Chapter Summaries

Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun learned the competition rules and arrived at the New York Port Storage Center for the first group auction. As the first unit opened for inspection, Ye Yuan used his perception to examine its contents.

• Li Shiyun explained that contestants began with equal capital, were ranked by their remaining money, and could only count prices set by the competition's appraisers.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun arrived by truck at the crowded New York Port Storage Center, where the first round would eliminate half the contestants.
• A manager announced that thirty teams would compete for twenty-five units and warned that each team could inspect a unit for only one minute without touching anything.
• Ye Yuan let Li Shiyun inspect Unit 8 as their representative while he examined it from the crowd with his perception.
• Ye Yuan discovered that dusty boxes inside Unit 8 contained books and children's toys.

Ye Yuan passed on the first eighteen warehouses before bidding the full 1,000 Mi Jin for the nineteenth, which contained two rare gold-inlaid jade Commemorative Badges he wanted. After winning it, he opened the warehouse and went to retrieve the badges.

• Ye Yuan inspected the first warehouse, judged its contents worthless, and declined to bid as other treasure hunters drove the price to 1,000 Mi Jin.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun watched a fat Black man win the first warehouse, then followed the crowd to the next auction.
• Ye Yuan found only trash in the second warehouse and continued passing on the following auctions while waiting for a valuable opportunity.
• At the nineteenth warehouse, Ye Yuan spotted two gold-inlaid jade Commemorative Badges among the clothes and immediately bid 1,000 Mi Jin.
• Ye Yuan won the warehouse and took its key, while Li Shiyun went to get the car.
• Ye Yuan opened the warehouse, saw its household furnishings, and headed to the pile of clothes where he had found the badges.

Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun discovered two valuable gold-inlaid jade commemorative badges in a storage unit, then clarified how the competition's next-round funds would be assessed. They continued sorting the unit, with Ye Yuan searching the musty clothes for hidden valuables.

• Ye Yuan found a metal box in an army-green jacket, and Li Shiyun opened it to reveal two commemorative badges.
• Ye Yuan asked Li Shiyun if they had to sell the badges to compete in the next round, and she explained that appraisers would value their finds as their funds.
• Li Shiyun put the box in the car, and she and Ye Yuan began clearing the neatly organized storage unit.
• Li Shiyun noticed the mildew smell in the old clothes, so Ye Yuan took over and checked each garment for hidden valuables before bagging them.

Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun sold the goods from their warehouse and secured 20,800 dollars, then learned Li Shiyun had advanced to the next round. They arrived at the New York Harbor competition venue just before the auction began, where the contestants rushed toward the first warehouse.

• After two hours of sorting, Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun had an appraiser value their finds and secured 20,800 dollars for the next round.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun sold the unwanted furniture, disposed of the trash, and returned to the hotel after lunch.
• The organizers called to tell Li Shiyun she had advanced and needed to reach the New York Harbor Storage Center by nine the next morning.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun hurried to the venue, where the manager explained that bids could not exceed the appraised value of each contestant’s previous warehouse.
• When the staff raised the shutter of Warehouse No. 467, the contestants surged toward the entrance.

Ye Yuan protected Li Shiyun from the crowd and scanned the storage unit, finding only worthless clothes and discarded electronics, so they decided not to bid. As the auction began, other teams debated whether to gamble, while Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun remained relaxed with 20,800 Mi Jin between them.

• Ye Yuan shoved aside a Black man who was about to collide with Li Shiyun, then shielded her from the crowd.
• Ye Yuan scanned the storage unit and found mostly worn clothes and useless electronic components, so he signaled Li Shiyun that they would pass.
• Ye Yuan overheard the two Black men, including Nalai, discuss risking their remaining 3,000 Mi Jin on the unit.
• The auctioneer started bidding at 500 Mi Jin, and Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun stayed out of the competition.

Ye Yuan deliberately drove up the burly Black man's bid on the first warehouse, then watched as it sold for 2,500 dollars. He and Li Shiyun passed on the next several warehouses, confident their existing funds would carry them forward, until a remarkably clean warehouse was opened.

