It was very disgusting as Joey’s blood was smeared all over his trousers!Annoyed and furious, Jayden kicked him away and shouted sternly, “Hey, stop it, f*ck! Are you f*cking crazy? Do you really want to die? When did my car become yours?! F*ck!”Joey thought that Jayden was also one of Max’s creditors who was trying to take the car away as collateral, so he desperately rushed forward again, clinging to Jayden’s leg, and shouting, “No, this car is mine! It’s mine! You can’t take it!”Jayden was extremely agitated by now. He grabbed Joey’s collar, slapped him multiple times, and cursed, “Are you F*cking crazy? Didn’t you see that I have the key? When did my car become yours?”Joey wailed loudly, “No! This is Max’s car! He owes me six hundred thousand dollars and I want to repay my debt with this car. No, you can’t drive it away! I’ll be so dead if you do!”“Motherf*cker!” Jayden punched him on his face again and shouted, “You really are out of your f*cking mind! Listen, this is my
Finally, the whole deception unfolded in front of Joey’s eyes.As it turned out, not only was Max not as wealthy and successful as he had claimed he was but had also gotten into massive trouble.He had crashed Jayden’s Phaeton and urgently needed to compensate Jayden with a new car, so he had tricked him into investing six hundred thousand to the so-called get-rich-quick scheme that he constantly boasted about.The worst part now was that the b*stard was dead, which also meant that he wouldn’t see any of his money ever again.At this moment, his heart hurt so much. It hurt more than the physical pain he suffered.Jayden was a little relieved as Joey was not as insane as he had been earlier, and said, “So, now you know this car is mine and I can drive it without any issues, okay?”Although Jayden found Joey disdain, he knew it would be wiser for him to keep his distance away from him after seeing his crazy state.He’d seen a lot of people in the underworld after so many years, so
Then, the man turned away and walked off, ignoring him.Limping, Joey tried to catch up and cursed behind him, “Hey, b*stard, give me back my money! Hey! I’ll f*cking kill you!”“Crazy!”The man cursed, climbed onto his tow truck, and left.Joey glared furiously at the tow truck as it had gone far. He certainly couldn’t catch up with his truck and his anger was slowly replaced by deep despair again.His current main and urgent concern was how to handle the five hundred thousand dollar debt.He felt like his world was crumbling down on him.At this moment, he thought of Janice, his girlfriend. Joey was an orphan with no parents and relatives to rely on. When he and Janice became a couple, he had automatically assumed her as his only relative.Now that he encountered such a major setback and in desperation, his only hope was to see his beloved woman and anticipate the comfort and warmth she would offer him.Hence, he wiped his messy face with his shirt, limped to the community
Laying on the ground weakly, Joey stared at the taxi driver who walked towards him with his fearsome look. His arrogant expression when he threatened the driver had long diminished.He grimaced in despair and pleaded, “Boss, I just went bankrupt, I am penniless and I have a lot of debts! And I was beaten up too! Please, I really have no money to pay you, please let me go!”The driver growled furiously, “Do you think you’re the only one with a debt?! Do you think I would still drive a taxi if I were rich? Do you think that forty-five dollars is easy money? It can fill my stomach for two days, for f*ck’s sake! Hurry up and pay me!”Joey wailed in desperation, “Boss, I really have no money nor any valuables on me. Please have mercy and let me go!”“Argh, drop the act! I’ll call the police if you don’t pay up!”Joey struggled to get on his knees and cried, “Boss, I really don’t have any money even if you want to kill me right now! Please, I beg you, please let me go! Is it not enough
When he came to his girlfriend’s house, he knocked on the door but no one came to open the door.He didn’t know that Janice, his girlfriend, was in her room right now, doing the deed intimately with one of her clients who had bought fake cigarettes from her.He tried calling Janice, but she didn’t answer. He thought that she must be asleep, so he went to the flower vase beside the door and found the key.He had coincidentally discovered this secret by chance. One time, he saw Janice’s mother hiding the key under the vase. He assumed that elders tended to be forgetful, so she had placed a spare key there just in case.Thanks to her, it provided convenient access to Joey.After taking the key, Joey unlocked the door and entered the simple front yard of the house.As he approached the house, he found that the door to the house was closed but not locked, so he pushed the door open and walked in.While passing through the living room, there was suddenly an abrupt and strange noise co
