?

  The dagger was not inserted very deeply, but it was just nailed to the mountain wall, swaying back and forth. How much strength did this guy use? I couldn't help but swallow my saliva, looking at the pedestrian on the opposite side with no arc in his mouth corner, and asked in a very unspirited tone: "What do you want to do?" But my voice had already weakened a lot, and even I myself wanted to slap myself after hearing it. Wu Xie, Wu Xie, I thought you'd made progress, but why are you still so cowardly?

  He hooked his fingers, turned over and lay on the ground, took off his clothes to reveal his upper body, and lazily said: "Apply the medicine."

  I took a deep breath, and my heart couldn't help but throb with anxiety.

  You're taking medicine, so just take it. After all, you've saved me twice, and I'm giving you some medicine, no big deal. Can't you just say it nicely instead of resorting to verbal attacks? And what's with the knife?!

  A man under the eaves, can't help but bow his head. I've already offended Mao DeGui and his gang of fugitives, if I were to offend this ruthless Mr. Lu who kills without batting an eye, I'm afraid I won't even make it to my coffin before they take care of me.

  I was applying medicine to passerby A while thinking about Fatso's situation. The current situation with the Heavenly Tomb is too confusing, I don't have any leads at all. On the contrary, compared to this, I'm more worried about Third Uncle and Fatso's whereabouts. Fatso is not someone who can be easily moved, but this time, no matter how I think about it, I feel that Fatso has been taken hostage. Thinking like this, things seem to have gotten out of hand. Did Chen Wenjin take Fatso hostage? No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense.

  As I walked away, my movements became a bit heavier, and passerby A let out a hiss, his back muscles twitching before he cursed out loud: "Your damn hand is crippled, be gentler."

  I was furious, but didn't dare to provoke him. I glanced at the medical equipment and saw the disinfectant alcohol, so I said with a smirk: "Your wound seems to be infected."

  Passerby A let out a sound, and I noticed that the corner of his mouth was drooping, seeming to be very unhappy. I secretly felt pleased in my heart, but calmly said: "Need to disinfect." He pursed his lips, hummed, and then I directly poured antiseptic alcohol onto his wound from the bottle. Passerby A didn't make a sound, but his muscles were taut. My conscience was slightly uneasy, and as I prepared to stop, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.

  I struggled with all my might, as strong as an ox, but couldn't get free.

  "Found out? I let out a dry laugh, my voice somewhat trembling: "What's wrong, is it too painful, haha, this... just bear with it and it'll pass, be a man..." I hadn't finished speaking when passerby A suddenly smiled and said: "Yes, our ancestors said, 'a drop of water in return for a gushing spring', you've been so good to me, I won't forget the kindness." After saying that, he snatched the bottle of alcohol from my hand and coldly said: "Take off your clothes."

  The wounds on my body are still very painful, and when I see the alcohol, I feel like my muscles are cramping up, and I couldn't help but cry, saying "I'm fine, really."

  Just then, Xiuxiu and Xiaohua entered the cave, saw me and Mr. Lu's appearance, and seemed to be stunned for a moment. Xiaohua looked at me, didn't say anything, walked to the German who was still unconscious, kicked him a few times, and woke him up.

  Passerby A finally let go of the liquor bottle, and I quickly put away the medical kit, just in case he held a grudge against me and helped me disinfect.

  At this time, Xiuxiu pulled my sleeve and led me to the German's side. She glanced at passerby A with a cautious gaze and said in a very low voice: "How did you get mixed up with him?"

  What's going on? I was just about to speak up, when Xiuxiu lowered her voice and said: "He's not someone you or I can afford to mess with." Hearing Xiuxiu say this, the words that were about to come out of my mouth got stuck in my throat, and instead I asked in a low voice: "Who exactly is he?"

  Xiuxiu was silent for a moment, shook her head and said "I don't know".

  I cursed in my heart, I don't know what kind of fart, it's just that you're unwilling to tell me, who knows what deal you made with that person.

  At this time, Xiaohua suddenly spoke up, pointing to the equipment we were carrying, her voice extremely low, one word at a time, softly saying: "This equipment was all obtained through him." As soon as Xiaohua said this, I suddenly felt a jolt.

