Jane and her party were en route to District J, the heart of entertainnt for the residents of Landa.
As they entered the bustling center, they were greeted by towering buildings, bright blue neon signs, warm yellow streetlights, and srizing lights.
Oliver was visiting District J for the second ti and was taken aback by its energetic atmosphere at night, which was far livelier than during the day.
The level of excitent reached its pinnacle when they arrived at their destination, the Subureptor Museum.
The streets were lined with luxury cars and well-dressed individuals, creating a truly astonishing scene.
Oliver was not the only one who was impressed, as Jane gazed out and whispered, "Wow."
He was inford that the event was a significant one, with Landa's influential figures and the Cri Firm joining forces, making the scale much larger than before.
Oliver nodded in agreent after recalling the explanation.
According to Forrest, the event had previously been disguised as an art auction and artist sponsorship, but the situation had changed dramatically.
Coco added that not only the big shots of Landa and the Cri Firm, but also its own dark distributors, the Treasure Hunters, had beco involved, reducing the art, which was once the main focus of the auction, to just a commodity.
It was rumored that a wide range of items, such as illegally obtained artifacts, artworks, rare magic items, high-end dicines, and rare books, was traded during the event.
This expanded the custor base from just art collectors to city councilors, capitalists, prominent Solvers, illegal collectors, and back alley tycoons.
Due to the involvent of ambitious individuals seeking to make connections, the event was said to be significantly larger than previous ones.
Landa was also a hub for networking and socializing among the powerful.
The high number of participants was such that the police were unable to intervene, as they had reportedly been bribed in advance.
Oliver was once again intrigued by the allure of Landa.
As they approached their destination, Penny, the driver, inford them apologetically,
"I'm sorry to tell you, but I think the car won't move for another hour or two. I think you should get off and walk from here."
Jane took the news in stride, and Coco and Oliver followed suit, getting out of the car.
They started walking, with Jane in the lead, Coco by her side, and Oliver following closely behind as her bodyguard.
Oliver was cautious, surveying the surroundings as Coco had taught him.
He noticed that most people there had their own bodyguards, and the stronger the bodyguard, the more lively the atmosphere.
Soon, Coco quietly whispered, "Oh, we're here."
When Oliver gazed ahead, he saw a massive structure towering in front of him.
Although all of the buildings in District J were relatively large, the Subureptor Museum dwarfed them all.
Despite its low height, the building was impressive with its grand exterior and imperial style, making even the most state-of-the-art structures with dazzling lights appear diocre.
"Well…let's go," Jane said, trying to calm her nerves as she stepped forward, as if she was preparing for a battle.
"Um…"
Oliver raised an eyebrow in confusion. He noticed sturdy n, who appeared to be employees, standing watchfully and examining the custors.
They were not just scanning them, they were also emitting magic to verify sothing, which Oliver guessed was the ticket in the custors' possession.
When they checked the ticket in Jane's hand, they imdiately turned their gaze away, and, on the contrary, they politely escorted soone who tried to sneak in pretending to have a ticket.
"Wait a minute,"
"Please do not cause a commotion and follow quietly," the employee instructed politely.
Oliver finally realized why the tickets were imbued with magic.
As he walked through a large passageway that could accommodate dozens of people at once, he entered a hall even larger than the entrance.
The hall, which could hold hundreds of people at once, was packed with elegantly dressed individuals.
The most striking item was a sculpture embedded in the marble wall, even Oliver, who was not knowledgeable about history, could tell it was an ancient foreign object.
But that was not the only impressive item. The museum, which also had large monunts on the left and right, and skeletons processed in turquoise and placed in glass coffins, was full of treasures that even Oliver, who was not familiar with the art, could guess their worth.
Coco explained that all of these were obtained by the United Kingdom during its expansion of civilization.
"It's awe-inspiring every ti I see it. The history of the world is right here, except for the United Kingdom," Coco whispered, as if she had visited the museum several tis.
Then she turned to Jane, "Where do we go now?"
Jane, determined like a solver or gangster, replied,
"We need to get to work imdiately. First, let's go view the painting."
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
As the group entered the museum, they were greeted by a vast hall filled with hundreds of paintings.
Everyone's eyes were wide open in awe.
Coco explained in a soft but clear voice, "This is what's called sponsored art. It's an early auction culture at the Subureptor Museum, a way of bidding for potential unknown artists."
Jane already knew about it, so she was probably telling Oliver to listen.
From an employer's perspective, she was being very considerate of Oliver, who was curious.
To repay her, Oliver listened intently to Coco's explanation while keeping a watchful eye on security.
"The bidding process is simple. You can write down your ticket number and bid price on the paper attached under the painting, like this." Coco pointed to the paper under the painting.
There were already neat and ssy handwriting in order, as if soone had already been there.
