When Charlie saw the aggrieved look on Hamed’s face, he could not help but say, “Since Commander Hamed has already spoken up, I will surely remember it in the future.”Hamed cupped one fist in his other hand as a sign of respect in front of Charlie before he pointed at the eight people opposite him and said generously, “Brother, please go ahead and pick!”After he was done speaking, he was afraid that Charlie would continue trying to make the best out of his situation. So, he ground his teeth and blurted out, “Brother, why don’t we do this? I will take another step back. You can pick five of them!”The desire of the seven people to survive instantly increased!Charlie looked at Hamed before he smiled and praised him, “Commander Hamed, you are remarkably generous. Based on this point alone, I can already tell that you are a person of integrity who will keep his promises.”Hamed nodded before he said seriously, “I am someone who has always kept my promises. Regardless of whether it
Charlie did not hide the truth, and he simply nodded and said, “That’s right. I am a member of the Wade family.”As soon as his words fell, the other seven people were all shocked. They were all top outstanding talents in the financial field. So, they had a deep understanding of the economic conditions of various countries, and they naturally knew about the strength of these few wealthy and influential families in Oskia.When they heard that Charlie was a descendant of the Wade family, they immediately understood why Charlie could travel to Syria on a Concorde within such a short time.This was the power of the Wade family!It was a pity that these so-called top outstanding talents could not see the wider picture, and they had failed to recognize the great man in front of them! Hamed, who was aside, immediately gave him a thumbs-up as he blurted out, “I did not expect that you would be from the Wade family. As a member of the Wade family, you were actually able to sneak into th
Autumn was completely at a loss when she heard these words.She could tell that Charlie was not joking.She really did not know what she should do if Charlie was truly unwilling to take her companions away with them.She never would have expected her group of friends to actually be so anti-intellectual. They had already offended Charlie to death before he even revealed his own identity. Now, regardless of how much they begged or pleaded with Charlie, it would still be reasonable for Charlie to refuse to save them.Although Autumn really wanted to leave this place and head to Aurous Hill so that she could be reunited with her father, she could not bear to leave so many of her friends behind and escape on her own.There was even a certain moment where Autumn thought about not leaving at all. She thought that it might be better for her to simply stay back here with her friends so that they could live or die together. In that case, even if they were to ultimately face the worst conseq
Charlie was very angry and frustrated, and he simply pointed at her before he shouted sternly, “You, shut up! Before I came here, your life and death had nothing to do with me at all. However, since I am already here, you can only live! Even if you want to die, I will not allow you to die!”Autumn asked, “Who gave you that right?! I have the right to choose not to let you take me away!”Charlie pointed at Hamed before he asked, “Why didn’t you say these words to him when they were kidnapping you, then?”Autumn was completely speechless because of Charlie’s sudden questioning, and she could only stammer, “I… I…”Charlie replied coldly, “Stop trying to speak up. I am too lazy to continue talking nonsense with you. Today, you will have to leave regardless of whether you want to or not. If you really want to die here, after we return to Oskia and I hand you safely over to your father in Aurous Hill, you can come back here again if you want to. When that time comes, regardless of whethe
When Charlie saw Hamed limping as he walked up the stairs, Charlie felt somewhat curious. So, he casually asked, “Brother, was your leg injured before?”Hamed turned his head around to glance at Charlie before he looked at his leg again as he sighed and said, “My left leg was once seriously injured in a battle. My leg was hit by fragments after a bomb explosion. At that time, there was only one way, which was to amputate my leg, but fortunately, after exhausting all of my energy, I managed to save my leg. However, my leg had already suffered irreversible damage. So, even after recovering, my muscles were severely atrophied, and the function of my leg also deteriorated greatly. So, I ended up being a cripple…”As he spoke, he could not help but lament, “In truth, it is actually very complicated and difficult to explain and express the difficulties a crippled commander faces in a place like Syria!”Although being a cripple was not a serious form of disability, no matter what it was, H
Upon entering the cabin, Charlie pressed the emergency call button on the watch that Vladislav had given to him.The infrastructure in Syria was very poor in itself, and it was even more messed up because of the war. Hence, there were no communication signals anywhere else aside from the city itself. Even the international roaming network on cell phones would not work here. Therefore, the only communication medium was through the satellite.Fortunately, this kind of watch, which was specifically equipped for paratroopers, had a satellite communication function.As soon as the call was connected, Charlie heard Gary’s voice. “Young Master, is everything going smoothly for you?”Charlie replied, “Everything is going very well, and I will be done much earlier than originally planned. You can arrange for the helicopter to head to the scheduled location now. I will be reaching in about fifteen minutes.”Gary was dumbfounded as he said, “Young Master, it is dozens of kilometers of mounta
