Chen Yiyang called the owner of a pawnshop he had dealt with a few times before, asking him to recommend a reliable expert to come over.

Because Chen Yiyang paid an urgent fee, two hours later, a pot-bellied middle-aged man arrived at Chen Yiyang's hotel.

"Hello." Chen Yiyang shook hands with him.

"I heard you have a document related to United States history that needs my appraisal?"

The expert seemed quite relaxed.

There are plenty of appraisal experts in the United States, but to have a long-term partnership with a pawnshop, you must have strong business skills.

Because experts charge separately for each appraisal.

If they make a mistake during the appraisal and the pawnshop buys a forgery, the expert's reputation will be immediately affected.

So this expert's capabilities are beyond doubt.

"Yes, I found a copy of the Declaration of Independence, can you take a look at it for me?" Chen Yiyang handed the copy of the Declaration of Independence to the expert.

"Did you buy it from some street vendor or an eccentric old man?"

The expert's expression immediately relaxed when he saw the copy.

Because the original document of the Declaration of Independence is stored in the National Archives of the United States.

As for the copies.

First, they are very old, making them difficult to preserve.

Secondly, only 200 copies were printed initially.

Very few of those 200 copies have survived to the present day.

So many forgers have targeted the Declaration of Independence, creating many fake versions to sell to the uninformed or tourists.

So the expert first assumed that Chen Yiyang had been duped as well.

As he put on his glasses, he explained to Chen Yiyang.

"A distinctive feature of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence is that they bear no signatures.

Many people have the impression that the Declaration of Independence has a signed version. That's because the original document wasn't signed until a month after it was printed.

So the other original versions were never signed.

Alright, this one also has no signatures."

The expert adjusted his glasses and found that the one Chen Yiyang was holding indeed had no signatures.

So at least it seemed to be a well-crafted forgery.

"Another characteristic of the original versions is that the paper was handmade, which is very easy to identify.

Because aging handmade paper is difficult, and at that time, other original versions were often displayed in bars or on other platforms for people to view.

So there will definitely be some related wear marks on the paper."

The expert's speech slowed down as he spoke.

He stopped altogether to carefully examine it.

After what seemed like at least half an hour.

The expert exclaimed.

"My God, it really does seem like an original version of the Declaration of Independence."

"How much could this sell for?" Chen Yiyang curiously asked.

"Based on market price, at least two million US Dollars as a starting point. But this item is invaluable; if it's truly sold, it would only fetch a higher price."

"It's indeed a national treasure." Hearing this price, Chen Yiyang felt a bit emotional.

It might look like just two million US Dollars, but compared to the paintings on the European and American market that can fetch hundreds of millions, it seems low in price.

But this is just a copy.

And the reason the price is low is that once such an item falls into a collector's hands, they won't easily let it go unless they're going bankrupt.

Because if a painting priced over a hundred million is to be sold, finding a willing buyer isn't always easy.

But for this, there are plenty of willing buyers.

"Do you plan to sell this?" The expert looked at Chen Yiyang.

"Not at the moment." Chen Yiyang smiled a bit and then motioned for the expert to leave.

"If you ever want to sell, you can contact me right away." The expert handed Chen Yiyang a business card.

After taking the business card, Chen Yiyang immediately went to the presidential suite to wake up the accountant.

The accountant had just woken up, rubbing his eyes as he looked at Chen Yiyang and asked, "What's going on?"

"Let's go back home."

"Back home?!" The accountant was completely stunned.

They'd just taken a long flight over ten hours to get to the United States.

Why suddenly go back home?

Chen Yiyang didn't explain much.

He simply put the sheepskin pouch into his suitcase, mixed in with other documents. Then he quietly had the accountant book a return flight.

With the flight leaving in two hours, Chen Yiyang quickly called a taxi, and he and the accountant rushed to the airport.

In their haste, they even forgot some luggage.

After enduring another grueling few dozen hours of flight time.

When Chen Yiyang got off the plane, he felt like his rear end wasn't his own.

As soon as he disembarked and turned on his phone.

Chen Yiyang noticed that he had several missed international calls.

Calling back, it turned out to be the tour guide.

"Boss, did you get into some trouble?" The guide cautiously asked.

"What happened? I didn't do anything illegal in the United States, and you know that."

"Of course, I know." The guide was also baffled.

Ever since Chen Yiyang arrived in the United States, the guide had been with him everywhere he went.

He was crystal clear on everything Chen Yiyang had done.

After Chen Yiyang returned to the hotel, he hadn't come out again.

Then suddenly that night, police showed up outside Chen Yiyang's presidential suite, saying they'd received a report of contraband being hidden inside.

The hotel was part of the same company as the tour guide agency.

The guide was immediately notified and rushed over.

He initially thought Chen Yiyang was perhaps engaging in something prohibited even in the United States within the suite.

But upon entering with the police, they found the suite was clean, only containing some personal luggage.

Not even a trace of a person.

Yet the police still confiscated a bunch of items.

The guide had tried to contact Chen Yiyang during this time but couldn't reach him.

Now that Chen Yiyang had called after landing, the guide, after confirming Chen Yiyang hadn't done anything wrong, asked, "Where are you now?"

"I'm back in the country." Chen Yiyang replied, "Something came up suddenly back home, so I urgently returned. I'm already in Shanghai now."

"What on earth?!" The guide was flabbergasted.

Why fly for over ten hours only to turn around and fly back?

What emergency was so pressing that he didn't even have time to give a heads up before boarding the plane?

Chen Yiyang didn't chat much with the guide.

Because the guide truly knew nothing, and it was best to keep it that way.

Chen Yiyang continued flipping through his missed calls.

He soon spotted a familiar number.

Calling back, it was answered by the pawnshop owner in California.

"Friend, I heard you got a genuine copy of the Declaration of Independence?"

The pawnshop owner was quite straightforward, getting right to the point with his opening line.

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