• The burly Black man provoked Ye Yuan, who raised the bid before withdrawing and letting him win the first warehouse for 2,500 dollars.
• Li Shiyun asked whether Ye Yuan had baited the man into bidding higher, and Ye Yuan explained that he had wanted to teach him a small lesson for nearly hitting her.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun passed on four worthless warehouses, and Ye Yuan said their 28,000 dollars in funds should be enough to advance without taking unnecessary risks.
• As the remaining treasure hunters became more agitated and the number of warehouses dwindled, Li Shiyun inspected a newly opened warehouse that was unusually clean.

Ye Yuan bought an apparently worthless storage unit for 300 Mi Jin after noticing something unusual about two pieces of metal inside a small safe. He and Li Shiyun returned to the auction, while Ye Yuan kept his discovery to himself.

• The auctioneer revealed a nearly empty unit containing a broken treadmill and discarded children's toys, but no one bid at the 300 Mi Jin starting price.
• Ye Yuan bid 300 Mi Jin and won the unit, surprising Li Shiyun and drawing amused or sympathetic looks from the other treasure hunters.
• Ye Yuan told Li Shiyun they could keep following the auction because they still had 20,500 in funds.
• Li Shiyun questioned why Ye Yuan had bought the unit despite thinking it was no good, and Ye Yuan privately wondered why two pieces of metal had been kept in a small safe.

Ye Yuan bought an earlier warehouse for 300 Mi Jin after finding two unidentified metal blocks hidden in a safe, while Li Shiyun grew upset that he treated their final M Country treasure hunt as entertainment. At the last warehouse auction, Ye Yuan outbid a rival group for 2,000 Mi Jin, leaving only one opponent.

• Ye Yuan used his perception to discover two unfamiliar metal blocks hidden in a safe and bought the warehouse for 300 Mi Jin.
• As the earlier warehouses sold, Li Shiyun became increasingly nervous and angry because the trip was a farewell to her carefree years in M Country.
• The auctioneer opened the final, dust-filled warehouse, which appeared to be a large household storage unit packed with old belongings.
• Bidding for the last warehouse climbed to 1,500 Mi Jin, leaving only three groups still in contention.
• A sexy white woman bid 1,600 Mi Jin, but Ye Yuan raised the price to 2,000 Mi Jin, prompting her to leave.

Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun bought a storage unit for $2,000, then spent hours hauling out and sorting its contents. After Li Shiyun feared they had lost money, Ye Yuan revealed a box of old photographs and opened an album, leaving her stunned by what she saw.

• Li Shiyun paid the auctioneer $2,000 for the final storage unit while Ye Yuan watched the other bidders leave.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun returned after lunch and began clearing out the unit, with Ye Yuan carrying furniture and Li Shiyun sorting it.
• Li Shiyun complained that the unit's contents might sell for only $800, but Ye Yuan insisted there was still a surprise.
• Ye Yuan carried out the last cardboard box, and he and Li Shiyun found old photographs and an album inside.
• Ye Yuan opened the album, and Li Shiyun gaped at what was inside.

Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun discovered a rare-coin album and found a 1939 Yuna and the Lion gold coin worth $20,000. On the album’s final page, Ye Yuan spotted another gold coin whose design left him speechless, but its value remained unknown.

• Li Shiyun opened the album and learned from Ye Yuan that it was filled with commemorative coins.
• Ye Yuan identified several coins for Li Shiyun, including Chuan Yang and Zuòyáng.
• Ye Yuan found a 1939 British Yuna and the Lion 5 Pound Gold Coin and told Li Shiyun it had sold for $20,000.
• Ye Yuan turned to the album’s final page and was stunned by a gold coin showing the Statue of Liberty and an eagle.

Ye Yuan discovered that the storage unit had contained two valuable Double Eagle Gold Coins, and he explained their history and auction price to Li Shiyun. In another unit, he found two mysterious metal pieces and handed them to an appraiser to identify.

