While Wei Ran was waiting, the Berber guide sleepily got out of the tent, and then followed Saleh into the armored pickup truck parked not far away. Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately put down the drink he had just taken.
The oatmeal followed.
At Saleh's signal, he started the car that had just stalled again, and while Edward was hesitant to speak, he drove to a flat sandy land forty or fifty meters away from the camp.
Although this unabashed defense made Mr. Edward helpless, there was nothing he could do about it.
In the armored pickup truck, Saleh also took out an old-looking satellite phone from his dirty and tattered pocket, found a set of numbers and dialed it, then handed it to the Berber.
Wizard.
After the latter took the satellite phone, he immediately opened the door and walked toward the rear of the car. Saleh also greeted Weiran to get out of the car and walked toward the front of the car.
"I just told him about your doubts."
Saleh turned his back to the direction of the camp, lit a cigarette slowly and continued, "But he doesn't know, so he has to ask their clan leader."
"Do those Berbers use satellite phones?" Weiran asked curiously after declining the other party's cigarettes.
"if not?"
Saleh glanced at Wei Ran like a fool, "Write a letter to them, put a stamp on it, and then look for a mailbox nearby?"
"Pretend I didn't say it," Wei Ranhun responded nonchalantly. He had long been accustomed to such teasing at Hongqi Forest Farm. In comparison, Saleh was already very polite.
The two of them didn't wait long before the Berber guide hung up the phone, yawned and came over, chatting with Saleh.
"His clan leader said that in the past when there were many nomadic tribes in the desert, every time there was a new moon, many merchant tribes would come here to conduct some transactions."
"Why here?" Wei Ran continued to ask.
"First of all, there is water here."
Saleh pointed to the east side of the mountain range, "There is a spring there that is not too big at first glance. On the other hand, the mountain is big enough. It can not only be used as a landmark, but also provide cover for all the camel caravans, even if they encounter
You can escape a sandstorm unscathed."
"Is it because of this?"
“Of course more than that”
Saleh communicated a few words with the guide standing next to him again, and then continued to explain, "The most important reason is that the distance from here to several large nomadic tribes at that time was almost the same, whether it was from the west of Libya
Those who traffic turquoise here from the desert, those who come from the Nile River in the east to buy turquoise and sell dried fish and cloth, or those who come from Sudan in the south to sell salt bricks and tobacco, will use this place as a place for trade.
Turnaround point.”
Before he could finish his words, the Berber guide also said something that Wei Ran couldn't understand.
Hearing this, Saleh nodded and continued, "He just said that another reason is that this place is far enough away from the oasis. Anyone who comes here to trade not only does not have to pay taxes to the people living in the oasis, but also does not have to worry about the oasis people knowing.
The source of their goods.
Of course, for this reason, there was a time when many stolen goods sales took place here. Whether it was smuggled weapons and unique items, or beautiful women captured from various places, or even stolen, robbed, or deceived goods.
All kinds of stolen goods that are difficult to sell and even some cultural relics whose authenticity is unknown will be traded here."
"Is this kind of trade between tribes still going on?" Wei Ran asked more and more curiously.
"How is that possible? This place has been abandoned a long time ago."
Saleh flicked the cigarette butt in his hand, "According to their tribal chief, there were no camel caravans coming here about 40 years ago."
This time, without waiting for Wei Ran to ask questions, he took the initiative to explain, "The reason why this place was abandoned is not only because there are fewer and fewer nomadic tribes, but also because many people died here."
"Many people died?"
Wei Ran's heart trembled, and he suddenly remembered the record in the metal book about Edward's grandfather Felix. After the war, the old Yin Coin had hired oil field guards for a long time to carry out massacres against nomadic tribes in the desert.
Revenge is coming.
"A lot of people did die"
Saleh nodded, "During a trade fair about 40 years ago, the spring on the east side of the mountain suddenly exploded. Since then, it has been gradually abandoned."
"Explosion?" Wei Ran's brows twitched.
"According to the guide's description, the explosion was very loud. It not only destroyed the spring, but also directly killed many people. Even those outside the explosion range did not escape. They were rushing
When rescuing people in the past, many fell to the ground. Some people covered their throats, some covered their eyes, and some vomited or convulsed and fell to the ground and never got up again."
"Salin?" Wei Ran asked in an almost affirmative tone.
