Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 175, page 174: The Golden Hill and Bronze Ware, the Oil Tycoon of Las Vegas
Boss Zhao and the Mexican led the way, with Fang Wen and Lin Shuiwang following behind.

Just in case, Indiana stayed outside so that he could easily find someone to rescue him if something happened.

Even though the underground space was already ventilated, there was still a fishy stench.

Those were left by rats and snakes.

To avoid the stench, everyone took out handkerchiefs and wrapped them around their mouths and noses as masks.

Through the handkerchief, the smell no longer seemed so unpleasant.

The group moved on.

A staircase appears ahead.

"Sure enough, the top and bottom are connected. I suspect they sealed off the entrance above to protect the secret here," Boss Zhao analyzed.

What secrets does this place hold? Fang Wen was very curious about this.

The group continued onward and came to a fork in the road.

In terms of perception, the channel on the right is closer to the target.

But Fang Wen didn't say it.

He watched how Boss Zhao did it.

Boss Zhao took out a rope with a bell on it and handed it to one of his Mexican henchmen, telling him to go to the left first.

After the group set off, he whispered, "This is a scout bell. It rings when you pull it. Pull it three times if something happens, and four times if nothing happens."

Lin Shuiwang asked curiously, "What do you mean by 'tug it a couple of times'?"

Mr. Zhao replied, "Walking and bumping around inevitably causes the bell to ring; it's unavoidable that it will ring once or twice occasionally."

As he spoke, the old Mexican man had already walked more than thirty meters away and disappeared into the alleyway.

The bell rang four times in a row.

Boss Zhao, who thought nothing was wrong, led his team over, only to witness what he saw.

Several vertical statues stand at the end of the passage.

In front of the stone statue is a burial pit.

There were many animal bones in the pit, and even two human skeletons were found.

Upon seeing this, Boss Zhao's expression changed immediately, and he took out some industry-specific tools.

One black donkey hoof for each person.

There was only one big jar of black dog blood, which he carried himself.

He then warned, "These might be Native American coffins. They bury people vertically. Be careful of the zombies. I don't know if my things can handle the zombies here."

Zongzi (rice dumplings) are zombies, a legend among tomb raiders, and also what they fear most.

It is said that corpses in coffins have a chance of turning into this thing.

Fang Wen also took out his pistol in preparation.

Who knows if one of those things might actually jump out of the tomb?

Urged on by Boss Zhao, the two old Mexicans mustered their courage and went over, inserting shovels into the gap and prying open a vertical statue.

With a teeth-grinding crunch, the vertical image opened.

The remains inside were exposed.

Perhaps because of the dampness here, the body had long since turned into bones.

But this relieved Zhao Jiu and Fang Wen; bones were better than rice dumplings.

As the coffins were opened, a large number of burial objects were revealed.

They had no iron weapons, but rather a large number of copper weapons.

There were also faded and decayed feathers and fur garments.

The most precious things are the various kinds of beautiful blue gemstones.

Mr. Zhao is very knowledgeable about this: "This is turquoise. Native Americans believe that turquoise is the spirit of the sea and the sky, which will bring good luck and fortune to those who go on expeditions. It is known as the stone of success and good fortune and is a symbol of divine power. They wear turquoise jewelry to ward off evil and receive the protection of the gods. It is also used as a burial item after death."

Lin Shuiwang asked, "Is it valuable?"

"It's so-so, not as valuable as gold, but for the ancient Native Americans, turquoise was much more precious," Mr. Zhao explained.

These words disappointed Lin Shuiwang, who had worked hard for more than ten days to get this little bit.

Fang Wen comforted him, saying, "There's still one path we haven't taken; perhaps we'll reap even greater rewards there."

Yes, everyone cheered up, and after Old Mo took the turquoise, they headed towards another passage.

Using the same method, an old Mexican man went out to scout the way with a scouting bell.

After a while, the sounding bell was pulled four times.

Everyone cautiously went over to investigate.

The result was that the old Mexican man described the situation with exaggerated gestures and excitement.

gold!

Lots of gold.

Everyone followed him into the last stone chamber in the underground space.

There, under the light, a golden hue was reflected.

All sorts of gold ornaments were piled up like small mountains.

Above the golden hill, there is a cave.

Fang Wen couldn't help but guess that perhaps the gold offered as sacrifices to the gods fell into this place from the altar.

Over time, the gold jewelry accumulated into a small mountain.

Boss Zhao and the five old Mexicans were breathing heavily.

The atmosphere suddenly became subtle.

Tempted by the gold, they inevitably succumbed to greed.

Faced with this situation, Lin Shuiwang raised his pistol and aimed it at Boss Zhao.

Fang Wen, however, did not care much about the gold.

