Special Operations Equipment

“How did the fire start just now?” Chang Shide asked Ma Sanqiang.

“Reporting to the master, it was our carelessness with the fire. We’ve troubled you,” Ma Sanqiang replied respectfully.

“Be careful in the future. Clean up the fire scene, and be careful!”

“Yes,” Ma Sanqiang responded, then turned and shouted, “Everyone, be careful with fire from now on. No more fires!”

“How is the child’s injury?”

“It’s not light,” Ma Sanqiang said with some worry. “We’ve already sent someone to fetch a doctor.”

“Go to the accounting office and get twenty taels of silver for expenses. Get a better doctor,” Chang Shide said as he turned to leave.

“Thank you, master!” Ma Sanqiang shouted from behind.

Liao Daxing hurried after him and whispered, “Master, you must think twice about this.” He warned, “You can’t hide something like this! Zhao Jijiao’s gang is not to be trifled with. If they suffer a loss, they will definitely come looking for trouble. A lawsuit would be a major headache.”

“Hmm,” Chang Shide didn’t explain much.

“These people are not afraid of being beaten or killed. Even the yamen can’t do anything about them. But they are the best in the world at causing trouble. Why make an enemy of them?”

“Make an enemy?” Chang Shide smiled cryptically. “No, we won’t be enemies.” With that, he walked inside.

That was the inner courtyard. No one could enter except the masters’ trusted aides. Liao Daxing sighed and hurried off to discuss countermeasures with his cousin, Liao Dahua.

Chang Shide stood in the courtyard for a moment, breathing in the sweet and slightly pungent air of the sugar factory. A moment later, one of Bei Wei’s native team members quietly approached.

“Chief Bei asks, we’ve gotten all the information. What do you plan to do with the person? Should we send him back to Lingao or—”

“Dispose of him immediately,” Chang Shide said. “I’ll go over now.”

Outside Xuwen County in April, the foul air, tinged with the smell of sugarcane, from the chimneys filled the streets outside the city. Inside the high walls, the sound of machinery rumbled on, day and night.

This area was originally a large expanse of wasteland and farmland, with a dirt “official road” winding past the south gate. Since the Huanan factory was built here, a large number of outside workers had moved in, and with the endless stream of sugarcane farmers coming to sell sugar every day, the area had suddenly prospered. At first, there were simple thatched huts selling tea and dry rations. As the market improved, merchants saw an opportunity and began to buy land and build houses. Various shops gradually opened, forming a small district outside the south gate.

The sugarcane farmers had changed where they sold their sugar, which also changed the direction of cash flow. The business of the merchants in Haian Street was no longer as good as before.

A night watchman, carrying a lantern, walked alone down a narrow path.

“The weather is dry, be careful with fire—”

The sound of his clapper, along with his voice, gradually faded into the distance.

“The watchman is gone, all clear!” In the darkness, several figures emerged from the corners of the street, the roadside ditches, and behind the vegetable garden fences.

They sprang from their hiding places with agility. These men had their heads wrapped in black cloth, were dressed in tight-sleeved black clothes, and carried strange packs on their backs. They held short, thick, club-like weapons at their shoulders, level with their eyes, in strange postures—some half-kneeling, some prone, forming a unique circular formation.

“Clear!”

“Ke-lai-er!”

“Ke-li-er!”

“Ke-li-er!”

The men called out to each other in low voices with various accents.

The leader took out a strange object, held it to his eyes, and looked towards the street entrance. The other side of the object showed a strange red glow.

“No heat sources in the alert zone. All clear.”

“Move out!”

In a flash, the leader leaped forward, crossed the street in a few bounds, and after observing from the base of Huanan’s high wall, gave three long and one short cat calls. He then searched along the wall. Two others followed, and after observing from the wall, they signaled to the side alley across the street.

A few seconds later, the men from the alley emerged in single file and gathered together.

The leader gestured with his hands, sometimes up, sometimes left, sometimes right, sometimes like an octopus, sometimes like a chopping motion. As he performed this pantomime, the others watched his hands intently, nodding. Finally, he swung his hand down, and everyone stood up, splitting into three groups.

One group, carrying large backpacks, quickly ran to a small gate in the wall. Another group spread out to guard the surroundings. The third group threw a grappling hook over the wall. The leader scrambled up the wall in a few moves. The top of the wall was embedded with dense, sharp porcelain shards, but they were useless against him. He squatted on the wall, observed for a moment, and after confirming there were no people or dogs in the courtyard, he signaled for them to proceed.

