Chapter 450: Collection

Midday.

A car slowly pulled up in front of the Hua Du Consortium building.

"Oh, Your Excellency the Emissary! We've been waiting for you, longing for your arrival, and finally, you're here!" Before the car even came to a complete stop, Zong Wen, beaming like a blooming chrysanthemum, shamelessly approached it.

Behind him was a group of people, both men and women, presumably from his private residence.

Chen Ling, seasoned by countless battles, casually exchanged a few pleasantries with Zong Wen before walking with him into the estate. Once the crowd dispersed, the car restarted and began looking for a parking spot within the manor.

After the auction driver parked the car in a corner, he yawned and got out, seemingly heading to find a restroom. After all, the Emissary wouldn't be leaving for at least a few more hours, so he could take a short break.

Once everyone had left, a soft click came from the trunk, and three heads cautiously emerged from it.

"No one around! Safe!"

"Eeyah!"

Jian Changsheng's gaze swept the surroundings, and he promptly flipped out of the trunk. Red Heart 9 followed closely. Just as Jian Changsheng reached out to pull the Joker, he turned back to find the small figure already perched on a tree branch, curiously gazing around.

"We got in so easily?" Red Heart 9 shrugged. "How boring..."

"After all, this method is the safest. No one in the entire Red Dust Main City would dare search the Emissary's car," Jian Changsheng couldn't help but sigh. "Red Heart 6 is really good at faking it... Isn't he afraid of being exposed?"

"What's next?"

"Find a safe place to hide and wait for his signal."

"Do we really have to hide? I'm a bit hungry... What are they cooking? It smells so good." Red Heart 9 rubbed his stomach, his nose sniffing the aroma of food in the air.

"Eeyah, eeyah!"

"...Is this really the time to talk about being hungry?" Jian Changsheng couldn't help but ask.

"Didn't you just say we needed to hide?" Red Heart 9 seriously replied, "I think the kitchen would be perfect. The patrolling bodyguards probably wouldn't go there. What do you think, senior?"

"Eeyah!" The Joker gave a thumbs-up.

Jian Changsheng: ...

"Relax, rookie," Red Heart 9 patted Jian Changsheng's shoulder. "With us two seniors here today, even if the sky falls, we'll hold it up for you."

"Alright, the kitchen it is." Jian Changsheng silently began to pray,

"I hope nothing goes wrong this time..."

Chen Ling followed Zong Wen and the others, touring the estate, his gaze falling upon Liu Qingyan, who was waiting nearby.

This was the Hua Du Consortium's territory, so Liu Qingyan's presence was normal. However, Chen Ling hadn't expected to meet her again so soon after having just rejected her request for help.

Liu Qingyan quietly followed behind Zong Wen, her head bowed, as if she had never seen him before.

"I heard that the Hua Du Consortium has quite a few collections?"

After a tour of the estate, Chen Ling took the initiative to steer the conversation in that direction.

"Collections?" Zong Wen paused, then chuckled. "Of course, our Hua Du Consortium's collections are all rare and precious items... Please, Your Excellency, this way."

Zong Wen gestured for him to follow, then headed directly upstairs.

So the Hua Du Consortium's treasury is located upstairs... Chen Ling mused.

Chen Ling followed Zong Wen up to the top floor of the residence, eventually arriving at a private door. Zong Wen waved away the people following them and said with a chuckle,

"Please enter, Emissary."

Chen Ling looked at his smile and felt a bad premonition, but after a moment of hesitation, he stepped inside.

As soon as he entered, a sweet scent flooded Chen Ling's nostrils. He disliked this cloying fragrance, and his brows furrowed slightly beneath his mask. But before he could speak, slender, naked figures emerged from the other end of the room.

Audience Expectation Value: 2

Chen Ling: ???

Among those figures were several faces Chen Ling recognized, seemingly celebrities who had performed at the banquet, but most were strangers. They walked out naked from the back, one after another, onto a platform resembling a runway in the center of the room, standing in neat rows to ensure Chen Ling could clearly see each of their faces.

Zong Wen smiled as he entered the room, closing the door behind him, and said:

"Your Excellency, what do you think of these 'collections'?"

Even the stoic Chen Ling was bewildered at this moment. He had come for the scroll collections, but upon entering, he was met with this scene, and the expression beneath his mask instantly became incredibly complex.

"...Chairman Zong may have misunderstood," Chen Ling said through gritted teeth. "The collections I referred to were not these..."

"Oh? Then which ones did the Emissary mean?"

"Calligraphy rubbings and paintings."

"Hahahaha... No worries! Your Excellency is already here, why not appreciate these 'collections' first before looking at others? If not, we can appreciate them together!" Zong Wen walked directly to the door and gave some instructions to his subordinates.

A few minutes later, numerous figures began bringing batch after batch of calligraphy and paintings into the room.

As Mu Chunsheng had mentioned, the Hua Du Consortium didn't possess many other valuable treasures apart from calligraphy and paintings, so there was no heavily guarded vault. Perhaps "warehouse" was a more fitting term. He had his people bring the calligraphy and paintings directly from the warehouse to this private room; there were hundreds of scrolls at a rough glance.

Chen Ling had initially intended to interrupt Zong Wen and go directly to the warehouse, but after seeing these hundreds of paintings, he abandoned that idea. The Hua Du Consortium had too many paintings. If they were all in the warehouse, his examining each scroll's reverse side would undoubtedly arouse suspicion. The current situation might actually be more convenient for him.

Once all the calligraphy and paintings had been delivered, numerous scrolls were piled into small mountains on the table. Zong Wen waved his hand, and the beautiful figures on the platform descended, surrounding Chen Ling.

"Your Excellency, this Hua Du of mine, isn't it as good as a paradise on earth?" Zong Wen chuckled softly.

Chen Ling was meticulously searching through the scrolls on the table. Before he could even examine a few, several naked young women approached him, obstructing his view.

Chen Ling's brows furrowed deeply.

"Enough."

Chen Ling's voice, tinged with anger, echoed instantly through the room, causing both the young women and Zong Wen to freeze in surprise.

Chen Ling looked at the mountain of scrolls before him, his gaze flicking to Liu Qingyan behind him. After a moment, he slowly spoke:

"Liu Qingyan, stay. Everyone else, leave."

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114 Chinese, your most valuable collection.