• Ye Yuan told Li Shiyun that the Double Eagle Gold Coins could be worth millions of dollars, leaving her stunned.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun finished clearing the storage unit and went to the unit they had bought for 300 dollars.
• After Li Shiyun left to fetch an appraiser, Ye Yuan used Xu Guoyuan's dagger to open a miniature safe.
• Ye Yuan found two fist-sized silvery metal pieces inside the safe and could not identify their material.
• The appraiser recognized Ye Yuan and asked whether he had found the metal pieces in the storage unit, and Ye Yuan handed them over.

Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun learned that the mysterious metal from their storage units was palladium, bringing the total appraised value to 596,746 US dollars. Li Shiyun decided to withdraw from the Storage Unit Treasure Hunting competition, and the two planned to explore M Nation instead.

• An appraiser valued the items from Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun's storage units, then technicians identified the unknown metal as palladium.
• The appraiser set the total value of the items at 596,746 US dollars, and Ye Yuan later sold the palladium for more than the appraised price.
• Li Shiyun told Ye Yuan that the competition no longer gave her the thrill she sought and said she planned to withdraw.
• Ye Yuan supported Li Shiyun's decision, and she suggested showing him more of M Nation.

Li Yaoming argued with Old Master Li over his search for Chuang Wang's hidden vault and suspected Ye Yuan had uncovered his secret. In New York, Li Shiyun gave Ye Yuan a rare ZIPPO lighter before they set out on an RV trip across M Nation, which continued past a scenic lake.

• Old Master Li urged Li Yaoming to stop investigating the mountains, but Li Yaoming insisted the hidden vault held more treasure and said he had found a way to deal with the creature blocking its entrance.
• Li Yaoming told Old Master Li that Ye Yuan might know his secret because Ye Yuan had looked at him strangely; Old Master Li dismissed the suspicion and left to move into a villa.
• At breakfast in New York, Li Shiyun confirmed she was withdrawing and gave Ye Yuan a first-batch 1933 ZIPPO lighter she had bought for two Mi Jin.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun checked out, returned their rented van, rented an RV, and began a self-driving journey through M Nation.
• On their second day on the road, Li Shiyun drove past a large lake and asked Ye Yuan what he thought of the scenery.

Ye Yuan learned that fishing in America required a license and that California had many detailed fishing regulations, so he abandoned his plan to fish. When Li Shiyun took him to a tackle shop, she obtained a red abalone harvesting license for him, and the shop owner showed him the equipment and warned him to follow the rules.

• Ye Yuan asked Li Shiyun to stop so he could fish, but she explained that he needed an American fishing license.
• Li Shiyun showed Ye Yuan her California freshwater fishing license and described how fishing regulations varied by location, season, and fish.
• Ye Yuan lost interest in fishing and asked Li Shiyun where they were going.
• Li Shiyun drove Ye Yuan to a tackle shop and asked the owner to issue him a red abalone harvesting license.
• Ye Yuan paid forty dollars, gave the owner his passport, and received the license as Li Shiyun explained that a famous red abalone bay lay ahead.
• The shop owner warned Ye Yuan about abalone-harvesting rules and fines, then showed him the available equipment.

Ye Yuan discovered California’s strict red abalone harvesting rules, then went to Sardine Beach to dive despite warnings about dangerous deep water and strong currents. He swam toward the deep-water zone alone as the other harvesters returned to collecting abalone.

• Ye Yuan read the regulations and learned that harvesting was limited to September, four abalones per day, twenty-four per year, and abalones at least seven inches long.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun drove to a beach during red abalone season, where a Fishery Police officer checked Ye Yuan’s permit and warned him that diving could be dangerous.
• Ye Yuan entered the sea without diving equipment and swam toward the deep-water zone.
• Jon and the other harvesters warned Ye Yuan about the thirty-meter depth and undercurrents, but Ye Yuan said he was confident and continued swimming.
• Jon compared Ye Yuan to William Trubridge, and the harvesters stopped watching him and went underwater to collect abalone.

