“CIA or FBI?”
“Who is the target?” Lu Zheng stroked his chin. A smirk played on his lips. “It cannot be me, right?”
Well, it very likely was Lu Zheng. After all, so many people from two European countries had suffered such a major setback. They naturally wanted someone to take the blame. The bounty in the underground world had already exceeded three hundred million euros. Even for the CIA or FBI, that was not a small sum.
Given the commotion caused by the artefact thief before, they were very likely keeping an eye on this snake-head bronze statue.
Even if the probability was low, agencies in the Lighthouse Country would not mind setting up an operation. Monitor for a while. If they happened to catch the artefact thief, they could reap immense rewards in both reputation and profit.
“No wonder. No wonder they placed the snake-head bronze statue here. It is neither particularly hidden, nor are there many bystanders around. Even escaping would be difficult.” Lu Zheng nodded. “Professional!”
He gave them a mental thumbs-up, then snapped his fingers. Electric sparks flashed in the air. Immediately, the circuits in all the cameras were struck and burnt out.
…
“Report! Cameras damaged!”
“Switch to backups.”
“All down!”
“What?”
“Physical means. The estate has been breached. The target should already be inside!”
“Release the drones! Notify the Special Operations Team! Seal nearby exits! Technicians continue monitoring surrounding feeds. Everyone else, with me!”
“Yes!”
In the next moment, four DJI drones flew out from another van, heading in all directions around the estate. Within a kilometre radius, several suited figures emerged, rushing to various road intersections. From the two vans near the estate, four or five people each emerged, splitting into two teams. They entered through the front and rear doors, charging towards the study.
The estate staff clearly knew the situation. Seeing the CIA appear, they immediately raised hands behind heads and hid aside.
However, when over ten agents sandwiched front and back, bursting into the study in under two minutes, they found the stand that previously held the snake-head bronze statue empty. The statue itself had vanished without trace!
“Hawk, any sign of the target?”
“Report, drones detect no movement. No one has left the estate!”
“Report, no vehicles at surrounding intersections!”
The team leader stared at the empty stand, dumbfounded. Reports from European colleagues flashed through his mind like water: Highly suspect the opponent possesses optical invisibility equipment.
“Have the drones activated loaded infrared radar?”
“Already on, but nothing detected!”
“What? Impossible? Unless…”
“Unless they are still in the estate!”
In the next instant, several exclamations came through their earpieces. “Bad! Drone One downed!”
“Special Operations Team, move north! Other drones, provide immediate support!”
“Drone Two downed! No gunfire heard. Drone not shattered. Likely long-range electromagnetic interference weapon!”
“Drones Three and Four, activate anti-EMI devices. Continue support!”
“Uh… report, budget limited. This batch is for domestic enforcement. No anti-EMI installed.”
“…”
“Report, Drones Three and Four downed!”
“No anti-EMI and you still go? Got bonus money to burn?” The leader roared angrily. “Special Operations Team in position?”
“In position. No target sighted!”
“Request support from superiors!”
Unfortunately, by the time support arrived, an hour had passed. Even the operation leader held no hope. Naturally, they found no clues.
“Damn it! Are those European colleagues idiots? They only guessed optical invisibility. Did not even scout for long-range electromagnetic interference weapons?”
A subordinate shrugged. “Because they never encountered it. Long-range EMI weapons are strictly military-grade. Most countries do not have them.”
“Bullshit. This is not actual warfare. Against a few drones without anti-jamming, even DIY one works!”
“But…” The deputy shrugged. “But we can report it that way!”
The leader, “…”
…
Lu Zheng, mimicking Lin Wan’s approach, left some clues and traces that sparked imagination but yielded nothing concrete. Then he drifted away lightly.
“Really, I thought there would be other collectibles. Just one snake-head bronze statue.” Lu Zheng shook his head helplessly. “The sects in the Lighthouse Country lack depth. All property deeds and stock certificates. Vulgar, too vulgar!”
After toying with the CIA, Lu Zheng did not return immediately. Instead, he wandered the greater Los Angeles area, visiting all other Church of Eden bases.
Surprisingly, he found several more good items. Artefacts and collectibles from other countries. Lu Zheng took them all one by one.
…
One must say, gossip spreads fast in places like Los Angeles. When not involving state secrets, before Lu Zheng even flew out of Lighthouse Country borders, news of the Church of Eden’s snake-head bronze statue and over a dozen national collectibles theft had already hit CNN evening news.
By the time Lu Zheng flew back to China, the news had spread worldwide.
Of course, omitting the CIA’s embarrassing part.
“What? The Church of Eden also collected Pharaoh’s snake-head sceptre?” A netizen from Pharaoh Country commented. “Haha, next time I visit the Pyramid Museum, maybe I can see it.”
“Baka! There was even a Bakufu-era Yamata no Orochi bronze statue? That is our Day Country’s! Hope the artefact thief does not return it to the wrong place this time!”
“Hahaha, let him lie and deceive. Satisfied with the result now? Not only the snake-head statue gone, all other snake sacred objects vanished too. Truly cause for universal celebration!”
“Seems everyone is looking forward to it!”
By now, Lu Zheng was home. Lin Wan had finished work and was waiting.
“Did the CIA request assistance?” Lu Zheng asked with a smile. He had already told Lin Wan about encountering the CIA.
“No.” Lin Wan shook her head and could not help smiling. “Since they did not catch anyone at the scene, they probably will not issue a notice. Because it would be useless.”
“Fine. Tomorrow is the weekend. How about we tour the world tomorrow?”
Lin Wan nodded with a smile.
Lu Zheng blinked. “Then this Yamata no Orochi bronze statue…”
Lin Wan replied matter-of-factly. “Of course, handle it just like last time!”
Lu Zheng gave a thumbs-up. “Impressive!”
