Chapter 537 Betting on Stones (2/2)

He was lucky; after the little bug had flown about for a while, he saw a similarly orangey-red stone under a pile of rocks.

After looking at the stone from all directions, he was quite sure it was a fire opal. However, based on the appearance, it did not look as good as the one Cyril held.

After memorizing the opal's location, he said, ”It's probably quite easy searching for opals, right? Just look for one in the piles of rocks?”

One of the hunters burst into laughter. ”Hear ye! Hear ye! Come hear what this outsider has to say! It's easy to search for opals in piles of rocks? Yes, as easy as looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Giving tit-for-tat, Li Du said, ”What's so difficult about it?”

”There's nothing difficult about it if you've got God's blessing,” Cyril said with disdain. ”Otherwise, a rookie like you probably won't find a single one after a year here.”

He wasn't exaggerating; the national park spanned hundreds of hectares and had billions of rocks. It was not easy searching for opals. The odds were lower than one in a million.

”How about this, buddy?” Li Du said. ”You think finding opals is tough, right?”

Cyril said, ”For us old hands it's not difficult. But for a rookie? Definitely tough!”

”How about we bet on it? On me finding an opal within an hour, not a year. How about it?”

”One hour?” The surrounding gem hunters guffawed. ”Cyril, take him on, you're sure to win!”

Cyril was not stupid; any normal person would know that he was sure to win this bet. Li Du was obviously a normal person, so why would he make this bet? He must have had something up his sleeve.

So, he warily asked, ”What are we betting on?”

”If I win, your opal belongs to me. If I lose, I'll give you 20,000 dollars—your opal is worth a max of 20,000 dollars, right?”

Cyril hesitated; 20,000 dollars was a huge sum of money. With it, he could go enjoy himself in the red-light district every day for almost half a month, doing nothing except indulging in pleasure.

But Li Du's solemn expression unnerved him; he had the feeling that this young man was not to be trifled with.

His cautiousness surprised Li Du. However, he had plenty of experience dealing with such people. ”No guts, right?” he asked. ”Since you've got no guts, why did you laugh at me just now? Where did you get the courage then?”

The gem hunters were infuriated; someone yelled, ”Take him on, Cyril. There's no way this b*st*rd can find an opal within an hour—impossible!”

”Yeah! I haven't found anything in two whole months. How long did you say you've been looking, Cyril?”

”The most important thing, Cyril, is that he can only look on his own site. We've all looked there plenty of times—there ain't even a piece of dogsh*t there!”

”Alright,” Cyril said flatly, ”the bet is on!”

Almost immediately, someone stepped out wanting to be the referee. It was a gem trader named Owen Dell, who was an eminent and authoritative local personality.

Cyril handed him his opal while Li Du promptly transferred 20,000 dollars via an online bank transfer into Owen's bank account.

Owen made sure everything was in order before waving his hand with a laugh. ”Get to work, guys!”

It was not an easy job being a gem hunter. It required the combination of patience, physical strength, and keen eyesight, not to mention a lot of endurance.

When Li Du had registered to be a gem hunter, he had also bought a set of tools which included a hammer, a hook, a magnifying glass and a small pickaxe.

Using the pickaxe, he started haphazardly sweeping about the rock pieces on the ground.