Chapter 1195: Model

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The ancient and simple room had a huge hole in the center. The floor had been damaged and the chairs seemed to have all fallen down to the room below. There was only one chair left in the room on the second floor!

Back-comb’s eyes widened instantly and the people around him said, “F*ck, how did this happen?”

The auctioneer looked at the room and realized that the flooring was broken. With consideration for safety, the room was sealed and withdrawn from the auction.

He closed the door, and Back-comb looked at the room number and peered in. He dashed forward and pushed the door. Then he called out, “This cannot be, this room… how, how did it collapse?”

The treasure hunters around him shrugged their shoulders. “Such buildings are old wooden structures. The floor is not very stable. Haven’t you seen news of floors breaking?”

Philadelphia was an old city. There were many old buildings and most of them were constructed from wood. The floors had been, of course, reinforced with concrete. However, after a long time, they would lose their st.u.r.diness.

In such an old city, the floor compartment problem was not new. The government had been thinking of ways to resolve it to avoid potential hazards.

Back-comb was shocked. He looked blankly at the treasure hunter and mumbled, “No, it should not be that way, how could this have collapsed suddenly? When did it happen?”

“Did you see that room downstairs? Some items had fallen down. Obviously, they fell from here,” another treasure hunter said.

The auctioneer waved his hands. “Go on, let’s enter into the next section of this auction.”

Back-comb hurriedly took out his phone to make a call. From his tone, Li Du could hear that he was about to cry. He said, “h.e.l.lo, Dr. Saatchi, this, this, the room that we have viewed before, d*mnit, it has suddenly collapsed…”

Of course, the room did not collapse by itself. Li Du had played a trick and managed to ride on an opportunity.

However, he was only retaliating. Dr. Saatchi’s group were the ones who cheated first.

The night before, after his detour to another street, he had let out the little bug. Then he saw Saatchi, Back-comb and their people entering and leaving the museum.

After getting into the museum, they had gone up to the second floor. Then, Saatchi pointed at that room and said something to Back-comb and the rest, which Li Du could not make out.

The little bug had no ability to listen, but it could see very well. Through its vision, Li Du could see that when Saatchi pointed at the house, he was pointing in a particular direction.

It was a solid wood desk!

The human sub-consciousness often revealed a lot of information. For example, at that moment, Li Du had realized that the venerable gentleman knew how old the desk was.

There was something inside the desk. Similar to what Li Du had seen back in the cell warehouse previously, this desk had been tampered with. There was a hardcover big book hidden inside.

Originally, Li Du had admired Dr. Saatchi. He felt that the old doctor was one of those poor, refined scholars. However, it seemed otherwise.

Li Du was not dumb. After connecting the two events, he rapidly deduced what had happened.

Someone had hidden a very valuable book in the museum. They had wanted to devise a way to bring the book out, but for some reason, it was unsuccessful.

Dr. Saatchi knew where the book was hidden. Hence, he had reported the book lost. He had decided to keep the book when the museum was about to be declared bankrupt.

However, that book was not easy to hide. If he stole the book and the crime came to light, he would definitely be charged.

Hence, he changed his plan and decided to make use of his power. He planned to send the items left behind after inspection from the government and bank to the auction floor. Then, he would use the guise of a treasure hunter to take down that room and lay his hands on that book.

Li Du had no idea how Saatchi would legalize his owners.h.i.+p of the ancient book, but the old fellow must already have had an idea. Otherwise, he would not have gone through all that to arrange the auction event.

Unfortunately for them, Li Du had realized what they were planning on doing. Little did Saatchi know that someone else would be watching them.

He saw that Dr. Saatchi was playing a trick and hence, he spared no effort in doing the same.

After Dr. Saatchi had brought the treasure hunter, Back-comb, to identify the location of the room, they had left.

To confirm that his conjecture was right, Li Du sent Brother Wolf to follow behind Back-comb to investigate his ident.i.ty.

Just as he thought, Back-comb was a local treasure hunter from Philadelphia. He would definitely attend the auction the next day and would take down that room.

Hence, Li Du let out the little bug to absorb the Time Capability of the floor. The little bug had expended all its energy to absorb the Time Capability and in the end, the floor compartment and the flooring itself were both destroyed.

Just like that, the wooden flooring and concrete layer lost their Time Capability and became beyond weak. They were no longer able to support the weight of the solid wooden tables and chairs.

In the silent night, when no one was aware of it, with a loud commotion, the tables and chairs from the second floor fell to the first.

The happenings on that day’s auction were just as Li Du had guessed,

Back-comb had no understanding of the museum layout. Otherwise, when he had seen the broken ceiling in the first-floor room and the fallen tables and chairs, he would have guessed what he would find on the second floor.

The night before, Back-comb had only followed behind Dr. Saatchi and briefly learned the location of that room. He knew which room he had to bid for, but did not know what its surroundings or the floor below looked like.

The auction was to continue, but Dr. Saatchi walked over hurriedly. He stood by the door of the office on the second floor and peered in. Just like Back-comb, Saatchi was stunned.

“Downstairs, who won the exhibit room downstairs?” Dr. Saatchi asked urgently.

Back-comb murmured, “I didn’t pay attention, sorry…”

“Find out, then!” Dr. Saatchi snapped. He yelled, “This is the end of the auction! Stop the auction! Security problems have cropped up in the building. This auction is over!”

The auctioneer and the treasure hunters were not happy. They had spent almost a whole day on this. Furthermore, it was precious time just after Christmas. How could they waste whole hours like that?

Faced with Dr. Saatchi, who was going mad, the crowd did not hold back their displeasure:

“This is not a reason to stop the auction. You have no power to manage the things in here anymore.”

“Hi, chief, I respect you very much. I’ve been here before and checked out the animal and plants specimens. However, according to the law, the things in here have changed their owners.h.i.+p.”

“Don’t worry, doc. The museum will not collapse for now. However, luckily, it’s now closed down to the public. Otherwise, if such an accident happened, there would really be trouble.”

Dr. Saatchi waved his arms around and shouted, “I don’t care, stop the auction. It has to stop. The things inside do not belong to the museum. You guys can come for the auction another day…”

Li Du decided to speak up calmly and said, “Sorry, we have already paid up. According to the law, this auction is a business deal. And the deal is complete now.”

The treasure hunters nodded and Dr. Saatchi looked devastated. He lamented, “Oh, d*mnit, d*mnit! Why would this happen?”

Li Du asked curiously, “Dr. Saatchi, it seems like you cannot accept what has happened here. What’s the matter?”

Dr. Saatchi revealed a smile that looked worse than tears. He said, “The room has collapsed. I have worked here for over forty years, I feel terrible!”

Li Du showed his respect and said, “You are truly a respectable model for all of us!”

Saying that, Li Du swallowed bile. Saying words that he did not mean had felt truly disgusting.