After confirming that the item was indeed a filtration canister, Liang En and his companions casually tossed it into the garbage heap. After all, the production of these items was excessively high, and it looked no different from rusted scrap metal.
Next, the two of them split up and continued searching the yard. At this moment, luck smiled upon Liang En.
"Silver coins!" Hearing the sound from the metal detector, Liang En excavated a standard-sized mechanical silver yuan coin from a small pit.
The front of this silver coin depicted the head of a king wearing a crown. But when he turned the coin over, he found the back side inscribed with "1 Indian Rupee" in English, accompanied by the Arabic numeral "1917" representing the year.
"What did you find?" Pierce, who was carefully scanning the ground on the other side of the yard, inquired. He had noticed that Liang En had been holding onto something he had dug up from the ground.
"A 1917 Indian Silver Rupee," Liang En said, tossing the coin over. "It's worth about ten pounds in today's market, hardly worth much."
"But it's still a good start, isn't it?" Pierce remarked after examining the coin for a moment. "Compared to that filtration canister from earlier, this item is obviously better than trash."
Apart from the silver coin, over the next hour, Liang En and her companions cleared out three British pennies from World War II, a shilling, and a half of a military bayonet from the yard.
However, just as the two were preparing to sweep the room after scanning along the walls, they heard the metal detector's strongest signal coming from a spot near the base of the wall.
"It seems there's something big down here," Liang En said excitedly as the metal detector's search range expanded. He could tell that whatever it was, it was much larger than a backpack.
"This feels like an ammunition box." After clearing away the dirt, Liang En frowned. The item was a metal box with a handle on the side, and it looked remarkably similar to ammunition boxes seen in historical images.
"This is indeed an ammunition box." Pierce pointed at a protruding spot on the box with gloved fingers. "Can't you see the insignia of the British Army on it?"
"What?" Liang En leaned in and saw a slightly blurry shield emblem on the stamped steel plate – likely the emblem of the disbanded British Army Department.
"We should be careful," this emblem instantly put Liang En on alert. Not all ammunition boxes bore the army department's emblem. Unless the contents of this box were directly issued by the army department.
But with a moment's thought, it was clear that something specially issued by a nation's top army authority wouldn't be too simple. When it came to military matters, it might even be quite dangerous.
"It's probably not a booby trap or some mechanism triggered by opening," Pierce said after pondering for a few seconds.
After all, even if this place was on the outskirts back in the day, it wasn't enemy territory. The people back then probably wouldn't have turned this into a dangerous bomb.
Although he said that, after Liang En's reminder, Pierce naturally became cautious. So, after digging the box out halfway, he stepped away, then used a pry bar he carried to open the lid of the metal box.
Perhaps due to severe rust, the lid came off directly when opened, falling from the box to reveal the contents that had been stored inside.
"This thing looks a bit like canned beef." Observing the almost rusted cylindrical objects in the box, Pierce mused to himself. Indeed, the item's dimensions were quite similar to the tinned corned beef issued to the British Army during World War II.
"Definitely not canned beef." Liang En's face revealed a tense expression. "Canned beef wouldn't be placed inside an iron box with the British Army emblem on it, fixed in place with metal frames."
Inside the box were ten cylindrical objects arranged neatly in two rows of five each. To secure these cylinders, there was a metal plate inside the box with circular holes punched into it, resembling an enlarged test tube holder.
"You're making sense," Pierce's seriousness deepened after Liang En's reminder. It was clear that canned beef wouldn't require such elaborate preservation methods.
"So, what should we do next?" After scrutinizing the box and its contents, Pierce whispered, "We can't bury it back; otherwise, the construction workers building the houses nearby will be in trouble if this thing turns out to be hazardous."
"It's simple – call the police." Liang En pulled out his phone and dialed 999. He explained the situation to the operator, emphasizing the British Army emblem on the box and his suspicion.
Shortly after ending the call, Liang En received a call from someone claiming to be a police officer. In this call, he was asked to take a photo of the metal box and move away from it.
"Seems like this thing is really dangerous." After hanging up the phone, Liang En shrugged at Pierce and then retreated with him into the almost empty room before climbing to the second floor. Compared to outside, this building could clearly provide them with cover.
"It looks like this house wasn't built during World War II—" While waiting for the police to arrive, Liang En carefully examined the room. He found that this three-story red-brick building was styled a bit earlier than he had imagined.
"This place used to be an office for a regiment of the British Army stationed in Dublin." Pierce furrowed his brow and pondered before speaking.
"After Ireland gained independence, the regiment was disbanded, and naturally, this office was abandoned. It wasn't until the Second World War that this place was reactivated."
"No wonder there are traces of wallpaper and such here." Liang En surveyed the room he was in, then kicked at the needle on the floor. "Unfortunately, this place was abandoned for too long before. Otherwise, we would definitely have made a great find this time."
"But if this place hadn't been abandoned, we wouldn't have gotten in for just £150." Pierce commented after listening to Liang En. "Unfortunately, what we've dug up so far isn't worth the entry fee."
While Liang En and Pierce were bantering, the sound of sirens reached the entrance. A dozen seconds later, they met a vigilant-looking police officer standing by the door.
"You're the ones who made the call?" the police officer asked as he saw Liang En and Pierce stepping outside. They both nodded to confirm, and he proceeded to ask about the entire process.
"So, you reported the metal container after you saw it?" After Liang En finished recounting the events, the police officer asked.
"Yes, because this used to be a military facility, and on top of that, there's the emblem of the army department on the metal box. So, we were worried that the box might contain a bomb and decided to call the police," Liang En explained earnestly.
Just then, two individuals in hazmat suits entered through the gate and carefully approached the iron box.
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