Li Hao shook his hand helplessly and said, "I see. It's the famous SCI. I know that there is a famous psychologist in SCI, right? I have read his book. He is my idol!"
Bai Yutang's eyelids jumped, as Zhan Zhao smiled at him. "I am Zhan Zhao. Mr. Li, are you also interested in psychology?"
The expression on Li Hao's face was very exaggerated. He opened his mouth wide as if he had seen an idol.... Which did happen. Immediately, Li Hao became excited. "I didn't expect to meet you! I never thought that such an accomplished psychologist would be this young."
Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "Thank you."
Bai Yutang looked at Li Hao impatiently and said, "Mr. Li, let's chat later. We'd like to ask about the art theft."
"Oh, yes, of course. I'm sorry, I was just too excited." With that, Li Hao patted his head and said, "let's talk in my office. This way, please." With that, he led everyone further inside the gallery.
Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Yutang and raised his eyebrows, as if asking, "this man does not look like a businessman. Is he pretending?"
Bai Yutang was still bitter about Li Hao's obvious affection for Zhan Zhao. When he saw Zhan Zhao looking at him, his mouth twitched. "He'd better be pretending, otherwise I won't let him off." Bai Yutang muttered in his heart.
Zhan looked elsewhere and said to himself, "he's jealous! Hell yeah!"
When they arrived at Li Hao's office, everyone sat down and looked around subconsciously. Judging from the decoration of the room, it looked like an office that an art dealer had. All kinds of artworks were hung and placed on all four sides. Even the teacups on the table were very artistic.
When Li Hao saw the look on everyone's faces, he smiled and said, "I just like to collect some strange things. Do you guys smoke?"
Everyone shook their heads. At this moment, a slim man brought up four cups of tea and said to Li Hao, "President, there will be an internal meeting in half an hour."
Li Hao nodded and said, "push it back for me. I need to talk to the police officers."
Bai Yutang waved his hand and said, "it won't take long. We just need to know what happened."
"Ahh... since you're here, you can't just leave like this!" While speaking, Li Hao took out eight to nine hardcover books from the bookcase behind him and said to Zhan Zhao, "Dr. Zhan, I am a big fan of your book. I have bought all versions. This is such a rare opportunity. Please sign for me. I've been asking around for a while. They all say you don't sign books."
Zhan Zhao smiled, took the pen and signed a book for Li Hao.
Bai Chi looked at this in surprise and turned to look at Luo Tian. Only now did he feel that Zhan Zhao was a best-selling author.
Luo Tian touched his chin, thinking about getting Zhan Zhao to sign for Yang Yang later. He also had to remember to bring Yang Yang a set of good crayons when he left. The last box of crayons had all been used up. It contained 24 colours, but there was also a 72-colours set one.
Bai Yutang looked at Li Hao's polite face and thought that he was indeed a businessman.
"Mr. Li, are there any special characteristics on the stolen artworks?" Bai Yutang asked.
"Oh." Li Hao finally sat back, glanced at Zhan Zhao's signature on the book and answered Bai Yutang's question, "Yes, there's silverware candlesticks, 14th-century crosses, Vlad the Impalaer, and a set of tools for vampire hunters used during the Middle Ages."
Bai Yutang and the others had just seen the pictures of the lost collection. They thought it was just an ordinary candlestick and cross, a portrait of a foreign beauty, and a rotten wooden box... However, it seemed like they had a deeper meaning.
"Are you saying that everything stolen has something to do with vampires?" Zhan Zhao asked.
"Mmhmm." Li Hao nodded and said, "so I suspect that the thief is a fanatical lover of the dark forces."
"Dark forces?" Bai Chi asked curiously, "like those who believe in the devil or something?"
"Yep." Li Hao nodded and said, "most of the medieval royal collection exhibition attracts curious hunters, but these things are not worth much... To tell you the truth, we've hardly had anything stolen before because our exhibition is private, and the value of the goods is limited. We have tight security, surveillance videos and so on, so I can't think of any thief who would take such a big risk to steal these things that are not very valuable... Of course, it is very precious from a cultural point of view and for those who come to the exhibition, but for art dealers, they are actually worthless.
Bai Yutang nodded. "Could it be revenge, someone causing trouble, internal struggles, or personal reasons?"
"I don't think so." Li Hao quickly waved his hand. "I am an honest businessman, and I do business that both buyers and sellers are satisfied with. Our gallery has a good reputation, and I am also a very disciplined person, so I don't think any of these are possible."
Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other. Then, Zhan Zhao asked, "what about the surveillance video?"
Bai Yutang took out a disk and said, "we had a look. It was tampered with. The picture on the surveillance was frozen all night, so I think it was done by a professional art gallery thief."
"Ah, that's what we think as well. We just can't figure out why they are doing this." Li Hao shook his head and said, "it just so happens that this exhibit is handled by foreigners, so it involves a lot of people. I also signed an agreement beforehand. Now there is only half a month to go before the exhibition is completed. If things cannot be resolved by then, I will be facing a big loss. As I said, this gallery is privately owned. Although there is insurance, it is very difficult to compensate for all the loss. The most annoying thing is that the stolen things cannot be valued, so..."
Bai Yutang nodded. "We will try our best to help you get your lost property back."
