Chapter 397: The Treasure Hunters
"Taking everything is definitely out of the question, but picking the most important things is fine. The key is, we want to take the most valuable items. I'd much rather leave the worthless junk to the robbers of this manor. So, tell me which one to take?"
Jack went to rummage through a pile of oil paintings in the corner. "Just a bunch of junk. Unfortunately, we don't always have big finds... Wait! Do you know what I saw?"
"What? It looks like Egyptian style stuff, but I don't recognize the things in that box. What are they? Is there any significance to them?" Ron leaned closer to the cabinet Jack had found, examining it carefully.
"These are the scepters of the Pharaoh and Queen, and that box is the Golden Eagle Box! Inside is the Star of Arabia! These are all famous lost artifacts!" If it weren't for the inappropriate setting, Jack would have screamed with excitement.
Ron picked at his ear. "A scepter? A box? The Star of Arabia? Sorry, I don't know much about antiques. Are these things really that valuable? I only care about their price."
"Price?!" Jack exclaimed. "These are priceless treasures. Any one of them could cause a huge stir in the collecting world. There's nothing more valuable on the market right now, or rather, their value can't be measured in money. They're symbols of status."
"Oh? Is that so?" Ron opened the cupboard, casually picked up the three treasures Jack mentioned, and suddenly tossed them into the air.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doing?" Jack was about to grab them, but watched helplessly as the three treasures vanished just before they left his hand.
"Don't worry, they're all safe. They're all in my high-tech storage." Ron raised his wrist and winked at Jack. "As long as this watch is still here, they'll be safely stored in the pocket dimension connected to it."
"Okay, you can have all of those, but this painting has to be mine. It's something I was supposed to find on my previous mission. I've been looking for it for ages, and I never expected to find it here. It's Van Gogh's 'Roses.'"
"OK, whatever. You can pick two more decent things, and I'll take them with me and return them to you when we get out." Since none of them were his, Ron decided to be generous this time.
After Jack rummaged through the many collections and finally selected two more treasures, Ron walked around the collection room, touched everything he liked, and then stored it in Ron's spatial storage.
"Hey! You emptied his collection room!"
"No, I left him a little," Ron pointed to a stack of oil paintings in the corner that Jack had initially rejected. They weren't even worthy of being displayed; they were just piled up there. "Robbers don't deserve these things. Let's go."
"You're a descendant of colonial robbers too," Jack muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?" Ron turned around.
"No, nothing. Let's go this way." Jack, knowing the area well, led the way for Ron.
However, he didn't expect that when they crossed the hall again to return the way they came, they were discovered. Inside the hall, a man and a woman were checking something. Looking up, they saw Ron and Jack. The woman pointed at Jack and said, "You…"
"Security! There's a situation here!" The man immediately picked up his walkie-talkie and called for backup.
Ron instinctively reached for his waist, about to draw his gun and shoot, but Jack quickly pulled the gun down: "Ron, no, no, let's run!"
Ron glanced at the man hiding behind the woman in fear, and could only run with Jack, asking as they ran, "Your girlfriend?"
"No, she's the expert who helped us find the artifacts," Jack said as he ran. "Wow, dogs! Let's split up! Don't kill anyone!"
Jack shoved Ron, and they ran off in different directions down a fork in the road.
"She's not your girlfriend, yet she's helping you find stolen artifacts? I don't believe you!" Ron shook his head. He was almost at the gate when two bodyguards were about to stop him. "If you don't kill anyone, beating someone up shouldn't be a problem, right?"
He muttered to himself. Just as the two bodyguards were about to grab him, he suddenly shifted his stance, spinning around to avoid their grasp.
Not only that, but he also used the momentum of his spin to punch the two bodyguards in the chin. "Spinning Backfist!"
"He's right there!"
Ron had just knocked out the two bodyguards and run out the door when the bodyguards on the other side of the park, having received the news, had already closed the gate and were chasing after him.
"Ugh, so annoying!" Ron ran to the wall, casually threw out a grappling hook, and flipped over. After a few more flips, he shook off the large group chasing him and swaggered to the meeting point to meet up with Jack and his group.
Compared to Ron, Jack looked much worse. Not only were his clothes torn in several places, but one of the bronze artifacts he was carrying was missing.
"What happened to you? How did you get like this?" Ron couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Phew... I was chased by dogs for almost the whole way, phew... and then I finally managed to fly over the wall with my paraglider, only to run into that expert I saw in the manor earlier. She took one of the artifacts." Jack sat in a chair, panting heavily.
"So how are we going to get the artifact back?" one of Jack's companions asked.
"No problem, I've already arranged to meet her at the boathouse. I can take care of it in a bit." Jack said confidently, and was about to get up to find the female expert when Ron stopped him.
"Wait a minute, I haven't asked yet what you plan to do with these artifacts."
Before Jack could speak, a straightforward companion answered for him, "Sell them, of course! You know what? Someone offered a million euros each for us to find them. If we find a complete set, we can add another zero! That's euros! Worth more than dollars!"
"Okay, that's a pretty good price, but compared to their actual value, I think it's still a bit low." Ron cautiously considered his savings and said,
"How about this, I'll do a deal with you. I'm willing to offer two million dollars for each artifact, and if we find a complete collection, I can double that price. You sell me everything you find, how about that?"
"We've discussed it and accept your offer," Jack answered for everyone after a brief discussion, "But what do you want them for? Are you planning to resell them on the international market?"
A playful smile appeared on Ron's lips: "No, I'm buying them to return them to their rightful owners, of course."
(End of Chapter)
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P1treon: Soulforger (80+advance chapters)