He said, "Old Zhao, is that all you're capable of? This batch of gold looks like a lot, but it's mostly jewelry, and the actual weight isn't high. Besides, the purity of gold from that era wasn't high. It's more about cultural value. But there aren't many Native Americans left, and not many people appreciate Native American culture. It won't be easy to sell this batch of Native American gold at a high price."

Sweat dripped down Boss Zhao's forehead as he faced the gun.

The five Mexicans did not take action despite their friendship of over a month.

Guns are king.

Boss Zhao said in a trembling voice, "You want to silence me?"

Fang Wen chuckled: "Why would I want to silence him? I mean, you're too slow in handling this gold. I want to lower the price and sell it. After it's done, I'll give you and the Mexican 20%. Lin Shuiwang, put the gun down, don't scare him."

"Oh dear, that scared me to death. We'll do as you said with the gold." Boss Zhao immediately agreed.

"That's good. Lin Shuiwang, have them wait outside. I want to admire this gold."

Under Fang Wen's orders, Lin Shuiwang, Boss Zhao, and the Mexicans went out.

After everyone left, Fang Wen looked around the golden secret room.

What he wants is not in here.

Based on that mysterious energy perception, the object was actually behind the wall on the left.

How do I get into the space behind the wall?

Fang Wen is looking for a switch.

He examined it carefully.

To the right of the Golden Chamber is a mountain of gold, and to the left is a stone platform.

The stone platform shouldn't be a mechanism; Fang Wen even thought it was impossible for such a mechanism to exist here.

After all, the craftsmanship of the burial objects seen from the left passage indicates that this civilization's technology was very backward.

How did they get into the space behind the stone wall?

Fang Wen walked over and pushed the wall hard; it shook.

Could it be a stone door that can be pushed?

He acted on his ideas and pushed forward.

It's really open.

He looked behind the stone gate to uncover the true secrets of this civilization.

He saw an ancient altar.

In the very center of the altar, there was an object.

Was that a cauldron?
Fang Wen was extremely surprised.

He visited a bronze museum in his previous life.

They also knew what a tripod looked like.

The small tripod on the altar evoked his memories. In ancient China, long ago, only people of high status used tripods.

A large cauldron used for cooking food.

The small tripod in front of us serves as a bowl for holding food.

Later, the ding evolved to have more uses, such as sacrificial rites and musical instruments.

In any case, the ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) held special significance in ancient China; it wasn't something that just anyone could possess.

But how come there's an ancient Chinese tripod here?

Fang Wen still remembers that the era when the Chinese used the ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) should be more than 3000 years ago, during the Shang Dynasty.

This civilization has a history of only about 1000 years.

The two are too far apart to establish contact.

Or we could guess it this way.

It's not impossible that a group of people set off from the Shang Dynasty 3000 years ago to reach the Americas.

We'll cross the Bering Strait, taking advantage of the winter when it's frozen over.

Among this group, there must be people of high status, otherwise they wouldn't be carrying something like a cauldron.

Perhaps he is the leader of the team.

After arriving in the Americas, they may have mixed with the local Native Americans, or they may have evolved into a distinct Native American ethnic group.

In this process, the civilization they brought from the Shang Dynasty gradually degenerated and disappeared, leaving only their reverence for the ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel).

Therefore, they regarded this food cauldron as a sacred object for sacrificial purposes and have kept it ever since.

No wonder they have a similar city-building strategy to those in China, constructing their cities in fertile areas where two rivers converge.

Unfortunately, this tribal civilization eventually disappeared, and no history about them has been preserved.

Thinking of this, Fang Wen carefully removed the food cauldron, pondering whether or not to tell others about it.

It's utterly absurd to link Eastern civilizations and Native American civilizations using this cauldron.

He even suspected that he would be considered by the American archaeological community as someone who fabricated and falsified history.

Furthermore, given that this item is a secret treasure imbued with mysterious energy, Fang Wen decided to keep the secret.

He took off his coat, wrapped the food cauldron and a few randomly chosen gold ornaments in it, then closed the hidden door and went out.

The most important thing is in our hands.

Fang Wen was not in a hurry to return to Las Vegas.

He wanted to know more about this thing.

Isn't there a Mr. Zhao who is very knowledgeable about Chinese history?

With this in mind, Fang Wen carefully observed the situation inside his tent.

This food cauldron is 28 centimeters tall, with a square mouth that is 20 centimeters long, and weighs 3.8 kilograms.

Fang Wen couldn't help but wonder if this bowl was too heavy for him to eat from.

He continued to observe.

The cauldron had unique patterns on its body, so I decided to make a rubbing of the patterns and ask Boss Zhao about it.

Looking at the pattern, Boss Zhao had a sense of déjà vu: "This, this is the pattern of a tripod, isn't it? Or is it a beast-face pattern? Look, it has horns, a nose, and a mouth, doesn't it look like one?"

