On the screen of the mobile phone, Pierre was sitting in his living room with a few French guys, and everyone looked very excited.
Xiao Ran waved to them and said hello with a smile.
"Good evening gentlemen, I'm Sean, nice to meet you all and video chat with you"
"Good evening Sean, it's nice to meet you too"
Several French guys responded in unison.
Next, Pierre introduced the French guys.
As Elaine said, they are the director of the Louvre Museum, the director of the Musée d'Orsay, and the director of the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.
Each of them is a heavyweight in the French cultural and museum field.
Everyone got to know each other, and after a few polite words, we immediately got to the point.
"Mr. Sean, we just looked at some pictures and videos sent by Elaine and conducted some identification."
"The Bathing Girl you found in Philadelphia today is indeed a work by the neoclassical master Ingres."
"Another painting of his with the same name is collected in our Louvre Museum. It is a very important collection."
"I heard from Timothy that all the stolen antiques and art found in this joint operation are yours to dispose of."
"Excuse me, what do you plan to do with this famous neoclassical painting?"
“If this was an unowned and stolen piece of art, would you be willing to sell this treasure?”
The curator of the Louvre was the first to say it, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Sure enough, I came here for those top-notch works of art!
Xiao Ran chuckled secretly and did not respond immediately.
He pretended to think for a moment, then nodded with a smile and said:
"Mr. Martinez, the painting "The Bathing Girl" we found in Philadelphia today is indeed a masterpiece of the neoclassical master Ingres. There is no doubt about this."
"I have a very clear understanding of the status and artistic value of this famous neoclassical painting in the history of Western art. This is a priceless treasure."
"It's too early to say exactly how to deal with this famous painting. It depends on the results of the follow-up investigation before it can be finalized."
"If this "Girl in the Bath" is an ownerless thing, I am willing to trade it. There is only one way to trade it, which is to exchange it with China's top antique art."
"From what you said, the Louvre wants to collect this world-famous painting? Am I understanding it correctly?"
Upon hearing this, the eyes of several French guys suddenly lit up.
The next moment, Martinez said hurriedly:
"That's right, Sean, which museum and collector wouldn't salivate over such a top-notch piece of art? So do we."
"The Louvre really wants to trade this "Girl in the Bath". If successful, we will hang it together with another "Girl in the Bath" in the future."
"Thinking about that scene is so exciting! In addition to this "Girl in the Bath", we are also very interested in other stolen antique artworks you found."
"No matter which transaction method you propose, we can accept it. There are many top-notch Chinese antiques in the Louvre. I believe we can meet your requirements."
Xiao Ran's eyes immediately flashed with a hint of surprise, which was fleeting.
This was exactly the answer he wanted to hear!
Taking this opportunity, he planned to ruthlessly loot major museums in Europe and the United States in exchange for a large number of top Chinese antiques and artworks that had been lost overseas.
Now that the Louvre is coming to his door, how can he be polite?
After a pause, he nodded with a smile and said:
"That's perfect, Martinez. I'm also very interested in the top Chinese antiques collected by the Louvre!"
"When this joint operation is over, we can sit down and talk about the transaction, and we can each get what we need."
"Okay, Sean, I believe we will have opportunities to cooperate."
Martinez nodded in response.
Before he finished speaking, the director of the Museum of Modern Art in Paris couldn't wait to jump in.
"Sean, I just looked carefully at the painting "Olive Trees near Estac". It is indeed a work by the master of Cubism Braque"
“In 2010, our museum was robbed and lost five top works of art, including this work by Braque.”
"Although the thieves who stole these five top-level works of art were caught, these five top-level works of art have disappeared."
"After ten years, we all thought that these five top-notch works of art had been secretly burned and would never appear again."
"But who would have thought that ten years later, this painting "Olive Trees near Estac" would appear in Philadelphia, the United States. It is simply a miracle!..."
As he said this, this guy was beaming with excitement.
After expressing some emotion, this guy suddenly changed his tone.
"Sean, in addition to this Braque painting, have you discovered the other four top-level works of art that were stolen from our museum at the same time in 2010?"
"According to common sense, the other four stolen paintings should also be in the hands of these two top art thieves, either hidden or sold by them."
While saying these words, the museum director kept staring at Xiao Ran, eyes full of expectation.
