Locked Room Mystery
The deep, narrow passage was completely silent, except for the occasional soft sound of the group stepping into puddles. Zhao Fengnian pulled down his sleeves, and compared to the stuffy heat outside, the secret passage was eerily cold.
The secret passage had many forks and was pitch black with no light. He could only rely on the faint light of his flashlight to search for small footprints and drag marks on the ground, trying to find the way back to where the little red devil had walked before his death.
“Such a long secret passage must be something special,” Ouyang said in a low voice, gripping the hammer tightly. “According to the elders, underground caves are filled with yin energy and are particularly eerie. We’d better be careful.”
"What's there to be afraid of? With so many men like us, it's the demons and monsters who should be afraid of us," Xia Lang replied dismissively.
“Yes, yes, yes, the yang energy is incredibly strong,” Ouyang chimed in. “But I heard from the locals that when they were building the airplane tunnel, they accidentally collapsed a rat hole. In an instant, the stench of decay mixed with the smell of blood enveloped the area for several kilometers around. The smell was pungent, ouch.”
"It's just a rat's nest, like it was never blown up when I was a kid," Xia Lang said proudly.
"Yes, it was just a rat's nest, but the strange thing was that after everyone cleared away the bricks and everything else, they found a small coffin inside. It was about the length of a person's forearm and the width of a palm, too big to fit even a premature baby. There were also copper coins, jade rings, and small gold lockets scattered around it." Ouyang gestured with his hands as he vividly described the scene.
Zhao Fengnian secretly admired Ouyang's ability to make up stories. Within minutes, Ouyang had become one of them. The group was completely absorbed in Ouyang's rambling tales, chatting and laughing in the corridor, enthusiastically discussing what was inside the coffin. It was a very harmonious scene.
"If it were up to me, I'd open it and take a look. Confiscate everything of value and use it for Soviet construction," Xia Lang said righteously.
"Don't rush, everyone's thinking the same thing. A few workers discussed it and decided to open the coffin!" Ouyang strained his eyes and slowly walked towards Xia Lang, then suddenly shouted, "Wait, don't open it!"
Everyone was startled, and the people in front bumped into each other as soon as they stopped. Zhao Fengnian didn't care about them and continued to look for clues. Two trails of water appeared on the ground, one on the left and one on the right, along with a few chicken feathers. It must have been caused by the chicken running around randomly. He decided to choose one side at random.
Ouyang grabbed Xia Lang by the collar, spat, and imitated an old woman's voice, saying, "This coffin isn't for people, it's for... the Rat King. If you dare open it, you'll all die a horrible death."
"What are you doing?" Xia Lang snapped, wiping his face.
"Silly child, I'm exorcising evil spirits for you." Ouyang seemed to be possessed by an old woman, and sprayed a few more breaths. "Bad luck must be washed away with filth. The Rat King died before he was even buried, and we destroyed his lair. Ordinary people can't withstand that resentment. You'd better wrap my old woman's foot binding cloth around your face so that the Rat King won't recognize you."
"What kind of nonsense is this? Promoting feudal superstition all day long!" Xia Lang broke free from his restraints and pointed at Ouyang, cursing.
"Hehehe, young man, I'm an old woman with one foot in the grave, do you think I'd lie to you?" Ouyang mysteriously tapped Xia Lang's head. "I'm not afraid to tell you, I personally witnessed the Rat King's daughter's wedding when I was a child."
"What kind of?" everyone asked curiously.
"A vast horde of black rats, each carrying a red cloth bundle the size of a jujube on its back, stretched for ten miles. On a cart pulled by about thirty rats sat a large, pure white rat, next to which sat a slightly smaller, light gray rat, quite handsome even by human standards. But just that one glance led to a year-long rat infestation for my family, and my father even had half his ear bitten off." Ouyang seized the opportunity to give Xia Lang's ear a hard tug.
"Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?" Xia Lang shouted, covering his ears.
Ouyang retorted, "Commander Xia, don't be so stingy. Give us a little performance to liven things up and foster camaraderie. That would show you're approachable and willing to connect with the crowd. Did everyone enjoy your performance, Commander Xia?"
"We like it," everyone said in unison.
Xia Lang interrupted them: "Shut up! You two go first, and don't forget why we're going into the secret passage."
Ouyang pursed his lips and said no more. He hooked his right arm around Zhao Fengnian and hummed a song while rhythmically patting Zhao Fengnian's shoulder. The two walked side by side toward the passage.