  The equipment we brought this time can be said to be the best since our last battle. This equipment, even San Shu couldn't get it, is all regular army equipment and is of high quality. Just look at the guns we're carrying this time, from small bullets to long-barreled ones, and even burst-firing submachine guns - these are not something ordinary people can get their hands on.

  This kind of military equipment is useless no matter how big your face is unless you have a connection with the army.

  Xiao Hua finished speaking, looked at me for a moment, and only said three words: "Be on guard against him." Apparently, Xiao Hua had also been on guard against Road Person A. If so, then why were they cooperating? At this time, with many people around, I couldn't ask any more questions, and could only suppress them for the time being.

  At this time, the German had some reaction. His eyelids moved slightly, as if he was about to wake up. Xiaohua became vigilant and I also followed suit, becoming tense. At this time, the German opened his eyes, looked around the cave, and then stared at the top of the cave without moving.

  I was suddenly speechless, this guy is not Xiao Ge's relative, this guy is not Xiao Ge's relative...

  Xiuxiu was also clearly surprised, she stretched out her foot and kicked the German, saying: "Hey, be honest." The German didn't move, so I said: "Xiuxiu, foreigners don't understand Chinese, let's try German."

  Xiu Xiu suddenly enlightened, said: "Wu Ye brother, you're right." Then the two of us simultaneously looked at Xiaohua, and I silently recited in my heart: German level 4, German level 4.

  Xiao Hua did not disappoint everyone, with one mouthful of words that neither I nor Xiuxiu could understand, she chattered on and on, attracting the attention of Passerby A and Mao DeGui's group.

  When the German spoke, the German moved slightly and shifted his gaze from the cave to Xiaohua's face. He smiled, his loose skin wrinkling like a ghost, and then spat out a sentence that was not long, but I didn't understand what it meant. So I looked at Xiaohua, only to find her face pale, with a clenched jaw and gritted teeth.

  I couldn't help but wonder what this German said? It seemed like it wasn't a long speech, so how did he manage to infuriate Xiao Jiu Ye so much?

  I didn't ask, but Xiuxiu hastily said: "What did he say?"

  He called me wife.

  "Ah!" I cried out.

  Xiao Hua furrowed her brow again, and casually kicked the German guy with one foot, saying: "This person is not in his right mind, I reckon he's been crazy for a long time." Xiu Xiu sighed, saying: "It seems that the thing above can't be deciphered after all."

  "What thing?"

  Xiao Hua pulled out a piece of paper folded into a square from her pocket, and immediately opened it. Inside was a dense array of characters that didn't look like words, but rather like a code.

  When I was in Hangzhou, there was a summer when a peasant came to my store. He looked around stealthily and carefully, his expression made it clear that he was doing something wrong.

  At that time, I guessed that the peasant uncle might have dug up some good goods from the ground? Such things are common, and many farmers accidentally dig up ancient tombs when farming, with the final result being confiscated, such as the Terracotta Warriors, Sanxingdui, and so on.

  There is an international convention that likes to name new discoveries after people, such as in 1972 when a British female biologist discovered a deep-sea small predatory fish. Generally speaking, deep-sea fish have huge bodies to withstand the pressure of the water, but the fish discovered by this biologist was very small, only about the size of an adult's palm. However, its secret weapon against the pressure of the water was a shell as tough as that of a crocodile, so this type of fish was named after the biologist, called Elinor's deep-sea crocodilefish.

  Of course, such things are rare in China. Just like the excavation of terracotta warriors, you can't call them "Chen Ergou Terracotta Warriors" or "Wang Mazi's Heaven-Eyed People". So, when naming children in the future, it's essential to choose a name that is profound and far-reaching. Those kinds of names like "Ergou" are only suitable as nicknames; formal names must be impressive.

  As soon as I saw the old farmer, I was like a shot of adrenaline, and judging from his expression and attire, he must have dug up some treasure in the ground. I quickly invited him into the house, had Wang Meng serve tea and water, and after a round of hospitality, we got down to business. But what he handed me wasn't any earth-dug treasure, but a letter.

  To be exact, it was a coded telegram.

  Then the brother told me about the origin of this secret telegram. It turned out that his ancestral home was in Yan'an, the holy land of revolution. According to him, his grandfather's generation had served as bodyguards for **leaders in Yan'an.

