Upon hearing they were about to leave, the other party stood up to see them off. Military intuition told Luo Zheng that sothing was off with this guy, so he quietly stood up and walked towards the exit. Reaching the doorway, Luo Zheng glanced at the person next to him and saw that, although they weren't paying attention, their body was tense, on high alert. This confird Luo Zheng's suspicions even more. Seizing the opportunity while Zheng Duo and the other person were shaking hands to say goodbye, Luo Zheng suddenly struck from behind, chopping at the back of the man's neck with the side of his hand.
The sudden action, coupled with his full force in such close proximity, ant that few could block Luo Zheng's strike. Zheng Duo hadn't noticed Luo Zheng's movent either and only felt the hand he was holding go limp. When he looked, the other person's body had collapsed to the ground. Zheng Duo's face turned pale with shock, and he looked at Luo Zheng and asked in a low, bewildered voice, "What did you do?"
"This man is suspicious." Luo Zheng didn't imdiately answer but dragged the person to the sofa. He signaled for Zheng Duo to enter the room and, after closing the door, pried open the other person's mouth to check. He found a hole in the dental ridge but didn't discover any poison teeth. However, judging from the size of the hole, which was similar to poison teeth he had seen before, Luo Zheng deduced it was likely ant to hold a poison tooth.
"What have you found?" Zheng Duo asked cautiously. Had he not known of Luo Zheng's identity, he might have suspected him of scheming for wealth or murder, his eyes full of doubt.
"Do you see that?" Luo Zheng pointed at the shoes on the shoe rack.
Zheng Duo walked over to examine the shoes and didn't notice anything unusual. It was only when he looked at the third shoe that he discovered clay, pausing with a heavy expression. Under the light, he scrutinized it before affirming, "Yellow with a hint of white, quite moist—this is a type of subterranean clay. The ground around here is either grass or gravel; this kind of clay shouldn't be here. How can this be?"
"Good observation," Luo Zheng said with a smile. "Let's look around and see where this clay cos from." As he spoke, he started to scour the surroundings: the living room, bedroom, balcony, and more, not missing any detail. Growing increasingly bewildered, he stared around, deep in thought.
"We haven't found anything in the room. However, every unit here has a storage room. How about we take a look there?" Zheng Duo suggested. Seeing Luo Zheng nod, he stepped out and went over to a row of storage rooms not far from the apartnt block, finding one of the numbers.
Luo Zheng observed the row of storage rooms. They were only one story tall and made of bricks; their purpose was unclear. He went up and broke the lock, then opened it to find a small, dark room where he could just make out so sort of underground entrance in the middle, surrounded by soil. The image of the man who had confessed about a bomb suddenly flashed in his mind, and he was taken aback.
"Eh? What's going on here?" Zheng Duo exclaid in surprise as he felt around the door and flicked on the light switch. In the room, a light bulb imdiately lit up, illuminating the surroundings. Luo Zheng observed the underground entrance, which was about two ters deep, then extended into the unknown.
"Give the walkie-talkie," Luo Zheng said with a grave expression. He took the walkie-talkie Zheng Duo handed over and turned it on. Just as he was about to speak, sothing occurred to him. He turned the device off and said seriously, "Captain Zheng, please go back imdiately and inform my n. Rember, do not tell anyone about what happened here. Get one of my n to co over."
"Alright." Realizing that sothing was wrong, Zheng Duo's expression turned solemn, and he quickly agreed before hurrying off.
Luo Zheng observed the underground entrance, and from the look of the soil, it seed that excavation had begun several months earlier. Recalling that Elder Lin's son-in-law had co here three months ago, he suddenly beca calculated, vigilantly inspecting his surroundings. Aside from digging tools, there was nothing else in the storage room. Luo Zheng grew puzzled—how had they transported so much soil out?
With this in mind, Luo Zheng exited the room to scrutinize the area and soon spotted a bread van that appeared unremarkable on the surface. Approaching the vehicle, he peered inside through the glass and saw that the seats had been removed, leaving behind a pile of snake bags and so yellow clay, similar to the residue he found on shoe soles. Luo Zheng instantly understood—they had been sneakily transporting the soil out in the vehicle, no wonder no one noticed.
It wasn't long before Snow Leopard arrived in a hurry with Zheng Duo. After a brief explanation from Luo Zheng, he imdiately said, "You keep watch outside, I'll go in and check the situation. Look, there are wires leading into the tunnel; it must be rigged with electric lighting."
"I'm smaller in build than you; you're as bulky as a bull and won't fit in. Stay on guard outside," Luo Zheng said as he drew his pistol, not waiting for Snow Leopard's consent, he jumped down and discovered that the passage, albeit straight, was not tall—just enough for him to crawl through, lit the entire way with small light bulbs. Luo Zheng bent over and quickly crawled forward.
The passage was long and sloped downward, with ventilation openings at intervals connecting to the sewer system, ensuring air circulation within. It was a smartly constructed tunnel, and Luo Zheng couldn't help but admire the person who had dug it. After crawling for a good fifteen minutes, with no idea where he was, he finally saw the space open up ahead and let out a sigh of relief.
Soon, Luo Zheng's face turned ashen with shock. Ahead, the path took a turn, opening up into a much larger space filled with explosives, all connected by wires and topped with a tir that ticked away ominously, sounding like a death knell that could drive one to despair.
"Hiss?" Luo Zheng realized—it was the explosives ant to blow up the Military Research Institute, and there was so much of it, all yellow gunpowder, enough to level the entire office building. Such vicious tactics! He glanced at the tir; it was not set to go off, probably waiting for Elder Lin's research progress.
"That's a relief," Luo Zheng breathed out, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. These Japanese were utterly ruthless, sparing no thought for the consequences. After a careful examination, he found the bombs to be straightforward standard-tirs, though the quantity of explosives was staggering. Luo Zheng cautiously confird everything and quickly disard the bombs. Only at that mont did he finally breathe easy—had they been detonated, no one would have survived.
"These bastards," a surge of rage welled up in Luo Zheng's heart, and his hatred for the Japanese deepened. After collecting all the connecting wires and ensuring there were no issues, he carried a box of explosives and started crawling back. Fifteen minutes later, Luo Zheng reached the exit and saw Snow Leopard's anxious face, feeling a warmth in his heart as he handed out the explosives first.
Snow Leopard's tension spiked at the sight of the explosives, and after pulling Luo Zheng up, he imdiately asked, "What's the situation inside? How co there are bombs?"
"If my estimates aren't wrong, there should be two hundred kilograms of explosives inside, all potent yellow gunpowder—this is just one box," Luo Zheng said, patting the soil off his body.
"Hiss?" Shocked, Snow Leopard and Zheng Duo realized the havoc that two hundred kilograms of explosives could wreak, their scalp tingling at the thought. Looking at Luo Zheng, their eyes filled with relief—it was fortunate they had discovered it early. Captain Zheng hurriedly asked, "How should we handle this?"
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