65: Chapter 65 Bengt Deep Mountains

Early the next morning, Mandeni arrived at the hotel and greeted him with a smile: "Good morning, sir! Are you really going north today?"

Li Xin smiled faintly: "Yes, heading north."

Mandeni chuckled and joked: "That's an old mining area. The roads are terrible. Are you sure you dare to go?"

Li Xin replied casually: "Just curious. Going over to take a look and snap a few photos, then coming back."

"Alright then." Mandeni started the car. "The dirt road into the mountains has a lot of potholes. The pickup truck will be quite bumpy."

"No worries, just drive slowly."

Mandeni said no more and headed straight out.

Inside the car, upbeat Philippine folk music played. He hummed along and asked casually: "Sir, you're traveling around all by yourself. Isn't your family worried?"

"No family." Li Xin looked out the window and replied indifferently.

Mandeni fell silent for a moment: "My apologies."

"It's fine." Li Xin smiled: "I'm used to being alone."

"We're almost there." An hour later, Mandeni pointed ahead: "The car can't make it up the foot of the mountain over there. You'll have to walk."

"Will you wait for me here?"

"Sure. There's a village over there; I'll park the car at the entrance. What time will you be back?"

Li Xin looked at the sky and smiled: "I'll be back around four in the afternoon."

Mandeni also smiled: "Alright."

The car stopped under a large tree. Li Xin put on his backpack and got out. Mandeni rolled down the window: "Sir, be careful. There are a lot of snakes in the mountains."

"I brought snake medicine."

"That's good."

Li Xin walked up the mountain path.

The path was narrow, wide enough for only one person. Dense forests lined both sides, the ground covered in thick fallen leaves. The air was humid, carrying the scent of rotting leaves.

He walked slowly, using a hiking stick to push aside branches blocking his way. After about half an hour, a fork in the road appeared. The left led to the ridge, the right to the valley.

[Ding... Gold detected. The target is about 8 kilometers to the front right. Quantity unknown. Need to approach to confirm.]

"Damn..." Li Xin felt a surge of joy, stopped, and quickly took out his phone to check the map.

That should be the area where the Japanese Military dug tunnels.

After confirming the direction, he turned right and hurried in that direction.

The road became increasingly difficult. The shrubs grew denser; in some places, he had to crawl under vines.

After walking for an hour, he suddenly stopped.

He noticed an unnatural flat area on the hillside ahead. The ground was overgrown with weeds and shrubs, but looking closely, one could see it had been leveled by human effort.

He walked over and pushed aside the shrubs.

A cave entrance was revealed.

The entrance was covered by vines. If he hadn't been close, he never would have found it.

This should be a fortification of the Japanese Military.

Li Xin turned on his flashlight and shone it inside.

Then he crawled into the entrance and headed inside.

After about fifty meters, the tunnel turned a corner.

He stopped and shone his flashlight around. There were some rusted-out iron racks on the walls. A few tattered empty crates lay on the ground.

Without stopping, he continued forward cautiously.

After another fifty meters, he performed another search.

[Ding... Gold detected. About 30 meters ahead, in a side chamber on the right side of the tunnel. Estimated gold content: about 5 tons. Type: Finished gold (gold bars).]

[Artifacts also detected: Bronze ware, porcelain, Buddha statues, etc., totaling about 101 items. Source automatically identified: 85% stolen from China, 15% from Southeast Asia.]

Li Xin's footsteps stopped abruptly.

His heart rate accelerated.

He quickened his pace, moving forward, wanting to see the spectacular sight of the treasure. The beam of his flashlight swayed in the tunnel, shadows dancing along with it.

After about thirty meters, a branch appeared on the right side of the tunnel. The opening was smaller than the main tunnel, requiring him to bend down to enter.

He crawled in.

The chamber was about twenty square meters. As the flashlight beam swept across, he could see over a dozen worn-out wooden crates piled in the corner. Some of the wood had turned black but hadn't rotted away yet.

He walked over and crouched down.

He opened the wooden crates one by one, unable to contain his excitement—gold bars.

Gold bars were stacked neatly.

He took a deep breath and scanned the entire chamber. There were over a dozen crates, some large and some small. Besides those filled with gold bars, there were smaller boxes containing porcelain, bronze ware, and small Buddha statues.

"System, confirm again."

[Ding! Scan complete.]

[Proven gold reserves: 5.2 tons. Various artifacts: 101 items.]

[Among them, 65 items stolen from China, including Shang-Zhou and Warring States bronze ware, Tang-Song-Ming-Qing porcelain, Buddha statues, and calligraphy/paintings; 36 items from Southeast Asia.]

[Total estimated value: Gold approx. 2 billion, artifacts approx. 1.5 billion (requires secret channels to sell).]

This must have been a small secret cache the Japanese Military didn't have time to take when they retreated.

Li Xin kept examining the artifacts. The more he looked, the more he liked them. At this moment, with countless treasures piled right before his eyes, the impact was exhilarating.

