The exhibition hall was silent.
But Xia Lei’s brain had not been silenced for even a second – it was like an engine running at top speed. The calculations and analysis going on in an instant was not something that an ordinary person could imagine. It was incredible! However, he himself felt that it was very normal, and natural. While his mind raced for the answer, he was able to appreciate the artistry of the Mona Lisa in a calm manner.
Da Vinci’s technique was breathtaking. He had applied the paint to canvas, layer by layer, and each layer was different. The different colour layers had been mixed together, and it played on light to give shape to this renowned piece of artwork. No matter which angle one looked at the woman in the frame, her smile was still so sweet, so enchanting.
The last layer of paint disappeared from his sight, and he finally saw the canvas itself. In that moment, Xia Lei stopped, and his eyes shone with excitement.
There were lines drawn in pencil on the canvas. These lines made up a mountain peak, a river and a bridge. It was a map!
There were also words written in Italian between the lines. They were very blurry and difficult to decipher. Xia Lei forced down his excitement and memorised everything which was drawn in pencil.
This was where the Mona Lisa’s real value lay!
Other people would only see the foundation for da Vinci’s Mona Lisa’s smile, but this was actually the true purpose of da Vinci leaving this painting behind!
No one had realised this secret for hundreds of years, because there was no one who could or would remove the paint on the canvas and see the written content left in pencil underneath. However, da Vinci would not have used this method to leave this clue behind for no reason, because his clue had been left for the person who could see it – The One!
“Mr Xia?” It was Jacqueline Eva.
Xia Lei’s thoughts were interrupted and his eye returned to normal. He seemed calm on the surface but his heart was in turmoil, not peaceful at all. He did not know where the hidden map on the canvas pointed to in the real world since the words were blurred, but given time, he could reconstruct it and find the place indicated on the map!
A new clue had appeared and he was now one step closer to discovering the secret of AE and the ancient alloy!
Jacuqeline Eva spoke again, “Mr Xia, you were quite focused on it. Did you obtain some unique viewpoint from it?”
“My viewpoint? Is it important?” asked Xia Lei.
“I am very interested in your viewpoint. In my opinion, you and da Vinci are quite similar. Your opinion must be very unique,” said Jacqueline Eva.
She had said it unintentionally, as a comparison, but Xia Lei was struck by her words. “Miss Eva, you say we are similar? What makes you say that?”
“Da Vinci is hailed as the world’s greatest all-rounded man. Other than being a painter, he was also a sculptor, an architect, a musician, a mathematician, an engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, biologist and author. He specialized in astronomy and geography, literature and art, mathematics, science, chemistry, biology and more. His IQ was publicly recognised as the world’s highest…”
Xia Lei interrupted her. “I agree that he was the world’s best all rounder, I also agree that he had the world’s highest IQ, but what he could do, I can not. How are we alike?”
“You created the world’s most advanced intelligent lathe. Every weapon that you designed possesses incredible performance and is undoubtedly the best of its kind. You give me the feeling that you are decades ahead of our time, be it your way of thought or your capabilities. We would need decades more to create the things that you are making now. Back in his era, da Vinci also gave people the same impression. His ideas, and the things he discovered, were decades ahead of the time. This is why I said that the two of you are similar,” said Jacqueline Eva.
Xia Lei was silent. His feelings were a mess.
Jacqueline Eva’s explanation made him even more sure of his conjecture that Leonardo da Vinci was also someone who had taken the AE capsule. He understood his own situation very well. Although he did not specialise in as many things as da Vinci did, as long as he was willing to learn, to research, it would not be hard for him to achieve as many things as Da Vinci did in his era! He had already proved this. He was not a mathematician, but he could solve the Riemann hypothesis, the hypothesis that had plagued the entire mathematics world for a century, in his head!
A new question popped up in his head. If da Vinci had also eaten the AE capsule, then where had he gotten his AE capsule from?
“What are you thinking about, Mr Xia?” asked Jacqueline Eva tentatively. “Did I upset you? If that is the case, then I apologise.”
Xia Lei gave a laugh. “I am not that petty. I just think you are exaggerating your compliments about me.” He paused and changed the subject. “You asked me my view on this painting, so I’ll tell you now. This painting is very beautiful. It does deserve to be called a treasure of art. However, like you said, it is only an oil painting. To someone who is starving, its value is less than that of a loaf of bread.”
“Hehe, is that how you view it?” Jacqueline Eva also smiled. “It sure is unique. Then do you still want to buy it now?”
Xia Lei shook his head. “I don’t. It is only an oil painting. It has less value than a beautiful woman to me.”
He had already seen the thing which da Vinci had left for him. To him, this painting was just a painting. Whether this painting hung in his living room or in the exhibition hall of the Louvre Museum made no difference to him.
