After Yuroy ran back, he did not stop these people from loading their luggage into the buses. Instead, he simply ran inside the house and said to the rest of the people, “Everyone, my father said that he wants everyone to gather and wait in the main hall. He is currently worshipping our ancestors, and he will return to the main hall and make a very important announcement to everyone later.”Someone asked, “Yuroy, what important announcement is Lord Harker going to make?”Yuroy shook his head. “I don’t know the exact details either. We should just all wait together first!”At ten o’clock in the morning, the Schulz family’s convoy left on time, carrying Yuvin and more than forty other members of the Harker family all the way to the south.These members of the Harker family were all very excited on the way.This was because Arrington had told them that Lord Schulz, the head of the Schulz family, would be willing to give them an annual remuneration of one billion dollars.In truth, C
When the members of the Harker family heard the news that Holden had broken through his fourth meridian, everyone was stunned for a moment. Immediately after that, a burst of crazy cheers erupted!Breaking through four meridians would mean that Holden had become a four-star martial artist!Throughout Oskia, the ‘four-star martial artist’ title had not appeared in nearly a hundred years!To them, hearing this news was as exciting and overwhelming as when the people in Oskia had heard the news of the successful first atomic bomb explosion. Back then, Oskia had successfully developed the atomic bomb, and this meant that the citizens of Oskia would no longer be facing nuclear threats from other nuclear-armed countries anymore. At the same time, they possessed a strong ability to defend themselves.Now that Holden had successfully broken through his fourth meridian, this was almost equivalent to the Harker family owning an atomic bomb!Just a few minutes ago, everyone present had sti
As soon as Holson heard these words, he immediately nodded as he said excitedly, “In that case, I’ll naturally act according to all of your command!”For all of these people who had stayed behind, regardless of their gender or whether they were old or young, all of them were very loyal toward the Harker family and Holden. So, at this time, they would naturally embrace and support any of Holden’s decisions.Holden also realized that after his eldest son had left with that group of people, there were instantly fewer voices of opposition and questioning when he was making a major decision. This also made him realize the importance of unity in the team.The Harker family would not be like how it was before, with endless internal frictions and conflicts. On the contrary, the current Harker family would be extremely united, and all of them would work together to achieve even greater achievements!As he thought about this, Holden could not help but feel extremely excited deep down in his
Just as Yuvin’s heart was filled with indignation, someone else in the car yelled out angrily, “The Harker family has also made a public announcement stating that anyone who has left the Harker family will not be allowed to go back anymore!”Everyone was shocked and horrified for a moment.They really would not have expected that they were the ones who had abandoned the Harker family to climb up the social ladder, but unexpectedly, the Harker family would actually turn around and enforce such drastic measures to deal with this situation.Now, all of them were the Harker family’s abandoned children.Lord Schulz, who was far away in Sudbury, was also very depressed.This morning, he had been hearing almost one bad news after the other.Firstly, it was the news that Holden had suddenly gone back on his word.After that, it was the news that Holden had suddenly become the top martial artist in the country.There was nothing more painful as compared to a situation where something th
Cadfan was extremely excited, and he blurted out as he asked, “Master Xanthos, will you be able to kill a four-star martial artist?”“A four-star martial artist?” The other party asked in surprise, “Do you know of a four-star martial artist? As far as I know, there are no longer any four-star martial artists in the country anymore, right?”Cadfan gritted his teeth and said, “Yes. There is one that just came out this morning!”The other party laughed and spoke up, “It is not easy to kill a four-star martial artist. If you’d like me to try to do it, you will have to pay me double the amount.”Cadfan had already been feeling a lot of discomfort because of the extreme depression, jealousy, and anger that was pent up in his heart. When he heard these words, he replied without hesitation, “Master Xanthos, money is not an issue, but you have to finish off that top master in Aurous Hill first.”The other party hummed slightly before he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll kill him first before I come
Meanwhile, Sheldon had finally arrived in Syria after flying for a day and night.Unlike Charlie, who had the privilege of taking the Concorde, he could only fly all the way to the Middle East. After landing in Turkey, he had to cross the border of the country as he entered northern Syria using the overnight road vehicle.Deep down in his heart, Sheldon felt like dying as soon as he set foot on Syrian soil.Because he had entered the country illegally, the vehicle dragged him away to avoid the city, and Sheldon was immediately shocked because of this desolate country.There were deserts, hills, and decaying towns and villages in this country which was heavily damaged and in a disastrous state.The endless deserts and mountainous terrains immediately reminded him of an ancient poem, ‘The Solitary Smoke in the Desert’.After traveling hundreds of kilometers deep into the Syrian border, Sheldon had a realization deep down in his heart. He realized that if Charlie refused to agree to
