Aside from shock and terror, the incident tonight also made her feel a little strange.She couldn’t figure out what kind of person could have targeted Julian so precisely. Moreover, the other party had struck in such a sharp and precise manner without leaving any clues behind. She had also suspected Charlie before.However, her thoughts would always detour and return to what Julian had said before.She had always felt that although Charlie was very mysterious, he shouldn’t be that powerful.She recalled what her grandfather had said over the phone. Master Yant speculated that the opponent that Julian had encountered was a Dark Realm expert.An expert of the Great Perfection Realm of the Illuminating Realm was already unheard of, and an expert of the Dark Realm, which was one big level higher compared to the Illuminating Realm as a whole, was even rarer in this world. This made Kathleen feel even more impressed with Aurous Hill. She subconsciously used her fingers to fiddle
Following this line of thought, Kathleen became more and more alarmed.She hurriedly sat up from the bathtub as panic struck her. Flustered, she whispered to herself, “Mr. Larson is a six-star martial artist. If he can’t see any cultivation in Charlie, then there are only two possibilities. Either Charlie has no cultivation at all, or he must be above a six-star martial artist!”“If he’s above a six-star martial artist, he might not necessarily be a seven-star martial artist. There might be no limit!” “If Mr. Larson has really been killed or is under Charlie’s control, then Charlie’s cultivation level would have already reached the Dark Realm, just as Master Yant said!”“He was also the one who chose the place we ate tonight. He chose such a remote place deliberately! Did he really do that just to let me taste the local specialties?”“Coincidentally, there was only a problem with the surveillance cameras around the location that he chose and thus, no valuable information was foun
Jordan blurted out, “Are you sure? Could that man really have the strength of a Dark Realm expert?!”Kathleen said, “I don’t have any direct evidence, but after analyzing it, that’s very likely. I think that it’d be better to be cautious. No matter what, we shouldn’t affect your bid for the Rejuvenating Pill in any way.”Jordan thought about it for a moment before finally saying, “Kathleen, I think you should come back as soon as possible. Since there’s already the risk of you being exposed, there’s no point for you to continue staying in Aurous Hill anymore. It’d only increase the risk.”He added, “Return first. When the auction is held, I’ll have Master Yant accompany me there. At that time, we’ll go to Aurous Hill to participate in the auction openly and honestly. I believe others who participate in the auction will probably bring a martial arts expert as their companion. Even if that man truly is really powerful, he wouldn’t make a move on them, would he?”Kathleen said, “If he
After Kathleen wrapped her figure in a bathrobe, she stepped out of the bathroom and called Sherry. “Sherry, come to my room for a bit.”Sherry replied respectfully, “Please wait for a moment, Young Lady. I’ll be there soon.”Moments later, Kathleen heard the sound of the doorbell.She stood up and opened the room door.As soon as Sherry came in, she asked respectfully, “Young Lady. Since you asked me to come over, what are your instructions for me?”Kathleen didn’t look nervous or worried anymore. She simply had Sherry sit on the sofa and took her time to ask, “Sherry, how did things go with you and Claire Wilson today?” Sherry said, “The contract has been signed. Madam Wilson insisted on not charging the design fee. She wanted to transfer the five million dollars for the design fee to the decoration costs. She said that if we refuse, she won’t take the order. I agreed to it because I couldn’t convince her otherwise.”Kathleen couldn’t help but frown. “Why did she refuse the d
Sherry replied respectfully, “Alright, Young Lady. I’ll prepare it for you as soon as possible. Do you have any other instructions for me?”Kathleen waved her hand. “There’s nothing else. You can go and get busy.”…Although Kathleen wasn’t a core member of the Fox family, her authority in the Fox family wasn’t something to scoff at due to Lord Fox’s influence.She had the right to deploy all kinds of information channels of the Fox family. If she wanted any information, the Fox family’s information channels would definitely prioritize her.Therefore, Sherry was able to send the list of the top twenty interior designers recognized worldwide as well as their detailed information to Kathleen with relative quickness. Kathleen went through the list word by word on her tablet for several hours. It was four thirty in the morning when she finally finished reading through the list. It was only then that she set her alarm clock for eight in the morning, before going to sleep peacefully.
