Chapter 1244: Securing a bargain in the second war, acquiring 3 famous paintings for 500 million.

Lin Lang remained completely calm. He first raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes—he never expected that this time travel would lead him to encounter the legendary fashion figure, Chanel.

He then released Zhao Liying's hand, walked to Chanel and stood in front of her, calmly meeting her gaze with a faint smile on his lips.

The next second, with a slight thought, the gold bars in his personal space appeared out of thin air, falling one after another onto the table in front of him.

"Clang! Clang..."

A series of crisp clinking sounds rang out as twelve gleaming gold bars, each weighing 500 grams, were neatly arranged. Under the light of the crystal chandelier, they shimmered with dazzling luster, their heavy weight causing everyone to gasp in shock.

Lin Lang lowered his eyes, casually picked up a gold bar, and lightly ran his fingertips across it. He looked up at the auctioneer on the stage and Chanel, whose expression had changed slightly. His tone remained calm and composed, yet it carried an undeniable confidence.

"Is verification of funds still required now?"

"Huh—!"

The moment Lin Lang finished speaking, the gasps in the entire hall almost merged into a gust of wind.

Those eyes that were initially filled with suspicion were now fixed on the twelve gold bars on the table. The light from the crystal chandelier spilled onto the gold surface, making people dizzy.

Someone couldn't resist taking half a step forward, only to be pulled back to their senses by someone next to them, muttering, "My God... is this a magic trick?"

Chanel's expression darkened slightly, and she unconsciously twirled the edge of her scarf with her fingertips, but her inherent arrogance remained undiminished.

She turned her head to look at the auction manager, her voice still cold: "Examine."

A single word, yet it carries undeniable weight.

The auction company manager dared not delay and hurriedly waved to the back of his head.

Two appraisers wearing white gloves quickly stepped forward. One used a magnifying glass to carefully examine the patterns on the gold bar, while the other took out a pair of steel shears from his toolbox.

Two crisp "click" sounds were heard in succession. Two gold bars were randomly selected and cut in half. The exposed metal luster shone with a warm yellow under the light, and there was absolutely no impurity.

"It's real!" The appraiser held up the broken piece, showing it to everyone. "The gold bar is of extremely high purity!"

Another uproar ensued, with some even clapping as if they were watching a spectacular magic show.

Zhao Liying stood behind Lin Lang, subtly straightening her back, and couldn't help but smile. She loosened her grip on his clothes, thinking: You all look down on me, my husband is awesome!

Lin Lang glanced at Chanel's slightly changed expression, his smile deepening. He gestured for the appraiser to put the gold bars away before slowly asking, "Now, can the auction continue?"

"Sure! Of course!" The manager's face was all smiles, and he winked at the auctioneer while personally stepping forward to put the gold bars into the safe.

The auctioneer composed himself, cleared his throat, and gestured to his assistant to move on to the next painting.

The moment the frame was lifted, the dark wheat field and circling crows on the canvas came into view, carrying Van Gogh's unique blend of intensity and repression.

"The next painting, 'Wheatfield with Crows,' is Van Gogh's struggle of the soul and his final artistic masterpiece. The starting bid is 50 francs!"

The reaction from the audience was more enthusiastic than before, clearly indicating that these prominent French figures knew that the painting was a Van Gogh masterpiece collected by Alexandre de Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family.

Because Germany invaded Paris that year, Alexandrinsky hastily auctioned off this famous Van Gogh painting from his collection before fleeing abroad, hoping to get the money and run away.

Because it was a famous painting by Van Gogh, someone in the audience immediately shouted "60 francs," but it was quickly overshadowed by "70 francs."

After all, although Van Gogh's name wasn't considered top-tier at the time, he still had quite a few fans.

Before the price could rise further, Lin Lang raised his hand and said, "2 grams of gold!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent instantly, so quiet that the ticking of a pocket watch could be heard.

2 grams of gold, at the black market exchange rate at the time, would be worth about 800 million francs, which is a much higher premium than the Picasso painting "The Dream" mentioned earlier!

"My God! Has he gone mad?" someone muttered. "Van Gogh's paintings are good, but the auction prices he's offering are outrageous!"

"Who exactly is this person? Does his family own a gold mine?"

"Damn it!"

"Where did this rich and foolish Asian come from? He's messed up the normal auction prices!"

The auction hall erupted in an uproar as everyone turned their attention back to Lin Lang.

It's important to know that the foreigners present were all prominent figures from various sectors of French society at the time, and they were all worldly people who had seen much of the world during this war-torn era.

While everyone else was selling off their antiques and paintings, trying to get more francs to exchange for gold and flee the war to foreign countries, Lin Lang, a hothead, suddenly appeared and auctioned off famous oil paintings for exorbitant prices in gold.

This unexpected move was something the French, who were then shrouded in the shadow of defeat, couldn't understand.

Antique dealer Madeline Castle whispered to Lauriston mob boss Kalinger, "This Easterner is a complete madman. I hate these Chinese who disregard the rules."

Kalinger frowned and asked, "How could you tell he's from Xia?"

Madeline Kastan scoffed, “The woman next to him speaks Chinese. Although I don’t know what they were saying, I’m sure they’re both from China.”

