I changed the world

"Yes." Joe Ryan nodded.

"Please come in. Your Excellency is already waiting for you two." The old man quickly backed away and made an invitation gesture, and then led the two of them towards the main room.

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In the living room of the main building, Qiao Ryan met the owner here - Mr. Wheeler Madan. Of course, he would rather others call him His Excellency Lord or Lord Wheeler.

This is a middle-aged man with sparse hair and a short, fat build. He is wearing an elegant suit. The accessories on the clothing are quite elegant. They are all accessories with a sense of the times. It can be seen that the owner has a good aesthetic sense.

After shaking hands and greeting each other, the guests and hosts took their seats. Qiao Ryan introduced himself first. Although there had been a certain degree of communication before, it was on the phone.

Since the "Historical Relics Foundation" is not well-known in the industry at this time, it is necessary for Qiao Ryan to give a more detailed explanation.

According to Qiao Ryan, the foundation is a powerful professional foundation founded by private individuals and headquartered in Linzhou, Zhao Empire.

The Zhao Empire in this world is different from a certain eastern power in Zhang Jing's previous life. It has not suffered a hundred years of humiliation in modern times. Therefore, in the eyes of Westerners, it has always appeared as the leader of the eastern world, a mysterious and wealthy power. Big country.

Especially the existence of private foundations, no matter which country they are in, is a common method used by the super rich to avoid taxes. Therefore, after Joe Ryan's introduction, Lord Wheeler's attitude became obviously more enthusiastic.

After the introduction, the two parties did not go straight to the topic, but first discussed the current economic situation based on some recent news.As for Loeffler, he sat aside and said nothing except for occasional compliments. He played the role of an attaché very well.

While chatting, Qiao Ryan carefully observed the person he was talking to. Although the other person seemed to be very interested in talking, he kept talking about his economic outlook.However, it can be seen from the heavy bags under the other person's eyes that he must not have had a good rest recently.

Before coming here, he had done a detailed investigation and found out that Lord Wheeler was not a traditional nobleman, but an honorary Lord.To put it more bluntly, he spent money to buy a title of Lord from some great nobles who had the authority to confer canonization. Lord is the lowest level of nobles, also known as "Knight".

Of course, this kind of title is just an honorary title and does not have any fiefdom.However, although there is no financial benefit, being able to become a nobleman still attracts many wealthy businessmen. After all, even if you do not hold any public office, you can still be called "Your Excellency".

And the economic problems he is currently experiencing are not difficult to figure out.It is said that this gentleman is developing a real estate project on the outskirts of the city.However, due to the news that humans have achieved breakthroughs in space jumps, real estate prices around the world have recently dropped to varying degrees. Today’s investment community generally has eager expectations for starry sky exploration. As for real estate investment, it has been discussed by many Investment projects that are considered outdated.

Because of this, the sales situation of real estate projects does not seem to be ideal, and banks have recently been said to have generally withdrawn loans for real estate projects. This series of changes is probably the reason for the funding gap. .

Through some skillful words and testing of his own guesses, Qiao Ryan gradually became more and more confident about this transaction. It was obvious that the other party had a relatively strong desire to facilitate the transaction.In transaction negotiations, the party with a stronger willingness to make a deal usually means that it is willing to accept more concessions.

As time passed, the topic gradually began to shift from the economy to the collections that Lord Wheeler wanted to sell recently.

It can be seen that Lord Wheeler is actually quite nostalgic and fond of these collections of his. He cherishes each piece very much and expresses reluctance in his words.

However, this also proves that the economic problems it is currently experiencing are quite difficult, and it has reached the point where it has to sell its treasures to make up for it.

After chatting for a while, Lord Wheeler led the two of them to his collection room to view his collection, especially the collection that they had shown a certain interest in.

The collection room is located underground in the entire building and is extremely spacious. There are large and small display cabinets scattered in the basement, which contain various collections.On the walls of the collection room, there are also some taxidermy beast heads hanging.