[£3,000,000]
[£3,600,000]
[£4,400,000]
"Of course, the product goes to the highest bidder, usually with a 1.2 tis increase. But if it's sothing you really want, you can use 1.5 to 2 or 3 tis to beat the competition,"
Coco explained in a kind and clear manner, like a museum staff mber.
With her extensive experience and knowledge of the museum, Coco seed to be an excellent resource.
"There are many different styles of painting," Jane said, looking through the paintings.
Her keen eyes and troubled emotional state suggested that she was speaking from experience. Soon, Coco confird this.
"Exactly. These are items that museums and dealers have been searching for from all over the world. Each country has a different preference for paintings and fashion, so the styles are inevitably different. Most of the participating artists are unknown, but two or three of them are recognized for their talent or beco famous in so way. Then, the paintings bought here are sold back for tens or hundreds of tis the price, making it a great investnt."
Oliver admired and wondered at the sa ti. He realized that paintings of similar quality could have different prices depending on the artist.
He wanted to ask more questions, but he decided to keep his focus on security for now.
"Huh?"
Then, sothing caught Oliver's eye.
Jane, who had been exchanging opinions with Coco about whether to buy a painting, noticed Oliver's exclamation and asked,
"What is it, Dave?"
"I'm sorry. I just looked away for a mont."
Instead of being upset with Oliver's behavior, Jane expressed her curiosity,
"What were you looking at?"
"Can I tell you?"
"Of course."
"I was looking at that painting."
Oliver pointed to a picture in the front.
It was a picture of a woman's back, and Jane walked towards it, intrigued by Oliver's words. Oliver and Coco followed suit.
Jane stopped in front of the painting and examined it closely.
It was a pretty good painting, like many of the others in the room.
Jane, still staring at the picture, asked, "Is there a specific reason you were drawn to this painting?" "It has more emotions compared to the other works," Oliver replied.
"Emotions?" Jane asked, showing interest.
"Yes, the other works have emotions as well, but this painting is more deep emotions, like the artwork in the hall or the statue," Oliver explained.
Jane and Coco were surprised by his words.
"If it's an artwork you saw in the hall," Jane said,
"A tombstone and a relief statue. The tombstone had a sense of prudence and responsibility, and the relief statue was filled with pride, but this painting is deeply imbued with sadness and longing." Oliver said.
Jane discussed this with Coco and then wrote down the bid price on the paper, 1.8 tis higher than what was originally written. Then she said, "Can you tell more?"
"Shouldn't a bodyguard be silent?" Oliver asked.
"From now on, let's pretend you're not a bodyguard," Jane responded.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Less than an hour after entering the museum, Oliver's bodyguard duties ca to an end and he began selecting paintings for his employer, Jane.
Despite not being an expert in art, he was enjoying the process of looking at the paintings filled with emotions.
As he walked through the galleries, he would stop at a picture that caught his eye and make quiet observations.
"That's nice. A family on the beach," Oliver pointed to a painting,
"What emotions does it have?"
"Joy, envy, yearning, and intense aspiration,"
Jane responded, nodding in agreent as she and Coco discussed the painting.
In the end, Jane confidently wrote down a high bid for the painting, just as she had done with the previous seven pictures.
"I think my head is spinning now," Jane and Coco said tiredly, having viewed hundreds of paintings, but not showing any signs of exhaustion.
"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, a little concerned. "I can recognize emotions in the paintings, but I don't know much about their actual value."
"It's fine. I haven't studied paintings much either, but Coco is different," Jane replied.
"There's no issue for when I look at them," Coco added. "If the work has made it this far, it's already passed the scrutiny of demanding dealers. The art market requires not only skill but also luck, so it's not unusual to find a painting that will definitely increase in value, no matter which one you choose."
With that, Oliver didn't say any more.
"Will the owner of this painting be decided today?" he asked.
"Yes, there are so many items to consider, so the owner of this type of item will be decided today," Jane replied.
"Let's review the items we've bid on and head to the book market inside," Coco suggested.
"Dave has done a lot of work, and we need to repay him."
The book market was a place where both legal and illegal books, such as black magic books, could be purchased through secret channels unknown to the general public.
"Once we're done here, let's head to a larger auction house," Jane said.
Agreeing, Coco walked alongside Jane through the exhibition hall and back to the place where they first entered.
There, they encountered an old man guarded by several large figures, standing in front of the first painting that Oliver had pointed out.
The old man drew a line through Jane's bid and wrote down a double amount.
“Huh?”
Startled by the movent, the old man with an old suit and gold-rimd glasses turned his head.
It was the sa old gentleman who had helped Oliver purchase a corpse at the black market.
"Long ti no see, Mr. Dave," the old man greeted.
(To be Continued)
OR
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