antique on the run

The Louvre lost a pottery dish made in the Edo period of Japan, a statue of Hera from the ancient Greek country Thebes, and a fragment of an unfinished manuscript by Sir Conan Doyle.

According to Seville, these three antiques, together with 27 other pieces, were originally collected in different exhibition halls of the Louvre, because the upcoming century celebration ceremony was temporarily concentrated in a spare small exhibition hall, It is going to be moved to the large exhibition hall for the celebration later.

As a result, on the second day after the antiques were moved to the small exhibition hall, a meteorite accidentally landed over the Louvre, smashing the glass roof of the exhibition hall.

The strong magnetism of the meteorite seriously interfered with the original magnetic field, and the time and space were distorted in an instant. Because the frequency of the magnetic field of the three antiques was similar to that of the meteorite, the fluctuations were the most obvious. .

In the jargon, they "flee".

The "escape" of antiques is usually divided into two situations. One is that the accidental change of the external magnetic field provides an opportunity for the antique to travel through time and space, which is what the Louvre encountered this time; the other is that the antique relies on its own strong Miss forcibly split time and space and went back to the past.

But no matter what the situation is, the result is the same, that is, the antique will disappear from the sight, and travel through time and space to return to the place it most wants to go back to.

This kind of "escape" is actually not uncommon in history. It has happened in almost every museum, but because of the strange things, the disappearance of antiques is not within the control of human beings. It is still unknown whether they can be found. So it was never officially acknowledged.

But this does not prevent the public from exploring the authenticity of antiques. For example, the famous painting "Mona Lisa" collected by the Louvre Museum has been questioned. Some people claim that the "Mona Lisa" currently exhibited in the center of the Louvre Museum It was not made by Da Vinci, but an imitation of later generations. As for the real one, it has long been lost.

This kind of doubt is very loud, but it has not received a positive official response. On the contrary, many novels and movies have made a lot of money relying on related plots.

It's a pity that most people can only associate the loss of antiques with theft at most, and they don't even know that there is such a thing as "escape".Of course, he didn't even know the existence of an antique hunting expert like Qi Xiao.

After Sai Wei finished speaking, Qi Xiao was silent for a long time before asking: "How many days has it been?"

"The meteorite fell seven days ago."

It's been seven days?

Qi Xiao frowned, seven days is not a short time.The dean got the news the day before yesterday, and immediately notified him. He returned to Beijing yesterday, and then flew to Paris overnight without any delay.

"Why did it take so long to notify us?"

Sai Wei's expression was a little embarrassed.

"The curator, he may... be afraid that your dean will make fun of him."

After all, asking for help from an old enemy requires a very thick skin and a strong psychological construction.

Just like what the old dean said to Qi Xiao on the phone earlier, if it weren’t for the fact that the celebration exhibition was just around the corner, the list of cultural relics participating in the exhibition had already been announced, and if Derrick was missing, the curator would not be able to explain to the government and the public. I'm afraid he would rather give up these three antiques than be teased by his old enemies.

Qi Xiao sighed, the French always regard dignity and face as extremely important.

"Besides these three, do meteorites have any influence on other antiques?"

"No, everything else is intact, and the position hasn't even shifted. But after that, the curator asked people to move the remaining cultural relics to other exhibition halls, but the empty exhibition cabinets and the meteorites on the ground remained untouched. The debris is not cleared, and the magnetic field will not be destroyed, don't worry."

This is like the scene of a murder that will be completely sealed up by the police until the case is closed. There are many important clues and evidence at the scene.At Qi Xiao's place, the magnetic field when the antiques disappeared is still there, and the cracks in time and space are there. He has the opportunity to go to the time and space where the antiques escaped through this time-space tunnel and catch them back.

The off-road vehicle was driving fast on the highway between Charles de Gaulle Airport and the Louvre. After learning about the disappearance of the antiques, Qi Xiao stopped talking. He looked out the window by himself and didn't know what he was thinking, while Sewei concentrated on After driving, he no longer took the initiative to talk to Qi Xiao.

There was silence in the car for a while.

"Sever."

I don't know how long it has passed, but when Sai Wei thought that Qi Xiao might have fallen asleep in the passenger seat, Qi Xiao suddenly called his name.

Saiwei turned his head slightly, and asked Qi Xiao what he wanted to say with his eyes.

Qi Xiao really wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth halfway but closed it again, and said after a while: "It's nothing, I just want to ask how long it will take to arrive."

