238: Chapter 233 Deep Mountain Camp

The Shen family's matter had reached a point where it could be considered a closed chapter. For Cao Xiao, the purpose of this trip had been more than achieved; anything else was none of his business. Upon learning that Cao Xiao was leaving, the Shen family, though filled with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy and offering their heartfelt gratitude, also warmly tried to persuade him to stay. However, after the police arrived and finished their negotiations, he left the villa manor without hesitation.

He found a hotel in Hetian City and stayed for one night. He woke up early the next morning. Last night, he had contacted the only helicopter rental company in Wumu City, the provincial capital of Xijiang, and asked them to send a helicopter. After dismissing the pilot, he prepared maps, a satellite positioning device, and a satellite phone. The three of them then boarded the aircraft and left Hetian City, flying straight toward the Kunlun Mountains.

"Boss, the Shen family controls the jade mining and trading in the Hetian region. As long as you speak up, wouldn't top-grade jade be sent over in heaps? They might even give you a few mines directly! And without charging you a penny. Besides, you saved their whole family's lives yesterday; no matter how they repay you, they'd feel it's only right. In the future, Tianxing Jewelry wouldn't have to worry about raw nephrite materials anymore. But today, when they came to thank you, you wouldn't even see them. Now you're going to find it yourself—where is jade so easy to find? The Yulong River has been turned over by people from beginning to end for thousands of years. I bet there isn't even a complete pebble left down there. Even if we strike it lucky and find a few pieces, it won't help the jewelry company. In the end, we'll still have to get stock from the Shen family. Why bother wasting effort in this desolate mountain wilderness!"

Li Quanshuo had represented the group last night to cooperate with the police investigation and evidence collection, tossing and turning until dawn before returning to the hotel to rest. Now he was exhausted, yawning incessantly. He just couldn't fall asleep on the plane, so he wore his 'national treasure' brand sunglasses and babbled incessantly to Cao Xiao to pass the time.

Cao Xiao rolled his eyes and curled his lip. "If it weren't for my teacher, and the fact that Yu Pinyun is Yueyou's cousin, I wouldn't want to get involved in the messy affairs of these prominent families! Although several direct descendants died last night, the Shen family has been established in Xijiang for hundreds of years; they have deep roots and descendants everywhere. Wealth moves people's hearts. With Shen Hao's indecisive nature, these kinds of dirty affairs will definitely be endless in the future. If I had accepted the thank-you gift last night, a bridge of connection would have been built. If more trouble arises in the future and they come knocking, it would be hard to refuse. It's better to keep them at arm's length from the start. Currently, no large new mines have been discovered in the entire Northwest region for many years. The Shen family's mining sites will be depleted in less than eight to ten years. Not to mention authentic hetian jade, even the prices of other common jade categories are doubling every year. Consumers can't bear such irrational prices, and jewelry companies naturally won't have stable profits. In a few years, mid-to-high-end white jade will probably be sold as antiques and removed from the entire jewelry industry. What would that have to do with me then? It's not worth wasting my energy for just a few years of profit. Furthermore, if the Shen family keeps having problems, they might cut off our supply every few days."

"Oh!" Li Quanshuo looked enlightened, but then shook his head again, staring at Cao Xiao. "I still don't get it! I just want to know what you're up to now. Are we really going hunting? You should know that poaching in the Northwest can get you shot. If you're really interested, I can recommend a legal place where you can play however you want as long as you have money."

Cao Xiao had heard of the hunting ground Li Quanshuo mentioned. It was a leftover issue from history hidden from public view, and many who knew about it criticized it. With his small-town mindset that hadn't yet shifted, he was naturally no exception upon hearing this.

He suddenly felt that bringing bodyguards on this trip was a hassle, as he'd have to waste a lot of breath to reasonably disguise his unconventional behavior. So he said impatiently, "I'm not after those precious furs, so why would I target protected animals? Didn't I say I'm looking for mines? Hunting is just incidental, to satisfy a craving. It seems you guys really don't believe that I, the last disciple of a domestic geological titan, have real skills! You don't understand high-end things like geology. I'm not bragging, but as a master of geology who has received the true teachings, I just need to fly around once and take a casual look at the terrain to draw a reliable conclusion on where there are mineral deposits, what kind they are, how deep they're buried, and how large the reserves are. I'm going to find a new mine, a large mine that can satisfy the jewelry company for a long time, solving the white jade raw material problem once and for all."

