I was a rookie reporter in the 00s

Li Wei took out a photo of porcelain and handed it to the antique dealer: "I heard that you are very interested in these antiques. I wonder if you have seen these?"

The antique dealer took the photo and his expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. "Mr. Li, you may have misunderstood. I don't sell things of unknown origin like this."

"Oh? Didn't I say it came from an unknown source? Are you admitting your guilt?" Li Wei asked back.

"Mr. Li, I'm just guessing. You used to be a policeman, and policemen like to suspect others. This is your occupational disease. When you took out the photos and asked me, I was naturally involved. I thought you regarded me as the subject of your interrogation, so the photos you took out were naturally of unknown origin. If they were from the right source, how could you ask me?" The antique dealer explained.

"Humph!" Li Wei sneered, "You're still a high-ranking person. I haven't even told you why I'm here, and you've already said all these words. You've left me speechless. Haha!"

"No, no. Mr. Li, you worry too much!" The antique dealer laughed.

"You're probably the one worrying too much." Li Wei appeared shocked, but his heart was already pounding heavily in his chest. He sensed murderous intent all around him. A sly glint flashed in the antique dealer's eyes, then gave way to coldness.

The antique dealer slowly stood up. His movements were unhurried, but Li Wei sensed a sense of danger. His eyes darted between the dealer's face and the surrounding antiques, searching for a possible escape route or something he could use for self-defense.

"Mr. Li, since you are here, you might as well sit for a while." There was a hint of threat in the antique dealer's voice.

Li Wei smiled slightly, knowing he couldn't show any fear or nervousness. His eyes fell on the jade artifact in the antique dealer's hand. It was a Han Dynasty jade bi, exquisitely carved and priceless.

"I'm very interested in this jade bi. May I take a closer look at it?" Li Wei said, extending his hand.

The antique dealer hesitated for a moment, but ultimately handed the jade disk to Li Wei. Li Wei took it and gently rubbed his fingers against it, feeling its cool, smooth texture. In his mind, he was rapidly calculating how to use the jade disk as a weapon of self-defense without arousing suspicion.

At that moment, the antique dealer's phone suddenly rang. The dealer answered, his voice low and urgent. Li Wei took the opportunity to hide the jade disc in his sleeve, his eyes darting between the dealer's face and the surrounding antiques, searching for an opportunity.

The antique dealer hung up the phone, his eyes becoming even colder: "Mr. Li, I have some things to take care of, please be at your own pace."

Li Wei nodded, knowing this was his chance. He stood up, pretending to admire an antique, and slowly walked towards a nearby bookshelf. His hand slid gently across the shelf, and suddenly, he felt an unusual bulge. With a sudden impulse, he pressed down hard.

The bookshelf slowly moved away, revealing a hidden door. Li Wei's heartbeat quickened, knowing this might be a secret room. He turned back to glance at the antique dealer, who had his back to him, seemingly busy with something.

Li Wei took a deep breath. He knew he had no time to hesitate. He quickly walked into the secret room, and the bookshelf slowly closed behind him.

The light inside the secret room was dim, with only a few dim lights. Li Wei's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he began to survey the room. It was filled with many antiques, each of them priceless. His heartbeat quickened, knowing this might be where the antique dealer was hiding his stolen goods.

His eyes swept over the antiques one by one, finally stopping on a wooden box. The box was unlocked, and Li Wei carefully opened it, revealing a pile of documents and photos. He quickly flipped through the documents and discovered numerous records of theft and resale of cultural relics.

A surge of anger welled up in him. These were all evidence of a crime. He quickly gathered the documents and photos and prepared to take them out. He knew that these were enough evidence to bring the antique dealer to justice.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the secret room. Li Wei's heart skipped a beat, and he knew he had been discovered. He quickly turned off the lights in the secret room and hid in the shadows nearby.

The antique dealer's voice rang out: "Mr. Li, where are you? I have something to talk to you about."

Li Wei held his breath, knowing he couldn't answer. His eyes searched for a way out in the darkness, his hand tightly clutching the jade disk in his pocket.

The antique dealer's voice grew closer, and Li Wei's heartbeat quickened. He knew he had to find a way to escape. His eyes searched the darkness for any useful item.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on a bronze tripod. With a sudden thought, he quickly placed the jade bi next to the bronze tripod. He knew that if an antique dealer came in, he would definitely notice the precious jade bi.

He quickly hid behind the bronze tripod, held his breath, and waited for the antique dealer to arrive.

The antique dealer pushed open the door of the secret room, and his eyes swept across the secret room, finally landing on the jade disk on the bronze tripod. A trace of greed flashed in his eyes, and he quickly walked towards the bronze tripod.

At this moment, Li Wei rushed out from the shadows and hit the antique dealer on the head with the jade disk in his hand. The antique dealer groaned and fell to the ground.

Li Wei quickly opened the door of the secret room and rushed out. He knew that he had to leave here as soon as possible and hand over the evidence to the police.

Li Wei rushed out of the villa and quickly called the police. His voice was urgent and firm, and he told the police that he had found evidence of cultural relics reselling and needed immediate support.

The police responded quickly, and soon after, the sound of police sirens broke the silence of the night. Li Wei stood outside the villa, holding the evidence tightly in his hands, his heart filled with tension and anticipation.

A police car roared over, and it turned out that the police were just passing by. Li Wei did not want to hand over the evidence to the police because he had never trusted the police.

When the antique dealer awoke, he had a splitting headache. He touched the back of his head, where a large lump had formed. His memory slowly returned, and he remembered Mr. Li, who claimed to be a police officer, and the evidence he had taken. A fierce look flashed in the antique dealer's eyes; he couldn't let this evidence fall into the hands of the police.

He quickly made a few calls and summoned his men. They were a group of ruthless men, loyal to the antique dealer. The antique dealer told them that they must find Mr. Li and recover the evidence, no matter the cost.

His men acted quickly and began searching every corner of the city for Li Wei. The antique dealer knew that time was of the essence and he had to find Li Wei before the police took action.

Li Wei knew he had become a target. He couldn't go home or anywhere familiar. He found a small, remote hotel and paid for the room in cash without leaving any personal information.

He sat on the bed in the room, holding the folder containing the evidence tightly in his hand. He knew that this evidence was the key to bringing down the antique dealer and was also their only bargaining chip at the moment.

He opened the folder and carefully examined its contents. The document recorded transactions between antique dealers and multiple antiquities theft rings, as well as the channels through which they sold their stolen goods. Li Wei's brow furrowed, realizing that the scale of this antiquities trafficking ring was far larger than he had imagined.

He decided to contact Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan, and they needed to work together to develop a plan on how to use the evidence to expose the crimes of this group.