Rosalie dodged his glances, not daring to answer him for fear that he would notice something.She was afraid that Charlie would find out that she was Sheldon’s illegitimate daughter. If that happened, he might not only use her as a bargaining chip to threaten her father and the Schulz family, but he might even expose her to the public.Although she hoped that Sheldon could announce to the world that she was his daughter, she also knew that by doing so, it would jeopardize his reputation as the eldest son of the Schulz family, a husband to a lawfully wedded wife, a father to a pair of children, bringing a negative impact on his family’s happiness.Rosalie only wanted to share her father’s worries and burdens and never once thought of giving him trouble, so, deep inside her, she was terrified that Charlie would notice any peculiarity.Sensing her dodging his gaze and keeping her mouth shut at the same time, Charlie felt that something was amiss and said, “You are now the number one f
Charlie simply made speculation and observed Rosalie’s reaction while he was at it, and unexpectedly, as soon as he said it, she trembled uncontrollably.At this moment, Charlie was absolutely certain that he had guessed correctly.Rosalie was indeed Sheldon’s illegitimate daughter!No wonder!No wonder the Schulz family was willing to spend so much effort to rescue her from the Japanese judiciary!It was because this girl was Sheldon’s daughter!This was getting more and more interesting!Rosalie was bewildered at this moment!She didn’t expect that this man would be able to guess her true identity in such a short time!There were only two people in the entire Schulz family who knew about her identity, and that was her father, Sheldon, and her grandfather, Cadfan!Even Sophie and Jaime didn’t know that she, who had been their bodyguard, was actually their sister!Of course, Sheldon’s wife did not know this fact as well.Rosalie was afraid that Charlie would expose this mat
Rosalie was rendered speechless as Charlie questioned her.She had been brainwashed ever since she was a child, which explained the ultimate devotion she had toward the Schulz family. Due to such upbringing, she firmly believed that she should give her all for them and her father, even if she had to die for it.But of course, she couldn’t say this to Charlie, so she continued to beg Charlie, “Sir, I’ve lived a short life, but I have hardly ever begged anyone. Today, I beg you, please just kill me. Stop torturing me. Please…”Charlie shook his head and said indifferently, “No can do. I’m sorry, you can’t die now!”***Meanwhile, in the cockpit of another vessel, the captain and deck crews were dumbfounded by the scene!They couldn’t comprehend why Rosalie had stood still as if a spell had been cast on her after striking Charlie once!Moreover, she was nodding, shaking her head, and crying out in agony. This scene was rather odd and mystifying to the people on board.The captain
At such a close distance, the power of the heavy-duty compound crossbow was enough to penetrate a human skull.Also, Mr. Good was a top assassin who was extremely good at using a crossbow as his weapon, so he had absolute certainty that he could kill Charlie with a single blow.He had been working as an assassin for fifteen years and had never failed to kill his target with a crossbow. In the blink of an eye, he aimed the crossbow at Charlie and pulled the trigger without any hesitation!The bowstring produced a crisp buzzing sound followed by the release of the arrow made of titanium alloy and carbon fiber that sped straight toward Charlie’s temple.The speed of the arrow exceeded one hundred meters per second, not to mention that this heavy-duty compound crossbow was a modified killing machine, so its speed was almost close to two hundred meters per second.At such a speed, the target had less than 0.5 seconds to respond at such a close distance, which meant he wouldn’t even a
Although Rosalie was unwilling to admit her own failure and inadequacy, she couldn’t help but be impressed by Charlie’s unbelievably strong power and extraordinary strength. It had completely exceeded her own perception of martial arts.Charlie sneered and turned his head to look at the opposite vessel.Mr. Good, who was holding the compound crossbow, was startled by his glare. He hesitated and then whispered to the captain, “No matter if I manage to shoot this last arrow or not, you must turn the ship’s horsepower to the maximum and leave this place at the fastest speed this vessel can muster! That man is too powerful. We’d better stay as far away from him as possible!”The captain immediately put his hand on the engine power gear while saying to the first mate beside him, “After Mr. Good shoots the second arrow, you immediately hard a-port, and I’ll simultaneously turn the horsepower to the maximum. Do you understand?”The first mate immediately answered, “Yes!”“Good!” The capt
