The order required Roger to take out ten boxes of the Apothecary Restoration Pill to be handed over to the special envoy sent by the White House to be kept in strict custody with the nuclear bomb cipher box in the name of the highest-level strategic supplies.This suddenly placed Roger in an extremely difficult situation.Smith had brought back a total of twenty boxes of the Apothecary Restoration Pill, which would be one hundred and forty pills in total.Four boxes had been kept aside for Smith’s son, Jimmy, and aside from being used for the reverse engineering research and development, the rest of the pills were being distributed amongst the four patients that the White House had previously crammed in.To begin with, they were already stretching themselves to the limit.Now, the special envoy was even going to take away ten boxes to be kept as strategic supplies. So, that would mean that Roger and the others would have almost nothing left on hand.Roger could not help but compl
Shunpei, whom they had high hopes for, was not in a better situation at the moment.After settling down temporarily in Aurous Hill, he had been collecting environmental specimens in Aurous Hill for the past two days. Air, soil, floating dust, and water sources had all become the objects of his research.He even used some river water, lake water, tap water, and even spring water from the mountain in Aurous Hill and took turns to conduct various research in the villa.However, even after he had researched continuously, he began to feel more and more that not only was there nothing outstanding about the environment in Aurous Hill, but it was not even as good as the environment in Washington as a whole.The rest of the members of his team also felt the same way. Even though Aurous Hill was one of the ancient capitals in Oskia, the environment here was really not very good.Although the air pollution was not so serious, the air quality was not that good either. Moreover, it had a typ
“Okay.” Charlie instructed, “You should also be more careful. It would be best for you to stay in The Apothecary Pharmaceutical and not go anywhere for the time being.”Liam hurriedly said, “Yes, Master Wade!” ***Early the next morning, Shunpei dressed himself up as a morning jogger and ran all the way from his residence to The Apothecary Pharmaceutical.As he was on his way to The Apothecary Pharmaceutical, Jasmine announced to the public that Vintage Deluxe would be holding an auction in Aurous Hill in twenty days. She also announced information on the collections that would be auctioned at the auction.In addition to some famous calligraphy and paintings as well as antique porcelain, there would also be an item called the ‘Rejuvenating Pill’.Vintage Deluxe did not explain much about the ‘Rejuvenating Pill’, only introducing it as an ancient Oskian medicine with excellent medicinal effects. When this news came out, it did not cause any ripples in Aurous Hill and domestical
The registration threshold for Vintage Deluxe was ten billion dollars, which converted roughly to about 1.6 billion US dollars.It might sound like a lot, but in reality, just from the data that could be counted, there were nearly three thousand wealthy people in the world who had assets exceeding this amount.In addition, there was no telling how many invisible tycoons there were, ones who had never announced their assets to the public. Therefore, Charlie was not surprised that five hundred people had registered in two hours.However, it was rare for Elaine and Jacob, who were at home, to start to get angry when they saw the news of this auction.When Elaine saw the news feed on her cell phone, she basically did not think before she blurted out and cursed, “I’m afraid that Vintage Deluxe is really stupid! What kind of sh*tty auction is being held that a threshold of ten billion dollars is required for the registration?! Isn’t this simply bullsh*t? Who would dare to be so arrogan
Jacob hurriedly said, “You should just forget about it! I’m representing the Calligraphy and Painting Association to engage in a cultural exchange with the Koreans. Do you know about cultural exchanges? It’s an exchange between cultural people, so why should you be following us there? If people did not know any better, they would think that I’m deliberately bringing my family along with me on a publicly funded trip!”When Elaine heard this, she immediately said with some dissatisfaction, “Aren’t you the vice-chairman? You’re the second-in-command, so can’t you bring your own wife with you when you go out for a cultural exchange?!”Jacob thought to himself, ‘Even if I could really bring my wife, I would not bring you with me! I’m not f*cking insane...’Even though he thought that to himself, he still said solemnly, “This exchange is not organized by our Calligraphy and Painting Association, but it is organized by the city. When the time comes, each cultural field will send two or thr
When Charlie returned to his room, he carefully went through the name list sent by Jasmine immediately. He realized that amongst the hundreds of applicants, the vast majority were from the United States and Europe.Amongst them, there were more than three hundred people who had signed up from the United States itself. Moreover, from the names of the applicants, it could be seen that there were not only Americans, but there were also many people of Oskian, Japanese and Korean descent.Interestingly, most of the applicants from the United States were plutocrats and entrepreneurs, and more than half of the applicants from Europe were surprisingly the royal families and nobles from various countries. Even the Northern European royal family had signed up for this auction, and the person who had signed up for this was the old queen who had just abdicated. Charlie could not help but think, ‘I don’t know if the Northern European royal family’s assets even add up to ten billion dollar
Charlie also guessed Lord Wade’s intention in doing so, but he was not prepared to give the old man the Rejuvenating Pill—at least not yet. What was most interesting to Charlie in the whole list was the fact that he did not see the British royal family in the list. Previously, Charlie had also seen the movement of the British royal family from Ten Thousand Armies’ intelligence network. It was said that the Crown Prince had not reported the situation about the Rejuvenating Pill truthfully to the Queen after returning to Britain. The Queen had been very angry about this incident and was bent on getting this medicine. However, why did the Queen not come to register when the auction was announced, then?After Charlie thought about it, he felt that it might be because of the requirement to take the Rejuvenating Pill directly on the spot, which was somewhat unacceptable to the Queen.If the Queen was truly interested in the Rejuvenating Pill, the only option would be for her to atten
