203: Chapter 202 Mysterious Base

Dinner was prepared by the Huang father and son, with wild beef as the main theme. Even in the wild, Cao Xiao refused to suffer, so a full array of seasonings had been prepared. The three main dishes—stir-fried offal, beef tendon and yam soup, and braised steaks—were served in large basins. Additionally, there were a few wild ducks the bodyguards had hunted by the stream, along with several portions of stir-fried wild vegetables and mountain mushrooms. Perhaps because eating in the wild felt different, the Huang father and son's cooking had a unique flavor. Everyone was starving and ate like gluttons, stuffing themselves until their bellies were round and they didn't want to move.

Aside from Cao Xiao and Huang Dacheng, the twelve others were divided into three shifts to keep watch. Cao Xiao naturally slept very soundly, but the night was not peaceful. A circle of wooden stakes had been driven into the ground outside the tents, surrounded by window screening buried at one end, and a large amount of insect repellent powder had been scattered to prevent small animals and snakes from entering. However, large animals could not be kept out. Furthermore, the bonfires and lights that stayed lit throughout the night attracted animals. When Cao Xiao woke up the next day, he found everyone busy processing a large pile of animal carcasses. There were tigers, bears, leopards, and pythons—beasts that were usually only heard but not seen during the day. And there wasn't just one or two, but a bloody heap of them. There were three tigers alone and more than ten pythons. Cao Xiao was somewhat shocked; he really didn't know where so many beasts had come from nearby. They said they were here to hunt, but if they hadn't been well-prepared with enough manpower and automatic weapons, the roles of hunter and prey would have been reversed last night.

With Cao Xiao's capabilities, no matter where he went, his bodyguards would never lack weapons and equipment, including night-vision goggles and various other special-ops combat gear. These were kept on the plane and brought through customs in specially made crates. The surface of the crates was plated with a super-metal coating that could absorb and shield electromagnetic particle waves, so there was no fear of them being detected by airport scanners. If not for this, the bodyguards would have certainly suffered casualties last night. Even though they were elite special forces, if they couldn't detect the tigers and leopards in advance, the result of a close-quarters ambush wouldn't have been much better than for ordinary people.

"Boss, you can't blame us. They came here to seek death themselves," Niu Zhen hurriedly explained as soon as he saw Cao Xiao come out.

"A good harvest. We don't need to go out of our way to hunt today. Clean the skins you've peeled and ask Old Man Huang to help process them. Be careful when peeling; if you tear them, I'll dock your pay. Also, remove the tiger skeletons completely for me, and keep the bear and snake gallbladders. The rest can be skinned and thrown far away. We'll eat early today—tiger meat and bear paws—and then we set off," Cao Xiao said in a good mood. The skins they hunted were meant to be shown to others. Since the prey had delivered themselves to his doorstep, he wouldn't have to bear a bad reputation for it. He didn't care about others, but his family wouldn't want to see such bloody things in their home.

Tiger meat was very coarse and had a strong odor; in fact, it tasted worse than beef. Therefore, Huang Sheng added many spices and simmered it over a high flame for over an hour before it was ready, which managed to bring out some flavor. However, Cao Xiao discovered that tiger meat provided much more energy than beef. Although it couldn't compare to the meat of the mutated snakes, a full meal could still last him a while. After his body had been strengthened by the infusion of Yuan Energy, his digestion speed had at least doubled. He feared the mutated snake meat would be consumed within half a month. The meat from the three tigers totaled about five or six hundred catties, which could buy him a few more days, so after the bodyguards discarded it, he collected it into his space. As for the bear paws, he didn't get to eat any. There was only one bear, which meant four paws, and there wasn't much to go around for over ten people. Moreover, the hind paws were somewhat gamy and smelly; without special preparation, they would have an unpleasant odor. Huang Sheng's culinary skills were self-taught, and he couldn't produce the deliciousness bear paws should have, so Cao Xiao simply stored them away, planning to have a professional chef cook them after they were dried back in the country.

There was no need to pack up the camp, as they might use it again on the return trip. Cooking utensils, seasoning jars, and other unnecessary items were left in the tents. The group traveled light and moved quickly, reaching the vicinity of the Japanese camp in less than two hours.

"Old Duan, what do you think these Japanese people are doing, going to such great lengths to come into Yeren Mountain?" Crouching in the bushes, Zheng Hui watched the busy Japanese people not far away and asked Duan Hong beside him in confusion.

