Chapter 154: Transaction (1st Update)
It's a different group of people. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ļ½ļ½ļ½Uļ½Eć info If not agents, then certainly an organized group. This is a preliminary judgment of Jia Huan. But he didn't follow them, and yesterday he put a spell on one of them, and it was easy to find them.
The name Helen really makes Jia Huan very sensitive. The pit viper died and did not say where Helen was. So where is Helen on earth? A woman who took away the beautiful face of a witch, a woman who saved the life of a pit viper a hundred years ago, in any way, she may have a lot of energy, and Jia Huan should not be underestimated.
In the morning, the convoy left. Jia Huan didn't follow him, firstly, it was easy to be discovered, and secondly, there was no need for him, because he could grasp the movements of these people at any time.
Whatever they were going to do, it must have something to do with a guy named Helen. As for whether this Helen is the Helen he wants to track, this still needs to be screened, so he will not do whatever he hears, and he must have a correct judgment on everything, otherwise he will only be busy running.
There are thousands of people named Helen in the United States, to say the least.
Atlanta, Georgia, near the shores of Lake Beranier near the Buckhead District.
The area of the lake is very large. There are several small islands on the wide surface of the lake, and the small islands are connected by bridges. Some can only be reached by boat. The entire lake is covered with dense vegetation. It looks like a lake area and a city in a forest, and the environment is very nice.
After the convoy of five vehicles stopped at a marina, a medium-sized yacht of about 80 feet was parked at the dock, and there were many smaller yachts nearby.
When the people in the car got out of the car, they did not all go up, but left half of them to wait here, and the rest got on the yacht and headed towards an island in the middle of the lake.
There are many people in the lake who are paddling with yachts, and some are still playing with trapeze flights. There are also people who go fishing, or barbecue on some of the islands, and life here is very relaxed.
The yacht stopped at the dock on the island, and a group of about a dozen people came down one after another, two of them stood on the pier and waited, and some others followed. On the other side of the island, on a high ground near the lake, a manor-like complex of villas appeared. The area is so large that it occupies almost a third of the island's area.
"The master is waiting for you inside!" a slender but tall blonde man in his sixties in a suit walked over, nodded to the men at the gate of the manor, and then turned and motioned to open the door inside. And so the door slowly opened.
The group was about to go forward, but was stopped by the old man, who said, "The master only allowed Mr. Lorne Ricardo to enter, and the rest of the people waited at the door." ā
The man in his thirties at the head glanced at the few people behind him, nodded and said, "It's you, guys, listen to the old man." So saying, he shook his head at the old man, and motioned for him to take himself to the master here.
He followed the old man through a garden with a fountain and then towards a nearby villa. The gorgeous villa in the middle made this man look twice. As we walked along the way, maids passed by from time to time, and there were some people who appeared to be bodyguards, standing in several key positions, guarding everywhere.
Walking into the hall of the villa next to it, it looks like the decoration is not luxurious, but it is very comfortable. As soon as he entered the hall, the old man sat down and beckoned the maid to bring him coffee.
"This is one of the most luxurious manors I've ever seen!" said the man, smiling at the old man, then picking up his coffee, standing up, turning, and looking around, "I'm looking forward to seeing your master and me." ā
"You'll see. The old man said and nodded slightly to a maid standing beside him, and the maid went upstairs.
"It's hard to imagine that you could find a place like Downton in the United States. The man took a sip of coffee and smiled, "This could fit a big family and live here, to be honest...... This is far from our intelligence, and we thought it was a wasteland. If you don't see it with your own eyes, you can't believe it. ā
The old man did not speak, nor did he laugh. So the man shrugged his shoulders and said mockingly, "It seems...... It's a little different from my phenomenon, it's beautiful, I love it here, and I like you. ā
"No, I promise he won't like you. You've got too many words!" Suddenly, a very crisp voice came from upstairs, and when the man looked up, he saw a woman in a long white dress, chestnut hair with open shoulders, and a perfect figure walking downstairs.
