63: Chapter 63 Treasure Hunt in the Philippines

In the early morning in Dubai, sunlight pierced through the gaps in the palm leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Li Xin sat in the courtyard of the Burj Al Arab, slowly sipping a cup of coffee, and glanced at the time—it was just past eight o'clock.

He didn't go to the bustling commercial district, but instead found a quiet beach near the hotel and sat down peacefully.

He just sat there like that, his expression indifferent, unhurried.

No purpose, no social obligations, just purely emptying his mind.

His whole being exuded an indescribable sense of relaxation and stability; others couldn't tell his status, only feeling that this person had a calm temperament, undisturbed by anything.

Seeing that there was still some time before his one o'clock flight, he wasn't anxious, sat quietly for a while longer, then slowly stood up, patted his clothes, and calmly set off for the airport.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the flight from Dubai to Manila took off on time.

First class, window seat. Li Xin placed his backpack at his feet and fastened his seatbelt. A flight attendant brought him a glass of juice, which he took and took a sip.

The plane taxied, accelerated, and took off. Outside the window, Dubai grew smaller and smaller—Palm Jumeirah, Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa—finally turning into a small dot on the map.

He leaned back against the seat and took out his phone.

It contained all the information he had researched over the past few days—maps of the Philippines, gold mine distributions, historical records, and various legends about Yamashitas Gold.

General Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander of the Japanese Military 14th Area Army during World War II. In 1945, when the U.S. military recaptured the Philippines, he ordered his subordinates to hide a large amount of plundered treasures in caves and underground fortifications in the northern part of Luzon Island. Gold, diamonds, platinum, cultural relics—it was said the total value exceeded tens of billions of dollars.

After the war, General Tomoyuki Yamashita was executed, and the location of the treasure became a secret.

For decades, countless people had searched for it. Some claimed to have found it, some went missing, and some lost their entire fortunes. The most famous was a Filipino named Rogelio Roxas, who said he had found a golden Buddha and a large amount of gold bars, but it was later confiscated by the government, leading to a lawsuit that lasted over a decade.

Li Xin scrolled through the screen, reviewing the information again.

He noticed a detail: most researchers believed that the most likely location of the treasure was in the Baguio mountain region in northern Luzon. This was because the Japanese Military had established their headquarters in Baguio during WWII, and there were a large number of military fortifications and tunnels in the surrounding area. Those tunnels were the best places to hide treasure.

"Baguio." Li Xin muttered to himself.

He zoomed in on the map of Baguio and studied it carefully. Baguio was the "Summer Capital" of the Philippines, with an altitude of over a thousand meters and a cool climate. It was surrounded by mountains, and Benguet Province was a famous gold mining region in the Philippines, known as the "City of Gold Mines."

City of Gold Mines.

If General Tomoyuki Yamashita wanted to hide gold, choosing a gold mining area was indeed highly likely. The place was remote, the terrain was complex, and since the area produced gold, it wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Li Xin closed the tablet and closed his eyes.

The plane flew above the clouds, and outside the porthole, it was a vast expanse of blue.

More than three hours later, the plane began to descend.

Looking out through the porthole, the outline of Manila appeared before his eyes. Dense buildings, crisscrossing streets, traffic crawling slowly like ants.

The plane landed, taxied, and came to a stop.

Li Xin walked out of the cabin with his backpack. A wave of humid heat hit him; June in Manila was hot and humid, like entering a sauna. Fortunately, he had the system's temperature control, so his body felt comfortable the whole time.

He changed to a local SIM card and opened the map on his phone.

From Manila to Baguio, it was two hundred and fifty kilometers, which would take at least five or six hours by car. There were many mountain roads, poor road conditions, and the bus was too slow, so he decided to rent a car.

Leaving the airport, he handled the procedures at the car rental counter. The process was quick, and twenty minutes later, he received the keys to a white Toyota SUV.

The car was in good condition, and the air conditioning was cold enough.

But he didn't intend to drive it himself. Driving over two hundred kilometers on unfamiliar mountain roads alone was too tiring. Moreover, he needed to find someone to ask for information.

He asked an extra question at the rental counter: "Do you have a driver? A chartered car to Baguio, leaving today."

The Filipino woman behind the counter nodded and made a phone call.

Ten minutes later, a man in his forties walked over. He had dark skin, was short and thin, and was wearing an old polo shirt. He revealed two rows of white teeth when he smiled.

"Sir, do you want to go to Baguio?" He asked in English with a heavy accent, but it was understandable.

"Yes. What is your name?"