Kalinger smirked and sneered, "Let him be smug about winning these artworks and paintings first. When the auction is over, I'll make sure he can't leave my territory."

Madeline Castle grinned wickedly, glancing sideways at Lin Lang, convinced that this unfamiliar Eastern-looking man was about to be in deep trouble.

It is worth mentioning that the "Lauriston" mob boss, Kallinger, was a notorious criminal organization at the time. He not only engaged in the black market gold and stolen art transactions, but also led his gang to plunder Jewish property. Smuggling and extortion were child's play for him, and the gang once had as many as 3 members.

At the same time, the auction manager's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together and nodded to the auctioneer.

The auctioneer took a deep breath, raised his gavel, and shouted, "Twenty thousand grams of gold, once!"

"Twenty thousand grams of gold twice!"

"20,000 grams of gold, sold in three transactions!"

The sound of the gavel falling was exceptionally loud, and the discussions below the stage erupted like a boiling pot.

Chanel sat in her chair and turned around, her gaze falling on Lin Lang again. He had no bag, and even his pockets looked empty.

Because Lin Lang beat her to the punch, Chanel, looking annoyed, couldn't help but raise her hand, her tone carrying a hint of probing: "Sir, you don't even have a box on you... Could he possibly conjure up 20,000 grams of gold out of thin air?"

This question echoed everyone's thoughts. Even François, the heir to the Michelin Group, looked at Lin Lang with curiosity and said loudly, "Yes, I also want to know if he can actually produce 20,000 grams of gold."

Lin Lang turned to look at Chanel, winked deliberately, and said in a teasing tone, "Does Ms. Chanel think I look like someone who can't produce a little bit of gold?"

Without conjuring up any more gold bars, he simply gestured with his chin towards the auctioneer: "Let's move on to the next one."

Chanel raised an eyebrow at Lin Lang's nonchalant demeanor, but didn't press the matter further, merely withdrawing her gaze from Lin Lang with a hint of sullenness.

Princess Polignac, sitting next to Chanel, whispered, "Anyway, there's only one original Monet painting left, 'Water Lilies.' We'll find out soon enough whether he can produce 20,000 grams of gold."

Chanel said angrily, "I was very confident that I could bid on those two famous paintings, but this Asian guy snatched them both up. What a despicable fellow."

The auction continues.

The atmosphere in the hall completely changed, from initial suspicion to curiosity and awe—no one knew what astonishing price this mysterious Easterner would fetch next.

Next, the last oil painting was brought up for auction, and the auctioneer announced loudly: "The next painting is Monet's original 'Water Lilies,' with a starting price of 550,000 francs!"

The name of Monet piqued the interest of the audience, as it was a masterpiece by a native French Impressionist painter, and the bidding became more enthusiastic than before.

Six hundred thousand francs!

"Seven hundred thousand francs!"

Nine hundred thousand francs!

François, the Michelin Group heir, made a determined bid: "One million five hundred thousand francs!"

"Wow..." A gasp rippled through the room, and the auctioneer immediately looked down at the audience to inquire about the bid: "One and a half million francs, for the first time!"

"One and a half million francs, for the second time!"

Chanel suddenly raised her hand and said, "Two million francs!"

A round of enthusiastic applause immediately erupted from the audience.

The auctioneer immediately looked at the audience and asked for a bid: "Two million francs, for the first time!"

"Two million francs for the second time!"

Just as the price reached two million francs, Lin Lang's voice rang out again: "Thirty thousand grams of gold!"

"Oh..."

This time, the entire auction hall was in an uproar, as if a bomb had been dropped on it.

Thirty thousand grams of gold! In Paris, which had just been defeated, this was an astronomical sum!

Because gold was precious during times of turmoil, and the franc was depreciating every day, gold was the preferred choice for wealthy merchants fleeing abroad, as it was the hard currency of countries all over the world.

The auctioneer was so startled he nearly dropped his gavel. He swallowed hard and stammered, "Thirty...thirty thousand grams of gold for the first time!"

Everyone present once again turned their surprised gazes to Lin Lang and Zhao Liying, utterly bewildered as to where these two seemingly foolish and wealthy Asians had come from.

Gangster boss Kalinga, with a cigar in his mouth, whispered a few words to his henchmen beside him.

The henchman squinted at Lin Lang from afar, then immediately followed orders and led his gang members to ambush Lin Lang and Zhao Liying on their only route out of the auction house.

Lin Lang, who possessed extraordinary hearing, merely curled the corners of his lips, thinking to himself, "Trying to double-cross me? I think you don't know the meaning of death!"

"Thirty thousand grams of gold, for the second time!"

"30,000 grams of gold, sold for the third time!

"Congratulations to this gentleman for successfully bidding 30,000 grams of gold for the original oil painting 'Water Lilies' by Claude Monet! Congratulations!" The auctioneer brought down the gavel, and a round of enthusiastic applause rang out in the room.

Immediately afterwards, everyone turned their surprised and curious gazes to Lin Lang once again, wanting to see how he would conjure up 50,000 grams of gold out of thin air to pay for the auction.

Zhao Liying, who couldn't understand French at all, secretly tugged at Lin Lang's sleeve and whispered nervously, "Honey, why are these foreigners looking at us with such ill intentions?"