Saleh nodded, "It should be sarin. Not only is it easy to make, it is also highly toxic and can even be easily dissolved into water."
Just listening to what Saleh said, Wei Ran was already sure that the bald old guy in front of him probably also had a lot of "cold knowledge" that was already outdated but still extremely lethal.
"Has the murderer been found?" Wei Ran asked after a moment of silence.
"No"
Saleh shook his head and said, "Not many people survived that time, and no one knows why the explosion happened. But..."
At this point, Saleh had already turned and looked in Edward's direction, and the meaning was self-evident.
"It's really a poisonous snake in the desert..."
Wei Ran couldn't help but sigh, except for Edward's grandfather Felix, he really couldn't think of any crazy person who would come to such a ghost place to poison, and the purpose was just to bomb some nomadic tribes who were making a living in the desert.
Of course, it was excessive for the camel team to strip him naked and sell him as goods, but it is undeniable that if the tribe had not discovered Felix, he would have never had a chance to leave the desert alive.
But what is that old Yin Coin doing when he doesn't focus on looking for his gold and always bullies the nomadic tribes when he has nothing to do?
Wei Ran muttered to himself, but in an instant he understood the cause and effect. I am afraid that he did not seek revenge because he was sold as goods, but wanted to find the camel team that found him in the desert.
To no avail, I did those things.
As for what to do when he found the camel team, he naturally wanted to go back to the location where he was found, because only there could he use the false direction of "29 degrees north by west" to accurately find the original location.
The buried gold.
"Victor, what are you thinking about?" Seeing Wei Ran's frown, Saleh asked curiously.
"nothing"
Wei Ran did not express his guess, but asked, "I remember that you seemed to have asked your son Soliman to give me a note."
"What does it mean?"
Saleh asked dissatisfiedly, "It's just what happened last night. Victor, are you a goldfish with only 7 seconds of memory? You don't even remember what happened last night?"
It was more than just one night for me...
Wei Ran muttered to himself and continued to ask with a normal expression, "You said Mr. Edward is very familiar with the terrain nearby?"
“Very familiar indeed”
Saleh also did not pursue the inappropriateness in Weiran's statement. He lowered his voice slightly and said, "I chatted with him for a long time yesterday. I found that he is very familiar with the terrain near the border between the two countries, and even knows the distribution of some oases around it.
This is why I just suspected that he might be related to the sarin explosion that happened here."
"This matter is not the focus of my investigation."
Wei Ran waved his hand and did not delve deeper into the matter, "Okay, I should go back and continue having breakfast, and chat with Mr. Edward by the way."
"One more thing," Saleh called Wei Ran with a smile.
"What's going on?" Wei Ran stopped in confusion.
"When we go back, you have to send those two little foxes back to them."
Saleh said dumbfounded, "Those two little guys are the pets of the tribe leader's youngest grandson. When we were guests in their camp, the little guy put his pets in your car."
"Isn't it a gift for me?" Wei Ran asked in shock.
"They have never given me a gift, how could they give you a gift?"
Saleh said impatiently, "Anyway, just remember to send them back when the time comes. The grandson of the old patriarch has been crying all day. Our guide said that if we don't send those two little foxes back,
If we go back, their clan leader might have a heart attack."
"Berber children are also careless..."
Wei Ran grinned and said as he walked to the car, "Then send them back, but I don't care about taking care of those two little things these two days."
"No need to trouble you"
Saleh called to the Berber guide standing in the distance to get on the bus quickly, and at the same time said, "Just let him take care of those two little beasts later."
When the guide sat down, Wei Ran immediately turned the car around and drove back to the camp with a trail of smoke.
After slowly finishing breakfast, everyone moved the tents to the shadows on the north side of the mountains and set them up again under Saleh's call. The Berber guide took the opportunity to take away the two little foxes and used
Two strips of cloth tied them to the tent.
Too lazy to argue with these stingy Berbers, Wei Ran approached the bored Mr. Edward with two opened coconuts.
"Did you find any valuable clues?" Edward asked enthusiastically as he took the coconut with the straw inserted.
"It's just some rough guesses."
Wei Ran sat down opposite Edward, took a sip of cold coconut juice, and then said slowly, "Mr. Edward, according to my speculation, if your grandfather was captured here, it would definitely not be like Charlotte."
What Mr. Te's father experienced was just getting lost in the desert. After all, this place is more than 500 kilometers away from the main battlefield in North Africa in a straight line. Even if you bring a Polish donkey here, it is impossible to run south after getting lost.
so far."
