The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 458: Skull Graffiti, a Chain of Tricks

Lei Tao's SUV slowly pulled up to the iron gates of the Chinese Embassy in the Central African Republic, the engine's hum gradually fading. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, taking a deep breath to calm his heartbeat. The unhealed scrape on the back of his neck ached, a reminder of the life-or-death struggle at the steel mill just hours before. On the passenger seat, a leather briefcase lay quietly. Inside, the Japanese-language "Uranium Mining Progress Report" and a satellite map with Lake Victoria's coordinates marked on it, like two bombs poised to explode.

Lei Tao pushed open the car door and walked toward the embassy gate with steady, resolute steps. The armed police on guard immediately took to their feet, their rifle butts rubbing against the ground. Their eyes fixed on Lei Tao, the police badge on the young soldier's shoulder strap gleaming in the morning light.

"Comrade, please show your ID!" The armed police soldier's voice was loud and serious. As he stepped back with his right foot, his hand firmly grasped the butt of the gun.

Lei Tao paused for a moment and said softly, "My name is Lei Tao, formerly the Major of Huaxia Dragon Blade. Please be sure to hand over the contents of this file bag to Military Officer Qin in person and tell him that the specific details have to wait for him to verify and identify them. I have something to do and will leave first." As he spoke, he had already handed the file bag to the armed police soldier, and with a slight force of his five fingers, he completed the handover in an instant.

The armed police officer took the document bag and felt a tangible weight in his palm, realizing it must be something extremely important. He stood at attention and saluted again, looking at Lei Tao with a firm gaze. "Please rest assured, Comrade Lei, I will personally hand this document to Military Attaché Qin as soon as possible."

Lei Tao nodded, turned, and strode away. It wasn't that he didn't want to explain further, but he knew time was running out. Although the mission had come to an end, the danger hidden behind it was like a sword hanging high, ready to fall at any moment. He had to quickly hide his whereabouts to prevent further mishaps.

The armed police soldier didn't dare delay a moment and quickly turned and walked towards Attaché Qin's office. His boots tapped the tiled floor with a steady, powerful rhythm, each step rhyming with a secret. When he reached the door, he took a deep breath and knocked gently.

"Come in!" Military Attaché Qin's steady voice boomed from inside, carrying the authority of a seasoned warrior. The armed police officer pushed the door open and saluted again, "Military Attaché Qin, someone has brought me an important document. I've been asked to personally deliver it to you. I'm telling you to verify the details yourself. The person who delivered the document has already left."

Military Officer Qin frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but he quickly took the briefcase. He glanced down at the bag, and his years of intelligence experience allowed him to instantly detect the micro-location tag affixed to the inside. "Hmm?" he murmured, letting the armed police officer go first.

Military Attaché Qin carefully opened the briefcase and removed the Japanese-language document "Uranium Mining Progress Report" and a satellite map. He unfolded the satellite map first, his eyes, versed in military intelligence, fixed intently on the coordinates of Lake Victoria. The lake's contours shone a pale cyan on the map, like the pupil of a hidden undercurrent. He traced the intersection of the contour lines and the mining markers. "Blackwater Security..." His voice froze in the office.

Opening the Japanese document again, the obscure words gradually became clear to him. The document's detailed record of the uranium mining progress, like a serpent's slithering, instantly made him realize the seriousness of the situation. "It turns out that Blackwater Security and those Japanese pirates are secretly plotting again!" Military Officer Qin roared in anger, his knuckles turning white from the force. "If they completely control the area around Lake Victoria, they will not only obtain a vast amount of mineral resources, but also use it as a base to establish a powerful force in the region, posing a serious threat to the security of neighboring countries."

He immediately picked up the phone and dialed his superior's hotline. The ticking of the dial echoed through the office like a stopwatch. Once the call was connected, he quickly and concisely reported the document's contents and his initial assessment. "Commander, this document is no ordinary resource grab; it's a sophisticated plan for regional strategic balance." His voice was deep and powerful, each word like a nail forged in a furnace.

The superior on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "This matter is of great importance. You must first stabilize the situation. I will immediately call a meeting with relevant personnel to discuss countermeasures. At the same time, strengthen security around the embassy and closely monitor the surrounding situation to prevent them from realizing that we have obtained some information."

Military Attaché Qin replied respectfully, "Yes, Commander! I understand." After hanging up the phone, he immediately summoned the embassy's intelligence and security personnel. Standing in the center of the office, he surveyed the group and said gravely, "Comrades, we are now facing a severe test. This document indicates that external forces are attempting to sow chaos in our area for their own selfish gain. We must all act now and fulfill our respective responsibilities."

