Zhuang Rui had eaten too quickly, and the sticky rice was stuck in his stomach. He was about to move around a bit when Peng Fei suddenly startled him.
"Shh..."
Peng Fei turned his head to the side, giving Zhuang Rui half of his body space, gesturing for him to look ahead.
"Oh my god..."
Zhuang Rui followed Peng Fei's gaze and immediately felt a chill run down his spine.
Directly in front of them was a pond about forty or fifty meters in size. At that moment, a giant python, seven or eight meters long and as thick as a bowl, emerged from the pond and began to crawl toward Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei.
The giant python was covered with tiny blue scales, interspersed with crisscrossing oval black spots. It didn't move very fast. Its flat, long head was raised high, and it would occasionally flick out a red tongue that was more than ten centimeters long. Its eyes, as big as copper bells, were staring at Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei.
Peng Fei was also extremely nervous at this moment. Zhuang Rui didn't know what this thing was, but Peng Fei knew it very well. This was not a python, but a anaconda, known as the jungle killer.
The anaconda is the largest snake in the world, reaching up to ten meters in length. It can weigh over 225 kilograms and be as thick as an adult male's torso, but the average anaconda is less than 5.5 meters long.
Anacondas are aquatic creatures that typically inhabit muddy banks or shallow waters. They prey on water birds, turtles, capybaras, tapirs, and sometimes even crocodiles that are about 1.5 meters long. The anaconda will tightly coil around the crocodile until it suffocates and dies, and then swallow it whole. It will not need to eat for several weeks afterward.
The green anaconda is undoubtedly the king of snakes. Although different species of snakes will eat each other, all kinds of snakes, including highly venomous cobras, are prey for adult green anacondas. Other snakes do not pose a danger to adult green anacondas.
"Brother Zhuang, step back a little..."
Peng Fei had already aimed his gun at the giant anaconda, but his palms were sweating profusely. He knew that this kind of anaconda had extremely strong vitality, and if it entangled him, even if he blew its head off, his bones would likely be crushed by its enormous constricting force.
At this moment, Peng Fei did not dare to make the first move; he was waiting for the anaconda to take the initiative to attack.
After confronting Peng Fei for more than a minute, the jungle behemoth seemed to sense that its opponent was not someone to be trifled with. It finally shifted its gaze away from Peng Fei, climbed over to the dead lynx, wrapped its body around the lynx, and dragged it into the pond.
The pond looked quite deep. After the huge anaconda slid into it, it made a splash and disappeared, presumably beginning to devour the prey that belonged to Peng Fei.
"This thing is huge, it looks a bit like the python in the movie Anaconda..."
Zhuang Rui had no idea how terrifying these anacondas were. He had even managed to snap a photo of Peng Fei from behind, and was now looking at it on his digital camera. He was thinking that once he returned to China, if he posted it online, it would surely make those online enthusiasts who loved traveling and adventure green with envy.
"By the way, Peng Fei, why didn't you fire just now?"
Zhuang Rui felt a little regretful. Even if he couldn't find the gold in the Savage Mountain this time, skinning the python would still be a decent trophy.
"Brother Zhuang, we should be thankful it didn't bother us. If we've rested well, let's continue on our way. It would be troublesome if we couldn't get back before sunset..."
Peng Fei rolled his eyes. Only someone with a screw loose would actively attack this python. Let alone getting entangled by it, even just being whipped by its tail would result in broken bones.
Peng Fei was now genuinely anxious. They were already deep in the Savage Mountain, and if they couldn't get back before dark, spending the night in the jungle wouldn't be a good idea. After all, most large wild beasts are nocturnal.
Although the four seasons in Myanmar are not so distinct, there are indeed fewer animals in the forests during this season. They did not encounter any further dangers on the rest of the journey. Around 2 p.m., the two arrived at a sparsely wooded hillside.
After carefully studying the map on Zhuang Rui's digital camera for several minutes, Peng Fei looked up and said confidently, "Brother Zhuang, this is it..."
"Let's look for it..."
Along the way here, Zhuang Rui saw many more human skeletons in the bushes, presumably Burmese people who were killed by the Japanese for transporting gold. Since Peng Fei said the map was correct, this should be the location of the treasure.
The two searched the surrounding area carefully but found no treasure. However, they did find a lot of bones and rotten clothes, and even a few Type 38 rifles. However, the wooden handles were rotten and the guns were covered with rust. If you didn't look closely, you would think they were just fire sticks.
"Brother Zhuang, no..."
Half an hour later, the two met up, but neither of them found anything. However, Peng Fei was certain that no one had been here before them.
"Go up a bit further and keep looking..."
Zhuang Rui was puzzled. Logically speaking, when the Japanese devils were at their wits' end, they shouldn't have had much time to bury the treasure deep. However, Zhuang Rui took the entrenching tool that Peng Fei had brought and dug several places, only to find that they were all raw soil, indicating that those places had not been dug up before.