"These are trophies returned from hunting in the Black Continent. Look... that lion is a big guy. It almost bit one of our guides." Lord Wheeler pointed at the specimens on the wall and said proudly.

"What an amazing collection..." Jo Ryan nodded in admiration and looked at the collection room. He soon discovered that the collections that Lord Wheeler had previously rumored to be for sale were not actually his. All collections.

"Your Majesty is really an amazing collector..." Qiao Ryan followed Wheeler while visiting the displayed collections, and secretly exchanged glances with Loeffler next to him. If he could convince Lord Wheeler Your Excellency asked them to take pictures of all the collections in this collection room, which should be able to achieve a considerable part of the performance indicators required by the headquarters.

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"Mr. Qiao, please look at this precious collection. I obtained it from an antiquities dealer in the New World. It is said that the cave where this mural was found was once used by an indigenous tribe as a sacrificial place." Wheeler Pointing to a large-scale mural hanging on the wall, he introduced it with a smile.

Nowadays, due to the political correctness brought by some racial equality advocates, generally in the media, the native tribesmen of the New World and the Black Continent are mostly referred to as "aboriginals" instead of the derogatory "indigenous" words.However, in private situations, many gentlemen in the "civilized world" still use the term aboriginal to refer to those people. Behind this is actually a manifestation of racial superiority.

Of course, Qiao Ryan didn't care about this. No one in this world would regard a citizen of the Zhao Empire as an inferior race. As the leader of the Eastern World, the Empire undoubtedly belonged to the "civilized world".

Chapter 459 Grande Branch in Action [-]

"This "Bright Red Sacrifice" should depict a grand sacrificial ceremony. The man holding the cane should be the priest, and the people kneeling on the ground and connected together should be prisoners of war or slaves. It can be seen that , this should be an abnormal blood sacrifice. You can see that these bright red patterns are probably blood. The people singing and dancing around should be the indigenous tribesmen participating in the sacrifice... It is really a barbaric and primitive custom..."

While listening to Lord Wheeler's eloquent introduction, Qiao Ryan stepped forward to observe the mural carefully.This is a mural that has been stripped from its original position, with a substrate on the back. I don’t know what kind of paint the entire painting was painted with. Even after a long time, it still maintains its vivid colors. What is especially rare is that the entire painting is Although the technique of the sub-painting is quite primitive and can even be said to be somewhat abstract, it still looks strangely lifelike.

The abstract human figures kneeling on the ground in the mural have distorted faces and seem to be wailing. After looking at it for a long time, you can even feel the desperate cry of the people kneeling on the ground in the painting, which is accompanied by the similarly abstract people watching the ceremony around them. The excitement and joy it gave people formed a completely different and sharp contrast.

Looking at this original painting, Qiao Ruien felt a ferocious impact...

"Mr. Joe?"

"Mr. Qiao??"

"Huh? Oh... I'm sorry, I'm fascinated by it. It's such an impressive work..." Hearing Lord Wheeler's inquiry from the side, Qiao Ruien finally came to his senses. He had been staring at the painting in a daze for a while.

I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. This action was detrimental to myself who was negotiating the price.

Sure enough, Lord Wheeler did not show any displeasure. On the contrary, he said with admiration: "Mr. Qiao is really a classy gentleman. When I first saw this painting, Mr. Qiao had the same reaction. . This is also the reason why I collected this mural. I think this painting has high aesthetic value... You see, the tension of this line has a sense of post-modernist conflict and contains strong emotions. …”

"Your Excellency, I personally agree with your point of view. I have always maintained my love for the art of painting." Qiao Ryan coughed lightly and said: "However, based on the position of my client, the respected gentleman, I’m afraid I won’t pay more than the market value for purely aesthetic reasons…”

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Just as Qiao Ryan and others were visiting the collection room, a box truck was quietly parked on the street at the corner not far from residence No. 8 in Block 117.

