A Marine Admiral in the Marvel Universe

"Yes, but we don't have the power to match this person in Paris. Unless we deal with him, your security risks will always exist."

This is a tricky situation. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have anyone with the combat capability to directly defeat Patton and force him to flee, unless they mobilize an action team and deploy heavy weapons directly.

The problem is, this is Paris. Although France is soft, it will definitely not allow foreign troops to land on its soil, and even if it does, the procedures will take a long time.

Therefore, S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently helpless in the face of Cao Gui.

"Sir, I want you to investigate who leaked my identity," Hawkeye stated his purpose.

"Okay, I'll send someone to investigate." With that, Nick Fury hung up the phone, secretly furious. He was determined to find out who the hidden mole was.

……

Inside the Japanese Yakuza organization's building, a hidden door opened on the ground.

Cao Gui's lips twitched slightly as he thought, "This is a Japanese yakuza organization. There might not be any girls in tight-fitting bodysuits like those in turtle shell bondage here, right?"

After thinking for a moment, Cao Gui took out a gun light, attached an HK P30 to it, and then slowly walked inside.

However, upon reaching the bottom, Cao Gui was greatly disappointed.

The space here is cramped, but there's a lot of cash here—euros, dollars, and francs.

In addition, there were several paintings and calligraphy works, and a lot of miscellaneous items. Apart from a burlap sack made of rope, nothing else was related to rope.

"What a bunch of useless trash, they don't even know the traditional skills of Japan." Cao Gui curled his lip in disdain, and casually grabbed a painting or calligraphy piece.

Upon opening it, the person in the painting turned out to be Emperor Qianlong!

"what?"

It was even Chinese calligraphy and painting! Cao Gui stroked his chin. The Japanese, who seemed to be living a comfortable life, had excellent taste.

"Mmm...uh...wow..."

At that moment, a series of moans came from inside the sack; it was a woman's voice.

Cao Gui: "..."

I just said it casually, and... there really were some pretty girls there!?

------------

Chapter 75 Are You Married?

After thinking for a moment, Cao Gui put all the dirty money into his [system backpack], and then opened the sack.

It turned out to be a blonde, wavy-haired French girl inside.

"Golden blonde hair and big waves" is the literal meaning, not just three adjectives. This girl has a pretty and charming face, and she also has a kind of... well, aristocratic air about her, giving people the feeling of a noble lady.

However, she is not in good condition right now. She is tied up and gagged with a rag, so she can't speak. But her eyes are not covered.

Upon seeing Cao Gui wearing a white mask, she subconsciously shifted her position back, seemingly terrified of him.

In fact, any girl would be scared. Imagine opening your eyes to find yourself in a basement with a man in a white mask standing in front of you. Who wouldn't be scared?

Cao Gui frowned, looking at the neon-lit yakuza... They actually do kidnapping and human trafficking?

Cao Gui squatted down in front of her and asked, "Can you speak English?"

The girl was taken aback, looked at Cao Gui with a puzzled expression, and then nodded: "Mmm...uh-huh..."

Cao Gui looked at her, raised a finger, and slowly said, "First, I am not the same group of people who kidnapped you, so you don't need to be afraid."

"Secondly, I'm letting you go now. Don't shout or scream, understand?"

The girl's expression of confusion deepened, then she slowly nodded.

Seeing this, Cao Gui pulled the cloth out of her mouth. However, the girl could not close her mouth and could only make incoherent sounds. The cloth had dislocated her temporomandibular joint.

With a snap, Cao Gui squeezed her temporomandibular joint back into place. Instantly, the girl's eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face.

"Ouch...it hurts so much..."

Cao Gui frowned, then pinched her cheek with two fingers and rubbed it for her.

"Um... thank you..." the girl managed to say through tears.

"You're welcome," Cao Gui said. "I'm going to blindfold you now and then send you out. Don't shout or scream."

"……it is good"

Cao Gui found a strip of cloth, tied it around her eyes, and then took her to his car.

He then returned to the building, opened the fire hydrant, washed away all the bloodstains, took out a can of gasoline, and set it on fire. Only after doing all this did he return to his car.

Murder and arson are immoral, but this is the Japanese underworld, where there's no need to consider morality.

"Can you drive?" Cao Gui asked from the passenger seat, then took off his mask.

"……meeting."

“Drive yourself to your destination, and then you’ll be safe,” Cao Gui said calmly.

"Oh well."

The girl glanced at Cao Gui's face, then got into the car and started the engine.

Cao Gui didn't care about her gaze. He had only worn a mask out of habit, and he didn't want his face to be blacklisted by French law enforcement agencies.

Now that the matter is settled and there are no cameras nearby, there is no need to cover one's face anymore.

