Chapter 7

Leaving the apartment building, Ye Tian went straight to the subway station.

On the way, he bought a new phone and a pair of sunglasses at a roadside store.

His old phone was already scrapped and thrown away, so he indeed needed a new one.

The sunglasses were to conceal himself, so that he wouldn't be noticed as abnormal when observing antiques at the museum later, which would be disastrous!

When he reached the subway entrance and was about to go in, he was startled by the scene before him, almost tumbling down the stairs!

He saw that the slightly dilapidated subway entrance, like the antique pistol from yesterday, was emitting a white light, but not as pure as the pistol's, a bit mixed.

Clearly, the New York subway was also an antique, hence it was glowing.

However, due to the different construction periods and subsequent repairs, the light appeared mixed and inconsistent!

Ye Tian quickly regained his composure and put on the sunglasses to avoid revealing himself.

He also didn't use his透视 ability here, as time was limited! It would be unwise to waste it on a subway with no value.

Exiting the subway station, he arrived in Manhattan's SC district.

Many glowing objects appeared in Ye Tian's eyes, mostly historical buildings.

He found that as long as a building had a history of over fifty years, it would emit a white light, but like the subway station, the light was mixed and inconsistent.

Modern buildings had no light at all, no matter how beautiful, they were not antiques.

At this time, although it was daytime in Manhattan, in Ye Tian's eyes, it was already brilliantly lit. Every few steps, he would see a historical building shining with white light.

Fortunately, the white light was very gentle and not blinding, so he could enjoy it without his eyes getting too tired.

...

10:30 AM,

Ye Tian was already standing at the entrance of the Metropolitan Museum, queuing to buy tickets and waiting to enter.

Like other historical buildings, the museum before him was also emitting a white light, and the brightness was higher.

It was probably because it was built in 1870, quite early!

After a few minutes, Ye Tian entered the museum with his ticket.

After just a few steps, his eyes began to flash with shock, even madness, but fortunately, the sunglasses concealed his expression, otherwise, it would have attracted the attention of security personnel.

What shocked him was the huge pharaoh statue standing at the entrance of the Egyptian exhibition hall.

As he approached the statue, he immediately saw that it was glowing, dazzling and beautiful!

Unlike the white light emitted by the historical buildings outside, the pharaoh statue emitted a purple light, almost black!

"Wow—! What's going on? How can there be such a big difference among antiques?"

Ye Tian's mind was full of questions, eager to know the answers, but this was clearly not the place to study, there were too many people! He couldn't stay for long.

Suppressing his curiosity, Ye Tian followed the crowd into the Egyptian exhibition hall on the first floor.

Why was the pharaoh statue's light purple? What color was the light from other antiques?

Entering the exhibition hall, the shock immediately hit him again.

At the entrance was a reclining lion statue from the 5th century BC. From it, Ye Tian saw a blue light.

The light from antiques changed again! Why?

By comparing the introduction of the reclining lion statue with the age of the pharaoh statue, Ye Tian quickly figured it out.

The light emitted by antiques varied depending on their age!

The pharaoh statue, about 4,500 years old, emitted a purple light, while the reclining lion, 2,500 years old, emitted a blue light.

At the same time, Ye Tian also discovered the distance limitation of his eyes' ability.

He could only see the light from antiques when he was within five meters of them; beyond that distance, he was no different from an ordinary person.

Realizing this, Ye Tian felt a bit disappointed.

This ability wasn't too outstanding! It only worked up close, not by scanning the street to find antiques that others couldn't see.

At the same time, he was a bit relieved that he didn't have to wear sunglasses all the time to conceal himself!

If there were no distance limitations, it would be a different story!

In the United States, it was fine, as the history was short, and there weren't many historical buildings, so the light changes would be limited.

If it were in China or other countries with a long history, it would be like neon lights flashing all day, and his eyes would be blinded!

...

Subsequently, Ye Tian began to visit other artifacts.

The artifacts here were mostly over 3,000 years old, emitting purple and black light, with more purple. There were also differences in the intensity of the light.

After extensive comparisons, he quickly discovered the relationship between the age of the artifacts and the light they emitted.

During the comparison, Ye Tian also tried his透视 ability, attempting to see inside the artifacts.

But he quickly gave up the idea, at least for this exhibition hall.

His first attempt failed.

He tried to透视 a stone coffin, but just like the wall last night, his vision couldn't penetrate it.

Realizing this, he immediately withdrew his vision to avoid overexerting himself and fainting.

His second透视 attempt was on a mummy wrapped in linen, and this time he succeeded!

But when he saw the petrified bones inside the mummy and the empty chest and abdomen, he almost vomited from disgust!

He immediately withdrew his vision and decided not to透视 anything else in this exhibition hall, to avoid losing his appetite or having nightmares.