The man looked at the woman, slightly distracted. But he quickly came back to his senses, shrugged his shoulders at her and smiled: "It seems that I was very wrong, I thought that the owner here must be a bad old man who is even older than him." This is completely beyond my ...... Beyond my imagination. ā
"You're Lorne Ricardo?" the woman said to him, not holding the man's outstretched hand, but sitting on the couch on the other side.
"Yes, ma'am, I want to know, what are you asking me to come for? Do you know what attracts me? Lorne Ricardo shrugged his shoulders and said to the woman, "I'm curious, why would a woman hire someone like me?"
"I know you, you have a good reputation in the archaeological world. The woman continued, "I want a professional to help me with this. ā
"So...... What's the problem? You're so pretty, so ...... Even if you're going to dig up Washington's grave, I'll do it. Lorne Ricardo joked at the woman, "I wonder if I'll be able to identify your name now, Helen Cotia and my employer?"
"Yes, I'm Helen Cotia. The woman didn't stretch out her hand, but said lightly, "You talk too much, I don't like people like you who make jokes." ā
"I know, it's my fault. But that doesn't stop me from being the best in my business. Lorne Ricardo laughed, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have come to me." Tell me, what do you want?" he said, looking at the woman with a serious face, "because it will bring a different price." ā
The woman did not answer him immediately, but beckoned to the old butler, who went to a side door, and then took out a quaint box from it, and placed it in front of the woman. The woman slowly opened the box, revealing a parchment roll inside.
There is no complicated map on the parchment, but a portrait of a woman. Next to the portrait there is also a line of Latin letters. As the parchment roll slowly unfolded, the painting was presented in its entirety to Lorne Ricardo.
The image of a perfect woman, even in an old parchment scroll, can tell the delicacy of the painting. This made Lorne's breathing urgent, and he slowly walked a few steps towards the coffee table with the parchment rolls, and then stood still, looking at it condescendingly.
"God, this is such a beautiful woman!" Lorne sighed, and then did not take his eyes off the parchment, but examined the parchment more closely, and couldn't help frowning, "It's not the Latin alphabet. Although it is very similar, this is supposed to be the ancient Greek alphabet, which existed before the Latin alphabet. ā
The woman just looked at him, with no expression on her face, completely unconcerned about Lorne's obsessive look.
"No, no, I see, the Phoenician alphabet, a rare alphabet, I've really rarely seen anything like it except in the underground or in the British Museum. Lorne looked at it again and again with some interest, and it seemed that the beauty of the woman next to him was not important at this moment.
There was an eerie calm in the hall. Obviously, Lorne was more interested in these things than in pretty women. The woman just sat on the couch with interest, watching Lorne preoccupied.
"The letters together mean: Queen-Helen-" Lorne exclaimed, then looked up at the woman sitting on the couch next to him, "tell me, it's just a coincidence." You're all called Helen, and you can't find a painting like this because you have the same name, do you?"
"Why not?" the woman shrugged her shoulders indifferently.
Lorne shook his head and smiled: "From this parchment scroll, it is indeed a very ancient thing, but if this picture is true, then how can it be so well preserved? According to speculation, if this is true, this is a picture scroll from more than 3,000 years ago...... If you keep it like this, you can't keep it for so long......"
"It doesn't matter if it's true or not, if you can find her burial place, then you'll get a lot of money. The woman said to Lorne, "You can make an offer now." ā
Lorne was silent, and to be honest, finding Helen's grave was a very difficult thing to do. Although he knew that there were many possibilities for Helen's final ending, he was still a little tempted.
"Three million dollars, we're going to transfer it in cash!" Lorne thought for a moment before looking at the woman and said, "You must pay a third in advance." Pay a third when you find it, and then pay us another third when you get it. ā
Lorne made the offer with the mentality of a lion's mouth, and in general, where there was an offer, there was a counteroffer, and business was made in this way. So he didn't care that the woman would bargain.
"Alright, we'll make a deal!" said the woman, standing up cheerfully, and holding out her hand to him, "I can also provide you with some convenient conditions to go to Laconia, Greece, where you will find something." As she spoke, the woman stood up and held out her hand to Lorne.
"Deal!" Lorne was in ecstasy, holding back some impulsive emotions and clasping the woman's hand tightly.