Intelligence officers quickly began to decipher the documents, analyzing the hidden information within. The clacking of computer keyboards echoed like the beat of drums before a battle. Security personnel stepped up their security around the embassy, ​​increasing patrols and checking every nook and cranny to ensure every possible safety. The low barking of patrol dogs echoed through the courtyard, mingling with the clatter of sentries' boots, forming a silent defense.

Military Officer Qin wasn't idle either. He called a domestic nuclear physics research institute and requested technical support. "I need an assessment report on the uranium ore's purity and reserves within four hours, and to track all possible transport routes." He stared at the coordinates on the satellite map. "The geological structures around Lake Victoria may hold deeper strategic significance."

Meanwhile, Lei Tao had quietly left the embassy. Instead of returning directly to his residence, he constantly changed his route through the city, passing through bustling streets and dark alleys, like a ghost moving through a steel jungle. Every time he turned a corner, he would glance in the rearview mirror to confirm that there were no unusual figures following him before continuing on his way.

After driving to a remote, deserted location, he turned off the engine, got out, and stored the SUV in the Bagua Gyro space. He couldn't help but frown as he activated the Bagua Gyro system. The moment he traveled through time and space, the system emitted a slight humming sound, as if protesting the impending slaughter.

Lei Tao appeared at the edge of the dense forest where he had been during the Anti-Japanese War. His feet were on the blood-soaked earth, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of gunpowder and blood. His eyes swept over the bodies of Japanese soldiers killed by booby traps, and he murmured, "The booby traps we set earlier were quite effective."

Suddenly, he felt a venomous snake bite his back, a tingling pain running down his spine. He instinctively rolled three steps to the left. At the same moment, from a distant hilltop, a bullet from a Murata sniper rifle ripped through the air like a venomous snake's tongue, striking the tree trunk where he had just stood. The wood chips sent flying as the bullet pierced the trunk landed on his boots, a silent warning.

After Lei Tao rolled onto a boulder beside a pile of rotten leaves, the sound of gunfire echoed through the valley. He quickly determined the bullet's trajectory—the enemy was on the northwest high ground. Through the gaps in the leaves, he could see the faint gleam of cold metal along the ridgeline. He casually pulled out the intelligent infrared-seeking grenade launcher from the Bagua gyroscope. He knelt on one knee, cocking the weapon. The red light from the eyepiece swept across the northwest ridge like a venomous snake's tongue.

Five hundred meters away, in the bushes, three heat sources formed a triangular pattern. Every twenty seconds, the center source emitted a cold metallic glint—the reflection of the Murata sniper rifle's scope in the sunlight. He held his breath, his thumb pressed the lock button, and the eyepiece crosshairs framed all three heat sources within a red grid.

Japanese spy Sergeant Matsumoto suddenly kicked the new recruit beside him aside, rifle in hand, and prepared to flee. A scorching wave of air pressed down the mountain ridge, and his pupils constricted as he saw clearly that the black object, trailing flames, was precisely locking onto the three men's positions.

"I've...fallen into a trap!" Matsumoto raised his head with difficulty, and saw a flash of cold light at the treetops three hundred meters away - the second grenade was adjusting its trajectory, locking onto his now exposed position!

By this time, the second grenade's intelligent sensing system had already completed trajectory correction. Equipped with an adaptive optics system, this grenade completed three trajectory calibrations before approaching the target area. The embedded artificial intelligence chip instantly calculated the newly emerged heat source's signature, completely overriding the data originally tracking the target.

“Sizzle!”

The streamlined metal projectile, having been adjusted, suddenly accelerated and dived. Matsumoto was horrified to discover that this time the grenade did not explode vertically, but instead passed horizontally, almost touching the ground. A dense rain of explosive shrapnel poured down like a torrential rain. His left pinky finger separated from his palm before his eyes, and blood flowed down his sleeve, mixing with the dew on the fallen leaves to form a dark red river.

The final grenade had already completed its mid-air maneuvering. Its intelligence core detected the residual heat signature from the initial detonation and decisively executed its decapitation tactic. The grenade leaped vertically five meters from its target, its top shrapnel release ring detonating with pinpoint accuracy. Amidst the charred tree stump and swirling blood mist, no more intact remains remained.

Lei Tao put away his grenade launcher and watched the smoke slowly dissipate in the distance. As darkness began to creep into the forest, he retracted his weapon into the Bagua Top's space and disappeared into the depths of the jungle.