218: Chapter 218 British Nobles? A Treasure Map Delivered to Their Doorstep!

Two days later.

In the reception room of the temporary headquarters in the Beijing Suburbs, there were only two people in the vast space, so quiet that one could hear breathing.

Lin Zhou leaned back on the sofa, sizing up the uninvited British aristocrat before him.

Earl Edward Windsor.

In his fifties, his posture was ramrod straight. The well-tailored tweed three-piece suit he wore didn't have a single wrinkle, and his hair was combed to a sleek shine without a single stray strand.

He sat in a standard posture, legs together and hands placed neatly on his knees, exuding the cold rigor and rigidity of an old-fashioned British gentleman.

This demeanor was entirely different from the wolves of Wall Street, Thompson's political face, or Su Zhenbang's foxy merchant aura.

“Mr. Lin, good afternoon. Please forgive my unannounced visit,” Earl Windsor spoke in a pure Oxford accent, enunciating every word clearly and steadily.

“The Earl is too polite, please sit.” Lin Zhou raised his hand slightly, gesturing toward the opposite sofa.

The two skipped redundant pleasantries, both intending to quicken the pace of the conversation.

Earl Windsor took out a long object wrapped in heavy oilcloth from his leather briefcase, which looked quite old.

He pushed the object to the center of the table with both hands.

“Mr. Lin, I know you are a man of action and that time is more precious than gold, so let us get straight to the point.”

As he spoke, he untied the knots in the rope around the oilcloth and unfolded it layer by layer, every step meticulous.

Finally, an old, yellowed, and brittle map was spread out before Lin Zhou.

The map was made of some kind of animal hide, its edges damaged and curled, covered in complex mountains and rivers drawn in dark brown ink, along with symbols Lin Zhou couldn't understand at all.

Most striking was a large, irregular shape marked in bright red right in the center of the map, branded onto it and exceptionally eye-catching.

“What is this?” Lin Zhou asked, though he already suspected the answer.

“A treasure map.” Earl Windsor's expression was exceptionally serious, without a trace of a smile. “A treasure map in the truest sense. The treasure it points to is right beneath your territory, Bir Tawil.”

He extended a finger wearing a family crest ring and pressed it firmly onto the red marking.

“In the late 19th century, my ancestor ventured deep into that no-man's-land, which then belonged to the Ottoman Empire, as an explorer for the Royal Geographical Society. He wasn't the first European there, but he was the first to discover the secret hidden within.”

Earl Windsor lowered his voice, his tone becoming mysterious.

“He discovered that beneath that barren, godforsaken desert, there is likely... a world-class, super-giant oil field!”

An oil field?

And a world-class one at that?

The hand Lin Zhou used to hold his water cup didn't move an inch, but his heart thudded heavily in his chest.

This news was too sudden and too outrageous.

Maintaining a calm face, he asked in a flat tone, “Lord Earl, I heard that many geological teams have explored Bir Tawil, and their conclusions were that there are no petroleum resources with any commercial mining value.”

“That is because they looked in the wrong place!” When Earl Windsor explained, there was an undisguised sense of superiority in his tone. “Or rather, they didn't dig deep enough!”

“This map drawn by my ancestor is not a surface survey map, but a deep-layer subsurface structural map derived from the top theories of that time! He firmly believed that the oil there was sealed deep in the Earth's core by an incredibly thick and insanely hard layer of igneous rock cap, which conventional exploration drills simply couldn't penetrate!”

His finger traced over the symbols on the map.

“These symbols are the geological faults or weak points in the rock layers he marked! Only through these 'backdoors' is it possible to reach the treasure below!”

It sounded... like it actually had some twisted logic to it.

“Our Windsor Family has kept this secret for over a hundred years.” Earl Windsor's gaze swept over Lin Zhou's face. “Why? Because the mining difficulty and costs were astronomical, and that land changed hands several times over the decades, with chaotic sovereignty; we simply had no opportunity to verify it. Until you appeared, Mr. Lin Zhou.”

