Capítulo 1557: Chapter 1557: Aftermath (Second Update)
The two clergymen were found relatively quickly, both needed amputations, but their lives were saved.
However, this sufficiently indicates who was responsible—who else could it be but Sofia Jansen?
Moving over two thousand kilometers in two hours is an estimation; both had tracking devices, which lost signal and never reappeared until they were discovered six hours after their disappearance.
Considering frostbite requires time to develop, the Mai Nation Church believes they were left outdoors for at least four hours.
The Vatican believes, however, that if using a small aircraft—like a helicopter—covering two thousand kilometers in six hours is no big deal, so they cannot conclude that Sofia is definitely an apostate with sinister powers.
As the authorities bickered, the police faced a headache—the organization of the one person who died wasn’t pursuing the case, but the private museum owner wasn’t having it, pressing them to solve the case quickly.
This person suffered massive losses from the incident, reportedly exceeding twenty-five million Mai dollars—even with some insured, the loss would be even greater otherwise.
The owner, being able to open a private museum, is of course a person of status, not exceedingly wealthy, but with over a billion Mai dollars—rumored to be two billion now—and has a passion for artifact collection, hence opening this museum.
In Mai Nation, wealth grants power, so he demands the police solve the case quickly, even offering a private bounty.
The Jansen Family, he’s heard of them, but… can the Jansen Family do whatever they want in my home?
The police are stumped; putting everything aside, the thief is extremely brutal; according to remaining footage, this person could smash through fifteen-centimeter thick steel plates with just two blows—you couldn’t match him even by tying three Tysons together.
The owner was furious and called over his Mediterranean brother—keep an eye on this, if the case isn’t solved and the perpetrator isn’t caught within five days, use the media to apply pressure, our family isn’t easy to bully!
The Mediterranean brother was troubled, being a half-brother, he inherited very little, initially relied on his older brother to make a living, but now can’t afford to—the enemies are cruel, but you’re pressuring the police like this?
Of course I know! The owner was rather candid with his brother, willing to speak the truth: You think I’m doing this for pride? That’s definitely wrong!
I’m damned scared, too, someone tore open a forty-centimeter thick composite metal door—the same ones impenetrable by depleted uranium warheads—with bare hands.
This person must be caught, even if not, force them not to stay in Mai Nation.
The wealthier you are, the more afraid of death—there’s nothing false about that.
But the Mediterranean brother directly expressed, “If you insist on doing this, then I can only resign… At that moment David was less than a meter away from me, I watched as his head exploded.”
He was in tears and trembling, “Brother, this enemy is terrifying, I really don’t want to face them… brain matter even splattered onto my mouth.”
At the end, he was a bit hysterical, “Even worse, I don’t know where the enemy is… Brother, although I’m indeed afraid of dying, I also don’t want on some day your brain matter mysteriously splattering onto my lips!”
As he spoke, his whole body was shaking, evidently the scene from that day hit him tremendously.
The owner, ashamed and scared, erupted in anger and shouted, “So, do you know or not, I’ve offended Saint Paul by keeping Jinwu Sunflower for him? Get out, all of you… watch as my head explodes!”
“Brother, you’ve misjudged one thing,” the Mediterranean brother said when his brother burst in anger, but he became calm instead.
“After entering your vault, he only took Jinwu Sunflower and Black Cross… Did he take Picasso’s painting? Sparta’s spearhead and Egyptian Coins, were they taken?”
The owner hesitated first, then continued to yell, “But my six Huaxia artifacts are gone!”
“This just suggests the thief might be a Huaxia Citizen,” Mediterranean brother had decided to resign, so no longer feared, “Huaxia artifacts are increasingly criticized now, after all, they were taken by the Western world when they were weak… when they grow stronger, these artifacts no longer demonstrate taste but confirm our identity as thieves.”
“Damn thieves,” the owner chuckled disdainfully, “I bought them from others… I’m not the thief!”
“I believe you, but do Huaxia Citizens?” Mediterranean brother chuckled disdainfully, “They have an extraordinary obsession with bringing back their ancestors’ items… Rising civilizations all have this obsession, but I think Huaxia values it more!”
After a pause, he asked again, “Among those six artifacts, do any of the three I mentioned value more?”
The owner was at a loss for words for a while, then sighed, “You also said Huaxia is rising, the things they fancy will only increase in price, if considering future investment…”
“First, you need to be alive!” Mediterranean sighed as he stood up, “If you insist on catching the thief and believe he didn’t steal your artifacts simply because there wasn’t time… I’m resigning now.”
