Chapter 453 - 231: Tsar’s Treasure? Legend or Reality?

Chapter 453: Chapter 231: Tsar’s Treasure? Legend or Reality?

At first, the Mel brothers were both feigning weakness. It must have all been planned from the start: the older brother, Mel, would step up to bear the pressure, while the younger, Hiri, would hang back, biding his time.

But they never expected Su Chen to play his trump card right away, securing their families. It caught them completely off guard.

It made sense, though. As renowned gold hunters, if they were the type to shy away from trouble, their rivals would have picked them clean in the wilderness long ago.

"Heh... Our ’lifeline’? Our lives are about to be forfeit, and you’re still worried about some ’line’? If we don’t show some good faith, do you really think we’ll walk out of this camp alive?"

"Even if we managed to crawl out of here, could you guarantee his men wouldn’t find us? If you won’t think for yourself, at least think of your teenage daughter!" Mel’s voice was level, but to Hiri, his words were as loud as a bomb blast.

’He’s right... My life is on the line, and I’m still dreaming of treasure. How ridiculous!’

Hiri heaved a long sigh and, as if resigned to his fate, took off his shoe. After some fumbling, he actually pulled a small plastic bag containing documents from inside the sole. He handed it to Mel, then slumped back against the wooden bed, his eyes completely vacant.

Ivan’s face showed a flash of astonishment as he watched Hiri. He never imagined something could be hidden inside a shoe. They had stripped the Mel brothers of all their clothes, but it had never occurred to them to check their footwear.

"Sir," Mel began, "this information was discovered in the memoirs of a high-ranking officer who served under Goltsak. It records the route the gold convoy took and a possible burial site for the treasure. Unfortunately, an earthquake later struck the area around Lake Baikal, changing the topography."

"After two months of research and fieldwork, we believe the treasure’s burial site should be somewhere in this region."

After he finished speaking, Mel glanced at the documents in his hand before handing them directly to Su Chen. He had lost all thought of escape; his only hope was that Su Chen might see their value and spare their lives.

’After all I’ve been through, I’ve learned that to the high and mighty, the lives of people like us are no different from stray animals on the street.’

Su Chen took the plastic bag of documents, tore it open, and pulled out the contents. Ivan, who was standing behind him, saw this and discreetly took two steps back and to the side.

’Xiao Chen, taking all this in, gave Ivan a mental thumbs-up. ’Ivan really knows his place,’ he thought. ’Looks like my earlier concerns were unnecessary. Su Chen’s judgment of character is truly sharp!’’

The plastic bag contained two sheets of paper. Judging by their yellowed state, they were quite old. One was the excerpt from the high-ranking officer’s memoirs that Mel had mentioned; the other was a map.

When he got a clear look at the map, the corner of his mouth twitched. He finally understood why Mel and his brother had searched for so long and found nothing. The map was utterly crude—just a few lines with no specific landmarks.

’For the Mel brothers to have narrowed it down to a general area in just two months was quite impressive. Besides, hadn’t they also discovered a river rich with gold? It might even lead to an extremely rich deposit.’

After a moment of thought, Su Chen put the documents back in the plastic bag, tucked it carefully into an inner pocket, and then looked at Mel. "Tell me about the gold in the river."

At Su Chen’s question, a glimmer of hope flashed in Mel’s eyes. He quickly explained, "We found the gold by accident. We’d been in the mountains for days without bathing, and I happened to notice something gleaming in the sand. Based on my experience, I knew it had to be gold."

"We didn’t expect the gold content in the river to be so high. We figured that even if we couldn’t find the treasure, we could pan some gold as a consolation. But we were caught by your men on the very first day!"

"Then... based on your experience, where do you think the lode is?" Siberia itself is incredibly rich in mineral resources, especially gold. Near Irkutsk, it wasn’t uncommon for people to pan for gold in the rivers.

A find like Ivan had described—several grams of gold in a single shovelful—meant there had to be a major lode nearby. Otherwise, the concentration wouldn’t be nearly that high.

"I did a quick survey earlier," Mel said. "The stream is only about three meters wide and runs straight between two mountains. It has almost no bends."

"Normally, if the lode were upstream, most of the placer gold would settle in the bends of the river, not in the straightaways."

"But to find so much gold dust in the middle of a straight channel can only mean one thing." Mel raised his head to meet Su Chen’s gaze and said gravely, "The lode is right here in the canyon. It might even be in the mountains on either side."

"But we’d need professional equipment to pinpoint its exact location."

Su Chen nodded slightly at his words, tapping his right hand gently on his leg. Seeing this, Mel and Hiri slowed their breathing, knowing Su Chen was deciding their fate.

After a long moment, Su Chen’s voice once again broke the silence in the small cabin. "Are you two interested in working for me? You’d be in charge of gold prospecting... and treasure hunting."