Chapter 259 - 161: Poaching! Part 2

Banks don’t keep too much cash on hand these days. For a small bank, a few hundred thousand is usually a lot.

Of course, if you were to rob some private banks...

The bank might report that you stole a hundred million, but you’d probably be sitting in front of the TV, staring at the five hundred thousand you actually got, pondering your life choices.

But with antiques, the value can easily reach hundreds of millions.

This stuff is a rich person’s game to begin with, and Huang Meng has made many sales.

Most importantly...

"His distribution channels are international."

"We haven’t found any connection between him and that group of monks yet."

"Based on the information we’ve uncovered, they’re involved in reselling genuine cultural relics from within the country. Basically, Huang Meng sells fakes for a high price, then uses the money to acquire other real antiques on the cheap."

"Finally, he sells them through overseas distributors."

"Items like the Gabala Bowls, Human Skin Thangkas, and Sister Drums—most of them are sold to them."

Overseas smuggling...

In fact, a considerable portion of the Eastern Country’s antiques and cultural relics are abroad.

These items were stolen by bandits and displayed in their lairs, or they ended up in the private collections of certain individuals.

But new wealthy people emerge over time.

These people don’t own any of the original antiques, but what do they do when they want to get into the game?

They buy.

From the old money?

Not a chance. The kind of wealthy person who can spend tens or hundreds of millions on a single collectible isn’t short on cash to begin with.

So, smuggling relics for export has become a popular option.

Tomb raiders, thieves, and forgers have all flocked to them, selling off piles of antiques.

"Some are real, some are fake. We haven’t finished calculating the total value yet."

"He splits the money with the others,"

Zhang Liang said.

"Not bad. We’ll investigate as we make arrests."

Xu Huo nodded, replying casually.

The Capital City is taking this case very seriously.

Whether it was the amount of money involved or the smuggling of cultural relics.

Or even the creation of a Sister Drum!

Any one of these offenses was enough for the authorities to hunt Huang Meng to the ends of the earth.

Especially with relics, which the government had been cracking down on relentlessly. And he was still selling them abroad... Most importantly, a Sister Drum!

And it wasn’t even a Sister Drum from decades ago; it was personally crafted!

Heh. They say you shouldn’t slap a man in the face when you fight him.

But this guy was clearly going for the kill!

After learning all this,

Xu Huo slowly let out a breath. He looked around the office and chuckled in spite of himself.

"I originally came at the beginning of the month and planned to leave mid-month."

"Tsk, I didn’t expect I’d be stuck here through the Western New Year and still not be able to leave."

"Ah, life. You can never really figure it out."

Zhang Liang froze at his words.

He turned his deadpan gaze to Wang Chao, who was standing beside him looking at everything with wide-eyed wonder.

"Actually, it’s not that hard to figure out."

"At least, I was mentally prepared."

"I just didn’t expect it to get this big..."

Xu Huo didn’t understand.

’I’m here to make money,’ he thought. ’He must have been mentally prepared for me to make a killing.’

’Yep, that must be it.’

"What’s the reward from the Capital City?"

Xu Huo’s eyebrow twitched. When it came to money, his interest was piqued again.

"Honestly, at a time like this, you should ditch your money-grubbing attitude and just join the system!"

Zhang Liang clicked his tongue as he looked at Xu Huo.

’This is his moment to shine...’

It was currently 2003. The people who had been active decades ago were now probably at Wang Tao’s level or even higher.

And these were the people who were most furious about what was happening in the Capital City.

At least half of the pressure on Wang Tao and the others came from them.

Originally, with the five deaths in the Chen Family,

it had looked like they wouldn’t be able to root out Huang Meng before the new year. But who would’ve thought Xu Huo would suddenly say there was still someone else involved.

Most importantly, he was the one who caught this person, too!

Even more critically, when the people pressuring Wang Tao looked into it, they saw—holy crap—that bastard in Jiangsan City was also mixed up in Gabala and Three Realms Tokens...

And he was caught within just four months!

The Jiangsan City case, the Capital City case, and he was so young. They immediately took an interest.

So they pulled his file...

And just like that—WHOOSH—Linlan City, Zhaozhou, Jiangsan City... a whole list of achievements that anyone else could brag about for a lifetime all appeared in the same file!

Young, helped them vent their anger, solved two major cases in four months, capable, and didn’t cause trouble...

Zhang Liang really couldn’t think of any reason for these people to dislike Xu Huo.

"Honestly, you could come work directly in the Capital City."

"You’d be promoted faster than anyone could imagine!"

Zhang Liang couldn’t help but try to persuade him again.

"Tsk, if it comes to that, I’d rather work in a local branch."

Xu Huo shook his head. He really didn’t like it here.

The city wasn’t that big, but there were over twenty thousand mid-level officials. The thought alone was exhausting to Xu Huo; he had no desire to deal with that.

"Alright, I’m off. Going back to celebrate the new year."

"You take your time with the investigation. I’m going to get some rest."

Xu Huo waved his hand and started to walk out.

Before leaving, he casually swiped a new pack of cigarettes from Zhang Liang’s desk.

Wang Chao looked left and right but couldn’t find anything worth swiping.

So he just took Zhang Liang’s lighter.

Zhang Liang: ...

Zhang Liang was exasperated, but he didn’t say anything.

He looked out the window.

The snow had stopped, but a thick layer still covered the ground outside.

They still had to work, but no matter what...

At least, things would be a little more peaceful now.

As for where Xu Huo would celebrate the new year...

At a hotel, of course.

The Western New Year wasn’t a big deal. A small get-together was enough; no need to make a special occasion out of it.

However...

When Xu Huo returned to his hotel,

a smiling man in plainclothes approached him.

"Hm? Group Leader Sun?"