Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The meeting location was Zhao Yun county’s Feng Ping city, the county’s capital and one of the core centers. This had been recorded clearly on the notebook from back when Liu Dianchen eavesdropped on the Japanese army officials’ conversation.
Since the Japanese officials were going to hold the secret meeting here, that would mean that the treasure back then could possibly have been hidden in the hills near Feng Ping city. Yet, looking at the map only resulted in feeling hopeless. Feng Ping city was surrounded by mountains and dense forests for over a few thousand square kilometers. It was no wonder those Japanese chose this place to build a fort and hide the treasure. Finding it now would be a Sisyphean task!
In the notebook, there were records of Tao Xiang’s search progress. As for the investigation of the treasure, there were three main aspects. The first and most important was using historical data as evidence. In the past, Tao Xiang had investigated countless pieces of historical data and interviewed hundreds of residents in his relentless search for news about the treasure.
His thought process made sense: if there was indeed a secret fortress, the Japanese would have employed foreign labor to construct it and then silenced them after it was completed through a massive pit burial. Tao Xiang figured that as long as he was able to determine the location of this pit, he would be able to find the fortress. If he was able to find similar villages that had been exterminated, it would also have brought him closer to determining the fortress’ location.
The reason why Tao Xiang had brought Cui Lizhu with him to Huang Jin City was precisely that he had heard that there were many abandoned villages on the outskirts of the city. However, after further investigation, it turned out those abandoned villages were the result of environmental factors rather than the Japanese.
The second aspect was field studies. Following Liu Dianchen’s records, Tao Xiang had searched for hints on the site and attempted to find information on the army’s activities. For this, he purchased expensive equipment and even learned how to use it from the professionals. Still, the area was too big, and it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. He ultimately gave up. At the back of the notebook were drawings of the mountainous areas, many of which were marked with a big ‘X’ to indicate they had been ruled out.
The last aspect of the investigation was to ask relevant parties. Tao Xiang figured that Liu Dianchen’s notebook alone would not be enough to find out where the treasure was. Thus, he devoted a huge number of hours to making use of his profession and investigating all the people and incidents related to the treasure.
In the following years, he managed to find many leads. For example, the democratic party had lost and fled, but because they were unable to give up the treasure, they had sent many spies back to search. Not only did they return emptyhanded, they even leaked the secret about the handbook’s existence. Tao Xiang’s copy was merely a photocopy. He had a suspicion that the copy he received was only a small portion of the entire handbook and only gave him a bit of the full picture. There were definitely more detailed records somewhere.
With a stroke of luck, Tao Xiang realized the treasure could be within the Dong Bei region. There were no witnesses at a national level. Through his investigations, it was confirmed that since the country’s independence, many teams had been formed to search for the treasure. Countless times, the government had sent professionals equipped with the best technology in search, but to no avail.
Furthermore, Tao Xiang had heard news from unknown sources that the Russians and Japanese were also searching for the treasure. Regarding this, he figured it seemed credible that the Russians were looking for it. After all, they had suffered greatly, and it was only normal they were still thinking about their lost gold.
Even if the gold had been hidden in China, once they found it, they could get it back to Russia through legal means. More importantly, if someone found the gold at the fortress, they could even prove the Japanese had stolen the gold and seek legal compensation from Japan!
As for the Japanese, Tao Xiang believed it was nonsense. Firstly, the treasure had been buried by the Japanese, which meant they would definitely know the location. Would they still have to look? Secondly, even if they did come to look for the treasure in China and found it, how would they get it back? In the end, they would only be able to give it back, resulting in a loss for them.
Tsch! Cui Lizhu looked at Tao Xiang’s notebook and instantly came to her senses. “Boss, this is definitely not going to be easy! Our country has already sent so many professionals to search for this, how are we…?”
“I know, right?” Zhao Yu nodded proudly. “As I’ve said before, with such a large matter, the country wouldn’t simply stand by and watch. The treasure has undoubtedly already been found, but the news is being kept under wraps. It makes sense that they wouldn’t announce it due to the potential conflict!”
“Ah…” Cui Lizhu deflated like a balloon. She patted Zhao Yu’s shoulders. “Boss, your ranking is by no means low. Why don’t you ask somebody? If the treasure is really gone, we should stop wasting our efforts.”
“Are you kidding?” Zhao Yu shook his head. “How much is my rank worth? With such a shocking amount of treasure, even the leader of the entire Criminal Investigation Unit wouldn’t know, much less me!”
“Ah… in that case, why not find out who has enough power to know the truth?” Cui Lizhu asked.
“Whatever for?” Zhao Yu asked, staring at her. “Don’t tell me you want to go back to your old ways?”
“Tsk! Then what are we to do? If we search for the treasure without any information, it’s just a meaningless blind search!” she answered.
“Don’t you think I know this? How about we do this…” Zhao Yu flipped the notebook and pointed at numerous names. “This is the list of names your dad left behind. The people on this list should be related to the treasure. Look, the first few names are even marked out with a cross. There are only these last few left!”
“Ah…” Cui Lizhu thought about it for a while. “My dad probably already investigated those that have been marked out with a cross. If that’s the case, then those without…”
“See, there are five names here without crosses,” Zhao Yu said, pointing at the list. “It’s either because your dad has yet to investigate them, or those five people are closely linked to the treasure and know more details. So…”
“Ah!” Cui Lizhu said excitedly. “Then let’s investigate those five people now! Let’s see what they know. If the treasure’s already been found, then we can give up. If not… hehe! Then you, genius detective Zhao, will need to expend some energy!”