"Okay." Li Hao smiled hurriedly and said, "thank you everyone."
"Can you provide us with a more detailed list of the exhibits and introduce them to us?" Zhang Zhao asked. "Also, have you or an employee of your company been harassed recently? It can be anyone you suspect. Please think about it carefully. Any clues you can give us would be great."
"Oh." Li Hao frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "Mmm... I really can't think of anything right now." As he spoke, he found a folder of information and handed it to Zhan Zhao. "This contains a brief introduction to the exhibits."
As Li Hao was speaking, the male secretary walked in again and whispered to Li Hao, "Mr. Wang is here."
"Okay." Li Hao frowned slightly and said, "Let him wait a bit." With that, the secretary left. Then, Li Hao said to Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, "Officers, I really can't think of anything. Why don't you guys leave me your contact information? I will call if I think of anything."
Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other. "It seems that this Mr. Wang is an important customer. Or does Li Hao not want us to meet him?" They both thought to themselves.
Thinking of this, Bai Yutang handed Li Hao a SCI business card and said, "just call this number."
"Okay." Li Hao took the business card. Then, Bai Yutang and the others all stood up. "We'll take our leave."
"I'll see you off." Li Hao graciously sent everyone out and said to Zhan Zhao, "Dr. Zhan, could you please give me your phone number?"
Zhan Zhao was stunned as he looked at Li Hao, who smiled and said, "Oh... I'm really interested in psychology. I wonder if I can call you occasionally when you're not busy or have a cup of tea with you."
Bai Yutang smiled and said, "Mr. Li, you can call the number I gave you. We are in the same office. As for private numbers, the police have a rule that we cannot give it out to just anyone." With that, he left with Zhan Zhao.
After going out, Zhan Zhao side-eyed Bai Yutang and asked in his head, "when did we have such a rule?"
Bai Yutang glared back. "Damn you Cat, stop attracting other people." He answered back with his eyes.
Zhan Zhao proudly raised his eyebrows, as Bai Yutang followed with hands in his pockets.
While they were going down the stairs, they saw the secretary take a fashionable young man with blond hair up the stairs to Li Hao's office at the other end.
Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other in confusion. They did not do anything else and just walked out of the gallery.
After getting in the car, Bai Yutang drove back to the police station. On the way, he frowned slightly and said to himself, "I think I've seen that blond guy before!"
.....................................................................
After returning to the police station, Zhan Zhao put Lilia on the sofa.
Gong Sun poked Lilia curiously and said, "this Lilia is like Garfield!"
"Why do you say that?" Bai Chi asked curiously. "Isn't Garfield fat?"
Gong Sun waved his hand and said, "look at its fur. Isn't it long enough? Its tail is also thick, and it has a good body. The main thing is its face. Its eyes, nose and ears are all in line with each other. This is called the three-point line, which is the symbol of the famous Garfield. Also, it has folded ears. With its looks, it can enter the beauty pageant, especially since it's a female cat. It costs thousands of dollars to get a cat like Lilia."
"Really? Is Lilia that valuable?" Bai Chi teased Lilia curiously, who wagged her tail and yawned nobly on the sofa.
Zhan Zhao nodded. "Yes, Lu Ban is such a waste. It's just a cat doll that weighs nine kilograms!"
Everyone looked up at Zhan Zhao in surprise. "Nine kilograms?!"
Bai Yutang added as he flipped through a folder, "that's the weight from a month ago."
Everyone was speechless.
"Here it is!" Bai Yutang suddenly found a piece of information and said to Zhan Zhao, "Cat, who does this look like?"
Zhan Zhao glanced at the information and frowned. It was a personal file of a policeman. On the file, there was a picture of a young handsome man. He had single eyelids and a high nose. This person was the blond man they saw earlier. However, in the picture, he had black scattered hair. The man's name was Wang Yaode.
"He's a policeman?" Zhan Zhao was surprised.
"Ex-officer. He was dismissed." Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows and said, "I get notified of all personnel transfers in the police. That's why he looked familiar when I saw him earlier."
"Why was he dismissed?" Zhan Zhao asked as he went through the file.
"Is the man's name Wang Yaode?" Ma Han suddenly asked. "I heard my former colleague say two days ago that this guy was a sniper. When he went on a mission, he killed an important witness. Later, he was suspected to be a mole, so he was investigated for a while. However, nothing was found on him, so he was dismissed."
"Witness in what case?" Asked Zhao Hu.
"A drug trafficking case. Because the only witness was dead, the drug lord was acquitted and became a businessman." Zhan Zhao read the information in his hands, then returned it to Bai Yutang. "It seems that this guy is a clue."
"No wonder Li Hao didn't want us to meet him." Luo Tian said.
"Mmm." Bai Yutang nodded. Right at that moment, someone knocked at the door. Everyone saw Bao Sir standing there.
"Bao Sir, can we help you with something?" Bai Yutang asked.
Bao Sir looked at his watch and said, "you guys are still working at this hour?"
Only then did everyone realize that it was time to get off work.
"You two, come with me." Bao Sir pointed to Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao. "Bai Chi and Gong Sun as well."
"Where are we going?" Gong Sun asked Bao Sir in confusion.
Bao Sir smiled mysteriously. "You'll know when you get there."