Afternoon, Isabella Gardner Museum, Boston.
Xiao Ran and Elaine were standing in front of the famous "The Rape of Europe", admiring this masterpiece handed down by the Renaissance art master Titian.
In the painting, Zeus incarnates as a white bull, mixed among the cattle, approaching the famous beauty Europa of Telos.
Because the bull transformed by Zeus was very graceful and lovable, at the instigation of his friends, Europa got on the back of the bull and was led away by Zeus.
After Zeus took Europa away, he directly crossed the Aegean Sea and fled to Crete, where he lived a life without shame.
The art master Titian used his own brushes and superb painting skills to express this ancient Greek mythology vividly and vividly.
The atmosphere in the painting is exciting and tense, the colors are contrasting, the characters are passionate and unrestrained, and they are highly stimulating to the senses.
And in the turbulent and exciting scenes, there is a hint of joy.
The painter uses smooth brushstrokes and rich and varied colors to create a joyful and enthusiastic atmosphere.
Looking at this world-famous painting, Xiao Ran and Elaine were intoxicated without realizing it, admiring it intently.
At this moment, David suddenly walked over.
Coming closer, he gently touched Xiao Ran's arm, waking Xiao Ran up from his trance.
Immediately afterwards, he called Xiao Ran aside, and then lowered his voice and said:
"Sean, one of Cruz's staff asked someone to come here and want to reconcile with you."
"The other party said that what happened today was a misunderstanding, and that the subordinates got the wrong meaning."
"Fortunately, there were no irreversible consequences. The other party hopes that you can understand and let this matter go."
"And the other party promised that something like this will never happen again in the future."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's eyes immediately flashed with a disdainful smile.
After a pause, he sneered and whispered:
"It's not that easy to get rid of this misunderstanding. These bastards think it's too easy!"
"Do they really think that they can cover the sky with one hand, and no one will dare to touch them as senators? I still don't believe in this evil!"
"Someone must pay the price for this. Those gunmen must go to jail. The guy who planned this must not escape punishment."
"David, you can tell those guys what I mean. Tomorrow at the latest, I hope to see a satisfactory result..."
Seeing Xiao Ran's resolute attitude, David's expression suddenly became more solemn.
After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said:
"Okay, Sean, I'll tell those idiots what you mean and let's see what they do."
"But I still want to remind you that Cruz is a well-known anti-China congressman, so you should be more careful."
"And this guy is very popular among conservatives and the Tea Party. It's best to stay away from him."
Xiao Ran shook his head disdainfully.
"I know a little bit about Cruz, and I know he is a die-hard anti-China element."
"Even so, so what? I don't care. At worst, the fish will die and the net will be broken. I'm afraid of him!"
Hearing this, David couldn't help but feel frightened.
After chatting for a few more words, he walked aside and made a phone call.
Xiao Ran returned to "The Robbery of Europa" and continued to appreciate this world-famous painting.
In the blink of an eye, nearly half an hour has passed.
Xiao Ran and the others came to another showroom and admired the artworks displayed here.
At this time, what they faced was an empty picture frame.
The paintings that were originally displayed here have gone to nowhere.
The curator of the Gardner Museum, who was leading their tour, was briefing them on the situation.
"Sean, the painting originally displayed here is an outstanding work by the art master Rembrandt, "Storm on the Sea of Galilee""
"It is the only known sea landscape painting by Rembrandt that exists in the world. Rembrandt painted himself into the painting, which is very precious."
"It is a pity that this top-notch work of art has never been seen again since it was stolen in 1990. The frame has been empty. I hope that one day this painting will return here."
Hearing this, Xiao Ran nodded pretending to be regretful.
"I have been famous for Rembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee" for a long time, but it is a pity that I have not been able to see the real thing!"
"It's been 30 years since the shocking robbery that happened in your museum in 1990. Is there still no clue?"
"Did those stolen top-notch works of art really disappear? If that's the case, it would be such a pity!"
The shocking robbery that Xiao Ran mentioned was the Gardner Museum robbery that occurred in 1990. At that time, it shocked the entire art world and even the world.
This is the largest theft in the history of art. Thirty years later, this robbery has not yet been solved, and there is not even a single clue.