  Later, in March 1947, the Kuomintang unilaterally tore up the armistice agreement and launched a crazy bombing of Yan'an, the revolutionary base at that time. The leader received a secret telegram from the Kuomintang spy and withdrew from Yan'an before Chiang Kai-shek sent troops, preserving his forces.

  At that time, due to the haste of the retreat, it was inevitable that some things would be left behind. The brother's grandfather and the rest stayed behind to take charge of evacuating the local people and were among the last batch to leave. Before leaving, his grandfather passed by the telegraph room and found that the telegraph machine was still in operation. Then, a coded message was tapped out, which was an SS-level triple-encrypted file.

  His grandfather was frightened, this SS-level triple encrypted file must be very important, only the leader would know how to decipher it, and it must be extremely confidential. His grandfather immediately put away the document, thinking that he had to hurry up and catch up with the main force, and send it to the leader. However, before he even left Wangjiaping, a bomber plane arrived, and his grandfather was injured in the battle, losing one leg. As he lay in the ruins waiting for death, he met a group of refugees who were fleeing, and was rescued by a woman. Later on, the two got married and lived together.

  But by then, the war situation had completely reversed, and with the transportation and communication conditions at that time, the triple-encrypted document was never sent out and remained intact.

  This brother is a genuine farmer, but he doesn't want to spend his whole life farming. Just then, the village contracted a large piece of cornfield, and the corn has to be transported out, right? He seized this opportunity, wanting to turn over a new leaf, thinking of pooling money to buy a large truck, so he took the confidential file left by his grandfather to Hangzhou city, wondering if it could be sold as an antique.

  I took a look at the document, and it was full of dense numbers and incomprehensible characters. Who can make sense of this? Even if someone could decipher it, modern encryption methods have long been improved, so this decades-old confidential document would likely be impossible for anyone to crack except for a few top officials from the National Security Bureau. And even if someone managed to crack it, who would dare buy what's inside?

  "So I said: 'The SS-level files from the Anti-Japanese War era, those were documents that national leaders would read, and the contents recorded inside must have been top-secret as well. This type of document is still sealed in the National Archives Bureau today. Whoever sells this thing will lose their head, it's a matter of life and death. I won't take on this business, and you shouldn't either. I'm sincerely warning you, this thing can be fatal.'"

  That peasant brother was disappointed, and I was anxious too. I'm a very curious person, but this kind of thing related to politics is not something that ordinary people like me can participate in. This top-secret document didn't play its role 70 years ago, so let it sleep forever.

  I recalled this past event, and upon taking another look at the thing in Xiaohua's hand, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. I thought to myself, why do I always get entangled in such affairs? Tomorrow, should I close down the Xileng Printing House and go study cryptography instead?

  Before I could think more, Xiaohua spread out the thing in her hand, and I found that it wasn't a telegram, but a handwritten password file, written on sheepskin. Such a password setting is not something you can have just by wanting it, it requires mobilizing the wisdom of many people, equivalent to reinventing a kind of writing. Only national governments and some large organizations can create such a password project. The remaining small organizations' passwords are mostly easy to decipher, but the one in front of us clearly belongs to the former. This is a military password.

  A German team, deep in China's western Kunlun Mountains, carrying a top-secret national file, what are they here for?

  Everything before my eyes is completely beyond the guess of a boss of an antique shop and a half-baked Confucian scholar.

  The German in front of him, combined with Xiuxiu's description, seemed to point to a strange inference, that is, this German had been alive for many years. How did he get his 'long life', was it due to a special physique like the dumb oil bottle, or was it like San Shu and others who had undergone some kind of physical transformation?

  Why did everyone else die while he survived?

  What were they looking for when this German team entered China decades ago?

  At that time, Qinghai had not yet opened up to highways. From Qinghai to the Kunlun Mountains, it stretched for 3 million miles, crisscrossing for tens of millions of miles. Even planes found it difficult to fly over this area. This group of Germans entered China on foot and then crossed Qinghai all the way to the Nyainqentanglha Mountains.

  This seems to explain why these people were so miserable when they just arrived at the Nyima Mountain, because their advancing conditions were vastly different from ours. They used footprints, step by step, to conquer the plateau, while we took trains and cars, traveling like tourists all the way here.

  What exactly is recorded in this top-secret file on sheepskin? Is it the mission objective of this German team?