The truck was spray-painted with the blue stripes common to local courier companies. Sitting in the driver's seat was a man wearing a baseball cap and courier uniform. He was wearing a mask and the brim of his hat was quite low.

In the sealed rear compartment, there were no express packages. There were only four men in courier uniforms sorting out their equipment.In addition to long and short firearms, they each held some equipment that they didn't know what to use. These people were talking quietly, and the movements in their hands were also slow. Soon all the equipment was checked and loaded into In each handbag with the courier company's print on the side.

"Pliers, do you think those things can really be sold for so much money?" asked a short, bald man.

"Don't worry, I've even found my next home. When the time comes, we'll go to Kraya with our goods to avoid the limelight. That's the New World. The Grande people can't find it there. We'll wait for a month and the storm will pass. I Then contact the next store to sell the goods." The answer was a thin brown-haired man.

"Is that buyer reliable?" another person interjected.

"Just be careful and you'll be fine. The stuff is in our hands. If he's not sincere, just find another one... No matter what, we can make all brothers have no worries about food and drink for the rest of their lives..."

"Everyone has at least this number. However, brothers, you have to keep your mouth shut. This matter will be rotten in your stomach from now on..."

"Do not worry……"

"Don't worry!" After hearing what the brown-haired man said, the others around him agreed.

"XX's... These rich guys from Grande are rich, and the brothers are living and dying for less than a fraction of theirs..." The bald man didn't know what he thought of, while touching a bump on his forearm. He cursed with ferocious scars.

"I would like to remind everyone again, be careful when you act, and try not to hurt Mr. Wheeler's life. He is a noble."

Someone heard the word "noble" and cursed something in a low voice, but did not say any words of rejection. Apparently they knew the importance.

After all, robbing property and murdering a nobleman require completely different levels of pursuit.

After these people organized the equipment in their hands, they sat in the car and chatted about everything. The topics were nothing more than how to spend the money after they got it, and how to avoid being hunted down in the future.

After a while, the bald man's watch suddenly vibrated, and everyone stopped talking. After that, everyone put on their hats and masks in tacit agreement, and then the bald man waved his hand, and the back door of the carriage was opened. The four of them quickly got out of the car, carrying their own handbags and looking like they were traveling in a hurry.

They walked towards House No. 117 not far away...

"Dagger, I will open the door later and you will cut off the cable. Do you understand?"

"Okay, don't worry."

Then they saw the bald man walking straight to the metal door and ringing the doorbell, while the others hid around.

After a while, an inquiry came from the speaker on the door, and the man at the door calmly replied: "Express No. 117."

Not long after, the door was opened, and behind the door was an old man wearing a butler's costume. However, before he could say anything, a black gun muzzle appeared in front of him...

At this moment, the originally brightly lit lights in Building 117 suddenly flickered, and then all went out.

"We have something to discuss with Mr. Wheeler. Now, lead the way. If you don't want to be shot..." Looking at the frightened eyes of the old man in front of him, the bald man said in a deliberately hoarse voice.

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"Deal, Mr. Qiao is really a master of negotiation, and I am willing to become a friend of your foundation. Then, this painting will be priced at the price Mr. Qiao said..."

Chapter 4 Sixty Grand Branch in Action [-]

In the collection room, Lord Wheeler was shaking hands with Jo Ryan with a smile on his face. After some verbal sparring, Jo Ryan finally negotiated the deal for this mural at a price equivalent to 230 million imperial scrolls, which was almost the same as the original price. For the remaining one-third, as long as both parties sign another art transfer contract, the transaction will be considered completed.

It can be seen that both parties are quite satisfied with this transaction. From Lord Wheeler's perspective, he also wants to maintain a good relationship with this foundation that is not well-known but powerful, and even continue to recommend it to them. Several pieces of his own collection. After all, for him, the funds brought by this transaction alone are not enough to fill his current financial gap.

