Chapter 17: What the Hell Kind of Team Is This?

The van braked hard and stopped outside the police cordon. Its door slid open, and the director, assistant director, operations staff, and a crowd of crew members scrambled out.

Sweating and gasping for breath, the director pushed into the enclosed area. Without so much as looking at Captain Sun, he rushed straight up to Jiang Chen and pointed at his nose, putting on a stern performance.

“Jiang Chen! You’ve disappointed me! Before we started, didn’t I tell you safety came first?”

Jiang Chen nodded cooperatively. “You did.”

The director raised his voice, spittle flying. “And didn’t I stress that you had to obey the law?”

“You did.”

The director slapped his thigh in exasperation. “Then why did you bring people here to rob a tomb?!”

Jiang Chen blinked and spread his hands, sounding perfectly innocent. “We haven’t robbed it yet.”

The director stopped, mouth hanging open, unable to think of a reply. Jiang Chen pointed at the broken pottery jars and bronze bottle on the ground.

“We were just taking a walk in the hills and happened to find these. It’s called finding lost property and handing it in. We were going to give it to the state.”

The director’s chest heaved. He pointed at the robber’s hole, taller than a person, but couldn’t get a word out.

The assistant director leaned in, apparently happy to make matters worse. “Director, strictly speaking, from a literal legal standpoint, he isn’t entirely wrong. They haven’t sold anything yet.”

The director whipped around and glared at him. “Whose side are you on?!”

The assistant director shut up and retreated.

Having finished scolding Jiang Chen, the director put on a flattering smile. He turned to Captain Sun, rubbing his hands. “Captain, about this… out here in the hills, we don’t yet know whether that thing in the ground is an ancient tomb or an old village graveyard, do we? Wouldn’t it be a little hasty to arrest them now?

“Surely we should at least wait for the cultural heritage specialists to assess it. If they confirm it’s an ancient tomb, you can take the contestants away immediately. I won’t stop you!”

The director’s feelings were complicated. Jiang Chen had caused endless trouble in two days and nearly scared him into a heart attack. But the young man had also made their livestream one of the most popular and entertaining on the internet. The show had a legitimate organization, Jiangzhou Television, standing behind it. The director sincerely hoped Jiang Chen wouldn’t end up under arrest. An abandoned air-raid shelter would do nicely; anything that made this a misunderstanding.

Captain Sun, meanwhile, looked at Jiang Chen with deep irritation. On the drive over, he’d resolved to try to send the menace to prison this time. If the young man stayed free, the squad might have to deploy every day. Who could endure a counterterrorism-scale response every time? His officers had been complaining nonstop.

Sun thought it over and snorted. “Fine. The province’s leading archaeology specialist, Professor Liu, is already on his way. They’ll inspect the site. If it’s real…” He tilted his head and fixed Jiang Chen with a stare. “You’re going to prison to sew uniforms this time, kid. Count on it.”

The scene settled into a temporary standoff. Everyone moved aside. Jiang Chen, Liu San, and Chen Ming were placed in a corner of the cordon with their heads down. With the director and SWAT watching, they didn’t dare look too brazen. They acted as though they knew they’d done wrong.

In fact, Liu San was crouched on the ground, whispering to Jiang Chen. “Brother Chen, have you decided how we’ll divide it? Look at all this. It’s definitely a major tomb! We’re really going to get rich!”

The director happened to pass. His sharp ears caught those words, and he spun around, eyes bulging. “What are you three whispering about? Dividing the loot?!”

Liu San jumped, tucked in his neck, and waved his hands with a broad smile. “No, no! You misheard, Director. We were saying the soil is really dirty! We didn’t say anything!”

Before long, several SUVs bearing special access permits raced up the mountain. The experts had arrived.

Professor Liu Jianguo hurried onto the site with a large group of students and archaeological staff. The three contestants and the production crew were pushed farther back to a safe area. Even the livestream camera had to keep its distance.

As soon as Professor Liu got out, he headed straight for the bronze bottle without stopping to greet anyone. He put on gloves and examined it closely with a magnifying glass. Then he went to the edge of the hole and studied the soil layers.

At first he looked calm. Then he grew intensely focused. Soon he was arguing animatedly with several senior experts. After that, he took out his phone and made a grave report. The entire archaeological team’s mood became noticeably serious and tense.

Viewers sensed the change through their screens.

【Popularity】+1 +1 +1 +1…

【Why aren’t the experts saying anything?】

【Look at Professor Liu’s face. Something’s off.】

【Don’t tell me those three clowns really found a major tomb.】

【I came to see when Jiang Chen would be taken away.】

【Now it feels like we’re about to witness history on the news.】

【Jiang Chen: I said I came to film a variety show, but you insist on putting me on an archaeology documentary.】

After his call, Professor Liu strode over to Jiang Chen’s group. Looking around, he asked, “Who first noticed this place and chose the location?”

Every gaze turned to Jiang Chen. The director, sweating heavily, made frantic signals at him, his face nearly twisting out of shape: You menace! Don’t admit you found it yourself! Don’t take the blame!

Jiang Chen didn’t look at him. He stepped forward. “I found it.”

Not only did he admit it, he explained why he’d chosen the spot, reciting every detail the system had supplied.

“It has the main peak at its back, ridges enclosing it on either side, and a dried riverbed in front—a classic jade-belt-around-the-waist formation. There’s also unusual vegetation on the surface and subtle differences in the soil’s color. Seek the dragon and fix the compass bearing among winding mountains; each winding ridge is another gate. There had to be a large underground space here.”

His explanation sounded expert and convincing. The students around Professor Liu stared in disbelief. Even the professor’s eyes widened. Captain Sun sucked in a breath.

This kid was that knowledgeable? Wait. Holy shit! If he was that professional, had this tomb robber crossed provincial borders and come to Jiangzhou specifically to raid a tomb, using the reality show as cover?

Professor Liu suppressed his shock and fixed Jiang Chen with a stare. “Is that your field of study?”

“No,” Jiang Chen answered honestly.

“Did you study history?”

“No.”

“Do you work for an archaeology-related organization?”

Jiang Chen sighed. “Not that either. I’m currently unemployed.”

Professor Liu fell silent and turned to the sweating director. The director waved both hands like windmills. “Don’t look at me! I swear I didn’t know he could do this before he joined the show! His application said his special talent was playing video games!”

Professor Liu inhaled deeply, turned to everyone, and announced solemnly, “Our preliminary survey confirms that this is indeed an extremely important historical site: a large ancient burial. Moreover, it has never before been formally discovered or recorded by our cultural heritage authorities!”

The livestream exploded.

【HOLY SHIT!!!!】

【They really found one?!?!】

【Wait! So Jiang Chen, a geography teacher, and a fortune-teller dug a robber’s hole by hand and found an unknown ancient tomb?!】

【What kind of unbelievable career lineup is this?!】

【Archaeologists: We searched for half a century and found nothing!】

【Production crew: We were just filming a variety show!】

【Jiang Chen: Isn’t this perfectly reasonable?】