110: Chapter 110 Seeing Injustice

The second secret room was much larger than the first, but the items inside were a diverse mix. Gold, jewelry, and antiques were naturally the main themes. South Africa is a major producer of gold; the world's currently identified gold resources are 89,000 tons, with a reserve base of 77,000 tons and actual reserves of 48,000 tons. Over 80 countries produce gold, but South Africa accounts for 50% of the world's identified gold resources and reserve base, and 38% of the world's reserves. Therefore, he wasn't surprised by the 163 tons of gold combined in the two secret rooms; instead, he felt it was a bit low. One must know that several mining companies in South Africa own over a hundred tons of gold, with the highest reaching over a thousand tons—more than the gold reserves of many countries.

Diamonds produced in South Africa are famous for their large size and high quality; 50% of the rough diamond crystals mined can reach gem grade. South Africa's diamond reserves and reserve base are 70 million carats and 150 million carats respectively, ranking 4th in the world. The total amount of diamonds in the second secret room was 135,000 carats, nearly 100,000 carats more than the first room, bringing the total to 180,000 carats. Excluding those sold over the decades, the remaining rough diamonds mined by the Angress Family should all be here. For two mines with reserves of over two million tons to produce over 100,000 carats of gem-grade rough diamonds over one carat in size over several decades is already remarkable. There were water-clear diamonds, blue-white diamonds, red diamonds, blue diamonds, green diamonds, purple diamonds, fancy yellow diamonds, orange diamonds, and black diamonds—diamonds of every color. The most common were water-clear diamonds, which are colorless diamonds; the other colored fancy diamonds combined totaled less than 50,000 carats, and those over ten carats were very rare, with more than half being under one carat. Since fancy diamonds are much more valuable than water-clear diamonds, even those under one carat have significant value.

The largest water-clear diamond was the one found in the first secret room, weighing 1,324 carats. It was as pure as water, reaching the highest FL (Flawless) grade, with a faint, almost imperceptible hint of light blue. However, the shape of this rough stone was somewhat elongated, so the size of the cut diamond would certainly be significantly reduced. The second largest was only 318 carats, but fortunately, it was also Flawless grade, nearly spherical in shape, and completely transparent in color, though it couldn't compare to the first one in that regard. There were only eight diamonds weighing over one hundred carats, one of which was VS1 (Very Slightly Included). Nevertheless, finding eight large diamonds in two mines is extremely rare; often, the discovery of a rough diamond over a hundred carats causes a sensation, and many countries collect diamonds over a hundred carats as national treasures.

fancy diamonds were much smaller in size. The largest fancy diamond was a purple-red one weighing 76 carats. Purple diamonds are three times more expensive than colorless diamonds, and the purple-red ones are especially rare treasures. This 76-carat purple-red diamond is likely the largest purple diamond found to date. Globally, about 100 million carats of rough diamonds are unearthed annually, of which less than 10% are gem-grade, and purple diamonds are even more rare and precious. The largest known purple diamond currently is only 7.3 carats. Even if this purple diamond loses two-thirds of its weight during cutting, nearly thirty carats would remain, which is enough to outshine all other purple diamonds. Moreover, this rough diamond's shape was very regular and rounded; by his estimation, it would lose at most half its weight. This had already transcended the realm of jewelry to become a unique, peerless treasure. Even if the rough stone were put up for auction, the starting price would be at least 100 million us dollars, and the base price for the finished jewelry would at least double. He really didn't know what kind of dumb luck the wicked Angress Family had to obtain it; they had kept it a secret for so many years, letting it gather dust in the dark secret room. But if not for that, it wouldn't have fallen into his hands for nothing. He decided to use this rough purple diamond to create a piece of peerless jewelry as a token of love for He Yueyou.

The other fancy diamonds were not large, with few weighing over ten carats. However, fancy diamonds themselves are rare and generally small; anything over ten carats can be called a super fancy diamond. Cao Xiao didn't pay much more attention, only selecting the only two golden fancy yellow diamonds over five carats to make engagement rings. The two fancy yellow diamonds were expected to be around three to four carats after cutting. Given their rarity and size, they would be worth at least 30 million us dollars or more at current prices—the kind that money can't even buy. As engagement rings, they wouldn't wrong He Yueyou, not to mention that rare purple diamond.

