Chapter 801 383: Obtaining the Yinchen Wood Worth Millions! (Part 2)

"It's a trivial matter. It's my honor to have a friend like President Zeng."

"When President Zeng invites, I must attend. Others' face I might not give, but President Zeng's face I definitely will."

"Alright, then it's today at noon. Okay, goodbye."

Jiang Tao chatted briefly with Zeng Lingyun on the phone before hanging up.

Although Zeng Lingyun only mentioned a lunch at Jinghua Pavilion and said nothing about money.

But with Brother Tongzi's intelligence, Jiang Tao's perks wouldn't be lacking.

"The day before yesterday, I took He Jing to Jinghua Pavilion, yesterday it was Lili."

"Today, I'll take Yuan Mengqi over for a try, just to be fair."

After making up his mind, Jiang Tao reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and dialed Yuan Mengqi's number.

Beep beep beep—

"Hello dear, thinking of me first thing in the morning?"

Jiang Tao's call connected in less than five seconds, and Yuan Mengqi's cheerful voice came from the other end.

Jiang Tao playfully joked, "Yes, thinking of you. I'm at Century Hotel 1606 waiting for you."

"You big tease, what are you up to so early in the morning?"

"Didn't Lili exhaust you completely last night?"

"I'm currently in training. You're only looking for me for that, aren't you?"

Yuan Mengqi whispered a few words with her voice lowered from the other end.

Before Jiang Tao could react, she asked, "Should I take a leave?"

Jiang Tao couldn't help but laugh when he heard Yuan Mengqi wanting to take a leave to see him, saying:

"Hahaha, what leave? Just focus on your training. I'm handling some matters in Haidian District right now."

"You big tease, trying to trick me. Wait till I see you and give you a good lesson."

Jiang Tao stopped teasing and said seriously:

"Alright, no more jokes. There's a banquet at Jinghua Pavilion at noon, come with me."

"Jinghua Pavilion? What kind of place is that?"

"You'll know when you get there. After work, you can take a taxi yourself; my driver is with Lili and my mother-in-law visiting friends today."

"Okay, no worries, I'll take a taxi myself."

"Then that's settled. I'll focus on my tasks now; we'll chat when we meet at noon."

"Bye-bye, dear~"

On the other end, Yuan Mengqi was in a good mood when she heard Jiang Tao was taking her to the banquet.

After ending the call with Yuan Mengqi, Jiang Tao briskly walked towards the boat rental vendor by the lake.

The priority is to first get the Yinchen Wood from the lakebed.

Though the piece of Yinchen Wood in the lakebed won't sprout legs and run away.

But as long as it's not in hand, Jiang Tao felt itchy inside.

Upon arrival at the lakeside, Jiang Tao saw the boat rental owner was a middle-aged man wearing an orange reflective vest.

Early in the morning, the park was mostly occupied by nearby residents jogging or walking.

Boat rental customers hadn't arrived yet.

Jiang Tao stepped forward and said, "Boss, I'd like to rent a boat."

The owner, seeing business come his way, instantly showed a smile:

"Electric ones cost 50 dollars for an hour, pedal ones 30 dollars, deposit 1000 dollars. Which one would you like, handsome?"

"The electric one, I'd like to rent for 4 hours."

Jiang Tao, unperturbed by spending a thousand or so, directly pulled out 1200 dollars from his pocket and handed it to the owner.

"Alright! You're the first boat renter today; I'll pick the one with the fullest battery and the cleanest for you!"

The owner took the money swiftly, counted it, exactly 12 notes!

"Handsome, you can use this one. It's called 'Blue Elf.' It's powerful, agile, and guaranteed to operate smoothly!"

The owner pointed to a deep blue electric boat, eagerly introducing it.

"Okay, thank you, boss."

Jiang Tao nodded with a smile, not having many preferences about the boat.

"Handsome, wear a life jacket. It's a park regulation, must be worn."

