"I couldn't figure out any reason after thinking about it, and the observation angle on the wing was limited. I could only see so much from the top and bottom. In addition, the flashlight's light was weak and seemed to be about to go out soon. I had to stop looking and think about the next plan of action."
At this point, my physical strength was gradually recovering, or it can be said that my curiosity about the plane made me forget the previous danger and fatigue. I thought that I would soon lose the lighting tool, which meant certain death in the underground river. So, I suggested to the deputy team leader that we go inside the plane to see if there was anything we could use for lighting or at least to seek shelter. It was not a good idea to stay outside shirtless.
"The deputy squad leader has much greater physical stamina than me, and at this point I am mentally fatigued, almost resembling a semi-conscious state."
"I asked how he was doing, but he only nodded and couldn't speak. So, I had to rub his body to warm him up, until his skin turned red. Then, I let him stay here and climb into the cockpit by himself."
"The part between the wings and the nose was submerged in water. I waded over and carefully stepped on the burlap bags to approach the head of the bomber. I saw the huge number 07 and some small letters below it, but they were too blurry for me to read carefully. I went straight to the machine gun compartment and crawled in through the twisted steel frame."
The inside of the cabin was pitch black. I say this because the flashlight inside the small enclosed space was different from the darkness outside. Although it was also black, it wasn't as hopeless as the darkness outside because at least the beam of my flashlight could still light up something.
"I was wearing shoes, but I could still feel the twisted steel plate under my feet. At first, I saw a completely rotten machine gunner's seat, with leather covers that were unrecognizable, leaving only a rusted chair body. The walls inside were cracked, and a large number of black electric wires that had already stuck together were hanging on it."
There is a half piece of unknown bracket in front of the seat, which may have been used to mount a machine gun before, and now only the frame is left.
"I stepped on the gunner's seat, behind which was the interior of the cockpit. It was already flooded and impassable. However, there was a metal ladder leading up to the cockpit. I carefully climbed and stepped onto it to reach the driver's seat."
"When the airplane crashed, the tail first hit the ground to cushion the impact, indicating an emergency landing measure, so the damage to the cockpit was not severe. There was only a narrow opening to the cabin aisle. After climbing up, I saw the co-pilot's seat lying there, and the ground was covered in broken glass melted together with rust. I shone my flashlight around and saw a Japanese air force leather helmet leaning against the main pilot's seat."
My chest tightened as I approached and sure enough, I saw the dried-up body of a pilot slumped in the pilot's seat. The body had fused with the rotting chair, and had a gaping mouth that was especially large.
"This corpse is indeed ancient, and it is a Japanese person. I carefully shone my flashlight on it and took a cold breath. This body seems to have extremely unusual features."
Although I don't know what happened back then, from the condition of the cockpit wreckage, it seems that there was no fire when the plane crashed. So, when I saw the corpse, I was surprised because it was entirely dark green and had deep pits all over the body, just like a honeycomb.
I initially thought it was from gunshots, but upon closer inspection, I realized the indentations were not right. They were due to the contraction caused by decay. In other words, the decay on the body was uneven, as some parts were not rotted while others were severely decayed.
Looking at the corpse was really uncomfortable, so I grabbed a piece of metal sheet and covered it. After returning to the wing, I carried the deputy leader back into the cockpit. I collected everything that seemed burnable, such as the leather cap and shoes on the corpse, and lit them up. Fortunately, I found a hydraulic pipe in the wreckage of the cabin. The oil inside had dried up, leaving only a layer of black mud-like substance, which I blew out and burned along with the pipe. The heat output was quite sufficient.
"The flame is small, but it is a lifesaving straw for us. The wounds on our bodies have also stopped bleeding. The two of us gradually relaxed, and our clothes dried."
"I don't even know what to do next. The current situation is that anything we do is useless, we can only wait for rescue. But we don't know whether rescue is possible or not."
After the clothes were completely dried, we couldn't find anything to burn. Luckily, the clothes kept us warm. We picked out the grasshoppers inside and threw them into the charcoal fire to burn them, and then dozed off around the fire.
The scene here is incredibly bizarre. There are at least a hundred reasons why I shouldn't be able to sleep, but I'm just too exhausted and I end up dozing off. At that time, I had many questions in my mind, but none of them were important, and I just drifted off into darkness. I'm not sure how long I slept for, but when I woke up, the fire had gone out and I was puzzled.
"I actually slept very warmly this time, but when I opened my eyes, I felt that something was very wrong. I wondered why I woke up suddenly and my ears hurt. The next second, I suddenly realized that I could hear a series of eerie buzzing noises from outside the wreckage of the plane."
"At first I felt puzzled, thinking what is this sound? After listening for a while, I realized that the sorrowful sound was actually an alarm!"
"Why is there an alarm here? I was shocked, what happened? Has the power been restored?"
We have undergone three sets of three defense training, so the alarm sound is very familiar to me. Immediately, I crawled out of the hatch of the driver's cabin and went up to the top.
All around was pitch black, with only a haunting alarm sound echoing from the distant darkness like an evil spirit, reverberating on the dark river. The air was suddenly filled with great agitation, and it was unclear what was about to happen.
"The deputy squad leader was also awakened by the scare. He climbed up and asked what was going on?"
I heard the alarm sound, and found it becoming increasingly urgent. Suddenly, an extremely ominous premonition burst forth in my heart.