The drag marks from the straw rope have faded considerably over time, but fortunately, the chicken droppings that were left behind have come in very handy.
Soon, an iron gate appeared ahead, and it was locked. Ouyang joked, "Come on, come on, the Rat King's coffin has arrived. Who wants to go first?"
"I'll do it, I'll do it this time!" Little Li rushed forward impatiently, making a kicking motion.
"Wait a minute, don't rush to open the door. First, check if there are any marks or markings left by the enemy on the door. In case it's a warehouse where they hide weapons, there can't be any sparks." Zhao Fengnian grabbed Xiao Li to stop his recklessness.
Upon hearing of the danger, Xia Lang rushed to the back and shouted from a distance, "Then you guys open the way. I need to save my energy for the search."
"Hey, actually there are several ways to open a door. How about I show you a magic trick?" Ouyang started to be mysterious again. He picked up a fallen chicken feather and said, "Today I'll show you how to pick a lock with a chicken feather."
Just as everyone was craning their necks to wait for the magic trick, another officer named Xiao Jiang jumped out to object: "Stop! If there's a situation, you should report it to the leaders in time. If you hide it and an accident happens, who will take responsibility?"
“Hmm, that makes sense.” Xia Lang instructed, “Xiao Jiang, go report to the higher-ups that you have discovered a spy hideout and found a large amount of contraband.”
Zhao Fengnian's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but worry. Finding the secret room was a good thing, but Xia Lang was so eager for quick success and wanted to report before fully investigating the secret passage. Wouldn't that be like alerting the enemy?
Zhao Fengnian and Ouyang exchanged a glance, then quickly stopped Xiao Jiang, saying in a serious tone, "Comrade Xiao Jiang, your thinking is wrong. You're afraid to take responsibility. Go back and study Comrade Lenin's advanced ideas. If you keep cowering, how could the October Revolution have succeeded?"
Xiao Jiang retorted without backing down: "You're really talking without thinking. One wrong move and the whole plane cavern will be affected. Not to mention us, even the civilians and leaders outside the secret passage won't be able to escape."
The humidity in the air grew stronger, and Zhao Fengnian provocatively said, "Oh, judging from your tone, you seem to know very well what dangers are in the secret passage. Looks like this isn't your first time here."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Xiao Jiang seemed to have been stepped on, and angrily grabbed Zhao Fengnian's collar. "Do you know that spies will connect grenades and doorknobs together? I almost fell for their trick once."
Seeing that things were not going well, the people around immediately pulled Xiao Jiang back and advised him kindly: "Xiao Jiang, calm down. There's no need to argue with a bookworm who sits in an office."
Ouyang interjected at the opportune moment: "Comrade Xiao Jiang, right? I believe this is your first time entering the secret passage. But in revolution, there is no such thing as not making sacrifices. Everyone is aware of this. Besides, it's not that we don't report it. The leaders are busy appeasing the masses right now. How can we add to their troubles? It would be better to wait until we have investigated and reported it together. That would truly reduce the burden on the leaders. Right, Commander Xia?"
Xia Lang seemed surprised to be called out. He paused for a second, then quickly cleared his throat and praised, "You're smart. You shouldn't bother the leaders where you shouldn't. You guys figure out how to open the door. I'll wait here for your report."
“Actually, Comrade Xiao Jiang’s concerns are not unfounded. I just looked through the ventilation vents below and saw tables and chairs, as well as several metal filing cabinets. It should just be an ordinary office, but it’s very likely that it’s hiding an enemy agent’s radio.” Ouyang said confidently.
"Then go ahead and do it. Don't you still want to do magic tricks? Hurry up," Zhao Fengnian said impatiently, secretly relieved.
Ouyang handed the hammer to Zhao Fengnian, chuckled, and then held the chicken feather above his head, muttering a few incantations. Everyone's attention was drawn to the chicken feather. Then he poked the keyhole with the feather and suddenly shouted, "Open!"
The door hinges turned with a creak, and the iron door let out a mournful howl like a wounded beast, revealing an ordinary office.
"Amazing!" everyone exclaimed in unison.
Zhao Fengnian quickly scanned the room with his flashlight. Tables and stools were placed facing each other, low cabinets were neatly arranged on both sides, and tall cabinets faced the iron door. An oil lamp was placed on the desk, and the desktop was covered with traces of daily life.
