"Later, Louis I told others about this matter, but everyone thought he was crazy. Only he firmly believed in it and kept sending people around the world to search."

"Before he died, he left information about those six locations and drew a map. The map you found in the shipwreck was based on the one from back then."

At this point, De Gaulle stopped speaking.

After listening, Qi Yun was filled with emotion — "eternal life," those two words again!

Having received a modern education, he naturally didn't believe in the notion of eternal life. If eternal life were possible, it wouldn't be Louis I; Qin Shi Huang would have lived until now.

But how could the six locations depicted on the map be explained... After all, he really did find Satellite City and the stone tablet in Lop Nur.

Could the words recorded on that stone tablet actually be the so-called guide?

Is all of this a coincidence... or...

"Mr. Qi, I've already told you the secret of the map, now it's your turn to answer my question." De Gaulle's words interrupted Qi Yun's thoughts.

Qi Yun came back to his senses and, after a moment of silence, said, "Yes, the map does depict six locations."

He paused for a moment and then asked, "According to you, the map in the ship was drawn based on the one from back then, so there should be many preserved maps like this, right?"

"Why do you still want to buy it from me?"

De Gaulle sighed upon hearing this: "No, the map you have might be the only complete one left."

"Because of Louis I, the entire Louis Family attached great importance to this matter. To ensure the locations on the map were not easily leaked, only two copies of such a map were made."

"These two have always been kept by the Louis Royal Family. Later, when Felipe V inherited the throne of Spain, another map was drawn and taken to Spain."

"Shortly after inheriting the throne, he handed the map to his brother, Prince Augustus, ordering him to set sail in search of clues, and Prince Augustus was my ancestor..."

"Later, as France began to experience turmoil, the two maps kept by the royal family could not be completely preserved, so the map you have is the only complete one left."

Qi Yun was overwhelmed by the intricate relationships of these European royal families and asked, smacking his lips after a moment, "So, you're actually a member of the Louis Family, right?"

De Gaulle did not deny it: "That's right, strictly speaking, our Gwen Clan can be considered a collateral branch of the Louis Family."

Qi Yun didn't expect the other to be a royal noble and asked, "Is your family still seeking the so-called eternal life?"

This time De Gaulle didn't answer quickly: "Mr. Qi, I think the fact that I told you these things earlier proves my sincerity, and I do want to cooperate with you."

Qi Yun lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and said calmly, "You are honest with me, so naturally, I will be honest with you."

Although some of what the other party said could be verified with the information he currently had, it didn't guarantee it was completely true.

De Gaulle seemed satisfied with this response and addressed Qi Yun's earlier question: "Yes, our family is still exploring the secret behind the map because we're holding those two fragmented pieces."

"As for the other members of the Louis Family, they have long since given up this seemingly absurd pursuit."

Qi Yun nodded after hearing this. No wonder, after the shipwreck incident, only this Gwen Clan was investigating him.

Maybe there are others involved, but they are keeping it very hidden and haven't been discovered by him.

"I've answered your questions, now let's talk about cooperation." De Gaulle steered the topic back on track.

"How do you want to cooperate?" Qi Yun's response was ambiguous.

De Gaulle seemed to sense his wariness and swallowed back some of his original words, beginning to reveal some information: "The two fragmented maps we hold show a total of three locations, and over the past fifty years, my family has made discoveries at two of them."

"The remaining one already has a rough location, and I believe it won't be long before we find the key clues."

"As long as Mr. Qi is willing to share the maps of the remaining three locations with me, I can not only pay you a handsome reward, but when we truly decipher all the mysteries in the future, I can take you to that legendary space!"

"Of course, if Mr. Qi has any concerns, you don't have to tell me all the locations at once. You can tell me one location at a time, and after I hand you the clues, then you can tell me the subsequent ones."

De Gaulle's remarks sounded very sincere, but Qi Yun internally let out a cold laugh.

He blew out a smoke ring and said flatly, "You're still not being completely honest."

"Why would Mr. Qi say that?" De Gaulle looked surprised.

Qi Yun unhurriedly said, "Haha, you said there were three locations still missing, but I think, to be precise, it should be two, right?"

"As far as I know, Louis II once sent Duke Tieren out to search, and when he returned, he brought back a blue stone from Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa."

"Am I right?"

Since this Gwen Clan is also related to the Louis Family and is still tirelessly pursuing these secrets, Qi Yun didn't believe they wouldn't have such a critical clue in their possession.

This information was provided to him by Ignacio, and if he hadn't known about it in advance, he might have fallen for De Gaulle's tricks.

The other party says nice things, promising to take him along once all the clues are gathered, but who knows if they'll purposely leave the African point for last.

Qi Yun would be waiting foolishly at home, while they would've already set off.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone as De Gaulle seemed to be caught off guard by Qi Yun knowing about this.

As he pondered how to cover it up, he heard Qi Yun continue, "I think we should discuss cooperation later. I still lack trust in you for now."

"If you truly want to cooperate, you can come find me in China."

De Gaulle seemed to realize too that continuing this discussion might not yield any results. Even though he had revealed many secrets to Qi Yun earlier, this final concealment was enough to destroy all previous trust.

He sighed and replied, "Alright, I will personally come to China in the near future, and we'll discuss the cooperation when we meet."

"Okay." Qi Yun didn't say anything more and ended the call.

Whether or not to cooperate with the other party, extracting some information during a meeting is always beneficial. Judging from the conversation just now, the other party probably knows a lot more.

The critical reason why Qi Yun was always cautious with De Gaulle was that his subordinate, named Legov, was still detained by the authorities and hadn't been released.

Yet De Gaulle hadn't mentioned this subordinate at all from start to finish, leaving it unclear whether he had completely forgotten or simply didn't care.

In short, someone who doesn't care about the life and death of their subordinates is probably not a good person.

Half an hour later, Qi Yun received a message from Ah Jiao that they had safely arrived at the airport and were taking the earliest flight back.

...

Shanghai, Tianyang Group.

Ji Liyang was escorted away from the office building by several plainclothes officers, and rumors began to spread in some circles.

"Lao Ji was taken away by people from that department; this time there's truly no one to speak up for him."

"Who's targeting him?"

"Lao Chen wouldn't reveal, but it's said that Ji Liyang specifically went to the Sheraton Hotel lobby to meet someone and was very humble. As for the identity of the person, if you're interested, you can look into it."

"Haha, I'm actually quite interested."

On the other side, inside Maple Capital's office.

Zhao Weilin had returned from Bird City and was back to work, as there was still a big pile of things waiting to be handled and he couldn't delay any longer.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Assistant Dong Anyun knocked on the door and walked in.

"Chairman, I've figured out the Tianyang Group's situation."

"What's going on?" Zhao Weilin asked without looking up.

Dong Anyun had a peculiar expression on her face, hesitantly speaking: "It seems... it seems to be related to Qi Yun."

Upon hearing the name Qi Yun, Zhao Weilin finally looked up, staring blankly at her: "Which Qi Yun are you referring to?"

Dong Anyun nodded and handed over the newly gathered information: "It's him, take a look for yourself."

Zhao Weilin took the documents and began reviewing them carefully, his expression also turning peculiar.

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