"Today's luck is a bit off; the value of that item was just too obvious," Pierce said, resigning himself to the failed auction as he sat back down and turned to Liang En.
"The most important thing now is that there are several people here who seem quite taken with it. I suspect they'll drive the price beyond £2,000, which would make it unprofitable for us."
The next few moments unfolded exactly as Pierce had predicted. After five or six minutes of intense bidding, someone finally secured the table for £2,350.
However, Pierce did not show any signs of regret; to him, it was a purely losing bid, devoid of any real value even if acquired.
As for the other items up for auction, some Liang En's group managed to win, while others slipped through their fingers. By the time the three-hour auction session ended, they quickly settled their dues with the organizers and collected their purchases.
Firstly, they inspected the assorted trinkets they had initially bought, such as small ornaments and decorations from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Despite their exquisite craftsmanship, these items were mass-produced commodities and generally not subject to replication; at least Liang En could confirm they were genuine after his inspection.
Nevertheless, genuine as they were, the items weren't particularly valuable. The sheer quantity produced by industrial methods, even after more than a century, meant they could never fetch a high price.
For places like the Emerald Gem Antique Shop, these more common items actually held more value than the finer pieces because, although high-end products were necessary, their core merchandise remained fairly commonplace.
Based on their estimates, the items they had spent over £2,000 on could likely be sold for a total of about £6,000.
"Alright, let's see what you've actually found this time," Fan Meng said after they had finished assessing the appetizers and turned his attention to the six large crates. "I hope these items are as valuable as you imagined."
Soon, the crates were pried open with crowbars, revealing the metal parts inside, stuffed to the brim just as the labels on the crates had indicated—seemingly dismantled from the same machine.
"This appears to be a large air compressor, complete with a pump," Pierce noted, studying the heap of metal parts after all the crates were opened.
"What is this mainly used for?" Liang En asked, lifting an L-shaped pipe. "At least, I've never seen anything like this; it must be quite uncommon."
"Indeed, it's uncommon. As far as I know, portable inflators like this are often used by tomb raiders," Pierce replied, patting a pipe. "People engaged in illegal activities don't dig gradually, layer by layer, like us."
"To quickly reach valuable items, they would drill a thief's tunnel straight to the core area from the periphery. Of course, they would need this kind of pump to supply oxygen to the people inside."
"You're right, for them, stealth and speed are crucial, so naturally, they require these specialized devices," Liang En remarked after a thorough inspection. "If I'm not mistaken, this equipment is likely used by those illegal organizations."
"How did you determine this piece came from a group of grave robbers?" Jeanne d'Arc inquired after her examination, puzzled. "I don't see any difference from normal equipment."
"For two reasons," Liang En explained, retrieving a beautifully crafted metal cylinder from a box. "This is used on the air compressor, a powerful silencer. Normal users wouldn't need such an advanced silencer—its only purpose for them would be to reduce noise to avoid affecting the hearing of nearby workers."
However, tomb raiders prefer to replace the original basic silencers with these sophisticated ones to enhance the secrecy of their operations.
"On the other hand, if this device were used by industrial and mining enterprises, it would typically carry a nameplate detailing the machine's specs. This item, however, not only lacks such a label but even its original markings have been erased."
"I see," Jeanne d'Arc nodded seriously, recognizing the tactic as akin to criminals wiping serial numbers off vehicles or firearms to obscure their illegal activities.
Ordinary buyers would never do this because without these numbers, manufacturers would refuse service or repairs.
After their initial inspection, they confirmed the crates contained two complete sets of pump equipment. However, it was odd that when the two sets were compared side by side, Liang En noticed some discrepancies in the parts.
Realizing there might be something significant hidden within, he immediately ceased further inspections, repacked the items, bid farewell to Pierce, and returned to Ireland.
"Now, can you tell me what you found inside those machines?" Jeanne d'Arc asked, unable to contain her curiosity as they drove into the courtyard of their ranch house in Ireland that evening.
"It seems these machines have some hidden compartments, clearly not part of the original assembly
," Liang En pointed out, indicating several large boxes in the back of their pickup.
"Given the dubious origins of these items, I suspect they might conceal something valuable, which is why I rushed back."
Within minutes, the two of them, with the suspicious devices in tow, headed to the underground storage. They then began disassembling the suspicious components with tools.
When they cut open the machine's casing with a small electric saw, a concealed weld appeared, clearly intended to hide something rather than a part of the manufacturing process.
"There's something inside," Liang En carefully removed a piece of metal the size of half a mobile phone screen as Jeanne d'Arc immediately spotted something previously hidden in the compartment.
The uncovered objects were several irregular metal blocks the size of fingertips, covered in a dark layer. Initially, Liang En thought they were some kind of precious metal, but upon weighing them, he found them too light to be what he had imagined.
After examining them with a specialized magnifying glass, Liang En realized that the blackish material was just an oxide layer on the surface of the metal ingots, marked with inconspicuous, irregular white-gray spots.
"It seems these things have a story behind them," Liang En concluded after completing his inspection, setting down the metal and magnifying glass. "Now, I'm truly intrigued."
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