He didn't find many rubies or sapphires that caught his eye, so he kept the best ones. For the rest, he planned to establish or acquire a jewelry company after returning to China. He basically had all the jewelry raw materials he needed, and they were all mid-to-high-end; the only common jewelry material he lacked was jadeite. It just so happened that the third day after his engagement next month was the Myanmar Jade Public Sale; it wouldn't be bad to take Yueyou on a trip to Myanmar then.

As for the cultural relics totaling over ten thousand pieces, Cao Xiao didn't bother with them, leaving them in the space. God knows if the origins of these things were legitimate; the Angress Family had done plenty of looting and plundering, and bringing these things out would only bring trouble. However, some modern handicrafts were quite useful. What excited him most were the over one hundred world-famous watches. There were several models each from the world's top ten watch brands like Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, Cartier, Breguet, and Patek Philippe. Brands like Omega and Rolex were also in the collection, and they were all brand-new, rare limited-edition timepieces, complete with packaging and certificates, including some private custom versions. He didn't know if it was Dapu's personal hobby or a tradition of the Angress Family to collect famous watches, but they hadn't even overlooked women's watches, with over thirty of them. Among these watches, Cao Xiao saw a very special Patek Philippe. He couldn't find any information about it online; if he wasn't mistaken, it should be a specially customized handmade watch.

The mark of the world's top billionaires is owning a Patek Philippe watch; a noble artistic realm and expensive manufacturing materials have shaped Patek Philippe's enduring brand effect. Every Patek Philippe timepiece is a precious, rare masterpiece. Currently, they regularly produce over 200 models, all in small quantities—some as few as dozens, at most a few hundred—equipped with movements independently developed and manufactured by the brand. Patek Philippe has always maintained the tradition of handmade manufacturing for only one specific watch each year; to own this watch, one must wait patiently for 8 to 10 years, and the price is high, around five million us dollars. A few years ago, a 1933 privately commissioned antique watch sold at auction for 11 million us dollars, breaking the world auction record for antique watches.

The Patek Philippe mechanical watch in Cao Xiao's hand had an 18K platinum case, a dial set with 256 flawless diamond chips, a diameter of 38 mm, a thickness of 8.5 mm, a 60-hour power reserve, 30-meter water resistance, and a square-scaled alligator leather strap. The watch featured an annual calendar function, displaying the month, day of the week, and date in windows, and could indicate the time in 56 countries, regions, and cities. For Cao Xiao, the value of this watch lay not in how prestigious it was, but in its uniqueness—to have what others do not. His pursuit of material things was all about uniqueness. Since he had taken it out, he didn't plan to put it back, and directly put it on his left wrist; this was also the only accessory on his person.

At the same time, he took out two Rolex Submariner 8DI white gold edition automatic mechanical waterproof watches, intending to give them to Duan Hong and Li Quanshuo as rewards for their actions last night. The market price for this kind of watch is around 300,000 huaxia currency, with a water resistance of up to 300 meters. However, he only had one original version of this watch; these two were produced by him in the space just now. This level of craftsmanship was a piece of cake for the industrial mother machine, and the level of refinement was even better than manual production. He produced over ten thousand of them at once, using some metals available in the space and some non-metals from the decomposition of home appliances obtained from the Junhua Company warehouse.

To avoid being sued for piracy after producing so many at once, he made some subtle changes. The appearance was roughly the same, but the materials used were better than the original. Even without accounting for brand value, these replicas wouldn't be less valuable than the originals. Due to an improved internal mechanical structure, the diameter became 36 mm and the thickness was reduced by one millimeter. Each watch's case back had a special serial number, which could be used as employee benefits in the future. He would surely become the most extravagant boss in the world, imagining his thousands of employees all dressed in world-famous brands, with even a single accessory being of great value. Even a cleaner walking into a star-rated hotel would be treated as a VIP—that feeling was truly wonderful.