From Qiao Ryan's point of view, although the deal was concluded, he had an explanation for the headquarters, but he also wanted to take advantage of the current good atmosphere to make some further demands.

"By the way, Your Excellency, I have another unkind request..."

"Mr. Qiao, please speak." Lord Wheeler was slightly startled and said hurriedly.But in my heart, I was a little worried about what might happen to the deal I just reached.

"It's like this. As I have introduced to you before, our foundation is currently building the world's largest and most comprehensive database of ancient cultural relics, and we want to create archives for the cultural relics that can be found everywhere. To be honest, we have established branches around the world. The main purpose is also to establish good cooperative relations with some well-known museums, cultural relic collection institutions, collectors and cultural relic dealers in various countries to promote the progress of this project."

"Just now, I saw that you have a lot of exquisite collections here, some of which meet the entry requirements of our database, so I hope you can allow us to create files for these cultural relics."

Seeing Lord Wheeler's thoughtful look, Qiao Ryan added: "The process is very simple. You only need to take a few photos and enter simple information. It shouldn't waste too much time."

“What will your foundation use this information for?”

"Our database will be open to some identified people. If they like a certain item in it, we will purchase it specifically for them, just like this transaction..."

"In addition, you can rest assured that we will not open access to the database to any government agency."

"Since Mr. Qiao said so, I can't refuse. Okay, Mr. Qiao can come and take pictures whenever it's convenient." Wheeler thought for a moment and then agreed. In his opinion, it's not a big deal. He's happy. It was a favor for Joe Ryan, and besides, he did have some expectations that a new deal could be reached as a result.

However, just when the collection room was peaceful, the lights above their heads flickered several times in succession. It seemed as if the voltage was unstable. However, just for a moment, the voltage seemed to stabilize again.

Qiao Ryan and Loeffler did not think there was any problem. Instead, Lord Wheeler first glanced at an indicator light on the wall, and then explained to the two of them with some embarrassment: "It seems that there is a power outage outside. Yes, there is a backup power supply in my collection room, so I am using backup power now."

Qiao Ryan nodded and did not take it too seriously. After all, this is a relatively common situation. In the homes of many big collectors, backup power supplies are common equipment. After all, some delicate collections usually need to be maintained. An environment of constant temperature and humidity can avoid secondary damage.

However, not long after, further changes occurred. There were rapid footsteps outside the door, as well as exclamations and gunshots.

As soon as the gunshot rang out, the expressions of everyone in the collection room suddenly changed. Lord Wheeler was stunned for a moment, and then, as if he remembered something, he quickly walked to a wooden cabinet nearby and reached out to open the door. .

At the same time, the first reaction of Qiao Ryan and Loeffler was to squat down and try to find a place to hide.

The footsteps outside the door approached quickly, and in a few breaths, they had arrived at the door of the collection room. Immediately afterwards, three armed men wearing courier uniforms, masks and baseball caps rushed into the collection room. , one of the men also held hostage an old man dressed in butler's clothing. Qiao Ruien recognized at a glance that it was the old butler of this residence.

Just as they rushed into the collection room, Lord Wheeler had already taken out a pistol from the cabinet. Holding the pistol in one hand, he walked forward and aimed the gun at the three who rushed into the collection room. man.

However, the men were obviously a step faster. When one of them saw this, he took the lead in pulling the trigger of the pistol in his hand. He fired three bullets in a row. The first shot was empty, and the glass displaying the collectibles on the side was shot. The cabinet exploded.The second shot hit Lord Wheeler on the shoulder, making him stagger, and the third shot hit his gun-holding right hand directly. Lord Wheeler dropped the pistol and stumbled back. He went there with a look of pain on his face, staggering on his feet, his left hand covering his shot shoulder, his right hand hanging weakly by his side, his hands already stained red with blood.

