23: Chapter 23 A Great Start!

Seeing everyone carrying their own tools and heading off toward different hillsides, they soon put quite a distance between each other.

Zheng Jing also sprang into action!

He deliberately walked toward a less populated, more remote gentle slope, intending to keep his distance from the others.

Only after completely avoiding everyone's line of sight did he stop.

In his hand, he held the professional metal detector he had spent nearly ten thousand yuan to purchase.

Mimicking the techniques Guo Kui had taught him earlier, he kept his head down and slowly scanned back and forth over the ground.

His movements were skillful and natural; there was no difference between him and the others searching for treasure.

Although Zheng Jing appeared completely focused on the surface,

inwardly, he was constantly monitoring the System Radar in his mind, sensing for treasures underground with all his might.

As expected of an abandoned old mine, even after being deserted for so many years, it still held opportunities hidden beneath the ground.

In just a short minute or two, a faint yet clear sensation suddenly arose in Zheng Jing's mind.

A coin-sized white halo of light was steadily fixed thirty-five centimeters underground, right in front of his right foot.

Surprisingly, the top-tier metal detector in his hand remained completely silent from start to finish.

It did not emit a single beep, nor was there any metal signal on the screen.

After a moment of thought, Zheng Jing understood the reason.

Guo Kui had specifically told him the other day that even with this kind of ten-thousand-yuan-level metal detector,

the maximum detection depth was only fifty centimeters!

Beyond that depth, even the most valuable metal could not be detected.

Yet his System Radar accurately showed that the treasure underground was buried a full sixty-plus centimeters deep.

It was just outside the device's detection range.

In other words, if it were anyone else, even if they walked back and forth here dozens or hundreds of times, they would never be able to detect the treasure hidden underground.

It was thanks to the System's support that he was able to discover this hidden opportunity; otherwise, he certainly would have missed it.

Confirming that no one was watching, Zheng Jing slowly squatted down, gently set the metal detector aside,

and took out a small hoe and a pointed small shovel from his tool bag to begin digging slowly.

He first used the small hoe to gently scrape away the hard topsoil, clearing out the gravel and grass roots mixed in the dirt,

slowly digging out a moderately sized small pit, and then used the shovel to dig deeper little by little.

The deeper he went, the tighter and harder the soil became, and occasionally he would encounter small rocks,

which he had to pry open and clear away bit by bit, not daring to use too much force for fear of damaging the silver block underground.

Gold Panning in this kind of old mine was the most physically exhausting task.

After digging for a while, Zheng Jing felt his hands go sore and had to stop to take a short rest.

"All things are difficult at the beginning; I'll get used to it in a couple of days."

Zheng Jing unscrewed his water bottle, took a sip, and comforted himself inwardly.

What he didn't know was that, in reality, he was already having a much easier time digging than others!

Because the metal detector could only sense a general range, while the System Radar in his mind could provide precise sensing!

The difference between them was obvious!

When he had rested enough, Zheng Jing picked up the small shovel and continued to dig deeper.

Not long after, the shovel suddenly struck a hard, smooth object that felt completely different from the soil and rocks.

Zheng Jing's heart skipped a beat; he forcibly suppressed the wild joy in his heart and slowed down all his movements.

He used his hands to gently brush away the surrounding loose dirt, and a small, raw silver block coated in a little mud was completely revealed.

Zheng Jing couldn't help but grin quietly, raised his hand to wipe the dust off the silver block,

and weighed it in his hand; it was a full seven or eight grams.

According to what Guo Kui said, after smelting and refining,

it would leave about two-thirds of pure silver, which worked out to over five grams!

With the current market price of silver at 18 yuan per gram, this silver block could realistically sell for nearly one hundred yuan after refining!

Although it wasn't much money, finding treasure just after entering the mountain and starting to work was a definite good start!

It couldn't have been a better omen.

Zheng Jing calmly put the silver block into the small iron can he carried with him,

and after thinking about it, he specifically backfilled some of the excavated soil into the pit.

Afterward, he picked up the metal detector again and continued to slowly investigate the surroundings.

Meanwhile, Guo Jianjun, not far away, also made a discovery.

Having spent years entering the mountains to search for treasure, he was experienced, and with his luck exploding today,

in just a moment, he dug up a small piece of silver in the crevices of some rubble.

A successful opening!

Guo Jianjun calmly put away the silver fragment, looked up in the direction Zheng Jing had gone, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

He sighed inwardly, thinking that in the past, he might not have had any harvest even after one or two days of entering the mountains.

This time, bringing Zheng Jing along had led to a smooth start; it seemed that his cousin's childhood friend was at least able to bring him good luck!

In other directions, Boss Zhao, Zhao the Second, and Guo Kui,

were holding their metal detectors and searching everywhere, but after walking quite a distance, they still had no harvest.

However, they were not discouraged; the Gold Panning industry was just like that, and one could only be patient and search slowly.

Before they knew it, it was eleven in the morning.

Zheng Jing stood on a gentle slope, feeling the clear System signal in his mind, his heart calm and resolute.

Those without the System could only rely on the metal detector to try their luck, and even with all their hard work, they might not find anything.

But he had all the advantages!

Just now, while passing by here, the System Radar in his mind signaled again!

And this time, the halo was even more intense and dazzling than the one from the silver block he had just dug up!!