These tomb raiding techniques weren't entirely useless; at least they knew how to distinguish between raw and tamped soil, preventing Zhuang Rui from digging holes everywhere.
"Brother Zhuang, come and take a look here..."
Peng Fei, who was walking in front, suddenly shouted, and Zhuang Rui, who was following behind and occasionally digging with a shovel, quickly ran over.
"Brother Zhuang, look, something's not right about this mountain. There are traces of an explosion, and this soil must have been filled in later..."
Peng Fei was facing a rocky outcrop. Normally, rocks are exposed, but this rocky outcrop was covered with soil and overgrown with weeds.
Zhuang Rui didn't know what the explosion marks Peng Fei was talking about looked like. But when he heard that it was suspicious, he took a step forward, placed his hands on the rock as if to observe, and released spiritual energy into his eyes to look inside the rock.
"Damn, we finally found it!"
Just as the spiritual energy in Zhuang Rui's eyes passed through the soil, he saw a cave entrance covered by rubble. Behind the rubble was a small cave that was only twelve or thirteen meters long and about two meters high. Although there was no light inside, Zhuang Rui could still see more than a dozen metal boxes.
"Gold, it's all gold..."
Zhuang Rui felt excited. As the spiritual energy passed through the thin metal box, a dazzling golden yellow color immediately came into view.
These gold pieces must have all been melted down, because the gold bricks that appeared in Zhuang Rui's eyes were all about the size of soap bars from before, and were neatly arranged together.
"Wh...what is that? Damn it, how come there are pythons here too..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to take a closer look at whether there was any jade mentioned in the letter, he suddenly felt his feet sink, as if something was tugging at his pants.
Looking down, Zhuang Rui was terrified. It turned out that a giant python was climbing up his trouser leg.
Zhuang Rui quickly took a few steps back, but unexpectedly tripped over a stone and fell to the ground with a thud. The giant python, as thick as a bowl, then coiled around his body along his right leg.
Although he raised his gun, Zhuang Rui dared not fire. The python was coiled around his leg, and if he fired, he might not kill the snake, but his leg might break.
Chapter 502 Savage Mountain (6)
Zhuang Rui's trouser legs, already soaked with sweat, now felt chilly, while the flat, dark snake head continued to crawl up his body, seemingly mistaking Zhuang Rui for some withered branch or broken tree.
"Peng... Peng Fei, what are you laughing at? Hurry up and help me..."
Zhuang Rui suddenly remembered that there was someone next to him. He dared not move at all, because the snake's head had already reached his penis. If the snake suddenly became aggressive and bit him, Zhuang Rui's happy sex life would be over.
Zhuang Rui was puzzled by Peng Fei's behavior. His friend was in such a state, how could he still laugh? Did he want to keep this treasure for himself?
"Brother Zhuang, this snake isn't an anaconda, it's not aggressive. Look how scared you are..."
Seeing that Zhuang Rui was really exhausted, Peng Fei stopped teasing him, bent down, grabbed the python's head, lifted it up with both hands, and then hung the more than four-meter-long, bowl-thick python on his body.
"It doesn't bite?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned by Peng Fei's actions. So snakes can be vegetarians too?
"Yes, this is a Burmese python, it doesn't bite..."
Peng Fei grabbed the python's head and wrapped it around his arm. The giant, black python was indeed very docile and showed no intention of attacking Peng Fei.
After listening to Peng Fei's explanation, Zhuang Rui finally understood that Burmese pythons and anacondas are different. Anacondas are extremely aggressive, but this kind of python is very gentle and suitable as a pet. It is even easy for beginners to keep. If Liu Chuan were here, he would definitely be able to tell the difference.
This python was, after all, wild and had not been tamed. After coiling around Peng Fei for a while, it slid down and disappeared into the rock wall.
"There's a hole here..."
Zhuang Rui was worried about how to explain the fact that the treasure was inside. He looked down at the place where the python had disappeared and saw a hole about 20 or 30 centimeters in diameter. He then used his spiritual energy to look into the cave behind the rubble and saw the python indeed coiled on the ground of the cave.
"Yes, Brother Zhuang, if I'm not mistaken, the gold looted by the Japanese should be inside. These pythons usually like to live in shady places like tree hollows or caves, which means there must be a cave inside this rock wall..."
Judging from the missing Japanese Type 38 rifles and the remains in the surrounding area, this should be the place where the gold was buried. Moreover, there are traces of blasting on the rock wall. Although it has been there for a long time, it still couldn't escape the eyes of expert Peng Fei.
Peng Fei said everything Zhuang Rui wanted to say, saving Zhuang Rui the trouble. However, Zhuang Rui hadn't decided whether to blow up the cave to check the gold.
