Chapter 652: Go Back to Take a Look
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Both Surgi and Hughes were also interrogated by the police.
America's crime rate was ranked one of the highest in the world. Elites within the state police were not to be trifled with. After investigating the crime scene, they confirmed the nature of the crime: internal and external collusion.
The state of Arizona was extremely strict in regards to the management of the national park. Even though the area of the national park was huge, the whole place was surrounded by fences. If machines were to be brought in, the only way was to go through several front gates.
The ore excavators could not be hidden and brought inside due to their large size and the security guards controlling every gate. The only way was to place them in the trunks of trucks.
As such, the police determined that without coordinating with the staff or security guards, the machines could not have been brought into the park.
Taking this point into consideration, Li Du was not very suspicious. Even though he drove a pickup truck into the park, every vehicle search was recorded in a register.
The register showed that his pickup truck did not carry any suspicious items and so, he was innocent.
The investigators from the state police left in the evening. Inside the park's office, the employee with a ponytail banged a table and flared up. "F*ck those idiots! What are they going on about? They think we committed the crime? Giving us trouble?"
Surgi, who was very calm, said, "Bonner, my mate, quiet down a little. This is the duty of the police. Since we have already called the police, we should assist them."
The employee with a ponytail was very upset and bellowed, "But you heard them speaking to us in a tone used for interrogating criminals! They are convinced that we are the culprits!"
Surgi responded, "Let them suspect us, then. They carry out their duties, we carry out ours. Come, let's patrol the park for a while before we get off work."
Both of them boarded an electric-powered car and drove speedily into the park's premises.
When the car passed by the small stone hut, Surgi looked into the distance at Li Du, who was picking at some rocks on the ground, and his mood darkened.
Li Du also saw him and sent the little bug over.
As such, Surgi's gloomy expression was seen clearly by him, while his own expression would definitely not be seen by Surgi since he was still far away.
The car didn't stop here and continued driving before entering the territory of Hughes's group.
Seeing the state police currently interrogating Hughes and the others, Surgi stopped the car.
The employee with a ponytail asked, "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. I have to go ask Hughes some things later. Ask him what the state police said to them. I think those b*stards probably don't feel too friendly towards us."
"Definitely not friendly," the employee with a ponytail responded unhappily. "A bunch of b*stards who only know how to take taxpayers' money!"
As the state police needed to interrogate every gem hunter, which would require a lot of time, they did not spend too much time in Hughes's territory and left after a short interrogation.
After waiting for the state police to leave, Surgi alighted the car and walked to Hughes.
Hughes went over to receive him. "Hey," he whispered, "why did you come over at this time? Did you not see those blue skin dogs are still close by?"
"I'm here to chat with you. Would the police care about that?"Surgi coldly asked.
Hughes shrugged. "Who knows? Don't use that tone with me—I didn't leak anything just now. Those blue skin dogs definitely didn't get anything from me."
Surgi stared at him coldly. "Hope not. Or else, as you know, it won't just be me dealing with you. That old fox, Owen, will also deal with you. He's much more vicious than me."
Hughes waved his hand. "I don't need you to lecture me on this. I understand all of it, okay? What are you exactly here for?"
"I am here to make sure our goods are alright! What else?"
"Definitely no problem," Hughes said confidently. "I hid them on a Kachina tree as you instructed. No one could possibly find them."
"Kachina" was the name he used for the huge petrified tree he hid the gemstones on. It was named by the Native Americans in the past and meant "tree that housed the gods."
Surgi said, "Hopefully. We'll go check on it tonight. As you do things sloppily, I somehow feel that something went wrong somewhere."
Hughes rolled his eyes in discontent and responded, "I do things sloppily? D*mn you, you won't be able to find a person more reliable than me!"
After casually going around the park once and making sure that there were no more unsatisfactory problems, Surgi and the employee with a ponytail separated.
When Surgi got off work, he first went to have a meal of fragrant beef curry rice before finding Hughes again under the cover of night.
Hughes took his drone and frowned. "I feel that it's best if we don't come into contact with each other so frequently for right now. Those blue skin dogs from Phoenix are onto us."
"They've already gotten off from work," Surg said impatiently. "You think they are so devoted to their work that they would work all day and night? Cut the crap, quickly go have a look. If there's no problem, I'm leaving. We do indeed have to contact each other less."
Hughes responded, "You just won't trust me and insist on hiding them in this d*mn park. If it were up to me, I would get them out of here."
"Get them out?" Surgi sneered. "If you ran away with the gemstones, who would I f*king look for?"
This was the problem. Sergi was actually an Indian immigrant who had worked in the Petrified National Park since coming to America.
The Chinese immigrants were not the only ones racially discriminated against—the Indian immigrants were as well.
Surgi was often racially discriminated against at work or in his daily life. He no longer felt like coming into contact with the outside world and remained in the national park.
He had partnered with Hughes to illegally use machines to dig gemstones as he was planning to make a fortune. After which, he would leave Winslow and the national park and find a town, where Indian people gathered, to live in.
After digging up the gemstones, Hughes strongly advocated to bring them out.
However, as Surgi was unfamiliar with the environment outside the national park and Hughes was not a decent person, he would not know what to do if Hughes ran away with the gemstones.
What was most frightening was the possibility of Hughes anonymously tipping him off to the police afterward and getting him thrown into the prison as a scapegoat. It would be over for him if that happened.
Ever since finding the gemstones, he had been persistent in not allowing Hughes to take them away. They had to stay in the national park.
In the meantime, he kept a close eye on Hughes. As long as Hughes could not run away from here, the gemstones wouldn't be taken away either.
However, Hughes didn't intend to run away. On the way, he comforted Surgi in regards to this matter. "We have to work together again. Let's work together once every year. After doing this for five years, we can retire to Hawaii and party."
Surgi looked around cautiously and blurted, "Doing this once is already risky. You want to do this another five times? Humph!"
Very soon, they reached the petrified forest and found the tallest Kachina tree. After working on his laptop for a while, Hughes released the drone.
Switching on the small light installed below the drone produced an intense light that guaranteed the normal functioning of the camera.