If those seven people were to truly die just like that, Autumn might really be unable to ever forgive herself. If this were to continue for a long time, then Autumn might fall into extreme depression and she might even choose to end her life if she could not bear it anymore.As he thought about this, Charlie questioned her in return, “So, does that mean that you will be able to overcome the hurdle in your heart as long as your friends survive too?”Autumn nodded gently before she asked, “Can you save them?”Charlie looked at Hamed before he said, “Brother, let me be honest with you. The White House will not give you a single cent even if you were to kill all seven of them.”Hamed had also realized it at this point, and he nodded as he said, “That is true indeed. They do not have any intention of giving me the money whatsoever. Besides that, they have already blocked this news all over the Western world. So, even if I were to kill all of them, the Western media will not report anyth
Charlie’s words left Autumn completely speechless.She finally understood the biggest difference between Charlie and herself.She thought too lightly and simply of human nature, and she thought of the worldly rules in a way too ideal manner.However, Charlie had already seen right through this way earlier.It was indeed very simple to help others, but there had to be a suitable reason.Otherwise, even if the food that was wasted in the developed countries every day would be sufficient to feed all of the people in Africa, why were they still going hungry?The main reason was why should the one billion people in the developed countries save up the wasted food to send it to Africa?It would be very simple for them to just waste the food. If they did not want to eat it anymore or could not finish the food, they could just throw it into the trash can easily.Why should they be asked to send the wasted food to the Africans?It did not make any sense at all!The top 100 richest peop
Unable to nitpick on the air stewardess' response, Elaine pouted, "Well, try to ask management to improve on your first-class cabins anyway. Maybe even make a premium-class or something since it's not like we can't afford it."The air stewardess quickly said, "We will definitely relay your message to the management."Nodding in satisfaction, Elaine waved her off. "Alright. You can go back to work now."Clearly relieved, the air stewardess bowed her head respectfully. "Always happy to be of service."After the air stewardess left, Jacob asked Elaine in curiosity, "Was the private jet that good?"Elaine rolled her eyes. "Didn't you see the stuff I posted in the chat group?""Not really," Jacob blurted. Elaine was ready to snap at him for not caring, but considering that they had made up now and she shouldn't fuss too much over the little things, she snorted, "Just remember to like and comment on all my posts in the chat group, otherwise, I will make you regret it!""No problem!"
While the ten collectors were taking turns studying the bronze sculpture, Jacob and Elaine were boarding their flight.As they were flying first-class, they had priority over the other passengers and boarded from the separate plug door at the first-class section.The capacity of the Boeing 777 was huge, and the wide-body aircraft could be connected to a special double corridor bridge where first class and business class passengers boarded separately from the economy class passengers.As the terminals to economy class and business class were connected, Elaine and Jacob were able to get through the first-class terminal unimpeded, but the passengers in economy class had a queue of over two hundred passengers. Even as she walked, Elaine was looking over her shoulder and exclaiming at Jacob, "Must be nice being rich! We used to have to queue like the rest of them, waiting for over thirty minutes just to board our flight." "In first class, we may be in the same plane, but we don't hav
Meanwhile, once Raymond had briefed everyone about the rules, he opened the door and invited everyone into Treasure Measure.It was not that wide but appeared spacious since the interior was mostly empty—it was not really crowded even with thirty-ish people.Then, locking the door from the inside, Raymond told them, "I can tell from everyone's faces that we are all veterans here, so I'm sure you understand the rules while appraising: no photos or videos, thank you very much."Indeed, there were many rules that governed the hobby, the most important being respecting the seller's requests and privacy.As the collectors listened, they knew that Raymond was selling but did not want the public to know too much about him.They all nodded, and those who had their phones out slid them back into their pockets.With that, Raymond took out the bronze sculpture that he had brought, leaving Trippy a little surprised.He had never seen the bronze sculpture with his own eyes before, only from
