Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 32 (Patreon)

Chapter 32: A False Alarm

The basement was not large, approximately one hundred and fifty square meters, with walls and floors made of uneven white stone bricks.

Inside stood ten square stone pillars, each of the same height but varying in surface area.

Six collectibles were placed on six of these pillars, each covered with a layer of transparent glass, looking much like a museum exhibit.

The collectibles included a knife, a stone lamp, a silver bowl, a golden pen, a stone statue of a bathing monkey, and a peculiar pot.

Among these, faint traces of Nen were detected on the knife and the peculiar pot. Luo knew that even the slightest amount of Nen should not be underestimated. Not to mention the humanoid peculiar pot, a knife that retained Nen was certainly a lethal weapon.

Luo's gaze was irresistibly drawn to the knife and the peculiar pot, curious about how much his stats would increase if he absorbed the Nen from these two collectibles.

So far, it was only known that increasing stats would also increase the potential amount of Qi inside one's body, whether it would amplify the power of Nen was still unclear. However, Luo was curious about what it would be like if all six categories reached one hundred percent.

That might require a long journey to achieve. For now, it was best to focus on the path ahead. Thinking too far ahead could hinder one's own progress.

Luo slightly contained the excitement bubbling up from his heart, fearing it might alert the three elders to his unusual demeanor.

"These six ancient objects are my treasures. Name them and their origins, and that will be your opportunity," an elder said, slightly turning his body and glancing sideways at Luo.

"Just the names and origins? That's child's play," Luo said with a slight curve at the corner of his mouth, displaying arrogance.

Machi had said that in Meteor Street, one must act high-profile to make others recognize your strength and value, which could deter the petty and weak.

Similarly, to demonstrate value, one must be as high-profile as possible.

Especially when it came to appraising antiques, Luo had no idea how to be low-profile. If it were about demonstrating Nen abilities, he would surely only reveal a fraction.

Upon hearing Luo's words, the elder's eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained silent.

The two standing beside the elder looked at Luo as if they were looking at a dead man.

The basement's six ancient collectibles had taken the elder about fifteen years to collect. Countless subordinates were lost in the process of acquiring these six items.

Four of the collectibles had already been appraised to eighty percent completion, but the remaining two, the knife and the peculiar pot, had almost zero progress in their appraisal. No matter which channel was used to inquire with appraisal masters, nothing was gained.

Originally, the elder had only asked Luo to name the origins of the collectibles, which was already a difficult task.

Kuli was inwardly delighted, and upon hearing Luo's boastful statement, he was ecstatic.

There's a way to heaven, yet you choose not to take it; there's no door to hell, yet you insist on barging in.

At this moment, Kuli already considered Luo as good as dead, though not by his own hands, which was sufficient.

As the elder remained silent, the basement quieted down.

Bright white light shone as if it were daylight, feeling as though one was standing under the glaring sun, yet a hint of chilliness circulated around.

Suddenly, the elder lifted his cane, pointing towards a pile of human skeletons beside a black giant hound, and said coldly, "These are professionals who claimed to be appraisal masters. You surely don't want to become one of them, right?"

Meteor Street had a close cooperation with the mafia, so bringing in appraisal masters for the elder was not difficult. Ultimately, these masters became food for the black giant hound.

The pale skeletons were proof of their existence, and their helpless, tragic state was a silent accusation.

They were not unworthy of their reputations; rather, the elder's demands were too high. Perhaps from the beginning, the arrival of these people was doomed to a deadly fate.

Luo quietly observed the pile of skeletons, realizing they were all professionals in appraising ancient objects. Just like them, facing a person indifferent to life, being too weak to resist, they ended up as food for the beast.

"Shall we begin?"

Luo smiled, looking relaxed and at ease. He knew the elder wanted him to retract his arrogant words, but he was not inclined to comply.

The elder's eyes, previously squinted, slowly opened, and he put away his cane without further words, saying solemnly, "Begin."

Luo nodded and approached the first collectible, a stone statue of a bathing monkey.

He stood in front of the statue, pretending to ponder, but in reality, he was thinking of a reason to touch the collectible.

The elder watched Luo's back, his gaze gradually turning icy. He had encountered many appraisal professionals and knew some steps and preparations for appraising.

However, Luo seemed completely clueless at this moment.

The elder signaled to Kuli, who nodded slightly and walked over to remove the glass cover from the stone monkey statue, gently placing it aside.

Luo was slightly startled, thinking to himself that this was like someone bringing a pillow to him while he was dozing off, so he directly reached out to touch the stone monkey statue.

At that moment, the elder's voice, filled with a cold undertone, floated over, "Aren't you going to 'cleanse your hands'?"

Appraising required direct hand contact with the antique, which was a necessary step, and cleansing hands was a preparatory ritual before this step.

This was a ritual that every appraisal master would perform before appraising an antique, which involved using a pure white silk handkerchief or silk to wipe their hands, signifying respect and a solemn attitude.

Of course, although amateur appraisers were aware of this ritual, most would skip this step.

Hearing the elder's words, Luo internally panicked, his hand hanging mid-air.

Cleansing hands...?

Was it a step in appraising antiques in this world?

Perhaps it involved wearing white gloves to avoid contaminating the precious antiques. That seemed to be the case.

Luo's thoughts raced, and he withdrew his hand, turning to look at the elder with a wry smile, "The thing is, I don't have that."

Despite thinking that 'cleansing hands' probably required wearing white gloves similar to Earth, his response was deliberately vague, showcasing Luo's cunning.

Judging from the elder's tone, he seemed very displeased for some reason. Directly stating the absence of gloves could lead to trouble if the answer was wrong.

Regardless of what 'cleansing hands' entailed, it presumably required some tool.

Gloves, water, or even disinfectant, anything was fine. With such a response, if the elder insisted on nitpicking, he would naturally provide what was needed.

Hearing Luo's words, the elder's icy gaze softened slightly, and he nodded at Kuli.

Kuli, understanding the hint, took out a pure white silk handkerchief from beneath his ragged cloak and handed it to Luo.

Seeing the silk handkerchief offered by Kuli, Luo took it without a word, linking the silk handkerchief and the concept of 'cleansing hands' together in his mind, quickly coming to a conclusion.

Just as the term suggested, cleansing hands!

Luo calmly wiped his hands while observing the elder's reaction. Seeing no significant change in the elder's expression, he felt reassured.

He guessed correctly...

This elder, seemed somewhat perverse in certain aspects.

After wiping his hands, Luo returned the silk handkerchief to Kuli, who stared at him coldly and took back the handkerchief.

With his back to the elder, Luo gestured a middle finger at Kuli, making use of an international gesture he had learned.

Kuli's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't hold back his killing intent, which leaked out slightly.

Luo, however, reached out indifferently towards the stone monkey statue. At the same time, the elder's gaze turned colder once more, this time with a complete disregard for life, but his gaze was directed at Kuli.

Kuli's body trembled slightly, he lowered his head and stepped back a few steps, quickly reining in his killing intent.

"Rookie."

Luo sneered, and the moment his hand touched the stone monkey statue, all sorts of information about it, represented by white smoke letters, appeared in his consciousness.

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