Joey struggled to get up. He glared at the man and woman on the bed, his eyes fuming with extreme rage and resentment.How dare they flirt at each other right in front of him! Didn’t they feel ashamed? Did they even see his existence?!He had accumulated overwhelming negative energy today that he desperately hoped for some comfort from Janice as he was on the verge of collapse.However, before arriving at Janice’s house, he had been physically and verbally abused by the taxi driver. He even had to kneel and kowtow to him.This incident had pushed him to the very brink of collapse.Unexpectedly, a bigger bomb awaited him. He never would have imagined that his beloved woman would betray him!He went madly insane at this very moment.He no longer thought about the debts that were crushing him right now, nor the humiliation and beating he had suffered today. All he could think of was how to make the two shameless people pay the price!Thus, he crawled to the kitchen and grabbed the
Five minutes later, Joey took out his phone and dialed 911. “Hello, I want to surrender myself?”The person on the other end of the line hurriedly asked, “What happened? Why do you want to surrender?”Joey said emotionlessly, “I just killed someone…”“Where are you now? Are they dead?”“Yes!” Joey glanced at Janice again, and then slowly stated Janice’s address into the phone.Ten minutes later, two police cars and an ambulance arrived at Janice’s house almost at the same time.The police rushed in with the doctor. The police apprehended Joey and handcuffed him before allowing the doctor to check on the two victims.The doctor quickly announced that both victims were dead.The police immediately took Joey into the police car and formally arrested him.Sitting in the police car, Joey was very calm and indifferent. He knew that this was the end of his life anyway, it didn’t matter whether he lived or died.Although he didn’t show any expression on his face, his heart still hurt
Only now did Charlie know that the news was about Joey.The chat group among the orphanage friends went into a frenzy today.None of them could imagine that they had just had their reunion yesterday, and two friends from the orphanage died today.Max’s death was expected. They knew his true colors and what he did, so they didn’t feel sorry about his death.Joey’s news came like a tsunami to them. They had never thought that Joey, who had always liked to take advantage of others, would turn out to be a murderer.He killed his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s lover!Stephanie sent a tearful emoticon in the group, saying, “Why, why did Joey have to resort to this? Even if his girlfriend cheated, he shouldn’t have done something so horrendous!”Someone replied, “Sigh, although Joey is quite unlikable in person, he is quite pitiful actually. He loved his girlfriend to the moon and back, but this is how she repaid him.”“Joey killed two people, will he be executed?”“The news said th
While Jacob was feeling delighted after pulling off his con, Raymond had posted details of the bronze sculpture online.The website he was using was the biggest platform for antique collectors and the antique trade where each user could set a favorite tag in the antique category and era. If a user who preferred canvas art pieces of the Tudor dynasty set that label as their favorite, they would immediately be notified with text or desktop notifications in regards to any item with the same label.As medieval bronze sculptures were rare in the first place, most who were interested had already set that label on their favorites and were immediately notified soon after Raymond posted pictures of the bronze sculpture online.The collectors were naturally eager to check it out as gilded sculptures of the medieval era were really rare, and most collectors would go a lifetime without picking one up for their collection.On top of that, the seller had even listed a major flaw and was only ask
"Nope," Jacob chuckled. "We were both working separately and just happened to get back in at the same time."Then, he immediately became smug and excited, "Guess what, dear? I made 200 thousand out of the deal! In net profits!""For real?!" Elaine gaped. "200 thousand in just one night?! That's amazing! How did you do that?"Claire was surprised to hear that too, and she came over to ask, "What deal was it, Dad?"Jacob grinned, "Oh, it's nothing to brag about. It's just that I managed to pick up a nice antique item thanks to my wisdom and then sold it for 200 thousand."Pausing, he then sighed in dismay, "However, the buyer wasn't too rich—I would have squeezed him for 400 thousand, but he couldn't afford more, so I had to settle for less."Elaine quickly exclaimed, "Shit, we're talking about a loss of 200 thousand! People would work a year and still never earn that much…"She trailed off for a moment before asking, "By the way, dear—are we still flying out first thing tomorrow?
