Chapter 70: Abandoned Town

After carving out several chunks of good meat and extracting the tusks from the slain wild boar, Liang En, along with Old Arthur, returned to their residence with their spoils.

As for the rest of the wild boar, dealing with it was also straightforward. Just now, Old Arthur had notified the Central American and American workers on the farm who were not particularly skilled with firearms via a walkie-talkie, allowing them to share in these spoils as well.

Of course, all combined, they would be able to consume only about 1/5 of the boar, which was already quite impressive. However, there were quite a few foxes and wolves in the vicinity, so it would take just a day or two for these deceased pigs to be thoroughly decomposed by these natural scavengers.

For the Americans, a time like this naturally called for a barbecue celebration. Over barbecue and beer, Liang En quickly got acquainted with Old Arthur, leading to discussions about some intriguing topics.

"Liang, what brings you to this side of America?" After swallowing a piece of roasted wild pig meat, Old Arthur curiously asked.

Unlike the cities on the East or West coasts, in this somewhat remote town, you might not see more than ten outsiders in a year. Hence, Old Arthur found it a bit peculiar why Liang En would show up here.

"I'm here in search of treasures." After a brief pause, Liang En replied, then pulled out a bunch of similar news articles from his phone to show Old Arthur.

"For instance, if I could find a spurs used by a famous Western personality, I could sell it for thousands of dollars on the East Coast or even in England."

"Can you really make money in this line of work?" Old Arthur widened his eyes and then quickly added, "I've seen similar shows about treasure hunting in storage units on TV, but I thought those might be scripted by the directors beforehand."

"Well... it's not something everyone can make money in," Liang En pondered and explained. "You need a certain level of expertise, keen observation skills, and a bit of luck."

"For example, in the UK, a complete novice found an ancient Viking treasure with their first use of a metal detector, but there are also unlucky ones who have toiled for over a decade and only ended up with a few worthless silver coins."

"Oh, I see." Satisfied with his curiosity, Old Arthur leaned back on his chair and started thinking. Soon, he came up with a question as if struck by an idea. "By the way, do old places always leave behind valuable stuff?"

"It's hard to say, it really depends on the context," Liang En shrugged. "Precious items could come from the middle of nowhere, while some old buildings might only have trash left inside."

"But at least, based on the information I've gathered from conversations with my colleagues, it's indeed somewhat easier to find treasures in settlements that have been around for a while."

"If that's the case, I do know a good spot." After pondering for a moment, Old Arthur said, "About five or six kilometers north into the mountains from my ranch, there's an abandoned mining town."

"That town used to serve the surrounding coal mines, but as the mines were depleted, the entire town was abandoned. Not a single soul was left in the town shortly after World War II ended."

"That does sound like a good place, but I'm concerned about whether searching there might violate any laws," Liang En asked, a bit worried, after considering Montana's gun ownership rate.

"You know I'm a foreigner, and I came to the US for tourism and treasure hunting. It would be terrible if I accidentally got shot or ended up in jail."

"You can rest assured about that. There are plenty of towns like this in the nearby mountains, and they're simply too numerous to monitor. Besides, those places don't fall under private property," Old Arthur said with a smile.

"As for the US government, we won't be digging up anything of significant historical value. So even if we're discovered, it would likely just result in fines."

So, the next morning, Liang En drove his pickup truck and headed into the mountains with a pile of treasure hunting equipment. As for the metal detectors and such, those were prepared by Mr. Bruce beforehand and were now handed over to Liang En for use.

Unexpectedly, the road through the valley leading into the mountains was remarkably smooth. Despite not receiving any maintenance for over half a century, the road allowed Liang En's pickup truck to traverse it without any issues.

Thinking about it, this used to be the sole transportation route for shipping coal from the mountains, so it wasn't hard to understand why it had endured to this day.

After driving on the mountain road for about fifteen minutes, a typical American town appeared in a valley at the end of the road. However, due to decades of neglect, the entire town had mostly merged with nature.

"It seems this search is just for some fun." Liang En's excitement cooled by half as he looked at the scene before him. This environment was clearly not conducive to preserving various items.

After entering the center of the town, Liang En realized that the level of corrosion in the entire town was even worse than he expected. For instance, the tavern that used to be downtown had completely collapsed and was now covered in vegetation.

"I feel like there won't be much to find here." Liang En shook his head helplessly at the chaotic scene before him.

In theory, abandoned public places like taverns are often more likely to yield valuable items than residential homes. However, under the current circumstances, even if there was something valuable inside, it likely had turned into a pile of trash.

After circling around the town, Liang En returned to the location of the tavern. However, this time, instead of attempting to clear away the debris on the surface, he went around to the back of the building.

As expected, when Liang En cleared away a pile of rotted wooden planks formed by fallen fence walls in the backyard, a decaying blackened wooden door appeared on the ground.

After breaking the door with a crowbar and hammer, Liang En waited for a while for the gases inside to dissipate before putting on a gas mask and descending.

It must be said that this town was likely quite prosperous back in the day, as the ladder leading to the cellar was not the typical wooden ladder commonly found in the western regions, but a set of stone steps. This made it convenient for Liang En to enter the cellar.

The cellar was entirely constructed of stacked stones. While there were some leaks in certain areas, overall, it was well-preserved. At least in comparison to the wooden surface structures, it was in much better condition.

"Wow, my luck isn't too bad." Raising an eyebrow, Liang En gazed at the rows of barrels on both sides of the cellar and the bottles covered in dust on the shelves.

In that era, in regions where logistics weren't particularly convenient, bars often stockpiled large quantities of alcoholic beverages. After being abandoned locally, aside from some valuable varieties, few people would bother taking those things away.

Furthermore, in complex terrains like this, people might have discarded or forgotten various items.

However, as time passed, some things that were once commonplace might gradually become valuable. These items that appreciated over time were precisely Liang En's target in this search.

Thinking about this, Liang En took out the metal detector he carried with him and began scanning around the cellar. In places with poor lighting like underground cellars, it was possible that some coins or even jewelry had been forgotten there.