In this art theft that shocked the world, two robbers disguised as policemen swaggered away from the Gardner Museum with 13 top-notch works of art.
The valuation of these 13 top-notch works of art exceeded US$500 million at the time, making it the highest value art theft case in history.
If we put it now, the value of these top-notch works of art will be even more amazing, and it will definitely make countless people crazy.
Among the top works of art are three paintings by Rembrandt, including Storm on the Sea of Galilee.
There is also a painting by Vermeer, "The Concert", a work by Manet, and five works by Degas, etc.
The most valuable among them are Rembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee" and Vermeer's "The Concert."
These two paintings alone have a current market value of more than 300 million US dollars, making them top-notch works of art.
After these 13 top-notch works of art were stolen, they disappeared without a trace, and never appeared again.
In order to recover these 13 top-level works of art, the FBI and the Boston police thoroughly searched the entire Boston, but found nothing.
Over the past 30 years, the Gardner Museum has continued to increase the amount of rewards offered to recover these top-notch works of art.
As of today, the reward amount has been increased to US$10 million.
It is a pity that no one has been able to claim this high reward, and no one has been able to find those top-notch works of art.
Hearing Xiao Ran's words, the curator of the Gardner Museum nodded helplessly.
"Yes! For 30 years, we haven't received any useful clues, even if we put a high reward of 10 million US dollars for this."
"To be honest, as time goes by, we basically have little hope of recovering these top-notch works of art. These paintings may have been destroyed long ago!"
Hearing this, Xiao Ran's eyes suddenly lit up.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly continued:
"After 30 years, I believe you have collected some clues. I wonder if you can introduce the situation?"
"As a professional treasure hunter, I am very interested in this largest theft in art history and want to know more about it."
"My luck has always been good. Maybe I will find something, maybe even recover the 13 stolen top-level works of art."
"ah!"
The director of the Gardner Museum exclaimed and froze on the spot, dumbfounded.
Everyone else at the scene was the same, looking at Xiao Ran with dumbfounded eyes.
After a while, everyone finally woke up.
Immediately afterwards, the curator of the Gardner Museum nodded eagerly and said:
"Sean, if you are willing to help our museum find the 13 stolen top works of art, that would be great!"
"I have heard about your good luck. I hope you can create miracles again and find those top-notch works of art."
"We can provide you with all the clues we have collected. As long as we can find those treasures, we can do anything."
Xiao Ran looked at this old friend, but smiled and shook his head.
"I can help you find these top-notch looted works of art, and I'm very happy to do so. This should be interesting."
“But I want to understand, what do I get out of it if I help your museum recover these top-notch pieces of art?”
His words were obviously beyond everyone's expectations.
Everyone exclaimed in surprise and froze on the spot.
After a while, everyone finally reacted.
After pondering for a moment, the director of the Gardner Museum said:
"The reward we have for these 13 top-notch works of art is US$10 million. If you can help us find these treasures, you will naturally receive a reward of US$10 million."
"This $10 million reward was placed three years ago. Now I can make the decision and increase the reward to $15 million. Are you satisfied?"
Without any hesitation, Xiao Ran shook his head.
"Peggy, you should know that neither 10 million US dollars nor 15 million US dollars has any appeal to me. I am not short of money at all!"
"What I want is not a high reward. Rather, I want those top-notch works of art and want to collect some of them."
"Let me be clear, if I can find the 13 stolen top works of art, I want half of them and the other half is yours."
"To be more specific, I want Vermeer's "Concert", Manet's painting, three paintings by Degas, and the Chinese bronze vase."
Before she finished speaking, Peggy shook her head firmly.
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible! Stop dreaming!"
"You are so greedy that you want to take away half of the top-notch works of art. Why don't you go and grab it?"
"Hahaha"
There was a burst of laughter and everyone laughed.
At the same time, everyone nodded, obviously feeling the same way.
However, Xiao Ran looked confident.
"Of course you can say no, Peggy, that's your right!"
“But have you ever thought about it, if you refuse, you may miss the only chance to retrieve those top-notch works of art!”
"If you have a chance to recover half of the stolen art, it's better than finding nothing at all, right?"
"ah!"
Peggy exclaimed again and was stunned!