When Hamed saw a few people with East Asian appearances, he immediately smiled as he spoke in his fluent Oskian dialect, “The few of you must be Brother Wade’s subordinates. Welcome! Welcome! Warmest welcome!”The several people looked at each other, and they could not help but exchange glances with one another.In their impression, this kind of slogan such as ‘Welcome! Welcome! Warmest welcome!’, should be shouted out by young cheerleaders whose faces were blushing red, red scarves tied around their necks, and also flower garlands in their hands.But they would never have expected that these words would come out from the mouth of a big and burly Middle Eastern warlord who had a thick beard. The man who was leading the group was Isaac’s confidant, and his name was Yanciel Zewell.When Yanciel saw that Hamed was being so polite and had the demeanor of a warlord, he smiled politely as he asked, “You must be Commander Hamed, right?”Hamed nodded and laughed as he said, “We’re all f
Hamed could not be bothered to pay any attention to Sheldon.He smiled as he said to Yanciel, “Sirs, I’ve made some good black tea. Please come in and have a few cups of tea!”People in the Middle East loved drinking black tea. They generally liked to cook a particularly large amount of tea leaves into a very rich tea soup before topping it up with a lot of white sugar, which then became a refreshment with extremely high sugar content.This point was very different as compared to the Oskians.When the several people saw that Hamed was being so hospitable, they felt that it would not be polite to turn his invitation down.So, Yanciel then said, “Commander Hamed, in that case, I’d like to trouble you to please arrange for your subordinates to take Mr. Sheldon to his place of residence first.”“Yes! No problem!” Hamed said as he patted his chest. “I’ve already asked my subordinates to prepare the courtyard after receiving Brother Wade’s instructions. The courtyard is right next to m
As Zachary agreed to do a favor for Vintage Deluxe's Mick Crane in passing, he and Jacob agreed to meet up at 7pm at the car park by Antique Street.He first took Jacob back to the Calligraphy and Painting Association and called Billy, one of his boys whom he thought was smarter than the rest, giving him the gist of the plan and telling him to familiarize himself with the script.Then, he took the sculpture back to Heaven Springs and met up with Billy in office, telling Billy what to do in finer detail and making sure he committed everything to memory.Zachary's strength as a judge of character certainly proved itself—Billy had never done anything like this before, but he took to the plan like fish to water. He committed the script to memory soon enough, and he was flawless.Once he made sure that Billy was fine, Zachary called Mick.As soon as Mick answered, he immediately asked, "Hello, Mr. Evans. How is that thing we talked about going?"Zachary chuckled. All the arrangements
Zachary continued, "Why do you think casinos are always making a profit? It's exactly because no matter how unassuming a guest is the first time, they would be allowed to win a couple of hands, making a little profit.""And suddenly, they would think that they are the chosen one, destined to win against all odds and always come out triumphant! Once such radical, blind confidence hits them, every last bit of his money would be lost to the casino!""At that point, you can get anything from them—their house, their wife, their children… hell, they'd be willing to die if you'd just let them gamble again!"Turning toward Jacob with a grin, Zachary then asked, "So, with all the points I made and that sculpture you're holding… Do you still think Raymond wouldn't fall for it?"Jacob laughed out loud. "Oh, talk about a plan within a plan! No one would ever see it coming! Raymond Cole is so screwed!"Zachary smiled and nodded. "That's why there's no reason to rush—I'll arrange a man to get r
As soon as they drove out of the village, Jacob asked Zachary eagerly, "So, when do you think we should make our move? I can't wait!"Zachary didn't hesitate, "Let's do it today. It's better than waiting! I'll get someone reliable to bring this to Treasure Measure and get him interested. I'm sure that since he has just returned to Antique Street, he'll need a hot deal to generate hype and make himself known. That's why I'm sure he'll take this sculpture."Jacob nodded repeatedly as he chuckled. "I think so too. Today is definitely best since I'll be going to Dubai soon and probably leaving once I'm done with this. Once you get this settled by the end of today, I'll get tickets for the flight tomorrow!"Zachary grinned. "Don't worry, chief. We will definitely get it settled today…"He trailed off for a moment before continuing, "Still, you should be a little patient. We should do this in the evening—at the second just before Raymond Cole closes shop.""But why?" Jacob asked in curi