Hearing these long-winded explanations, Li Quanshuo was left in a daze, feeling impressed but not quite understanding. Not knowing how to continue the conversation, he pretended to be distracted to end the awkward chat and stared blankly out the window at the figures visible everywhere on the riverbank below. The helicopter flew at a low altitude, following the winding Yulong River and quickly approaching the majestic and vast Altyn Mountains.

"If not seen atop the mountain of many jades, then one must meet beneath the moon at the Jade Terrace."

"Soaring into the world, the wild Kunlun."

"White clouds intentionally hide the immortal's trail; the snow ridge holds ice that has not melted since ancient times."

The Kunlun Mountains, also known as Kunlun Xu, the First Divine Mountain of Huaxia, the Mountain of Ten Thousand Ancestors, Kunlun Hill, or Yushan. It is a major mountain system in Central Asia and the backbone of the mountain systems in western Huaxia. It starts from the eastern Pamir Plateau in the west, runs across Xijiang and Tibet, and extends into Haiqing Province. It has a total length of about 2,500 kilometers, an average elevation of 5,500-6,000 meters, and a width of 130-200 kilometers, being narrow in the west and wide in the east, with a total area of over 500,000 square kilometers.

In the cultural history of the Huaxia nation, the Kunlun Mountains hold a prominent status as the ancestor of all mountains. Ancient people called the Kunlun Mountains the ancestor of the Huaxia dragon veins. Many myths and legends passed down from ancient Huaxia are related to the Kunlun Mountains, which are considered the birthplace of the Huaxia nation. However, the Kunlun Mountains are not the single "Kunlun Mountain" mentioned in many myths, but rather the Kunlun mountain range. The Kunlun Mountain in mythology is the "Kunlun Immortal Mountain" that exists in reality.

In the 'Classic of Mountains', Kunlun Mountain is the forbidden garden of the Heavenly Emperor; in the 'Classic of Seas', the Gate of Kunlun was gradually opened, becoming a garden for alchemists to collect the medicine of immortality. The Kunlun mountain area has more than 100 species of higher plants, generally low shrubs. The wildlife consists of species unique to the plateau, such as Tibetan antelopes, wild yaks, and wild donkeys. The Kunlun foothills in Hetian, Xijiang, produce the highest quality jade, which has been the main source of jade for the Central Plains since ancient times. The 'Thousand Character Classic' says: 'Jade comes from the Kunlun peaks.'

Regarding the Kunlun Mountains, even Cao Xiao, who possessed the incomparably powerful Super Industrial Mother Machine, always maintained a sense of awe. Whether or not there were gods and immortals in the world was something the Supervision Department could not prove, but even if there was only a possibility of their existence, Cao Xiao did not dare to be careless. He did not believe the industrial mother machine was invincible. With the various incredible abilities of immortals and gods in legends, no matter how powerful a mortal was, they were just ants that could be crushed at will. Therefore, being in Kunlun, the home of immortals, he could not help but be cautious. Besides detecting underground minerals, his remaining computing resources were also capturing any possible anomalies between heaven and earth in all directions.

The aircraft continued flying from the foothills toward the deep mountains. Flying at a low altitude, its speed wasn't fast. In about two hours, it had only flown several hundred miles. The fuel tank was almost empty and needed to land to refuel. The fuel was prepared; this medium-sized helicopter had good carrying capacity. Besides the three people and a small amount of picnic equipment, the excess capacity was used to carry fuel, enough for eight hours of flight, so there was no worry about being unable to return. It was also close to noon. His space was already full of gains, and since he wasn't in a rush, he decided to go down and hunt some wild game to fill his stomach.

"Boss, look over there," Li Quanshuo suddenly shouted, pointing below.

Cao Xiao looked out the window in the direction Li Quanshuo was pointing. He saw some dense, regular objects appearing in the desolate hills ahead. Their color was close to that of vegetation, and they looked a bit blurry from a distance, making it impossible to tell what they were. However, he could see figures moving among them, along with some scattered reflective objects. But since it was beyond a ten-kilometer range, Cao Xiao couldn't detect exactly what it was.

Duan Hong turned his head and said with a frown, "Those are military camouflage tents. The radar shows a helicopter approaching in the distance. This should be a temporary military camp. Approaching rashly might cause a misunderstanding. I don't know if there are anti-aircraft weapons down there. Their radar has already detected us. Boss, do we still want to land?"

