It was no surprise that the driver got spooked. All along the way, there wasn’t a single person in sight and now, in the middle of the night, there was a person standing in the middle of the road. It was indeed a frightening experience.Emiliano was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at the person on the road who was slowly making his way towards them.Unconsciously, words came out of Emiliano’s mouth, “It…it is indeed a human!”The person standing outside looked very young. He wore a smile on his face and a simple flowy tunic. Both arms were folded at his back and with a laidback expression. His appearance didn't seem to fit his icy cold surroundings at all.This person was no other than Charlie Wade!At the same time, Isaac and his group of people were about ten meters behind him, hiding in the cloak of darkness.Charlie had told them beforehand to just watch and not expose themselves.As the driver saw Charlie’s face, he spoke in an anxious tone, “Bro, this weird person who is st
As he ended his sentence, his legs moved as swiftly as the wind. On the spur of the moment, he was already closing in onto Charlie. His fist, which was bigger than a bowl, was already raised in front of him!With years of intense training and a lifetime of cultivation, all his blood and sweat was used to pave the way for his supreme pair of fists. With a single punch, he could destroy rocks which were a few meters thick. Not just any normal human being could take his punches and live to tell the tale.As for Charlie, he had already seen through his fighting style with a single glance.It was nothing but fist throwing. Although his fist was hardened, it was still just recklessly throwing punches. Compared to Charlie, he was nothing but a gecko on a tree.Therefore, he just stood there and didn’t even bother dodging nor avoiding the fists. He was just taking the Iron Fist head on with a despicable smile on his face.Hades Li was baffled by his absurdity. To look down upon him so muc
Emiliano was so stunned watching Hades’s instant defeat that he froze as if he had been struck by lightning!Although he was a little stronger than Hades in terms of martial arts skills, his fists were very much inferior to Hades’s Iron Fists.After all, Hades spent decades focusing solely on enhancing and improving the strength of his Iron Fists to the point that there was no opponent in the world whose punches were on par with his, but who would have thought that a young man in his twenties would shatter his fist and arm with a single punch…It was an extremely and devastatingly powerful strength they had never witnessed before!Emiliano was mortified!It seemed that this kid by the name of Charlie was truly no ordinary person!Today, the eight of them would have to face an intense battle!Meanwhile, Isaac and the rest were equally startled!None of them had ever thought that Charlie would actually be so powerful! It was beyond imaginable!The enemy Charlie was facing was a
Charlie had met several opponents on metaphysics, but no matter how accomplished they were, they were no match to his Thunder Order.As for the Butcher Brothers, they were nothing more than low-life thugs who committed crimes that were not even worth mentioning.However, The Big Eight was an interesting challenger.If Hades was to throw his Iron Fist on Jack Yaleman, his head would have exploded with just a single punch.The Butcher Brothers might not even have combated one round with him before they were defeated and killed with the punch.Regardless, Hades Li’s Iron Fists were still too lame in Charlie’s eyes.He was burning with excitement and intrigue as the seven of them decided to join forces and come at him together!Emiliano took the lead!His seven brothers followed behind him closely and stood in the respective formation, preparing to kill Charlie.Emiliano stood in front of Charlie. He gathered all the power from his core to his palms before making a leap and pushin
Emiliano did not know who he had gone up against!At first, Charlie stood as still as a mountain, then, he simply lifted his palm to counter his vigorous attack. Emiliano thought that the kid had underestimated him by not putting up much effort to handle his attack and he would definitely be defeated with a single blow.However, just when his palm met Charlie’s, Emiliano realized that instead of forcing Charlie to retreat in the slightest, an enormous amount of energy bounced back from Charlie’s palm that instantly shattered his right arm like a wrecking ball directly smashing into him!He had never thought that he would meet the same fate as Hades!His right arm had turned into a large pile of mess, yet he couldn’t care less about the severe injury as the enormous energy exploded a tremendous shock wave like a nuclear bomb that sent him flying a few meters away!Emiliano was carried away by the forceful projectile while trying to stop himself with his legs gripping the snow with
The Big Eight were astonished and bewildered when Charlie could defeat the seven of them with a single palm strike!What kind of incredible power did he possess to be able to execute such a threatening strength?Even the most advanced master in the world could not possess such a level of force!The Big Eight were no ordinary people. When they worked together and combined their strength, they would have an extraordinary combination of forces.Even so, the total strength of The Big Eight was nothing more than a punch and a palm strike by Charlie.Emiliano got up weakly and blurted out, “Who are you? What do you come from? Who is your master?”Charlie smirked disdainfully. “I don’t belong to anywhere or anyone, I am my own master. Why? Are you not convinced?”Emiliano gulped in shock and said, sounding rather anxious, “I’m convinced! I am absolutely convinced by your power! Master Wade, you are the true master in the world and as a fellow martial artist, you must be aware that it i
Nonetheless, though Charlie was young, he wasn’t a fool.Emiliano thought that he had managed to convince him, but on the contrary, Charlie had been cautious and vigilant against the eight men in front of him from the beginning.As far as Charlie was concerned, he never wanted to subdue these eight men for his own use for a simple reason—he looked down on them.With their level of power and strength, what could they possibly do for him even if they worshipped him as their master?They were nothing more than a pack of feisty and feral dogs that he couldn’t care less about.However, with a playful smile on his face, he walked to stand in front of The Big Eight and said, “So, do you really want to worship me as your master?”Emiliano took the lead while the rest followed, “Yes! We’ll be your slaves forever!”Charlie nodded and asked with a smile, “What if I refuse?”“Uh…”Emiliano and the rest were dumbfounded. None of them had expected such a reply from Charlie.‘What the hell?