For Zhuang Rui, it didn't matter whether the cave was blown up or not, because he had already seen the gold inside. Even if it was blown up, he and Peng Fei couldn't move it. The feeling of being able to touch something but not being able to get it was not a pleasant one.
Let alone 10 tons of gold, even 100 kilograms wouldn't be enough for the two of them to carry away, not to mention the nearly 30 boxes of jade jewelry. However, calling the items containing the jewelry boxes is inappropriate; they should be called containers. The 30 containers filled only two large metal crates.
"Peng Fei, the gold should be in this cave. Should we blow it up?"
Zhuang Rui consulted Peng Fei's opinion. In any case, the two of them had come together, and without Peng Fei leading the way, he would never have been able to get here.
"I'll do as you say, Brother Zhuang, whatever you say we should do..."
Peng Fei, on the other hand, was quite easygoing and passed the matter on to Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Aren't you curious? There are 10 tons of gold in there, worth over 1 billion RMB, enough for you to live on for several lifetimes..."
"Hehe, Brother Zhuang, let alone 10 tons of gold, I know that the two of us would have a hard time even carrying 10 kilograms..."
Peng Fei saw things clearly: the guns, ammunition, and other items they carried already weighed over 20 kilograms, so they couldn't bring any more.
"10 kilograms? I don't really care..."
Ten kilograms of gold is only worth a little over one million RMB. Zhuang Rui would be better off spending that time in the Hpakant jade market and finding some good rough stones.
"Well, Brother Zhuang, this is what I'm thinking: if the gold is hidden here, no one else will find it without a treasure map. We can't take it now, and if we blow up the cave, someone else might discover it. I think we should leave it as it is..."
Peng Fei glanced at the sky and voiced his opinion. He wanted to return as soon as possible, otherwise, after dark, he wouldn't be able to see the marks he had made and might really get lost in this Savage Mountain.
Zhuang Rui paced back and forth in front of the rock wall. The amount of gold was simply too large. Even if there were twenty people here, let alone just two of them, they wouldn't be able to move it without modern equipment.
"Should we confront Hu Rong and tell him about this place?"
Zhuang Rui had this idea in his mind, but he immediately rejected it.
It wasn't that Zhuang Rui didn't trust Hu Rong, but rather that he didn't trust Hu Rong's men. They say money can move people's hearts; if those men saw this batch of gold, they might not even recognize Hu Rong as their owner. After all, 10 tons of gold is enough for forty or fifty men to live a carefree life abroad for the rest of their lives.
If that were to happen, Zhuang Rui telling Hu Rong would only harm him.
"Damn it, if all else fails, tell Brother Lei. Even giving it to the country is better than leaving it in this savage mountain. Besides, the country should keep a few for itself, right?"
With Ouyang Lei's influence, sending a special forces unit to retrieve this batch of gold wouldn't be too difficult.
Zhuang Rui's mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts. This sum of gold was indeed tempting him.
"Brother Zhuang, if you could get a helicopter, I'd have a way to get this batch of gold out..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's furrowed brows, Peng Fei knew what he was thinking. The other side of the Savage Mountain was the border of China, and it only took one or two hours to get there by helicopter.
Peng Fei himself can fly a helicopter. If he can call on two or three comrades who have shared life and death with him, he will definitely be able to transport this batch of gold to China without anyone noticing.
Helicopters can't cross the China-Myanmar border? What a joke! The border defense between China and Myanmar is not tight at all. Not to mention the forest border areas, even between two villages, they are only a few dozen meters apart. Many Burmese people come to China to work in the morning and go back to sleep at night, so the border is practically non-existent.
"A helicopter? That would definitely alert the military back home. Forget it, let's talk about it later. Let's go back first..."
Zhuang Rui knew that this place was not suitable for lingering. After pondering for a moment, he decided to return to the mine first and figure out a solution later. Even if decades passed, no one might come to this place, so Zhuang Rui was not worried about not having time to move these treasures.
After making their decision, the two started walking back. No longer needing to look at the sun to determine their direction, they were much faster than when they came. Zhuang Rui's stamina left Peng Fei speechless. During a break, Zhuang Rui even had the energy to fire a few shots.
When the hour hand on the watch pointed to 5:30 pm, the two finally passed through several miasma zones and arrived at the edge of the Savage Mountain. At this time, the sun on the horizon was about to set below the Savage Mountain range.
The light in the forest grew increasingly dim. Peng Fei, who was walking ahead, turned on a flashlight and began to examine the marks he had left behind. This vast forest was dangerous; a slight misstep could send him back to the Savage Mountain. Many had died unjustly in the past.
"We'll be out in about half an hour, Zhuang. Be careful, there are more animals out foraging in the evening..."
Peng Fei, who was walking ahead, turned around and gave Zhuang Rui a message. But before he could finish speaking, a whimpering sound came from above, followed by a dark figure swooping down from the tree.