MTLNOVEL Chapter 117: Treasure Map (Extra for Monthly Tickets!)_1
"What is this?"
Dean looked at the sheepskin scroll in his hand, somewhat surprised.
A hidden pocket, closed with a button, was sewn under the man's sleeve. Dean took the sheepskin scroll out of it.
It was a very rudimentary map resembling the area around the small lake where the human-skin scarecrow had been. On top of the map was a series of utterly random numbers.
"This looks a bit like a treasure map. Oh right, I remember this mountain range. Back in the cowboy days, it used to hide a gang of outlaws, and they seemed quite fond of hoarding gold."
Dean's eyes lit up, and he carefully put away the sheepskin scroll.
Consider it a reward for his moment of benevolence. Whether it's useful or not, it's at least interesting.
Because of the discovery of the sheepskin scroll, Dean did another quick search of the cave and found a bag of scattered U.S. dollars, amounting to more than ten thousand dollars in total.
He also found cell phones, camcorders, watches, and so on—a whole pile of them. Most of these gadgets were out of power, except for one pink camcorder that turned on with a press of a button.
Dean suspected that this camcorder belonged to the girl on the platform.
"I wonder if there are any clues to the treasure map inside."
He first called Massa, asking him to come over. Then, with some anticipation, he started to play the footage on the camcorder.
A moment later.
He removed the camcorder's memory card, crushed it, and threw the camcorder back among the rest of the electronics.
The contents weren't extensive, but they did clarify the situation for Dean.
The girl's father had gone into the mountains to hunt for treasure and hadn't returned overnight. Worried, the girl drove there with a gun, hoping she might also hunt some game along the way.
Indeed, the young girl on the platform was the clumsy hunter Dean and his partner had encountered earlier.
The video didn't show what happened next, but the outcome was right before his eyes.
"Truly a land of sin."
Dean found himself feeling unusually sentimental today.
He rubbed his face with both hands, walked to the cave opening for some fresh air, and silently lit a cigarette, waiting for Massa to join him.
The sky gradually darkened.
Around five in the afternoon, Massa arrived with a smile. "I'm glad you're okay, Dean. We've both struck it rich."
Dean pointed at the cave entrance. "There's some loose cash in there. If you can, take care of burying the father and daughter on the platform properly for me."
"There are victims here too?" Massa asked, walking inside curiously. Then he exclaimed, "Fuck! This creepy stuff scared me to death!"
He went from shocked to delighted, running out with the two human-skin suits he found on the ground. "I was worried you'd damaged these."
"They're worth a lot?"
"Yes! The Skinning Brothers must have slaughtered at least forty or fifty people to make these two monstrous things. Look, you can find faces from children to adults, men to women. If we sell these, I'll tell anyone offering less than half a million dollars to get lost!"
"Don't we need to hand them over as evidence?"
Massa scoffed. "To hell with the evidence. Dean, you don't know how murky the waters are here. If we turn these in, these items will show up on the black market the next day. Better we sell them than let that bunch of bastards benefit."
Dean shook his head. "But I'm planning to burn them all, including those human-skin scarecrows. Burn everything!"
"Buddy, I must be hearing things," Massa said, his voice rising. "These things, along with the tools in the cave, could net us at least an extra million dollars. That's a million dollars!"
Faced with such profit, Massa became somewhat frantic. "If you're worried about the mission, we don't need to bother with that damn stuff! We risked our lives to kill the Skinning Brothers. The souls of the murdered can rest in peace, and these items are our rightful spoils. You shouldn't even think about wasting them!"
Dean's gaze turned cold as he looked into Massa's eyes and said seriously, "I said, burn all the bodies!"
Massa swore. When Dean stared at him, his expression serious and intense, Massa felt as if a wolf standing on its hind legs was menacingly eyeing his throat. He was certain that if he dared to voice any disagreement, the wolf would pounce and rip out his throat without hesitation!
He lowered his head, not daring to meet Dean's gaze any longer, and said quietly, "Dean, I know you killed the Skinning Brothers, but I'm really short on cash."
"Your reason."
"My daughter has leukemia. To maintain her normal life, I need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year!"
Dean was silent for a moment, then patted Massa's shoulder. "I understand. But if you have a choice, you don't need to make money this way. Take the tools. You handle everything here, and just give me two million U.S. dollars when it's done."
"Dean..."
Dean waved his hand and walked away.
Night fell.
Harry was blasting DJ rock music as he pulled up in his car in front of Dean. "Whoa, Dean! Weren't you off at FBI training? What brings you to this remote place?"
"It just finished, so I'm heading home."
"So soon?" Harry looked concerned. "Buddy, don't tell me you got kicked out. I heard those sons of bitches love to pull shit like that."
Dean was about to reply but then noticed Harry's lower body, an odd expression crossing his face. "I'm fine; I completed the training. But I think you're the one with a problem."
Harry followed Dean's gaze and then screamed, "Fuck! I was about to play 'Santa on a Reindeer' with my girlfriend when you called. I completely forgot about her and left her at home!"