The owner handed an orange simple life jacket to Jiang Tao while untying the rope from the dock's wooden pile.

"Okay."

Jiang Tao understood that every rule must have lots of experience and lessons behind it, so he made no fuss and wore the life jacket.

The owner continued instructing, "Just keep around the lake center, don't go into the reed marshes; it's full of weeds, easy to get tangled."

"Okay, no problem. I'm just going up for some leisure and relaxation."

Jiang Tao was very patient in dealing with the rather talkative owner.

After donning the life jacket, he started the boat as the owner had taught.

Buzz buzz buzz—

The electric boat emitted a slight buzzing sound, creating ripples from the stern, as it slowly left the shore.

This morning's lake center was exceptionally tranquil, only accompanied by the low hum of motors and the gentle slapping of water against the hull.

Sunlight warmed his skin as bold water birds occasionally skimmed past not far from the bow, leaving a fleeting shadow behind.

Jiang Tao leisurely steered the boat's rudder, seemingly enjoying the picturesque surroundings.

But in reality, his gaze, like the most precise radar, scanned every patch of water he passed through.

"Not here, not here, still not here..."

Jiang Tao wandered the lake for half an hour without seeing Brother Tongzi's hint.

Objects detected by the Intelligence System would have clear markings in Jiang Tao's field of view.

However, he needed to be within a certain proximity to the objects for the markings to show.

Ted it meant Jiang Tao was still a bit far from the Yinchen Wood.

"Keep going, no rush. If not today, I'll come back tomorrow. It's not like it can run off the lakebed."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jiang Tao continued steering the boat looking for the treasure marked by Brother Tongzi.

Time quietly slipped away during the search.

The sun gradually rose higher, dispelling the last traces of morning chill.

Gradually, more boats appeared on the lake.

Mostly families taking children out for a play or young couples on dates.

Patiently controlling the boat, Jiang Tao conducted a dragnet search within the mapped large area.

At precisely 10 o'clock in the morning, as Jiang Tao steered his boat near a slightly secluded area of the lake's eastern side, his eyes lit up.

There it was!

Upon seeing a swirling dark golden arrow 10 meters ahead, about 2 meters above the water surface.

Jiang Tao knew what he was looking for lay just beneath that arrow!

Of course, only Jiang Tao could see this arrow, so it wouldn't catch anyone's attention.

After the excitement, Jiang Tao immediately reduced the boat's speed to the lowest, carefully maneuvering the "Blue Elf" right under the arrow.

He took a deep breath, focused, and attempted to communicate with the system with his thoughts to claim the target.

Swish!

The blue system interface suddenly appeared, showing two information notifications:

[Operation Failed: Detected presence of other lifeforms (ordinary humans) observing!]

[To prevent drawing unusual awareness from observers, this operation cannot proceed temporarily.]

Reading the system notification, Jiang Tao furrowed his brow and looked around.

Sure enough, a yellow duck boat was leisurely paddling tens of meters away towards the left.

A trendy-dressed young mother on the boat occasionally glanced in his direction as she paddled with her child.

Behind him, a senior couple's electric boat was also slowly approaching this direction.

"This time of day seems to have a lot of people around..."

Jiang Tao regretted not booking all the boats from the owner.

That way, no one would disturb his "treasure hunt" on the lake.

With no choice, Jiang Tao suppressed his urgency, piloting the boat to appear idling.

[Operation Failed: Detected presence of other lifeforms (ordinary humans)...]

Jiang Tao attempted repeatedly, spending a full hour before he finally succeeded!

[Consume 188,888 yuan immediately to acquire the target item "Yinchen Wood"?]

"Yes!"

[Acquisition successful! Item stored in system warehouse.]

A heavy sensation seemed to appear out of nowhere in the warehouse space connected through his consciousness.

Success!

Jiang Tao exhaled deeply, finally relaxing his tense nerves.

Once the task was completed, he no longer lingered.

He turned the boat around, heading towards the boat rental dock, accelerating.