The butler could not help but sigh as he said, “Sigh! Lord Schulz, I never expected that Matteo would fail so badly when he personally brought his men with him to Aurous Hill to get this matter done. This includes the second master too. I would never have imagined that there would actually be someone who dares to attack the second master! Is this person tired of living?!”Cadfan was so angry that it seemed as though his eyes were about to pop out as he roared, “I want you to look into this matter! I want you to find out who is the person who is trying to go against me! Also, spend another five billion dollars for crisis public relations purposes! I want this video gone completely from all the different websites and cell phone applications within ten minutes! At the same time, no media is allowed to publish any opinions or articles related to this video!”The butler replied embarrassedly, “Lord Schulz… it will be easy for us to deal with any other platforms or applications. However, I
After Jeremiah heard of Steven’s disappearance, he immediately summoned his sons and Stephen to come in for an overnight meeting.Jeremiah and his sons were all very excited beyond words during this meeting.The Schulz family had indeed suffered heavy losses this time.Previously, Lord Schulz had sacrificed his eldest son to preserve and defend his own image and reputation. However, in the blink of an eye, his second son had also been implicated in this matter. Therefore, this would certainly undermine and shake the morale of the entire Schulz family.Moreover, the shortage of manpower was actually the most serious problem faced by the Schulz family.At this moment, Stephen suddenly received a notification on his cell phone. He lowered his head to look at his cell phone before he said excitedly, “Lord Wade, it seems as though someone has exposed the truth about the Schulz family on a short video platform! There is a very intense discussion going on amongst the netizens now!”“Oh?
“How could someone like him possibly be willing to continue staying in the country only to become a prisoner that will get locked behind bars?”“You should also know that he does not even have more than ten years to live. What if he is sentenced to more than ten years in prison? If that is the case, wouldn’t he have to continue living in prison for the rest of his life, then?”“In that case, wouldn’t it be better for him to just escape, then?”“As long as he escapes successfully, with the wealth and assets that he possesses, he will be able to live an extremely rich and fulfilling life anywhere else in the world!”“The only thing that he would have to give up is his position as the head of the Schulz family. He could simply retire earlier and enjoy the later years of his life!”“After he dies, he can ask his family to transport his body back into the country so that he can be buried in the Schulz family’s ancestral grave. That way, he would be returning to his origins anyway. In t
Jeremiah’s mockery made Cadfan very angry.In truth, he had expected Jeremiah to be a little more polite after he had already lowered his self-esteem to come all the way here to ask for his help, right?!As a result, that old b*stard had actually said that he was daydreaming!This was really outrageous!However, he gritted his teeth as he said, “Brother Wade, since both of our families have already been fighting and going against each other for so many years, you should also know very well that this is a very small world. If you are really going to be so hostile with me today, don’t blame me for being ruthless or heartless to you when you need my help in the future, then!”Jeremiah sneered as he said, “Cadfan, if it were up to me, I would say that you are really a very boring person. If you are truly that capable, you should be able to resolve your own problem on your own, then! What is the point of looking for me and pretending to be so ruthless in front of me?”After he was don
“To put it bluntly, if the Wade family truly had this kind of strength and ability, they could have easily kidnapped me or even assassinate me directly when I am at home. Why would they still be inferior compared to the Schulz family, then?”“That is also true…” The butler hesitated for a moment before he asked, “Lord Schulz, do you think that the Wade family could have befriended some hidden master, then?”“That is also unlikely…” Cadfan shook his head and said, “The Wade family has never paid as much attention to martial arts masters, unlike the Schulz family. That old man, Jeremiah has only ever been interested in making more money in his whole life. So, if you were to ask him to fork out a large sum of money to raise a large number of martial arts masters, he would not be interested in it at all. Therefore, how could someone like him possibly be able to enlist the help of a real top master?”With that said, Cadfan had a grim expression on his face as he said, “I can only think o
At this moment, Cadfan was already thrown into a state of confusion.It was also precisely because of this that his thoughts began to diverge and he felt like he couldn’t keep up with it.He could not help but have a strong feeling that the mastermind behind this entire incident was none other than that top master who had saved Jaime and Sophie back in Japan.However, the butler could not help but feel that this was just a fantasy.So, he said euphemistically, “Lord Schulz, we have not even been able to ascertain the identity of the master that the eldest young lady met in Japan back then. We do not even know whether he is an Oskian countryman or whether he is an Oskian who is living abroad in Japan.”“Furthermore, Kyoto and Aurous Hill are separated by thousands of kilometers in distance. How could there be such a coincidence where two people cross paths and overlap with one another again amongst the vast crowd of people? Although this possibility could exist, the probability of
