The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

"Could it be..." Brigade Commander Bai speculated, "because their retreat was rushed, and carrying these heavy boxes would not only slow down their march but also make them too conspicuous, making them easy targets. So, after weighing the pros and cons, they had no choice but to reluctantly abandon them?"

At present, this seems to be the only reasonable explanation, and everyone can only assume it for the time being.

"In short, it's a miracle that Heaven has saved our treasures!" Commander Liu exclaimed with a triumphant wave of his hand. "Seal these artifacts in place and register them! Immediately send a telegram to the highest-ranking officials in Beijing, requesting the dispatch of the nearest field army to take them over. We must ensure the absolute safety of these national treasures!"

"Yes."

The soldiers began to count, photograph, and register each artifact one by one. The secretariat staff were responsible for recording the characteristics of each artifact in detail in their notebooks.

Professor Qian stood beside the box, gazing at the dazzling treasures, but frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

"Mr. Qian, don't you find something strange?" The meticulous Chief Designer Wang immediately noticed his unusual behavior.

Professor Qian looked up, pondered for a moment, and then asked Zheng Hong, "Comrade Zheng Hong, based on your experience and expertise, what is the approximate market value of these cultural relics?"

Zheng Hong laughed and said, "Mr. Qian, you come from a distinguished family and have truly seen the world. Your knowledge far surpasses that of us engineers. Why are you asking me questions instead?"

Professor Qian shook his head and said seriously, "I have a general understanding of the others, but the valuation of these mineral resources is not my area of ​​expertise."

Zheng Hong's expression also turned serious: "You're right. Just considering the rarity and potential industrial value of these raw ores, any one of them would be worth several hundred dollars on the international black market."

Chief Designer Wang did some mental calculations and added, "But in times of war, the artistic and historical value of cultural relics is extremely unstable. Apart from gold and silver artifacts that are easy to identify and circulate, other items such as jade, porcelain, and calligraphy and paintings have very limited actual market value in the international market."

"A rough estimate suggests that the entire treasure could be worth between $150,000 and $200,000."

"But," he changed the subject, pointing out the crux of the matter, "building a highway of the same size and standard in the desert, besides requiring a large number of laborers, construction machinery, and various building materials, would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars just for logistical support and supplies!"

Professor Qian frowned slightly; this was precisely the question that had been lingering in his mind ever since he saw these cultural relics.

"I understand what you mean," Chief Designer Wang concluded.

"At present, no matter how it is estimated, its value is not worth the invaders building a high-standard highway in the desert. This is a typical case of 'value inversion'. If it was just for stealing national treasures, they could have used trucks to load them in batches. Even if it took longer, they could have transported them out smoothly in a few days."

"So..." Zheng Hong pressed, "Are you two implying that the Japanese are sparing no expense to build roads because they have ulterior motives?"

"It's too early to draw conclusions, since we don't have conclusive evidence pointing to any other purpose," Professor Qian replied cautiously.

He looked around and saw that the troops were busy in an orderly manner and he couldn't help them for the time being, so he suggested, "Since we have nothing to do now, why don't we take a look around and get a more direct understanding of this ancient city?"

But just as he turned around, he discovered that Liang Zhe and his daughter had disappeared without a trace.

It turned out that from the moment the artifacts began to be inventoried and sealed, Tian Tian had already keenly noticed that the adults' attention was drawn to those sparkly treasures. She quietly whispered in Liang Zhe's ear, "Daddy, let's go out."

From the moment her grandfathers began their heated discussion around that dusty, gray stone, a bold decision popped into her little head: she would help them find that kind of stone! And she would find lots and lots of them!

However, the adults are busy with important things, and good children should be sensible and not disturb them.

Hearing his daughter's soft, sweet voice, Liang Zhe thought the little girl might be restless, so he reported to Commander Bai and carried Tian Tian out of the temple.

When they entered the city, they were so focused on being on guard and marveling that they didn't have time to observe carefully. Now that they had some free time, Liang Zhe discovered that there was a fairly large flat stone base in front of the Guandi Temple. The stone pillars that originally supported the temple had long since weathered and collapsed, leaving only a few remnants of the base.

Judging from its appearance, the ancient city does not actually cover a large area. It was probably just an important post station for merchants to rest and replenish supplies.

He couldn't help but wonder: Did the people of that time transport the treasure here simply to store a huge amount of wealth, or did they intend to use it as a base to recruit private soldiers and wait for an opportunity to help the Li Tang Dynasty restore its imperial power?

As soon as Tian Tian landed, she was like a fawn freed from its bonds. She immediately grabbed her father's hand and headed straight for the back of the Guandi Temple. Most of the ancient buildings here had been demolished, likely the result of the brutal destruction by the invaders in their search for possible secret rooms or passages.

As they passed the Guandi Temple, they were met with an even wider expanse of demolished ruins. Like the houses that had been demolished before, there were broken tiles and rubble everywhere, scattered with countless stones and rotten wood of varying sizes.

Sweetie didn't even look at it, and climbed up without hesitation.

Liang Zhe reached out to grab her, but couldn't. He quickly called out, "Sweetie, there are loose rocks everywhere here. It could collapse easily. It's very dangerous! Let Daddy take you somewhere else to play."

Instead of backing down, Tian Tian covered her mouth with her little hands and called out to Liang Zhe in a clear voice, "Grandpa Qian said, 'No investigation, no right to speak!' Tian Tian is helping the grandpas with their investigation!"

Liang Zhe was almost amused by his daughter's serious and earnest little face, but he quickly suppressed his smile and a thought struck him.

He watched his daughter, like a vigilant little hunting dog, looking around at the rubble-strewn ruins, her little brows slightly furrowed, her expression earnest and adorable.

The reason why Commander Liu and other bigwigs made an exception and allowed their daughter to accompany them was because they valued her extraordinary intuition and observation skills. As for bringing her along, it's hard to say that subconsciously, he didn't expect his precious daughter to discover something different.

"Sweetie, do you think there's something wrong here? What did you find?" he asked seriously.