Ye Yuan harvested dozens of large red abalones from a kelp-covered seabed, while the American youths who had mocked him worried that he was in danger. After returning safely, he offered them a giant abalone as thanks; the chapter then shifted to Li Yaoming in a mysterious passageway beneath the Li family's study.

• Ye Yuan found many red abalones in the kelp beds and harvested dozens, including a ten-inch specimen, storing them in his space.
• Jon and the other youths worried when Ye Yuan stayed underwater and went to search for him.
• Ye Yuan surfaced with a giant red abalone, and Jon warned him about the dangers of diving there.
• Bob summoned a Fishery Police officer for help, then was relieved to see Ye Yuan return safely.
• Ye Yuan invited Bob, Jon, and the others to share the fresh red abalone, and Bob eagerly went to tell them.
• Li Yaoming appeared in a mysterious passageway in the Li family's study, carrying a pesticide-sprayer-like object and a pistol.

Li Yaoming tried to kill the white giant python in the hidden cave but escaped only by severing his right leg, then passed out from blood loss after reaching Old Master Li. The story then shifted to California Beach, where Ye Yuan and his companions prepared a seafood feast.

• Li Yaoming sprayed anesthetic into the cave and shot at the white giant python, but neither the spray nor his bullets stopped it.
• The python bit Li Yaoming's right foot and dragged him toward the cave, so he cut off his own lower leg and crawled beyond its range.
• Li Yaoming reached Old Master Li's study and collapsed after asking for medicine and help stopping the bleeding.
• At a California Beach bonfire, Ye Yuan talked with Jon and Bob about catching an unusually large red abalone.
• Two young men returned with yellow stingrays, adding to the group's seafood feast.

Ye Yuan explained why red abalone was scarce and expensive, then promised Li Shiyun he could find a way to raise some for her. The group’s beachside meal ended in alarm when Bob brought back a beautiful Blue Sprite and Ye Yuan warned Li Shiyun that it was poisonous.

• Jon told Ye Yuan that catch quotas made red abalone so expensive that even local fishermen rarely ate it, and Bob said it was his first time trying it.
• Ye Yuan explained to Li Shiyun that online abalone in Huaxia could be Pearl Abalone sold as the real thing and that red abalone could not be farmed on a large scale there.
• Li Shiyun suggested bringing red abalone to Fishing Bay Island, and Ye Yuan said he could raise enough to satisfy her appetite.
• Bob returned from the sea holding a Blue Sprite, and Li Shiyun reached out to touch it.
• Ye Yuan recognized the creature as poisonous and shouted at Li Shiyun not to touch it.

Ye Yuan warned Bob and his friends that a venomous sea creature had stung him, then explained the danger to Li Shiyun. After traveling around several states, Li Shiyun received a phone call that left her in tears and made her say she would return immediately.

• Ye Yuan identified the creature that stung Bob as highly venomous and urged Jon to rush him to the hospital with the creature in a bottle for the doctors.
• Ye Yuan explained the creature's toxins to Li Shiyun and cautioned her to avoid touching unfamiliar wildlife.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun abandoned their beach picnic, drove away the next day, and continued traveling around several states.
• Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun visited Diamond Park, searched for diamonds without using Ye Yuan's perception, and found none.
• Li Shiyun received a phone call while driving the RV, said she would return immediately, and began crying.

Ye Yuan and Li Shiyun rushed back to Shangjing after her second uncle died from poisoning and her grandfather collapsed. Xu Hang then asked Ye Yuan to prepare medicine for snake venom, suggesting the Li Family's passageway might conceal a venomous creature.

• Li Shiyun told Ye Yuan that her second uncle had died from poisoning and her grandfather had collapsed, so they arranged to return to Shangjing immediately.
• Ye Yuan contacted Adela to secure clearance for his private jet, and he and Li Shiyun flew back to Huaxia Nation.
• Jing Yu picked them up and said Li Shiyun's grandfather was out of danger but unconscious, while her second uncle appeared to have died from the venom of a snake-like creature.
• Xu Hang called Ye Yuan and asked whether he had medicine for snake venom, then urged him to prepare some if he could.