This might be because he had worked at the Hengyu Coal Mine for too long, so he often compared himself with Fang Xuehai in his heart. As long as conditions allowed, he would constantly improve employee benefits. However, these were just thoughts; with Hao Linger around, he could forget about being that mischievous.

Duan Hong and the other man hadn't rested all night and were now catching up on sleep. No one was cooking, and he didn't want to do it himself, so he simply drove out to eat. The Angress Family matter was resolved, and Dapu was handling the affairs of Junhua Company. With no more worries, his mood had improved a lot. He turned on the music in the car, playing South African local pop music. Although he couldn't understand it, he hummed along with the rhythm and drove slowly down the street, his eyes occasionally peering curiously at the scenery on both sides. He didn't plan to have a formal meal today; he wanted to taste the local snacks, so he parked the car in a parking lot at the entrance of a pedestrian street and walked towards the snack street.

As he moved with the crowd, he looked with interest at the various pedestrians and street performances. As a major tourism hub in South Africa, Cape Town receives countless tourists from all over the world every day. The Victoria Harbour area is an important tourist spot, with leisure, food, and shopping centers concentrated there, so there were many tourists and the streets were very noisy. Cao Xiao was looking for a snack shop when the path ahead suddenly became congested and the flow of people came to a standstill. It wasn't until he slowly squeezed through that he discovered an accident had occurred, with onlookers blocking the street.

Originally, he had no interest in watching the commotion, but when he saw the people surrounded in the middle, he couldn't help but stop and pay attention. The people surrounded were Asians, and from their facial features, they were very likely Chinese. Of course, this was just a rough judgment, but when he heard several voices speaking broken English with characteristic Chinese accents, his suspicion was confirmed: these people were Chinese. Being in a foreign land and seeing compatriots in trouble and surrounded, there was no reason to stand by and watch, so he slowly squeezed into the circle of people.

There were five people surrounded: a middle-aged couple, a young man, and two young girls. They were currently surrounded by six burly men. The two girls were anxiously assuming Taekwondo attack stances to guard against several bodyguards, while the young man was somewhat timid, hiding behind the two girls without saying a word. The middle-aged couple was constantly trying to explain something to a middle-aged white man, but the white man was harshly berating them. Looking at the attire of the six burly men, they were clearly the white man's bodyguards. For this white man to bring six professional bodyguards just to go for a stroll, his identity was likely not simple. The Chinese people were all dressed in world-famous brands, so they didn't seem like ordinary people either.

He didn't know exactly what had happened earlier for these people to be blocked in the street, but since he had decided to intervene, he wouldn't waste time. He immediately stepped past the circle of bodyguards, walked up to the middle-aged couple, and asked, "Hello, fellow countrymen. May I ask what happened here? Do you need help?"

"Thank you! But this is a small matter, no help is needed. We just need to explain things to this gentleman," the Chinese man said. Seeing a young Chinese man enthusiastically coming to help, he was both happy and a bit disappointed. He hesitated for a moment, but just as he was about to turn back to continue his explanation, he suddenly looked back at Cao Xiao carefully and asked uncertainly, "Eh? Are you Cao Xiao?"

"Uh, I am Cao Xiao. Forgive my poor eyesight, but you are...?" Cao Xiao hadn't expected this person to know him. He looked at the man's face again, but he still had no impression of him at all.

"My name is Ren Keyong, and my father is Ren Pingnian. I've seen your photo. I didn't expect to see you while traveling in Cape Town," Ren Keyong said with a pleasant surprise.

"Ah! So you are Elder Ren's family. Then I'm definitely getting involved in this. Elder Ren has helped me a lot. Mr. Ren, please tell me the situation first. One of my companies is right here in Cape Town, and I have some influence here." Cao Xiao wasn't very familiar with Ren Pingnian and didn't know his family situation, but there was no reason for the man to lie to him. Ren Pingnian was a friend of his teacher, and he had also helped during the incident at Tianxing Garden, so today, no matter what, he had to protect Ren Keyong and his family.