"My name is Mandeni. I've been driving this route for more than ten years, I know it very well."

"How much?"

"Five thousand pesos."

Li Xin had checked the market rate, and this price was not expensive. He nodded: "Okay. Let's go now."

Mandeni took the keys and sat in the driver's seat. Li Xin got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.

The car drove out of the airport and merged into the traffic of Manila.

Mandeni was a talkative person.

Once they left the city center and got on the highway, he started chatting.

"Is the gentleman Chinese?"

"Yes."

"Here in the Philippines for tourism?"

"Yeah, I like to travel around and take pictures." Li Xin lifted the camera hanging around his neck and shook it, "I heard the scenery in Baguio is good, so I want to go and take a look."

"The scenery in Baguio is good." Mandeni nodded, "It's cool on the mountain, much more comfortable than Manila. Many tourists go there to escape the heat."

"What fun things are there?"

Mandeni thought for a moment: "The Mines View Park, you can see gold panning. Also, there are WWII relics, tunnels left by the Japanese Military. Many tourists like to go see them."

Li Xin felt a spark of interest, but his face remained expressionless.

"WWII relics?"

"Yes. During WWII, the Japanese Military built a headquarters in Baguio and dug many tunnels. Later, when the U.S. military attacked, they hid inside. Now some tunnels are open, and you can go in for a visit."

"What's in those tunnels?"

Mandeni shrugged: "They're empty. Everything was moved away a long time ago. But some tunnels are sealed and not allowed to be entered. I heard there are still things inside that haven't been cleared out."

Li Xin tapped his fingers lightly on his knee.

"Does Baguio produce gold mines?" He asked casually.

"It does." Mandeni's tone became excited, "Benguet Province is the largest gold mining area in the Philippines. There are many gold mines in the mountains, run by big companies, run by small workshops, all kinds."

"Can you see them by the roadside?"

"You can. If you drive around the mountains, there are mine pits everywhere. Some are still being dug, some are abandoned." Mandeni glanced at him, "Is the gentleman interested in gold mines?"

"A little." Li Xin smiled, "I've also been to some gold mining areas back home and taken photos. The contrast between that industrial feel and the natural scenery is very interesting."

Mandeni nodded and didn't ask any further.

The car drove for more than three hours, entering the mountainous area, and a road sign appeared ahead.

"Baguio, 30 kilometers."

Li Xin looked out the window. The mountains were getting higher and higher, and in the distance, he could see cloud-shrouded peaks. Traces of mine pits began to appear by the roadside.

He searched silently in his heart. But there was no gold signal for the time being.

No rush. He hadn't arrived in Baguio yet.

At around six in the evening, the car finally arrived in Baguio.

The city was not big, built along the mountain. The streets were narrow, the slopes were steep, and there were uphill and downhill roads everywhere. The air was cool, completely different from the muggy heat at the foot of the mountain.

Mandeni parked the car in front of a hotel.

"Sir, this is one of the best hotels in Baguio. See if it's okay."

Li Xin got out of the car and looked at the exterior. It was a building of moderate height with a garden at the entrance, looking clean.

"Okay. Where are you staying tonight?"

"I have a place to stay, not far from here. I'll come to pick you up early tomorrow morning."

"Good. See you here tomorrow at eight."

Li Xin paid the fare and gave an extra five hundred pesos as a tip. Mandeni accepted it, thanked him with a smile, and drove away.

Li Xin walked into the hotel and checked in. The room was on the third floor, not big, but clean. Pushing open the window, he could see the distant mountains, shrouded in clouds and mist, like an ink wash painting.

After a shower, he prepared to go downstairs for dinner.

There was a small restaurant serving local Filipino food right next to the hotel. He ordered a serving of lechon rice and a bottle of beer, then sat at a seat by the entrance, eating slowly.

Pedestrians on the street were sparse, and occasionally a few jeepneys rumbled past, packed full of people inside.

After eating, he returned to the room and lay on the bed. With nothing to do, he had the system search for the situation in the surrounding area in his mind.

Golden light spots began to appear.

Not many, very scattered. Some were in jewelry stores, which were finished gold products. Some were a few meters underground, small pieces of scattered gold. No large ore veins.

But there was one place where the light spots were relatively dense.

About 8 kilometers northeast of Baguio.

Looking at the map, that location was on the edge of the urban area, near a small hill. The light spots were not concentrated, scattered over a large area.

Not an ore vein... more like scattered gold items.

Li Xin felt a bit delighted.