"So?" Edward asked noncommittally.
"Since he was captured here, the most likely reason is that the plane crashed. Only an airplane could bring him so far away from the battlefield."
Wei Ran pointed to the mountain behind him, looked into the other person's eyes and continued, "On the other hand, the only ones who can capture your grandfather Mr. Rouse here are the nomadic tribes in the desert."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Edward did not show any expression that Wei Ran expected to see, as if he not only knew this already, but also knew that Wei Ran would definitely make such a guess.
"Is there any more?" Edward asked in a calm tone.
“That’s all for now”
Wei Ran spread his hands and said helplessly, "I want to go back and check some World War II archives to see if the Germans in the North African battlefield at that time opened a military route south from the Mediterranean coast, or ask the local nomadic tribes.
See if there are any records about your grandfather.
But it is obvious that no matter which one, it may be a long job. So Mr. Edward, I'm afraid we have to stay in this desert for a long time."
I don’t know which of Wei Ran’s words moved Edward. After a brief silence, he suddenly said “29 degrees north by west”!
"What did you say?" Wei Ran asked in shock.
"29 degrees north by west"
Mr. Edward repeated again, "This is my grandfather's only clue to find his colleagues."
"Where is 29 degrees north by west?" Wei Ran asked pretending to be surprised, without even asking the other party why he didn't say it until now.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Wait a moment"
After saying that, Edward got into his tent, and soon after, he came out with a map of North Africa, unfolded it and laid it on the folding table.
"I'm sorry Victor, I only came up with these key clues at this time."
Edward said apologetically, "Before this, I was not optimistic about your investigative ability, nor did I trust you. If it weren't for..."
"It doesn't matter"
Wei Ran waved his hand before the other party finished speaking, "After all, this is our first time working together. I can understand this kind of thing, and it's not the first time I've encountered it. This is normal, so let's talk about business."
"thank you for understanding"
After Edward finished speaking, he raised his finger and pointed at a conspicuous red line on the map and said, "As you just speculated, he was indeed lost in the desert at the same time as him because of the plane accident.
According to him, the navigator on the plane was seriously injured at the time and only told him to follow 29 degrees north by west to get out of the desert and find the nearest airport.
Moreover, that airport is actually the one you talked about in the Berber tribe, but unfortunately, he was captured when he got here. As for the British who captured him, as you said
were captured by local nomadic tribes, but my grandfather never said anything about it."
It was strange that he could talk about being stripped naked and sold as goods. Wei Ran was too lazy to pay attention to the discrepancy between the story in Edward's mouth and the historical truth. Instead, he focused all his attention on the red line drawn on the map.
superior.
One end of this red line is located in the upper left corner of the map. Not surprisingly, this should be the airport. But its other end extends all the way to the border with southern Sudan before stopping.
Obviously, Felix, of course, maybe after the war is over, he should be called "Ross Old Yin Coin Berger". No matter what the old Yin Coin is called, just from this over-extended red line.
Yes, he didn't know the specific location of the plane's emergency landing.
Using the cover of his pants pocket, Wei Ran took out the recently acquired World War II British Army MK3 compass from the metal book and started measuring.
Indeed, there was an angle of 29 degrees between this line and true south and true north, but he had only compared the azimuth relationship between the two coordinates provided by the metal book and the airport before breakfast.
According to the measurements at that time, no matter where the airport is located and which set of coordinate points are connected by the metal book, there is an angle of at least 35 degrees between them and true south and true north!
Wait... due south and north?
Wei Ran looked at the old-fashioned compass holding the map, and then looked at the map again. He already had a guess in his heart that made his heart beat faster.
Wei Ran calmly put the compass into his pocket and put it away into the metal book. Wei Ran pointed at the map on the table and asked, "Mr. Edward, this is indeed a very important and valuable clue. I don't know."
Can you take this map with you and study it carefully?"
"Yes, of course."
Edward nodded happily, and then reminded, "But we have searched carefully in the desert along this line, and have found northern Sudan, but we have not found my grandfather's colleagues and the original plane that was killed.
s plane."
"At least let me try."
While Wei Ran was talking, he had carefully folded the map, stood up and walked towards the armored pickup truck not far away. Without giving Edward a chance to speak, he started the car again, drove directly out of the shadow of the mountain, and found a place where the camp could be seen.
