Chapter 298

In addition to the gold coins in the chest, there were also golden wine cups, golden rings, golden bracelets, and so on.

The clear color of gold looked a bit homogeneous, and Luke guessed that it might also be related to the location of the treasure hunt.

Forrest Fenn was probably worried that the lake water would leak into the chest and soak the treasure, whereas gold is chemically more stable and won’t have any effect in contact with water.

The next step was how to divvy up the gold artifacts.

There was a small weigher in Ravenna’s car that weighed the gold in batches, and the total weight of the gold was 18.6 pounds, with each person getting 6.2 pounds of gold coins.

In order to ensure the fairness of the division, multiple weighings were made and the distribution was done as evenly as possible.

From the opening of the box to the division of gold coins, this time lasted nearly an hour.

The crowd drove back to the campground, and it was already completely dark.

Raffney was in an excited mood and couldn’t suppress the joy on her face, “When are you guys planning to leave?”

Walker didn’t say anything and looked at Luke who was on the side.

Luke said, “Tomorrow after breakfast.”

Raffney swept her gaze around and worried, “Hey, there are more than just the three of us treasure hunters, and now that we’ve obtained the treasure, we’ll probably be targeted by other treasure hunters.

There might even be people robbing us of our gold coins, shouldn’t we hurry and leave now?”

“Taking the night route will be more dangerous.

This is our campsite, we are more familiar with the surroundings, even if there really are gold coin robbers, I would prefer to wait for them here.” Luke had encountered too many murderers in his investigations, even if there were ungrateful people stealing gold coins, there was nothing to worry about, he was capable of dealing with it.

“I agree.” Walker concurred.

Walker was not considered very familiar with Luke before, but he also knew some of Luke’s deeds, definitely one of the best police officers in Los Angeles, Walker trusted his judgment, being with Luke made him feel safe, which was also the reason why he was willing to let Luke join the treasure hunt.

Seeing that Rivne was still hesitating, Walker urged, “Hey, stay, I’m a judge and Luke is a cop, there’s no safer place than here.

Tomorrow, after breakfast, we’ll leave Big Bear Lake together and bring this trip to a successful conclusion.”

Perhaps because of the experience of treasure hunting together, Rivne had some trust in Luke and the two of them and nodded, “OK, then let’s celebrate tonight.”

Walker laughed, “That’s right, this is a carnival that belongs to the three of us, we must get high.”

The three of them began to prepare dinner.

Pizza, canned smoked herring, anchovy shrimp, beef in sauce, hairy beans, and bananas.

It was all simple food, slightly heated and ready to eat.

“Cheers!”

The three of them opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

Raffney put down her glass, “Luke, Walker, it’s an honor to form a treasure hunting team with you guys, if I were to go it alone, I wouldn’t be able to find the treasure at all.

Oh, it’s hard to describe what I’m feeling right now ……

Thrilled, excited, and even feeling a little surreal.

Thanks.”

Walker said, “Raffney, you did a great job, you didn’t give any less than us.

Without that map of yours, there is no way we could have found the treasure location.

We’re missing one thing as a team, and everyone is important.”

“A toast to our treasure hunting team.” Luke proposed.

He was originally just a punching bag who accidentally joined the adventure treasure hunt at Walker’s invitation, and this first treasure hunt experience in his life also brought him a novel experience.

Raffney took a sip of champagne and asked, “Walker, tell us about your experience, how come a judge in your hall is interested in treasure hunting?”

Luke said, “I’m curious too.”

“I thought you guys had forgotten.” Walker frowned, as if caught in a memory.

“Yes, I was a respected judge, and I loved the job, and I worked hard and was rewarded handsomely for my efforts, living a life that many could only dream of.

But I don’t know when I realized that I hadn’t laughed in a long time and had even forgotten what it felt like to be happy.

I seemed to have lost the instinct to find joy.”

“At first, I thought it was because I had been exposed to too much negativity from trying cases after becoming a judge that I felt unhappy.

But when I carefully recalled my past experiences I realized that this was not the case, and that I had run out of joy even before I became a judge, going back further to college, high school, and elementary school.

