Zhang Cheng frowned, his gaze coldly fixed on the cave. The pungent stench of decay permeating the air allowed him to almost certainly determine the situation inside.

The Jiangnan region was indeed a major disaster area for certain experiments during that special era, and many people still suffer from it today.

That was an unforgettable humiliation, an inescapable anger.

Zhang Cheng took out a cigarette and match from his pocket, lit one, and tossed it into the cave.

The cigarette butt glowed intermittently in the darkness.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally decided to go to the county to find Zhao Daming first. If this really was something left behind by the Japanese,

For Zhao Daming, this might be a great achievement.

Even if those shameless people never admit it, it is always beneficial to make the irrefutable evidence public.

Zhang Cheng carefully climbed down the old vine.

Shi Yangyang hurried forward, her beautiful eyes filled with fear and resentment: "Zhang Cheng, inside..."

Zhang Cheng shook his head slightly: "It's hard to see deep inside, but the smell... it's probably not a good place. It's very likely related to the Japanese invaders back then."

"Those damned beasts!" Shi Yangyang clenched her fists.

“But,” Zhang Cheng looked up at the seven or eight-meter-high opening and murmured, “how did my sister get up there? Tigers can climb, but they wouldn’t climb that high for no reason. Besides, the stench of corpses inside is overwhelming. It’s not a carrion-eating beast; it should avoid it like the plague.”

Shi Yangyang couldn't figure it out either, and guessed, "Could it be that my younger sister entered from somewhere else?"

Zhang Cheng shrugged. This question was probably hard to answer; a tiger can't just open its mouth and talk.

"Let's go back to the village first."

"Um."

Zhang Cheng, holding Shi Yangyang's hand, quickly returned to Zhangjia Village.

It was already dark when we arrived in the village.

A group of women were gathered outside the store, chattering about the village chief's family.

"The Gui family is really unlucky. They finally found a son-in-law from the county town, but he turned out to be a swindler."

"Luckily, Er Gouzi had sharp eyes, otherwise the Gui family would have really lost both their daughter and their money."

"Er Gouzi is back!" someone with sharp eyes exclaimed.

"Er Gouzi, you're really something!"

Zhang Cheng, holding Shi Yangyang's hand, walked past with a smile. Listening to the aunties' chatter, he suddenly remembered that Er Ya's daughter, Gua Wa, was still at Ninth Brother's house.

Ninth Brother is thirty-seven years old and has given birth to his eighth daughter. His wife is also amazing; she is thirty-two or thirty-three and still has plenty of breast milk for eight children.

Zhang Cheng planned to visit his ninth brother's house later to see the children and bring some eggs to his ninth sister-in-law to help her recover.

"Yangyang, you chat with the aunties for a while, I'm going to the village chief's house."

"Mmm." Shi Yangyang nodded obediently.

Aunt Hua smiled and pulled Shi Yangyang to sit down, and the women gathered around again.

...

The old village chief's house.

Dushan Province has long since left.

Xiao Nuan stayed with her mother in the inner room, comforting the crying Da Nuan. The old village chief sat alone on a bench in the main room, puffing on his pipe.

Hearing footsteps, the old village chief looked up and saw Zhang Cheng. He forced a bitter smile and said, "Er Gouzi, I'm sorry to have made you laugh today."

“Uncle, that’s too formal. Da Nuan just graduated and is still naive. It’s inevitable that she’ll suffer some losses.” Zhang Cheng offered her a cigarette.

The old village chief took it and sighed heavily: "If it weren't for you, we would probably have been sold out and still be counting the money for the seller."

"Uncle, it's all in the past now. Please don't say anything more about Da Nuan. She's a young girl and easily embarrassed," Zhang Cheng advised.

"Hmph!" The old village chief turned his head to look into the inner room, his voice suddenly rising, "I worked so hard to support her through high school, and she was always like a wild boy, never studying properly! After graduation, I used connections to get her a job as an accountant at the cannery, and she, on the other hand, started dating other people, and even brought some random guy home without saying a word!"

"Uncle, say less."

The crying from the inner room grew louder.

The old village chief was distraught. After all, she was his own daughter, and he was afraid she might really do something rash, so he could only shake his head and smile bitterly.

He looked at Zhang Cheng and lowered his voice: "Er Gouzi, Da Nuan probably can't stay at the cannery anymore. How about we let her work for you and manage the accounts? She's still a high school student..."

“Uncle,” Zhang Cheng interrupted with a smile, “I mentioned before that the Shanghai boss who acquired the cannery is a friend of mine. Once he has fully taken over, I’ll talk to him and ask him to let Da Nuan continue working as an accountant in the finance department.”

"Er Gouzi, this...can it really work?" The old village chief looked worried. "What if that swindler comes back to bother Da Nuan..."

"Uncle, I'm afraid the Du family, father and son, won't be here much longer either."

Zhang Cheng smiled calmly. Given Du Shansheng's character, how could Jiang Yuhong possibly retain him?

Even if Jiang Yuhong didn't know, Zhang Cheng was no pushover either; it was just a matter of a word.

The old village chief's gaze toward Zhang Cheng grew increasingly complicated, and he thought to himself, "It would be better if this kid wasn't married."

"Uncle, I came here this time because I found a cave in the mountains."

Zhang Cheng's smile faded, and his expression became serious.

"It's very likely a stronghold left behind by the Japanese back then, and something's not right inside."

"Huh?" The old village chief suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot, hatred surging within him, and he gritted his teeth. "Are you sure?"

"It's basically confirmed."

The old village chief's breathing suddenly became heavy, and he cursed the beasts before turning and walking away.

Zhang Cheng followed closely behind.

The old village chief first went to Zhang Jucai's house, took the large gong, and banged it around the village.

Ten minutes later, the ancestral hall was filled with villagers with various expressions.

"Fellow villagers," the old village chief said hoarsely, his face filled with hatred,

Zhang Cheng discovered a place left behind by the Japanese invaders in the mountains; it likely conceals a colossal atrocity!

The ancestral hall fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a cacophony of curses.

That hatred was so intense it was heart-stopping.

If there were any Japanese devils here right now, they would probably be devoured alive by these simple farmers.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!