Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

The uninvited guest in the Bronze and Rose Restoration Room. The Municipal Museum's cultural relic restoration room is tucked away in an annex building west of the exhibition hall, far from the bustle of the main building. Here, the temperature is maintained at a constant 22°C and the humidity is 55% year-round. The air is filled with a faint scent of disinfectant and the aged aroma of artifacts. It's so quiet that only the faint whirr of air from the central air conditioner and the occasional clink of restoration tools can be heard. Chen Yan stands tall and straight at a custom-made restoration table, dressed in a light gray anti-static work suit, his sleeves neatly rolled up to his forearms, revealing his defined wrists. Before him lies a fully transparent, temperature-controlled display case, within which rests a Han Dynasty bronze sword. The blade is approximately 70 centimeters long, its hilt wrapped in a faded, dark brown silk cord. The scabbard is coated in a layer of varying shades of green rust, some of which has peeled away, revealing a dark copper beneath. Under the soft LED lighting from the display case's ceiling, the sword takes on a matte patina, a vestige of time. This is the museum's most important restoration project of the year. Three months ago, when this bronze sword was unearthed from a cluster of Han Dynasty tombs outside the city, its scabbard was nearly glued to the blade, and three two-millimeter-deep scratches remained on the blade. There was even a three-centimeter-long chip at the end of the scabbard. If not repaired promptly, rust would further erode the sword, causing irreversible damage. Chen Yan's concentration was intense. Behind a pair of high-powered magnifying glasses, his eyes fixed intently on a single, 0.3-millimeter-wide crack in the scabbard—the last remaining gap to be filled after two weeks of continuous work. In his right hand, he held a pair of specially crafted micro-tweezers, the tips of which contained a rice-grain-sized nano-scale repair adhesive. The adhesive blended perfectly with the bronze sword's patina, making the gap virtually invisible. The tweezers hovered just a millimeter above the green rust on the blade. Chen Yan's breathing was so gentle, his chest rising and falling barely perceptible. He could feel the subtle vibrations of the tweezers against his fingertips, and even the subtle deformation of the repair glue at the tips of the tweezers. This extreme focus was a habit he'd cultivated over eight years of cultural relic restoration. Every artifact was a carrier of history, and even a 0.1mm error could ruin its original beauty; there was no room for error. On the computer screen at the restoration table, a high-definition scan of the scabbard's crack was displayed in real time. Red lines marked the areas that needed to be filled. A nearby parameter panel displayed data such as humidity, temperature, and the curing time of the repair glue. Chen Yan's left hand rested lightly on the mouse, ready to adjust the lighting in the display case to ensure every detail was clearly visible. Just then, three crisp knocks on the door suddenly broke the silence of the restoration room. Chen Yan's body stiffened subconsciously, and his hand gripping the tweezers wobbled slightly, nearly causing the repair glue to slip from the tips. He quickly steadied his wrist and gently placed the tweezers back into the tool tray beside him. He then took off the magnifying glass, rubbed his sore eyes, and turned to look at the door. Standing at the door was a woman, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing a beige suit and skirt that just reached her knees, revealing her slender calves, and a pair of light brown high-heeled leather shoes. Her curly hair was meticulously groomed, with the ends slightly curled inward, softening the lines of her cheeks; her face was delicately made up, and her lips were a light bean paste color, which made her look healthy yet not ostentatious. In her arms was a thick black folder with a few sheets of printed paper sandwiched around the edge of the folder. She had obviously just rushed in from the office. The woman had a professional smile on her face, and the corners of her mouth were curved just right, but her almond eyes couldn't hide a hint of eagerness. Her gaze quickly swept across the restoration room and finally landed on Chen Yan. "Hello, I'm Su Qingyuan from the Curating Department," the woman walked in quickly. Her high heels made a crisp, clacking sound on the smooth, anti-static floor of the restoration room, a slight jarring sound against the quiet atmosphere. "Regarding the 'Han and Jin Bronzes Special Exhibition' opening next week, I'd like to confirm a few questions regarding the restoration progress." She spoke with a clear, slightly fast voice, possessing the professional efficiency of a professional without sounding awkward. Chen Yan looked at her, his brows furrowing slightly. He hated being interrupted while working, especially when performing such high-precision restoration work. That moment of distraction would take him at least ten minutes to refocus. More importantly, the woman before him looked like someone who spent years in the office, a non-technical person. Her delicate makeup, crisp suit, and impeccable hairstyle made her look like someone from a completely different world than his work clothes, stained with traces of restoration glue. He set down his tools, walked to the workbench, picked up the white gloves draped over the back of the chair, and slowly removed them. The fingertips of his gloves were already worn from constant contact with tools. His fingers were long, with distinct knuckles, and faint traces of transparent repair glue still lingered on them, where he'd accidentally rubbed them with the tweezers. He pulled a clean, dust-free cloth from his pocket and carefully wiped the marks, his movements as gentle as if he were wiping a precious artifact. "The progress report was submitted to the curatorial department last week," Chen Yan said in a low, slow voice, a stark contrast to Su Qingyuan's efficient demeanor. "The bronze sword's crack is only 0.3mm away from being filled. We'll be able to seal it by early next week, and it won't affect the special exhibition." His tone was flat, without any added emotion, as if he were stating a fait accompli. His gaze fell on the folder in Su Qingyuan's arms, but he didn't meet her gaze. Su Qingyuan didn't seem to mind his slightly cold attitude. She walked over to Chen Yan, placed the folder on the workbench, and gently opened it. The folder was filled with thick materials, and each page was carefully classified with paper clips. It was obvious that she was a very careful person. Her fingertips slid quickly across the printed paper, her nails were trimmed neatly and rounded, and coated with transparent nail polish, and her fingertips made a slight "rustling" sound as they slid across the paper. "I saw the schedule," Su Qingyuan stopped and pointed to a form on one of the pages, "but according to the feedback submitted by the Security Department this morning, you did not register the monitoring authority of the restoration room as required when you worked overtime yesterday - the restoration room belongs to the museum's first-level security area, and all personnel entering and exiting, and the operation process needs to be monitored and recorded in real time. If you do not have the registration authority, it will affect the security process approval of the special exhibition. If it is discovered by the superior inspection, it may delay the opening time." After she finished speaking, she looked up at Chen Yan,