Nanako asked, “Charlie-san, will I be able to see you again in the future?”Charlie nodded. “Yes. I’m shifting part of my business to Japan now, so I might come here often in the future.”“That’s great!” Nanako shrieked in delight. “Charlie-san, can you promise me one thing?”Charlie nodded. “What is it?”Nanako quickly said, “I hope you’ll let me know every time you come to Japan, and I hope you’ll allow me to meet you if it’s convenient for you!”“Also, if I go to Oskia and you happen to be available, please allow me to meet you as well, okay?”Charlie smiled. “No problem. I promise.”Nanako cheered like a little girl getting her favorite candy. “Then, I’ll be able to see you more often!”Amused by her sweet smile, Charlie’s voice turned gentler as he said with a smile, “Alright, then. Let me send you back to your room first. I’ll help you heal your injuries later.”Under the guidance of Nanako, Charlie pushed her wheelchair and sent her back to her room.Nanako’s room was
The pair of siblings, Jaime and Sophie, had been transported directly to Kyoto ever since they were brought out of Tokyo.At this time, the pair of siblings were imprisoned in a house less than two kilometers away from this place. A few ninjas from the Iga family were in charge of guarding and keeping an eye on them.They were all waiting for Yoshito’s order. If Yoshito gave them the order to take action, then they would kill the brother and sister immediately before secretly transporting their dead bodies to the Ito family mansion.However, before Yoshito issued any orders to them, they would have to keep the pair of siblings alive. Otherwise, it would not be convenient for them to transport and smuggle their dead bodies into the Ito family mansion if their bodies were to turn stiff after they had already died for quite some time.The ninjas from the Iga family were the best at assassination. In their experience, the most convenient time for a person to move a corpse was within
Charlie turned around before he smiled and said softly, “Don’t worry. I will be back soon.”After he was done speaking, Charlie stepped out of Nanako’s boudoir and disappeared into the snowy night.***The Iga ninja who had come to scout the place was running at full speed in the night under the snowstorm.He moved very quickly and swiftly, almost like an elusive ghost under the cover of night.However, he would never have expected that a super powerful and capable master who was a hundred times stronger than him would be following right behind him. This super powerful and capable master was none other than Charlie.The Iga ninja ran for two kilometers without stopping. After that, he finally stopped in front of the entrance of a courtyard. He subsequently arrived at the courtyard’s simple door before he knocked on the door four times, using two slow knocks and two quick knocks. The door was opened slightly from the inside and the gap was only small enough for one person to pass
Charlie recognized Sophie immediately as soon as the gunny sack was removed.He could not help but curse silently in his heart: “Isn’t this the woman the same woman who was sitting in the Rolls-Royce with Eikichi that night? She had even argued with me when I was teaching Eikichi a lesson. Unexpectedly, she has actually been kidnapped and brought all the way here. Moreover, it seems as though these people are going to kill her before blaming her death on Yahiko. It looks like this woman does not come from an ordinary background!”At this time, Sophie’s mouth was gagged as there was a towel stuff into her mouth. So, even if she continued whimpering for a long time, she could not really say anything at all.So, the ninja in charge stretched out his hand before he pulled the towel out of her mouth. After that, he said coldly, “I will give you one chance. Just say whatever you want to say then.”Sophie was terrified and her eyes were filled with horror. However, she forced herself to c
The Iga ninja immediately replied, “Okay, Mr. Matsumoto. We will be waiting for your instructions at all times!”Yoshito sneered before he said, “By the way, the family members of the two people that you’ve kidnapped have already arrived in Tokyo. So, I hope that you will make the two of them suffer an even more tragic death. It would be perfect if the scene where their corpses are found looks very tragic and horrifying when the police officers eventually find their bodies. The more gruesome their deaths, the angrier their family members would be. This matter would start to get even more interesting then!”The Iga ninja hurriedly replied, “Don’t worry. You can rest assured that we will certainly do as you ask!”Yoshito said, “I heard that the young lady is also quite beautiful. All of you can just assault and abuse her before killing her. If her family members see that she has been assaulted and abused, then they would certainly hate Yahiko to death!”When the Iga ninja heard this,
When Charlie’s voice suddenly rang out, the group of ninjas who were all so well-trained were all startled by his voice!None of them would have expected that they, who were the best at secretly tailing others, would actually be tailed by someone too!Furthermore, before this person spoke up, none of them had noticed his existence at all!Jonin, the ninja in charge, immediately drew his ninjato in an instant. After that, he looked around his surroundings vigilantly before he asked in a nervous voice, “Who is there? Come out now!”At this time, Charlie leaped down from the wall before he entered the room by breaking through the glass window directly. There were many broken glass shards scattered on the floor at this time.Sophie was shocked as soon as she saw Charlie!She really could not believe that someone would actually come and rescue her at a time like this. Furthermore, she really could not believe that the person who would come and rescue her was none other than the Oskian