The file folders on the cabinet were arranged quite neatly; that spy must have been coming here often and liked things very clean.
Before he could get a good look around, the crowd pushed him aside and filed in. Zhao Fengnian sighed helplessly. "Sigh, the perfect scene has been ruined again."
By lighting the oil lamp, Zhao Fengnian keenly noticed several crumpled drafts that stood out starkly from the neat surroundings.
Following the direction of the manuscript, the lower metal cabinet was pulled open with a "whoosh." A chicken feather floated out of the cabinet, and the documents were scattered haphazardly. One of the recesses was big enough to fit a child.
The little red devil was hiding in the closet. There must be an enemy in the house! Upon reaching this conclusion, Zhao Fengnian's blood boiled. Could it be Zero?
Unfortunately, the floor was already soaked from being trampled by everyone, making it impossible to distinguish whose footprints were whose. However, Zhao Fengnian was certain that there were no adult footprints on the path they had come from.
Could there be another way in? Zhao Fengnian gently tugged at Ouyang, who was rummaging through drawers and cabinets, and asked him to look for any other exits from this secret room.
Ouyang glanced behind him and whispered, "I'm not a god, I don't have X-ray vision. I can only see that the actual built area is smaller than the drawing, I can't know the structure outside the drawing."
“Okay, if you were building a secret exit, where would you build it?” Zhao Fengnian asked.
Ouyang looked around, took out a cigarette, put it on the ground, and released it. The cigarette rolled to one side as if it had grown legs.
It turned out that the floor of this house was uneven. Ouyang pulled him to a large cabinet and said, "The terrain here is higher. We are underground, and if we want to build an exit, we have to go up. It is more convenient to build according to the terrain."
"How are we going to move so many people?" Zhao Fengnian asked worriedly.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be here. There’s another side.” Ouyang gripped the hammer in his hand and raised his eyebrows. “When I came over, I counted the steps. If the steps on the other side are the same, it can be basically confirmed that this is a typical symmetrical design.”
"What are you two whispering about?" Xia Lang shouted in dissatisfaction.
“Commander Xia, I think this cabinet is quite good. My office is missing a telegram. Look, this is a telegram, isn’t it?” Ouyang pulled out a few sheets of paper, which were indeed translated telegrams.
"This is evidence, it's not your place to pick and choose." Xia Lang rolled his eyes dismissively. "There are telegrams in the room, there must be a radio station. Search carefully. If you can't find it, it's your incompetence. You must find the radio station before the leaders inspect, or you'll all get a major demerit."
“Commander Xia, from my observation, there is more than one secret room on the map. They are hidden so well, I wonder what earth-shattering secret they are hiding.” Ouyang slowly walked to Xia Lang’s side and advised, “Let’s do the search. It’s hard work and effort. Feng Nian and I are willing to be the vanguard of the organization and pave the way for our comrades.”
“Good! Everyone should learn from Comrade Ouyang. This is what a revolutionary should be like. I think Comrade Xiao Jiang needs to actively participate in social practice. You should teach him well. You can choose the other one yourself.” Xia Lang readily agreed, and incidentally assigned a trusted confidant to keep an eye on him.
It seemed he had no reason not to agree; he could simply sit back and wait for the credit to come. Zhao Fengnian suspected that the awards and promotions he had received were all obtained by simply talking in the office.
"And... let's talk about Comrade Li. You look like an activist." Ouyang smiled and pointed to Li, beckoning them to come with him.
Xiao Li twirled the pen on his chest and followed Ouyang with a happy expression.
A cold, damp atmosphere rushed towards them. The four of them re-entered the secret passage. Zhao Fengnian took the lead, and Ouyang enthusiastically hooked his arm around Xiao Li's neck and asked, "Xiao Li, how long have you been in the Anti-Corruption Committee?"
"It's been almost a year," Xiao Li answered honestly.
"Oh, you must be exceptionally talented. You look like an intellectual. How many first-class merits have you earned?" Ouyang patted his breast pocket, where the pen shimmered beautifully in the flashlight beam.
"No, I was just pretending. Merit isn't so easy to earn." Little Li grinned sheepishly, revealing his uneven, yellow teeth. "I come from an ordinary farming family. I only learned to read and write after I entered Dazhai. But Comrade Xiao Jiang used to be in the army. He earned two third-class merits and one second-class merit."