"System, collect."

[Collecting... Please wait.]

[Collection complete. Gold: 5.2 tons. Artifacts: 101 items.]

[Cumulative gold refined: 206.9057 tons.]

Li Xin stood up and patted the dust off his hands.

The chamber was empty. The wooden crates remained, but there was nothing inside.

He turned around, bent down to crawl out of the side chamber, and returned to the main tunnel. He shone his flashlight forward; the tunnel continued to extend, its end not in sight.

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to continue forward.

After about fifty meters, a collapse appeared ahead. Rubble and mud blocked the entire tunnel; he couldn't pass.

He shone his flashlight on the collapsed area; the system didn't react. No gold, no artifacts.

He turned around and walked back.

His footsteps echoed in the tunnel—thump, thump, thump. The beam of his flashlight shone on the ground ahead, and he saw his own shadow stretched out long.

When he emerged from the entrance, the sunlight made him squint.

He stood at the entrance and took a deep breath. The mountain air was fresh, completely different from the musty smell in the tunnel.

He took out his phone to check the time—past one in the afternoon. There were still over two hours until the four o'clock meeting time with Mandeni.

He decided to wander around the mountains a bit more.

He walked up the hillside, keeping the system Scan active. No new discoveries. The tunnel of the Japanese Military was only that one; everywhere else was just ordinary mountain terrain and forest.

After walking for an hour, he turned back down the mountain.

The path down was easier than the path up, and his speed was much faster. As he walked, he thought about what to say to Mandeni—just say "I finished looking"? Too fake. Say "I got lost"? That was a good excuse.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he stopped, ruffled his clothes a bit, and smeared some mud on his face.

Then he walked quickly toward the village.

Mandeni was leaning against the car door, dozing off. Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes and was stunned by Li Xin's appearance.

"Sir, what happened to you?"

"I got lost." Li Xin patted the mud on his body. "I wandered in the mountains for a long time and couldn't find the way back."

Mandeni hurriedly opened the car door: "Get in quickly. You didn't run into any danger, did you?"

"No. Just walked a few extra kilometers." Li Xin got in the car and took a sip of water. "The mountains here all look the same; I couldn't tell the direction."

"I told you, it's too dangerous for you to go up the mountain alone." Mandeni started the car. "Next time, find a guide, don't go by yourself."

"We'll see next time."

The car drove down the mountain. Mandeni turned on the music, the same folk song. He hummed along, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

Li Xin leaned against the seat back, looking out the window.

The mountains were receding, the trees were receding, the clouds were receding.

He calculated in his mind: 5.2 tons of gold, 2 billion. 101 artifacts, estimated value 1.5 billion.

Added to the previous amount, cumulative gold was 206.9 tons.

Mandeni suddenly spoke: "Sir, have you heard of General Tomoyuki Yamashita?"

Li Xin tapped his finger lightly on his knee: "Who?"

"General Tomoyuki Yamashita. A general of the Japanese Military during World War II." Mandeni glanced at the rearview mirror. "They say he hid a lot of treasures in the Philippines. Right here in these mountains."

"Really?"

"It's been rumored for decades." Mandeni shrugged. "Many people have come looking. Some say they found it, some say they didn't. Anyway, I don't believe it."

"Why don't you believe it?"

"If there really were treasure, it would have been dug up long ago. Would it still be here now?" Mandeni smiled. "But some people believe it. I heard a Japanese man spent twenty years searching here and found nothing."

Li Xin also smiled: "That might just be a legend."

"It's definitely a legend." Mandeni said. "But I heard an old man say that the real treasure isn't in Baguio."

"Where is it?"

"Zambales." Mandeni lowered his voice. "The mountain area there is more remote, deeper. During World War II, the Japanese Military built a secret base there. The old man said General Tomoyuki Yamashita hid most of the treasure there."

"Where is that old man now?"

"Dead. He died several years ago." Mandeni shook his head. "He said when he was young, he worked as a laborer for the Japanese Military and saw them transporting box after box into the caves with his own eyes. But nobody believed him."

Li Xin was silent for a few seconds.

"Where is Zambales?"

"West of Luzon Island, near the South China Sea." Mandeni said. "It takes a whole day to get there from here. The mountains there are even bigger than here, and the roads are even harder to travel."

"Have you been there?"

"No. Who would go to a place like that?" Mandeni glanced at him. "Sir, you aren't actually thinking of going, are you?"

"Just asking." Li Xin smiled. "I'm quite interested in these legends."

"Interest is fine, but don't take it seriously." Mandeni said. "How many people have gone bankrupt for this legend? There was an American who spent over a decade searching here and ended up dying in the mountains; they didn't even find his body."

"I won't go that far."

"That's good."

The car continued down the mountain. The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and the mist in the mountains grew thicker.

Li Xin closed his eyes.

Zambales.

The core of Yamashitas Gold.

Tomorrow, he would go there.