Yes, it seems that I lost my joy when I was in elementary school.

My grandfather died in the fifth grade, and since then my life seems to be devoid of happy memories.”

Raffney guessed, “You’re an orphan?”

“My parents died only two years ago, have you ever seen an orphan in her fifties?”

“Are your parents divorced?”

“No, they were very close and lived together all the time.”

“They weren’t a devoted pair of parents? Didn’t like you?”

“No, they were sort of dutiful parents, there were no shortages in terms of living, they gave me the best education possible, and did exactly what they were supposed to do, which was impeccable.”

Raffney wondered, “Then why are you unhappy?”

“They never offered to take me out, I’ve never been to a playground, had a picnic, let alone an outing, and I watched TV as a child on tenterhooks for fear that they’d find out.

I try to, but there aren’t any good memories of my childhood ……”

Raffney said, “Not once?”

“Nope.

My mother was a very boring person, she didn’t even like to eat out, she thought outside restaurants were unsanitary, she would look on the pessimistic side of things when she encountered the slightest thing, she didn’t seem to have any fun in her life.

Even family dinners can become a burden for her. What she thinks about is not the joy of her family getting together.

Rather, she fretted about having to scrub a few more dishes.

In her words, why do people eat?

How good it is to eat one meal a day …… something like that.

She was always full of all kinds of negative energy and loved to curse, especially at my dad.

When I was young this problem was not obvious, the older I get, the more I like to curse.”

“Does she do this in front of outsiders?”

“No, only in front of family.”

Raffney said, “I can understand that, I’ve seen people similar to what you’re talking about, they care a lot about what outsiders say, saving the good for outsiders, and the ones who get hurt are often the ones close to them.”

“That’s right, my parents are in that category, they’d rather lower their standard of living than buy one less piece of clothing.” Walker sighed.

“SORRY, I digress.

I spent my childhood learning all the time, but the only thing I never experienced was the joy of childhood.

This resulted in me not being able to experience joy even when I grew up.

This kind of words may be incomprehensible to many people, and even feel a bit pretentious, but it’s the truth.

The same thing, others may crack a smile, for me …… what’s so funny about it?

I’m in pain, I want to change, but I find …… it’s really hard.”

“The only happy time in my life was probably when I was with my grandfather, he was a happy little old man, not very educated, blue collar, but he was sunny and happy.

Whenever we were together, he would hang out with me.

Not that kind of duty-oriented perfunctory, but really enjoyed playing with me.

The most unforgettable, is that he took me together to the wilderness adventure treasure hunting, driving his old pickup truck, we set up a tent together, looking for hay together, hunting together ……

Although we didn’t end up finding the treasure, it was really fun.

I’ll remember it until the day I die.

It was something I never experienced with my parents, who were competent parents, but more of a responsibility.

Not wanting their children to be any less than anyone else’s.

As for me being happy or not, they never seemed to consider it.

I want to find my happiness, no, rather I want to learn to be happy, so I came here on a treasure hunt, which will be my second unforgettable experience ever.

I’ve been very happy these past few days, and I’m glad I met you all.

Thank you.”

This night, perhaps because of the excitement and joy of finding the treasure, the three talked for a long time.

An older judge.

An energetic police detective.

A single mother in dire straits trying to get custody.

Three people with different status and life experiences form an impromptu treasure hunting team, but successfully find the treasure.

I must say, fate is indeed magical sometimes.

Early the next morning.

Luke brewed a pot of dragon well and sat on a chair, drinking tea while listening to the birds chirping in the trees.

“Ha ……”

Walker yawned and walked out of the RV, “Good morning.”

“Would you like a cup of green tea?”

“Chinese tea?”

“That’s right.”

“Give me a cup, I haven’t had it in a long time, just in time to get nostalgic.” Walker picked up his teacup and took a sip, his eyes scanning around, “Where’s Ravenna? Why is her car gone?”

Luke said, “She left.”

“Why the rush to leave? She didn’t even say hello to us. We were a team. Did ……” Walker seemed to think of something.

