Chapter 80

Wang Yong wandered around the enormous underground arsenal for a whole day and still didn't finish exploring it, which showed just how vast it was. Due to its age and lack of maintenance, most of the weapons were no longer usable. It took Wang Yong considerable effort to find some functional firearms in some unopened boxes. For example, he found over a dozen Belgian 1932 model submachine guns (capable of automatic fire), a box of Type 38 rifles, three Type 96 and three Bren light machine guns, three Type 92 heavy machine guns, and three American 12.7mm dual-purpose machine guns. He also found ten grenade launchers, five 81mm mortars, five 37mm rapid-fire guns, five Type 92 infantry guns, five 20mm anti-aircraft machine guns, and five 37mm anti-aircraft guns. Other weapons included American M2 heavy machine guns, M1941 semi-automatic rifles, Springfield sniper rifles, Thompson submachine guns, British Sten submachine guns, and Lee-Enfield rifles. As for ammunition, he collected as much as he could that was in good condition and usable, even storing several tanks and armored vehicles in the small world.

By the time he reached the innermost part of the underground arsenal, Wang Yong was stunned by the pile of jade on the ground!

This wasn't just one or two pieces, but a whole pile. A rough estimate suggested there were at least ten thousand pieces of jade of various sizes and qualities. The largest was a piece of ice-type emerald green jade, an irregular shape about a meter high and half a meter wide at its widest point, which Wang Yong estimated to weigh at least a ton. In addition to the green jade, there were also purple, yellow, blue, and red jades, some of which were of the highest quality, like glass-type jade. It was truly a waste of natural resources! Wang Yong's mouth almost dropped open. He picked up a piece of red jade, slightly larger than an adult's fist, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be glass-type. Oh my! This single piece could fetch several hundred million yuan at an auction. Yet here it was, casually discarded. Even a small chip would be worth hundreds of thousands of yuan.

This huge pile of jade, even if not all of it was of the highest quality, was still worth a fortune. If he sold it all, Wang Yong might become the world's richest person. Without hesitation, he stored the entire pile of jade in the small world.

However, where did all this jade come from? Could it have been looted by the Japanese? That didn't seem right! If it had been looted, it wouldn't have been left here so carelessly. Moreover, it appeared that these pieces had been cut but not processed. Could it be that these lucky guys had discovered a jade mine? Thinking this, Wang Yong began to carefully examine the surrounding rock walls. To his surprise, he saw numerous pieces of jade gleaming under the light, like the windows cut into stones. Some were emerald green, some bright red, some golden yellow... This jade mine was truly extraordinary! How could there be so much jade here? This small section of the mountain had at least a dozen pieces of jade of various colors, not just green. He wondered when these other colors had become so abundant.

"Xiaoguang, quickly scan the area to see how large the mine is, what the quality is like, and whether it's easy to mine," Wang Yong eagerly instructed Xiaoguang. If the reserves were substantial, he wouldn't mind staying a few more days. The jade market was currently very active, with prices constantly rising, making jade a popular investment. With Xiaoguang's precise scanning and the energy light knife that could cut through metal like butter, plus the small world that could easily handle all the waste rock, Wang Yong believed he could quickly clear out the jade mine without much delay.

Before long, Xiaoguang completed the scan. However, the results were very disappointing, and Wang Yong even began to doubt whether Xiaoguang had made a mistake. There were clearly many pieces of decent-quality jade visible on the cave walls!

"Master, the jade mine has already been fully mined and is no longer worth extracting."

"What?" Wang Yong said in disbelief. "That can't be right! There's still a lot of jade visible on the walls! How can it not be worth extracting?"

"That's just the outer layer. Beyond that, there's no jade, only ordinary rock. No other potential jade deposits were found within a ten-kilometer radius," Xiaoguang explained, projecting the scan results. The green areas representing jade were indeed only on the outermost layer, with the rest being white. This left Wang Yong feeling very disheartened. How could this be? Unwilling to accept this, he pressed a button, activated the energy light knife, and easily cut into the cave wall, extracting a large conical piece of rock. After more cutting and digging, in less than half an hour, he had dug a deep hole about ten meters into the wall, over 1.5 meters high. Unfortunately, the results matched Xiaoguang's scan: apart from a few pieces of decent-quality jade from the outer layer, the rest was just a pile of ordinary rock in the small world.

Sigh! What a pity! He had thought he had discovered a jade mine, but it turned out to be a false hope. However, he should be content with the pile of jade he already had. After all, the large piece of ice-type emerald green jade alone was worth at least nine figures, and there were many other high-quality glass-type jades, each worth several tens of millions. The other colored jades, though not as numerous as the green ones, would still cause a sensation if brought to market.

According to Wang Yong's estimate, the pile of jade he had stored in the small world contained at least ten thousand pieces, with about two to three hundred pieces of non-green jade. If he released all this jade into the market at once, the global jade market would likely plummet. This amount of jade was enough to support a large jewelry chain, but Wang Yong thought it would be more efficient to auction it off directly. Besides, he was determined to return to his hometown to develop agriculture and help his fellow villagers prosper. He couldn't be involved in every industry; that would only lead to problems. It was better to share the wealth.

But why didn't the Japanese transport the mined jade back to Japan, instead leaving it here like a pile of useless rocks? Wang Yong couldn't figure it out. The truth was simple: the Japanese didn't have the time or need to transport the jade back to Japan.

When they discovered the jade mine, it was already July 1945, and the Japanese were facing certain defeat. The officers and soldiers were fully focused on constructing the underground base, preparing to continue the holy war for their emperor in case of defeat. They were so busy digging tunnels to store weapons and ammunition that they didn't pay attention to the jade, which was common in Myanmar at the time. Even if some wanted to take a few pieces, it was impossible because the base was almost completely isolated. The only contact with the outside world was a Japanese supply convoy that came once a month. The base was so far from any inhabited areas that it was impossible to leave without transportation.

Even if they could follow the simple road without getting lost, food and water were strictly rationed, and no one could leave without the commander's permission. After the discovery and mining of the jade, no outsiders, including the Japanese supply convoys, ever came again. After the Japanese emperor announced the surrender, the base was deliberately forgotten. The Japanese soldiers, unaware of the surrender, continued their mission of constructing the underground base and serving the emperor until they all died, with no outsiders ever visiting.

Decades passed, and the trees grew even denser, covering the old road with vegetation. Due to its proximity to the China-Myanmar border, only drug traffickers dared to venture into the dense forest. Thus, no one had ever visited the area until Wang Yong discovered it.

"Attention, armed personnel have entered the warning zone. Unidentified armed personnel have entered the warning zone." The integrated combat system's sudden warning snapped Wang Yong back to reality. The appearance of armed personnel in this remote area was definitely not for a casual visit. Wang Yong quickly ran toward the cave entrance, checking the display on the integrated combat system. A dozen armed personnel were rapidly moving toward his location. Without hesitation, Wang Yong instructed, "Xiaoguang, can you show me a live feed of those people?"

"Master, they are currently out of my live feed range. You can deploy the reconnaissance drone to transmit live footage."

Hearing this, Wang Yong found the reconnaissance drone option and, without hesitation, said to the integrated combat system, "Deploy the reconnaissance drone and closely monitor those unidentified armed personnel." As he spoke, a small hole opened in a corner of the integrated combat system, and a tiny, saucer-like drone flew out. The display screen then showed the live feed from the drone as it moved along the path. (To be continued.)