Chapter 480 - 240: They Really Found It

Chapter 480: Chapter 240: They Really Found It

Driven by curiosity, he took out the folding shovel from his pack. After just a couple of quick digs, he uncovered a wooden box buried in the soil. Through cracks in the decaying wood, he could see a brilliant golden light shimmering from within.

After making the discovery, the team member immediately reported it to Chen Fei and the others.

With everyone digging together, they unearthed over thirty boxes in less than an hour. They were all filled with large, neatly stacked gold bricks. Even after a hundred years, their brilliant golden hue was still visible.

According to Mel’s preliminary assessment, the gold was from the era of the Tsar. Whether it was the Tsar’s lost treasure, however, was impossible to know. There was clearly much more buried further down, but they couldn’t excavate it for the time being.

They had planned to call Su Chen, but they discovered that their phones had all been damaged during the avalanche.

The crevasse was gourd-shaped—narrow at the top and wide at the bottom—which made it difficult to haul things out. After a quick discussion, the group decided that Chen Fei and Mel would return to the ranch to report the situation. The other seven would remain in the crevasse with food and water to guard the treasure.

As for the bloodstains on Chen Fei, they had encountered two wolves while climbing out of the crevasse. He’d accidentally gotten splattered while they were hunting the animals.

The reason the two of them looked so dazed was simple: after trekking for several kilometers through the mountains, they had then driven for over four hundred kilometers.

Furthermore, with no food or water to replenish their energy, both their bodies and minds had long since reached their limits. They were running on sheer willpower alone!

After hearing Chen Fei’s account, Su Chen would have been lying if he said he wasn’t moved. He had sent them out with little more than a map, a few pieces of information, and his own plan, and they had nearly perished in the wilderness for it.

The moment they found the treasure, their first thought was to come back and tell him. They hadn’t stopped, even when completely exhausted. How could Su Chen not be touched by all this?

Su Chen patted their shoulders, his expression complicated. "You’ve worked hard. Go get some rest. I’ll have the kitchen make you something to eat. We’ll talk more after you’ve gotten your strength back!"

Hearing Su Chen’s instructions, the two men got ready to head to their rooms to wash up. But after taking just two steps, Chen Fei slapped his forehead. "Ah, how could I have forgotten about this!"

He stopped in his tracks and pulled a golden "brick" from his backpack. It looked to weigh at least seven or eight pounds.

"Sir, this is from one of the wooden boxes in the crevasse. Take a look!"

Su Chen took it without hesitation, but the weight immediately made his arm dip, and he nearly dropped the gold brick.

’This heavy?’ A flash of surprise crossed Su Chen’s face. He had thought it would be about seven or eight pounds, but now that he was holding it, it felt like it had to be at least fifteen or twenty.

Chen Fei had briefly mentioned earlier that each wooden box contained fifty such gold bricks.

If every brick weighed the same, then a single box would hold a thousand jin of gold—half a ton.

Chen Fei’s team had already excavated over thirty boxes before they left, which meant there were more than fifteen tons of gold!

After sending Chen Fei and his companion off to rest, Su Chen and Xiao Chen sat on the sofa, staring at the large gold brick on the table.

After a long silence, Xiao Chen finally looked up at Su Chen and asked, "If this really is the Tsar’s lost sixteen hundred tons of gold, what are you going to do?"

"Bring it back home, of course. You’re not actually planning on handing it over to the Russians, are you? Besides, we don’t even know if it’s really sixteen hundred tons!" Su Chen appeared perfectly calm. He already had a few ideas, but the concrete plan would have to wait until Chen Fei’s team excavated the rest and confirmed the total amount.

"Why would I ever let the Russians get their hands on it? Do you think I’m a complete idiot?"

At these words, Xiao Chen shook his head vigorously. It wasn’t like he was some great saint who would hand it all over to the Russians. It was just that he couldn’t think of any good way to get it all back home, unless... ’Smuggling!’

He did have some experience in that area, but the risks were significant. If they were caught, the losses would be catastrophic.

"Let’s wait until all the boxes in the crevasse have been dug up. There’s no point in talking about this now." ’If it only ends up being a few dozen boxes, it won’t require much effort. We can just ship them back with the raw gold ore.’

Xiao Chen knew this was true, but a pang of disappointment hit him when he remembered he had to return home that very afternoon.

He knew that as soon as Chen Fei and his partner had recovered, Su Chen would personally visit the treasure site. He couldn’t believe he was going to miss out on such an adventure. Anyone would be disappointed—after all, an experience like this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But he couldn’t go against the old man’s arrangements. If he missed the opportunity that had been set up for him, there was no telling how long he’d have to wait for another. In the end, reason won out over curiosity.

"That’s true. You handle things here. If you need any help, just give me a call!"

’The treasure belongs to Su Chen anyway, why am I getting so worked up over it?’ Once Xiao Chen came to this realization, he felt much more at ease. He excused himself and went back to his room to pack his bags.

Su Chen stared at the gold brick on the table. After a moment’s thought, he wrapped it up and put it away in his bedroom. ’It’s best to keep something like this hidden.’