Stopped where I saw it.
After adjusting the temperature of the car's air conditioner to a comfortable temperature, Weiran did not open the map that looked to be old. Instead, he took out his satellite phone and started to check the magnetic declination of his current location!
As expected, the magnetic declination here was more than four degrees eastward. Opening the satellite map on his phone, Weiran marked the location of the airport on the map provided by Edward, and then once again marked the two coordinates provided by the metal book.
Clicked to add.
Just as he guessed, the angle between one of the points and the airport and due south and due north is exactly equal to "29 degrees west of north" plus the local magnetic declination!
Taking into account the change of magnetic declination over time, the angle error is only less than two degrees!
What is magnetic declination?
To put it simply, the north pointed by the compass needle is not the true north, but there is a certain angle. And as time goes by, this angle is also changing slightly.
Even some toilet arguments that advocate the reversal of the earth's magnetic poles in a few years and cause the end of the world are mostly based on the time changes of magnetic declination and are concocted by slapping the back of the head and exaggerating.
This geographical knowledge naturally comes from the topography and surveying courses at Hongqi Forest Farm, and the application of magnetic declination is more extensive than its popularity.
Not to mention, during World War II when there was no GPS navigation, magnetic declination was one of the important data for the pilots of aircraft and the navy on warships to ensure that they would not get lost.
In other words, the navigator Morris at that time certainly did not forget to calculate the magnetic declination, but deliberately failed to calculate the magnetic declination!
This is only a five-degree deviation, magnified to a distance of about 300 kilometers. At the end, the distance deviation between them and the destination will not exceed 20 kilometers. But don’t forget, in the case of the man named Leon
Before and after the prospector was killed, Morris also directed Felix and the two men to walk a long distance in the due north direction.
After that storm, Morris directed Felix to move in a direction of 29 degrees north-west, obviously testing him with a false direction.
However, before he could completely trust Felix and add a magnetic declination of nearly 5 degrees to the direction of travel, the latter hurriedly exposed his true nature due to the scarcity of Danshui reserves!
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In addition, after being captured by the camel caravan and driving blindfolded for several days, Felix wanted to reverse the "29 degrees north by west"
It may be better to find the location where the gold was buried than to throw a shoe in the vast desert to determine the direction.
“Thank you Hongqi Forest Farm for teaching such useful things!”
Wei Ran muttered to himself that the value of this magnetic declination was not low. At least he could determine which of the two sets of coordinates was the location where the gold was buried.
If those two sets of coordinates represent airplanes and gold respectively, what is left now is how to explain the problem of the Junkers 52 transport plane. And his inspiration came from a stream of wind blowing out of the car window.
On a sand beam next to one another.
There is no doubt that since the crash of the Junkers 52 aircraft until today, there have been countless sandstorms in this vast desert.
Under the action of the manic wind, it would be fine if the plane was just buried by the sand, but what if it was not buried? Will sandstorms blow it slowly moving in the desert?
The answer is obvious, otherwise, there would not be a full 15 kilometers distance between the two sets of coordinate points.
The distance of 15 kilometers may seem exaggerated, but this is the result of more than 70 years. On average, it only moves about two hundred meters per year. Not much more. It is estimated that a huge sandstorm that lasts for a day or two can easily be
The indicator of completing the annual KPI of two hundred meters.
After figuring out the key, Wei Ran sighed as he carefully folded the map. There is no doubt that his survival after the crash landing in 1941 was a failure.
If Felix, prospector Leon and navigator Morris can open up and cooperate, the chances of them digging out the desert are actually very high.
If they could trust each other from the beginning, if Maurice pointed in the right direction from the beginning, if Leon didn't have so many doubts, if Felix could resist those evil thoughts, their speed might be much faster.
You can also save a lot of travel time.
But in the face of complicated people's hearts, those "ifs" are just ridiculous and unrealistic assumptions.
Leon eventually died of his suspicion and impulsiveness, and Maurice eventually died of the direction he was responsible for guiding. Even Felix, the only one who survived, still wanted the gold that he cared about very much, but could not get it all his life but never forgot it.
But think about it on the other hand, are all three of them wrong?
It doesn't seem to be the case. Regardless of Leon's violent attack, the hand left by the navigator Maurice until his death, or even the selfish Felix's murder, the reason is just that he wants to kill people in this land.
