Phone bills in the UK aren't exactly cheap, so Liang En decided to drive to the Emerald Antiques store and meet with Pearce. As he parked the car in front of the grocery store, he noticed a red container truck parked not far away in the parking lot.
"Good morning, Uncle Murphy," he greeted as he entered, unexpectedly finding not just Pearce, but also his father, Old Pearce, in the store.
"Good morning, Lawrence," Old Pearce replied, then headed towards the door. "You two go ahead and talk. I'll go check on that truck outside. After all, the condition of a long-distance runner is crucial."
"Wasn't your father planning to retire? Why is he going this time?" Liang En couldn't contain his curiosity and asked Pearce behind the counter after Old Pearce left the room and closed the door.
"There's really no way around it," Pearce shrugged. "If we're going there and we want to bring back loot instead of selling it off cheaply on the spot, we definitely need a big truck. But the problem is, neither of us knows how to drive that kind of vehicle."
"Considering the secrecy of this operation, I had no choice but to bring my father along. Luckily, back in the day, he used to travel all over Western Europe for business, so he's familiar with the roads and he also has the necessary license."
"It's quite fortunate then. By the way, why did the steward agree to lend you this truck? You know, no one does something nice for someone else without a reason."
"Don't worry, this is mainly the steward's compensation for what happened after we were swindled by that Russian tycoon last time," Pearce explained, spreading his hands.
"After all, he introduced us to that job, but he didn't anticipate how ruthless the other party would be. In this situation, to salvage his reputation, he's willing to make certain reparations in this regard."
"For us, the qualification to bid on a reserve warehouse in East Germany and the rental of a container truck are extremely important, even vital to our careers. But for the steward, these expenses pale in comparison to their family's reputation."
"Which means, we can consider it a mutually beneficial arrangement." Hearing this, Liang En also felt relieved. "That works out well—when do we leave?"
"Let's say three days from now. Even though there's EU integration now, driving the truck from here to Germany isn't too troublesome. But it's still a cross-country journey involving several countries, so it's best to make some preparations."
The straight-line distance from London to Leipzig is just over 860 kilometers. By plane, it might take less than an hour. Even if they were driving the freight truck non-stop, a day would be sufficient.
However, because the truck had only Old Pearce as the driver, and due to some cumbersome transit procedures, Liang En and the others didn't drive the truck into Leipzig's city center until the second day after their departure.
Under Old Pearce's guidance, the three of them smoothly maneuvered the truck to a rest stop on the outskirts designated for long-haul truck drivers. They then began to arrange their plans for the upcoming actions.
"The auction won't begin until tomorrow, so I think today we can go take a look at that warehouse," Liang En suggested, as the truck came to a stop. He glanced at the map on his phone.
"I checked the map, and the storage area is located by an abandoned railway siding. It's just over 700 meters from here; we can easily walk there," Liang En said.
"So close," Pearce exclaimed, leaning in to look at the map in Liang En's hand. "If that's the case, it's good to take a look ahead of time. At least we'll have an idea."
"Alright, you two young folks go ahead. I'll stay here with the truck," Old Pearce said after hearing their plan. "Oh, and when you go out, remember to take the things from the accessory box. And be sure to come back before it gets dark."
"Understood," Liang En and Pearce said in unison. They each took a short steel pipe from the toolbox behind the seats and tucked it into their clothes.
While driving earlier, they had already noticed that the overall conditions of the area in eastern Germany were visibly worse than in the west.
Combined with the graffiti covering the walls surrounding the parking lot, they naturally prepared for potential challenges when leaving the truck.
"This place feels off." Observing the run-down houses and graffiti on the walls, Liang En subconsciously pulled down the brim of his baseball cap. He had noticed that some of the street graffiti related to Germany during World War II.
"You're right, this used to be an industrial area with various amenities," Pearce also adjusted his cap brim. "But now it's abandoned and seems to be occupied by some extreme right-wing guys."
"Yeah, this place doesn't seem too friendly to me," Liang En frowned, looking at Pearce beside him, who seemed like he wanted to hide his face. "I'm Asian, so it's naturally risky for me. You, on the other hand, are a pure European."
"European and European are not the same. We Irish are at the bottom of the European pecking order, similar to the Poles. In the eyes of those jerks, we might not even rank as high as you Chinese."
Fortunately, despite the uninviting environment, as it was approaching lunchtime, there wasn't a soul around on the road. Thus, the two of them smoothly reached their destination.
The goal was a massive warehouse situated beside overgrown tracks. However, as they approached the faded black gate, they noticed that even the large padlock securing the chain had rusted away.
"Is no one inside?" Pearce asked. After circling the warehouse's perimeter wall, they couldn't find an entry point. They knocked on the door for a while, but there was no response from inside.
"Probably not." Liang En peered through the gap and realized this door might not have been opened since the end of the Cold War.
Through the gap, he saw the cemented area inside covered with a thick layer of dirt and even some patches of grass, suggesting that the space hadn't seen activity for a long time.
Initially, Liang En had planned to use a card to inspect the situation. However, he found that the warehouse was built like a fortress, with a wall at least 5 meters away from the nearest wall of the warehouse itself, far beyond the range of his card inspection.
"Initially, this might have been a warehouse belonging to the East German military," as the metal detector proved ineffective, Liang En started to observe the surroundings more attentively. Soon enough, his enhanced perception led him to notice something on the iron gate.
After brushing away the dirt, he found that each of the two central panels on the iron gate had been repainted with black paint.
Using a cloth dipped in a small bottle of gasoline he had on hand, he wiped away the paint to reveal a sheaf of wheat and a tricolor ribbon in black, red, and yellow.
"Must have been a military warehouse. No wonder," Pearce's expression turned knowing.
While scouting earlier, he had noticed that the outer wall of this warehouse was much taller and thicker than a regular rail warehouse. He even spotted reinforcements amidst the damaged parts of the wall.
"This is good news," Liang En said on their way back to the parking lot. "At least we can confirm the warehouse is sturdy and had a high level of security in the past. There might be valuable items preserved inside."
"Absolutely," Pearce agreed, nodding beside him. "Most importantly, it seems like nobody has been inside for a long time. Those valuable items probably haven't been moved."