"It's already 2 a.m.. Are you still working?"
“Now that you mention it, it’s true. It seems the French really don’t consider us friends. Everyone is just focused on getting their medicine. But no one has ever considered our schedules.”
"Enough! I'm not here to listen to your complaints. What I want to know is, what have you all been doing tonight?" The captain waved his right hand, sweeping all the medicine on the table onto the floor. The old foreigner was instantly enraged, and the moment he made a move, a group of policemen behind the captain drew their guns.
Lu Xuan waved his hand, stopping his disciple's actions.
"As you can see, we didn't leave this room all night. The butler outside can testify to that."
The captain turned and left, seemingly to ask the housekeeper. A short while later, they burst in again. Without a word, they began searching the entire room. All the equipment Lu Xuan and his team had purchased was roughly overturned. The laboratory, which had taken months to build, was instantly destroyed. All the unfinished reagents were also knocked over.
However, Lu Xuan simply stood aside, smiling as he watched their actions, without intervening. What the French police couldn't see was that in the corner of the room, countless treasures from the Louvre were piled up. Only, on top of that pile, a tabby cat was perched. All the police seemed to ignore that corner, as if they couldn't see it at all.
After a thorough search, the captain said to Lu Xuan with a slightly smug smile on his face.
"I'm sorry, sir. It's an emergency, so you'll have to clean up on your own."
"It's alright, but could I know what exactly happened?"
"...The Louvre is on fire. Someone set it on fire."
"Wow, is the fire big? Has it been put out?"
"That's not something you need to worry about. In fact, Paris is now under full lockdown. You may need to stay for a while longer, sir."
"Really? That's a real shame. I was planning to leave the day after tomorrow. But then again, I've never seen the Louvre on fire before. Many years ago, your army set fire to our capital. That fire burned for three days and three nights. I wonder how long the Louvre will burn this time."
“Oh, that’s a real shame. We could have put out the fire before dawn. Speaking of which, my grandfather was also a member of the Allied Forces back then. I heard he even had sex with a woman in the palace, I don’t know if she was a princess or something. I still have some spoils of war brought back from that palace in my house. I can ask you to take a look when you have time.”
"Hehehe... Hua Ling, make the fire in the fireplace burn brighter."
The police captain in front of him instinctively sensed something was wrong and reached for his gun without thinking. But his hand froze the moment he raised it. An uncontrollable pain flashed across his face, but his body remained motionless.
On his neck, a crater visibly appeared, as if melted by sulfuric acid. His flesh was rapidly disappearing under some kind of powerful corrosion.
His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, almost bursting with blood. But quickly, that pained look faded. Because his entire chest had turned into a thick liquid. Not only him, but the policemen behind him also turned into thick liquid in a stiff, painful state.
A dozen seconds later, only about ten sets of French police uniforms remained on the ground, including the clothes of a strange-looking butler.
Hua Ling and the old foreigner quickly threw all the clothes into the fireplace. Then they took out a special potion and sprinkled it on the concentrated water on the floor to neutralize the poison. Soon, they had cleaned the entire floor spotless.
This is the same centipede venom found in the Ping Mountain underground palace. Given its potent nature, Lu Xuan certainly wouldn't let it go easily. In fact, he not only collected a large amount of the venom but also cultivated quite a few of those poisonous centipedes. The reason for this was that he wanted to see if he could cultivate the six-winged centipede again.
However, more often than not, this thing was used as a means of disposing of bodies. Twelve police officers were wiped out in an instant. Lu Xuan's expression remained completely unmoved.
"Get ready, other police officers might come. This batch of missing persons will trigger a search in the surrounding area. But if too many people go missing, it's none of our business."
"Understood." The disciples immediately packed their gear and headed out, preparing to add a bit more work for the Paris police tonight.
..............
The events in Paris have shocked the world. Even in today's seemingly prosperous and stable environment, many people are still paying attention to these news stories. This event has had a huge impact worldwide.