The man holding the gun was about to continue shooting, but the accomplice on the side quickly pushed the muzzle of the gun, and the fourth bullet flew away. The man who fired the gun seemed to realize something, so he stopped pulling the trigger.

Lord Wheeler staggered back to the wall, leaned against the wall, and then stopped. At this time, what he was leaning against happened to be the mural "The Bright Red Sacrifice" on which the deal had been concluded.

However, in the chaos, no one paid attention to this detail at this time. They saw Lord Wheeler breathing heavily, with a painful expression on his face. Blood had soaked his clothes, and even the mural behind him had been stained by the blood. Added a touch of dark red color...

"Dear Lord, you see, this is not good. We are just here to ask for money. We don't want to cause something that no one wants to see." A man with a gun said, and then made a gesture to the old housekeeper beside him. Nu Zui: "Go and bandage your master. Look, he is in so much pain..."

The old butler was let go, and the old butler came to Lord Wheeler with a cry. At this time, Lord Wheeler had already sat down on the ground because he was shot. The old butler just After taking one look, he begged the robbers behind him: "He needs a doctor, please, please, he is seriously injured..."

"If you cooperate enough, we will let you find a doctor..." The robber frowned, and then said: "Now, bandage him first. In this room, you are not allowed to go anywhere... …”

Chapter 461 The Bright Red Sacrifice One

The old butler did not dare to say more, but he obviously had not received such training and looked like he was in a hurry...

The robbers no longer paid attention to how he dealt with it, leaving one person holding a gun to watch the few people in the collection room not to move. The other person retreated, and soon they quickly dragged a small cart from outside, and then , they smashed the surrounding glass display cases and began to move the items inside...

Qiao Ryan and Loeffler stood on one side with their hands raised from the beginning. Seeing the housekeeper in a hurry, they boldly went to help. The robber guarding Xu was really worried about Wheeler. Even though Lord Wheeler was dead, he didn't stop him. He watched them take off their clothes and tear them into strips one by one, using them as temporary bandages to bandage Lord Wheeler's wounds...

Just when the collection room was chaotic yet orderly, faint drum beats came from nowhere one after another.

This drum sound carries a wild atmosphere, as if through the dust of time, it awakens some kind of memory from the deep genes of everyone present, making people subconsciously feel a feeling of hair standing on end...

At that moment, everyone involuntarily stopped what they were doing, raised their heads and looked around, trying to find the source of the sound that made them feel uneasy.

The rhythmic drumming continued, getting louder and louder. Each drum beat seemed to hit their hearts. Finally, everyone's eyes were focused on the drum hanging just behind Lord Wheeler. On the mural on the far wall.

In the shocked eyes of everyone, they saw that the abstract figures painted on the mural were moving as if they were alive. They waved their arms rhythmically and made exaggerated gestures, as if they were in progress. Some kind of weird dance…

"What...what is this?!" A robber muttered subconsciously.

Before everyone could understand what happened, they found that the world around them suddenly started to spin, upside down, left and right, as if they were caught in the rapid turbulence, and everyone screamed in surprise.

At the same time, the huge mural hanging on the wall quickly expanded in all directions, expanding, expanding, getting bigger and bigger...

And everyone was involved in the rapidly expanding mural like chess pieces thrown into a chessboard...

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"Where...is this place?" Rubbing his slightly groggy face, Qiao Ruien stood up and looked around.

There is gray mist all around, and there are messy ruins all around. There are collapsed buildings everywhere in the field of vision. There are still burning flames on the ruins of the building not far away, and the corpses lying on the ground can be seen in the field of vision. After telling him that this should be a town that was destroyed just after the war.

Judging from the architectural style of the surrounding building remains, it was not like any architectural style he knew. It was neither the traditional architectural style of the Zhao Empire that he was familiar with, nor the style of the Western Continent. These buildings had more complicated The decorative reliefs are mainly composed of stone and wood mixed structures.