Chapter 408: What a Hot Potato

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“The time is getting late, so I’ll head back to the hotel first!” Without realizing it, it was already 11 o’clock, and during this time, everyone had dinner together. Zhou Chao could tell it was a special arrangement by Norman.

“Indeed, it’s quite late, and we should also go back!”

Immediately, everyone got up and walked towards the outside.

As they walked out of the villa, Wayne and the others saw several men in black standing in front of three Mercedes-Benz cars. These men were not ordinary people, and they could all sense that these men in black were not to be taken lightly. They also noticed that two of them were carrying briefcases and their expressions had slightly changed.

“I’ll leave first then!” Zhou Chao greeted everyone and walked towards the Mercedes-Benz. Norman followed him, holding a document folder.

“Zhou, this is for you!”

“What is it?” Zhou Chao looked puzzled at Norman.

“You can check it in the car!”

Zhou Chao nodded slightly, and Todd next to him quickly took it. Then Zhou Chao got into the Mercedes-Benz, and the men in black standing in front of the car also got in.

Wayne and the others watched as the three Mercedes-Benz cars sped away.

Wayne also got into his own car, and the driver drove away.

The executives greeted Norman and then got into their cars and left as well.

Seeing everyone leave, Norman laughed heartily, and it was only after a while that he returned to the house.

“Boss, that old man is really generous!” Todd opened the document folder that Norman had given him and looked at its contents.

“Oh, what is it?” Zhou Chao asked with a faint smile.

“It’s a mansion, a castle with an area of over 1,200 square meters, plus a 700-square-meter annex building. In addition, there’s a 45-hectare garden and a one-hectare lake!”

Lin Wu asked in a low voice, “Boss, how big is 45 hectares?”

Lin Wu’s question made Zhou Chao burst into laughter.

“I asked you to read more books every day, and you don’t even know common knowledge like this.”

Unexpectedly, Lin Wu muttered in a low voice, “My family’s land is only a little over 10 mu, I’ve never seen hectares before, now I know!”

Zhou Chao shook his head helplessly and said, “45 hectares is equal to 0.45 square kilometers, which is 450,000 square meters!”

“How big is 450,000 square meters? It seems Todd is right, this old man is really generous!”

“This is nothing. When he tried to win me over before, he gave me 3.5 billion US dollars!”

“What?!”

“How much?!”

Both Lin Wu and Todd exclaimed, especially Todd, whose head was almost at a 90-degree angle.

“Boss, 3.5 billion US dollars, that’s so much money!!” Todd couldn’t help but swallow hard as he said this.

“Yes, and the bank card is still with me, and it’s an unregistered Swiss bank card!” Zhou Chao looked meaningfully at Todd.

In the front seat, Todd’s eyes contracted, and he clenched his fists tightly. At this moment, even the sound of a pin dropping in the car could be heard clearly.

Lin Wu, sitting beside Zhou Chao, was also extremely nervous, and his feet were already tightly clenched. Only Zhou Chao looked relaxed.

After a long time, Todd let out a sigh of relief, and his whole person also relaxed a lot.

“Boss, don’t scare me like that next time, my little heart can’t take it!” Todd said with a pitiful expression.

“Haha, don’t worry, you’ll get used to it in the future!” Zhou Chao laughed heartily.

However, Lin Wu calmly touched his forehead and found it covered in sweat.

Not long after, everyone returned to the hotel. Miles was still excited and ran to Zhou Chao, saying, “Boss, do you want to go to the bar?”

“If you want to go, go ahead. I’m going back to my room to rest!” Zhou Chao replied, then walked straight into the hotel.

Watching Miles, who looked puzzled, and passing by Lin Wu, Zhou Chao couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “If you had been in the front car just now, I’m afraid you wouldn’t even have the courage to smile now!”

“Let’s all go back and rest!” Zhou Chao said to Lin Wu and the others, standing at his room’s door.

“Yes, boss!”

Zhou Chao nodded and opened his room door, walking inside.

Lin Wu and Todd exchanged glances and then went to their respective rooms to rest.

The next day, Zhou Chao woke up after 10 o’clock. He was shirtless, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the bustling street outside.

“System, check-in!”

“Check-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Dunhuang

Three Treasures! They have been automatically stored in the system warehouse.”

“Dunhuang Three Treasures?” Zhou Chao opened the system warehouse with curiosity, and he found several boxes inside.

He carefully took them out, and each box had a label.

[Mantra of the Stupa][Dunhuang Three Treasures: Maitreya’s Praise]| Amitabha’s Western Pure Land Transformation Chart]

Seeing the Mantra of the Stupa, Zhou Chao was stunned. He was very familiar with the first one.

The Mantra of the Stupa had been looted from Dunhuang in 1906, along with more than two thousand other scrolls. They were all highly valuable academic treasures, and the Mantra of the Stupa could be called the “treasure among treasures.”