As for the girl in front of him, if she's not stupid, she shouldn't be thinking of repaying kindness with enmity.

Cao Gui pulled out a painting from under his chair to look at it. He hadn't seen it clearly before in the basement because the lighting was dim, and he had only seen a rough outline. He never expected that the painting was actually "Emperor Qianlong's Autumn Hunting Scene" painted by Giuseppe Castiglione.

Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) was an Italian missionary who came to China during the Qing Dynasty to preach. He later entered the Qing court as a court painter and was known as one of the ten greatest painters of the Qing court.

This person also participated in the design of the Western-style buildings in the Old Summer Palace.

Cao Gui never expected to see this painting in the basement of a yakuza organization.

Touching the painting, Cao Gui felt a surge of emotions. In junior high school, he had read a book called "Ghost Blows Out the Light" and was immediately awestruck, fantasizing about becoming a man like Hu Bayi.

Therefore, when filling out his college application after the college entrance examination, Cao Gui directly chose archaeology as his major, since tomb raiding has talismans, excavation of tombs has seals, and archaeology has certificates.

Tomb raiding is a despicable profession, but rescue excavation is a meritorious deed, so Cao Gui chose archaeology without hesitation.

Unfortunately, after finishing his first year of college, Cao Gui realized something was wrong. He had been thinking about making a fortune by going into tombs; making money was the goal, and going into tombs was just a means to an end.

Having realized this, Cao Gui reluctantly gave up his beloved archaeology career and instead learned programming languages, eventually becoming a programmer.

Life is truly unpredictable.

Cao Gui was somewhat emotional. He had never come into contact with any cultural relics in his previous life, but he never expected to come across a lost court painting, even though Cao Gui did not like this so-called "perfect old man".

"Hello, my name is Catherine," the girl in the driver's seat said. "Thank you for saving me."

"Hmm, hello." Cao Gui replied indifferently without looking up.

“You seem to really like this painting?” Catherine continued.

"Yes, that's right." Cao Gui still didn't look up.

"This painting actually belongs to my family; I have several others at home..."

"Hmm?" Cao Gui's brows furrowed, and he turned to stare at her intently.

With a screech, Catherine slammed on the brakes and came to a stop, smiling at Cao Gui:

"Would you like to come to my house? I have many calligraphy and paintings there."

Cao Gui: "..."

That sounds familiar.

"I have a question for you: Are you married?"

“No.” Catherine said, somewhat puzzled.

“…Okay.” Cao Gui smacked his lips, feeling inexplicably disappointed.

……

“This is my home, Si Che Manor.” Jia Fulian parked the car in front of the gate of a manor. Cao Gui looked up and was immediately amazed.

Inside is a huge ancient castle, covering an area of ​​more than ten acres.

"Your home... is this place?" Cao Gui asked in confusion. Logically speaking, people who live in a place like this should have a lot of security. How could they have been kidnapped by a gang of thugs?

“I know what you mean.” Catherine shrugged and said helplessly, “My family has gone bankrupt, so we can only reduce security as much as possible.”

"Moreover, my parents have passed away, and I am the only one supporting them."

"Okay." Cao Gui shrugged. He didn't understand city people's affairs.

"Come in, I'll show you something," Catherine said with a smile, leading Cao Gui into the manor. Just as she had said, the manor was deserted with only a few servants.

Upon entering the castle, there is a tiger-skin rug in front of the door, while the other tables and walls are covered with specimens, skeletons, and horns of various rare creatures.

Katharine led Cao Gui up to the second floor, but on the stairs, Cao Gui saw something different: a bronze chicken head.

Cao Gui raised an eyebrow. Anyone from the Celestial Empire would be familiar with this thing.

“Catherine, this thing…?” Cao Gui pointed to the chicken head and asked with some doubt.

“That’s right, that’s why I wanted you to come,” Catherine said with a smile.

"Thank you for saving me. I will give you this chicken head as a gift."

"However, I would like to ask you for a favor. My great-grandfather brought back this rooster head after returning from his overseas campaign, and he has been thinking about going to sea to find his second-in-command, but unfortunately he has been unable to raise the funds."

"Later, my great-grandfather raised the funds and organized an ocean-going fleet, but he never returned."

“Cao, I know you’re no ordinary person, so I was wondering if I could ask you for help in finding my great-grandfather.”

Cao Gui touched his nose. This plot... seems a little familiar.

------------

Chapter 76 Treasure Clues

The neon-lit high-rise building in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

Cao Gui set the place ablaze, turning all fifty-odd corpses into charred remains. The Paris fire department quickly discovered the site and waited for the flames to die down before calling the crematorium to handle the situation.

A day later, two white men entered the place: a bald, bespectacled man and a thin but muscular, bearded man.