Sai Wei did not doubt that he was there, and replied: "Hurry up, go down the fork in front and drive for another 15 minutes."

Qi Xiao nodded absently, then fell silent again.

Of course, what he wanted to ask was not how long it would take to get there. In fact, he originally planned to ask Sai Wei if he knew about 'Silver Sparrow', but thinking of that guy's erratic whereabouts and meticulous and sophisticated handling methods, he dismissed the question again. idea.

Saiwei probably knows no more than himself.

In fact, the name 'Silver Sparrow' may be unfamiliar to ordinary people, but almost everyone in the field of antique pursuits knows it.He rose to prominence six years ago when he tracked down a ruby ​​necklace for Queen Victoria and a year later when he helped Swedish collector Douglas King track down a gold necklace worn by the mummy of Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II.Even Qi Xiao wasn't fully sure of the difficulty of hunting down that golden collar, but 'Yinque' came back from the chase without any risk, showing his ability and skill.

Since he is also engaged in the hunting of antiques, Qi Xiao has naturally heard of this man.However, unlike Qi Xiao, Qi Xiao's name and identity are completely disclosed, and 'Yinque' is just a code name given to him by that man.

More importantly, Qi Xiao belongs to the Palace Museum of China. The antiques he is involved in hunting down are all cultural relics collected by major museums and museums. He never served private collectors; on the contrary, 'Silver Sparrow' earned high remuneration by hunting down antiques for private collectors scattered in various countries, but never accepted commissions from any museums.

His identity is like a mystery, no one knows who he is, and no one knows what he looks like, because he always wears a silver mask every time he meets those private collectors, so that no one will be allowed to see him. People peeped at his face.

Of course, because most of the private commissions he accepted were concentrated in Europe, the governments and national museums of various European countries have tried to find this mysterious antique hunter, but they all failed in the end. Yinque's cognition is only limited to the name code and the mailbox he provided to private collectors to accept the commission.

If it wasn't for the accident two years ago, if he hadn't quit the business, he would have become a world-recognized expert in hunting antiques, and his fame might rival Qi Xiao's.

Qi Xiao closed his eyes. He had never seen 'Yinque' before, but it did not prevent him from becoming interested in this man who had a chance to be as famous as himself.He didn't know what happened two years ago that made this person decide to quit this business, but obviously, it was a pity that such a talent was missing in the antique hunting world.

Maybe this trip to France can give him an answer.The person who disappeared for two years like a vapour, suddenly called him to Paris with an email, what on earth is this guy 'Silver Sparrow' trying to do...

The off-road vehicle turned a few turns according to the signs and then drove into the main road leading to the Louvre Museum. From a distance, the iconic glass pyramid on the square in front of the museum has faintly exposed its sharp corners, under the sun shining brightly.

Curator Derrick greeted him personally at the main entrance of the Louvre.

He was wearing a decent suit, and his gray hair was combed meticulously, but his face was really not very good-looking.There was no way, during the period when the antique was lost, he was so anxious that he couldn't even sleep well. There were two black spots under his eyes, and he looked haggard.

But even so, Director Derrick thoughtfully asked Qi Xiao if he needed to go to the hotel to drop off his luggage and rest for the night after greeting him.

"No need." Qi Xiao said without hesitation: "It has been delayed for seven days, and the magnetic field may have changed. If possible, I hope it will pass now."

Although he is a well-known expert in hunting antiques in the industry, he cannot guarantee a [-]% success rate.For the gourd bottle that the old dean has been thinking about... Qi Xiao took a deep breath, and he might have to spin around for a long time.

These words hit Director Derrick's arms.

He wished that Qi Xiao would rush to catch antiques for him right now, but because he had just been on a plane for more than ten hours, and rushed over in a hurry, it was not reasonable for him to start working immediately, so he proposed to let him Rest first, and wait until tomorrow to talk about things.

In the end, Qi Xiao actually refused by himself!

The old curator was so excited that he wanted to rush over to give him a hug.

Chinese people are dedicated!

Seriously!

Director Derrick immediately took Qi Xiao to the small exhibition hall where the accident happened in strides, but stopped after sending him to the door.

It's not that he doesn't want to go in, but because everyone carries a magnetic field, which is likely to cause new changes to the already unstable magnetic field inside, and then affect the subsequent pursuit of antiques.

"Do you need me to lock the door of the exhibition hall?"

"No, there is no need. But if it is convenient, please put a cordon outside the door. Unless I open the door from the inside, no one can go in."

