ushernet Chapter 788 The Sudden Transfer.
Chapter 788 The Sudden Transfer.
As dawn broke, the morning light, like crumpled gold foil, struggled to penetrate the dense canopy of the old forest, casting dappled shadows on the snow-covered clearings.
The soft chirping of early birds drifted through the branches, and occasionally, snowflakes from the pine needles would fall with a soft rustling sound, landing on the frozen ground and adding a touch of life to the forest that had been silent all night.
Jiang Xia and his group escorted the geological team out of the forest. Zhou Wenbin, with a mineral map wrapped tightly in tarpaulin in his arms, couldn't help but mutter to Old Li beside him every few steps: "Teacher, look at that slope. Yesterday we spotted the mineralized zone extending in that direction. If we could explore for another two days, we'd definitely find the main vein..."
That honest and warm personality eased some of the tension from the night before.
The soldiers walked on both sides with their guns on their backs, vigilantly scanning the depths of the forest. The shadowy figure of Captain Guan from last night hadn't dared to approach, but it hadn't completely disappeared either, so no one dared to let their guard down.
"Phew... We're finally out." Jiang Xia glanced back at the dense forest that seemed to swallow up the light and couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder the old saying goes, 'Don't go into the old forest at night.' Look, those bushes we trampled down last night have mostly sprung up again overnight. This place is really strange; it recovers way too quickly..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Wenbin immediately chimed in, his face showing lingering fear: "That's right, Engineer Jiang! Our team didn't dare venture into this area easily back then either. These old forests in Northeast China are fertile and well-watered, with an incredibly vigorous life force! The spot you step on might sprout new shoots the very next step; the ruts you make today can be completely covered by vines and moss after a rain. If you get lost, the path will be gone in a few days! And this place is really eerie,"
He lowered his voice, "Not only does the forest grow fast, but even compasses often malfunction here, spinning wildly and unable to point the way. We usually have to rely on experienced people to identify tree moss and star positions, or make markings, otherwise we would really be trapped in here."
As he spoke, he looked curiously at the strange instrument still running next to Jiang Xia: "Hey, Engineer Jiang, why isn't your precious thing affected? This forest seems to be unable to do anything about it? Did you guys enter the forest through it last night?"
Jiang Xia chuckled and patted the ground-penetrating radar: "It's not running; it's just using the converter inside to power the night vision device!"
"Also, this thing is indeed unaffected. Because it doesn't rely on the Earth's magnetic field to function. It emits radio frequency electromagnetic waves, which, simply put, means it actively emits radio waves of a specific frequency and then receives signals reflected back from different underground media to determine what's going on."
No matter how dense the forest or how chaotic the Earth's magnetic field, it can't interfere with the transmission and reception paths and timing calculations of this kind of active wave... Well, that's roughly the principle.
"However, my digital radio station is being severely affected. It also uses radio waves, so I guess it's caused by strong interference from the underground mines or the special terrain. Last night I tried to contact my uncle to ask where his militia brigade was, but I couldn't get through at all." Jiang Xia changed the subject, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Militia?" Zhou Wenbin was taken aback, not understanding why the militia had suddenly appeared.
"Why would you need to call the militia?"
"Otherwise what?" Jiang Xia grinned, revealing a hint of cunning. "It's not like a poor rabbit would turn down so much money right in front of us. We made such a commotion last night, that Captain Guan must have noticed something unless he's deaf."
They didn't dare show their faces and confront us directly last night. I reckon they were most likely frantically moving the gold they'd already dug up! Trying to slip away in the chaos? No way!
Upon hearing "transferring gold," Zhou Wenbin hurriedly moved closer, saying, "That won't do! That's the country's gold; we absolutely cannot let them take it away!"
"What's the rush? You can't escape!" Jiang Xia patted his shoulder, looking completely unfazed.
Hmm, that makes sense. If they can escape from the Flying Cat Car, that would truly be a feat! Zhou Wenbin said that the mining area cut down a lot of trees in the old forest to make mining easier.
That way, you can spot the Flying Cat Car every time you see it.
As he spoke, Jiang Xia seemed to remember something, and pulled out the blueprints he had shown the old geologist before, filled with various ideas for modified vehicles, and unfolded them in front of Zhou Wenbin: "Look at this! If the gold this time is substantial enough, I'll find a way to get your exploration team a convoy like this! It'll have maximum all-terrain capability, complete living support, and even integrate a preliminary field analysis module, making your field trips comfortable and efficient!"