At this moment, Jordan, who was preparing to depart for Oskia, suddenly received a phone call.The caller was his youngest granddaughter, and she was also his most beloved grandchild, Kathleen.Kathleen was just twenty-two years old this year, and there was more than a seventy-year age gap between Kathleen and Jordan. She was the treasure of the family as she was the daughter of Jordan’s youngest son, whom he had gotten at an old age. Jordan’s oldest grandchild was already over fifty years old now, and even his eldest great-grandson was a few years older than Kathleen. It was precisely because Kathleen was young that she was of great seniority. She could be said to have everything going smoothly for her in the Fox family.In Lord Fox as well as his children and grandchildren’s eyes, Kathleen was the youngest and most beloved child amongst all the grandchildren.It was not only her grandfather who loved and doted on her, but her uncles and aunts loved and doted on her. Even her
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
Mick inspected every video to see who was getting the most views, and he then paid out of his own pocket to use paid advertising to get the video viral.It cost five thousand and it hurt, but reaching the trending page was definitely worth it.Mick was quite shrewd too, making sure that the paid advertising was focused locally. After all, he knew all too well that five thousand didn't buy many clicks, and clicks from elsewhere might be too sporadic to gain any worthwhile attention.As he worked in Antique Street, he naturally had to come up with a plan to promote himself in this place, ideally presenting himself as a master appraiser.That way, his fame would slowly extend throughout the province and perhaps Eastern Oskia, and eventually the country.As such, focusing on Aurous Hill was the best idea.Moreover, he also had another idea—if Jasmine Moore happened to see this video, she would see him in a new light.When that happened, he could look forward to getting really rich!
Soon, the video of Mick's staged act was uploaded to the online group, and everyone eagerly watched it as soon as it was done uploading.Mick certainly set a new bar with his acting as none of them could see that it was an act.Moreover, everyone could see that the bronze sculpture looked like the real deal, and they might have been swindled if it were them.As such, they couldn't help being impressed as Mick had easily seen through Billy's con, and he was the definition of a pro in that video.No matter how Billy had packaged it, there was no tricking real experts like Mick Crane. Just a quick glance and he had seen through that it was a postmodern replica, matched with a base from the Renaissance era to misdirect and beguile.With that, many fellow antique dealers changed their opinion of Mick.After all, Vintage Deluxe's business had been declining after Mick took over as manager, and people were presuming that his skills were lacking.But now, they were all shown that he had
"Amazing, Mr. Crane!""It's Mr. Crane who shines through, in the end! His eyes see through everything!""I guess Miss Moore made the right choice firing Raymond and appointing Mr. Crane! Mr. Crane is infinitely better!"Mick was immediately thrilled to see them fawning over him, and he laughed, "You flatter me—I'm merely sharing my personal perspective on this. In this trade, anyone who knows would understand how hard it is to get the good stuff in this age of technology.""There are plenty of people who hold ulterior motives and change their tactics knowing that there are always those scheming to get their hands on vintage treasures, so they just have to make it. That is how they started making counterfeits of everything, from scrolls to sculptures to statues, each of them so real just to trick those fools who think they could get rich overnight!""Exactly!" Someone promptly agreed. "There's never a lack of any such fools, and I just happened to meet one. I had this piece of jade
In groups like these, any gossip would immediately spread like wildfire as people share everything here with their other circles.Within minutes of these people's good work, Antique Street was abuzz even as the skies darkened: one of the antique traders had been swindled for 300 thousand, and it was Raymond Cole—the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe at that!Some of them wondered when Raymond had actually returned while others were laughing.He was supposed to be the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe, but he had messed up as well? You had to be kidding!Many were dumbstruck too—how would Raymond survive in Antique Street after losing so much money? It had been so long since such a major scam had been pulled!As such, all the antique dealers were asking one question: how did Raymond Cole get fooled?Meanwhile, Mick didn't leak the security footage right away, instead sending his people out to spread the news in other channels, claiming that Raymond thought he had won big by
Mick had already clipped the security footage and was waiting for Zachary's word.He had checked the footage repeatedly as well and was only getting more impressed with his masterful acting by the second. He looked just like a maestro, and every detail he mentioned was flawless and showed experience.Zacahry even said that Raymond had truly slipped up with that bronze sculpture, leaving him endlessly thrilled.The proverbial missing piece of the puzzle was here!Hence, calling all the staff he trusted, he told them excitedly, "Spread the word right away—Raymond Cole slipped up, spending 300 thousand on a fake Renaissance-era bronze sculpture!"His staff had no idea of the conspiracy involved, only that Mick had said that someone had tried to sell a counterfeit bronze sculpture but he had seen through it right away and chased him away, only for Raymond to end up buying the fake bronze sculpture soon after.Someone asked, "Mr. Crane, don't you think Raymond Cole bought from the man