Jacob was naturally gleeful that he could get the late medieval bronze sculpture along with its base. Right after he wired the agreed upon ninety-eight grand to Mr. Cardensky, he was already imagining how Raymond would buy it from him for several hundred grand.On the other hand, once Mr. Cardensky received the transfer, he saw the name on the account: Jacob Wilson.He was left perplexed—wasn't that man's last name Montague? Who was this Jacob Wilson?Still, he didn't worry about it too much since most antique hustlers preferred to work with anonymity and therefore, using a different name was perfectly normal.He then carefully wrapped up the bronze sculpture before passing it Jacob, asking politely, "Would you happen to have any other requests, Mr. Montague? I have plenty of other items here if you'd permit me to give an introduction."Jacob shook his head, "Just this sculpture will do. I'm not fully confident in your work either since this is our first deal, so I'm just trying i
Jacob asked, "Then, what would this sculpture be worth if it was genuine?"Mr. Cardensky thought about it. "Well, there are standards when it comes to Renaissance relics, but with something this exquisite, it'd definitely be auctionable for one or two million—and that's the conservative estimate.""How much would you sell it to me for?" Jacob then asked."Thirty percent of the market price," Mr. Cardensky quickly replied. "As I've said, the conservative estimate for this one is around one to two million, so we will set the price with the median estimate value at 1.5 million. And thirty percent means 450 grand."Jacob shook his head right away. "No, no, no… that's too expensive. What if I end up unable to sell it, on top of that?"In his mind, while he could barely accept that pricing, he still needed Raymond to be able to afford it if he wanted to swindle Raymond for twice the money.Mr. Cardensky quickly chuckled, "Oh, Mr. Montague—now you're being too serious. In this business,
"Okay!"Mr. Cardensky smiled and pointed at a nearby farmyard. "There's our workshop—the good stuff is all in there. Allow me to take you there!"The farmyard seemed uninteresting at first glance, but Mr. Cardensky soon led them to the stables and brushed off the straws covering the floor, revealing a plank laid flat on the ground.Mr. Cardensky then lifted it, revealing a passage below—they had dug a cellar into the ground beneath, with the stables as an entry point.As Jacob followed Mr. Cardensky down the cellar, he exclaimed in awe, "Your operation is definitely big, digging such a huge cellar!"Mr. Cardensky smiled humbly. "Anyone working in the business would have sustained their losses before. In the end, we're all folk of humble origins, starting out with raiding tombs or excavating artifacts. Just digging a cellar is really nothing."As they conversed, they cleared the stairs and arrived at the main hall.It was certainly a hall as it was around a hundred square meters,
Zachary nodded repeatedly. "Mr. Montague? Very well!""Yes!" Jacob grinned smugly. "Longer last names are simply better—it just sounds so authoritative."With that agreed upon, both men alighted, where the master was waiting nearby.Seeing them get off, he hurried over to them, smiling, "Please, follow me."Zachary looked around and huffed, "Honestly, Mr. Cardensky, isn't this way too far from the highway? The road is narrow and terrible, and I have to park my car all the way out here. Just coming here is taxing."Mr. Cardensky smiled in turn. "My friend, that's exactly why we picked this place. Do you remember seeing a couple of cars parked by the road, occupying half of it?""We arranged for them to be there. Anyone coming by car would have to slow down that way, buying time for us to see who they truly are. If it's cops, our watchers would quietly text us while we clean the house and bail."Zachary exclaimed in realization, "You boys really run a tight ship!""For sure," Mr.
After working in Antique Street for years, Zachary's connections and influence were naturally special. And yet, though he was acquainted with some of the more impressive individuals, he was not that close with them either.For example, the forgery masters who worked specifically to deceive experts only accepted jobs from major clients, usually antique traders high in social status and wealth.In contrast, they wouldn't ever be interested in frivolous people like Zachary. Even if he could reach them, they might not look at him twice.If one would describe them as the cartel boss, then Zachary would be a low-level enforcer, managing night joints or goofing off.But now, Zachary had turned over a new leaf—he worked under Don Albert, so one of those masters was pleasantly surprised when he called one of them, inviting him to his own workshop for a visit and further discussion.As such, Zachary picked up Jacob and went over to the master's hideout where the latter worked on his count
Zachary was naturally shrewd enough to read Jacob's intention.In reality, he wasn't offering to pay just because he wanted the profit. He merely wanted to get in Jacob's good graces. After all, wouldn't Jacob be even more grateful that he wasn't just helping his revenge but also helping him make money?As such, he didn't hesitate to tell Jacob, "Well, chief—since you'll be paying, I will make sure that you will get every cent of profit that you deserve."Jacob was grinning ear-to-ear, but he said, "Oh, you don't have to! If we really are making a profit, there's no way I would let your good work go unrewarded!"Spreading his arms, he continued generously, "How about this? I will pay the full cost while you get twenty percent of the net profit!"Zachary laughed. "Now, that can wait, chief. We need to pay as soon as we decide on the item we want, and there's no time for buyer's regret. But if Raymond doesn't take the bait, all that money will go down the drain, and whether we can s