Chapter 304: Not a single punctuation mark from the boss’s words can be trusted.

Back at school, Little Will dealt with some matters at hand, then briefly explained the dangers of the Bell of a Hundred Flowers withering to Yuna Peck.

The latter was quite alarmed upon hearing it;Demonization items, unlike magical artifacts, were full of too much uncertainty and uncontrollability.

Who knew when these inexplicably formed things would change for the worse? It was best not to touch them.

The school library was fully open to Little Will.

Except for occasionally attending classes and handling student club affairs, Little Will spent most of his time in the library.

There was no such thing as too many books and too much knowledge.

Although these ordinary pieces of knowledge could no longer earn Little Will contribution points, they could increase his knowledge base and enhance his Appraisal skill.

The Reading skill could not be used frequently, otherwise, it would cause a certain impact on his mind.

However, Little Will could now achieve the ability of speed reading after possessing powerful mental strength.

Reading more than a dozen or twenty books systematically every day would definitely astound a group of people, and this was while perusing them in the library, never borrowing them.

Inside the Archaeology and Appraisal Club, Little Will reiterated the appraisal process: never touch antiques directly, never accept the item to be appraised from the client’s hand, only observe and gently touch the antique with gloves on a stable table, and the antique must not leave the tabletop by more than half a foot.

During appraisal, no one else should be within half a meter.

After the appraisal, put the item away; do not personally hand the item to the client; the client needs to retrieve it from the table themselves.

Then, Little Will explained some of the industry’s dark secrets and common tricks to them and produced an “antique.”

“This is an antique I bought from the black market for five gold coins.

After multiple appraisals, it’s a replica.

Afterward, I also carefully appraised it myself and can confirm it’s a replica, but it’s a high-quality replica.

Five gold coins might be a bit exaggerated, but two or three gold coins would still be worth it.

Now, let’s simulate the appraisal process.

I am the client now, and a client with ulterior motives.

You need to be careful not to be influenced by me.”

“Now, you each take turns, starting with you.

I’m entering the room with the antique now.”

Little Will walked in from outside the door, disguised as an old man, staggering.

The student sitting behind the counter struggled to stand up, then suddenly remembered Little Will’s words and immediately sat back down.

Little Will walked up hesitantly, then stumbled and fell to the ground, the “antique” box flying directly towards the student.

The student instinctively caught it, and the other students around were all dumbfounded.

“President, that’s too cunning!” The student looked at the “antique” in his hand, on the verge of tears.

Does this count as accepting an antique from the client’s hand? Does it? Or does it not?

Little Will climbed up from the ground, pointed at the “antique” box in the student’s hand, and said indifferently, “If at this moment, the antique inside the box were damaged, whose fault would it be?

Do we, as appraisers, need to bear responsibility?”

The seven or eight club members looked at each other, this matter was a bit unclear.

Some said it was clearly blackmail.

Some said the old man was old, and your inaction led to the antique being damaged on your own turf, so you definitely bear some responsibility, though the extent is hard to say.

Some also suggested simply not catching the box and letting it fall, but they were met with unanimous scorn.

Someone thought that just watching the antique get damaged might also incur some responsibility.

“President, what would you do if you encountered such a situation?” The student still holding the box looked at Little Will pitifully.

I’m the first one up to demonstrate and I’ve already encountered such a difficult situation.

President, boss, can’t you start with an easier difficulty?

If you start like this, we won’t be able to handle it, and we’ll be afraid to do appraisals in the future.

“If it were me, I would immediately leave my seat to offer a supportive hand to the old man, but I would absolutely not touch his body.

If the item in the old man’s hand slipped, I would also pretend not to see it.

After the item had completely left the old man’s control or hit the ground, I would then help the old man up and warmly inquire about his health.”

“Things? Hehe, things are external objects.

We can’t be too snobbish; we must prioritize people.”

Little Will’s words made all the club members feel as if they had been trampled by a stampede of horses.

“Boss, this method is so clever!”

I’ve learned something new! I’ve gained knowledge!

Little Will directly took the box back from the member’s hand, casually tossing the pale wig from his head aside, completely nonchalant.

With a loud “clang!” he slammed the box onto the table: “Help me take a look.

This is an old item I dug up from the black market for fifty gold coins.

It’s really valuable.

The seller initially wanted two hundred gold coins, but I haggled him down to fifty.”

Little Will’s expression of a parvenu who had struck it rich made the club members want to laugh but dared not.

The member reached out and opened the box.

Inside was a wooden carving, but one corner had already broken off and lay clearly to the side, making the member’s hand freeze.

Oh no, I’ve been tricked again!

“President, boss, I beg you, can you not trick me like this?

I’m only the first one, and you’ve used all your tricks.

How will you trick the others now?”

“It’s alright, I still have plenty of tricks like this.

Tell me, when you were opening the box just now, I deliberately turned my head away and didn’t watch your movements.

When I turn back and see the item is broken, tell me, whose responsibility is it?”

Little Will said with a smile, pointing at the wooden carving and the detached piece, while the surrounding club members were all at a loss.

“Well, boss, why don’t you demonstrate?” The student who had been tricked closed the box, then pretended to be the owner and repeated what Little Will had just said, then deliberately turned his head away, not looking at Little Will.

This was a taste of his own medicine.

The surrounding club members watched their act, amused, and at the same time, were very curious how President would handle it.

Little Will pouted and said disdainfully, “You’re still too green to think these little tricks can stump me.

