Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Some of the excavated coffins were already opened and their grisly contents had all been rummaged through. There were two more coffins that had yet to be opened. The little bug flew in for a look and Li Du could not help but purse his lips.
Inside the coffin was a rotten corpse complete with bones. There was jewelry on it and the gold and silver were shimmering. It was unclear whether the jewels were plated or made of solid gold. There was a gemstone necklace on the corpse’s neck, gold plated accessories all over the body, and a jeweled scepter between its hands.
In another coffin, the contents were similar, only with less jewelry.
There were some Russian characters on the underside of the coffin. Li Du could not read Russian but he thought that it must be some words about the deceased.
Li Du took a deep breath. His guess had been right. Those people were not war gravediggers. They were robbers who had dug into other people’s existing graves.
Li Du had guessed that those graves belonged to people from rich families or aristocrats who had passed on here. He had reached that understanding after connecting the dots and noticing the distance between the cemetery and the refugee town.
The jewelry and gold were also a reason why the Bolshevik Red Army had rushed to attack these people.
However, the jewelry was useless in this barren place. Before the Red Army arrived, they already knew how both they and their jewelry would end up.
Hence, when they were on the brink of death, they must have done their best to flaunt their wealth, wearing all the pearls and jewelry they had.
These gravediggers were savvy enough to have managed to locate the graves of those long-dead aristocrats. They found the treasures in the graves.
Compared to ivory, these jewels were more precious. However, stealing the jewelry was illegal and immoral.
That was different from digging to excavate the corpses of those who died in the war. The latter could be interpreted as pacifying the dead and helping them to find a place to rest in peace. On the other hand, digging up existing graves was a typical case of robbing a tomb.
That was none of Li Du’s business. However, since he bumped into this issue, he could not just let the criminals go off scot-free.
If it had happened in China or America, Li Du would have called the police and let them handle the situation.
However, they were now in the wilderness of Siberia. If he rang the police, they would probably be very keen on the matter. After all, the gravediggers had found a large amount of jewelry.
However, when would the police arrive? By the time they did, the grave robbers would long have escaped.
After some thinking, Li Du decided to trick the grave robbers. The jewels they found were all antiques and precious to their owners. The jewelry had been worn by people and much admired and it contained a lot of Time Capability.
It has been some time since the little bug had a good meal. Li Du decided to grant its wish that day.
He let out the little bug and allowed it to absorb the Time Capability as it wished. Then, he started to chat with the blonde youth.
“Has there been a war here previously? Did the German army attack this place?” He asked, taking care to look politely bewildered.
The blonde youth said, “Don’t underestimate the damn Nazis and the German Defense Forces. They launched a full-scale offensive against Russia. Every inch of our land has encountered their aggression.”
Puzzled, Li Du asked, “Really? How can that be? The Nazis launched the Eastern War and the Western Front, but they had never reached the Central Siberian Plateau, right?”
The blonde youth realized that he would not be able to fool Li Du. He said, “That’s right, there was a war here in the past. You probably know that there’s a small town around here. A group of feudal dynasty b*stards tried to take refuge here and the Red Army fought against them in order to liberate the country.”
Li Du nodded. “That I know. However, at that time, the Red Army had gained victory with an overwhelming margin, right? Not many of the soldiers were killed and even if someone died, the corpse would be taken away, right?”
The blonde youth replied, “That’s right. However, the dynasty of the city was killed, but it was buried here. You know, buddy, it’s too cruel to let them lie around in the wild. We had to re-organize and send them into their graves.”
Li Du put his thumbs up and said, “You guys are too noble.”
The blonde youth grinned and said, “Since we are in this trade, we should follow the rules, right?”
Li Du nodded passionately, “Yes.”
The other grave robbers were starting to get restless. They toyed with the guns in their hands, trying to scare Li Du and his group using their weapons.
However, Li Du’s weapons were much more advanced. Brother Wolf and some others switched on the laser target aim of their weapons and the red laser beam pointed onto the grave robbers’ bodies. That, in turn, scared them.
They continued to chitchat while Li Du patiently waited it out.
The grave robbers were rather smart. The graveyard that they had found had tons of jewelry. Surrounding the area were some coffins and each coffin was filled with jewelry.
If it were not for their bad luck in bumping into Li Du, they would have been able to make big money. By selling the items, the men would be able to enjoy riches for the rest of their lives.
Li Du continued to distract the youth by talking to him. They chatted for thirty minutes.
Once the little bug had absorbed all of the Time Capability of the jewelry that had been kept in the coffin, Li Du recalled it.
This time around, the little bug had a great meal. It had grown quite a bit and had more developed fingers, and thumbs that now differed in length and size from the rest. Besides, it had also grown another pair of legs!
By now, the little bug had six pairs of legs and two pairs of wings. According to Li Du’s understanding of it, it must have gained a new ability, although it was unclear what it was for the time being.
Now that Li Du achieved his goal, he was pleased. He continued to chat with the youth and pretended to be curious about everything. It was only when the gravediggers were about to go crazy from the questions that he finally stopped talking.
“Thank you so much for your patience in answering our questions. I learned a lot this time,” Li Du said cheerfully.
The happiness on his face was genuine. The little bug underwent evolution again. It was good news, worthy of celebration.
The blonde youth was also pleased to see that he managed to shake Li Du off, and said, “This is nothing. I have also gained a lot of new information about mammoth ivory.”
Li Du said, “Perhaps we can form an alliance. If we find the remnants of an old battlefield, we would notify you guys. And if you guys find a mammoth burial ground, please tell us. How about that?”
The blonde youth was stunned by that proposal. It was, of course, not a very good deal for them. They were not really looking for unnamed graves, and they had minimal interest old battlefields.
However, keen to be on good terms with Li Du, the youth pretended to agree happily to the alliance request, and left Li Du a phone number, saying that he hoped the two sides could keep in contact.
With that, Li Du got into his car. Then he instructed his people to build a line of defense, monitor these thugs, and be wary of them stirring up trouble at night.
He was unsure if they would find out his trick. Those jewels had all been ruined. After losing its time capability, the jewelry would turn into powder once touched. It would be as though it had aged for thousands of years all at once.
