HLM – Chapter 800 The Temptation of Gold

The gold mine had become Sunset Town’s biggest attraction for tourists. There was no need for advertisements — word of mouth alone brought in enough visitors.

Wang Bo was delighted by the sight. He even had a new road built, directly connecting Highway No. 8 to the foot of the mountain — a stretch of 6.5 kilometers.

The road was still under construction and couldn’t be completed for at least another month or two, so they had to drive across wasteland to get there.

Before heading to the mine, Wang Bo first went to fetch some guns — the SL8 rifle he had bought earlier, along with the shotguns belonging to Atu and his men. He distributed them among a few of his male classmates.

“What’s this for? We going into the mountains for a real-life CS game?” Lu Yang joked as he lifted the gun and aimed playfully.

Wang Bo was startled. He quickly pushed the muzzle upward toward the sky and shouted, “That’s a real gun! Don’t ever point it at anyone!”

The imitation guns had been so realistically crafted that these amateurs didn’t even realize they were holding actual firearms.

Uncle Bing stepped forward to instruct them: “This here is the safety. Without my permission, no one is allowed to turn it off — absolutely no one!”

“What do we need real guns for?” Zhao Xiaohui asked nervously.

Wang Bo smiled. “We’ll go hunting along the way. Just digging rocks is boring — let’s see how your luck holds up. Maybe we’ll bag a deer.”

“This really is a real gun?” Zhang Rui stroked the SL8’s body, then nodded. “Yeah, it does feel different — better balance, and there’s even wear on the muzzle.”

“Be careful, all of you,” Wang Bo reminded again before leading them toward the base of the gold mine.

The area around the mine was crowded with tourists. In fact, it was hard to say whether they were really tourists — some people just drove over hoping to get lucky and find a piece of high-quality gold ore.

When Wang Bo got out of the car, he noticed a TV crew filming. Sunset Town’s gold mine had truly gone viral.

A female reporter recognized him immediately and came forward with her microphone to interview him.

Wang Bo didn’t have time for that. He used to love interviews, but ever since Sunset Town’s fame exploded, the number of requests had become overwhelming — now he found them more annoying than flattering.

Before he could refuse, Uncle Bing had already stepped in politely, smiling as he said, “Sorry, this is his private time. If you want to conduct an interview, please go to the government office building during working hours. Our mayor will be happy to cooperate then.”

The reporter didn’t insist and nodded before leaving.

New Zealanders had a strict sense of work-life balance — especially celebrities and public figures. During working hours, everything followed regulations. But once the day ended, their time was their own, free from interruption. Personal time was as sacred as private property.

Wang Bo led his classmates up the mountain. The gold mine’s discovery was still recent, and since there weren’t that many New Zealanders around, the area hadn’t been fully excavated yet.

Most people didn’t know the exact boundaries of the mine — the exploration report was confidential. Since Wang Bo and the bank had chosen not to release it, no one else could know.

As they climbed, Fan Dong stomped on a rock and said, “This is the gold mine? Why don’t we stop here and start digging?”

Wang Bo replied, “All the loose rocks here have already been picked clean. What could you possibly find? Follow me — I’ll take you to the rich section.”

Some of the nearby treasure hunters started following them. They couldn’t understand Chinese, but they guessed that Wang Bo and his group were headed somewhere valuable.

Wang Bo raised his voice and said in English, “There’s no point following us, folks. We’re going hunting up the mountain.”

As he spoke, he lifted his gun slightly as a signal.

Some believed him and scattered to continue searching, while others still followed in suspicion.

Wang Bo shrugged — their choice. He led his classmates higher up the slope until they reached mid-mountain, where the tail of their “followers” finally gave up. The group realized that going any higher didn’t make sense; the mine couldn’t possibly stretch that far.

Once they were alone, Fan Dong said eagerly, “So what now? Want to double back and surprise them?”

Wang Bo pointed upward. “Actually, the mine isn’t all one continuous area. There’s another smaller section up there — full of rich ore.”

Indeed, there was another small mine — though not a natural one. After discovering the gold, Wang Bo had secretly moved several pieces of rich ore to a concealed area using his sandbox plan. It was his private stash, prepared for his own people.

Late spring and early summer were the best times in New Zealand — not too hot, plenty of sunshine, and bright blue skies. The mountain was lush with greenery, the plants and trees thriving freely in their untouched natural state, radiating a wild beauty.

Along the way, they came across a patch of flowers. The girls immediately ran over, delighted, taking out their phones to snap photos.

Wang Bo glanced at the blossoms and explained, “Those are gardenias. In autumn, the petals change color — from yellow to red.”

A few squirrels hopped out, chasing each other across the branches. One of them slipped and fell mid-chase — as it dropped, its big fluffy tail spread open like a parachute, slowing its fall.

When it landed, the little thing stumbled and rolled, getting dirt all over its face. It looked up curiously at the humans watching it.

Zhu Fang extended her hand cautiously, and the squirrel, unafraid, blinked and sniffed her fingers.

Just then, Zhuang Ding trotted over. The squirrel panicked, darted up the tree, and disappeared among the branches.

The other squirrels seemed to be waiting for it — when it rejoined them, they all scampered off together, chittering.

“They’re so cute!” the girls gushed, their maternal instincts flaring. “That little one’s red! I’ve never seen that before.”

“Cute? Hardly,” Wang Bo chuckled. “That’s a New Zealand red squirrel — bold little things. They’ll fight cats for food and even bite kids if provoked.”

Fan Dong pointed toward the tree and ordered jokingly, “Zhuang Ding, go catch one!”

The dog, smart as a six-year-old child, understood the command perfectly — but it had no intention of obeying. It gave Fan Dong a disdainful glare, snorted, and trotted back to Wang Bo’s side.

Hou Haibo burst out laughing. “Damn, Fan, even the dog looks down on you now!”

Laughing and joking, they eventually reached a grove of kauri trees. Zhang Rui, carrying his gun, looked around enthusiastically. “Man, it’s so nice here. Feels like a natural oxygen bar — even climbing doesn’t feel tiring.”

Wang Bo smiled. “No need to climb further — this is the small mine. Do whatever you like. Take a good look around; I’ve found several nice pieces of gold ore here before.”

Uncle Bing reminded them, “Don’t use your gun stocks to smash rocks — you could accidentally set off a round if the magazine gets hit.”

Everyone nodded, taking out the small hammers they had prepared and scattering to search.

Zhang Rui, ever the gun enthusiast, came up to Wang Bo and said, “Forget digging — how about we go hunting instead?”