Joining Operation Condor

When Hao Shuai emerged from a secluded alley and looked at the European-style streets around him, he could not help feeling relieved. Good thing I was teleported to Europe. If I'd been sent to some corner of Africa, I'd probably have had to give up on this treasure hunt.

After all, he did not understand the languages of Africa's indigenous peoples, and the plot had never specified where the gold was.

As Hao Shuai wandered around, trying to determine where he was, he arrived at a plaza. Seeing how bustling it was, he began strolling through it. When he came to a stall selling small handicrafts, he stopped.

It was not the items on the stall that caught Hao Shuai's attention. They were all clay trinkets, obviously worthless at a glance.

What caught Hao Shuai's attention was the stall owner behind it: an Asian girl in jeans and a red gauze blouse, her hair casually pinned up. She wore a watch and beaded bracelets on her elbows, and judging by their color, they had not been worn for long.

She had to be the Japanese beauty named Peach from the movie!

Watching the girl blow into a ceramic whistle, Hao Shuai was about to step forward and greet her.

But someone moved faster than Hao Shuai. He saw a man squat down in front of the stall before him, and he froze.

The person Hao Shuai saw was none other than Brother Long. No, here he was called Jack. Seeing Brother Long in person, Hao Shuai was still thrilled. After all, he had grown up watching his movies.

Jack appeared here in Spain, and he'll be meeting the Earl soon. That means the treasure hunt is about to begin. I need to find a way to join them.

Hao Shuai slowly walked over and crouched beside the stall as well. The girl smiled and held out her hands to the two men who had arrived one after the other. "Please, feel free to look around!"

Hao Shuai looked at Brother Chen Long's outfit. He was so young at this point.

"Excuse me, are you Asian Hawk Jack?" Hao Shuai asked.

"You know me?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Yes. My name is Hao Shuai. I'm Chinese, and I'm an explorer too. You're my idol. I became an explorer because of you."

"Haha, I didn't know I was famous over there too." Jack glanced at Hao Shuai and said happily.

"Of course. The name Asian Hawk is renowned everywhere. If I may ask, did you come to Spain for another expedition? Could I join you?" Hao Shuai flattered him.

"You want to join me on an expedition? It's very dangerous," Jack said.

"Since I dared to become an explorer, I'm not afraid of danger. Besides, I've practiced martial arts since I was little. Handling a few people won't be a problem." After saying that, Hao Shuai demonstrated his strength by smashing a pebble with one palm strike.

"Fine. From now on, we're partners."

No matter when or where, having a handsome face that inspired trust at first sight made everything twice as easy. Just like now, when Hao Shuai asked to join, Jack agreed without much hesitation.

"Thank you, Jack. I think we'll become a world-famous adventure duo," Hao Shuai said.

"Hello, are you Chinese?" the female stall owner asked in clumsy Chinese.

"Yes, we're both Chinese," Asian Hawk replied.

"Hello, I'm from Japan. My name is Peach. It's very nice to meet you. I know it's sudden, but could I trouble you to watch these goods for me? I need to use the restroom."

Jack spread his hands. "Sure. It's no trouble. We don't have anything else to do anyway."

"Jack, you watch the stall for the pretty lady first. I'll go back to the hotel and get my luggage, then I'll meet up with you here," Hao Shuai said, taking the opportunity.

In truth, Hao Shuai had no luggage at all. He merely needed an excuse to leave and a reason to explain why he did not have a passport.

"Fine, but hurry back," Jack said helplessly as he was left alone to watch the stall.

After saying goodbye to Jack, Hao Shuai left. He found somewhere to wait for over ten minutes, then returned to the stall.

By then, Jack had already made contact with the Earl's people. Hao Shuai walked up to Jack and said, "Jack, my luggage was stolen from the hotel. My passport and everything else were inside. What should I do?"

"Stolen? Reporting it to the police probably won't get it back. We can only go to the Earl's place first and figure out how to replace your passport later," Jack replied.

Soon, the two arrived at the Earl's home.

