Lin Jicheng stared at the exquisite cultural relics around her, and as she looked, a suppressed anger crept into her voice:
"The invaders, represented by McKinley, used guns, ammunition, and artillery to steal and plunder countless precious artifacts from our own land, then displayed them in their own living rooms as strategic treasures of their conquest..."
"This is a disgrace to us!"
Lin Jicheng shook his head sadly:
“Although a few hundred million euros is not a lot of money for me, if I really pay it, wouldn’t the McKinley family also receive real income from their ancestors’ theft? Isn’t that a tacit endorsement of their predatory behavior?”
"So... I just want to tell them that what they took by violence or theft will have to be returned sooner or later!"
Lin Jicheng uttered these words decisively, and Lin Yi nodded in understanding:
"So, Miss, after you had us take away all the cultural relics from China, you specially arranged the 'discovery of Western fake cultural relics' scene afterward, just as a precaution, right?"
"right!"
Lin Jicheng nodded:
"If it were only the theft of Eastern artifacts, there's no guarantee that the McKinley family wouldn't focus all their attention on me, become suspicious of me, and even launch an investigation against me..."
"To the outside world, the McKinley family can use this method to play the victim and gain sympathy!"
"However, once a counterfeit scandal occurs, their own credibility will be ruined, and they will be too busy to take care of themselves. Just like now, they are busy dealing with their affairs in the European aristocratic circles, and they probably don't even have time to care about me!"
"That's why I specifically arranged for you to replace a few Western artifacts, just to give us Chinese some interest!"
"And this is a perfect opportunity for us to transport the cultural relics back to China and put them in a safe place..."
"Yes, Miss, I understand what you mean..."
Lin Yi nodded very solemnly:
"Tomorrow, we'll arrange a private plane and head straight back home!"
"but……"
Lin Yi was still somewhat puzzled:
"However, the number of Western artifacts our team replaced was actually very small, not nearly as many as the newspapers reported..."
"I've noticed that many of our valued guests seem to feel they've received counterfeit goods..."
Lin Jicheng shrugged and said nonchalantly:
"Actually, the number of artifacts replaced isn't important. What's important is to sow suspicion about the McKinley family throughout the entire aristocratic circle. That alone is enough to give them a run for their money..."
"In order to avoid arousing suspicion, I must direct all the suspicion towards McKinley himself!"
"Therefore, Duke von Demia is also a very important part of our plan..."
Lin Jicheng recalled the details of his time in the Western artifacts collection room:
"Duke von Demia is highly respected and his words carry significant weight in the circle. He also has a deep understanding of cultural relics. Having him take the lead will surely arouse everyone's suspicion!"
"I see!"
Lin Yi understood completely. She went to arrange tomorrow's itinerary, while Lin Jicheng called Alfred over again:
"Have you finished investigating the information I asked you to investigate before?"
Alfred nodded and handed the tablet computer to Lin Jicheng, which was already densely packed with information:
"Yes, I have completely figured it out—"
"This is the first document, detailing the numerous crimes committed by the McKinley family during their colonization and invasion of China... including but not limited to massacres, arson, destruction and looting of cultural relics, and so on, too many to list..."
Lin Jicheng flipped through the documents in his hands. Many of these documents were even deliberately leaked by members of the McKinley family in order to highlight that their family was both wealthy and adventurous.
Lin Jicheng sneered:
"It seems I really wasn't wrong to blame them... The McKinley family has so much Chinese blood on their hands, I really can't just turn a blind eye..."
"William McKinley actually managed to whitewash his ancestors' bloody acts of aggression as a spirit of adventure... What a self-deceiving act!"
"But this is good too. Now that I understand what they did, I won't be hesitant to take the next step!"
"And then there's the matter of the McKinley family's current situation; Miss's suspicions were indeed correct—"
As Alfred spoke, he opened the next file:
"During the auction, Miss messaged me asking me to investigate the McKinley family's current financial situation. The McKinley family may still seem to enjoy a high income in aristocratic circles, but in fact, they are already in a major financial crisis..."
"So, it turned out to be exactly what I suspected—"
Lin Jicheng looked at the information in his hand and nodded:
"The only reason the McKinley family would suddenly hold such a large-scale auction is because they're out of money!"
"That's why we need to quickly sell these treasures left by our ancestors and convert them into cash to mitigate our business failures!"
Yes, that's right!
Alfred continued:
"The McKinley family was already teetering on the brink of collapse..."
"Generational expenses, the exorbitant maintenance costs of the castle, the ancestral property with its continuous investment but slow returns, plus several failed investments, have long since drained their cash flow!"
"Holding auctions is nothing more than a way to create a false impression of prosperity, raise huge sums of cash to fill the hole, and incidentally attract new investment by leveraging their prestige!"
"Furthermore, with this crisis of trust erupting, several family companies that have cooperated with the McKinley family for a long time have begun to hesitate about whether to continue injecting funds into them..."
"In other words..."
Lin Jicheng pondered:
"Now is also a good time for us to buy at the bottom!"
"Since we've already accumulated a lot of experience with the Field family, we can apply the same approach to the McKinley family..."
"But this time, we don't need to worry about saving face anymore!"
Lin Jicheng's gaze was fixed intently ahead, burning with a fierce fire of revenge.
"After all, the source of their family wealth is tainted by original sin, and it's time for them to pay a greater price!"
"Let Lin Si continue the operation, just like last time: acquire core assets at extremely low prices, then acquire non-performing loans, and finally force liquidation!"
“This time, we don’t need to preserve their noble dignity and title like Field did…”
"yes!"
Alfred wholeheartedly agreed:
"Let's call a meeting right now and discuss the details with Lin Si!"
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