Chapter 650: All That Was Gained Was Lost
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du glanced at the Indian man and asked with a faint smile, "You guys have searched this place? There's nothing here?"
There was an unpleasant look on Surgi's face. However, seeing Li Du staring at him, he very quickly returned to normal before replying in a calm manner, "That's right, we have searched before. Your dog has found the wrong place."
Li Du said, "You should know that this matter has nothing to do with me. This is all the help I can provide for you guys."
Surgi nodded. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Li. I believe that you truly had nothing to do with this matter, or else, you wouldn't be so calm."
Li Du's method had taken effect. Surgi no longer dared to continue provoking him as Surgi knew that he was not a pushover after he had demonstrated his prowess and made Surgi fearful of him.
With his goal complete, Li Du let out a whistle and left with Ah Ow.
"There's no other choice," Surgi told his colleagues and the crowd of gem hunters. "Guys, we should call the police and let them solve this matter."
The use of machines to search for gemstones in the national park was considered estrepement, over-exploitation of the nation's resources, and a serious offense in America. Once this incident was reported to the police, they would not be the only ones intervening—even the FBI would step in.
As Li Du had nothing to do with what they were going to do next, he brought his group back to cook breakfast.
One after another, the gem hunters dispersed after hearing that the police would be called, to avoid being targeted by them.
They did not wish to become a suspect as the police would continuously bother them until the culprit was found. They would not be able to continue with their work once they became a suspect.
Li Du, with a straight face, handed over 5,000 dollars and rented a piece of rock-filled land close to the small stone hut to search for gemstones.
Although he moved the tent over, he did not start work. Instead, he released the little bug and stared at the machines and gemstones hidden inside the small stone hut.
The current situation was not in his favor. Surgi and the others were clearly trying to pin the crime on him.
He kept a close eye on the machines and other evidence in case someone tried to move them. If the other party continued provoking him, he would have to hand the evidence over to the police.
In short, he needed to ensure that the evidence remained in his hands.
Even though Surgi found out about Li Du's whereabouts, Li Du did not avoid him. He wanted to let the Indian man understand that he knew some things and it would be in their best interest not to force his hand. Otherwise, no one would come out unscathed.
Very soon after being called, the police arrived.
As Surgi did not denounce Li Du, the police only came over to interrogate him on some matters regarding last night such as where he was, what did he do, and if he saw anything related to this matter. After the routine interrogation, they no longer bothered him.
As these policemen were from Winslow, which was a small town with a small police force, what capabilities could they have to solve the case?
After investigating for the entire day, they did not find anything in the end and handed the case over to the police station upstate for assistance.
Due to not wanting any trouble from having a lot of gemstones in his possession, Li Du wanted to bring the gemstones away.
However, he was not able to leave the national park at such a crucial moment or else, people would accuse him of being guilty, causing unnecessary trouble for himself.
As such, he went out in the evening and found a bank to safe keep the gemstones.
As usual, he worked at night and would rest only early in the morning. While he was cooking supper, Ah Ow, who laid next to the fire waiting for her food, suddenly shook her ears and turned her head to look at the small stone hut in the east.
Li Du's heart skipped a beat. He speculated that Surgi and his group would think of a way to shift the evidence after they knew he had discovered the whereabouts of the machines. It seems like they had planned to make their move at this time.
In order to not startle them, he released the little bug to go over and monitor.
Since the little bug's vision was not affected by light, it could still see very clearly at night.
When the little bug flew over to the area where the small stone hut was at, Li Du saw the silhouette of a person wriggling nimbly into the small hut where the machines were hidden. After the little bug followed him inside, a familiar person appeared in front of him. It was Hughes!
This matter was ultimately connected to Hughes and his group. Li Du snorted coldly and kept a close eye on him to see what he was doing.
One man could not move these machines by himself. What Hughes wanted to move were the gemstones that they had not managed to take with them in time.
He placed the gemstones into a box and with no one around, he quietly slipped out before running northwards with the box.
After running for more than 1,600 feet, he searched for a petrified tree before taking out a drone from his bag and flying it with the box attached.
With much effort, Hughes corrected the flight path of the drone and ultimately placed the box atop the largest petrified tree.
The petrified tree was 40 to 50 feet tall and as wide as two people hugging each other. Normally, no one would climb this tree, so the top was indeed a good place to hide things.
What Li Du could not comprehend was why he didn't bring the gemstones out of the national park under the cover of night. After all, with the national park having an area of a few hundred square miles, it was impossible for there to be no opportunity to take things out, right?
After putting the drone away, Hughes rubbed his hands and looked around before nodding his head in satisfaction and leaving quietly.
Despite that, through the little bug, Li Du saw that he had not actually left and instead, he was hiding in a corner of the petrified forest.
Evidently, Hughes was very cautious when doing things. He was looking to see if anyone had discovered him.
Only after hiding in the petrified forest for over an hour and making sure there was no one around did he leave triumphantly.
The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
After ensuring that he had left, Li Du brought Ah Meow to the spot and told him, "Climb up, there's a box on top. Bring it down for me."
The box was not very heavy, or else, the drone could not have hung it on top of the tree.
The density of gemstones, like opal, was 2.15 grams per cubic centimeter while the densities of iron and gold were 7.86 grams per cubic centimeter and 19.26 grams per cubic centimeter respectively. From this, it was evident how light opal was. With the same volume, opal's weight was light—even lighter than diamond.
Gesturing with his hands, he showed Ah Meow the shape and features of the box. Ah Meow quickly understood his meaning and climbed up the huge towering tree before climbing back down with a box, which was about the same size as him, in his mouth.
As Li Du had predicted, the box was not heavy. Even though there were a lot of gemstones inside, they were not heavy.
After obtaining the box and opening it, over 40 pieces of crystal-clear high-quality opal sparkled in front of him.
This was the result of the machines' whole night's work, which was now in his possession.
After getting Ah Meow to return the box, he quietly brought these opals back to his land and waited for the storm to blow.
As this batch of opals was worth millions, Surgi, Hughes, and their group would definitely go crazy after discovering that it was gone!
Thinking through these things made Li Du's head spin. He greeted Brother Wolf and said, "You go to Winslow and buy some fake opals. Be more discreet, don't leave an impression on anyone."
Brother Wolf nodded. "Leave it to me."
During his service in both the special forces unit and G9, he'd learned how to infiltrate enemy lines and retrieve information. He was very adept at obtaining what was required while keeping his identity hidden.