It wasn't just a fire at the Louvre in Paris. According to various reports, the Louvre suffered more than just a fire. Before the fire, it had already been looted and even vandalized. Some rumors suggest that almost all the sculptures inside the Louvre were smashed. The perpetrator seems to have harbored some kind of hatred for art, destroying centuries of French art in a single act.
In fact, apart from the Chinese section, which preserved many exhibits, almost all the artworks suffered devastating damage. The chances of restoration are slim.
It is said that the Chinese cultural relics exhibition area escaped unscathed because its exhibition halls were located at the very back. The fire did not spread there and was extinguished before it could reach them.
But the flames at the Louvre had already spread from that building to the entire world. The French instantly became the object of global ridicule. Not only did they lose their historical and cultural heritage overnight, but what's even more contemptible is that, reportedly, the French uncovered absolutely nothing.
There was no murderer, no suspects, and the extent of the damage was unknown. It's said that even hundreds of police officers involved in the investigation have gone missing. Throughout the night the Louvre burned, the French displayed a performance that was utterly disastrous...
Of course, the feeling within France was quite different. Most high-ranking officials who knew the inside story were currently filled with unease and a chill running down their spines. Because the most prevalent explanation was that a demon had appeared. A demon that hated art had burned down the Louvre. Otherwise, it was impossible to explain why they hadn't found any trace of it.
Of course, finding clues in the ruins burned by the fire was quite a challenge for the French police. But what happened after the fire was even more bizarre. Hundreds of police officers mysteriously disappeared during the search. The perpetrators' activities covered most of Paris, but they all vanished without a trace.
There can only be two explanations for this phenomenon. One is that the police officers conspired to orchestrate the incident. Since they were embezzling from their own posts, they naturally wouldn't find anything. But that makes no sense. Why would hundreds of police officers, who had no prior connection, suddenly link up and destroy French pride?
If this conjecture is unreasonable, then there can only be another conclusion. A demon that hates art???
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Chapter 206 The Most Famous Dark Creature (Please Subscribe)
Lu Xuan and his entourage left France, carrying with them a large sum of francs and two carloads of various cultural relics. In fact, many important figures were reluctant to see them go, because the medicine Lu Xuan and his team had prepared was incredibly effective. Not only did it have no obvious side effects, but it had even improved their physical condition to a certain extent.
Not everyone is interested in the Louvre. Even many of France's high-ranking officials are actually more concerned with their own sexual desires.
However, Lu Xuan's mind was made up to leave. They still gave this master some face. The main reason was that Paris was simply too unsettling. Many wealthy people were planning to leave. Currently, various rumors were rampant. The police's apparent ineffectiveness indicated that a demon was lurking in Paris.
The lockdown continued, but Lu Xuan managed to leave Paris thanks to some connections. He continued his journey. Next stop: England.
Britain, one of the oldest empires in Europe, has a knack for meddling in almost every major event, making it a veritable troublemaker.
The trip to Britain was planned long ago. After all, the Louvre was taken care of, and the British Museum was still intact. In fact, the British Museum is even more shameless than the Louvre. The French pride themselves on their artistic and romanticism. Many of the Louvre's collections were originally royal collections. But the British Museum is more direct. Almost everything in its collection and on display is looted.
Greece, Egypt, and China are the three biggest victims.
This time, Lu Xuan and his group didn't make a big fuss like they had in France. Instead, they planned to proceed more secretly. After all, they had already caused trouble in France. If something happened as soon as they arrived in England, they would inevitably be suspected. Even if they couldn't find evidence, the British weren't known for being evidence-driven.
However, this operation encountered a small mishap.
As planned, Xiao Hua knocked out all the guards and returned to Lu Xuan to boast about her achievement. However, this time, Lu Xuan did not praise her. Instead, he looked at the interior of the British Museum with a slightly solemn expression.
"What's wrong, Master?"