The remaining men quickly scaled the wall, opened a small gate, and let the others in. The leader checked his watch and nodded in satisfaction. Just as they were about to advance further into the courtyard, two high-powered flashlights simultaneously lit up.

“Alright, drop your weapons!” a voice came from under the eaves of the courtyard.

“You’re too slow,” the leader said, lowering the steel crossbow in his hands. “I’m already in the courtyard—”

“We knew you were coming the moment you ran out of the street entrance,” Bei Wei said, turning off his flashlight and stepping out from the shadows. “You could have shouted ‘clear’ a little louder.”

The leader, however, was not embarrassed at all. He said with a thick-skinned grin, “Just training the troops, you know, a bit of modern awareness.”

“Formalism is a deadly thing,” Bei Wei said. “Come in.”

The newcomer’s name was Chen Sigen. He was dressed in the standard special reconnaissance team gear, tall and strong, built like a tank—a standard muscle man. He had a doctorate in nutrition, had been a fitness coach, and had become a firearms and free-fighting enthusiast in the decadent United States. Due to his profession, he was recruited by the military department as an instructor. Chen Sigen had always admired special forces, so he often pestered Xue Ziliang and Bei Wei to discuss “special tactics.” He was also very active in training with the team. With his superior physical fitness and some background in shooting and fighting, he had earned the title of a half-baked “special forces soldier”—though Bei Wei never admitted that the transmigrator group had any “special forces.” He only called himself a “reconnaissance soldier.”

This time, he had brought ten soldiers to reinforce Bei Wei. The Executive Committee had considered that Bei Wei had only brought three or four men to Leizhou. With the Huanan factory now full of sugar and silver, if any situation arose that needed handling, the hastily formed militia would be useless.

Among these soldiers were cadets from the special reconnaissance team and elite soldiers from various units who were on rotation for training with the team. They were the most elite soldiers in the native forces.

“Let the soldiers take a shower and rest,” Bei Wei said, looking at the men, who were covered in dirt and salt stains. “Tell Wen Qing to have the kitchen prepare some food for them.”

“How did you get here?” Chang Shide asked.

“By boat,” Chen Sigen said nonchalantly. “After dark, we chose a deserted spot and swam 100 meters ashore. Then we walked about ten kilometers in the dark to find this place. Carrying our gear, in the dark, with no road—not bad, right?”

Bei Wei could only offer a wry smile. It was completely dark after 7 p.m., and it was now nearly 11 p.m. They had traveled less than ten kilometers in four hours. Even for a nighttime march in the mountains, the pace would have been faster.

“Of course, the speed was a bit slow,” Chen Sigen said. “But we also had a non-combatant with us.”

Just then, a gasping man in black entered. It was Xu Yingjie from the Industrial and Energy Committee. It was his first time running through the wilderness in the dark. And for safety, he had carried the box with the secret equipment himself. It didn’t seem heavy at first, but it became dead weight later on.

Both men went to take a shower before returning to Bei Wei’s command post. Bei Wei lit another candlestick and also invited Chen Tianxiong over. Chang Shide had Ah Luo bring them a lot of food. Chen Sigen and Xu Yingjie were starving and, although it was just ordinary food, they devoured it.

“What’s the situation?” Chen Sigen asked.

Chen Tianxiong said, “We’re about to make a move. You’ve come at the right time. I was worried Bei Wei didn’t have enough men.”

“We could only spare ten men,” Chen Sigen said. “But Xu Yingjie has brought you a lot of new equipment.”

“Oh? What good stuff?”

“Old Xu!” Chen Sigen called out. “Please show everyone your treasures!”

Xu Yingjie grinned. “You don’t need to see my treasures, just look at this.” He opened the two wicker backpacks under the table and showed them to everyone.

“This is the latest emergency equipment kit designed by the weapons group of the Industrial and Energy Committee.” At this point, Xu Yingjie turned to Chen Tianxiong and asked with a smile, “You’ve read The Deer and the Cauldron, right? You know about Lord Wei’s three life-saving items?”

“The impenetrable Sky Silk vest, the dagger that cuts through iron like mud, and the Sand-Shadow Projector,” Chen Tianxiong said. “If you don’t count Shuang’er. Apart from any fancy hidden weapons, I’ve already prepared a set of these things for myself. Has the Industrial and Energy Committee developed an anti-stab vest?”

