The next day.
After explaining the situation to Jack and Ilsa, Lu Hao quietly took his gear and headed towards the square.
“Hey, Lu Hao!!”
Taozi, with a full backpack, had been waiting for a long time. She waved excitedly when she saw Lu Hao.
“Taozi, good morning.”
Lu Hao also carried a backpack that was half his height. However, most of its contents were already transferred to his storage ring.
The storage ring contained not only equipment but also a large amount of water to prevent them from getting stuck in the desert without water.
“Time is of the essence, let's go!!”
After meeting up, they exchanged foreign currency at the bank for Tunisian dinars and stocked up on some US dollars. Then, without hesitation, they went to Madrid International Airport to take a flight to Tunisia.
After an hour of flight, they arrived in Tunis City. Then, they immediately took another flight to the city closest to the Desert Inn.
Finally, they took a ride to the Desert Inn.
By this time, it was already nighttime.
Therefore, Lu Hao and Taozi decided to stay at the Desert Inn for one night and buy camels tomorrow morning to head to the native tribe where the statue was located.
“May the true God bless you!!”
As soon as they pushed the door open and entered the inn, the owner, wearing a typical Muslim red prayer cap and with a face full of merchant cunning, enthusiastically welcomed them with open arms.
“Thank you for the true God's blessing.”
Lu Hao nodded with a smile, “Boss, get us two rooms...”
“One will be enough.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Taozi waved her hands repeatedly, patting the slightly worn carpet on her back, and said with a smile, “Lu Hao, I have a carpet. I can sleep on the floor with the carpet at night, no need to waste so much money.”
She had been in and out of the desert many times, never staying in an inn, always sleeping under the sky and on the ground, living in the wilderness.
This would save her a lot of money.
Having an inn to stay in was already a huge blessing for her.
To her, sleeping on a bed and sleeping on the floor was not much of a difference.
“Well, if you don't mind, Taozi, then let's just get one room!!”
Seeing Taozi's lack of concern about gender boundaries, Lu Hao chuckled. Indeed, a woman who roamed the wilderness for years was different from ordinary girls who were coy and hesitant.
For adventurers like them, finding a suitable place to sleep in the wilderness was already a blessing, and they wouldn't think about those irrelevant things.
After taking the key from the boss, they put their luggage in the room. Then, at Lu Hao's suggestion, they went downstairs to have some warm food.
Once they entered the desert, their food might only be dry and hard flatbreads.
“How's the food, gentlemen? To your liking?”
As they were eating, the innkeeper approached with a smile, inquiring about their well-being.
Where there's a gift, there's a request.
Having seen the film, Lu Hao knew the boss's character. He was a typical greedy person.
“It tastes good.”
Taozi chewed her food, her eyes smiling into crescents. She gave a thumbs-up, praising the inn's food in an unclear voice.
She was not picky about food.
For an adventurer like her who had been eating and drinking under the open sky for years, having a full meal was already a huge blessing.
Having a warm bowl of soup was a delicacy to her.
“Beautiful lady, thank you for your praise.”
Delighted by the compliment, the boss laughed and asked, “Are you two adventurers looking for gold in the desert?”
“Gold!?”
Lu Hao put down his knife and fork, smiling and asking, “Boss, are you sure there's gold in the desert!?”
The boss chuckled, mysteriously saying, “Anyone who has lived in this desert knows the story of the Rommel Gold Treasure.”
“It is rumored that during World War II, the African commander of the German Army, General Rommel, looted a large amount of gold. Before the war ended, the Germans buried this batch of gold in a military base in the Sahara Desert.”
“Over the years, countless treasure hunters have ventured into the Sahara Desert in pursuit of the gold treasure. Unfortunately, they lacked a treasure map, so they all returned empty-handed.”
As he spoke, the boss took out a glass bottle from his sleeve. Inside was something that looked like a map. He took it out and waved it in front of them, saying, “This is the treasure map. My grandfather exchanged it for one ton of water with the retreating Germans. It's guaranteed to be authentic and effective.”
“We're so lucky to meet you two. I'll give you a discount. Just $100, and you can own this map that records the location of the gold. Isn't that a great deal!?”
Looking at the bragging boss, Lu Hao said playfully, “Boss, since you know the exact location of the gold, why don't you go find it yourself? Why would you give up the map? Did you already take the gold and are now trying to sell this old map again to cheat us?”
Towards the end, his voice gradually rose, making it audible to almost everyone dining nearby.
“Huh!?”
Almost everyone dining nearby had a glass bottle in hand, containing the “treasure map” mentioned by the boss. Hearing what Lu Hao said, their eyes instantly changed when they looked at the boss.
Yes, if you have a treasure map, why wouldn't you go find the treasure！？
All these years, the gold had been missing. Could it be that the local people who had the treasure map, like the boss, had dug it up?
Their minds raced, and their gaze towards the boss became increasingly dangerous.
“Ahem, young man, don't talk nonsense. How could it be me who took the gold? This map is a treasure map souvenir specially launched by our inn. It's fake. You can't possibly find any gold.”
“I think it's a good souvenir to take back home if you come to the Sahara and can't find any gold.”
The boss's face changed instantly. He denied knowing the location of the treasure. If those treasure hunters believed the rumor, he would lose his life.
Now, he dared not push the fake map to Lu Hao anymore. Under the unfriendly eyes of the crowd, he ran away in a hurry.
“Lu Hao, you scared him.”
Taozi giggled as she watched the boss flee.
Lu Hao chuckled, “I just raised a reasonable question about his selling of treasure maps.”
“Lu Hao, aren't you at all interested in the gold treasure?”
Taozi tilted her head, full of curiosity.
“I'm interested, but clearly the boss's information is useless for finding gold. Otherwise, after all these years, there would have been news of the gold treasure being dug up.”
Lu Hao shook his head. If the boss's information was really useful, it wouldn't be his turn and Jack's to come searching for the gold.
“You make sense.”
“Let's eat. We've been on the road all day. Let's get some rest early.”
“Mm-hmm.”