Could that be Yamashitas Gold? Although he wasn't sure yet, at least this was a surprise.

Tomorrow, he would go there.

Turning off the light, he closed his eyes.

The night in Baguio outside the window was very quiet, the air was cool, and he didn't even need to turn on the air conditioning.

Unable to sleep for a while, he silently calculated the route for the next day in his mind.

Mandeni had mentioned that there were WWII relics around Mines View Park.

And that place with dense light spots was eight kilometers to the northeast, just on the way.

He would have him drive there tomorrow.

Once they arrived, he could just find an excuse to take pictures and get out of the car.

Thinking of this, the corners of Li Xin's mouth curled up slightly, and he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Mandeni appeared at the hotel entrance on time.

"Sir, where are we going today?" He asked with a smile.

Li Xin raised his hand and pointed to the small hill to the northeast of Baguio.

"Over there, I heard the scenery is good, I want to go and see."

Mandeni looked in that direction and nodded: "That's the direction to the Benguet mining area. There are gold mines on the mountain, and quite a few relics left over from WWII."

"That's great, let's go there." Li Xin smiled.

Mandeni drove the car out of the city and headed up the mountain.

About twenty minutes later, Mandeni parked the car at a fork in the road.

"Sir, Mines View Park is ahead. Do you want to go in and walk around?"

Li Xin looked around, but silently had the system Scan.

[Gold discovered. About 1.2 kilometers below the hillside to the front right, reserves unknown, need to get closer for precise scanning.]

Li Xin's heartbeat quickened suddenly.

"Mandeni, drive a bit further, I want to find a place with a good view to take a panoramic shot."

Mandeni nodded and continued driving forward.

The car drove for a few more minutes and arrived at a mountain ridge. The view was wide, and one could see the valleys and mountains in the distance.

Li Xin asked Mandeni to stop the car.

"This is nice, I'll go down and take a few shots."

He pushed the door open and got out of the car. He lifted his camera and took a few shots of the valley in the distance. While taking pictures, he walked up the hillside.

After walking a few dozen meters, he stopped, crouched down, pretending to photograph the wildflowers on the ground.

One hand, however, was pressed onto the soil.

"System, precise Scan."

[System: Precise Scan in progress...]

[The gold mine is located about 18 meters below the current position, vein width is about 1.2 meters, extending about 150 meters. Estimated gold content: 8.2 tons.]

[Note: This gold mine is ownerless and can be 100% fully extracted.]

8.2 tons.

Li Xin took a deep breath.

"System, Extraction."

[Extraction in progress... Extraction complete. A total of 8.2 tons of gold extracted.]

[Accumulated refined gold: 140.2457 tons]

[Note: Because some customers reacted that collecting gold ore and then extracting gold was too cumbersome and carried the risk of changing the geological structure, this system has decided that in the future, it will be refined directly into gold for collection.]

[Severe warning: This system has always been free and casual. The host must do as it does, is not allowed to question, and does not accept any rebuttal. In the future, it does not exclude making the host dance a square dance before the gold collection permission can be enabled. — All rights of interpretation belong to this system.]

Seeing this, Li Xin stumbled and almost fell to the ground, breaking into a cold sweat. Fortunately, fortunately, if he really had to do a square dance, dance to "Seaweed Seaweed"... that image would simply be too beautiful.

He quickly stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

He turned and walked back to the roadside. Mandeni was leaning against the car door smoking, and when he saw him return, he asked a question.

"Finished taking pictures?"

"Finished." Li Xin was distracted.

"The scenery here is indeed good." Mandeni pointed to the mountains in the distance, "There is an abandoned mine pit over there, do you want to go see it?"

"Let's go."

The car continued to drive forward.

Li Xin leaned back against the seat, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

8.2 tons, worth over 2.2 billion RMB.

This was just the beginning.

The car drove for about ten minutes and arrived at an abandoned mine pit. The pit entrance was sealed by an iron fence, and a sign stood beside it, reading "Danger, No Entry."

Li Xin got out of the car, walked to the fence, and looked inside, but couldn't see anything. He searched with the system.

[Ding... discovered that there is a large amount of gold hidden in a man-made sealed cave about 79 meters underfoot. There is approximately 22 tons of gold bars, goldware, silverware, jewelry, etc., which needs further scanning to confirm.]

Li Xin tapped his fingers lightly on the iron fence.

A man-made sealed cave, 79 meters deep, with a large amount of gold inside.

His heartbeat skipped a beat.

This might be the treasure that General Tomoyuki Yamashita hid back then.