It happened in other museums before because the cleaning staff heard the sound of broken glass in the house and went in to clean it out of good intentions, which affected the magnetic field. Although it did not cause serious consequences in the end, it is better for such risky things to happen less.

Qi Xiao slowed down his speech and reiterated again: "No matter what happens inside, no matter what sounds people outside hear, don't open the door without authorization."

Curator Derrick regards Qi Xiao as a savior at the moment, and naturally agrees to any request.After he repeatedly promised to restrain his subordinates so that Qi Xiao would not be disturbed, Qi Xiao entered the exhibition hall alone with Saiwei without wasting any more time.

Inside, it was just like what Saiwei said before, a big hole was smashed into the glass roof, and a lot of glass shards were scattered on the ground. A fist-sized, dusty meteorite was lying in it. the difference.

Qi Xiao glanced at the ugly meteorite, and quickly looked away.He walked slowly around the exhibition hall, his brows gradually relaxed.

Fortunately, the magnetic field here has not been destroyed.

He finally came to stand under the smashed glass roof.

This is where meteorites enter the exhibition hall, and naturally it is also the central point where the magnetic fields of the entire exhibition hall meet.

He looked up at the blue sky outside, reached out and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, and pulled out a strangely shaped stone from the neckline.

The stone is not big, and its body is pitch black, very inconspicuous, but if you look closely, you will find faint golden water patterns running across the surface of the stone from time to time.

Seve stared——

time meteorite.

This magical meteorite comes from space hundreds of millions of light years away, and so far very few have successfully landed on the earth.Among the few countries that have time meteorites, only the United States and China can crack the space code and use the power of meteorites to reverse time and space.

Sensing the gaze cast by Sai Wei, Qi Xiao thought it was the first time he saw the time meteorite, and patiently explained: "The time meteorite can take us to the era when antiques fled, where we will have another identity, the task is Restoring history."

In fact, to put it bluntly, it is role-playing.

Antique hunters are like actors in a historical drama. They go to the era when the antiques fled, play real characters in history, and use their own understanding of history to promote the development of the plot; whether the antiques can be successfully retrieved depends on history Whether it has been restored correctly, in other words, the antiques as the audience are not satisfied with their performance.

If you are satisfied, Antique's obsession is gone, and you will naturally go back obediently; if you are not satisfied... Sorry, there are only two results if you are not satisfied, either Antique will show mercy and give you a chance to start over to make him satisfied, or You will never get it back.

"It sounds simple, but there is an uncertain factor in it, which is which era the antique escaped, the era when it was created, or the era he described."

The era of creation refers to the era when the antiques were created by the manufacturer. Generally, it is the age that actually existed in history. The era is the era depicted and embodied by antiques, and it is often a fantasy world created by the creators of antiques.

Take Raphael's famous painting "The Sistine Madonna" as an example. If one day it really falls into "fleeing", then those who pursue it may go to its creation era, that is, Rome in the 16th century, and become Raphael. Well, I drew this world-famous painting with my own hands; but it is also possible that as soon as I opened my eyes, I turned into the baby Jesus who was waiting to be fed, and was coaxed softly by the Virgin Mary...

Therefore, the pursuit of antiques has very high requirements for the psychological endurance of the participants, because when you open your eyes, you may be a person, or you may become a character that only exists in myths and legends, or even God Jehovah And Satan Lucifer...

But this kind of uncertain factor does not exist for some antiques, such as the "Mona Lisa", because it is a portrait of a character, so its creation era and description era coincide, and the pursuer can only be Travel to an era, be Leonardo da Vinci or Mona Lisa, paint or be painted.

Although he knew that he would be selected by the curator Derrick, it was impossible for Sai Wei to know nothing about the field of antique hunting, but in line with the principle of being responsible to his companions, Qi Xiao told him the precautions one by one.

Sewei listened carefully to what he said, and smiled, "Okay, I will remember."

Although he is familiar with all these things Qi Xiao said, he can get personal guidance from a world-renowned antique hunting expert, especially the other party is an extremely beautiful oriental beauty...

Sai Wei smiled, this feeling is not bad.

Beauty, always get extra patience and preferential treatment.

Seeing that he understood, Qi Xiao said no more. He brushed his fingers over the surface of the time meteorite, but he didn't know what he did. He saw those golden water patterns suddenly brighten up, and bright golden light instantly filled the entire exhibition hall. It hurts so much that people can't open their eyes.

Then there is a whirlwind.

In the chaos, he still didn't forget to ask Saiwei: "We will go to Japan in the 17th century immediately, and be prepared..."