222: Chapter 222 The money arrived?! Who the hell is the scammer here?!

Switzerland.

An underground data center of a private bank in Zurich.

The massive server matrix emitted a faint hum.

The offshore account specified by Arthur had remained silent.

Meanwhile, in the Wangfujing Hotel in Beijing.

Arthur was irritably stuffing a few changes of clothes into his suitcase.

The flight was booked, departing in two hours, with a direct transfer in Dubai.

This mission was a complete failure.

That young man named Lin Zhou was even more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.

Since that phone call three days ago, the other party hadn't contacted him again.

The boss had also issued a strict order: once the three-day deadline passed, evacuate immediately without any hesitation.

Arthur sighed.

The fifty-million-dollar commission had gone up in smoke, making his heart ache so much he could hardly breathe.

Just as he was about to zip up his suitcase...

The phone on the nightstand suddenly vibrated frantically.

It was a bank notification regarding a fund transfer.

Arthur glanced at it casually.

Then, his movements instantly froze.

His eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the string of numbers on the screen.

50,000,000.00 USD.

Fifty million US dollars.

Not a penny less, sitting neatly in his offshore account.

The transfer memo contained only a few simple words: Payment for map purchase.

Arthur's brain momentarily stalled.

What was going on?

Lin Zhou, who just a few days ago was full of excuses and complaining about high risks...

How could he have sent the full payment directly without any warning?

For such a large transaction, shouldn't there be tedious legal procedures and a transfer agreement to sign?

While his head was full of questions...

Lin Zhou's call came in.

Arthur quickly answered, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

“Mr. Lin?”

Lin Zhou’s hearty laughter came from the other end of the line.

A complete turnaround from his previous caution and suspicion.

“Earl Windsor, you received the money, right?”

“I received it, I received it. Mr. Lin, your decisiveness has truly surprised me.”

Lin Zhou’s tone on the phone was extremely excited, like a gambler who had just struck gold.

“My dear Earl, I have you to thank for this!”

“That map of yours is definitely the real deal!”

Arthur swallowed hard, forcing down his guilt.

“Of course, our family's reputation is not to be tarnished.”

Lin Zhou then dropped a bombshell.

“To be honest, I didn't contact you these past three days because my people were scouring the world to verify that map.”

“Just yesterday, I bought a private diary at a high price from a retired old researcher at the British Museum!”

“Guess what?”

Lin Zhou intentionally left him in suspense.

Arthur felt a chill run down his spine.

“What did you find?”

“The owner of that notebook was the companion who went on an African expedition with your grandfather back then!”

“The notebook records their route at the time in great detail.”

“And it clearly states that they discovered an associated mineral deposit there!”

“Although the location has a discrepancy of a few kilometers from your map, that can be entirely attributed to the primitive surveying equipment of the time!”

Lin Zhou spoke faster and faster, his voice filled with uncontrollable ecstasy.

“What’s fifty million dollars?”

“As long as there's really an oil field there, forget fifty million—I'd even pay five hundred million!”

“Mr. Earl, take the money and enjoy your life!”

“I’m about to order the top-tier exploration equipment from China Heavy Industries; I’m going to dig right through that desert!”

Lin Zhou hung up the phone unilaterally.

Arthur stood dazed in the room, his phone slipping from his hand and falling onto the bed.

Lin Zhou's words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting his skull open.

Found a private notebook?

With detailed routes and associated minerals?

The hair on Arthur's neck stood on end.

How is that possible!

That map was forged by Ghost Hand, for god's sake!

The landmarks and special symbols were all made up based on random information found online!

Where did a companion come from? Where did a notebook come from?

But Lin Zhou’s tone of absolute certainty and wild joy definitely wasn't faked.

The kind of audacity to throw away fifty million dollars without blinking an eye—that was the confidence one only has when they've seen the hole card.

Arthur was completely panicked.

Could it be...

Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?

The location he had made up out of thin air—was there really a world-class oil field buried beneath it?

In that case, hadn't they sold an inestimably valuable gold mine to Lin Zhou for the bargain price of fifty million?

The phone vibrated again.

It was a set of high-definition photos sent by Lin Zhou through encrypted software.

Arthur quickly opened them.

The photo showed a tattered parchment notebook.

A close-up shot clearly captured two of the pages.

Arthur zoomed in on the photo.

Although he wasn't an expert in appraisal, the cursive English and the weathered texture were not something modern industrial products could imitate.

The diary used extremely detailed strokes to describe black rocks oozing a viscous liquid.

It even included precise cross-sectional diagrams of rock layers.

Arthur felt his breathing become difficult.

He immediately picked up another encrypted phone and dialed his boss's number.

The call connected.

“Is the evacuation route arranged?”

Sterling's cold voice came through.

“Boss...”

Arthur's voice had a noticeable tremor.

“The money has arrived, the full fifty million.”

Sterling was silent for two seconds on the other end.

“He bought it? Without any additional conditions?”

“None.”

Arthur quickly recounted everything Lin Zhou had said on the phone and the photos he had sent, without missing a detail.

And he sent the photos directly to Sterling.

On the other end, Sterling looked at the high-definition photos, his expression shifting unpredictably.

The notebook in the photos seemed to emit a musty smell of history even through the screen.

Sterling immediately forwarded the photos to a top antique appraisal expert he had hired at a high salary.

Five minutes later, the expert's reply came back.

It was just a short sentence.

“Based on the details in the photos, the paper, ink craftsmanship, and aging characteristics are consistent with late 19th-century British manuscripts; no obvious signs of forgery were found. However, a physical inspection is required for confirmation.”

Sterling stood up abruptly.

The cigar in his hand was snapped in two.

His wrinkled old face was filled with disbelief and uncontrollable greed.

Could it be...

That the lie they had made up had somehow stumbled upon the truth?

Beneath that wasteland that everyone had judged to be desert, was there really a vast expanse of black gold?

Who the hell is the scammer here!

If this is true, he's basically the biggest fool in the world!

Sterling immediately issued orders to Arthur.

“Cancel the evacuation plan.”

“Contact Lin Zhou immediately.”

“No matter what reason you use—be it an excuse or just pestering him.”

“You must see that notebook in person!”