At this moment, Fang Mingsheng explained, "I have a friend whose master key code for his vault door has been forgotten. This shouldn't be a big problem for Wang Guan, so I was hoping he could come over and unlock it."

"Unlocking again," Yu Feibai sighed lazily upon hearing this. "It's just a storage room. Just blast the main door open and replace it with a better one. Why bother troubling Wang Guan?"

"It's not an ordinary storage room, but the door to a collection chamber, one equipped with a self-destruct mechanism," Fang Mingsheng gestured. "If forced open by external force, the area around the door will detonate."

"That advanced?"

Suddenly, Yu Feibai became more interested. "Then the items inside that collection chamber must be extraordinary."

"Indeed, they are not ordinary; they represent several centuries of accumulation by his family," Fang Mingsheng sighed faintly. "If we were to measure the value of these collected artifacts by ancient standards, they could easily be called wealth capable of rivaling a nation. Even now, their worth is comparable to the annual GDP of some wealthy countries..."

"Seriously?"

Yu Feibai's interest intensified. "Centuries of collecting? Is your friend a foreigner?"

It was unavoidable; ancient Chinese families had been ravaged and scattered through repeated turmoil. Even if direct descendants survived, the family collections were long gone.

Not everyone was as lucky as the Emerald Ma family, who buried raw jade stones in their ancestral home during the war against Japan, only to dig them up decades later, forming the capital for their subsequent rise. In any case, within the antique collecting circle, the concept of 'ancestral treasures' had become a well-known joke.

Perhaps some true ancestral items existed, but the lineage wasn't often that ancient. It might just be something a grandfather bought when his grandson was born, then passed down when the grandson reached his twenties—that counted as an ancestral heirloom.

This was broadly the situation in China, but it was different abroad. Many large families had lineages spanning hundreds of years, and some banks had been operated by the same family for generations.

Needless to say, these great families would possess their own collection rooms, and as long as the descendants weren't spendthrifts, what was passed down through the ages would be substantial. Even ordinary families could store items in banks, retrieving them decades or a century later, naturally increasing their value.

"He is British."

At this point, Fang Mingsheng explained, "A nobleman. A true nobleman."

Note that Mingsheng was not flattering; he was merely stating a fact. After all, Britain was a constitutional monarchy, naturally preserving the existence of the Royal Family and the nobility. However, compared to ancient aristocrats, modern nobles were mostly honorary titles, possessing little substantive power.

Of course, for many people, a noble title was an unyielding pursuit, the dream of a lifetime. Yet, it could be sensed that Fang Mingsheng's tone held a subtle hint of envy.

After all, due to many deep-seated reasons, Chinese tycoons never enjoyed a good reputation in the hearts of the Chinese people. With material civilization highly developed, people naturally began to pursue refined culture. This was human nature, nothing to be criticized.

Fang Mingsheng was no exception; in his imagination, foreign nobility were synonymous with elegance, gentlemanliness, and nobility—naturally inspiring longing.

However, if Wang Guan knew what Fang Mingsheng was thinking, he would immediately tell him, "You're overthinking it." The saying about foreign monks chanting better scriptures or the moon being rounder overseas was simply a result of distance creating beauty.

It wasn't that Wang Guan intended to slander, but rather that he understood the principle that all crows are black—the world over. If Chinese tigers eat meat, do foreign lions eat grass? It’s just that the latter have more refined manners and know how to package themselves; fundamentally, there is no difference, and they can even be more ruthless, carrying the implication of slaughtering without a sound.

"Britain, huh."

Meanwhile, Yu Feibai frowned. "That seems a bit far."

It was indeed quite distant, flying from East Asia to Western Europe, and to the very edge of it at that—spanning almost half the globe. Of course, with today's advanced transportation, the journey would take at most ten hours. Therefore, the supposed distance was merely an excuse for hesitation.

Fang Mingsheng understood this and turned directly to Wang Guan, persuading him again. "Setting aside the remuneration for unlocking it, getting to know another friend can be beneficial, or perhaps you could treat it as a trip, and take the opportunity to visit the Chinese artifacts at the British Museum..."

Hearing this, Wang Guan was genuinely moved. The British Museum was one of the oldest and grandest comprehensive museums in the world, as well as one of the largest and most famous globally. It housed numerous artifacts and treasures from around the world, its collection being rich and diverse, rarely seen in museums worldwide.

He could ignore other exhibits, but the Chinese collection covered the entire spectrum of Chinese art—from Paleolithic stone tools, Shang and Zhou bronzes, Wei-Jin stone Buddhist scrolls, to Tang and Song paintings, and masterpieces of Ming and Qing porcelain.

