The junior captain from Ten Thousand Armies smiled faintly and spoke up as he said, “Should we still keep you guys on board to eat our food and drink our fresh water if we don’t release you? Let me tell you, we will not feed our supplies to you even if we were to feed it to the dogs.”As he spoke, he greeted one of his subordinates around him, “Put the lifeboat down and let them hurry up and get out!”Several pirates exchanged glances with one another, and the expressions on their faces were a little smug.In their opinion, they were not only the master of the Gulf of Aden, but they also had an aura around them where no one would dare to provoke them.Every time they came out to rob merchant ships, they would simply return if they failed. However, if they succeeded, they would gain money to spend in exchange. Even if they were caught, the other party would usually let them go honestly. This almost invincible aura of theirs made them feel even more and more invincible and undefeatab
The junior captain of Ten Thousand Armies had a serious expression on his face as he said, “What are you talking about? You came here to rob the merchant ship that we were escorting. Not only did we not kill you, but we even gave you a lifeboat. Now, you’re saying that I’m trying to kill you? Why don’t you think about it for yourselves? Even if I were to sell all six of you scums, it would not be worth this lifeboat!”The pirate cried out in anger, “If you wanted to be a good man, you should do good until the end! You should leave us with an engine at the very least so that we can drive back to our base!”The junior captain laughed and said, “It’s okay. I see that your base is only about a hundred nautical miles away. You can just paddle and paddle all the way back.”“Paddle back...” The pirate broke down as he cried out in protest, “Even if we were to really paddle all the way back, it would take us at least a few days! How are we going to go back alive if we have no food or water?
Each of them grabbed a life jacket and immediately put it on their bodies before they began to blow through the blowing port on their shoulder.However, no matter how much they blew, the life jackets on their bodies remained unchanged. It was just like a thin layer of plastic vest that was sticking to their bodies.Just as everyone was exchanging glances with one another, one person cursed out in despair, “F*ck! The life jackets have all been punctured! There‘s air leaking everywhere!”The leader of the group was immediately desperate. “It seems as though those beasts had already planned all of this in advance!”As he said that, he looked at the bottled water and the compressed biscuits before he said emotionally, “Luckily those people have a little bit of conscience. At the very least, they left us with some food and water. We might still be able to go back alive...”As he spoke, he picked up a bottle of water, intending to take a sip of water. After twisting it gently, he realiz
Very soon, with the popularity of the video, Ten Thousand Armies also became the object of passionate pursuit by netizens all over the world.Many people who previously did not have any feelings for the mercenary organization or even felt antipathy were also ignited by Ten Thousand Armies’ actions, and they were filled with praise for it.This caused Ten Thousand Armies to instantly gain a huge wave of passerby fans, and this also caused their reputation to rise rapidly. A collective joint name of many netizens also appeared on the internet. They requested for Ten Thousand Armies to wipe out these domineering pirates completely so that the pirates, which was a group that should have disappeared in civilized society long ago, would retire from the stage of history completely. Over the past few decades, the pirates in the Gulf of Aden had failed to be prohibited. The Gulf of Aden was also the choke point of sea transportation with no other alternatives and so, the world did not h
They even publicly declared that all of Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group’s armed escort business had already been entrusted over to Ten Thousand Armies exclusively. Moreover, every Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group’s cargo ship passing through the Gulf of Aden in the future would be provided with Ten Thousand Armies’ armed escort services.As soon as this announcement was made, the whole world applauded Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group’s tough attitude. Badr was furious, and he immediately called out that he would make Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group pay a painful price, and that Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group would never be able to set foot in the Gulf of Aden again. Just as Badr’s announcement was released, Porter called Charlie and said, “Mr. Wade, I just saw the announcement issued by the pirate organization. These people are used to roaming around in the Gulf of Aden, and they really do not know any better. Do you think that we should behead him as soon as possible?”Charlie di
In order to maintain his image in the minds of his subordinates and protect his position in the Gulf of Aden, Badr convened his subordinates immediately and held a mobilization meeting.This group of weak soldiers under Badr was originally a little apprehensive after hearing that their boss had declared war with Ten Thousand Armies. They also knew their own weight and capabilities, and they knew that people like them did not have even the slightest chance of winning if they were to truly fight against Ten Thousand Armies.The other party was a long-standing top-level mercenary, whereas they were nothing more than just some pathetic pirates who had not even practiced their marksmanship very well. They could only hold and aim an AK47 blindly at a target. They really did not know how badly they would die if they were to indeed become Ten Thousand Armies’ enemy.However, Badr also had his own skills and abilities since he could hold onto the position as the leader of the pirate organi
Since their base camp had never been attached before, this group of people had no sense of crisis at all. The soldiers were smoking cigarettes and chatting in groups of twos and threes as they just waited for their shift to change so that they could go back and rest after dawn.However, they did not know that in the darkness of the sea, many heavily armed frogmen who were armed with silent electric thrusters were silently approaching the coastline.These frogmen were soldiers from Ten Thousand Armies. The leader of this team was Zayne, the second-in-command in Ten Thousand Armies. For Zayne, asking him to lead the assassination for an inconspicuous pirate leader really felt like he was killing a chicken with a slaughter knife.However, Zayne did not dare to express or feel any dissatisfaction when he thought of how this was extremely important to Ten Thousand Armies’ armed escort business.Therefore, he personally led his soldiers to infiltrate Badr’s base from the sea just so
Badr, who was all-powerful in the Gulf of Aden, would never have dreamt that he would be killed so easily. In Zayne’s opinion, this kind of guy was nothing at all, and Badr was actually considered lucky to be able to die in his hands.After that, Zayne gently placed his body back on the bed. Badr’s body was still in a position where he was facing upward, but his entire face had been sunk into the pillow, revealing only the back of his head.This kind of image contained a little strangeness and violence.At this time, Zayne took out a waterproof plastic cylinder from his chest, and he then took out a set of handwritten words by Porter on which only a few words were written on it: “Anyone who stands in my way will be killed.”This sentence was a reminder that Ten Thousand Armies was leaving behind for the rest of the pirate organization.At this time, Zayne retreated from the room quietly. After that, he greeted his men who were standing guard outside the door, and they all went
No one except Raymond expected that the terms would be agreed upon so quickly.He was utterly confident in his judgment and even more so in his value appraisal.He was convinced that once they had a good look, any one of these collectors who could afford twenty million wouldn't miss this bargain.After all, an opportunity to secure an item worth millions more than the price they paid was very rare.In fact, when the other nine collectors heard that the first collector was buying it, it was only to be expected even if it left them all gloomy. They had all held the bronze sculpture in their hands—they knew it was definitely worth that much.However, no one in the room was more shocked than Trippy.He looked utterly flabbergasted, his eyes wide and bulging as he stared at the bronze sculpture while asking himself the same question repeatedly.Was that crap really worth twenty million? How?!While Trippy was still stunned, Raymond had already sent his payment details to the first
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