“Wait,” the owner grabbed him, realizing deep down he wasn’t much smarter than this brother, survived better solely due to fortunate birth, “I just don’t want to die… I need your help!”
Mediterranean glanced sideways at him, “Avoiding death is simple, they don’t want you dead, just keep low-key.”
The museum owner slapped his forehead in frustration and said, “But with such a huge loss, if I don’t show any reaction, others will think I’m weak.”
Ultimately, his reputation was a burden; he hadn’t planned on being high-profile, but with such a major incident at the museum, how would others view him if he didn’t make any gesture?
“You’re overestimating yourself,” the bald man said helplessly, “Let’s first see how the Church and FBI react. Either one of them has way more money than you, right?”
The Church was still entangled in disputes, but the FBI’s reaction was extraordinary. The day after the incident, the FBI notified the Jansen Family that if Sofia contacted her family again, they must inform the FBI immediately—unlike the Church’s notification, this was an official ultimatum.
But clearly, notifying the Jansen Family members wasn’t something that could be casually resolved.
In a society driven by money, dealing with the Church’s mystical powers might leave people unsure, but as for secular powers… how about a contest of financial prowess?
So the Jansen Family started probing through various channels, trying to figure out what the FBI’s intentions were.
Sofia wasn’t mainstream in the family, but she bore the Jansen name, and as a family that had produced several billionaires, how could they allow the FBI to act recklessly?
However, the FBI was indeed serious this time, directly telling the Jansen Family that Sofia was involved in more than one issue concerning national security—so there’s no need for further questions.
Nevertheless, the Jansen Family had its own strength and many stubborn people, so someone asked, “How does she involve national security?”
Come on, young man, your honesty has earned you a trip with me—the FBI was about to take him away.
The Jansen Family didn’t believe they would dare to do it, but indeed, they did.
Two days later, the young man was released—clearly, they didn’t want to provoke the Jansen Family, and this operation was just to make them understand they must cooperate.
The young man hadn’t endured much suffering but still appeared disoriented. When his family asked what he found out, he just shook his head, “I… I can’t say.”
On the same day, the snowfall in Mingsuda stopped, and Feng Jun successfully crafted an object that could conceal the Jinwu Sunflower.
It was an antique redwood box with a clear Huaxia design. Feng Jun had drawn a formation inside it, and inputting spiritual energy would complete it, enabling an internal circulation of spiritual energy.
Only when the box was opened would the spiritual energy slowly dissipate.
But for this, he had a design in mind. The power of faith absorbed could replace the dissipation of spiritual energy. As long as Sofia didn’t open the box arbitrarily, the spiritual energy Feng Jun input would be enough for her to freely use the Jinwu Sunflower for decades.
With this task completed, their break came to an end. The traveling abode was different from a tent, with excellent warmth and other effects, so Sofia was pretty much back in full health.
That night, Feng Jun packed away the traveling abode and went with Sofia to take a look at the museum, only to accidentally overhear that the museum owner planned to offer a reward for capturing him.
Feng Jun was instantly furious, “This guy is really ungrateful, I need to teach him a lesson about being human.”
Sofia was also unhappy, “You daringly keep my Jinwu Sunflower without my consent, and I haven’t even troubled you yet, and you dare to offer a reward?”
Feng Jun infiltrated the museum owner’s home at midnight. The security here was extremely tight, but obviously couldn’t stop his break-in, and fifteen minutes later, he snuck out carrying someone.
Apart from adding two holes to the wall, he didn’t trigger any alarms.
When the museum owner woke up from his dream, he wore a blank expression—why was it so cold?
Wait… this endless whiteness around, am I in the wild?
He couldn’t help but tighten the blanket around him, his mind racing—he suffered from severe sleep disorders and any noise could wake him up, so how could he unknowingly end up outside?
Sleepwalking? Absolutely not; his home’s bodyguards and servants weren’t there for nothing.
He carefully examined his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was, but sadly, the snow-covered Mingsuda was just an expanse of white, making it unrecognizable.
At this moment, a light chuckle came from beside him, followed by a deep male voice, “Do you need glasses? Like the ones on your bedside?”
“No, I don’t need them,” the museum owner immediately lowered his head, not daring to look at the speaker—doing so expressed submission and also effectively reduced the chances of being silenced.
“I’m willing to cooperate with all your requests.”