PFC Chapter 319 Why You?
Chapter 319 Why You?
“I know, I know,” Wang Ergou hurriedly interrupted him, lowering his voice even further, “but think about it, such a huge mountain of gold, if the country takes it, it’s gone. We’ll just keep a tiny bit, who will know?”
Li Xiangyang fell silent, looking at the gold nugget in his hand with a complicated expression.
“Yes,” another team member, who had been silent until now, whispered, “You two heroes, such a huge mountain of gold, even if you report it, it’s only right that you keep some compensation for your hard work.”
Another person chimed in, "That's right, what do you get for reporting it? At most, a small reward, but how much is that? It's nothing compared to keeping a few coins for yourself..."
Li Xiangyang glanced at everyone, then at Wang Ergou's expectant eyes, and sighed, "Alright."
Wang Ergou's eyes lit up immediately: "Xiangyang, you agreed?"
Li Xiangyang nodded, but his eyes remained firm: "Only a little can be left, and this is the only time."
Seeing that he had agreed, Shen Chengye's face immediately lit up with joy: "How about two pieces each?"
“We’ll distribute what you secretly smuggled, one yuan each, no more,” Li Xiangyang said sternly.
Although Shen Chengye was reluctant, he knew this was the best possible outcome, and quickly nodded, "Okay, okay, one yuan each it is. Here you go."
He carefully picked out two larger pieces from the pile of gold nuggets and handed them to Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou: "These two are yours."
Li Xiangyang took the gold nugget; it was heavy and about the size of a fist.
He didn't look at it much and just stuffed it into the inside pocket of his clothes.
Wang Ergou excitedly weighed his piece repeatedly, his eyes filled with joy.
With the gold nugget in hand, Li Xiangyang's expression grew increasingly serious.
He looked around, pondered for a moment, and then said to everyone, "Now that we've reached an agreement, we must do it cleanly. This furnace must be dismantled, and all traces must be erased."
"Dismantle the stove?" Shen Chengye was taken aback. "This stove took a lot of effort to build, so why not use it for a few more days..."
Li Xiangyang's face darkened: "If you say another word of such nonsense, you'll lose everything."
Shen Chengye was speechless for a moment, then reluctantly nodded: "Alright then."
Li Xiangyang turned to Wang Ergou: "We need to help them dismantle it and restore it to its original state as much as possible. Also, we can't take the gold out directly; it's too risky. We need to find a place to hide it."
Wang Ergou immediately tensed up: "Where to hide it?"
Li Xiangyang pondered, "I need to find a secluded and safe place, convenient for retrieving later. I can look for another one then."
Having made the decision, everyone immediately sprang into action, dismantling the alchemy furnace and scattering all the materials throughout the cave, making it look like a naturally piled-up rock.
They also covered the fire's traces with mud and fallen leaves, restoring the camp to as natural a state as possible.
"Xiangyang," Wang Ergou asked quietly, "what should we say if anyone asks?"
Li Xiangyang's eyes were firm: "Just say the exploration team got lost due to an anomaly in the magnetic field and got trapped in the mountains. Once we found them, we immediately brought them out. As for the gold mine, we knew nothing about it; we just reported the location of Magnet Mountain as rich in iron ore and told them to discover it themselves."
“But what if they let something slip?” Wang Ergou said worriedly, pointing at Shen Chengye and the others.
Li Xiangyang gave Shen Chengye a cold look: "They won't. If they dare to say anything reckless, what awaits them won't be just a simple dismissal."
Upon hearing this, Shen Chengye and the others nodded in understanding.
They're not stupid; they know that maintaining a consistent stance in this situation is beneficial for everyone.
“Furthermore,” Li Xiangyang said seriously, “we can’t leave the mountain immediately. If we go back too soon, the traces on the mountain will still be fresh, and people might become suspicious. We need to wait at least three to five days to let nature cover up any traces of our activity.”
Everyone understood that Li Xiangyang's words made sense and nodded in agreement.
After dealing with the camp, the next problem was hiding the gold, and the camp was immediately in an uproar over where it should be hidden.
"Hide it together? What if you take it and run?"
"Hide them separately? If you sneak back to get them and get caught, won't that implicate me too?"
"Exactly, I don't want to be implicated because of other people's stupidity..."
The argument grew louder and louder, and several people even stood up, their expressions tense and ready to fight.
Seeing this, Li Xiangyang slammed his hand on a rock and yelled, "Shut up, all of you!"
His voice wasn't loud, but it was full of authority, instantly silencing everyone.
“If you ask me,” Li Xiangyang calmly analyzed, “this thing can only be hidden together, and only one person can know about it. Everyone else must give up the idea of taking it.”
Shen Chengye pondered for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Hiding together is indeed the best option. But if only one person knows where it's hidden, what if he runs off with the others' portions? Where will we find him?"
Instead of answering immediately, Li Xiangyang countered, "Leaving aside the fact that the person has escaped, when do you think it will be safe to retrieve and use the body?"
Everyone offered different answers.
“I think a year is enough,” said a round-faced team member. “Once this is all over, who will remember?”
"A year? Why don't you say a month?" Shen Chengye scoffed. "It would take at least three years to ensure no one investigates this anymore."
“Three years is too conservative,” a tall, thin man interjected. “At least five years. Only after all this has been hollowed out in five years will it be truly safe.”
The debate escalated again, with everyone sticking to their own point of view.
Li Xiangyang listened quietly, his gaze growing increasingly profound.
“None of those are right,” he finally interrupted the argument, his voice low and firm, “It will take ten years. At least ten years.”
"Ten years?!" Wang Ergou exclaimed, "That's too long!"
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "Not long. Think about it, this is a gold mine. Even if we only report it as a rich iron ore mine, can they completely believe us? As long as someone has doubts about us, they only need to keep an eye on us for three to five years to get this windfall. If you were in their shoes, wouldn't you keep an eye on us? I'm even conservatively saying ten years."
Shen Chengye frowned in thought: "So...it really will take at least ten years. But the problem is, will the hiding place still be found after ten years? Even if it is, the problem comes full circle: only one person can know where it's hidden. Why should anyone trust that person?"
"Exactly, why should I?"
"Who knows what you're really thinking when you say that?"
"Don't think I can't see through you. You're just saying this to get me to hide."
……
Seeing the crowd arguing back and forth, Li Xiangyang had already made up his mind.
“That’s right, I’m here to hide,” he said in a deep voice.
The argument stopped abruptly, and all eyes turned to him.
"Why you?" Shen Chengye immediately questioned, his eyes full of vigilance.