“What? Hans’s granddaughter?”
Jack was startled when he learned Ilsa’s true identity.
It was a stroke of luck.
“Lu Hao, what’s going on?!”
He had been searching for information but came up empty-handed, and now Lu Hao had brought back Hans’s descendant to the hotel.
“There was a little accident this morning.”
Lu Hao smiled and told Jack what happened earlier that day, explaining that Ilsa would be staying at the hotel for a while to avoid being harassed by others.
“That’s great, that’s great.”
Hearing that Ilsa had brought Hans’s belongings to the hotel, Jack was energized. His goal was to find any information or relics left behind by Hans.
Now that Lu Hao had brought them all back, it was perfect.
“You’re a great guy, kid!!”
Jack punched Lu Hao in the chest, praising him for bringing Ilsa back, which had been a huge help.
Lu Hao stroked his chin, chuckling, “So you’re changing your mind and taking me to find the gold?”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
Jack shook his head, still not changing his mind.
Lu Hao shrugged, nonchalant. He had already found a clue to the location of the base. With any luck, he would be able to find the exact location tomorrow.
The night passed without incident.
Early in the morning, Jack got up and, as planned, went to the Earl to get the key and then find an experienced locksmith to analyze the key’s purpose.
“Jack, I suggest you make a copy of the key. That way, if you accidentally lose it, you won’t be locked out of the base.”
Lu Hao kindly offered a suggestion to Jack, then paused, stroking his chin as if pondering something, “Hey Jack, what if we made a copy of the key, refused the Earl’s commission, and then secretly went looking for the gold and kept it all for ourselves?!”
“Jack, that’s two hundred forty tons of gold! It would be enough for us to live like kings for three lifetimes!!”
“……”
Jack stared at Lu Hao, who was full of dangerous ideas, his face filled with black lines. “Lu Hao, don’t even think about trying to get me involved in something like that. I, the Asian Flying Eagle, have professional ethics.”
If he did that, his reputation would be ruined. He wouldn’t be able to work as a bounty hunter anymore, and he’d be hunted down.
“Jack, why are you looking at me like that? I have professional ethics too, just a little more flexible.”
Lu Hao spread his hands innocently. “I just said that to test you, to make sure you don’t lose your head over the gold and go astray.”
He naturally wanted the gold, but he wanted to get it without anyone knowing. He wasn’t going to leave such a big hole.
“You…”
Jack was speechless, unable to retort. He went out to see the Earl and get the key.
Lu Hao, after telling Ilsa not to leave the hotel, also went out. He was going to see Peach.
As far as he knew, Peach knew the exact location of the base and was familiar with the indigenous people who lived there. Many of the small items on her stall came from the indigenous tribe near the base.
As usual, Lu Hao hailed a taxi to the plaza. He pushed through the crowd and found Peach at her usual spot, still serenely playing her clay flute, out of sync with the hustle and bustle around her.
Lu Hao smiled and walked quickly to greet her:
“Hey, Peach…”
Peach looked up when she saw a figure approaching her stall. She saw it was Lu Hao and a look of surprise crossed her face. “Hi, Lu Hao.”
“Peach, how’s business been these past two days?”
Lu Hao squatted down and began to examine the items on the stall.
“It’s been good. Enough for me to eat.”
Peach smiled contentedly. Her smile was very healing. “Lu Hao, feel free to look around. Anything you like, I’ll give it to you.”
“Actually, I’m not here to buy anything. I wanted to ask you about something.”
Lu Hao picked up a small, pitch-black statue and said with a smile, “Peach, do you know where this statue was made?”
It was the same model as the one Ilsa bought last time. The original was the statue in the photo of Hans and his eighteen bodyguards.
These small statues were made by the indigenous tribe that occupied the gold base.
It could be said that following this clue would lead to the base. They wouldn’t even need the military map kept by the United Nations.
He also knew that due to the limitations of mapping technology back then, the military map that recorded the location of the gold base had a huge margin of error.
They would never find the base if they followed the route on the military map.
“This statue?!”
Peach took the statue and thought for a moment. “I got it from a friend in a tribal village in Tunisia, Africa.” She tilted her head, confused. “Lu Hao, why are you asking about this?”
Lu Hao smiled. “To be honest, I’m an adventure enthusiast, and I’m very interested in the tribe where this statue came from. I’m planning to go on an expedition there, so I’m trying to find out more about the location of the tribe.”
“Really? That’s great! I’m going to the tribe in a couple of days to trade some crafts and do some deep desert exploring to find the meaning of life.”
Peach’s eyes lit up when she heard that Lu Hao was also an adventure enthusiast. She was delighted. “I didn’t know you liked adventure, Lu Hao.”
Lu Hao laughed and said, “Exploring the world’s scenery, uncovering the secrets of the world, that’s the meaning of life.”
“I’m also looking for the meaning of life, Lu Hao. If you don’t mind, I can be your guide, take you to find this tribe. I’m very familiar with that area.”
Peach’s eyes were curved like crescent moons when she discovered that Lu Hao was a kindred spirit. She enthusiastically invited Lu Hao to join her on a desert expedition.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Tomorrow, same time, we’ll meet here, and then we’ll go to the Sahara Desert to find the meaning of life.”
Lu Hao’s purpose was achieved. He laughed.
The meaning of life?!
Over two hundred tons of gold would definitely have meaning for his life.
Unfortunately, he was missing a key, and he couldn’t get into the base. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have to wait for Jack; he could find the gold himself.
“I wonder if explosives would work…”
Lu Hao pondered ways to break in, but he thought about the large arsenal of weapons and missiles stored in the base, and the self-destruction device.
If he used explosives to blast his way in, he might accidentally trigger a chain reaction and cause the entire base to explode, burying the gold in the desert.
Then he would be screwed.
“I still need the key, but I need to plan this carefully.”
After thinking it over, Lu Hao went back to the hotel.