"Hey, I didn't realize you were so good at it, Comrade Jiang. Could you teach me how to shoot sometime? I'm really envious of those guys with their Mauser C96 pistols, they look so cool." Ouyang said in a serious tone.
Xiao Jiang chuckled sheepishly: "It's alright, don't envy us. We envy you for being an intellectual. You can read engineering drawings and telegrams. In the future, it will be you who become high-ranking officials."
"You're being modest again. The organization loves training rural youth the most. All those literacy classes are fake. Of course, knowledge takes time to accumulate. If you study hard, you can come to our department's night school for further study once you've learned two thousand characters. The doors of my telecommunications department are always open to comrades." Ouyang smiled and looked at Xiao Li, the clerk.
"Really!" Xiao Li's eyes widened in surprise.
Xiao Jiang coldly poured cold water on the idea: "Forget it, we only know a few words now. Although Section Chief Ouyang is willing to cultivate potential talents, most leaders only want to use the talents they already have. We people without a foundation should just honestly do our own jobs well."
"Hahaha," Ouyang laughed, half-jokingly asking, "Comrade Xiao Jiang seems very pessimistic about the future. I wonder who your previous boss was? Did he suppress you severely?"
"Hey, hey, hey, you can't say things like that, it's not good for unity." Xiao Li hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Comrade Xiao Jiang, gold will always shine. I believe that one day in the future, our efforts will be rewarded."
Xiao Jiang shook his head and smiled wryly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Xiao Li shrugged at Ouyang, ending the topic.
When they arrived at the T-junction, Zhao Fengnian silently counted the steps. Soon, he reached the other end of the road, where the same locked iron gate and the same 117 steps led him to the same symmetrical structure. Ouyang had guessed correctly.
"I'll do it, you guys step back." Ouyang took the lead, and in the blink of an eye, the door lock was open; no one even saw his movements.
"Wow, Section Chief Ouyang, your family is a family of locksmiths, right?" Xiao Jiang's face was full of envy.
Locksmith, locksmith—who would have thought that an echo would come from the pitch-black room? Ouyang and Xiaojiang were full of surprise. They went forward and shone their flashlights, but the room was empty.
Strange, why is this room empty while the one next door remains untouched, without even important documents being burned? This doesn't comply with confidentiality principles. Zhao Fengnian's mind was overflowing with questions.
Ah! A scream echoed down the corridor, and Xiao Li, who had been leaning against the wall, disappeared.
"What happened?" Zhao Fengnian was startled. He instinctively knocked on the wall. Thump, thump, hollow. "Comrade Li, are you alright?"
"Hey, I'm fine~ Where am I? It's so cold." Officer Li's voice came from behind the wall.
"Xiao Li, step aside, I'm going to smash the wall." Ouyang also noticed the abnormality, stepped forward and swung the hammer, smashing a large hole in it with a few "bangs".
White, chilly air poured out of the hole, like a giant ice cellar. The two of them took a step forward simultaneously, but Xiao Jiang quickly stopped them, saying, "Don't go in! This is a snow cave. If we go in without cotton-padded coats, we'll freeze to death. Xiao Li, come out right now!"
"Wait a minute, I think I see a light." Xiao Li's trembling voice drifted away.
Ouyang, who was the first to probe into the hole, shuddered: "Hiss~ Comrade Xiao Li, don't go, Xiao Li."
No one answered. Zhao Fengnian became suspicious. He looked at the ice hole, then at the empty room, and decisively took off his shirt and draped it over Ouyang's shoulders, patting it rhythmically. Ouyang nodded knowingly.
"Comrade Xiao Jiang, let's continue searching the empty rooms." As soon as Zhao Fengnian finished speaking, Xiao Jiang took off his jacket and handed it to Ouyang. Three layers of summer clothes were better than nothing.
Once Ouyang's figure was no longer visible, Zhao Fengnian took a half-step back without making a sound, and said in a casual tone, "Comrade Xiao Jiang, I'm sorry, I spoke a bit harshly earlier, please don't mind it."
"It's alright. I also made some mistakes just now." Xiao Jiang quickly waved his hand. "Let's go inside and take a look."
The flashlight beam shone inch by inch on the ground, where square imprints remained. Someone had moved all the belongings out of the house beforehand and cleaned it thoroughly, leaving no dust behind. It seemed they had moved their things within the last couple of days.
"Xiao Jiang, look at this square shape, what could it be?" Zhao Fengnian asked.