Fang Wen nodded: "Yes."

"The ding is a very important artifact in China. General Manager, you've found a treasure."

"I don't know if it's a treasure. Things here are almost over, could you help me take a look?"

"No problem." Boss Zhao rubbed his hands together, very excited.

Immediately, Fang Wen took out the cauldron and handed it to Boss Zhao.

Wearing a magnifying glass, Boss Zhao observed carefully.

"A beast-face pattern, a square-mouthed ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel), with three legs—this is in excellent condition. Let me see if there are any inscriptions."

The most important part of a ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) is its inscription, which can reveal a great deal of information.

There are inscriptions on this food cauldron, though they are few.

Boss Zhao read with difficulty, "Hou Xi?"

Mr. Zhao ultimately shook his head, indicating that he did not understand such an ancient thing.

But Fang Wen still remembered those two words: Hou Xi.

After returning to China, I will find someone to investigate the secret behind it.

Now that he has two treasures that can continuously absorb energy, Fang Wen is full of hope for the future.

Archaeological work at the Kahokia mound is still ongoing.

But for Fang Wen, it's over.

In the following period, gold jewelry and turquoise were quietly transported out.

According to statistics, the gold jewelry weighed a total of 800 kilograms, with more than 1000 pieces of various sizes; and there were more than 300 turquoise stones.

Then the hole was backfilled, and the stone wall below it was sealed, and everything was restored to its original state, except that some gold and gems were missing.

After doing all this, Fang Wen said goodbye to Joni Dane and flew back to Las Vegas with the plane full of passengers.

Now it's time to deal with these supplies. The turquoise can be entrusted to Boss Zhao for sale, but the gold is a bit more troublesome. We need to find a safe place for the gold first.

Bank of America in Las Vegas and Tarzan Casino Company maintain a good working relationship, with large amounts of cash from the casino company being transported back to the bank's vault daily by Bank of America's cash transport vehicles.

Storing the gold there temporarily seems like a good option.

Subsequently, a fully armed gold transport vehicle arrived at the airport and transported 800 kilograms of gold and 300 turquoise stones to the bank vault for safekeeping.

Fang Wen was also on the gold transport vehicle, following along.

The armored truck stopped at the entrance of the bank vault, and large boxes were unloaded from the truck and led into the vault by the bank manager.

As the large box was loaded into the vault, Fang Wen took the documents from the bank manager, signed them, and then left the bank.

It's time to find a buyer for the gold.

Fang Wen wants to sell the gold as soon as possible and needs a group of very wealthy buyers.

This matter was originally somewhat troublesome, but Zhao Jiu's report gave him an unexpected surprise.

Tarzan Land in Las Vegas, which has been in operation for a month, has become the busiest tourist attraction in the West due to a series of operational strategies.

People can satisfy all kinds of desires here.

Thrilling gambling and roller coasters.

Goods from all over the world are gathered in a large market for sale.

There are also musicals and caravan circuses on Broadway in New York.

And a wide variety of self-service buffet options.

It caters to a wide range of needs and attracts diverse consumer groups to shop here.

It's not just tourists from the middle and lower classes, but also wealthy people from all walks of life in the United States.

The wealthy also need to spend money to relax.

They can get whatever they want in Las Vegas if they can afford it.

This den of iniquity was a very interesting place for them.

Especially after discovering that the place was safe, they actually contacted Zhao Jiu and asked him to organize a more upscale private gambling hall.

The requirements are very high, but you can also earn more.

Zhao Jiu readily agreed and agreed to transform a standalone building in Taishan Amusement Park into the style the wealthy man desired.

The best food, the best service, the most exciting private betting.

Furthermore, any service that wealthy individuals can customize, as long as they can afford it.

You can fly dedicated planes to various parts of the United States to bring in everything you want.

Zhao Jiu was thinking of making money off the rich and taking whatever he wanted, but inadvertently built up a good image.

Now many wealthy people are coming to experience it, which has given Fang Wen a good opportunity.

He instructed Zhao Jiu to send a private inquiry to those wealthy individuals, asking if they would be willing to purchase a batch of ancient Native American gold ornaments.

After Zhao Jiu sent out the inquiry, some wealthy individuals showed interest and were willing to make the acquisition.

Among these people was a Western oil tycoon, Edwin L. Paul Getty.

This young billionaire is buying up oil company stocks at rock-bottom prices and has taken control of several oil fields in California.

It was his appearance that made Fang Wen give up the idea of ​​negotiating with other wealthy people.

The lack of refinery equipment and technical personnel was the only plan that Fang Wen failed to realize during his trip to the United States.

He has given up on the plan to build an independent factory, but still doesn't know where to start.

Perhaps this person is the key.

(End of this chapter)