"I don't know the specifics, but their plot is not small. Look at those small mounds over there! Those are graves! There are at least fifty of them, some already overgrown with weeds. These people came here at least half a year ago. There are at least two hundred people here; the convoy we saw was carrying supplies and reinforcements to support this place. They still haven't succeeded after half a year, and it looks like something went wrong here yesterday. Many people died, and it hasn't been brought under control even now. Look, another two died! Their bodies aren't even intact! What on earth did they encounter in that cave!" Duan Hong replied with a heavy tone while observing with binoculars.

"Mr. Cao, let's not act rashly! There are too many of them, and most of them are likely elite soldiers. Our dozen or so people are no match for them. Even if we're lucky enough to annihilate them, we'll suffer casualties. It's better if I go back and report this to the government and have the army sent to wipe them out." Zheng Hui could naturally see what Duan Hong was talking about, especially since most of those people were heavily armed and moved with disciplined, uniform steps, exuding a fearless aura unlike ordinary soldiers. He feared their small group would be wiped out in a single encounter. Worried that Cao Xiao's impulsiveness would lead to his own death, he made this tactful suggestion.

"You don't need to worry about that. If we dare to act, we have the certainty of annihilating them. Besides, if we don't act now, we won't know what kind of evil things they're up to. You'll have no evidence when you go back to report. The government won't deploy the army just based on your word, especially in Yeren Mountain. More importantly, can you guarantee that word won't leak from your side? When the time comes, no matter the outcome, you'll be the one who suffers. So, it's best if you don't reveal this to anyone. You can imagine how vengeful the Japanese are!" Cao Xiao was somewhat speechless at Zheng Hui's naive thinking, but he still explained patiently.

"Uh! Alright! Actually, I'm just a small fry who can't afford to provoke mad dogs. Cao Xiao, I'll say the same thing—since I'm doomed either way, I'll go all out today and risk my life to be crazy with you. If I'm finished and any of you are still alive, please help me take care of my mother and younger brother." Zheng Hui finally thought the whole thing through. Cao Xiao was determined to act, and he knew he couldn't persuade him. If they fought, he would likely die given his skills, but if he backed out and ran now, he would face Japanese retaliation later, which would be even worse than dying now. Thus, he took on a desperate stance and pleaded with Cao Xiao somewhat sorrowfully.

"Haha, you don't have to be like that. We don't need you to risk your lives. You three just need to stay here and guard to prevent anyone from escaping. We'll handle the charging and fighting. In a moment, I'll show you what it means to be invincible! These one or two hundred people really aren't enough." Cao Xiao was very happy to hear this. Since Zheng Hui had this realization, he didn't need to make things difficult. This matter absolutely could not be leaked in the slightest. After all, if Zheng Hui had been firmly opposed, word would inevitably leak out later, and he wouldn't have known how to deal with Zheng Hui. Finally, he said to the bodyguards, "These Japanese people definitely have the strong support of the Japanese government behind them. Looking at the aging of those abandoned, collapsed buildings, the Japanese must have been here since at least the World War II era. They even transported a large amount of building materials into the deep mountains to build fixed strongholds. It's clear there must be something here worth their cost. If the news of us destroying this place today leaks out, we will definitely face the endless, crazy retaliation of Japan. And even if we get solid evidence, we can't make it public, because they can even modify their history textbooks beyond recognition and will never admit it. So, every Japanese person here must be annihilated today with no survivors left, erasing all traces. Now, start checking your equipment. Leave unnecessary items here. We attack in three minutes. I'll be responsible for clearing the sentries, and you'll be responsible for the assault. Don't enter that cave yet; wait until I arrive."

"Yes!" the bodyguards responded softly and began putting on their gear.

Tianxing Type-1 full-body protective suits, hoods, goggles, Tianxing Type-1 assault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, Pearl Grenades, rockets, and even a Vulcan Cannon. Except for the protective suits, the other weapons looked normal to Zheng Hui and the other two, but the protective suits, which looked like Zhongshan suits, seemed very bizarre in this setting. If it weren't for the fact that those firearms were the real deal, they would have thought Cao Xiao and his men were here for a joke. Even though Cao Xiao and the others appeared full of confidence, the three of them still didn't believe they could do it.

