Chapter 76: Unexpected Events and Training

The ring in question is made of silver with a gold plating, adorned with diamond-shaped decorations on the exterior and featuring some patterns on its sides.

The ring's face employs a unique design with a triangular prism shape, engraved with Gothic-style English letters "IHS" and "MAR," symbolizing significant religious figures in Christianity.

To be candid, during that era, rings with religious motifs like these were quite commonplace. You could even say that among ten rings, eight of them would be of this type. If it weren't for the small cross on the box, this ring might fetch as high as 200 pounds.

Regarding the fact that the ring size being relatively small doesn't necessarily imply that the owner is female: in that time, warriors often wore rings on their pinky or ring fingers to avoid hindrance to their weapon usage.

"It seems I'll have to use another card." After carefully inspecting the ring and its box, Liang En, puzzled about the origin of this object, could only resort to using another [Appraisal (N)] card.

"How is this possible?" Staring at the information conveyed by the card, Liang En's eyes widened. This time, the card had provided him with unprecedented information.

[This is a ring from the 15th century, produced in mainland Europe, and owned by several famous historical figures throughout history.]

[In the 20th century, the ring left England and was brought to the United States. Unfortunately, due to the card user's insufficient level, it cannot read beyond the influence of faith-based forces.]

"Apparently, there are things even the card cannot identify." Observing this, Liang En turned his gaze to his main card, [Historical Explorer (Novice) (UR)], lost in contemplation.

Evidently, the history encapsulated by this item might be more significant than all the artifacts Liang En had found before, to the extent that his current level couldn't unveil the story behind this object.

"But the question is, how do I upgrade this main card?" Liang En, with a headache, looked at the main card that appeared as translucent as glass, wearing a pensive expression. The entire system of this card set relied on his own exploration, and naturally, he had no idea how to upgrade it.

Considering that it's called a "Historical Explorer," upgrading should involve searching for various historical remnants and rediscovering them.

Realizing this, Liang En could only shake his head in resignation and place the ring back into the oak box. It seemed that unraveling the mysteries of this ring would likely take some time.

Upon going outside, Liang En discovered Fan Meng practicing with a firearm in the pasture. It had to be said that as a professional soldier, Fan Meng's marksmanship far surpassed that of someone like Liang En, who had been taught only academically.

"Give it a try." Seeing Liang En emerge from the basement, Fan Meng cleared the chamber and placed the gun on the table. "Since I'm responsible for your safety, I need to gauge your skill level."

"No problem." Liang En nodded and then, using the rudimentary equipment on the field, meticulously mimicked the tactical movements from his mind for practical shooting training.

"Have you secretly joined the military in these past few years—wait, this doesn't resemble military training." After Liang En completed his shooting exercises and confirmed safety, Fan Meng's expression shifted to one of surprise.

Because previously, Liang En had mentioned that he had learned shooting by following online content and receiving a bit of separate training. However, now it appeared that Liang En's shooting technique was hardly distinguishable from that of formally trained soldiers.

"What did you see in my shooting just now?" After placing the gun on the table, Liang En approached Fan Meng and asked, "Why do you say even joining the military wouldn't result in this kind of skill?"

"Because your habits are consistent with those of the East German military," Fan Meng stated directly. "You know we have people from all over in our foreign legion. After the Cold War ended, a group of former East German soldiers joined the foreign legion, so I'm quite familiar with this."

"So, I now believe that you truly are a genius in this area. At least, reaching this level through self-study is extremely rare. Even among the foreign legion, I've only encountered one or two like you."

"So, from now on, we just need to practice coordination a bit." After the praise, Fan Meng continued, "After all, both of us have received professional training. For us right now, the most important thing is to enhance our cooperative understanding."

Thus, over the next three days, the two of them specifically went to a shooting range near Dublin to practice various shooting techniques and, most importantly, coordination. Thankfully, as both of them had received training in this area, their synchronization improved rapidly.

"Alright, I think we've trained to a satisfactory level." After declining the shooting range owner's repeated invitations to become a CQB tactics instructor, Fan Meng said to Liang En.

"After all, we're here for treasure hunting, not to become mercenaries. So, we just need to strengthen the basics in this regard. Other skills can be learned slowly. After all, we're not in a rush to use them."

"By the way, what do we do next?" After the training session, Fan Meng curiously inquired. "I've done some research online these past few days. Our job involves using metal detectors to search barren lands and unearth objects that react."

"That's just one part of our job." Walking out of the shooting range, Liang En took out his phone and shook it. "Next, we're going to Surrey County. There's an entire old neighborhood there that needs to be demolished. So, we're going to help them clean out their attics."

Possibly due to the relatively humid climate in the UK, people tend to throw all sorts of unwanted items into their attics. Therefore, there might be many valuable things left in the attics.

For treasure hunters like Lawrence and the others, each attic is like a lottery ticket. It might provide valuable finds unexpectedly.

So, on that day, the two of them returned to London. After spending a night in Liang En's house, they set out the next day in the truck towards Guildford, a city in the western part of Surrey County.

This city isn't particularly large, even today it only has a population of around 140,000 people. It's nestled amidst the rolling hills of Surrey County countryside. Historically, due to its location between London and Portsmouth, Guildford gradually became an important stopover between the capital and the port.

For travelers, it's a pleasant place. From a historical standpoint, the city houses the University of Surrey and Guildford Cathedral, alongside the preserved traditional cobbled High Street and riverside pathways.

Moreover, the city boasts modern shopping and entertainment facilities. Guildford High Street is home to almost 240 retailers, hundreds of restaurants and cafes, making it a shopper's paradise.

However, all of this was unrelated to Liang En and Fan Meng. Upon arriving in the city, they headed directly to an old neighborhood on the northwest outskirts, preparing to participate in a small-scale auction organized by the city government.

"Are you sure we can find anything valuable in this place?" After getting out of the car, Fan Meng looked at a row of dilapidated houses on the side of the road.

It's no wonder he had doubts, as these houses were peeling and the glass on the windows was broken. Weeds and shrubs grew wildly in the gardens, presenting a rather deteriorated appearance.

"Good things are likely to be found in places like this." After a careful look, Liang En said, "In our line of work, the fancier a house looks, the less potential it has. These old houses, with history, are more likely to yield profits."