Xu Yingjie picked up an 18cm-long tube from the box and said, “Since you already have an anti-stab vest, I won’t introduce the chainmail vest. This is a sleeve arrow developed by the weapons group. You should have heard of it. It has six built-in steel needles, and can penetrate a 2mm iron plate at a range of 10 meters. It’s powder-actuated and very quiet.”

“Powder-actuated? Do you light it with a fuse?”

“There’s a small revolver-style igniter. You press it once to fire a shot. But there’s a delay after pressing, about two seconds…”

“No need to cock or reload?”

“Of course not, otherwise it would be a pistol,” Xu Yingjie said. “The premise for the weapons group developing this weapon was to produce special operations equipment while minimizing the need for modern industrial capabilities.”

Chen Tianxiong’s interest was piqued. He examined it for a while and asked, “Where’s the magazine?”

Chang Shide said, “It’s like a firework. The ammunition is loaded sequentially in a tube, separated by clay discs.”

“Old Chang, you know about this?”

“This idea was Wang Ruixiang’s, right? When I was in Lingao, he was talking about it everywhere. Everyone in the New Army knows.”

“Isn’t that just a fire-lance in a tube?” Chen Tianxiong said. “I’d be afraid it would blow my arm off if I put it in my sleeve.”

“It won’t. It’s very safe. According to our tests, its success rate is as high as 87.53%!” He added, “Even if it does explode, at most it will just scorch your flesh…”

“Alright, alright, stop trying to sell it. I’m definitely not using that thing,” Chen Tianxiong said, firmly refusing.

Bei Wei couldn’t help but say, “Even if you’re not willing to make a Derringer, at least make a few flintlock pistols. What is this thing?”

Xu Yingjie was unfazed. He took out another bag and poured out several pigeon-egg-sized oval balls wrapped in paper of various colors. “The white ones are smoke bombs, the yellow are sulfur bombs, the blue are tear gas bombs, and the red are the most dangerous—small-yield bombs, specially for the intelligence and special reconnaissance departments! The power is relatively small, but they are definitely better than the No. 1, 2, and 3 grenades issued to the New Army. Before use, tear off the outer packaging, and light the black part on the surface with an open flame. There’s a 5-second delay. The only drawback is that they must be kept dry, and the packaging must be intact. So,” he took out a bamboo tube, “this is a special container. There are three in each tube, and the gaps in the lid are sealed with wax.”

“This is a bit like ninja equipment,” Chen Tianxiong commented. “Just the ignition is troublesome. Better than nothing, I guess.”

“The real killer is here!” Xu Yingjie took out a small wicker box from the backpack, opened it carefully, and revealed two porcelain bottles packed in pairs, surrounded by straw.

“Molotov cocktails,” Xu Yingjie said proudly, picking one up gently. “I came up with this. The main ingredient is extracted from coal tar, similar to gasoline. And it has a contribution from you Huanan folks—I added sugar.” Sugar has always been one of the common ingredients in Molotov cocktail recipes.

The mouth of the porcelain bottle was tightly stoppered and sealed with wax.

“I added white phosphorus to this incendiary bomb. It will ignite on impact when shattered, so there’s no need to light a cloth strip beforehand. But be very careful with it! It would be a disaster if it broke,” he warned.

Finally, he took out a wine-bottle-shaped object from the box and said, “This is a product of a new era, the ancestor of the RPG, a handheld grapeshot cannon. Hardwood structure, 30-meter range, can create a 5-meter radius killing zone, similar to a modern shotgun. A one-time use item. This is a brand new idea from the weapons group! Not bad, right?”

“Japanese ninjas have a weapon called a ‘handheld cannon’ that’s pretty similar to this.”

“Is that so? We’ll have to wipe out all the ninjas in the future,” Xu Yingjie said nonchalantly.

“Is the structural strength of the grapeshot cannon sufficient?”

Xu Yingjie nodded. “You can rest assured about that. It’s strong enough for one shot.”

In addition, there were a dozen or so signal flares and illumination rockets. Although small, they were very useful. Seeing these things, Chen Tianxiong, besides being impressed by everyone’s creativity, could see that Lingao’s industrial capabilities had reached a new level. Many of these items required chemical products. It seemed the Industrial and Energy Committee was very diligent. The engineering types were all about practical application.