Emiliano could not apprehend what was going on! Charlie didn’t do anything to stop the attack, but why couldn’t he stab him?There seemed to be an invisible power that was shielding Charlie from his attack—what was it?!As a martial artist, he had practiced martial arts to the extreme but they did not know what real magical power was! How could he possibly know that there was a kind of power that could be transmitted without using any parts of the body that was called Reiki!Jack Yaleman was the best example. As a metaphysical master, he knew about the voodoo power and could control the corpse worm, but he didn’t know about another magical power in the world that could summon thunder from the sky.Therefore, it was never strength that defeated a person, but ignorance and arrogance!It was Emiliano’s arrogance that assumed he had found Charlie’s weak spot and thought that he could kill Charlie with a single blow!And now, he must pay for his arrogance!Charlie smiled coldly, lift
As Zachary agreed to do a favor for Vintage Deluxe's Mick Crane in passing, he and Jacob agreed to meet up at 7pm at the car park by Antique Street.He first took Jacob back to the Calligraphy and Painting Association and called Billy, one of his boys whom he thought was smarter than the rest, giving him the gist of the plan and telling him to familiarize himself with the script.Then, he took the sculpture back to Heaven Springs and met up with Billy in office, telling Billy what to do in finer detail and making sure he committed everything to memory.Zachary's strength as a judge of character certainly proved itself—Billy had never done anything like this before, but he took to the plan like fish to water. He committed the script to memory soon enough, and he was flawless.Once he made sure that Billy was fine, Zachary called Mick.As soon as Mick answered, he immediately asked, "Hello, Mr. Evans. How is that thing we talked about going?"Zachary chuckled. All the arrangements
Zachary continued, "Why do you think casinos are always making a profit? It's exactly because no matter how unassuming a guest is the first time, they would be allowed to win a couple of hands, making a little profit.""And suddenly, they would think that they are the chosen one, destined to win against all odds and always come out triumphant! Once such radical, blind confidence hits them, every last bit of his money would be lost to the casino!""At that point, you can get anything from them—their house, their wife, their children… hell, they'd be willing to die if you'd just let them gamble again!"Turning toward Jacob with a grin, Zachary then asked, "So, with all the points I made and that sculpture you're holding… Do you still think Raymond wouldn't fall for it?"Jacob laughed out loud. "Oh, talk about a plan within a plan! No one would ever see it coming! Raymond Cole is so screwed!"Zachary smiled and nodded. "That's why there's no reason to rush—I'll arrange a man to get r
As soon as they drove out of the village, Jacob asked Zachary eagerly, "So, when do you think we should make our move? I can't wait!"Zachary didn't hesitate, "Let's do it today. It's better than waiting! I'll get someone reliable to bring this to Treasure Measure and get him interested. I'm sure that since he has just returned to Antique Street, he'll need a hot deal to generate hype and make himself known. That's why I'm sure he'll take this sculpture."Jacob nodded repeatedly as he chuckled. "I think so too. Today is definitely best since I'll be going to Dubai soon and probably leaving once I'm done with this. Once you get this settled by the end of today, I'll get tickets for the flight tomorrow!"Zachary grinned. "Don't worry, chief. We will definitely get it settled today…"He trailed off for a moment before continuing, "Still, you should be a little patient. We should do this in the evening—at the second just before Raymond Cole closes shop.""But why?" Jacob asked in curi
Jacob was naturally gleeful that he could get the late medieval bronze sculpture along with its base. Right after he wired the agreed upon ninety-eight grand to Mr. Cardensky, he was already imagining how Raymond would buy it from him for several hundred grand.On the other hand, once Mr. Cardensky received the transfer, he saw the name on the account: Jacob Wilson.He was left perplexed—wasn't that man's last name Montague? Who was this Jacob Wilson?Still, he didn't worry about it too much since most antique hustlers preferred to work with anonymity and therefore, using a different name was perfectly normal.He then carefully wrapped up the bronze sculpture before passing it Jacob, asking politely, "Would you happen to have any other requests, Mr. Montague? I have plenty of other items here if you'd permit me to give an introduction."Jacob shook his head, "Just this sculpture will do. I'm not fully confident in your work either since this is our first deal, so I'm just trying i
