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墨書 Inktalez
After wandering around the Gambling Stone Site, I ended up getting a bit excited by Zha Peng's persuasion and picked out a few stones that looked promising. Perhaps it was because the White Olive Amulet had just been blessed by the High Monk, but those stones, which cost a total of three thousand, surprisingly yielded a sizable Ice Type. Although there were some minor flaws, I still made several times my investment.
I was overjoyed, and many people cast envious glances at me. I thought about buying a few more to test my luck, but Zha Peng advised against it. He said many people, like me, would think their luck would last after making a little profit and would end up losing everything in the end. Gambling on stones is actually similar to stock trading; it requires boldness as well as the self-control to resist temptation.
Under his persuasion, I reluctantly gave up, but I still felt quite happy inside.
Once I left the Gambling Stone Site, I realized it was almost dark. I hadn't expected time to pass so quickly while I was inside. Zha Peng said he could take me to a cleaner place to drink and eat, and even call a few women. I understood what that meant but thought it best to decline since I was unfamiliar with the area.
Zha Peng didn't mind; all his actions were based on my needs. Seeing that I wasn't interested in going out, he drove me to find Second Uncle instead.
When I met Second Uncle, it was completely dark outside. He was sitting in a tent drinking with some people. When he saw me walk in, he laughed heartily and introduced me, saying, "This is my nephew, a serious college student!"
The people sitting across from him greeted me with smiles. I felt a bit awkward, thinking that in this era where master's and doctorate degrees are everywhere, only he took a college student seriously. After a long day of running around, I was quite hungry, so I joined them for dinner. Knowing that I had gone gambling on stones and made a small profit, Second Uncle chuckled and said, "You’re doing well; better than your uncle! I've never made money gambling on stones."
I laughed and said it was all thanks to Grandpa for finding so many High Monks to bless the Amulet; if my luck were still bad after that, it would be unbelievable.
During dinner, Second Uncle introduced me to everyone around us. I learned that this was a privately contracted mine specifically for collecting jade. Most of the people in the tent were shareholders of the mine. I asked Second Uncle how he got mixed up with these Mine Owners.
Second Uncle told me that there had been a very tricky situation at the mine recently. He had put in a lot of effort to secure this business from local Dealers in Myanmar. However, despite being here for quite some time now, there hadn't been much progress. I was quite surprised; was there really any trouble that Second Uncle couldn't handle? Moreover, he had previously told me that he brought along five Ajan this time, all of whom were top-notch experts.
I became even more curious and asked him for more details about the situation.
Under the narration of Second Uncle, I finally learned what had happened here.
Myanmar has many jade mines. In the past, armed groups would seize them by force; whoever got there first claimed ownership. Today you hit me, tomorrow I hit you. Later, in order to control jade exports, the Myanmar government standardized the contracting of these mines and prohibited privatization. Every five years is a term limit, after which new contractors are appointed.
This particular mine had just changed hands not long ago. The group that contracted this area was not very powerful; they were only armed with knives and guns. Correspondingly, the remaining jade content in the mine was minimal. However, unexpectedly, when they dug deep into the mine, at what was originally thought to be the end of the jade vein, an incident occurred.
The workers discovered an entire block of jadeite, very large, like a table. If such jadeite were sold, it could definitely buy a small country!
The Mine Owner was thrilled, thinking he had struck gold. However, when they attempted to extract this massive piece of jadeite, either the machinery broke down or workers got injured. Initially, it was just minor injuries, but as the jadeite vibrated, collapses and explosions began to occur. Several workers died inside; at first, the Mine Owner did not think much of it. Accidents are normal in mining.
However, when they broke through the vein, another accident occurred.
After several incidents, they finally sensed something was wrong. Because of the incredible value of this jadeite, the Mine Owner dared not make it public and could only secretly seek help to resolve the issue. One of the shareholders had previously done business with Second Uncle and knew that the Shen Family was relatively reliable, so he came to ask for assistance. At first, Second Uncle did not know what was in the mine; he thought it was a minor issue and casually brought along an Ajan.
To his surprise, upon reaching the jadeite's side, the Ajan suddenly turned and ran away as if possessed. Second Uncle had no idea what was happening and hurriedly chased after him to ask; only then did the Ajan say that the jadeite should not be disturbed as it was too dangerous and contained terrifying things inside.
He could not clearly explain what it was and seemed somewhat mentally disturbed himself. With no other option, Second Uncle had to send him back. Afterwards, he specifically sought out several Ajan to come together in hopes of unraveling this mystery.
Those Ajan were all well-known Black Robed Mages in Thailand with strong magical powers. When they entered the mine together and stood before the jadeite, their expressions changed dramatically. Fortunately, there were many of them; they managed to withstand the terrifying mental pressure and gleaned some clues.
After exiting, the Azhans said that the jadeite should be a door with very ancient inscriptions on it. It looked somewhat like Sanskrit, but they could not decipher it fully. They only inferred from certain words that this jadeite represented a portal.
I thought to myself, how could there be such an expensive door in the world? It seemed absurd. Second Uncle smiled and said that jadeite used to be much less valuable than it is now; it wasn't even considered precious stone back then. Even by the early nineteenth century, several dozen kilograms of jadeite were worth only about ten pounds. Compared to today's prices, it felt like picking up a bargain.
I was quite surprised to learn that jade has such a history. Second Uncle continued, saying that at that time, Ajan realized it was a door and went in several times. He carefully analyzed the words that appeared intermittently above and finally determined that several of them represented horror, disaster, and other frightening negative terms. Azhans couldn't figure out what they meant either.
Additionally, they said that standing in front of the jade, one could feel the terrifying pressure coming from deep within the mine, as if a fearsome devil was hidden behind the door.
Second Uncle believed Ajan's words, but the Mine Owners did not! It wasn't that they didn't believe; rather, under the immense lure of profit, desire overcame reason. They promised that as long as they could extract the jade, they would give Second Uncle twenty million USD as a reward.
That piece of jade, based on the prices at the time, should be worth billions. Because it was a massive whole and flawless. A mere twenty million USD, which converted to over one hundred million Renminbi, seemed like a good price, but Second Uncle was somewhat hesitant. So many Ajan had said not to touch this jade; although the Mine Owners offered an enticing price, Second Uncle was always reluctant to take big risks in business. He would only proceed if he had more than seventy percent certainty.
As for this piece of jade, Second Uncle clearly stated that he had less than ten percent confidence. The Ajan invited to Myanmar were all top-tier experts; if a few of them couldn't handle it together, what else could be said?
The Mine Owners were anxious; they would rather spend more money than keep bringing in different people for this matter. The more people who knew about it, the sooner it would leak out. If those powerful forces found out, who knows what trouble might arise? They were determined to get rich off this enormous piece of jade and wouldn't easily let it slip away.
Thus, the offer to Second Uncle kept increasing, and the final figure became unimaginable for an ordinary person. To alleviate Second Uncle's concerns, they even provided part of the reward in advance.
In this situation, Second Uncle couldn't bear to give up. It was too much money; if this deal went through, he could live comfortably for ten years without working! So after discussing with Grandpa, Second Uncle not only gathered some top Ajan from Indochina but also specifically invited people from the Malay Peninsula. This was why I had seen Second Uncle at home before.
At this moment, Second Uncle was idle because not all the people had arrived yet. Once everyone was gathered, they would start working together to try to extract the jade. As for what would happen afterward, there was no time to worry about that!
I felt anxious listening to this; I had witnessed Ajan's abilities several times during this period. Could they really move something that others dared not touch?
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