Three minutes passed in a flash. At Cao Xiao's command, the ten bodyguards began to disperse and sneak toward the Japanese camp, while Cao Xiao himself climbed a nearby tree with thick foliage. Their position was less than a kilometer from the Japanese camp. Using a sniper rifle, he could cover the entire area from where he was. If they had enough manpower, they could have completely eliminated the enemy through long-range sniping. However, the enemy outnumbered them twenty to one. Sniper rifle firepower was insufficient; it would be easy to rout the enemy, but unrealistic to annihilate them all. That was why he had the bodyguards move in for a surprise attack. With the protective suits making them invulnerable to blades and guns, he wasn't worried about them getting hurt; at most, it would hurt a bit when they were hit. Annihilating the enemy was only a matter of time.

Completely concealing himself in the dense leaves, he unhurriedly assembled the sniper rifle, attached the silencer, and loaded the bullets. After chambering a round, he rested the gun on a branch. He didn't even need the scope; no matter how secretly the enemy sentries were hidden, they had nowhere to hide in his eyes. All he had to do now was pick them off one by one. Once Duan Hong and the others had crept to within three hundred meters of the camp, Cao Xiao began the hunting feast. There were five sentries arranged around the camp, all snipers—three in trees and two hidden in the bushes along the cleared path. Duan Hong and the others were dispersing and creeping along the path. Due to the obstruction of the bushes and the need to avoid disturbing the vegetation, their progress was slow. Cao Xiao fired two consecutive shots to take out the snipers near the path, then quickly fired three more. All three snipers in the trees were struck between the eyebrows without warning, falling to the ground without making a sound.

The sound of heavy objects hitting the ground alerted those in the camp, but they only sent a five-man squad out to investigate. Controlling the overall situation, Cao Xiao had five of Duan Hong's men hide in the bushes to wait for the squad to approach, while the other five continued to sneak forward. When the squad reached the bodyguards' hiding spot, the bodyguards didn't even show themselves, cleanly taking them out one by one with silenced pistols. Then, the five of them advanced rapidly along the path. Once he confirmed everyone had reached their designated attack positions, Cao Xiao gave the order to attack. Simultaneously, four rockets flew out from the woods fifty meters from the camp, accurately hitting four large tents. As the explosions rang out, nearly fifty people in the four tents who were still tinkering with instruments for experiments were instantly engulfed in flames. Before the enemy's armed personnel could react, dense gunfire erupted from all directions. The armed personnel were the primary targets. After the Vulcan Cannon plowed through once, followed by the immediate attention of eight assault rifles, no one in the camp could pick up a weapon to resist. Cao Xiao was also firing rapidly; those with quick reactions who hid behind obstacles could not escape his clutches either. The battle was even easier than imagined. In less than three minutes, the bodyguards had cleared the camp. After confirming no one had escaped, they immediately blockaded the cave entrance and waited for Cao Xiao to arrive.

"Let's go! Let's head over and see. The answer is about to be revealed." Cao Xiao climbed down from the tree, tossed the gun in his hand onto the ground, and shouted to Huang Sheng and the other two, who were still dazed on the tree holding their guns.

"It's over just like that? An annihilation with zero casualties!" Zheng Hui asked in disbelief after coming down.

"Haha! Striking when they're unprepared, plus having heavy weapons like rocket launchers and a Vulcan Cannon—solving these people really wasn't much effort!" Cao Xiao laughed.

"Mr. Cao, did you know about this place beforehand, or were you sent by the state? Otherwise, how could you have prepared so many weapons in advance?" Zheng Hui frowned and asked helplessly with a bitter face.

"Haha! You're overthinking it. I'm someone who's quite afraid of death; otherwise, I wouldn't bring so many bodyguards when I go out. Those weapons are always carried with us. We have ways to bypass metal detector checks. If the state had sent us, they would have definitely notified the Myanmar military to cooperate, and we would have caught them red-handed. Why would we need to be so secretive and resort to silencing everyone like this? Let's go! We need to solve the problem in that cave first; delays bring trouble!" Cao Xiao explained.

In fact, Cao Xiao already knew what the Japanese were doing last night. The secret was inside that cave. It had once been a natural cave that was secretly converted into a research base by the Japanese during World War II. The research projects naturally included biochemical weapons like bacteria and viruses, but those weren't the main focus. The key research topic was supernatural phenomena, and the subject of the research was deep inside the cave. However, perhaps because Japan was defeated and didn't want the secrets here to be discovered by other countries, or for some other unknown reason, the base was forced to be closed. It was sealed tightly with two five-meter-thick stone and cement walls—one at the cave entrance and another deep inside. Furthermore, the interior of the base was severely damaged, with many places collapsed, and eerily, it was overgrown with vegetation.