Chapter 57: The Ransacked Apartment

It was ten o'clock in the morning, and this was already the seventh day of Xiao Ran's stay inside the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles.

The Deputy Consul General, the Cultural Counselor, and Ma Ming, along with several others, accompanied Xiao Ran down to the underground parking garage to see him off.

Just before parting, the Deputy Consul General stepped forward and shook Xiao Ran's hand politely.

"Xiao Ran, you can return to school with peace of mind and continue your studies and life in Los Angeles."

"We have already coordinated with the relevant departments in Los Angeles; no one will give you any trouble."

"In the future, if you discover any more heavyweight antique cultural relics and artworks that have been lost or stolen from our country, we hope you will still contact us first."

"The Consulate General in Los Angeles always stands behind you all, protecting everyone's safety and safeguarding everyone's interests."

Xiao Ran smiled, nodded, and said with confidence:

"Thank you for the Consulate General's care. With our country as our backing, our hearts can be at peace, and we can grow even stronger!"

"If there are any major discoveries in the future like this one, I will still contact the Consulate General at the first opportunity to safeguard national interests!"

"Well said, I have high hopes for you, kid!"

The Deputy Consul General nodded approvingly and gently patted Xiao Ran on the shoulder.

After chatting for a few more moments, Xiao Ran got into his car and drove out of the Consulate General.

As soon as he emerged, he saw David holding a briefcase, standing outside the Consulate General and waiting for him.

In addition, Anthony and Sam had also followed, still driving that same Chevrolet Suburban.

For the coming period, they would be Xiao Ran's private bodyguards, responsible for his safety.

Seeing David, Xiao Ran immediately drove over and picked him up.

Afterward, he drove toward UCLA, with Anthony and Sam following closely behind in their vehicle.

Almost at the exact moment Xiao Ran left the Consulate General, an Air China cargo plane roared off the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport, flying straight toward China across the ocean.

Tucked inside that Air China cargo aircraft were precisely the priceless treasures recovered by Xiao Ran, along with that pair of Yongzheng-era sky-blue glazed celestial sphere vases, numerous antique watches, and much more.

In just over ten hours, those priceless treasures, parted from their homeland for nearly fifty years, would return to their native soil.

In the future, they would be displayed in the Shaanxi History Museum, continuing to recount the prosperity and elegance of the golden Tang Dynasty to their compatriots!

"Sean, here is your green card and related documents."

"From now on, you can travel freely throughout the United States, go treasure hunting everywhere, and come and go as you please."

"Of course, you can also start a company and no longer be bound by student visas and passports."

As soon as he got into the car, David handed Xiao Ran a document envelope.

Xiao Ran already knew about this and did not feel surprised.

He had generated so much tax revenue for the United States and Los Angeles; getting a green card in return to facilitate his actions was only logical, nothing to get overly excited about.

The only thing worth celebrating was that he could now establish an exploration company and no longer had to fight alone.

Xiao Ran reached out, took the document envelope, and tossed it casually onto the dashboard.

"The green card has arrived right on time. In a few days, I'll set up a treasure hunting company, and by the way, acquire an antique shop or a second-hand store and hire a few employees."

"I'll still need your help handling the related legal matters. In this area, I wouldn't dare to be the slightest bit negligent."

David's eyes immediately lit up—the opportunity to make money had arrived.

"This is my work and my duty, Sean. I will handle all legal matters properly."

"You really need to be careful now; there are far too many people keeping their eyes on you, and many of them harbor malicious intentions."

"In the circle of Los Angeles professional treasure hunters, and even in the realm of antique and art collection, your name is already widely known."

"Whenever you go to participate in various types of auctions from now on, you will inevitably become a target for everyone, and trying to score great bargains and get rich won't be as easy as before!"

Xiao Ran shrugged indifferently.

"That's to be expected. I'll be careful from now on!"

"As for exploration and treasure hunting, it relies on discernment and luck. Fortunately, I'm pretty good at both."

"Even if everyone else stares at me tightly, they won't be able to stop me from discovering treasures, and they certainly won't stop me from getting rich!"

David nodded, then pivoted the conversation.

"Someone from the Mayor's Office sent word that if you discover top-tier artworks in the future, it would be best to sell them to local Los Angeles museums or collectors."

Xiao Ran gave a soft laugh and brushed it off casually.