"Oh, Jack, you're finally here." The Earl greeted Jack happily when he saw him.

"Hi, Earl. Let me introduce you. This is my partner, Hao Shuai. He'll be joining me on the expedition."

As Jack introduced Hao Shuai, he also noticed several other people in the room.

"Well, I never expected the lone-wolf Asian Hawk to find himself a partner. Perfect. Let me introduce you as well. This is Ada, a world-renowned desert expert."

"These two are United Nations agents Extra A and Extra B."

Seeing Jack's puzzled expression, the Earl continued, "This mission is to head into the Sahara Desert in Africa, find a secret base built by the Nazi German army during World War II, and excavate the gold hidden within. The United Nations came to me, and you, Asian Hawk, were the first person I thought of."

Only then did Jack understand. So the real employer was someone else.

Jack then said to the two agents, "It's been so many years. Who knows where that gold is now?"

After hearing Jack's words, Extra A replied, "Only Adjutant Hans and his ten subordinates, who handled the gold back then, knew where it was. No one knows the exact location. We can only provide you with a rough area. Once you reach the destination, you'll have to find it yourselves. But we have the key to open the treasure vault."

After saying that, Extra B took a key from a safe and handed it to the Earl.

"All right, Asian Hawk. That's the situation. I think you should start preparing."

After hearing the Earl, neither Hao Shuai nor Jack had any objections. Then the desert expert Ada asked, "Earl, I have a question. If disagreements arise on the way to find the gold, who should we listen to?"

The Earl replied, "You can discuss that among yourselves."

Ada immediately said, "All right, then I'll be in charge along the way. Listen to me. We'll meet at the café tomorrow morning at ten."

At the mention of ten tomorrow morning, Asian Hawk quickly objected, "Um, I have something else to do tomorrow morning."

"We agreed that I'd be in charge along the way. We meet at ten tomorrow morning. Any other questions?"

Jack could only say awkwardly, "All right, no more questions. We'll meet tomorrow morning."

The next day, inside a café.

Ada looked at Asian Hawk and asked, "Jack, what do you know about the location of the gold?"

"I only know that it's full of sand," Jack answered simply.

Ada said helplessly, "It's not merely full of sand. The daytime temperature reaches sixty degrees Celsius, while nighttime temperatures fall below zero. And the first thing we need to solve is how we'll get drinking water in the desert."

"Hao Shuai, according to this information, an Adjutant's descendant lives here. Let's go find them." Before Ada could finish, Jack and Hao Shuai had already turned around and fled from Ada's dull science lecture.

"Hey! Wait for me! I'm going too! And what about solving the water supply problem?"

Hao Shuai and Jack drove to the address where the Adjutant's descendant lived. Jack vaulted over the courtyard wall in a few steps, intending to show off his skills to Hao Shuai. But Hao Shuai simply pushed open the gate and walked in, giving Jack a look usually reserved for the intellectually challenged.

Hao Shuai: (¬_¬)

After entering the house, the two began searching separately for clues.

Suddenly, they heard the door open, followed by a rush of hurried footsteps.

Hao Shuai knew Elsa had returned. The two of them hurriedly hid.

The movie's comical scene still played out. After a frantic scramble, both of them breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, they had not been discovered. Then the abandoned-by-the-world Sand Sculpture Duo appeared. From Jack subduing them to letting them go, the story that unfolded in that short span was wonderfully entertaining.

Hao Shuai discovered another benefit of traveling between worlds: he could watch iconic scenes up close. Whether they were touching, absurd, sentimental, or funny, he could experience them firsthand. It was even better than watching in 3D.

While Hao Shuai was planning the purpose of his future world travels, Jack was already explaining the treasure hunt to Elsa.

As a result, Elsa became extremely interested in the treasure hunt and decided to find a way to join the team, hoping to uncover the truth behind her grandfather's disappearance.

After spending half the day without finding any useful clues, Jack and Hao Shuai could only return to the hotel and continue searching the next day.