“Do we still have our gold coins?”

“Still there, she didn’t take ours.”

Walker breathed a sigh of relief, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted my partner.

But why did she leave without saying goodbye? Was she worried about us robbing her of her gold?”

Luke pointed to the envelope on the table, “She left a letter, you should read it.”

Walker picked up the envelope and opened the letterhead inside, “Luke, Walker ……

By the time you guys read this letter, I’ll be gone.

SORRY, I lied to you guys, my name isn’t Raffney ……

I didn’t believe you guys at first so I didn’t say my real name, I’m really sorry.

Also, Walker, I want to apologize to you, for the record.

The bear that attacked your tent was one that I attracted there with honey, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just wanted that bear to destroy your tent and supplies so that you couldn’t continue your treasure hunt.

I needed the money badly, I desperately wanted the treasure, and I was worried that other people would take it away from me, I’m sorry, I really feel guilty.

I don’t expect your forgiveness, but …… I want to tell you.

Because …… we are a team, I don’t want to leave with regrets.

I summoned up the courage to write this down.

It is quite ridiculous to say that I used honey to lure the bear to your campsite, and as a result, because I was too nervous, I did not cover the honey, and the bear searched for the odor and found my campsite, and likewise destroyed my tent.

I kind of had it coming to me.

However, it was also because of this that I got to know you guys, and I’m really glad to have been your companions.

I will always remember this treasure hunting experience and will put the money to good use.

Thank you all again.

Alena Pruitt.”

Walker sat down on the chair and read the letter carefully twice, “Although I could tell that Raffney, no, it should be Alena was hiding something, I didn’t expect it to be like this ……

Looks like teaming up with you was the right thing to do.”

Luke refilled his cup of tea, “Isn’t that a bit disappointing?”

“A little, but when I think about it, a little relieved.

In the end, she chose to believe us and told us the truth about what happened, along with her real name.” Walker sighed softly.

“You know what?

I’ve been a judge for so many years, tried many cases, and sent many suspects to prison.

There are a lot of people who aren’t guilty of the worst crimes, they …… just chose the wrong path when they were most helpless.

I’ve always wondered ……

If, when they were most helpless, they could have gotten help from others to get out of their predicament, perhaps they would not have taken the path of crime.

But that’s all I can think about.

I am a judge, and when a suspect is on the bench, it means he may have already made a mistake.

It’s already too late.

This time, Irina is in trouble too, and she needs money too.

If she hadn’t formed a team with us, she wouldn’t have been able to get the treasure and probably would have gone down the path of crime as well.

I’m glad I was able to help her instead of judging her.”

“I can understand where you are coming from, and I have been worried that she would steal our gold, not for fear of being stolen, but …… not wanting to catch her myself.” Luke is a police officer, but if everything in life is considered with the thinking of a police officer, it will live a very tiring life.

Just like Walker, it’s hard to feel the joy in life anymore.

Walker asked, “You realized there was something wrong with her a long time ago?”

Luke smiled, “I’m going to make dinner.

After breakfast, it’s time for us to go home.”

After the meal, Luke and Walker cleaned the campground of trash.

They embarked on the road back to the city.

Back in downtown Los Angeles, Luke said goodbye to Walker, returned the RV to the rental car company, and drove his big Ben to his mom’s house.

At noon, he dawdled at his mom’s house to talk about his experiences over the past few days.

Linda at first still some do not believe, treasure hunting things she heard a lot, but that is only heard, really can find the treasure of a handful of people.

Luke didn’t bother to explain, and directly gave her a gold coin.

Linda froze for a while, having lived most of her life it was the first time she received this kind of gift.

She looked at her son’s air of being a tycoon and felt that the treasure was real.

In the afternoon, Luke went home, took a bath, hid the gold coins, took a nap, and saved up his energy and taxes.

In the past two days, because of the treasure matter, his sleep quality was not very good.

Evening.

Luke goes to Daisy’s house for a date, everything is fine in the wilderness, only a little lonely.

The long night is a long lonely sleep.

Young people have a lot of fire, they have to exercise more ……