However, the person that they had met this time was Charlie!The expression on Charlie’s face did not change at this time. He simply rubbed his toes gently against the ground. A triangular piece of broken glass suddenly bounced up from the ground as it flew directly towards Jonin at a very fast speed!In the blink of an eye, Charlie had lifted another piece of glass as he shot it in the exact same direction again!When Jonin was rushing directly at Charlie, he suddenly noticed two pieces of crystal-clear objects which were refracting the colorful spectrum of light passing through his peripheral vision in an instant, like two meteors one after the other!Before he even had time to figure out what it was, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his right wrist, which was holding the ninjato!In the blink of an eye, he suddenly felt the same pain on his left wrist!After that, he suddenly felt that he had already lost strength in both of his hands. The ninjato slipped from his palm before
Charlie’s words made everyone feel even more terrified at this time!They suddenly realized that Charlie had just kicked two pieces of broken glass with his toes just now, and he had directly and accurately cut off both of the veins in Jonin’s wrist just like that!It was not that difficult to kick a flying piece of glass shard. It was not even that difficult to hurt someone with a piece of flying glass shard.However, what was difficult was that it should be completely impossible to accurately cut off a person’s vein on both of his wrists using a flying piece of glass shard!Moreover, Jonin was not simply standing in place to allow his opponent to attack him. Instead, he had been rushing directly towards Charlie. It was really unbelievable and incredible for Charlie to be able to cut off Jonin’s veins from both of his wrists directly when Jonin was moving at such an incredibly fast speed!Furthermore, Charlie could completely subdue Jonin using just one hand. This ability was s
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
In groups like these, any gossip would immediately spread like wildfire as people share everything here with their other circles.Within minutes of these people's good work, Antique Street was abuzz even as the skies darkened: one of the antique traders had been swindled for 300 thousand, and it was Raymond Cole—the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe at that!Some of them wondered when Raymond had actually returned while others were laughing.He was supposed to be the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe, but he had messed up as well? You had to be kidding!Many were dumbstruck too—how would Raymond survive in Antique Street after losing so much money? It had been so long since such a major scam had been pulled!As such, all the antique dealers were asking one question: how did Raymond Cole get fooled?Meanwhile, Mick didn't leak the security footage right away, instead sending his people out to spread the news in other channels, claiming that Raymond thought he had won big by
Mick had already clipped the security footage and was waiting for Zachary's word.He had checked the footage repeatedly as well and was only getting more impressed with his masterful acting by the second. He looked just like a maestro, and every detail he mentioned was flawless and showed experience.Zacahry even said that Raymond had truly slipped up with that bronze sculpture, leaving him endlessly thrilled.The proverbial missing piece of the puzzle was here!Hence, calling all the staff he trusted, he told them excitedly, "Spread the word right away—Raymond Cole slipped up, spending 300 thousand on a fake Renaissance-era bronze sculpture!"His staff had no idea of the conspiracy involved, only that Mick had said that someone had tried to sell a counterfeit bronze sculpture but he had seen through it right away and chased him away, only for Raymond to end up buying the fake bronze sculpture soon after.Someone asked, "Mr. Crane, don't you think Raymond Cole bought from the man
Raymond had said everything he should and shouldn't and with complete sincerity exactly because Billy would never believe it.As Billy just wanted to swindle him, it didn't matter how sincere Raymond was—he wanted the 300 thousand whatever it took. The key here was that Billy had refused a better prospect when told it was possible, and there was evidence that would support Raymond if either he or Zachary realized the truth and came to start trouble.That meant Raymond had nothing to worry about—they could take this to the United Nations but he'd still win this case.Having been in the antique trade for so long, he had seen every form of oddity and was always cautious with people, considering every aspect of any issue.Hence, once he downloaded the security footage to his phone, Raymond decided that he needed to sell the bronze sculpture—not because he was in urgent need of money, but because he realized that there were those who wanted him out of Aurous Hill's Antique Street.Afte