Recognizing the effects of these cards, Leonard Ethan instantly activated the Familiar Language and Text card that he had just acquired and still didn't quite seem real.
Because he realized that those memories in the Mystic Realm were rapidly fading. If he didn't use this card, the precious knowledge he just gained might say a permanent goodbye.
After selecting the card, Leonard Ethan found the card quickly turned into bronze-colored powder and disappeared into his mind; then, a flood of new knowledge was poured into his brain.
Feeling slightly dizzy under the impact of the enormous influx of knowledge, Leonard Ethan had no choice but to sit directly on the dust-covered floor, waiting for the effects of the card to wear off.
After about ten minutes, the knowledge infusion was over. After a detailed check, Leonard Ethan found that he had indeed mastered all the languages that Jean-François Champollion had known in the Mystic Realm.
The vast majority of these languages were Eastern ones, such as Hebrew, Arabic, Ancient Syrian Language, Ancient Chaldean Language, and so on. In addition to these, there were also Greek, Latin, and Jean-François Champollion's native French.
What made Leonard Ethan even happier was that the German he had chosen to learn during his school years, as well as the compulsory Irish Gaelic from his primary and secondary school years, were also included in this card's areas of enhancement and had reached a fluent level.
"This Golden Finger is so cool." After experiencing the changes within him, Leonard Ethan beamed. "Even if I do nothing else in the future, this knowledge alone will feed me for a lifetime."
However, fantasy is always just fantasy. Although in his previous life he envied these respected, economically well-off jobs, now with the Golden Finger, he naturally aspired for more.
So, Leonard Ethan adjusted his mood quickly and continued his search. Perhaps because of his careful observation of the effect of this card, he quickly noticed there was an issue with the bookshelf from before.
Britain is a country with very clear social stratification, meaning the kind of house different families live in, the type of furniture they have, and so on adhere to certain unspoken rules.
For example, the terraced houses in the dilapidated communities in London's eastern suburbs are typically inhabited by skilled workers, or low-income white-collar workers.
That is, the furniture should be economic and practical, like the particleboard furniture and fabric sofas Leonard Ethan earlier packed and sent to a charity organization.
But the current bookshelf was clearly not so. After obtaining the skill of careful observation, Leonard Ethan perceptively discovered from a scratch mark that under many layers of paint applied who knows how many times for maintenance, the material of the shelf was oak wood under the paint.
Realizing this cabinet seemed odd for this place, he immediately took out everything in the cabinet, and then began a detailed inspection.
Sure enough, after a thorough inspection, Leonard Ethan found that the back of the third layer of the shelf was clearly about five millimeters thicker than the other layers. However, due to the entire interior being painted brown-black, it was almost impossible to see the difference without a deliberate inspection.
"It looks like I'm going to snag a big haul today." After Leonard Ethan discovered this abnormality in the bookshelf, he immediately put on the gas mask that was hanging around his neck earlier.
Then he took out the sturdy eastern European titanium alloy crowbar from the tool bag on the floor, which he got during the cleaning of an old house last time, and after some violent dismantling, he finally managed to pry open the three-plywood panel used to hide the secret compartment, revealing the contents inside.
Unexpectedly, this secret compartment was filled with charcoal ash, so once it was opened, the dust flew all around the room. But Leonard Ethan's excitement only heightened.
Under normal circumstances, anything hidden in a secret interlayer would definitely not be too shabby.
From his two months of experience in the field, Leonard Ethan knew that many of his peers had stumbled upon great treasures from various hidden layers and secret chambers.
To commemorate his first big find since joining the field, Leonard Ethan took out his mobile phone and took several photos of the interlayer before beginning to clean it.
Finally, after removing a kilo or two of charcoal ash from the interlayer, Leonard Ethan unearthed a small package from the pile of charcoal.
With the light from the window, he found that the things taken from the interlayer of the bookshelf were wrapped in oilcloth and tied with thin rope, their true nature completely obscured.
"I hope this is some gold or silver coins, or maybe some jewelry." Leonard Ethan whispered a small prayer as he looked at the carefully wrapped oilcloth package.
For treasure hunters like them, finding items made of precious metals would be akin to striking gold. Unfortunately, the odds of such serendipitous events are even lower than the probability of getting hit by a car and ending up in the hospital.
"Let me see what this is." Leonard gently placed the oilcloth package, slightly larger than a fist, on the table in front of the window, then used his foldable scissors and small knife to cut the thin rope on the oilcloth package and unwrap the parcel.
Inside the parcel were two stacked boxes, both palm-sized. One was wrapped in red leather and looked like a jewelry box, the other was a plain wooden box.
"Holy shit--"
Upon opening the jewelry box, what appeared before Leonard Ethan was a Hummingbird Pistol.
This pistol, the smallest automatic pistol in the world, was designed by an Austrian clockmaker named Franz Pfenning. Because it had been carefully preserved, there was not a trace of rust on this century-old gun.
Although the muzzle energy of this weapon is only 4J, just enough to make a hole in a leather jacket. Using it for self-defense would cause less damage than fist-fighting. But as a luxury good, its price is not cheap.
Especially now, Leonard Ethan's gun not only has the original gun box, but also includes velvet lining, suede gun sleeve, tin box with 12 bullets and an ivory bead on the muzzle, none of them missing, which are all important factors in increasing the value of the firearm.
The other wooden box contains some items related to this gun, in addition to a pair of mother-of-pearl grip plates, there are also six small boxes sealed with wax for bullets.
Although Leonard Ethan is a novice and doesn't know much about the price of this item, from its packaging, he can tell that it will definitely be valuable.
After safely storing these precious spoils of war, Leonard Ethan checked the entire bookshelf again, only giving up when he was certain there was nothing else inside.
In the following hours, he continued his cleaning work, finally managing to clear every piece of furniture from the room before darkness fell.
After the landlord had inspected the room and paid him a salary of 150 pounds, Leonard Ethan drove his second-hand van back to his place, carrying his spoils of war. He planned to thoroughly inspect his "Golden Finger" and the treasures he had obtained.