Chapter 645: More and More Gains
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du laughed out loud in the face of suspicion and said, "How could that be?"
"Why not? You're driving a pickup truck," someone said.
A gem hunter who was about to enter the National Park said, "Hey, Old Charlie, don't you seek trouble. We all know this guy won't do that. He's a righteous person!"
Someone next to him said, "Yah, if it weren't for Boy Wonder, God knows how much money Christopher and those sons of b*tches would have gotten away with that time!"
"He didn't only do this. He also helped to pay for unlucky old Deckard."
Li Du nodded his thanks. He was grateful for these gem hunters speaking up for him, even though he didn't know them.
A bald black man extended his hand to him. "You've our respect, Boy Wonder from Flagstaff."
There were some of them who still treated Li Du with disdain. One of them sneered. "He's so righteous, just like that generous Apostle Peter."
Apostle Peter was an important figure in the Bible and a cornerstone leader of Christianity.
This hunter was making a reference to the Bible: before he was arrested, Jesus had prophesied that Peter would perform three consecutive acts of denial of him before the rooster crowed.
As a result, when he was asked at Jesus' trial, due to fear, he had denied his relationship with Jesus a total of three times.
Peter had always been regretful about this. Later, when he was martyred in Rome, he asked the executioner to hang him up on the cross upside down, because he was unworthy be crucified the same way as Jesus.
After Jesus's resurrection, in response to Peter's denial of him thrice, he asked Peter thrice to feed his followers and be a generous, righteous person.
However, the reference of Apostle Peter as someone generous was often used in sarcasm, because his generosity was conditional and had been demanded by Jesus.
Li Du was not a Christian and was not familiar with the Bible, so he didn't understand the sarcasm.
But some others had understood the meaning behind his words. The bald man glared at the sneering man in fury. "It's despicable to unreasonably regard a person's kindness. This is despicable. This is really despicable."
"Who are you calling despicable?" The hunter was riled up and consumed in anger.
The bald man looked at him with just as much fury in his eyes. "What do you think? Who else could I be talking about other than you? What now, wanna pick a fight?"
Li Du stopped him with a smile. "Those who are despicable usually pass through life being the same way. Those who are morally upright have an epitaph that states exactly that. Why should we bother with what these unimportant people say?"
The bald treasure hunter looked at him and said, "Buddy, you helped a lot of people the last time. All of us saw, and we are grateful to you. I hope you won't misunderstand the whole group just because of these few senseless people."
"Of course not. Gem hunters are just like us treasure hunters. When the forest's a large one, there's bound to be all kinds of birds. On the whole, most are good folks," Li Du said.
Someone applauded. "You really can spout literary gold: 'Those who are despicable usually pass through life being the same way, those who are morally upright have an epitaph that states exactly that; when the forest's a large one, there's bound to be all kinds of birds.' Haha, these sayings are very interesting."
All Li Du did was translate some Chinese idioms. He didn't deserve to be praised.
After having been pestered at the door for a while, he drove into the National Park.
As usual, the security guard inspected his car to prevent any prohibited items such as small stone excavating machines and conveyors from being brought into the park.
There was no issue, so they followed the security officer to the selected plot of gravel bank.
After arriving, Godzilla and Brother Wolf began to encircle the area with ropes. This was a necessary preparation before they started work.
According to regulations, the rope demarcated the land they had leased. They could only look for gems on that land.
In addition to encircling the land, Godzilla also used the rope to divide the land into squares. This was Li Du's reference of choice, so that the little bug could search square by square.
He had chosen these acres of land carefully. There was a higher number of fire opals on the land.
At the National Park, Li Du felt as though he were a dragon entering a gold mine with treasures all around. He searched carefully and within minutes he found a fire opal.
With this gain, he was beginning to understand. Why would he want to still bid for storage units? He could just stay put and search for fire opals. The truth was, the gains he made searching for fire opals for a day were more than what he could get from treasure hunting in storage units in a month.
He was working happily when Brother Wolf strided over and said, "Boss, there's another."
Li Du looked at the sky and saw a familiar little black shadow.
This time, the other party was very cautious. The drone was flying very high and was moving constantly. Unless they used professional shooting weapons, they would not be able to knock it down.
Li Du swore out loud and then asked, "Are you able to shoot it down again?"
Brother Wolf said, "Not now. Give me time. Making an aerogun would not be a problem."
Li Du was shocked. "You can make an aerogun?"
Brother Wolf tried to explain. "It's not the aerogun that you know. Only by using a high-pressured barrel to shoot can we only deal with these civilian drones."
This was very amazing. Now Li Du understood why countries were so strict about keeping an eye on retired members of the special forces–they were literally walking weapons.
He asked Brother Wolf how long it would take him to make it. He replied saying that he would need to search for tools and materials–it would take more than a fortnight. That was far too long. It wouldn't be of use at all. Li Du shook his head and vetoed his suggestion. In that case, he might as well use the little bug to destroy the drone.
Of course, this might not be a good strategy because the other party obviously had more than one drone. He may have destroyed it once, but may not be able to this time.
Otherwise, if a normal drone were to crash upon flying near to the top of his head, many people would suspect trickery.
Fortunately, with monitoring taking place from such a height, the other party could not see what he was doing–probably only their shadows.
After all, the drone was carrying only a common camera, not military UAV search radar.
Li Du propped the umbrella up so that even if there was radar on the drone, it would be useless unless the cameras had perspective power.
The harvest in the afternoon was aplenty. The flying bug continued to sweep the two and a half-acre plot. He found hundreds of good quality fire opals, which were worth tens of millions of dollars in total.
With the setting sun came nightfall.
Li Du beckoned for Godzilla and Brother Wolf to prepare for dinner. Ivana was enthusiastically sitting beside her father's bonfire. She had Ah Meow in her left hand, and Crispy Noodles in her right as she waited for her meal.
After getting some ingredients from the truck, Li Du walked back and asked, "Tonight I'm going to roast something and braise a little something. Is there a better way to make a stove?"
Brother Wolf nodded. "Yes, a sheltered fireplace."
Li Du asked, "Is it complicated to make?"
Brother Wolf said, "Leave it to me. Just happens that the terrain here suits."
He went to a nearby hill and dug a large square pit at the bottom of the sheltered slope.
The pit was about 10 inches deep and the width was over a yard. Using branches, steel wire and a tent pole, Brother Wolf quickly created a tripod.
The pot was then hung onto the rack, with dry wood and smoke-free carbon placed into the pit. The outdoor stove was ready.