CHAPTER 109: CHAPTER 118: ESCAPE FROM VERSAILLES

He leveled up!

LV.3 user!

Pierre couldn’t help but look forward to what changes the system would bring after leveling up.

As usual, the first change was that the storage space increased tenfold again, reaching 7,000 cubic meters—about the size of a hundred shipping containers. It didn’t seem like much, but if it was used to store tungsten ore, it could hold tens of thousands of tons. Of course, there wasn’t that much tungsten ore to store anyway.

But what really made him ecstatic was—a new function had been unlocked.

"Skill data exchange?"

Looking at the newly lit-up bookshelf icon in the upper right corner, Pierre couldn’t help but get excited.

He could now exchange for professional skill data. This meant the system could not only directly instill skills as before, but also provide the relevant materials for extraction.

No need to rely solely on personal experience and hands-on learning anymore?

Curious, Pierre opened the skill menu to look for the skills he had learned.

From business at the beginning, to physics later on, and even skills like sports and cooking were listed—dozens in total, so many that he couldn’t even remember when he had learned so many.

"Do I even have a driver’s license? When did I learn that?"

"Intelligence gathering?"

...

Faced with so many useful and not-so-useful skills, Pierre couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

"Although it’s good to have many skills, I shouldn’t be too greedy—biting off more than I can chew!"

After a moment of reflection, he found a suitable skill.

"Safety first—let’s go with art appreciation."

Being in a foreign country, Pierre didn’t choose skills like physics or radio technology, but instead picked the most liberal arts, and arguably the least practical, option.

Even though it was only LV.1, when he opened the professional skill materials, there were over a thousand documents listed. Looking at the dazzling array of materials, Pierre felt a bit overwhelmed. Which one should he choose?

"’Louvre Art Appreciation’? Maybe I’ll go with this one. I’ll have to go to Paris anyway, so I might as well brush up, and it’ll be nice to visit the Louvre... Wait, it actually costs 500 experience points."

Although it was expensive, Pierre decided to buy it, just to see what would happen.

"Do you wish to extract ’Louvre Art Appreciation’?"

As he clicked "Extract," a white light invisible to others flashed, and a thick, beautifully printed book appeared out of thin air in his hands.

It really worked!

Looking at the book in his hand, Pierre felt a surge of excitement—not because of the book itself, but because from now on, he could directly exchange for professional books as needed. With this exchange function, he could...

Technology Smuggling is Now Possible!

Pierre opened the book. The exquisitely printed volume had neither a publication date nor a publisher—something that made him nod in satisfaction.

At the very least, there was no need to worry about exposing the printing date.

Over the next few days, Pierre spent his time running between banks to withdraw gold, while also passing the time with this book. Although the system had originally instilled him with "art appreciation skills," it was only a basic foundation. To advance further, he still needed to study and hone his abilities himself—something he simply hadn’t had time for.

But now, through reading the book, he was able to further his knowledge of art appreciation. In terms of skill, he seemed to have improved a bit.

"Huh..."

Suddenly, a section in the book about the relocation of the Louvre’s collection during World War II caught Pierre’s attention.

"... As the flames of war approached France, the museum directors in Paris grew anxious. They dared not rest, hastening to transport the artworks at top speed. In just four months, the major museums of Paris divided 5,446 crates of art into 51 convoys and 199 trucks, moving them day and night to eleven monasteries and castles in central and western France."

"After the Nazis occupied France, they searched relentlessly for these precious artworks. But the personnel involved had either fled to Britain or gone into hiding, leaving the Nazis with no leads. In 1942, Hitler pressured the Vichy government to return the artworks hidden in rural castles to Paris, under the guise of ’artistic exchange’ between Germany and France."

"The French knew full well that such an exchange would be one-way only, so while they made up various excuses to stall negotiations, they also moved the artworks to even more secret locations."

Reading this, Pierre wasn’t particularly interested in how those treasures were hidden. What concerned him more was that, apart from the few people involved in the relocation, no one knew where those art treasures were now.

Yet the book clearly detailed the hiding places. Not only that, it even noted that, due to the damp and cold conditions of those locations, many paintings—including the Mona Lisa—had developed mold spots.

"That can’t be!"

Closing the book, Pierre couldn’t help but feel distressed for those artworks. To think that such peerless treasures were left to grow mold—what a crime!

"No, I can’t just sit by and do nothing. I must go and protect those artworks!"

In that instant, Pierre made up his mind—to place those artworks in a space where they would never be damaged, to protect them properly. In the future, he could display them in a museum in North Borneo for safekeeping!

For a moment, Pierre was even moved by his own resolve. After all, in times of war and chaos, only he would think of protecting art.

After all, these are the cultural treasures of human civilization!

"And then there are the artifacts in the Oriental Gallery of the Palace of Versailles..."

What was stored in the Oriental Gallery?

Many were artifacts looted from China, including items taken from the Old Summer Palace. Although the book didn’t specify which artifacts, just seeing the words "Oriental Gallery" made Pierre’s heart race.

Now, it was no longer just about protecting the cultural treasures of humanity—this was also about reclaiming the wealth that belonged to his own people.

As he closed the book, Pierre nodded firmly and said,

"Alright, the next mission is—Escape from Versailles!"