The other French guys were also looking forward to it.
Xiao Ran shook his head and said with a smile:
"Mr. Falgot, we have cleared out very few paintings today. It was a fluke that we found Braque's "Olive Trees near Estac""
"I can't say now whether the other four paintings stolen from your museum in 2010 are in the hands of these two top art thieves. They may be there or they may not be."
"Or they have already sold it to them, so we will have to spend a lot of effort to investigate and recover. As for whether we can recover it, it first depends on whether the living art thief will confess."
"According to my judgment, since the stolen artworks are highly sensitive and well known, the two art thieves may not dare to take action so quickly. The items may still be in their hands."
"Tomorrow we will carry out further exploration and cleaning, and we may find something. It would be great if we could recover the other stolen works of art."
Hearing this, several French guys nodded.
After a few more conversations, Falgot brought up another issue.
"Sean, Timothy told me that you have the right to dispose of all the stolen antiques and art found during this joint operation."
“I would like to ask, what are you going to do with these stolen art pieces in our museum, and will you return them to us?”
"In order to track down these stolen works of art, our museum has posted a high reward. As long as these top-notch works of art can be recovered, we will immediately honor the reward..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Ran interrupted the other party with a smile and shook his head.
"Fargot, I am not interested in the reward posted by your museum at all. To me, that reward is not worth mentioning at all! I believe you also understand this."
"I did not launch this joint operation for the reward. According to the agreement I reached with the FBI and the Philadelphia police, all rewards and the proceeds of crime of the two art thieves belong to them."
"My target is those stolen antiques and artworks. That's what I want most. If you want to get your stolen antiques and artworks back, you'd better come to Philadelphia to interview me."
Upon hearing this, several French guys were stunned.
Pierre was a little embarrassed, and his old face couldn't help but blush.
He never expected that Xiao Ran would be so outspoken and act a little greedy!
But he couldn't say anything!
After all, these priceless stolen antiques and artworks were discovered and recovered by Xiao Ran!
If it weren't for him, the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the useless police would never have been able to recover these stolen antiques in this life!
Because of this, it is reasonable for Xiao Ran to open his mouth loudly at this time!
It's just that he struck too hard, making it difficult for the victims who stretched their necks to be slaughtered to find a psychological balance!
The other French guys understand such a simple truth, but it's just a little hard to accept.
After a moment of silence, Falgot nodded and said:
"Okay, Sean, let's meet up and talk. Early tomorrow morning, I will take people to Philadelphia."
"Based on your findings, we will make some concessions depending on the situation. I believe we can reach an agreement."
Before he finished speaking, Pierre suddenly interrupted and said:
"Sean, I will also go to Philadelphia in the United States tomorrow to see you. I haven't seen Elaine in a long time."
"I went to Philadelphia with several other colleagues from the Louvre, including a deputy director."
The boss is coming!
Xiao Ran couldn't help but trembled, and suddenly became a little nervous.
The next moment, he nodded quickly and said:
"That would be great, Pierre, Fargot, when will you arrive tomorrow? I will send someone to pick you up at the airport."
Pierre smiled and shook his head.
"No, we can just go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art by ourselves. There is no need to pick us up."
"You go ahead and do your own thing. I will call you when we arrive in Philadelphia."
After hearing what he said, Xiao Ran didn't insist.
"Okay, Pierre"
Next, Xiao Ran chatted with these French guys for a while.
Although the two curators of the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay did not say what antique artworks were stolen from their museums.
But they all suspected that the antique artworks stolen from their museums might be in the hands of these two art thieves, in Philadelphia.
The art thefts that occurred in their own museums may have been committed by McCann and Myers.
Since several outsiders were present, Pierre did not say anything personal to Xiao Ran and Elaine.
He will come to Philadelphia tomorrow, and there will be plenty of time to chat in person.
The video call lasted for more than half an hour and just ended.
After hanging up the phone, Xiao Ran looked at the sky outside, and then called his parents.
On the phone, he briefly introduced today's events so that they would not worry after seeing the news reports.
It was already late at night while I was busy.
The weather outside has become colder, and Philadelphia has become quieter at night.
In this quiet night, waves of turmoil were stirred up in the field of antique art collection in the United States and even the entire West!
Many people stay awake all night, even nervously counting the seconds to get through it!
