155: Today is a good day

Xia Yunting's group arrived with over twenty business vans and a full hundred people.

Lu Fan led the long procession toward the warehouse.

When he flipped the light switch, the warehouse was illuminated as bright as day.

Even Xia Yunting and the group of experts, who were accustomed to grand scenes, instantly froze in place, their pupils dilating and their breathing halting.

Inside the massive warehouse, specially-made constant temperature and humidity boxes and shockproof storage racks were neatly stacked as far as the eye could see.

He casually opened a few of the nearest boxes:

Inside the boxes were neatly stacked thread-bound ancient books emitting a primitive aura, with the title labels of the yongle encyclopedia clearly visible on the covers.

The boxes next to them contained yellowed local chronicles and rare manuscripts, with the scent of ink still lingering.

On another rack, a corner of an unrolled scroll revealed Emperor Huizong of Song's iconic Slender Gold style colophon.

Hanging nearby were landscapes by Tang Yin and flowers and birds by Bada Shanren... authentic works by masters were densely displayed like ordinary paintings.

Next to those were bronze ding, gui, and jue vessels from the Shang and Zhou dynasties,

And Boshan censers and bronze mirrors from the Han Dynasty... heavy and primitive, with exquisite patterns that shimmered with a cold metallic luster under the lights.

Further away were rows of blue and white porcelain vases, warm jade artifacts, dazzling gold and silver wares, and solemn Buddhist statues... a dazzling array of treasures, radiating a precious light.

"This... this..."

The experts' voices changed pitch completely, and their hands trembled uncontrollably.

They stumbled toward the areas of their respective expertise, wanting to touch but not daring to, only able to exclaim in wonder:

"So many volumes of the yongle encyclopedia?"

"An authentic work by Emperor Huizong of Song?"

"Liao and Jin dynasty heavy treasures?"

Xia Yunting asked subconsciously, "My god... Brother Lu! Did you... did you ransack The Met?"

"What are you thinking? I'm a law-abiding citizen."

Lu Fan spread his hands and explained slowly, "These were all plundered by the Japanese when they occupied the Northeast.

There are labels and seals on them that can prove their origin.

Back then, the Japanese probably wanted to ship them back to the Japan, but who knew they would be intercepted by the 'Big Brother' in advance..."

Lu Fan began to make things up with a straight face, speaking vaguely; he chose whatever explanation would leave no living witnesses or evidence to verify.

Facing the questions from those experts and scholars, he simply spread his hands and said, "Don't know, not sure, didn't ask in detail."

His main stance was: the things are right here, do as you please.

In the end, he really couldn't stand this group of "babies" full of a hundred thousand questions, so he hid back in his office.

Late at night, in the meeting room.

Xia Yunting and Lu Fan sat opposite each other. The tea fragrance curled before them, but it couldn't dissipate the burning intensity in Xia Yunting's eyes at all.

"Brother Lu," Xia Yunting's tone was more solemn than ever before, "our friendship is one thing, but business is another.

The things you brought back this time are of too much significance.

Our Cloud Pavilion Culture Group is willing to represent the authorities to fully acquire this batch of cultural relics.

You can name any price, no questions asked."

Xia Yunting rarely showed such an eager expression, because the value of this batch of antiques could no longer be simply measured by money.

"Elder Brother Xia, I understand what you mean. But this batch of items, I'm not selling."

Lu Fan gently set down his teacup and shook his head, his tone calm yet exceptionally firm.

Xia Yunting's heart skipped a beat, and he was just about to continue persuading him.

But then he heard Lu Fan continue, "I plan to sell them all for the price of one yuan, to return them to their original owner."

"One yuan? Sell... sell them all?" Xia Yunting froze, almost doubting his own ears.

He had expected Lu Fan to demand an astronomical price and was prepared to haggle, but he never expected this answer.

He looked at Lu Fan in shock, his lips moving, and it took him a long time to find his voice.

"Brother Lu! You... you... what kind of spirit is this! What kind of magnanimity!"

"I... I truly admire you to the point of total devotion! This isn't business; this is a magnificent feat that serves the present and benefits the future for a thousand years!"

He was so excited his words were somewhat incoherent, and his gaze toward Lu Fan was filled with unbelievable respect.

Lu Fan just smiled faintly, as if he had done something insignificant.

He turned around and took out a sealed file box from nearby, pushing it in front of Xia Yunting.

"And these, I also brought them back while I was at it, donate them together."

Xia Yunting opened the box in confusion. Inside were stacks of yellowed documents, maps, photos, and combat logs.

He picked up a few to flip through, and his expression instantly changed drastically.

"This... this is the list of classified personnel and activity summaries of the Japanese secret service in Beijing."

"This is the aircraft dispatch records and bombing target indicator maps of Tianjin Airport."

"These are... their military intelligence and partial combat plans."

Xia Yunting's hands began to tremble, and his breathing became rapid.

If the donation decision just now had shocked him with Lu Fan's magnanimity,

Then these documents before him caused a shock to the depths of his soul.

These were ironclad evidence of the Japanese invaders' crimes in China; they were the cold, cruel, and irrefutable history itself.

On some levels, their value even surpassed those precious cultural relics.

"Lu... Lu Fan!" Xia Yunting suddenly looked up, his eyes turning red, his voice carrying a violent tremor.

"These... these are priceless treasures! You... you've found the 'black box' of history."

"You have added the most solid and irrefutable footnote to this history of national suffering."

"The 80th-anniversary exhibition of the victory against Fascism has gained another heavyweight historical evidence."

He stood up and bowed deeply and solemnly to Lu Fan.

"On behalf of... on behalf of everyone who remembers history, thank you! Thank you for everything you've done!"

"Elder Brother Xia, you're overstating it." Lu Fan stood up to support him. "Returning things to their original owner and evidence to the history books is only as it should be."

With a series of documents signed, the items were loaded into trucks in an orderly fashion.

The group worked until the early hours of the morning before they barely finished.

Watching the armed escort vehicles slowly disappear from sight, a wonderful notification sound rang in Lu Fan's mind.

[Side quest completed. Reward: 10,000 Points, one Random Gem Card]

[Quest completion rate 212%, Evaluation: SS, Reward: 20,000 Points, two Random Equipment Cards]

Casually opening the blind boxes, information on three items appeared in Lu Fan's mind.

[Cooldown Gem: Instantly completes the cooldown for World-Crossing.]

[Land, Sea, and Air Vehicle Simulation Training Cabin: Provides simulated training, increasing training effectiveness by 300%]

[ZH-09 Mechanical Exoskeleton: A budget version of the Iron Man suit.]

"Holy crap~~~~~ This is awesome, really too awesome~~"

Looking at the three items, what else could Lu Fan say? What else was there to say?

Especially the [Cooldown Gem], which gave Lu Fan a higher margin for error.

If handled correctly, this was equivalent to giving him a second life.

The other two items were also beyond words; those who knew, knew.

For someone like him who aimed to build an air force, the training cabin was a rare treasure.

The mechanical exoskeleton was even more of a battlefield killing machine.

What else could be said?

He could only hum a few lines: "Today is a good day~~ Everything I wished for..."