The narrative of the Old Summer Palace's looting and destruction by British and French soldiers during the Second Opium War is told at the beginning of the film. Twelve bronze heads of the Chinese zodiac animals are among the looted relics.
The bronze heads are currently sold at auction for millions of euros each. MP Corporation is the primary supplier of the bronze heads and other looted artefacts. With the promise of a 10x bonus if he can discover every one of the misplaced bronze heads, MP Corp assigns JC (Jackie Chan) the duty of doing so. Under the pretence of a writer named Martin from The New York Times, JC visits Professor Guan, who had built 12 identical replicas for study purposes with his team of researchers.
JC breaks into a residence with his companions Simon (Kwon Sang-woo), David, and Bonnie to locate two of the bronze heads. When JC cracks the code to a top-secret vault, he discovers two bronze statues, a painting titled "The Roses," and numerous other priceless national treasures that were believed to be lost there. JC's cover is quickly exposed, but he escapes with all the goods. However, Coco notices him. He runs from the security of the estate because he doesn't have time to defend himself and instructs Coco to meet him at a boat house. Martin reveals to Coco at the boat house that he works for a covert organisation that is attempting to locate every missing artefact for China. armed guards.
While attending a party at a castle owned by Catherine (Laura Weissbecker), Coco, JC, and his team are unaware that the guards from the estate are suspiciously following them. It turns out that Catherine's great-great-grandfather was the captain of the "Indestructible," one of the ships involved in the destruction and plunder of the Old Summer Palace. Coco is angered by this and confronts Catherine about it. JC and his group discover numerous priceless artefacts inside the castle, including the Bronze Head of the Rooster, and devise a number of strategies to transport them. JC assures Catherine that he would assist her in finding the bones of her great-great-grandfather.
The following day, they set off in pursuit of the Indestructible's treasures, which are thought to be hidden on a remote island. Coco and Catherine are told by JC to wait while his crew explores the island. However, Coco and Catherine ignore JC's commands and go in search of Catherine's great-great-body grandfather's on their own. JC must save them once they become tangled in the vines. The team unintentionally finds the remains of the Indestructible, many more bronze heads, and a significant amount of gold while exhuming the great-great grandfather's remains. The mansion's guards intercept them as they get ready to leave with all the relics. The locals of the island, a crew of pirates, then show up and quickly apprehend everyone.
Coco confronts JC after unintentionally learning the true purpose of his expeditions while on the boat. The log containing about eight tonnes of gold collapses as a result. Despite this, JC and his colleagues still receive compensation for finding some of the misplaced bronze heads. The crew is furious when they learn that the allegedly-missing Dragon bronze head was actually in MP Corp's possession the entire time, making it impossible for them to get the sizable bonus.
The demonstrations against the sale of the national treasures by Coco and her fellow students, meantime, soon gain momentum and draw attention on a global scale. Three of Coco's students, including Coco's younger brother, are detained as they attempt to learn more about MP Corp. When Coco approaches JC for assistance, JC gets in touch with MP Corp to inquire about the availability of "The Roses" artefact and is given access to the secure location. JC determines the location of the hostages after touring the entire facility where nearly exact replicas of the relics are created and sold as genuine relics in auctions. He challenges a longtime foe who also happens to be present, the dishonest treasure hunter Vulture, to a duel, but it is a draw.
However, despite the fact that the Dragon bronze head is predicted to sell for the highest price at the auction, no one places a bid because of mounting pressure from activist groups. If no offers are made before 12:00 noon the next day, MP Corp threatens to toss the artefact into an active volcano under the mission name "Let the Dragon Fly" in an effort to teach these groups a lesson. Without a single bid, the time expires, and Vulture directs a team of three sky divers to hurl the artefact into the volcano. When JC steps in to prevent the relic from falling into the volcano, a fierce airborne battle results in serious injury to him. Vulture presents the relic to a slouched JC out of reverence.