“Oh, Mr Xia, you sure are straightforward.” Jacqueline Eva laughed. “But this is France, the most romantic place in the world. Many French girls would love a man like you.” However, her thoughts were saying another thing. ‘Pervert! It seems like the analysis from the information was correct. You are a pervert, and women are your weakness. I will exploit your weakness.’
“Let’s leave this place. I will look around in other areas,” said Xia Lei. He did not want to stay in front of the Mona Lisa, but he also could not look at only one painting before leaving. It would make the French agent suspicious if he did that.
“Mr Xia, is there any other area you want to see?”
“Yes, please take me to see the Eastern artifacts,” said Xia Lei.
“Sure, please follow me.” Jacqueline Eva brought Xia Lei away from the Mona Lisa exhibition hall.
Xia Lei looked back when he got to the doorway. His eyes went to the background in the painting. It was a small town in Italy – Bobbio. It was where da Vinci lived, and his next destination.
Xia Lei toured a few more exhibition halls with Jacqueline Eva as his guide. He left the Louvre an hour later.
The glass pyramid glowed quietly under the darkness. There were not many people in the plaza, so the military off-road vehicle parked on the side of the road, and the eight heavily armed Special Forces of the National Gendarmerie were very eye-catching.
“Mr Xia, it is still quite early,” said Jacqueline Eva with a smile. “Why don’t I take you around before we go somewhere for a drink?”
Xia Lei was looking for an excuse to reject her when his gaze was suddenly drawn to the intersection. A few Chevrolet Suburban off-road cars were speeding over from that direction. He then looked in the opposite direction. There were also a few Chevrolet Suburban off-road cars speeding over.
The Chevrolet Suburban off-road car was the CIA field agents’ car of choice. So many appearing at once told Xia Lei what the situation was. His gaze turned away from the road to a tall building in the distance. On the rooftop of that tall building lay two people, and he could see their faces clearly. Those two people were Alessio and Bagu, and both had a XL2500 sniper rifle in their hands. In another direction, also on top of a tall building, he saw Yelena and Amanda, as well as Marcus and E’er Demutu. The Zodiac team’s six members formed a triangular sniping range. They had full cover of the entire plaza in their sniping range.
Xia Lei did not see Park Taeyong, but as the person in charge of transport, he was most definitely in a car right now, ready to charge into the battlefield at any time and take him away.
A tiny sneer appeared on Xia Lei’s face. It would be very lively indeed if the CIA wanted to arrest him here. Not only would the CIA have to face him and his Zodiac team, they would also need to face the French national Gendarmerie’s Special Forces soldiers!
Jacqueline Eva also saw the cars coming from both sides and she panicked immediately. She grabbed Xia Lei’s hand and said anxiously, “Quick! Get into the car!”
Eriksson and the Special Forces reacted quickly too. Using their cars as cover, they split into two groups. One group aimed their guns at the cars coming from the left, and the other group aimed their guns at the cars coming from the right.
The enemies took no notice of the French Gendarmerie. They charged close in the blink of an eye and surrounded the French cars. Xia Lei had not had time to get into the car.
Car doors opened and over twenty people in black suits came out, holding the SCAR assault rifle made by the Belgian FN company. They pointed their guns at Xia Lei and the French personnel. This type of gun was an assault rifle made by the Belgian FN company for the American Special Forces. Its performance was excellent and it had great firepower; it used to be the most advanced assault rifle. However, that was all before the launch of Thunder Horse Military Factory’s Gust assault rifle. Now the most advanced assault rifle in the world was the Gust assault rifle, and if there was a war, these two guns would battle it out!
A pair of black high heels emerged from behind an opened car door, and landed lightly on the ground. They were followed by a pair of long legs in nude stockings, a slender waist, soft breasts and a beautiful Eastern face. This was Gu Kewen’s face, and her face had a cunning beauty.
Xia Lei watched expressionlessly as Gu Kewen stepped out of the car. This woman was like a cockroach to him. He would kill her over and over again but she just would not die.
Gu Kewen’s eyes moved to Xia Lei’s face too, and their eyes met. A pretty smile appeared on her face. “Hehe, I’d never thought that it would be this easy. It’s unbelievable, really. You are always so hard to read, Xia Lei. What’s so bad about hiding in China like a turtle? But no, you had to come to France to show off. America has clout in Europe, you know.”
Xia Lei said nothing. He just watched her silently.
The expression on Jacqueline Eva’s face was ugly, and her eyes were cold. “You’re CIA. What did you guys come here for?”
“This person is on our wanted list. We want to take him away. Please cooperate with us in our work, and don’t cause trouble for yourselves.”
Gu Kewen shot her men a look after she spoke.
A CIA field agent walked towards Xia Lei with his gun trained on him. He held his gun in one hand, and reached for handcuffs at his waist with the other.
So she really was planning on taking him away from here.