Everyone in the vessel screamed in horror upon hearing that remark!At this moment, there was no one on the vessel who could fight Charlie!Rosalie had been hit by a poisoned arrow and was about to die soon, while the remaining martial artists of the Schulz family had all been thrown into the sea. Some of them had sunk into the cold seawater due to exhaustion.What remained was Mr. Good, who was hidden secretly in the vessel, and his existence had been kept secret even to Rosalie. However, he was now dead through and through as well.The only people left in the cabin were a few crew members besides the captain and first mate. They had never practiced martial arts at all, so they were even less of a match for Charlie.Just as they were all jittery, not knowing what to do, Charlie suddenly kicked the door of the cockpit open and walked in.Upon his appearance, the crew members were so scared that their legs went weak. One of them knelt on the ground, crying and begging, “Please s
The captain was so scared that he pissed his pants on the spot and cried out, “Spare me! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”Then, he choked, “I’ve always been in charge of driving the cruise ship for Lord Schulz, but this time, he sent me here specifically for this task. Originally, he did not intend to rescue Miss Schulz tonight as it would not only cost a lot of money, but it would also mean getting himself into a great deal of trouble, so he deliberately set up a scheme…”Charlie frowned and asked, “What scheme?”The captain answered frankly, “According to the plan, after the ship leaves tonight, I would sail it directly to the designated location on the sea where the Maritime Self-Defense Force will be waiting in ambush there. Once we arrive at the designated location, they will immediately siege our ship and capture Miss Schulz…”Charlie was even more confused. “Capture her? But why? Why does he want Rosalie to be captured again after putting in so much effort to rescue her
The captain simply wanted to survive at this moment. So, he asked Charlie in a trembling voice, “Would you spare my life if I listened to you and obeyed everything you ask me to do?”Charlie nodded as he gave his word, “As long as you are willing to cooperate with me obediently, I will certainly spare your life. I can even arrange for you to have a new identity so that you can start a new life.”As soon as the other party heard this, he immediately said with gratitude, “I will certainly obey you, then!”Charlie was very satisfied, and he said, “Okay. You should do everything as I say, then!”Having said that, Charlie thought for a while before he said, “Since that old man, Cadfan, has already come up with his own contingency plan, you can just tell him that Rosalie has already been killed as per his contingency plan.”After that, he immediately whispered a few words into the other party’s ear.The captain then nodded before he picked up his satellite phone immediately. After draw
Elaine may have led a life as if she was above the rules, but beneath that tough exterior lay crippling insecurities and a horrific inferiority complex.She was always afraid of being belittled—but more than that, of being ostracized and betrayed.Over the years, the greatest source of her complexes could all be traced back to Matilda.After all, Matilda had been a star back in their school days. Because Elaine was a close friend of hers, many boys would get chummy with Elaine, but only because they were interested in Matilda.Being from a poor farmer's family, Elaine had been scorned plenty and therefore felt exceedingly inferior around Matilda.It was from that sense of inferiority that Elaine had inadvertently developed a one-sided rivalry against Matilda, and she believed her greatest triumph over Matilda in this life was the moment she had stolen Jacob from her.However, while Elaine presumed that she could hold that victory over Matilda's head, Lady Wilson had soured that v
Moreover, given Elaine's ridiculous temper, Jacob knew she would definitely go overboard and destroy him.He wouldn't even have a place to live at that point, and it would really be game over if she held a grudge and stormed the Calligraphy and Painting Association!Under such circumstances, he couldn't ask for a divorce—hell, he might even refuse a divorce if Elaine asked for one!However, that was when Elaine laughed coldly. "Oh, my… You're really not going to divorce me?""Come on—how long were we married?" Jacob quickly reasoned. "Getting divorced at our age? People would laugh at us."Elaine scoffed. "Now I'm curious… Matilda's quite old too, and she's a divorcee marrying again. Won't people laugh at her?""Technically, she's a widow—"Jacob blurted out, but soon turned pale, tensing up again not a second after he had just calmed down, asking gingerly, "W-Why would you suddenly mention her?'Elaine stopped pretending right then and snapped, "It's actually impressive that y
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