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
He did not expect that they were originally planning to siege Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group’s cargo ship as well as the armed escorts from Ten Thousand Armies early in the morning, but unexpectedly, Ten Thousand Armies’ action was obviously faster. Moreover, they did not even have to wait, and they actually came all the way to their base to attack them!Moreover, he also did not expect that Ten Thousand Armies’ strength would be so strong and powerful that no one would notice at all even when his boss had been killed in this base with thousands of people in it!It had taken Badr twenty years to conquer this country, but in the end, his own neck had been snapped and broken in his very own base camp!Furthermore, the dozens of speedboats that Badr had accumulated over the past twenty years were all also blown up by Ten Thousand Armies in the blink of an eye!His twenty years of hard work and his own life had been destroyed in one night!The second-in-command immediately realized t
Pausing, Charlie then said, "I'll call Steve to drop by later too. I'm sure folks in Aurous Hill won't know him, but your potential troublemaker might.""I-Is that really fine?" Yolden blurted."What's not fine about it?" Charlie chuckled. "He has been treated like a tool ever since he came to Aurous Hill, and now that he has a chance to strut about, he wouldn't ask for more."Yolden appeared slightly relieved at that, and Charlie asked, "By the way, where's Paul, Matilda, and Autumn?""Getting their makeup done," Yolden replied. "Paul's my best man while Autumn's the maid of honor.""Good," Charlie nodded with a grin. "Don't worry—the wedding's going to be a success."As they spoke, Matilda stepped out of the dressing room in a stark-white wedding dress, flanked by Autumn and Paul.Seeing Charlie, Autumn nodded politely, "Good morning, Mr. Wade."As Charlie nodded in turn, Paul started, "G-Good morning… Mr. Wade…"Seeing that he was nervous and tentative, Charlie knew that he
As Yolden and Matilda were remarrying after living abroad for years, the wedding ceremony was much simpler, skipping Oskian customs and having a simple wedding reception for their guests at the hotel hall.There weren't that many guests either—aside from their children and close friends, only a handful of Yolden's colleagues at Aurous Hill University were invited.As the celebrant, Charlie didn't have much to do and was mainly the emcee.He brought along his jacket as he headed out to Shangri-La, not wearing it immediately so that Claire wouldn't guess that he was attending Matilda's wedding.Arriving at the Hanging Gardens before the guests were supposed to arrive, he found Yolden working with the staff to finalize the preparations.Seeing Charlie, Yolden approached him and said, "Thanks for coming this early, Charlie."Noticing that he was a little tired, Charlie asked in concern, "Had a bad night?"Yolden nodded, sighing, "Paul's uncle caused a huge mess. Both Matilda and I a
Tarlon nodded. "How do you suggest we find them?"Fleur scowled. "There's no rush. There are things which I'm still confused about, so just keep a close eye on the Ackers and the Wades for the time being. Report to me right away if anything important comes up—don't afford our enemies any opportunities to exploit.""Yes, milady!" -The next day, more news outlets were covering the joint project between the Ackers and the Wades as word continued to spread.However, neither family revealed too many details, be it the name of the company, who was the CEO, or the scale of their business.While the public was dying with curiosity, nothing else was known.Still, Aurous Hill's officials were especially interested, with the town hall visiting the Ackers the next day and showing utmost sincerity by leasing a whopping 2-million-square-meter land along the southern highway. Still, the condition was for the Ackers to come true on their promise to propel the city's economy to 15 billion US d
Fleur had repeatedly mentioned the conspiracy theory of Ashley using a body double over the last twenty years.Tarlon had investigated from many different angles, but everything from the gender, age, dental records, to body figure pointed to the fact that the deceased was Ashley Acker.And yet, Fleur had never bought it, insisting that Curtis was prepared for them just because Curtis' son had gone missing soon after.There was no way Curtis would save his son but not his wife, and the disfigured corpse only added fuel to Fleur's suspicion.Thus, over the last twenty years, Fleur had kept a close eye on the Ackers, arranging for two 'scholars' to be embedded amongst their ranks as sleeper agents. She went that far all to determine if Ashley was dead or had faked her death.However, the scholars had since been killed in action, and they had no spies within the Ackers left.As for Tarlon, he still doubted Fleur's theory even now, but he remained respectful as he spoke, "Milady, I mu
