The figure was the Takahashi family’s ninjutsu master, Fujibayashi Masatetsu.When Machi knew that he happened to be at Aman Hotel, he had asked him to spy on Jaime. As Party A and Party B were about to start negotiations on collaborations, it was best if they could know the other party’s bottom line and low prices in advance.Just like in a poker game, showing your hand was the worst thing to happen in a business negotiation. If you knew the other players’ cards when you were playing poker with them, you would never lose, and you would be able to get out of the game early if you had lousy cards.If you knew the other players’ cards, you would never be swindled, and you could see right through them if they were holding a small hand.The reason why you couldn’t make the most out of the game even though you had the biggest hand was that you couldn’t guess the other players’ cards, and you were not strong enough psychologically, thus, you would be scared by the players’ bloodlust an
As Takahashi Machi finally made his decision, Eikichi’s operation had also been completed.Seeing his son who had both his arms cast in plaster being pushed out of the operating room by the doctor, Machi felt a tug in his heart.At this moment, he was filled with rage and wanted to smash the face of the b*stard who had injured his son.But after contemplating carefully, he realized that the most important thing to do now was to get the cooperation of the Schulz family. Otherwise, if the Schulz family were to decide to collaborate with the Ito family, then his family would be in big trouble.Due to this, Machi couldn’t bring himself to cause any trouble. Thus, he could only be patient and bear with it.Fortunately, Fujibayashi Masatetsu had found the target and was currently on the lookout. He was eyeing him like a hawk! The probability of the target escaping was close to null and if he wanted him dead, it’s only a matter of time.Takahashi Eikichi, who was still under the influen
He was afraid that even killing Charlie wouldn’t help him restore his dignity. After all, the horrifying beating which he had endured was already known to every Japanese in Japan. It was already rooted deeply within the hearts of the people.Machi’s expression turned sour and he was thinking of ways to comfort his son. During that moment, his cell phone rang.Machi took out his cell phone and saw an unfamiliar number. He pressed on the answer button and answered the call.From the other side of the call, a familiar voice rang. It was Ito Yahiko!“Oh, Brother Machi! I heard that Eikichi was beaten up by someone in Tokyo today?”Yahiko’s voice seemed to be somewhat concerned at first but anyone with a brain could have figured out that it was actually sarcasm.Machi replied with a blackened face. “Yahiko, I remember saving your number. Did you change it?”“No.” Tahiko replied with a cheerful tone. “My number is still the same. This is my personal assistant’s cell phone. I was afrai
For so many years, Machi and Yahiko merely had friendly rivalry with one another. It could be said that in those years, the two of them only saw each other as their biggest competitors.However, both of them were only around their early fifties. They grew up in the post-war period where Japan was at its weakest, most fragile moment. It was an era where people had no vision and self-esteem. They grew up during the peaceful moments and thus, there was no longer the viciousness and wickedness that their predecessors once had in their blood.That was why after competing with one another for so many years, their main motive for competition was only for business advancements. They had never had the intention of killing their opponents.It was like Alibaba and Tencent company bosses. Despite their competition being very fiery, they still abided by the laws and regulations.No matter how upset they were with one another, they will still try to remain as polite and rule-abiding as possible.
That night, the four of them took shifts monitoring. The shift was split into two and for each shift, two people would be monitoring while the other two would rest. Each person would be working for four hours to ensure that the rest of them got enough rest.They thought that their plan was perfect but they had no idea that everything had all been planned by Charlie.Till now, Charlie hadn’t taken any actions because he didn’t want to tip off the enemy. Additionally, he wanted to proceed more flexibly as things unfolded.The main reason as to why he was not interested in dealing with these ninjas in Tokyo was because he didn’t want the Takahashi family to be on his tail since he would be travelling to several other cities as well. If he were to kill off the ninjas, the Takahashi family would definitely watch him like a hawk, which would cause more problems in the future.Instead of all these unnecessary problems, it would be better to just let these four ninjas follow him. When the
The moment Sophie heard the words that were spoken by Machi, she couldn’t help but raise her brow.In her heart she couldn’t help but feel suspicious.Yesterday, Father just had a conference to collaborate with one of their families to eradicate the other family. Why would the Takahashi family suddenly offer the idea of collaborating with us to eradicate the Ito family today?! Did Takahashi Machi eavesdrop on the three-way conversation?Sophie felt that maybe her hypothesis might not be too far-fetched.In her mind, she thought.Yesterday, before they entered the hotel, the bodyguards had already made a thorough inspection. It was confirmed that the room had no eavesdropping bugs nor any recorders. Nevertheless, this is Tokyo. This is the Takahashi family’s area. If he wants to eavesdrop on my brother and I, then it shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off…Jaime too felt suspicious, wondering if Machi had eavesdropped on them.However, due to Machi’s presence, Jaime couldn’t disc