Zhou Wenbin's eyes widened instantly at the sight of it! His breathing became rapid! He carefully took the notebook, muttering to himself as he read, "This...this...with this, what are we afraid of in the old forest? We can drive right in and drill for samples! This is fantastic!"
He suddenly looked up, grabbed Jiang Xia's arm, and stammered excitedly, "Engineer Jiang! Engineer Jiang! You found the gold, are you really going to give us the matching gold?"
After receiving Jiang Xia's affirmative reply, Zhou Wenbin could no longer sit still:
"Let's go! To the mine right now! I know a few places they've hidden gold! And the entrances to the mine shafts they've illegally dug! Quick! We can't let them get away with the gold! That's all for building our big trucks later..."
"No, those are our country's resources, the hope of our exploration team!"
Hey, you're just faking that naiveté, aren't you...?
Just as Jiang Xia was about to tease the excited fool again, the digital radio that had been silent suddenly started buzzing.
"Oh, what I wished for has come to me! I wanted milk, so here comes Mommy! I missed my family, so here comes my uncle!"
Jiang Xia blurted out a famous line without realizing it, picked up the microphone and asked:
"Uncle-Master? Where are you? We just left the forest, and everyone is safe!"
Unexpectedly, the voice coming through the earpiece wasn't the expected one from his martial uncle, but rather Li Huaide's extremely low, clearly urgent voice:
"Xiao Jiang! Xiao Jiang! Is that you? Answer me if you hear me!"
"Hey, Uncle Li! How are you? Are you safe?"
"Safety...wait, this isn't the time to talk about that! Xiao Jiang! Oh no, this is terrible!"
Jiang Xia was taken aback. Li Huaide's tone sounded more like bad news than good news: "Uncle Li? Slow down, what terrible thing has happened? Did the people we detained last night escape?"
"No, it's from above! There's a major personnel change from above!"
Jiang Xia was busy pointing out several key knobs of the down-probe radar to Zhou Wenbin when he heard this, and said somewhat casually: "Oh? So what if it changes? Which position has been moved? Uncle Li, you've seen a lot of things, why are you making such a fuss over a mere appointment or dismissal notice? By the way, did the operation by Company Commander Tang and the others yesterday scare you?"
On the other end of the radio, Li Huaide's voice suddenly carried a hint of grievance and lingering fear: "Oh, my little Jiang, thank you so much... I was really scared to death!"
Next time... next time there's an operation like this, could you please let me, Old Li, know in advance? Those soldiers under Company Commander Tang are really efficient, and also really... fierce!
We were eating when they burst in and shoved me and Lao Yang onto the table..."
Jiang Xia could almost picture the scene and couldn't help but laugh: "Hahaha, Uncle Li, please bear with me. This is to clear your name, isn't it? If we had left you and Uncle Yang out in the cold, wouldn't those shrewd people have become suspicious? They might have acted desperately and attacked you first. Don't forget, those guys are the kind who would dare to use cannons! You managed to fool them quite a bit earlier..."
Li Huaide paused for a moment, seemingly just realizing the point, and his tone softened. But he immediately lowered his voice mysteriously and steered the conversation back on track: "Let's not talk about that now! Xiao Jiang, Xiao Jiang! This personnel change is different! It's extraordinary!"
"Oh? Who is it that made you so nervous?" Jiang Xia asked casually while gesturing for Zhou Wenbin to remember a certain parameter.
"Logistics Department! A key position has been filled! Very suddenly, without any warning, he's taking office today!" Li Huaide's voice was even lower, as if afraid of being overheard. "Guess who's in that position?"
At this moment, Jiang Xia was standing outside the armored vehicle, talking on the phone while showing Zhou Wenbin and other geological team members who were watching curiously to some basic operations and data display logic of the "Patrol Dragon" radar, so that they could familiarize themselves with it in advance.
After all, didn't they say there was a big treasure down there?
Jiang Xia listened to Li Huaide's rambling with a nonchalant attitude. Who would have cut the project he was in charge of?
"Oh? Someone important? Who is it? What important position has they been transferred to?"
Li Huaide took a deep breath on the other end of the radio, his voice extremely low, so low that you could even hear him swallowing nervously: "It's...it's the Logistics Department! The key leadership position in charge of equipment and supplies allocation has been changed!"