Cao Xiao didn't speak. He looked at the site and thought for a while before speaking with interest, "Hmm, it's a bit strange for such a large camp to appear in these deep mountains. They discovered our helicopter but didn't stop us from approaching, so it shouldn't be a military no-fly zone or under military control. We have military identities, so we can go take a look. I think there might be something interesting there. Let's land there."

Ten-odd kilometers was just a few minutes' flight for a helicopter. As they approached the camp, they could finally see the general situation. Over twenty camouflage tents of various sizes were neatly arranged around a mound. Not far from the small mound was a winding stream several meters wide. A temporary helicopter landing pad had been built in the center of the mound, where one large and two small helicopters were currently parked. The large one was a military armed transport helicopter, while the two small ones were domestic civilian versions. Figures could be seen moving busily in the camp, most of them in plain clothes. There were only about ten soldiers on guard duty on the perimeter of the camp.

It seemed this really wasn't a military project base, but likely a relatively important national project base. Exactly what it was for would only be known after going down to make contact.

The people on the ground had already discovered Cao Xiao's helicopter. Several people had appeared at the landing pad waiting for them to land. There were no signs of an attack; clearly, they were quite calm about the uninvited visit.

"Hello everyone, we are..."

As soon as Cao Xiao and the other two stepped out of the cabin, those people who had been waiting expectantly crowded around. They ignored Cao Xiao, who was greeting them, and stared straight into the cabin as if looking for something. But inside the cabin, there were only a few barrels of aviation fuel and a bag of cooking utensils and seasonings; it was empty and visible at a glance.

"Eh? Not the supply delivery! Who are you people? Tourists?"

A group of about ten people, young and old, saw the empty cabin, and their eyes were filled with disappointment. At this time, a middle-aged man with graying hair and gold-rimmed glasses turned back and asked Cao Xiao's group.

"I guess you could say we're tourists! May I ask who you are?" Cao Xiao had a strange expression; these people seemed to have misunderstood.

"Sigh! We'll have to eat wild vegetables again in a bit. Those logistics guys are too stingy. Even if project funds are tight, saving money shouldn't go as far as making everyone look thin and sallow!"

"They call it 'eating from the wild,' promoting the fine traditional style of self-reliance and hard struggle. They say it's an original flavor you can't buy with money outside. There are plenty of varieties, and the taste isn't bad, but who wouldn't get tired of eating wild vegetables and game every day?"

"Before coming, they promised we could drink alcohol every day, but I haven't seen a shadow of booze in over six months. It's gotten to the point where I want to use medical alcohol diluted with water to satisfy my craving. Cigarettes have been out for two days too. No wonder those guys didn't come up to help carry things; they didn't go shopping at all!"

"I've complained eight hundred times; I even called Minister Xiao directly. Seeing that the project is about to end, they just had to cut the follow-up funding now. There's no choice, this is our life's work. Even if it can't be implemented in the short term, the day construction begins, the country and the people will remember our contribution!"

"That's not how it is. We all chipped in our own money to get supplies, but that damn Old Man Li actually had the heart to spend all the money on fuel!"

No one answered Cao Xiao's question. After learning that Cao Xiao was a tourist, everyone started complaining with full grievances, each looking like they had a deep-seated grudge. Cao Xiao was left in a daze; if it weren't for the fact that these people were reasonably dressed, he would have thought he'd arrived at a black-hearted sweatshop.

"Everyone, do you smoke?"

Disliking the feeling of being ignored, Cao Xiao began to show his presence, and a very, very strong one at that—yellow crane tower 1916!

"Holy cow!"

As soon as Cao Xiao finished speaking, a cry of surprise was heard, and the entire pack of cigarettes in his hand vanished.

"Cao Xiao, you've struck it rich! Hahaha! I'll head off first and find you in a bit!"

Accompanied by a laugh of a successful scheme, a figure pushed aside the people nearby and ran off impatiently, leaving Cao Xiao with only a familiar-looking back.

Suddenly hearing his name called, Cao Xiao was incredibly surprised, but he hadn't managed to see who had snatched the cigarettes from his hand. Just as he was about to follow and check, he found himself surrounded by a dozen people with glowing eyes.

"Uh, I say, after half a year, even a drug addiction should have been kicked, right! Is it really necessary to turn into bandits for some cigarettes?" Cao Xiao had heard most of what they said. He naturally knew what these people wanted and, between laughter and tears, pulled out another pack. But this time, he tore it open first and handed them out one by one, otherwise the whole pack would have been snatched again.