HLM – Chapter 787 Killing Two Birds with One Stone

It was that single answer from Wang Bo that instantly ignited the entire atmosphere.

It was a bit like when the Pirate King, Roger, said those legendary words before his execution:  “Want my treasure? If you want it, go find it—I’ve left everything out there on the sea!”

Sunset Town had just opened access to its gold mine. Except for the area currently under the control of the West Pacific Bank, the rest of the mine’s gold ore could now be freely taken away by visitors. However, Wang Bo had made it very clear—tourists were allowed to pick up ore casually, but absolutely forbidden to bring tools or equipment for mining.

The press conference instantly turned chaotic. Bowen leaned toward Wang Bo and whispered, “Boss, I noticed a few reporters opening their phones to check the map. I think they’re planning to go treasure hunting.”

Wang Bo just shrugged. “The more who go, the better.”

Bartier warned, “Mate, it’s not that simple. Even if you said no mining tools, you know people won’t care.”

Wang Bo smiled slyly. “I hope they don’t follow the rules.”

“Why?”

“Because then I can fine them,” he replied proudly. “Anyone bringing mining tools or machinery into Sunset Town will be fined. It’s my territory—my word is law. If they don’t like it, they can stay out. It’s a nice little income stream.”

The area with gold wasn’t public property—people had to understand that. This mountain belonged to someone. Anyone taking ore from it had to obey the owner’s rules.

This bit of news immediately exploded across New Zealand’s media, and soon no one cared about the mysterious glowworm cave anymore.

The first to react were the residents of Sunset Town. They had no idea there was a gold mine nearby—the exploration team had done an excellent job keeping it secret. Other than a few staff members, no one had known of the mine’s existence.

The moment the townspeople heard the news, they jumped into their cars and drove in droves toward the mountain at the mine’s base. More and more outsiders also started heading for Sunset Town.

Of course, Wang Bo had prepared for this. Atulu, Uncle Bing and his son, and Conley were already fully armed and stationed at the mine entrance—each holding a ticket book, ready to start collecting fines.

After the press conference, Bartier invited Wang Bo to his estate. Wang Bo waved him off. “I don’t have time. I need to hurry back to take command. Who knows how many people are driving their excavators into town right now? I have to protect Sunset Town.”

Bartier frowned. “If you knew this would happen, why announce it at all? What I don’t get is—why would you let people take gold ore for free?”

Bowen chuckled. “What’s there not to understand? Announcing it brings a flood of people carrying refining gear—they’ll get fined, and that’s a tidy profit. And those who just pick up small bits of ore by hand won’t get much gold anyway. But it’ll create a huge sensation and attract even more tourists.”

“Yeah! Two birds with one stone!” Wang Bo said proudly.

Having a helicopter really made things convenient. They had flown from Sunset Town to Auckland in one, and now, aboard the EC-120N, Auckland was quickly left far behind.

With nothing else to do, Wang Bo opened his sand table model. The central orb had turned green—apparently a Level 2 Lord’s Heart was brewing, which made him very excited. He wondered what new surprise it would bring.

Only areas or buildings fused with a “Heart” could be directly controlled by him. Without it, they merely appeared as terrain on the sand table—he couldn’t see inside or interact with anything there.

Zooming in, he first checked the Beast Ranch. Thanks to the Beast Ranch’s Heart, the place was attracting more and more animals—like the giant umbrella lizards, of which there were now dozens roaming about.

These lizards looked fierce but were gentle by nature. They liked resting in trees or hunting small rodents and insects in the grasslands, even helping to balance the environment.

The herd of wild horses had also grown, with several mares giving birth to foals. A few strong little horses were playfully galloping along the outskirts of the herd, full of vitality.

Because they were unmanaged, the wild horses’ physiques weren’t ideal—but the foals were exceptional. It seemed the Beast Ranch’s Heart had subtly improved their breed. The foals had balanced builds, long legs, glossy coats, and an aura of natural nobility.

He noticed movement in the ranch—old cowboys Peterson and Mackson were each slowly riding a horse. Not far from them, a skinny old man was teasing “Tuhao Jin” (the golden pony) with a carrot.

Tuhao Jin still looked like a little nugget—short, stubby, with a tuft of long hair on its forehead. The old man, Allen Malone, kept leaning closer, which irritated Tuhao Jin. It tossed its yellow forelock, then suddenly snatched the carrot and galloped away before Malone could react.

“That cheeky rascal,” Wang Bo snickered. He knew Malone had his eye on Tuhao Jin, hoping to train it for equestrian competitions—but the golden pony clearly wasn’t interested.

Wang Bo himself liked competitions, but not Malone. He didn’t believe that old man could still ride a fierce horse to victory in a major event at his age.

The rest of the people there were tourists—the ranch had become quite an attraction, full of wild animals. Sometimes even the mystic cranes would visit, and visitors could see many species there, especially deer herds.

After watching for a while, Wang Bo turned his attention to the Pasture area on the sand table. Zooming in, he found the Spirit Spring.

On both sides of the sparkling spring were several white yaks drinking water. Amid the snowy whiteness, a few tiny blue dots caught Wang Bo’s eye.

Adjusting the view, he zoomed in and saw that those dots were a kind of wild duck, happily paddling about in the spring.

There were wild ducks in both the pasture and the ranch, but not like these. These ducks had bluish-gray feathers with distinctive chestnut markings on their sides. Their eyes were yellow, and their beaks a pale pink—adorable to look at.

Nothing special about ducks, but something about them felt familiar. Wang Bo scratched his head, thinking hard, until it hit him—he’d seen them on money!

He pulled out his wallet—but only had 100s, 50s, and 1s. None of those had ducks. So he turned to Bowen and said, “Give me a ten-dollar bill.”

Bowen frowned. “What for?”

Wang Bo took the $10 note and flipped it over. There it was—a duck, almost identical to the ones he saw on the sand table. The coloring was vivid, lifelike, and the bill even had a tactile texture. Running his fingers over it, it felt as though he were really stroking the feathers of those blue wild ducks.