Chapter 354: A Letter!

"Knock, knock, knock!"

It was already 5:30 AM when the door to the Command Center was knocked upon.

"Come in!"

No sooner had Henry finished speaking than an agent in a black suit walked in: "Boss, you need to see this right away!"

"What is this?" Henry stood up and looked at the envelope he was handing over.

"It's a letter. It says it must be signed for by you personally."

Hearing the black-suited agent say this, the others present all crowded around.

"A letter? Who sent it?"

"I don't know, it was just left at the front desk."

There was no return address, no signature, and no date on the envelope.

It only had the English words "To Director Henry" written on it.

Henry looked around at everyone, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally tore open the envelope to take out the letter inside.

"Greetings, officers:

I know you are looking for me. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Command Center, Kona, Hawaii, at 4:00 AM; the whiteboard is covered in arrows and question marks. I have seen all of your efforts.

In order not to let your efforts go to waste, I would like to give you another chance.

The day after tomorrow at 12:00 PM sharp, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I will personally steal a world-famous painting.

'Famine of Samaria'

I hope you will not break your promise.

——Your loyal opponent, Chu Chen."

Inside the envelope, besides this letter, was that Tarot Card symbolizing Famine.

"This guy..." Henry's voice was very low, so low it was as if he were talking to himself: "He is openly provoking the authorities."

Seeing this, the livestream room, which hadn't had many comments, suddenly exploded with a massive amount of comments because of Chu Chen's letter!

【Holy crap, is Chu Chen trying to challenge the FBI!?】

【Chu Chen is making a move again?!】

【The day after tomorrow at 12:00 PM, New York time, I will definitely take time off for that!】

【The Metropolitan Museum is going to blow up.】

【Will he really go? Or is it another diversion?】

【God Chu never breaks his promises!】

【He said he's stealing a painting, but I feel like what he's stealing isn't a painting.】

【Too top-tier, daring to openly challenge the FBI!】

The comments in the livestream room were like mountains and seas, a dense, massive expanse!

It completely exploded!

Besides this, on Twitter, the hashtag #ChuChenLetter reached number one globally at 5:20 AM!

The number of new tweets per minute exceeded seven digits!

The engineers gave up on any form of intervention on the servers because they discovered that any intervention was futile!

【At 12:00 PM the day after tomorrow, I will be standing at the entrance of the Metropolitan Museum. Regardless of whether he really comes, I will be there.】

【He is an artist. Not a magician, not a criminal, he is an artist. He turned crime into art, and art into judgment!】

【I have worked at the Metropolitan Museum. That painting hangs in the furthest corner of the second floor; usually, no one looks at it. The day after tomorrow, it will become the most watched painting in the world.】

A user verified as a "New York University Art History Professor" posted several tweets in a row, the tone becoming more intense each time.

The first: "What year was Gustave Dore's 'Famine of Samaria' created? I thought I knew before, but I checked the data and discovered I actually couldn't remember."

The second: "When Dore painted this, Europe was experiencing a great famine. Millions of people starved to death."

The third: "Chu Chen chose this painting not because it is famous. Because it is in a corner. Because it is hung next to Millet's 'Gleane', and most people only look at Millet. He knew that painting was there. He knew it was ignored."

This third tweet received millions of retweets.

A cultural radio station in France used a large portion of its Morning News to discuss this matter.

The host's voice carried that complex emotion unique to the French—a mix of anger and fascination when art is dragged into a violent event.

"Gustave Dore is the pride of France. 'Famine of Samaria' is one of his most important works. This painting should not be used as a prop for a criminal performance."

The guest on the line was a well-known French art critic, and what he said was even more direct: "Chu Chen is not insulting Dore; he is paying tribute to Dore. Dore painted that picture to make people see hunger. Over a hundred years have passed, and hunger is still here. What Dore's painting didn't achieve, Chu Chen might have."

On Weibo, Chu Chen alone occupied seven of the top ten spots on the trending list.

The first was "Chu Chen Metropolitan Museum"!

The second was "Famine of Samaria"!

The third was "Black Horse Knight"!

The fourth was "The day after tomorrow at 12:00 PM"!

The fifth was "He is provoking the FBI"!

The sixth was "Chu Chen's last dance"!

The seventh was "Your loyal opponent"!

An account verified as a "China Academy of Art Professor" posted a long Weibo post titled: I have looked at this painting dozens of times. Its coordinates and its fate.

The article wrote: "Metropolitan Museum, second floor, European Painting Gallery, the furthest corner, the most inconspicuous position. That is the position with the least 'Force' in the museum. Chu Chen chose it not because it is famous, but because it is not famous. He wants to give a painting that has been neglected for over a century a stage that the whole world is forced to look at."

The internal communication channel of Interpol was flooded with a large number of messages from members of various countries at the same time in the early morning.

The content of the messages was much the same: inquiring about the authenticity of the letter, confirming Chu Chen's target for the day after tomorrow, and requesting the latest intelligence. The Secretary-General's reply was only two lines: "The letter is real; it has been confirmed by the FBI."

Washington, Federal Bureau of Investigation Command Center.

The clock on the wall ticked away.

Five thirty-one in the morning. The sky was already turning white; looking out from the narrow window of the Command Center, the Manhattan skyline looked like a row of lights being slowly ignited in the morning glow.

Henry stood in front of the window, with his back to everyone.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he did not take it out.

It vibrated again, and he still did not take it out.

At the third time, he took out his phone, glanced at the screen, and then put the phone back into his pocket.

His shoulders sank slightly, like a person who had been carrying a burden for a long time and finally shifted it from his right shoulder to his left.

No one asked him who the message was from or what the content was.

Because in the early hours of this morning, no news could carry more weight than the suspended scales on that Black Knight card.

The day after tomorrow at twelve noon, the second floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the furthest corner of the European Painting Gallery, will become the focus of people from all over the world!

And on the wall in front of her, there will soon be an empty picture frame.

Just like the empty end of the scales!