“You want to contact the Earl!?”
Colonel Bird and Lieutenant Colonel Banner were stunned when they heard Ada and Jack's request. They hadn't found the gold yet, so why contact the Earl?
Were they planning to give up the mission and go back?
They had just arrived at their destination and had only searched for half a day. It was far from the time to give up.
They should at least search for a week before even considering giving up if they couldn't find Buqi Laoqi's base!
“We have an emergency and need to contact the Earl.”
Regarding the gold treasure, Jack and Ada didn't explain the specifics. They would explain when they got in touch with the Earl.
“Wait for us a moment.”
Seeing the serious expressions on Jack and Ada's faces, Colonel Bird and Lieutenant Colonel Banner discussed it and finally decided to help them contact the Earl.
Soon, the satellite phone connected to the Earl's manor. As the "嘟嘟嘟" of the phone rang, everyone present waited anxiously for the Earl to pick up.
“Colonel Bird?”
After a while, they finally got through to the Earl. Colonel Bird replied, “Earl, Flying Eagle and Miss Ada have something important to contact you about.”
“I know, let them take the phone.”
Ada took the phone and briefly reported the process of their deep desert treasure hunt.
Hearing that they couldn't find Buqi Laoqi's base based on the military map, the Earl fell silent. He didn't doubt Ada was lying to him. The treasure hunting team not only had Ada but also Jack, Colonel Bird, and Lieutenant Colonel Banner, a total of three different factions. The purpose was to prevent them from colluding and privately swallowing the gold.
This was a common precautionary measure.
After a long silence, the Earl slowly spoke, “So you are planning to abandon this mission?”
He mistakenly thought that Ada and the others were discouraged because they couldn't find the base.
“No, in fact, we've found someone who can lead us to Buqi Laoqi's base. However, something unexpected happened. The person who can lead us to Buqi Laoqi's base wants to exchange this information for some money.”
“Who!?”
Ada glanced at Lu Hao. Lu Hao smiled and took the phone under the surprised gaze of Colonel Bird and Lieutenant Colonel Banner, “Hello Earl, nice to connect with you.”
“Lu Hao?” The Earl was slightly surprised, “Ada said the person who can lead them to Buqi Laoqi's base is you?”
“It's me.”
Lu Hao readily admitted it.
The Earl pondered for a moment and said, “Alright, what are your demands?” He didn't mention the commission. After all, he had only explicitly invited Jack when he made the commission. At the time, Lu Hao was just an unknown nobody in his eyes, merely a bonus for Flying Eagle.
But he didn't expect Lu Hao to have the information leading to Buqi Laoqi's base.
Lu Hao said calmly, “Earl, I went through a lot of trouble to investigate everywhere and even went deep into the desert myself to get the exact location of Buqi Laoqi's base. I’ve been eating sand and sleeping under the stars for a month…”
“You mean?”
“I need more money!!”
“……”
Jack rolled his eyes, I see you’ve been enjoying yourself.
“Mr. Flying Dragon, how about this, I'll give you the same price as Flying Eagle, after the mission is complete, I'll give you two tons of gold as a reward, what do you think?”
The Earl thought for a moment and proposed his plan.
He treated Lu Hao and Jack as the same level of bounty hunter in terms of commission.
This was already a high standard.
Lu Hao chuckled and refused, “Earl, I don’t want gold.” He paused and requested, “I want US dollars…one million dollars. As long as you agree, transfer the money to my Mercurial account and I will immediately take them to Buqi Laoqi's base.”
“….Lu Hao, do you know how much two tons of gold is worth in the international market?”
The Earl didn’t expect Lu Hao to not want gold, but to want US dollars. It was beyond his expectations.
“I calculated it. It's over ten million.” Lu Hao shrugged and said, “But gold is too ethereal, I prefer practical US dollars. I can spend them when I get them.”
The value of two tons of gold is indeed far more than a million US dollars, but that’s assuming you can get your hands on it.
In the movie, the Earl promised to give Jack two tons of gold. But the base exploded and there was nothing left. Jack risked his life to find the gold, but couldn’t even get a gram, he lost everything.
Therefore, US dollars are more practical.
The Earl fell silent again. He didn’t expect Lu Hao to be so realistic, not wanting the readily available gold but insisting on solid US dollars.
He pondered for a moment and agreed, “Okay, I’ll transfer the money to you right away. I hope you will keep your promise.”
“Earl, I’m saying this in advance, I’m only responsible for taking them to Buqi Laoqi's base. Finding the gold is not my responsibility.”
Lu Hao removed himself from the responsibility beforehand, he only agreed to find the base, not retrieve the gold.
A million US dollars was just enough for him to do this work.
If the Earl could pay him ten billion US dollars, he wouldn’t mind handing over the gold.
Unfortunately, there are no ifs.
“I understand.” The Earl smiled and said, “I hope you can take Ada and the others to find Buqi Laoqi's base as soon as possible, don’t let me waste this million dollars.”
“I'm a man of my word.”
After making the guarantee, Lu Hao handed the satellite phone back to Ada. After that, Jack also talked to the Earl for a while before hanging up.
Everyone looked at Lu Hao. It was clear what they meant.
Lu Hao, having received the money, would not be stingy with his information, especially since he was counting on Jack to use the key to open the base door and lead him to the gold.
He took out the photos he had taken in the tribal village and handed them to Jack, “The place in the photos is Buqi Laoqi’s base. It is now occupied by a group of vicious natives. Be careful if you go.”
“……”
With your firepower, you’re afraid of natives!?
Colonel Bird and Lieutenant Colonel Banner silently criticized in their hearts.
Jack took the photos and chuckled, “Lu Hao, it turns out you knew the location of Buqi Laoqi's base all along, you’ve been keeping this a secret.”
Seeing the photos, he knew that Lu Hao had already investigated Buqi Laoqi’s base, but he didn’t say anything, only mentioning it when they couldn’t find it themselves and demanding a reward.
This guy…is too cunning.
Ada looked at the photos and asked with suspicion, “How can you be sure that this is Buqi Laoqi’s base?”
Lu Hao pointed to the statue in one of the photos and said, “Ilsa’s grandfather’s photo with his eighteen guards, one of the photos has this statue in the background. You can compare it.”
Ada and Jack looked at each other and quickly found Ilsa to bring out her grandfather's photos. Sure enough, they found the statue on one of the photos of Hans, the deputy, and his eighteen guards.
They carefully compared them and found that the statue and other buildings were exactly the same.
“Hans, the deputy, must have taken this photo near the base. This means…”
Jack and Ada’s faces lit up with surprise. The information provided by Lu Hao was real. Buqi Laoqi’s base was indeed in that tribal village.
“Ilsa, pack your things. We know the location of Buqi Laoqi’s base.”
“Where is it!?”
Ilsa, who was kept in the dark, was full of joy.
“I don’t know, but Lu Hao knows, he will take us to find Buqi Laoqi’s base.”
“Lu Hao!?”
Ilsa's eyes lit up. Thinking about how Lu Hao comforted her by saying that he would find Buqi Laoqi's base and find out the truth of her grandfather's disappearance.
Now Lu Hao kept his promise.
Her heart started to have a vague affection for Lu Hao.