"It's a car tire, the tracks are quite new, likely left not long ago."

Morris Dawan said, "Looks like we have another competitor."

"Don't worry, the treasure is definitely ours." Luke mounted the motorcycle and continued forward.

However, he wasn't driving fast, his eyes occasionally scanning the surroundings to observe the terrain.

A few minutes later, Morris Dawan called for another stop, "There are new tire tracks ahead."

Luke got off the motorcycle to inspect; this time, the tire tracks were narrower, seemingly from a motorcycle.

Luke scrutinized them for a moment, feeling like he had seen these tire tracks before, resembling those left by the motorcycle driven by that black woman yesterday.

"It's the motorcycle tire marks, and they're quite fresh." Luke shrugged, "Why have so many treasure hunters suddenly appeared? Is the treasure really nearby?"

Of course, there's a bigger possibility that this is all because of that rat.

Morris Dawan showed no emotion, responding, "This means we've come to the right place, let's push on."

Since the tire tracks are new, it indicates that people might not have left yet. Luke heightened his alertness, surveying the area but finding no suspicious figures.

Luke got back on the motorcycle, driving the three-wheel vehicle forward again.

This time, Luke kept paying attention to Morris Dawan's expression, noticing his grave demeanor.

Besides observing the surrounding terrain, Morris Dawan also occasionally glanced at the ground.

For the rest of the way, both men remained silent, Luke choosing not to speak to gauge Morris Dawan's attitude towards the tire tracks.

After about ten minutes, Morris Dawan suddenly spoke, "Stop for a moment, the car and motorcycle tire tracks have vanished."

Luke had also noticed this, but didn't mention it at first, wanting to see Morris Dawan's reaction.

Luke deliberately asked, "What do we do now?"

Morris Dawan replied, "Both vehicles' tire tracks have disappeared without traces of returning the same way, suggesting they might have turned off."

I suggest we turn around and check."

Luke and Morris Dawan's thinking aligned, and confident in their capability, they turned around to search.

They hadn't traveled far on the motorcycle before coming back to a triangular junction. Luke got off to check, thinking both vehicles probably left from the junction.

Luke continued riding the motorcycle forward, rediscovering the earlier motorcycle and car tracks.

After traveling a bit further, Luke suddenly stopped the three-wheel motorcycle.

Morris Dawan focused on the ground before raising his head to ask, "Why did you stop suddenly?"

Luke pointed at a nearby slope, "There's a spruce tree over there, I'm going to take a look."

Luke dismounted and climbed the slope. Though it was steep with few supports, he managed due to good physical fitness, reaching a platform with a spruce tree planted in the left front.

Since the spruce tree was marked on the map, Luke took an interest, checking around it and discovering two sets of footprints extending deeper onto the platform. Further ahead was a semicircular cave.

Luke drew his gun, following the footprints into the cave.

Inside was a large crevice, with light also shining in, not particularly dark. The cave floor had numerous footprints, a mix, and excavation marks. But none were deeper than forty centimeters.

In Luke's experience, someone had tried digging for treasure here, but judging by the depth, they hadn't found it. The treasure pit couldn't be just forty centimeters deep.

For the treasure box Luke found last time was about forty centimeters high, plus the covering soil.

Thus, Luke concluded these two failed to uncover the treasure.

Luke frowned slightly, sniffing deeply, detecting a faint hint of blood.

Luke, being an experienced detective, was sensitive to the scent, his eyes scanning the ground to find an area covered with soil. Upon removing the soil, fresh blood stains lay beneath, with only two human shoe prints, no animal paws in sight.

It was clear that these two had a conflict.

Luke crouched to differentiate the two footprints; one set was large, the other small—the large ones likely men's boots, the smaller ones resembling women's shoes.

From the motorcycle tire marks outside, Luke guessed the woman might be the black woman on the motorcycle.

As to who the man was, he couldn't ascertain yet. He hesitated before using another identification card.

If he failed to find the treasure this time, his loss would be substantial.

[Shoe, patterned sole leather boots

Gender, Male

Height, 178-183CM

Weight, 75-80 pounds

Age, 38 to 43 years.]

Luke recalled men he knew, besides the black youth involved in petrol theft, and the canyon manager Carlos.

The black youth wasn't thirty yet, not matching the shoe print owner's traits, whereas Carlos matched in height and physique. Though Luke hadn't confirmed his exact age, it seemed around forty.

Could it really be canyon manager Carlos? Why did he have a conflict with the black woman?

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