“You have given that terra nullius a unified and powerful will. Therefore, I have come.”

Lin Zhou leaned back slightly into the sofa and finally asked the key question: “So, what is your intention?”

“Cooperation.”

Earl Windsor spat out the word, crisp and direct.

“I will use this map and all of my grandfather's exploration notes as a technical investment. Together, we will establish a new oil company to develop this oil field.”

He paused and threw out the bait.

“I only want thirty percent of the profits.”

Thirty percent!

Using a map of unknown authenticity and a grand story to try and exchange for thirty percent of the profits from a potentially world-class oil field!

These conditions, if offered to the leader of any other country, would likely cause them to lose their mind to such an overwhelming temptation.

If this were true...

The Cyber Freedom Republic would completely escape its financial predicament and soar to the heavens! From a poor country needing external blood transfusions, it would transform into something like the wealthy tycoons of the Middle East!

Money!

Of course Lin Zhou wanted it!

But a heavy question mark was firmly nailed into his mind.

The System!

In the Newbie Gift Pack it gave him at the start, it clearly stated there was a gold mine, but regarding oil, not a single word was mentioned!

The System's comprehensive assessment of that territory was only four words, a direct evaluation without any emotion: 'Extremely Resource-Poor'!

Could a place that even the omnipotent System evaluated as 'poor' really hide a world-class oil field that even Middle Eastern tycoons would envy?

No matter how he thought about it, something wasn't right!

There must be a problem somewhere!

Earl Windsor looked at the pensive Lin Zhou, thinking he was weighing the pros and cons, calculating whether thirty percent of the profit was too much or too little.

Thus, he decided to add more fuel to the fire, a fire that could burn any shred of reason to ashes.

“Mr. Lin, if you feel the cooperation model is inappropriate, we can change the method.”

Smiling, he held up five fingers.

“I will sell this map, along with all my grandfather's exploration notes, to you as a package. A flat price of fifty million USD.”

Fifty million USD?

Lin Zhou almost thought he had misheard.

Using fifty million USD to buy the possibility of a nation becoming the next Saudi Arabia?

How the hell was this a sale? This was practically giving it away!

The allure of this was more than ten times greater than the previous thirty-percent profit cooperation plan!

A strong impulse surged through his body, and he almost blurted out: “Deal!”

But in the end, he forced those words back down.

Alarm bells were ringing in his head!

When things are abnormal, there must be a catch!

The bigger the bargain delivered to the door, the deeper the trap hidden behind it! This old fox was using a price that was nearly a giveaway to test his bottom line and his brains!

“Lord Earl.”

Lin Zhou finally spoke, leaning forward slightly with a perfectly calculated expression—one that showed undeniable interest but also a measure of caution, making his true thoughts impossible to decipher.

“This matter is too significant. I cannot make the decision alone; I need to consult with my team and perform an assessment.”

He looked at Earl Windsor and set his own pace: “How about this? Please stay in Beijing for one more day. At this time tomorrow, I will give you a definitive answer.”

“Of course, of course you may.” Hearing this, Earl Windsor stood up and bowed very elegantly, like a true gentleman. “I shall await your good news.”

He was savvy and did not take the map from the table, leaving it behind to show his 'sincerity'.

The door to the reception room closed with a 'click'.

As soon as Qin Yue returned from seeing off Earl Windsor, she saw the polite smile on Lin Zhou's face vanish completely, replaced by an extremely solemn expression.

He picked up the encrypted phone on the table and dialed Jack's number directly.

The moment the call connected, Lin Zhou's orders hammered through, fast and urgent:

“Investigate for me! That British Earl, Edward Windsor! I want all his information from birth until now! Not even a tiny detail can be missed!”

“In addition, contact Director Zhou of National Security immediately and tell him I need help! Ask them to use national resources to turn this man's background inside out! I want to know who he met before coming here, what he said, and what kind of lot the Windsor Family behind him really is!”

“Yes, Lord!” Jack on the other end of the phone didn't waste a single word.