Meanwhile, on the edge of the South Pole, Tarlon Griffin rushed outside of Fleur Griffin's room, knocking the door gingerly as he announced, "I have news, my lady!"Fleur didn't respond, but the thick wooden door between them slowly opened as if pushed by an invisible force.Tarlon entered to find Fleur seated on the floor with her legs crossed at the ankles. Her eyes remained closed as she molded her Reiki, asking, "What is it?"Tarlon quickly answered, "News from Oskia. The Ackers are partnering with the Wades on a joint venture into electric-powered vehicles."Fleur slowly opened her eyes, asking quietly, "And you're telling me because?"Tarlon quickly explained, "It just came out of the blue, so I thought I should report it to you right away."Fleur sighed. "After I tried and failed to wipe out the Ackers so many times, they wouldn't dare set foot stateside. If anything, they must have decided to seek asylum in Oskia by offering a substantial investment, and it's a base whe
Silent for a while, Matilda then asked Yolden, "Do you think I can do it?""Yes!" Yolden nodded without hesitation. "You definitely won't have any problems!"Matilda sighed, shaking her head. "We traveled far abroad to study while we were young, but we didn't return to Oskia to help the country's development. It's been thirty years since, and now that we have returned to the country at the same time, I definitely wouldn't turn down such an opportunity to help."Pausing, she then said, "That said, major corporations make it a point to not hire family members. Forget spouses—employees aren't allowed to date, and one of the two will be asked to resign if necessary."Don't you think it's inappropriate since we are legally married, having gotten our certificate and all? And if we set these precedents, we would have trouble asking other employees to follow that policy. You are going to be a CEO, so you need a very clear answer on this issue."Yolden shrugged. "In the first place, that p
Yolden nodded slightly. "He does.""My gosh…" Matilda murmured. "That's too much… Ashley's son? A member of the Acker family and the Wades?!"Pausing, she then asked in confusion, "Wait, if Charlie has so much power and influence, why would he permanently reside in Aurous Hill… No, why would he be content as Jacob Wilson's son-in-law? Does Jacob know who he really is?""Definitely not," Yolden shook his head. "There were some compelling circumstances, and his identity is a sensitive one. That's why I'm asking you to tell no one except Paul—and even then, you should only tell him if he can keep the secret."Matilda was sharp enough to pick up on the reasoning, too. "Charlie's hiding because of his parents' accident, isn't he?""Yes," Yolden sighed. "He has his plans, but I didn't pry since I can only do that much, let alone help him on that.""Got it," Matilda nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry. My lips are sealed… And you just said you're resigning? Are you going to help with this e
"That would be Ashley Layna Acker," Matilda replied without hesitation. "She was our age, as well as a major investor in Silicon Valley, while we were only starting to get our first clients. It's no exaggeration to say that she's the shining example in many case studies when it comes to business."Pausing, she then continued, "And she used to be your classmate, right? I remember you mentioning that in our conversations before.""Yes," Yolden sighed emotionally. "She was a classmate and the star of our generation."Matilda nodded but soon shook her head, "Wait, weren't we talking about Charlie's car company? What does that have to do with Ashley Acker?" "Here's where I let you in on a secret," Yolden said. "But first, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone except Paul."Matilda nodded without hesitation. "Don't worry—if it's a secret, I won't tell Paul either."Yolden scratched his head. "Actually, Paul should know. We are going to marry soon, and he's my stepson, lega
In fact, the legal department of major enterprises covered many responsibilities, the chief of which concerned intellectual property, which was why veterans were needed to lead.Additionally, Charlie trusted Matilda's accomplishments in the legal field, especially since she had worked in the United States for years.With Curtis Autos' intended expansion worldwide, that meant the legal department should also know the laws of countries abroad, ready to file or respond to lawsuits at any time. After all, competitors may use the law to impede their growth, along with the government applying unfair policies to impede their development and impact on local businesses.Moreover, Charlie considered Paul young and therefore lacking in experience, not to mention that it was not likely he would abandon his family's law firm. As such, the ideal solution was to poach Matilda for now.As for Matilda, she was still in the dark and had no idea what she was in for, asking Charlie in confusion, "Lega