Isaac had booked the best hotel in Nagoya for everyone.Charlie could also sense that the four ninjas who had been following him had followed him to the hotel.After Charlie had checked in, Fujibayashi Masatetsu, who was the leader of the ninjas, brought the other three to the front desk of the hotel.They booked two rooms on the same floor as Charlie.Moreover, they were very clever to reserve four different rooms. These four rooms were next to the two elevators and the emergency staircase.Due to the fact that Japan was an earthquake prone country, their hotel designs therefore revolved around the concept to ease the escape of the people in case such a natural disaster were to occur.Two emergency escape staircases in a single building was not something one can find elsewhere.They had purposely chosen these locations to monitor Charlie’s every move. This really helped ease the monitoring process.As to why they did not book the rooms surrounding Charlie’s, that was mainly du
The main reason why Charlie wanted to leave Isaac and Albert’s group was so he could operate by himself. He wanted to test out the ninja who was tracking him. He wanted to know how strong the ninja who had been tailing him all this while was.Moreover, he knew very well that the other party had followed him to the hotel and he was able to theorize that the opponent would have the mindset that since Charlie had checked into the hotel, he would definitely return to the hotel. Therefore, they would not track him down with all four men.It was not that Charlie was afraid of being surrounded by the group. Instead, to Charlie, it seemed like Mr. Takahashi might be lacking in manpower since only four of them had followed him all the way from Tokyo. If he were to sweep all of them under the rug, then the rest of his days in Japan would be very boring.Therefore, Charlie was hoping for them to separate so he could take them out one by one.Only by taking them out individually like this woul
Horrified, Jacob promptly grasped the steering wheel and brought the Cullinan back under control while not hesitating to snap, "Are you crazy?! We're on the highway—that could have killed the both of us!"However, Elaine ignored him and seized the moment to open the armrest box, pulling out the large white envelope.As she opened it, she muttered, "So, it really was a wedding invitation… You really are a terrible friend, Jacob Wilson, hiding a wedding invitation like this! What's the point? Just look at that nervous face of yours—would I suspect you of having an affair with the bride-to-be?"She flipped open the card and was experienced enough to check the names first while disregarding the usual preamble. She wouldn't care about the venue or the time either, focusing solely on the professor who had somehow made Jacob very nervous.That was how Elaine found the names in less than a second: Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall.Matilda?!The name could well be knives stabbing Elaine in th
Jacob's brain blanked out, leaving only a dull hum as soon as Walker mentioned 'Professor Hall'.Already feeling nervous in the first place, he quickly said, "Okay, okay—I got it. Anyway, I'm hanging up if there's nothing else!"With that, he promptly pressed the button to hang up.Nonetheless, Elaine was soon asking in curiosity, "Who's Professor Hall?"If Jacob had any semblance of composure, he would have said 'a colleague at Senior University' as if it was perfectly natural, and the matter would have been forgotten.But the reality was that he didn't—in fact, he was the champion when it came to dropping the ball as a casual question from Elaine left him sweating all over his brow.Even as he slid nervous glances at her face, he stammered uncontrollably, "N-Nobody…"Elaine promptly noticed his strange reaction and frowned. "I'm talking about Professor Hall. What do you mean, nobody? Who are they? And what's this about an invitation? Inviting you for what?"Seeing that he was
Jacob had really had too much to drink and couldn't remember the later parts of what had happened last night—even how he had gotten home was a blur.Naturally, he also forgot that Walker had brought Matilda's wedding invitation, and therefore didn't hesitate to answer the in-car answer button.Over the phone, Walker was positively fawning as he asked, "Mr. Wilson? It's Walker. Why didn't you come in today? Had too much to drink last night?""Uh-huh," Jacob grunted, lethargic. "I did—my head still hurts now… Anyway, what's up? Trouble at the association?""No, of course not," Walker quickly said. "I was just worried you're still hungover, so I called to ask. If you need a driver or anything, you just need to ask!"Then, before Jacob could answer, he continued, "By the way, my wife is somewhat knowledgable in Oskian medicine, and she has recipes for brews that cure hangovers and nourish the liver. I'm sure you'll need the latter since you're always drinking at social events, so I as
