Chapter 160: The Nationwide Bashing Begins! Gu Shengsheng, the Target of All

"Boss Huang, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope you’ll go easy on me. Shengsheng is just an ordinary Antique Appraiser Master, still learning the ropes."

Hearing this, Huang Bai laughed. "I see. Miss Gu, you have a boundless future!"

"You three, please follow me inside."

This time, they weren’t kept waiting in the outer showroom but were led into a back room. Many items were on display here, housed in glass cabinets.

There was a bit of everything.

Gu Shengsheng couldn’t help but marvel, "I never thought this Huang Bai would be so impressive."

"He’s rich enough to do as he pleases. He is the wealthiest man in Anxi, after all. Shengsheng, it looks to me like he’s trying to probe you. Watch what you say later."

"Out here, you create your own reputation," Wang Yu reminded her.

Gu Shengsheng nodded. "Got it."

’Actually, there’s no need for such worries,’ Gu Shengsheng thought. ’This Huang Bai is clearly no pushover. He’s obviously here because of what happened yesterday.’

’It’s probably about that Chicken Blood Stone Bracelet. It was worth over thirty million, but was just put on display, and I managed to buy it for 150,000...’

’In any case, this isn’t the first time I’ve encountered something like this. He’s bound to make his move today.’

’With that in mind, I’ll just stick close to Wang Yu and the others,’ she thought. ’Since I have powerful backers to cling to, why on earth would I run off by myself?’

’When you’re out in the world, you have to assume others have the most malicious intentions.’

Just then, someone tapped Gu Shengsheng’s shoulder. She turned to see Zhang Sanwang and Li Bai.

Li Bai grinned. "Shengsheng! Long time no see. We’re here too!"

"Exactly! We thought you went off to rob a tomb, so we didn’t call you. Didn’t expect you to be here checking out artifacts."

Gu Shengsheng was pleasantly surprised. ’These are my old partners in crime, the ones I’ve fought alongside and stirred up trouble with!’

"Are you here to see the Liangzhu Culture artifacts, too?"

"Mhm, a lot of merchants got invitations, but our director and the others didn’t come. So it’s just us regular dealers."

"People are still trickling in, probably from all over the country. The owner of this Golden Phoenix Pavilion is a big shot. It’d be great to get on his good side."

"And what if you get on his bad side?" Gu Shengsheng asked.

Zhang Sanwang narrowed his eyes. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this? You’re not on bad terms with him, are you?"

"I just got here. What kind of trouble could I have caused?" Gu Shengsheng replied, the very picture of innocence.

"That’s true. Anyway, we’re mainly here for the Liangzhu Culture."

With that, the group walked toward the back room, soon arriving at the Liangzhu Culture exhibition hall.

Gu Shengsheng saw a large number of black ceramic pots and jars, arranged in two or three rows.

In the very center was a small ark. Liangzhu was a city with overland routes, but it also had docks and piers; boats were the primary means of transportation within the city. This small ark was quite unique and simple in its design.

The surrounding spectators were thrilled, as it was their first time seeing such a unique culture up close.

Black pottery is rare these days; even a single piece sold from this collection would likely fetch a hefty sum.

With three rows of shelves in front and three rows behind, the room was packed. Gu Shengsheng, Zhang Sanwang, and Li Bai stood together.

Zhang Zhengyi and Director Wang Yu stood just ahead of them. While everyone was discussing the artifacts, Gu Shengsheng suddenly felt something was off.

"Watch out!"

An unknown voice cried out. She was shoved forward, staggering a step, and then the entire row of black jars behind her came crashing to the ground with a deafening shatter.

The sound wasn’t just that of shattering artifacts, but of shattering wealth.

Everyone present winced in pain at the sight. Gu Shengsheng herself was completely dumbfounded.

’How did they just suddenly fall over?’

Before she could react, Huang Bai came running over, out of breath.

He took one look at the scene and fainted!

A very fat man, the event’s host, immediately burst into tears.

"Oh no... Do you know how much money Boss Huang spent to acquire these things! And now they’re just... gone!"

He then dropped to his knees and began to wail.

As for Huang Bai, he was helped away to rest.

Gu Shengsheng: "..."

Immediately, someone started pointing at the group that had been standing by the shelves. "All of you!"

"Did one of you not put an artifact back properly? You’ve caused such a huge loss for the Golden Phoenix Pavilion! You’re all done for!"

"Exactly. Such grown adults, yet you don’t know how to be careful."

Zhang Sanwang, who had just been examining a black pottery jar, instantly became the public target. "Now wait a minute! Plenty of people were standing here just now. How did we suddenly become the culprits?"

"What is this? You’re blaming us just because we were standing nearby when it happened? If we hadn’t moved fast, we’d be the ones lying here in a bloody mess!"

Gu Shengsheng added, "Following that logic, since your venue didn’t make its safety hazards clear and nearly got us hurt, shouldn’t we be the ones asking for compensation?"

Hearing Gu Shengsheng’s words, the host shot her a look that could kill.

"What did you say? The hell you’re talking about!"

"We’ve suffered such a huge loss of artifacts, and you think we should compensate you? What kind of twisted logic is that? Miss Gu, I knew you weren’t a reasonable person, but you can’t just try to pin the blame on others like this!"

His eyes filled with disgust. "Yesterday, you tricked our Golden Phoenix Pavilion out of an item worth thirty million, and today you’re here causing trouble again! This Liangzhu Culture event... do you have any idea how big this is? Do you know our boss spent hundreds of millions on it?"

"We graciously invited merchants from all across the country to view these pieces, and you’ve ruined it all! Miss Gu, if you’ve built your fame on trickery and deceit, then I, for one, refuse to stand for it!"

At his words, many others began to join in the condemnation of Gu Shengsheng.

They had been looking for a reason to dislike her. A young woman in her twenties, lauded so highly—how could she possibly be that capable?

Some of them had over twenty years of experience and still hadn’t achieved as much as her. It was simply impossible!

In any case, at that moment, anyone who had a bone to pick with her came forward to tear her down.

"Miss Gu, we know you did it on purpose. Just admit it! Hurry up and pay for the damages, you and your little group. Then we’ll let you leave."

"Otherwise, there will be a real reckoning today. An incident this big won’t be settled so simply!"

"Gu Shengsheng, you’re just a young girl who’s always making a scene. Who knows if those artifacts you supposedly acquired were just part of some publicity stunt, but today, you’ve smashed Huang Bai’s collection!"

"It’s despicable. We propose she be blacklisted across the entire internet!"

And they weren’t just talking; people actually started drafting a joint statement to boycott her.

In that moment, countless people were fabricating stories about Gu Shengsheng, posting embellished accounts of the incident online.

Instantly, no one cared about the truth of what happened. The internet-wide campaign to destroy her reputation had officially begun.

Gu Shengsheng felt like a target.

Her enemies had been waiting for this day, and now, everyone wanted to take a shot.