Jacob laughed. "Put that issue behind us? Sure, but we're not becoming friends. Hell, I can't even hold a grudge now that you're shit out of luck."Then, his tone changed sharply and suddenly became icy, "But you see, Aurous Hill is not a place you can stay just because you want to. No… After this, you're not going to be able to make a living in the antique trade.""If I were you, I'd be running a thousand miles away, far away from Aurous Hill where no one would know my face to start over. That way, you just might be able to make a living."Raymond simply kept smiling, "You need not be concerned about how I'm going to survive here, Mr. Wilson. I'd be very grateful if you'd cease any form of harassment once you leave my premises."Jacob pursed his lips, staring at Raymond in disappointment. "I'm plenty magnanimous, so I won't stoop to such pettiness. Just do whatever you like!"Clicking his tongue, he huffed, "Tut, tut… And here I'd thought you're tough, but you're just yet another
Raymond chuckled at the title, humble as ever, "The Duke of Wastage? Now, that's quite the royal title, and I don't think I deserve such an honor…"Trailing off, he then made an especially curious look, "By the way, how'd you know they were calling me that?"Seeing that he was still so ignorant, Jacob scoffed. "You bought a Renaissance-era bronze sculpture earlier, didn't you?"Raymond nodded. "I did. But technically, it's medieval and not Renaissance, along with a Renaissance-era base."Jacob clutched his stomach as he laughed, "Oh, please! Medieval? Hahaha… You're killing me, Mr. Cole!"Raymond kept a serious look on his face. "It's really medieval. Why don't you take a look?""No way," Jacob snorted, pursing his lips. "Anyway, word has already spread that someone was selling a counterfeit bronze sculpture to defraud Antique Street for some serious dough. He went first to Vintage Deluxe, but their manager, Mr. Crane, saw through it and didn't buy it… and then he came to you, an
That was why most of the collectors only knew that such an item existed but they did not know in whose possession it was.After registering a new account and paying the ten thousand registration fee, Raymond got in.It was very safe as it was anonymous, and he posted a photo of the bronze sculpture and an announcement with an asking price of twenty million.In his opinion, it wasn't that expensive—if it was still gilded, it would be worth around a hundred million. Without it, it was plenty reasonable to cut the price down to just thirty million.And Raymond was cutting another ten million off that, so twenty million was plenty reasonable.Moreover, medieval bronze sculptures were exceedingly rare, and less than one specimen showed up annually at times. Collectors who desired it would therefore be willing to break the bank for it, and that was why Raymond was sure that someone would put in an order once he posted it.As he wrote the summary of the item, someone knocked on his door
Jacob frowned in disdain. "Why would I be worried? He's no longer the manager of Vintage Deluxe, and he just lost a shit ton of money for messing up his appraisal. I am also the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, so why would I be worried about some loser who will soon be kicked out of Antique Street?"Straightening his collar, he snorted coldly, "I am now going to see Raymond Cole and humiliate him face-to-face! He thinks he's impressive, doesn't he? Let's see how he will keep up that facade!"Zachary chuckled, "Yes, exactly! People like him need to be given a slap in the face! As hard as you can! Don't worry—I'll be right behind you. If he gets physical, I'll rush in to help. If he doesn't dare to start a fight, you just insult him as much as possible!""Good plan!" Jacob nodded since he was concerned that Raymond might get physical when pushed too far.And with his body, there was no way he could beat anyone…Spreading his arms, he exclaimed, "Come! I'l
Mick inspected every video to see who was getting the most views, and he then paid out of his own pocket to use paid advertising to get the video viral.It cost five thousand and it hurt, but reaching the trending page was definitely worth it.Mick was quite shrewd too, making sure that the paid advertising was focused locally. After all, he knew all too well that five thousand didn't buy many clicks, and clicks from elsewhere might be too sporadic to gain any worthwhile attention.As he worked in Antique Street, he naturally had to come up with a plan to promote himself in this place, ideally presenting himself as a master appraiser.That way, his fame would slowly extend throughout the province and perhaps Eastern Oskia, and eventually the country.As such, focusing on Aurous Hill was the best idea.Moreover, he also had another idea—if Jasmine Moore happened to see this video, she would see him in a new light.When that happened, he could look forward to getting really rich!
Soon, the video of Mick's staged act was uploaded to the online group, and everyone eagerly watched it as soon as it was done uploading.Mick certainly set a new bar with his acting as none of them could see that it was an act.Moreover, everyone could see that the bronze sculpture looked like the real deal, and they might have been swindled if it were them.As such, they couldn't help being impressed as Mick had easily seen through Billy's con, and he was the definition of a pro in that video.No matter how Billy had packaged it, there was no tricking real experts like Mick Crane. Just a quick glance and he had seen through that it was a postmodern replica, matched with a base from the Renaissance era to misdirect and beguile.With that, many fellow antique dealers changed their opinion of Mick.After all, Vintage Deluxe's business had been declining after Mick took over as manager, and people were presuming that his skills were lacking.But now, they were all shown that he had
"Amazing, Mr. Crane!""It's Mr. Crane who shines through, in the end! His eyes see through everything!""I guess Miss Moore made the right choice firing Raymond and appointing Mr. Crane! Mr. Crane is infinitely better!"Mick was immediately thrilled to see them fawning over him, and he laughed, "You flatter me—I'm merely sharing my personal perspective on this. In this trade, anyone who knows would understand how hard it is to get the good stuff in this age of technology.""There are plenty of people who hold ulterior motives and change their tactics knowing that there are always those scheming to get their hands on vintage treasures, so they just have to make it. That is how they started making counterfeits of everything, from scrolls to sculptures to statues, each of them so real just to trick those fools who think they could get rich overnight!""Exactly!" Someone promptly agreed. "There's never a lack of any such fools, and I just happened to meet one. I had this piece of jade