“Weren’t these items displayed in the National Library in Paris?” Zhou Chao had originally planned to visit the Louvre and the National Library after finishing his business. These places exhibited many cultural relics lost by various countries.

“The system’s creations are always top-notch. These three items must be genuine. But then, what are the three items displayed in the National Library in Paris?” Zhou Chao looked at the three items in his hand, puzzled.

Thinking about this, Zhou Chao put all three boxes back into the system warehouse. He picked up his phone and started reading the current news in Paris.

Sure enough, when he opened the news website, a striking headline caught his eye: “Dunhuang Three Treasures Stored in the National Library Turn to Ashes for Unknown Reasons; Investigation Ongoing!”

“According to the National Library’s surveillance footage, the Dunhuang Three Treasures were fine last night, but they were discovered as ashes when the library opened in the morning. The exact cause is still unknown, and the staff speculates that it may be due to their age or natural oxidation.”

The news also included several photos, all related to the Dunhuang Three Treasures, with each one showing a pile of ashes inside a glass case.

As Zhou Chao read the news, he burst into laughter.

“I can’t help but laugh! It even oxidized itself and turned into ashes. Indeed, it seems to have oxidized thoroughly. However, I must admit the system is impressive!

But the question is, should I turn this over to the authorities or keep it for myself? If I turn it over, I can’t explain how I got hold of it. If I keep it, I’ll have to store it in a safe or the system warehouse. Keeping it hidden doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

After some contemplation, Zhou Chao thought of a suitable middleman and sighed, “All, I’ll just let Brother Yang handle this hot potato. As for how he handles it, that’s his business. I don’t want to get involved!”

Just as he was about to make the call, he remembered the eavesdropping rumors he had heard before. He realized that his phone call might have been listened to in the evening, making it potential evidence. So, he retrieved a laptop from the warehouse, one he had placed there when he created a firewall, just for such occasions.

Zhou Chao quickly developed an anti-eavesdropping program and installed it on his phone. Satisfied with the working program, he then made the call to Xiao Yang.

“What’s up? I’m busy over here!” Xiao Yang’s voice came through the phone in a somewhat urgent tone as soon as he answered.

“Busy with what?” It was around 4 PM in China at this time, so there shouldn’t be much for Xiao Yang to be busy with.

“What else could 1 be busy with? Haven’t you seen the news? The three national treasures that belong to us stored in the National Library in Paris have been damaged for no apparent reason. We’re currently investigating what happened. If you have nothing important, I’ll hang up!”

11

Don’t, Brother Yang, I called you because I have something important to tell you. Did you notice that I made an international call to you?” Zhou Chao said mysteriously.

It was then that Xiao Yang noticed that Zhou Chao had dialed a few extra digits in the phone number.

n

You rascal, where are you playing now?”

“Paris!”

“Paris? Why did you call me then? Is it just to show off that you’re traveling?”

“Am I that vulgar? I’ll tell you some good news!”

“What good news? Spit it out, I’m really busy right now!”

Hearing that Xiao Yang was getting a bit anxious, Zhou Chao chuckled and said, “You don’t need to investigate further. Those three items are in my possession now.”

Zhou Chao didn’t play around with Xiao Yang anymore and straightforwardly informed him that he had the national treasures.

Xiao Yang couldn’t believe it, and he suspected Zhou Chao was joking, saying, “How is that possible? The official announcement from the National Library in Paris has declared that the three national treasures were damaged. Can it really be fake?”

“You wait a moment!” Zhou Chao immediately retrieved the Pagoda Sutra from the warehouse, carefully opened it, laid it out on his soft bed, took a photo with his phone, and then encrypted it before sending it to Xiao Yang.

After returning the item to the warehouse, Zhou Chao proudly said, “Brother Yang, how about that? I didn’t deceive you, did I?”

“Is it real or fake? How could you have it? Did you steal it? That shouldn’t be possible. The security at the National Library in Paris is so strict. Moreover, they have examined the ashes and confirmed their authenticity. What’s going on?” Xiao Yang found himself caught in a contradiction.

“Brother Yang, why are you overthinking it? As long as these items are genuine, that’s all that matters, right?”

“You’re right. How do you plan to bring these three items back? Should I arrange for local personnel to receive them from you?” Xiao Yang finally resolved his doubts, as he realized that authentic national treasures were indeed in Zhou Chao’s possession.

“Both options work. I can bring them back, and there’s no risk involved. But if you’re in a hurry, you can send someone to pick them up.”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll check with our team and call you back later!” Xiao Yang said as he prepared to end the call.

“Wait a moment, Brother Yang!”

“What’s the matter? Is there something else?”

“I just wanted to ask, if they are genuine, can they be exhibited in China?”

“Why not? These three items were newly discovered at the Dunhuang site by Chinese archaeologists!”