Fortunately, Elaine and Jacob's bickering never escalated.Even though Elaine was winning, Jacob found it tolerable.After Jacob finished his lunch and cleaned up, he never looked up as he said, "Charlie sent a text, saying Claire's flight would touch down earlier at three. We will leave at two."Elaine grumbled. "Why leave so early? She's coming back from abroad, and there'd be checkpoints she has to clear—she'd be lucky if she could leave by half past three. I'm sleeping a few winks now, and we'll leave at half past two."As she left the dining room, she didn't even look back as she said, "Clean up for me too."Jacob had a million complaints but said nothing as he kept his head down, throwing Elaine's lunchbox in the trash can as well.With Elaine gone, he sat on the couch as her hangover slowly cleared while his mood soured with the lack of alcohol.In the end, the pleasure of being fawned over at the Diamond Room was but temporary—the pain of his beloved leaving with someone
Vera kept her plan to investigate the identity of the abbess deep in her mind and told Charlie nothing.Instead, she smiled as she said, "It seems that it's both yours and Ms. Ito's good fortune that she has attained enlightenment. You've never had anyone who could attain enlightenment and master Reiki at the same time, so Ms. Ito will definitely be a great help to you in the future."Charlie chuckled and said calmly, "I'm not hoping for her to help. I'm simply happy for her with her enlightenment and excited to have another comrade in my solo ventures into the dark forests."Vera nodded in understanding, and she murmured emotionally, "I've lived for so long, and it's only when I opened my heart to you that I felt that sensation you described."There was a flicker of wistfulness in her eyes.She really did not expect to attain enlightenment before meeting Charlie.Years ago, she thought that she would eventually avenge her father.Now, she no longer hoped to murder Fleur Griffi
Vera was inwardly disappointed to hear that Claire was returning.That meant there were fewer chances of Charlie visiting the Scarlet Pinnacle Manor, as were her chances of seeing him again.Still, she didn't let it show, instead asking casually, "How are things at Champs Elys? Are the warriors improving at a rate to your satisfaction?""Well, most of everyone's improvement is within expectations…" Charlie explained, just as he remembered a certain someone. "By the way, there's something I haven't told you yet. Are you perhaps acquainted with the name Ito Nanako?""Yes," Vera smiled. "The Japanese lady who was with you. What about her?""She attained enlightenment days ago.""Enlightenment?" Vera did a double take and soon pressed, "Enlightenment in what sense? Essential Qi or Reiki?"After all, the former was the path to enlightenment in martial arts, while the latter meant enlightenment in cultivation.But despite the distinction between both domains, enlightenment was a comm
While Charlie had long since gotten used to Elaine and Jacob's bizarre marriage, being near the heart of the storm still took a toll on his senses—to the point that he felt physically sick.Leaving right away was therefore his best solution.Once he left, however, he realized he didn't have anywhere to go. Champs Elys was quite far, and it would take a lot of time.As he started to feel bored stiff, he remembered Vera for some reason and called her.Once Vera answered, she quickly asked in curiosity, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Lunch, perhaps?"Charlie chuckled. "Since you've put it that way… I haven't eaten either, so lunch it is!"Vera giggled. "Come over to my place, then. It's cold outside, and I was just lighting up a hot pot. I'll have Madam Marilyn prepare an additional portion.""Okay!" Charlie agreed to it without hesitation. "I can return her car too. Just wait, I'll be right there!"Once he hung up, he got on the Rolls Roycs he had borrowed from Scarlet Pinnacl
Charlie shook his head. "It's alright, Dad. You can go ahead if you're busy—I can pick up Claire on my own.""No way!" Elaine promptly snapped. "It's been so long since she came back. We are all going to the airport!"Jacob sighed in exasperation. "Well, I'm sticking to my schedule—first the Calligraphy and Painting Association, then I'll be back an hour before to pick you guys up before going together to the airport."Elaine was left fuming. "Is there no getting through to you? You really have to go to that stupid association, don't you? Okay, fine. If you must go, I will be going with you!""You're their honored vice president who will be promoted to president soon, no? As Mrs. Vice President and the future Mrs. President, is there an issue if I went for a look?"Jacob shuddered at the thought of Elaine going to the Calligraphy and Painting Association as he absolutely didn't want her to humiliate him with her antics. People would talk, asking how a proper gentleman like him c
Jacob yawned, stretching his arms and smacking his cheeks, before finally retorting in contempt, "For Pete's sake, woman—don't make dissing me a habit. Or does it please you so much?"Elaine pursed her lips. "You call that dissing? It's all facts—do you think I don't know you? Tell me, what qualifications do you have? Your knowledge about calligraphy is skin-deep, and even the frauds working on Antique Street could beat you.""Only you would have the audacity to take the role of vice president at the Calligraphy and Painting Association—heaven's above, how blind is the president to appoint you as his second fiddle? Still, you'll be packing your things as soon as he realizes the truth.""Oh, Elaine, poor Elaine…" Jacob grinned smugly at her right then. "I'm afraid things won't go the way you want. Mr. Bay's been chasing a promotion lately, and once he gets it, I will take his place as president. That means I'll be the top dog instead of second fiddle!""Bullshit!" Elaine snapped in