Chapter 161: Patek Philippe
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Although Li Du had controlled the little bug for so long, the information he had in regards to the little bug was very small.
For example, how did the little bug level up? Did it level up purely by absorbing the time energy? How much energy did the little bug need before it could level up? What was the unit of measure to measure time energy?
However, Li Du knew a bit about the little bug’s choices—the items it liked.
The little bug would automatically absorb the time energy of items that had existed for at least 50 years, and if the owner had taken great care for the item, the more attractive it was to the little bug.
Li Du also guessed that perhaps not only time energy alone had attracted the little bug. The energy and efforts made by the owner or creator to create or take care of the item attracted the bug as well.
Nevertheless, the little bug was a great help in his line of work as a treasure hunter—preloved antiques were items of great value.
The little bug flew to a synthetic woven bag, and in the bag there was an antique-looking leather wallet. But it didn’t stop there; it continued flying and landed on a watch.
Li Du controlled the little bug to stop it from absorbing the time energy of the watch. He then examined the watch carefully.
The wrist watch had a simple, common design; it had red straps and a gold bezel that made it looked like a gold watch. Li Du perked up upon seeing the gold watch.
He controlled the bug to look at the back of the watch, which was also gold. There were words on it: "Patek Philippe, Trossi Leggenda." Li Du also saw a flower-like cross, which could have been the logo of the brand of the watch.
This storage unit is a must-get! thought Li Du.
Li Du searched the internet for Patek Philippe and was surprised to learn he was a world-renowned luxury watchmaker.
He also googled to check the logo to confirm whether or not it belonged to Patek Philippe. The logo, known as Calatrava, was indeed used as the logo for Patek Philippe.
Now Li Du was pretty confident that the watch was really a gold watch. Next, Li Du did a search on Trossi Leggenda; the results left him dumbfounded:
"The ‘Trossi Leggenda’ is one of the most exceptional chronograph wrist.w.a.tches ever made by Patek Philippe. The wrist.w.a.tch was originally owned by Count Carlo Felice Trossi, President of Scuderia Ferrari.
"Trossi was a racing driver, pilot and speedboat racer whose motor-racing victories included the 1947 Italian Grand Prix. This wrist.w.a.tch was clearly specially chosen by Count Trossi as a practical timekeeper for use in motor racing and aviation to a.s.sist with the accurate timing of events in a highly visible format.
"At 46mm in diameter, the Trossi Leggenda ranks as the largest single b.u.t.ton chronograph wrist.w.a.tch ever made by Patek Philippe.
"It seems that the Trossi Leggenda by Patek Philippe may well have been specially requested a few weeks after Count Trossi"s appointment to the Scuderia Ferrari Presidency in 1932.
"In 2001, a large gold Patek Philippe watch, the Trossi Leggenda, which used to belong to an Italian racing driver and President of Ferrari, was bought for 2.345 million Swiss francs at Geneva, Sotheby’s."
Li Du couldn’t believe his eyes. What was with the watch? Was it actually worth over two million Swiss francs?
The exchange rate between the Swiss franc and the US dollar was one to one. That meant that this watch already had a worth over two million dollars seven to eight years ago!
Although he had earned a small fortune after being a treasure hunter, this was the first time he had come across anything that was worth millions of dollars. He was shocked beyond words.
At that moment, he finally understood why there were so many people who worked as treasure hunters, as well as why they called themselves "treasure hunters." Imagine buying a priceless item at a few hundred dollars—wasn’t it the same as treasure hunting?
Google showed him a picture of Count Carlo Felice Trossi as well. Li Du couldn’t contain his urge to ascertain the origin of the watch one more time, this time, by using the little bug’s "Relive The Past" ability.
Immediately, he saw a scene of an old man; he was thin and his head was full of white hair. He was busy making a watch.
Next scene, he saw a handsome young man wearing and adjusting his watch.
In the third scene, he saw the same young man but now middle-aged; he was holding a golden trophy, sitting inside a racing car and Li Du saw the exact same watch again, on that man’s wrist …
Li Du also saw the logo of the racing car the man was sitting in. It was the Ferrari’s logo!
With the origin of the watch confirmed, he quickly stopped the little bug and at the same time tried to calm himself down.
Knowing such a precious item was inside the storage unit, it was hard for him to maintain his cool.
Wasting no time, the auction for the fourth storage unit started. Rick was still the one who placed the first bid: "Two hundred!"
Li Du tried to hide his excitement by smiling cheekily at Rick, "One thousand dollars!"
Many treasure hunters shook their head at Li Du’s bid; they felt that a four-digit bid was too high for a unit of trash, even though it was a storage unit belonging to the Bureau of Land Management.
Li Du’s previous attempts to prevent Rick from winning a bid made the treasure hunters believe that he would continue to pick on Rick and that there was no point bidding for the fourth storage unit, since it would end up just like the previous units.
n.o.body realized that both men were fighting for a valuable item in the unit!
Rick said in a chilling tone, "One thousand one hundred dollars!"
"Two thousand!" immediately another bid came from Li Du, his expression full of ridicule.
Lil’ Rick was full of resentment toward Li Du. He shouted, "You fool, you already have two units, and you only have one truck—do you really think you can clear them all in time?"
Li Du whistled and said, "Well, I have money!"
"Two thousand one hundred dollars!" Rick made his bid again.
"Three thousand!" Li Du said in a cheeky tone again.
"Three thousand one hundred dollars!"
"Four thousand!"
…
The treasure hunters were all watching the bidding battle between Rick and Li Du. While most of them were amused, some were puzzled as well.
"What’s happened to Li? Why is he picking on Rick?"
"Who cares what happened to him? But it sure is interesting to watch."
"Oh, you guys don’t know? I heard Rick sort of messed with them. They are here for revenge."
"What happened?!" The treasure hunters’ eyes lit up when they heard this piece of juicy news.
All eyes were on a black young man. He was encouraged by the attention and spoke in a proud tone: "Did you know that Li and Hans sold some mammoth ivory for around 200,000 dollars?"
"Yeah, we knew that, what about it?"
"Not too long ago, they went to the auction put on by Borders, and they made another 200,000 dollars!" the young man continued.
The treasure hunters were stunned by the young black man’s words. They glared at both Li Du and Hans, full of envy.
"These a**holes are so lucky! They can join the Hundred Thousand Club!"
The young man cackled, "That’s where the problem lies! They couldn’t join the club. Rick found a loophole and prevented them from joining."
Li Du looked at Rick viciously as the treasure hunters gossiped about him openly; it was almost like those words triggered his anger.
Hans saw the change in Li’s expression, and tried to talk some sense into him. "Okay okay, I know you are rich, but being rich doesn’t mean you should waste money right? For the sake of G.o.d, just keep quiet …"
Rick placed his bid once again, "Seven thousand one hundred dollars!"
Li Du brushed Hans off and shouted, "Eight thousand dollars! You a**hole, I won’t let you have any unit today!"
Hans gave Li Du a strong shove. "What do you want? Eight thousand dollars for a pile of trash? Have you gone crazy?!"
Rick made a throat-cutting gesture at Li Du, and he shook his head at the auctioneer to indicate he wouldn’t be bidding.
The auctioneer was all smiles, "Eight thousand dollars once, eight thousand dollars twice, eight thousand dollars thrice! Okay, this unit belongs to you now, young Chinese lad!"