Through continuous experiments, Ye Tian gradually figured out some other characteristics of his eyes.

Besides seeing the light emitted by artifacts and being able to透视 thin objects, he could also see auras on the artifacts, layer by layer, more or fewer, and the greater the artistic value, the thicker the aura.

This was especially evident on artifacts depicting scenes of ancient Egyptian life, with some having dozens of layers of aura!

This reminded him of the Luger P08 from yesterday, which also had many white auras, but he didn't understand the significance at the time.

Moreover, he found that as long as he didn't use his透视 ability, his eyes didn't consume energy and could always see the light emitted by antiques.

If he used the透视 ability, it would probably be limited to ten minutes, as he had previously concluded.

By now, Ye Tian had a clear understanding of the changes in his eyes.

The next step was to see what color light artifacts from other periods emitted.

Understanding this would undoubtedly make him the most authoritative antique appraiser and art connoisseur! Any antique or artwork would be transparent to him, with their authenticity, age, and value immediately apparent! He could have whatever he wanted!

Of course, this was only for his own enjoyment! He couldn't tell anyone, although it was a bit regrettable, it would bring him countless wealth and honor.

Thinking of this, Ye Tian was almost driven to madness with excitement.

"To hell with Wall Street! Even if you beg me to come back, I won't! With this ability, I can live a life a thousand times more exciting than before!"

After calming down a bit, he continued to visit the exhibition hall, constantly testing his eyes' ability and enriching his knowledge of antiques.

He spent nearly an hour there, studying with a learning attitude, and then left, heading to the nearby American gallery.

The light from antiques changed again, this time mostly red, with some orange and a few yellow and green.

After leaving the American gallery, it was lunchtime. Ye Tian didn't leave but had an expensive lunch at the museum restaurant, then continued to visit other exhibition halls.

After visiting the European, Greek, and Roman galleries on the first floor, he thoroughly understood the relationship between the light emitted by artifacts and their age.

Artifacts from 50 to 100 years old emitted white light, 100 to 300 years old emitted red, 300 to 500 years old emitted orange, 500 to 1,000 years old emitted yellow.

1,000 to 1,500 years old emitted green, 1,500 to 2,000 years old emitted blue, 2,000 to 3,000 years old emitted purple, and over 5,000 years old emitted black.

The light from artifacts in each period was consistent, with the color deepening and the number of aura layers increasing with greater artistic value.

His purpose for visiting the Metropolitan Museum was achieved, and he had a basic understanding of his abilities!

Besides the透视 ability, Ye Tian also established a unique and precise method for appraising antiques and artworks, which would be the foundation of his future survival and success.

Next, it was time to appreciate and experience the cultural essence of the museum!

Since he would be dealing with antiques frequently in the future, understanding related knowledge was very necessary, and the museum was undoubtedly the best place to learn.

Ye Tian decided to allocate a certain amount of time each week to visit here and the nearby Natural History Museum and Hayden Planetarium to accumulate relevant knowledge.

Today, he would just take a leisurely tour.

Soon, Ye Tian arrived at the RB gallery on the second floor.

He had no interest in RB culture and had never entered the RB gallery before, even though he had visited the museum before.

Today, he came to see the famous "The Great Wave off Kanagawa."

This print is considered the crown jewel of the RB gallery at the Metropolitan Museum, a work by the RB ukiyo-e artist Hokusai, which the RB people have elevated to the status of a masterpiece!

When he worked in Manhattan, Ye Tian had interacted with some RB people, who would always visit this painting in a pilgrimage-like manner when they came to New York, praising it to everyone they knew.

Since he was at the Metropolitan Museum, Ye Tian wanted to see this painting.

He planned to use his method to appraise it and compare it with other masterpieces to see if it was as great as the RB people claimed or just a self-indulgent exaggeration!

As expected, the print was surrounded by RB people, who were admiring the small artwork and constantly exclaiming and praising it, with extremely absorbed expressions!

Ye Tian stood about two to three meters from the painting, looking at it on the wall. Through his eyes' ability, he instantly made an initial judgment.

The painting was undoubtedly genuine, emitting a deep red light, consistent with the early 19th century.

However, judging from the number of aura layers, its artistic value wasn't as miraculous as the RB people claimed. It was only a masterpiece, far from being a masterpiece.

There were many more outstanding works in the museum, with far more aura layers than this one.

Ye Tian continued to look at the painting. Due to the distance and the small size of the artwork, he focused intently, and in his concentration, he inadvertently used his透视 ability, his vision directly penetrating the print.

This was his third use of the透视 ability today, after the mummy.

Suddenly, his eyes felt a cool and pleasant sensation, as if accompanied by a sense of joy!

Before he could react, a bizarre image appeared in his eyes, stunning him on the spot!