Jacob asked, "Then, what would this sculpture be worth if it was genuine?"Mr. Cardensky thought about it. "Well, there are standards when it comes to Renaissance relics, but with something this exquisite, it'd definitely be auctionable for one or two million—and that's the conservative estimate.""How much would you sell it to me for?" Jacob then asked."Thirty percent of the market price," Mr. Cardensky quickly replied. "As I've said, the conservative estimate for this one is around one to two million, so we will set the price with the median estimate value at 1.5 million. And thirty percent means 450 grand."Jacob shook his head right away. "No, no, no… that's too expensive. What if I end up unable to sell it, on top of that?"In his mind, while he could barely accept that pricing, he still needed Raymond to be able to afford it if he wanted to swindle Raymond for twice the money.Mr. Cardensky quickly chuckled, "Oh, Mr. Montague—now you're being too serious. In this business,
"Okay!"Mr. Cardensky smiled and pointed at a nearby farmyard. "There's our workshop—the good stuff is all in there. Allow me to take you there!"The farmyard seemed uninteresting at first glance, but Mr. Cardensky soon led them to the stables and brushed off the straws covering the floor, revealing a plank laid flat on the ground.Mr. Cardensky then lifted it, revealing a passage below—they had dug a cellar into the ground beneath, with the stables as an entry point.As Jacob followed Mr. Cardensky down the cellar, he exclaimed in awe, "Your operation is definitely big, digging such a huge cellar!"Mr. Cardensky smiled humbly. "Anyone working in the business would have sustained their losses before. In the end, we're all folk of humble origins, starting out with raiding tombs or excavating artifacts. Just digging a cellar is really nothing."As they conversed, they cleared the stairs and arrived at the main hall.It was certainly a hall as it was around a hundred square meters,
Zachary nodded repeatedly. "Mr. Montague? Very well!""Yes!" Jacob grinned smugly. "Longer last names are simply better—it just sounds so authoritative."With that agreed upon, both men alighted, where the master was waiting nearby.Seeing them get off, he hurried over to them, smiling, "Please, follow me."Zachary looked around and huffed, "Honestly, Mr. Cardensky, isn't this way too far from the highway? The road is narrow and terrible, and I have to park my car all the way out here. Just coming here is taxing."Mr. Cardensky smiled in turn. "My friend, that's exactly why we picked this place. Do you remember seeing a couple of cars parked by the road, occupying half of it?""We arranged for them to be there. Anyone coming by car would have to slow down that way, buying time for us to see who they truly are. If it's cops, our watchers would quietly text us while we clean the house and bail."Zachary exclaimed in realization, "You boys really run a tight ship!""For sure," Mr.
After working in Antique Street for years, Zachary's connections and influence were naturally special. And yet, though he was acquainted with some of the more impressive individuals, he was not that close with them either.For example, the forgery masters who worked specifically to deceive experts only accepted jobs from major clients, usually antique traders high in social status and wealth.In contrast, they wouldn't ever be interested in frivolous people like Zachary. Even if he could reach them, they might not look at him twice.If one would describe them as the cartel boss, then Zachary would be a low-level enforcer, managing night joints or goofing off.But now, Zachary had turned over a new leaf—he worked under Don Albert, so one of those masters was pleasantly surprised when he called one of them, inviting him to his own workshop for a visit and further discussion.As such, Zachary picked up Jacob and went over to the master's hideout where the latter worked on his count
Zachary was naturally shrewd enough to read Jacob's intention.In reality, he wasn't offering to pay just because he wanted the profit. He merely wanted to get in Jacob's good graces. After all, wouldn't Jacob be even more grateful that he wasn't just helping his revenge but also helping him make money?As such, he didn't hesitate to tell Jacob, "Well, chief—since you'll be paying, I will make sure that you will get every cent of profit that you deserve."Jacob was grinning ear-to-ear, but he said, "Oh, you don't have to! If we really are making a profit, there's no way I would let your good work go unrewarded!"Spreading his arms, he continued generously, "How about this? I will pay the full cost while you get twenty percent of the net profit!"Zachary laughed. "Now, that can wait, chief. We need to pay as soon as we decide on the item we want, and there's no time for buyer's regret. But if Raymond doesn't take the bait, all that money will go down the drain, and whether we can s