"Alright!" Trippy was at once fawning, tagging along behind Raymond like a little child.Around thirty people were waiting in front of Treasure Measure by now. The collectors came in twos or threes, and all ten numbers had since been taken.Before Raymond arrived, he had a brief look at the collectors' faces through the security cameras before walking over, and he was really relieved to see no familiar faces.Having traded Oskian antiques for years abroad, it was only natural that he was acquainted with some of the elite collectors in the country.He also knew that they were especially demanding with the quality of their collection and wanted almost flawless items. As such, the bronze sculpture which had been completely lost wouldn't interest them.Still, he was also a little concerned that amongst the elite collectors he knew, there might be some who were losing money and losing purchasing power in turn. If they happened to take an interest in the bronze sculpture on top of that,
Trippy grinned. "I mean, just look at my stall—ain't no way I'm getting any business here. Why not let me check out this item of yours? And see how interested they are? I'm really interested in learning and upping my game."Then, as if worried that Raymond would refuse, he quickly added, "Don't worry—I promise to stay in a corner and just watch."Still, Raymond could guess right then that someone must have sent Trippy to spy on him.It didn't matter whether it was Mick, Jacob, or Zachary either—they were all in this plot together, and one knowing meant all three knowing.Trippy was a gossiper in nature. If he was allowed to witness the whole process, everyone down Antique Street would definitely know before long.In fact, he could use someone like that right now, and Trippy had come straight to his doorstep.With that in mind, Raymond smiled, "Come join me if you're interested. It's not like there's anything to hide…"Pausing, he then warned Trippy, "But since you're going in my
After watching Mick's video, Jasmine's opinion of the man improved considerably.She was actually well aware that the decline of Vintage Deluxe was mostly due to Mick's incompetence.However, as Jasmine was now managing a billion-dollar company, she couldn't spare any time to ask many questions about Vintage Deluxe's performance. In her opinion, as long as Vintage Deluxe didn't lose too much money or ruin the reputation they had worked so hard to build, she wasn't interested in a regime change.It was the same mindset as Marianne Long, who begged her father to keep that lane full of food stalls in Hong Kong over sentiment.As such, seeing that Mick actually had some skill pleased her considerably.She couldn't resist checking out the comments of the video too.She saw that many were praising the manager of Vintage Deluxe for taking a tough stand against the scammer as well as how Vintage Deluxe's reputation was long-standing and without comparison.She soon noticed Jacob's comme
Soon, more collectors had gathered outside Treasure Measure even before Raymond showed up at Antique Street, with over ten of them gathered outside in no time at all.Since Raymond had only prepared ten slips, the rest left in disappointment seeing that they had no chance.Even so, the ten collectors who had gotten a number were nervous—save for the first man who had arrived.The details on the online sales post insisted that the price was fixed, and that first-come first-serve applies.If he bought the bronze sculpture, the other nine would have come all this way for nothing.However, if the seller decided to make it an auction, they would have a chance too, although their net profit would thin in turn. After all, they could have acquired the bronze sculpture for just 20 million, and that meant a solid 8 million in profit.An auction would at least raise the price to 27 million, and more would make it chicken feed.If they gave up at that point, it was a waste of a trip.If
Trippy naturally wasn't going to tell Mick everything word-for-word, so he said vaguely, "Uh, they were just being stubborn and refused to listen to anything I said. They kept saying that they wouldn't know until they saw the actual item."Mick got out of bed, staring at his phone as he mused to himself.This was getting a little ridiculous, was it not? A fool who was scammed, actually able to scam someone else? But if he really could sell it, wouldn't all their work be for nothing?With that in mind, he promptly called Zachary, who wasn't even up yet.Ever since he had started working for Don Albert, his daily routine was no longer the same as the days when he was a humble stall owner working on Antique Street, but a man of importance who slept late and woke up late.In the evening, he would be spending his time patrolling Don Albert's night entertainment properties as well as holding meetings with subordinates to decide on management policies and the like. That was why he wo
Seeing that Mick had a favor to ask, Trippy was naturally eager to seize the opportunity to get in his good graces."Don't worry, Mr. Crane!" He promptly replied. "Just leave it to me!"Returning to Treasure Measure, he went up to the first man who had come and said, "Hey, brother… Did you come to buy the bronze sculpture from Mr. Cole?"The man asked warily, "You know about the bronze sculpture?""Of course!" Trippy grinned. "I know all too well—it's actually famous here in Aurous Hill."Whipping out his phone, he played the short video that Mick had spent five grand promoting, saying, "Here—check this out!"Curious, the man took the phone and watched the video solemnly.The other latecomer soon hurried over as well and stared fixedly at the screen too.They watched as Bill entered a room with the bronze sculpture with Mick, the latter who checked it out and started commenting on it.The first man exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, it really is that bronze sculpture."The second ma