The butler looked terrified, and he blurted out, “Do you mean to say that the mysterious master who saved the eldest young lady in Japan last time also saved the eldest young lady’s life in Aurous Hill this time?!”“That’s right!” Cadfan nodded as he said, “That is exactly what I am feeling right now! I constantly have this feeling that Sophie is not dead! If she is still alive, the person who saved her must be the same mysterious man who had already saved her once in Japan!”The butler was a little puzzled as he asked, “Lord Schulz, I can understand if the same mysterious man is indeed the person who saved the eldest young lady’s life again in Aurous Hill this time. However, what is his intention in kidnapping the second master then?”Cadfan replied, “There is a high probability that the reason why he kidnapped Steven is because he wants to avenge Sophie and her mother. After all, the reason why Steven went to Aurous Hill this time was entirely because he was going to deal with thi
At this moment, Sheldon was talking on the phone with his son, Jaime.Jaime had driven all the way from Eastcliff to Aurous Hill late at night. However, as soon as he arrived in Aurous Hill, he had immediately fallen into a predicament, and he felt completely lost at this time.The reason why he had come to Aurous Hill was because he had wanted to find out about his mother and sister’s whereabouts. However, the police officers from the Aurous Hill Police Department had sent thousands of people out to search for them throughout the city for the entire day without getting any results at all. Therefore, since Jaime was on his own, he did not even know where he should go or how he should start his search for them.He was originally planning to return to the Dunn family’s old mansion in Aurous Hill first so that he could ask the Dunn family’s old butler for help. In that case, he would still have a place to stay, then.However, when he thought about how he had just offended his grandfat
The other antique traders who were keeping tabs on the situation were left confused by Trippy's message.[Maybe even those out-of-towners know that Raymond is a sucker? So they traveled overnight just to see what happens?][I know Raymond is in trouble, but is it really worth traveling hundreds of miles just to watch?][Maybe they know he's a sucker, so they came to sell him more counterfeits?][Shit, that must be it! Suckers are rare these days, after all!][Damn straight! Just knowing that there's one in Aurous Hill, you'd be eager to come over.]Even Mick Crane who had just woken up and saw the message immediately sent a voice message: "Those conmen are just like flies flocking around shit as soon as they smell it.""Oh, but what they don't know is that Raymond has no more money! I heard he only had a few hundred thousand for the startup, and the bronze sculpture must have cost most of it. I'm afraid those people won't even get their gas money and toll costs back after travel
Trippy rolled his eyes as he texted back: [Hell no. I need to start my business instead of wasting my time. You morons can come get a number yourself if you like. Haha!]Still, Trippy had just sent his text when a trio arrived in a hurry outside Treasure Measure.Seeing that the doors were closed, the leader asked Trippy, "Excuse me, can I ask if this is Treasure Measure? Owned by a man named Mr. Cole?"Trippy was at once surprised. "You mean Raymond Cole?"The leader quickly said, "We don't know his first name, only that his last name is Cole, and his handle name was Treasure Measure's Mr. Cole."Trippy chuckled. "That'd be him. Has to be, since he hand wrote that shop sign."Pausing, he then asked in curiosity, "So, you've come to see him being a sucker?"The leader was naturally curious as to what Trippy was talking about. However, he was also reluctant to reveal why he had come since there was a killer bargain at stake. In fact, every other collector who was coming was k
Raymond also added that the 20 million price tag wouldn't be cut or increased. To put it simply, the bronze sculpture was right there in Aurous Hill and waiting—it was a race.Hence, many reputable collectors contacted expert appraisers throughout the night, some even booking night flights straight to Aurous Hill.The best amongst them was a fanatic collector of bronze items in Eastcliff.Following a brief exchange with Raymond online, he immediately called an expert who was also a close friend. As soon as his call was answered, he asked the other man if he had time to travel to Aurous Hill so that no one else would beat them to it—and they would drive out in the night if at all possible.After all, the earliest flight was at six in the morning, and it'd be eight by the time they made it to Aurous Hill Airport and nine by the time they got to Antique Street in a cab.Therefore, the ideal way to get there was by driving over six hundred miles at top speed, and that meant reaching A
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