Watch closely.”

“Oh~, the material of this box is not simple.

Look at its color, it seems to be made from a branch of the Tree of Life, right?”

As Little Will spoke, the student was so shocked he couldn’t speak, staring dumbfounded at the box.

Little Will took the opportunity to open the lid, the lower half of the box remaining perfectly still: “Client, do you know the origins of these two antiques?”

Two antiques?

The student was speechless for a moment.

He had watched Little Will open it, and the box itself hadn’t moved at all.

And Little Will hadn’t touched the contents inside, yet he directly mentioned “two antiques.”

How was he supposed to extort him now?

“No, let’s start over.” The student immediately protested.

They really couldn’t use such a shameless method; they would be despised.

“Alright, then let’s start over.”

Little Will waited for the student to turn his face away, then suddenly let out an exclamation.

The student reflexively turned his face back, only to find Little Will adjusting his gloves.

“These new gloves don’t fit well; they’re not as comfortable as the old ones.

Client, would you mind opening the box and letting me see your treasure?”

Oh my god! He directly asked the client to do it, not touching anything himself.

“Okay, I understand.

I must let the client handle the box and packaging.

I can only begin the appraisal after confirming the item is intact, right?”

The student wasn’t a blockhead and quickly understood Little Will’s meaning.

Little Will nodded with satisfaction: “You’re improving.

Next…”

“Boss, I feel it might be better to switch people next.

I have a weak heart, and constantly being tricked will kill me sooner or later.”

The student’s words drew a burst of laughter.

“Alright, I just saw someone who seemed to disdain these little tricks.

So, next, let’s switch people and start over.”

Little Will glanced meaningfully at the other confident club members, a sly curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

The second club member successfully avoided directly opening the box before it was opened, letting Little Will open it himself.

Then, he was somewhat at a loss when he saw the intact wooden carving inside the box.

Little Will then excused himself to get a drink of water and left.

As soon as he turned around, the wooden carving made a “crack” sound and a small piece fell off.

The student was dumbfounded and speechless.

The third club member was very clever.

When Little Will wanted a drink of water, he personally went to get him some, successfully avoiding facing the “old antique” alone.

However, this time the wooden carving didn’t break.

When he carefully picked it up, the missing small piece of the wooden carving fell off, landing on the box with a “thud.”

The third club member looked at the broken wooden carving, on the verge of tears.

The fourth club member directly asked Little Will to first introduce the “antique.”

He watched Little Will steadily hold the wooden carving, turning it left and right, and constantly pointing out what patterns were where and what era’s characteristics they matched, making the student nod repeatedly.

Then, the two got closer and closer.

Little Will’s hand trembled, and the wooden carving fell into the student’s hand, cracking with a “thud.”

The fourth club member was dumbfounded, looking at the wooden carving in his hand, not knowing what to say.

It had just broken in his hand.

“President, boss, you only said to avoid it, but how do we avoid it?

I was completely drawn in by your words just now!” The student looked at the wooden carving in his hand, his eyes filled with resentment.

“In appraisal, we are experts.

So-called experts must have their own demeanor, like this posture.”

Little Will said this, puffing out his chest, tucking in his stomach, and clasping his hands behind his back, a calm expression on his face.

The fourth student looked at the wooden carving in his hand, wondering how to slip it back into Little Will’s hands, only to find that his hands were behind his back.

How was he supposed to play this now?

The fifth club member was very wronged.

He strictly followed the rules and procedures.

Then, after Little Will put down the wooden carving, he gently picked it up himself.

Then, the glove stuck to the side of the wooden carving, and a piece accidentally broke off.

This time, he truly had no way to explain himself.

The president was too devious; he could even use such a dirty trick.

The sixth club member was determined not to touch the wooden carving, and kept a close eye on Little Will.

In the end, he hastily completed the appraisal.

But why did the president look at him with such a knowing gaze?

The seventh club member followed suit and also passed.

Then came the last club member, who unfortunately fell into the trap.

Little Will told them that even if they didn’t touch the wooden carving, he still had ways to trick them.

“And then, this is your appraisal?” Little Will pouted, then told them something very crushing: “Actually, this is a genuine antique.

Both its age and origin have been carefully compared and verified by me and my teacher, and they are accurate and flawless.

Therefore, all your appraisal internships have failed.”

“Boss, you tricked us!” All the club members gave Little Will the middle finger.

“You’re too much of a trickster!

You started by saying this was a fake you bought yourself, then used various methods to attract our attention, and finally made us hastily deal with it, leading to a wrong conclusion.

That’s just too much!”

It should be known that club activities are included in assessment grades.

All eight of them were tricked, especially the last few members who clearly completed the appraisal and confirmed it was a fake, they were even more on the verge of tears.

Indeed, you can’t believe a single punctuation mark of what President says!

Too much of a trickster!

Then Little Will demonstrated a complete appraisal process for them.

Even knowing there was damage, he was able to pick it up perfectly intact and complete the appraisal, handling it with extreme care without a single mistake, making all the club members’ eyes light up, yet also feeling a little disappointed.

Boss, you’re a freshman; how can we compare to such professionalism?

However, with such a boss leading them, their progress would definitely be rapid.

The boss clearly told them that a new “antique” would be sent every three days for them to appraise.

Each successful appraisal with supporting evidence would earn them a point, with no points deducted for failure.

And starting next time, their archaeology teacher would also participate in these activities.