"Huh? I... I don't know, maybe it's something like grain salt." Xiao Jiang glanced at the door and said vaguely.
“The bags of salt are all rectangular, not such neat squares. Speaking of which, Minister He handled a case before where the goods were moved, leaving square marks. Can you guess what it was?” Zhao Fengnian’s sharp gaze swept over Xiao Jiang.
Xiao Jiang was speechless. Zhao Fengnian stared at it for a while, then suddenly laughed and said, "Haha, ammunition boxes, huh? You forgot about them? You must have carried them a lot before."
"Haha, now that you mention it, it does seem a bit like that." Xiao Jiang scratched his head and chuckled dryly.
"The ammunition boxes are very sturdy; they use them to store opium," Zhao Fengnian said calmly.
Xiao Jiang's face turned pale instantly, and it took him a long time to find his voice: "Ah, how audacious! Smoking is prohibited in our Soviet area."
“Yes, breaking the law knowingly is an even more serious crime. Old He was furious and sentenced all those tobacco dealers’ protectors to prison and sent them to the mines for forced mining.” Zhao Fengnian sighed and tapped Xiao Jiang’s hand. “Hey, your hand is so cold. If you can’t stand it, go back first and don’t catch a cold. I can manage on my own.”
"It's nothing, it's nothing. Young people have a lot of energy. I'll warm up after exercising." Xiao Jiang hurriedly shook his head and ran around the secret room.
Zhao Fengnian sighed, "But those cigarette dealers are really capable. They managed to transfer all that money away and refused to say where their cigarette trading funds went. According to Lao He's speculation, there is still an underground smuggling route in our Soviet area that has not been discovered."
"Cigarette dealers, of course they have their ways," Xiao Jiang replied casually.
"Oh, I think this secret passage is very useful. I'll bring Lao He down to take a look later. Maybe it's their warehouse for hiding smuggled goods," Zhao Fengnian said with a smile.
"Okay, okay." Xiao Jiang stammered, changing the subject. "Hey, there's half a footprint here, come over here quickly."
Zhao Fengnian rushed over and squatted down. A very blurry watermark and footprint came into view. It was small and belonged to either a woman or a child. He immediately guessed that it was Red Devil.
"There's a hidden door here. Quickly, knock on it. There should be a mechanism." Zhao Fengnian's eyes darkened, and he pressed hard on the wall.
Clang! A brick dented in, and a door opened in the east wall. Small footprints stretched inward, their destination unknown. Judging from the direction of the footprints, the little red devil had once come out of the hidden door, but unfortunately, the footprints outside had mostly evaporated.
The secret passage was pitch black. Zhao Fengnian looked around again and saw no adult shoe prints. Either the enemy had taken off their shoes, or the soles of their shoes were relatively clean. A sudden thought struck him, and he realized something: when there are no traces, "absence" is the biggest trace.
Following the trail of small footprints, Zhao Fengnian and Xiao Jiang arrived at an open space. The footprints suddenly disappeared, and a faint smell of urine wafted from the corner.
"Why don't we stop watching and go back to report to our superiors?" Xiao Jiang swallowed hard and said timidly.
"Which leader are you reporting to? The Anti-Corruption Commission, the Military Commission, the County Party Committee, the Court, or the General Affairs Department?" Zhao Fengnian turned his head, his eyes as cold as ice.
"Anything is fine, let's go to the command post, aren't all the leaders there?" Xiao Jiang stammered, and accidentally tripped over something protruding on the ground.
Xiao Jiang struggled to get up, and the protrusion on the ground slowly slid outward with his movements. Zhao Fengnian felt a chill in his heart, and he yanked off the black cloth covering it, revealing the protrusion's true form: a square...
"A bomb!" Xiao Jiang's pupils dilated suddenly, clearly unaware of the situation.
Looking into the distance, Zhao Fengnian saw a dozen or so protrusions neatly arranged along the wall. With each one he lifted, his heart sank a little deeper. No wonder the spies didn't bother cleaning the room next door; it turned out they didn't need to.
Boom—
A deafening explosion followed. The thick smell of gunpowder filled Zhao Fengnian's nostrils, and before he could react, the sound of rushing water came from inside the cave, as if something was gushing out.
"The underground river! The underground river water is rushing in! Run!" Xiao Jiang jumped up, grabbed Zhao Fengnian, and ran wildly outside.
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