"Delicious!"
Daniel picked up the small bowl and drank straight from it.
Finishing one bowl, he immediately asked for another.
After three or four bowls, he felt refreshed and couldn't help but exclaim how great it was.
"I used to love the Hot and Sour Shredded Pork Soup my mom made. Unfortunately, since I went abroad, I haven't been home in several years, and I haven't tasted it again."
"The one you made is really good. It tastes like my mom's."
Sophia's face lit up with joy. "Well, have some more then." She said, refilling Daniel's empty bowl.
"Also, I wanted to thank you for last night."
Daniel looked puzzled, "Thank me for what?"
Sophia said, "Thank you for not being scared and running away, leaving me behind."
Daniel was slightly stunned, "Were you awake?"
Sophia nodded, "Half-asleep, half-awake. I had too much to drink, and my eyelids were completely out of control. I wanted to get up and run with you, but I couldn't move. I thought, 'whatever happens, happens'. If you ran away, at worst, I'd have just died later. After all, I needed to sleep."
Hearing this, Daniel couldn't help but chuckle, "What kind of logic is that? Don't drink with strangers when you're out in the future. If you encounter such a situation again and no one is there to protect you, I might never see you again."
Sophia opened her eyes wide, "Do you still like me as you did back in elementary school?"
Daniel was sipping the soup when he heard this.
He almost spat it out, but luckily, he covered his mouth just in time.
After wiping his mouth clean with a few tissues, he asked incredulously, "You knew about that?"
Sophia squinted and smiled, "Of course, you used to blush every time you saw me, and you deliberately spoke louder to attract my attention when you were talking to other classmates. How could I not know?"
Daniel gawked, "This...."
Although this was a matter from over a decade ago, it was slightly awkward bringing it up now when both of them were unmarried and alone in a room.
Fortunately, at this moment, his phone rang.
Daniel took out his mobile phone and answered.
"Hello, Mr. Roberts. This is Robert," came the voice on the other end.
Daniel replied, "Hello, what can I do for you?"
Robert said, "Today, we have to process a batch of containers urgently. If you have time, you could come over and check. We're scheduling it for an hour from now."
Daniel said, "Okay, got it."
Once the message was delivered, Robert hung up the phone.
Sophia, changing the subject, asked, "Something up?"
Daniel replied, "Yeah, but it's not very urgent."
Sophia scoffed lightly, "I don't care, I have to go anyway."
Daniel quickly asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Help you with the home-buying process, my dear valued customer!"
Daniel only then remembered and awkwardly chuckled.
After a brief conversation, they finished their breakfast.
Sophia cleaned the dishes, and they both left the house.
Downstairs, Daniel flagged down a taxi.
Sophia got in, rolled down the window and said, "I'll try to get everything done today and bring the documents to you."
Daniel replied, "I'm not in a hurry."
"So, see you?"
"See you."
Watching the car drive away, Daniel felt a familiar itch in his heart, as if old affections were slowly surfacing from deep within him.
...
At the Golden Shores port, in the auction area, Robert stood before a buzzing crowd.
His eyes lit up when he spotted Daniel making his way in.
"Oh, look who's here, everyone!"
All eyes turned and fell on Daniel.
"Let's welcome the luckiest man in our history, who managed to auction a container that contained the antique painting 'Hundred Horses' worth fifty million StellarCoins, Mr. Daniel Roberts!"
Damn it! Couldn't he be a bit more discreet?
Daniel could feel the strange looks he was getting from the crowd.
Everyone here was hoping to strike it rich by bagging a container at the lowest price and discovering a priceless treasure within.
In nice words, they were treasure hunters.
To be blunt, they were gamblers.
And gamblers hate it when someone else at the table wins.
To them, Daniel was that person!
The Abel-Allen brothers didn't seem to mind, but others would've probably liked nothing better than to eliminate Daniel and split his loot.
Robert had clearly used him as a poster boy to attract others, but in doing so, had also directed resentment his way.
...
"Damn it, doesn't the host know it's unwise to flaunt wealth?"
"Of course, he knows, but he also knows how to attract attention to the auction. Didn't you see the camera over there?"
"Wait, is this being recorded for a show?"
"Holy crap, is our streamer going to be on TV?!"
"Use your brain, our streamer is about to be targeted. There's no damn chance of him getting on TV."
Daniel didn't pay attention to any of this.
Whether the event was being recorded or not, it didn't affect his bargain hunting.
Robert seemed quite satisfied with the crowd's reaction and promptly declared, "All eyes back on me, folks, so I can give you the most satisfying information!"
With that, Robert opened the folder he was holding.
Suddenly, everyone's gaze was burning with anticipation.
They were here to make a fortune, after all.
Pointing to the container already set up behind him, Robert announced, "This container comes from E-country!"
"And the news I'm about to share might get your blood pumping!"
"Half a year ago, a private museum owned by a rich man in Lomand, E-country, was robbed. The heist included antiques and treasures from all over the world."
"But the entire gang was soon caught by the local police."
"According to the gang members' testimonies, all the stolen goods were divided into five parts and hidden in a batch of old goods, sent to different cities in Libertopia, including our very own Golden Shores!"
"So far, no stolen goods have been found in circulation."
Upon hearing this, many people in the crowd gasped, their breathing becoming rapid.
Golden Shores has only one port!
If the entire robbery gang was arrested, there would be no one to receive the goods.
Robert's last statement confirmed this.
One-fifth of those stolen goods could be hidden right here!
Robert pointed to the containers behind him, continuing, "These three containers all set off from Lomand half a year ago and arrived here five months ago."
"Fun fact: the only unclaimed containers that have arrived at our Golden Shores from Lomand during that time are these three!"
This revelation drew gasps and exclamations from the crowd.
"Holy smokes, the timing and location match up perfectly!"
"So, you're saying there's a good chance those stolen goods are in these three containers??!"
"But that can't be! If that were true, wouldn't E-country have used diplomatic means to retrieve these goods?"
Robert scoffed, "Our Libertopia wouldn't just allow E-country to do whatever they want, right?"
"Moreover, every year millions of containers come from E-country. Without specific evidence, how could they ask for our help diplomatically? Are they supposed to intercept every single container from E-country?"
This made sense.
Without knowing which specific container, it would require hundreds of times the manpower to investigate, costing millions or even tens of millions.
Any country would hesitate to spend such significant resources on such an investigation.
Robert said, "As always, we'll start with an inspection. After that, the bidding will begin."
"Open the doors!"
At his command, the workers stepped forward, cutting the large locks on the container doors.
With the doors open, the contents were revealed for all to see.
Looking up, Daniel saw something covered with a white cloth - clearly a large item.
Someone next to him speculated, "Is it a cabinet?"
Another person nodded, "Looks like it."
From its silhouette, it was a rectangular item, but completely covered up, making it impossible to tell what it was. They could only guess.
Daniel felt a little annoyed.
The concealment was too good.
His system could only appraise if it could see the item itself.
With the item fully covered by the white cloth, it was impossible to appraise.
He could only look at the other items first.