"We'll see how things go; I'll consider it. Nobody has a grudge against money!"

Chatting idly all the way, they soon returned to the apartment building near UCLA.

As he drove into the street, David suddenly said:

"Sean, since you're so rich now, you'd better buy a house—or at least rent one!"

"Now that you're a celebrity in Los Angeles, you should have the mindset of a celebrity!"

"Continuing to live in this apartment building doesn't seem quite appropriate, nor is it very safe."

Xiao Ran pondered for a moment before nodding and saying:

"That is indeed a problem. I'll give it serious consideration."

As they spoke, the Touareg SUV stopped by the roadside in front of the building.

Immediately afterward, Anthony and Sam's Chevrolet Suburban arrived as well, parking right behind them.

When Xiao Ran stepped out of the car, he instantly drew a wave of attentive gazes.

Several people who recognized Xiao Ran waved and called out greetings to him.

"Good morning, Sean. You're finally back, man."

"We've heard quite a few legends about you these past few days. Are those stories true?"

"Did you really discover a bunch of priceless top-tier antique relics and artworks? That's simply incredible!"

Xiao Ran shook his head and gave an evasive reply:

"I did pick up a few bargains, but it's not as exaggerated as the legends make it out to be."

"That's just blowing things out of proportion; nobody needs to take it seriously."

As they spoke, Anthony and Sam stepped forward.

These two rugged, formidable men stood right behind Xiao Ran, scanning their surroundings vigilantly with a "strangers keep out" aura.

Seeing this, how could anyone fail to figure out their identities?

The few people who had originally intended to come over and greet Xiao Ran involuntarily slowed their pace, fearing they might cause some misunderstanding.

"Whoa! Sean actually hired professional bodyguards. It looks like those legends are all true; this guy hides his depths remarkably well!"

"Did you see that guy in the suit next to Sean? Must be a private attorney."

"Who needs to hire a private attorney and bodyguards? Obviously a multimillionaire. Sean really struck it rich overnight!"

Listening to the murmurs rising all around him, Xiao Ran merely smiled and brushed it off.

This was bound to happen sooner or later, and it couldn't be concealed for long; there was no point in hiding it now anyway.

Afterward, he brought David upstairs.

Anthony and Sam stayed behind on the ground floor to stand guard.

Inside the apartment building, nothing had changed; everything remained as it was.

Upon entering the lobby, Xiao Ran quickly swept his gaze across the surroundings and mentally used his perspective to check some hidden corners.

Confirming there was no danger, he led David upstairs.

Moments later, they reached the apartment door.

By this time, the door to this apartment had been replaced.

The original wooden door had been swapped out for an exceptionally heavy and sturdy anti-theft iron door.

The reason for this change was actually quite simple.

On the very night Xiao Ran took refuge in the Consulate General, at least three or four groups of people had visited the apartment under the cover of darkness, turning the place completely upside down.

As for the apartment's wooden door, it had naturally been smashed beyond recognition and was completely useless.

The small safe in the bedroom had even been carried away directly and was nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, there was no money in that small safe; the tens of thousands of dollars in cash that had been stored inside were carried by Xiao Ran himself that day when he went to the auction.

That way, he had managed to avoid a greater loss.

As for the other items inside the apartment, they hadn't been so fortunate and had all suffered devastation.

Even his laptop had been stolen by goodness knows who and was completely missing.

Luckily, he had set up multiple layers of passwords on the computer and had long since uploaded all his data to the cloud, so he didn't need to worry about any major losses resulting from the missing computer.

As for other things like bank cards and identification documents, he had taken them with him because he was attending the auction, so he didn't have to worry about suffering any irrecoverable, major losses.

The fact that his apartment had been burglarized was discovered by Elaine when she returned the next day.

Calling the police, cleaning up the room, and replacing the anti-theft iron door were tasks handled by David.

"Sean, though this iron door is sturdy, that's only relative—it won't stop those desperate, red-eyed fellows."

"Precisely because of that, I suggested you move to a safer place."

As he spoke, David reached into his pocket for the keys to hand over to Xiao Ran.

At that exact moment, the door to the neighboring apartment suddenly opened, and Elaine stepped out.

Catching sight of Xiao Ran, the lovely young woman was instantly overjoyed.

"Sean, you're finally back! Now I won't have to live in constant anxiety anymore!"