The moment Lin Xiao successfully logged in and confirmed the authenticity of the private key, everything was settled.
At the same time, major media outlets rushed to report the story.
A street stall purchase for just a few dozen yuan turned out to be a hidden treasure—a book containing the Bitcoin key, worth 130 million.
How was this any different from free money?
Local Jinling news agencies and national mainstream media all picked it up. On platforms like Douyin and Weibo, financial influencers were the first to break the news.
In an instant, the story of Lin Xiao's Bitcoin windfall became a traffic goldmine for every media outlet.
Lin Xiao himself also benefitted—not just the 130 million, but his name and popularity skyrocketed at an insane speed.
At this point, you could open just about any website or forum and find articles about him, along with countless envious, jealous, and bitter comments from netizens.
However, just when everyone thought the matter had come to an end, a surprising twist occurred in Lin Xiao's now-viral livestream.
"Mr. Lin, that book belongs to me. The Bitcoin account is mine too. I hope you'll return it."
"Bro, you kidding me?"
"You say it's yours, and we're supposed to believe you?"
"To be honest, that account's actually mine. I bought the book back when I was studying programming. Then I lost it during a move. Mr. Lin, please give it back."
"You're killing me with laughter here."
"Actually, that book's mine."
"Bullshit, it's mine, okay?!"
Suddenly, a wave of netizens began claiming that the book Lin Xiao picked up was theirs.
Nobody took them seriously.
Half an hour later, Lin Xiao parked his car near Chaotiangong and began walking toward the antique street.
Seeing the ridiculous barrage of comments, Lin Xiao couldn't help but laugh.
The book is yours?
The key was written by you?
And I'm supposed to just take your word for it?
845 Bitcoins, untouched for over a decade.
With how explosive Bitcoin has become, if someone had lost a wallet with that much in it, you think the crypto world wouldn't have heard a peep?
Not to mention, public and private keys are usually stored using dedicated software.
Sure, stories of lost private keys exist.
But those are mostly from average folks.
The original owner of this book was clearly a programmer—he wouldn't have any backup at all?
Even if he really had no backup, and really wrote the key down in a book...
How are you going to prove it's yours?
Just spouting empty words and expecting me to hand over millions?
Who do you take me for, an idiot?
Lin Xiao didn't even bother responding. He ignored it all and walked straight into the antique street.
The layout of the street was similar to the Fuzimiao flea market—hundreds of shops lined both sides, and vendors had stalls set up on the pavement.
Directly opposite stood an antique mall, five stories tall. Only the first and second floors housed antique shops; the upper three floors were a hotel.
In terms of scale, it was comparable to Fuzimiao.
But in terms of reputation, Chaotiangong was without a doubt the top antique street in Jinling.
This place had produced quite a few valuable finds.
Still, the antique scene was niche. Most people who scored big kept it low-profile.
If not for the rise of appraisal TV shows, the general public wouldn't even be aware of this world.
Lin Xiao's sudden fame brought the antique scene into the mainstream spotlight.
That was both a good and bad thing.
For the vendors, it was great—more interest meant more customers.
For the market itself, it was good too—attention meant prices could rise.
But for professional treasure hunters? It was a headache.
More competition. Higher costs.
"Wait, isn't that Fuzimiao?"
"I just saw on Douyin—Fuzimiao is packed like sardines. It's insane."
"This is Chaotiangong, Jinling's most famous antique street."
"Everything I see now looks like an antique."
Lin Xiao strolled casually, stopping at various stalls to browse.
"Mr. Lin?"
A surprised voice called out.
Lin Xiao turned—and was just as surprised. It was Master Zhu Yulin.
Zhu Yulin looked even more shocked. "Didn't expect to run into you here, Mr. Lin."
"Master Zhu," Lin Xiao greeted politely.
Zhu Yulin quickly waved his hands, a bit embarrassed. "Please, just call me Old Zhu. I'm no master—trying to show off in front of you would be laughable."
Lin Xiao smiled. At least this so-called "master" had a good attitude.
If it were someone else, they'd probably be fuming after losing out on a treasure.
Zhu Yulin asked, "Why didn't you go to Fuzimiao?"
"Too many people."
"True. It's so crowded you can't even walk."
Zhu Yulin said, "If you don't mind, Mr. Lin, may I join you for a look around?"
Lin Xiao nodded. "Of course. Feel free to tag along."