As for the provenance of these items, everyone was well aware. Although it was a national humiliation, it did not diminish the yearning for these treasures. If the reason had been anything else, Wang could have dismissed it with a smile, but visiting the British Museum truly stirred his interest.

Just as Wang Guan was deliberating, Yu Feibai's phone suddenly rang. Seeing him pull out his phone to look at it and step aside to answer, the others continued to focus on Wang Guan's decision.

A short while later, Yu Feibai returned, his expression somewhat strange.

Tang Qinghua noticed and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Who was that?"

"My brother..."

While speaking, Yu Feibai asked, "Wang Guan, have you decided on going to Britain?"

"I'm considering it."

Wang Guan answered honestly. "You know I'm rather lazy and don't like traveling far."

Relatively speaking, going abroad was more than just traveling far. He had found his trip to Malaysia earlier in the year quite troublesome, let alone Britain, thousands of miles away, with a drastically different geographical environment and dietary customs from China. All the hassle and discomfort would surely take a toll—why invite suffering?

"I have some news that might mean you have no choice but to go."

At this moment, Yu Feibai scratched his head. "Remember that guy who threw the alcohol bottle at us?"

"Of course I remember," Wang Guan frowned. "Zhu Daren's accomplice. Your brother seemed to have been tracking him for a while; do you have a lead now?"

"Yes."

Yu Feibai nodded. "Although that person is fast and keeps changing IDs, as long as he operates within China, he leaves some traces. After tracing these clues, we found he last went to Shanghai, and then immediately flew to Britain."

"Britain again," Wang Guan frowned, hesitating slightly. "Is his destination Britain, or is he using it as a stepping stone to somewhere else?"

"Who knows."

Yu Feibai shrugged helplessly. "Anyway, once that person reached Britain, the trail went cold. We can't reach him from here."

"That’s easy to handle."

Just then, Fang Mingsheng quickly chimed in. "My friend in Britain has some connections; perhaps we can ask him for help in tracking him down. There might be some leads."

"That’s a good idea," Yu Feibai mused. "It’s similar to how it’s easier to find a foreigner in China. A Chinese person going to Britain is also a foreigner there. Having local contacts certainly makes searching more convenient."

"...Let's go back. We should discuss it with Old Qian before making any plans," Wang Guan thought it over, setting the general direction. It wasn't indecisiveness, but a desire to plan before acting.

After all, no one could be sure if Britain was Zhu Daren's final destination. If it was just a stopover, rushing over there to investigate would surely be an exercise in futility. Knowing such an outcome was possible, why let someone lead them by the nose?

Fang Mingsheng was somewhat disappointed by this decision, but he couldn't force Wang Guan, so he stopped urging him. The group then chatted for a while longer before deciding it was late and retiring to their rooms.

The next morning, after bidding farewell to Professor Wen, Old Hou, and Mr. Qin, Wang Guan and the others flew back to the capital. Fang Mingsheng, however, stayed behind to accompany Old Zeng back to Chaozhou.

"Brother Guan, just go directly to Third Brother," Wang Guan said with a smile upon exiting the Capital Airport. "I’ve already told him; he will make arrangements for you."

"Thank you, Boss," Guan Yang’s demeanor had become much more humble; that was the attitude expected when working for someone.

"Work hard, and I’ll give you a big red envelope at the end of the year," Wang Guan chuckled lightly, then bid farewell to Tang Qinghua, turned to get into the car with Yu Feibai, and they soon arrived at the grand mansion familiar to them.

At that moment, Old Qian was not home. Upon inquiry, they learned that he had been invited by a friend to attend an opening ceremony for a certain shop early that morning.

"What kind of shop?"

Yu Feibai was very curious. "Quite a big deal, to even invite Old Qian to show face."

"Not a shop, it sounds like some sort of museum..."

"A museum?"

Hearing this, Yu Feibai grew even more intrigued.

A museum opening now was highly likely to be a private one. However, a bizarre incident involving a private museum had caused quite a stir recently, and Old Qian had even offered some stern commentary on the news. Under these circumstances, he should have been somewhat averse to private museums, yet now he was lending support, which meant that museum must have a considerable background.

His curiosity piqued, Yu Feibai immediately called Old Qian to find out the details. Then, he cheerfully beckoned, "Wang Guan, let's go. We can go watch the excitement too."

"You just got back and you want to go out again," Wang Guan looked utterly exasperated. "Don't you feel tired?"

"Tired of what?"

Yu Feibai grinned. "The opening ceremony is almost over. We'll arrive just in time for the grand finale, and then we can head straight to the big hotel for free food. You wouldn't pass up such a good deal, would you? Wastefulness is shameful..."

"With your current wealth, are you really short of a single meal?" Wang Guan couldn't help shaking his head, but ultimately, he couldn't resist Yu Feibai’s pulling, dropped his luggage bag, and went out again...

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