Chapter 15 Keen Eyes
Chapter 15 Keen Eyes
Atlas saw the man through upon first glance. 1000 was no more than a number to him. Ronald just
gave him a million.
"Wrap it up for me," Atlas said slowly.
"OK!" The man smiled from ear to ear. His eyes squinted so narrowly that they could barely be seen.
Atlas paid the money and took over the Buddha statue. Then he was about to leave.
Just by then, an old man's voice sounded, "Young man, can't you tell that this is just a counterfeit? It
won't be worth more than 50 bucks, why are you paying twenty times more?"
Atlas glanced at the old man. His eyes looked wise. He was just asking out of sheer curiosity.
Atlas wouldn't tell him the truth, because he didn't know him.
"It looked pleasing to my eyes, so I bought it."
The old man smiled and shook his head. "It's definitely not a random decision. I've been watching you
since you came in. You hadn't looked at anything else before you walked straight up to this Buddha
statue and fixed your eyes on it."
"Ordinary people would bargain when they buy things, but you bought it without hesitation. That doesn't
seem right. I think this Buddha statue is more than what we think it is."
Atlas was impressed by this old man's keen eyes, but he didn't want to say anything. He smile and
said, "See you!"
"Hang on!" The old man called out.
Atlas stopped and looked at the old man with a cold face. He hated being harassed.
The old man suddenly bowed and said, "Please don't be mad at me. I'm Christopher Hamilton, an
honorary consultant of the Lanceham Appraisal Center. I could feel how different this Buddha statue is,
but I couldn't tell exactly what's special about it. Could you enlighten me about it?"
Upon hearing the old man's name, the owner of the shop exclaimed, "Welcome, master! Sorry for my
ignorance!"
"I watch your show a lot and I admire your knowledge. I've benefited a lot from your lectures!"
Christopher chuckled and responded proudly, "It's my honor."
He then looked at Atlas, bowed and asked, "Mister, if you would give me some guidance."
Atlas saw the perseverance and thirst for knowledge in Christopher's eyes. He noticed that this Buddha
statue is different because he could feel the fluctuation of Spiritual Power.
But when it came to knowledge, Atlas definitely didn't know as much as Christopher.
"Since you want to know it so badly... then I'm gonna tell you," Atlas said as he opened the box, putting
the Buddha statue on the desk again.
Atlas picked up a small carving knife on the table and scratched the statue lightly.
The transparent glass on the Buddha suddenly turned into a fair color of jade.
As he scraped faster and faster, the Buddha statue eventually became an white jade Buddha statue.
"That's... top-class white jade from Myanmar!" Christopher looked very excited.
The store owner didn't look happy.
Such a large piece of Myanmar white jade is worth a few hundred thousands. Carved into a Buddha
statue, it could go up to as worthy as one million!
He thought he could take advantage of Atlas, but it turned out now that he's the one that has suffered a
loss.
He suddenly came forward and cupped the statue with both hands. Then he stared at Atlas vigilantly.
"I'm not selling it. I'll return you double of the price. I'm not selling it!"
Christopher said sternly, "Nonsense! Trading antiques are like playing chess. People all count on their
knowledge and experience. You've been in this industry for so many years, it will humiliate us all if you
do this today!"
The store owner ignored the "master". He yelled like crazy. "I don't care! This Buddha statue is worth
more than what I can earn from this store for my whole life! Whatever you say, I'm not gonna sell it!"
Christopher looked at Atlas with an apologetic expression on his face. "This is all because of me. I'm
gonna call the police now and be your witness. Don't worry, I'll be responsible for all your loss!"
Atlas shook his head. "You don't need to do that."
He looked at the big guy and said calmly, "Get out of my way!"
The man felt as if his heart had lost a beat. Atlas was just a young man, but he felt afraid to look at the
young man in the eyes.
However, the obsession with money made him fearless. "No! I'm not letting you go! This is my stuff!
You can't take it away from me!"
Atlas didn't want to talk to him anymore. He grabbed the man's collar and threw him onto the ground.
The shop owner was startled. He never thought that Atlas could be so powerful, for he looked so thin.
He didn't dare to call the police, but being unreasonable didn't seem to work now.
So he cried, accusing Atlas of stealing things, hoping to attract the attention of passers-by.
However, as soon as the passers-by gathered, Christopher testified for Atlas. The shop owner didn't
get any sympathy. He was scorned.
If this continued, he would have to close this place.
"OK, I'm not going to argue with that anymore. You should go." He said helplessly.
Atlas and Christopher then left the store. On the sidewalk, he apologized to Atlas, "I'm sorry, I caused
trouble to you just now. I didn't know that he could be that shameless!"
"It's okay. I didn't lose anything." Atlas said.
"You've got keen eyes. You must know a thing or two about the antique industry. I've got an item, and I
am not sure about its quality. Can you come over and take a look at it for me? Would you like to help
me?" Christopher was pleading earnestly.
Atlas bought the statue for its Spiritual Energy, not the money.
With the Sky Devouring Methods Atlas had been practicing, he was able to absorbe the Spiritual
Energy from the Buddha statue. That was why he bought it.
Atlas felt interested in that item that Christopher was unsure about. If it was another item that contained
Spiritual Energy, he would negotiate with Christopher and buy it, too.
"I've got nothing to do anyway. I think I can go with you." Atlas said.
"That would be great!" Christopher was overjoyed.
The two took a cab to Christopher's home. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
It was a department with the most common layouts. A girl in a red dress with two ponytails was lying on
the sofa watching TV.
"Why are you back so soon today? Did you do exercise?" The girl asked casually without turning back.
"Get up, Bianca! We have a guest!" Christopher said and smiled at Atlas. "Please come on in!"
On the way here, Christopher asked Atlas for his name. Atlas said his name was Cosimo Lincoln.
"Argh, Grandpa! Why are you taking a stranger home?" Bianca exclaimed when he saw Atlas. She
hurriedly tidied herself up.
"His is not a stranger. He's a new friend I just made, an expert of antiques."
Bianca finished tidying his dress. Then she tilted her head and snickered at Atlas. "Looks like he's just
two or three years older than me. What kind of expert could he be?"
"Don't underestimate him. I've seen how excellent he was. I invited him over to help me." Christopher
spoke very highly of Atlas.
Biance found it even harder to believe. "Pfft, I can't wait to see how capable he is!"