Very soon, Sherry arrived at Claire’s office, led by the female designer.Claire got up to greet Sherry. She smiled and said, “Miss Connor, why are you here so early?”Sherry smiled. “Chairman Wilson, I came here to confirm our construction period with you. Our young lady would like to know how long the renovation would take and when we will be able to move in.”Claire replied with some difficulty, “Miss Connor, we’re still in the communication stage of this project. I don’t know how many times we’ll need to find a balance in our communication, and I don’t know how many versions of the design sketches are required to satisfy Miss Jane. So, I cannot give you an exact time frame yet.”Claire added, “However, I think that this matter is divided into two steps. The first step is that we’ll need to remove the original renovation first. This will be much faster. I have a better understanding of the situation of the villa as well. I estimate that the soft interior and hard furnishings ca
Sherry looked up at Claire and asked, “Chairman Wilson, our young lady said that she’s free now. She’s staying at Shangri-La Hotel, which is not too far from here. If you have nothing on, we can go over there now.”Claire did not hesitate. “That’s fine with me. Let’s go there.”“Okay.” Sherry smiled. “I happened to drive here, so why don’t you carpool with me, Chairman Wilson?”“Alright.” Claire readily agreed. She picked up a notepad from the table immediately, placed her tablet into her bag, and then followed Sherry out of the office.As Claire had already consulted Charlie for his opinion before she took on this order, she didn’t need to report everything to Charlie. It was expected of her to meet the client for renovation. Sometimes, it was completely reasonable for her to have to deal with her client all the time, so Claire didn’t think too much about it.Sherry drove Claire to Shangri-La Hotel. Along the way, she looked for various topics to chat with Claire. At the same t
When Kathleen took the initiative to greet her, Claire felt somewhat flattered. She said humbly, “Miss Jane, you’re being too polite. I’m just an ordinary person, so how is it possible for you to have heard of me before?”Kathleen laughed. “I always hear Sherry talking about you. She speaks highly of you.”As Kathleen spoke, she led Claire into the reception area with a smile. “Madam Wilson, let’s sit down and talk.”“Okay.” Claire nodded and followed Kathleen, before taking a seat in the reception area.As soon as Claire sat down, Kathleen casually instructed Sherry, “Sherry, prepare us two cups of coffee.”After that, she turned to Claire and asked, “Madam Wilson, what kind of coffee would you like? I only have a capsule coffee machine here, so please forgive me if I’m being a little too neglectful.”Claire hurriedly waved her hand and said, “Miss Jane, you don’t have to go through such trouble. I don’t need to drink anything…”However, Kathleen nodded at Claire with a small
The other antique traders who were keeping tabs on the situation were left confused by Trippy's message.[Maybe even those out-of-towners know that Raymond is a sucker? So they traveled overnight just to see what happens?][I know Raymond is in trouble, but is it really worth traveling hundreds of miles just to watch?][Maybe they know he's a sucker, so they came to sell him more counterfeits?][Shit, that must be it! Suckers are rare these days, after all!][Damn straight! Just knowing that there's one in Aurous Hill, you'd be eager to come over.]Even Mick Crane who had just woken up and saw the message immediately sent a voice message: "Those conmen are just like flies flocking around shit as soon as they smell it.""Oh, but what they don't know is that Raymond has no more money! I heard he only had a few hundred thousand for the startup, and the bronze sculpture must have cost most of it. I'm afraid those people won't even get their gas money and toll costs back after travel
Trippy rolled his eyes as he texted back: [Hell no. I need to start my business instead of wasting my time. You morons can come get a number yourself if you like. Haha!]Still, Trippy had just sent his text when a trio arrived in a hurry outside Treasure Measure.Seeing that the doors were closed, the leader asked Trippy, "Excuse me, can I ask if this is Treasure Measure? Owned by a man named Mr. Cole?"Trippy was at once surprised. "You mean Raymond Cole?"The leader quickly said, "We don't know his first name, only that his last name is Cole, and his handle name was Treasure Measure's Mr. Cole."Trippy chuckled. "That'd be him. Has to be, since he hand wrote that shop sign."Pausing, he then asked in curiosity, "So, you've come to see him being a sucker?"The leader was naturally curious as to what Trippy was talking about. However, he was also reluctant to reveal why he had come since there was a killer bargain at stake. In fact, every other collector who was coming was k
Raymond also added that the 20 million price tag wouldn't be cut or increased. To put it simply, the bronze sculpture was right there in Aurous Hill and waiting—it was a race.Hence, many reputable collectors contacted expert appraisers throughout the night, some even booking night flights straight to Aurous Hill.The best amongst them was a fanatic collector of bronze items in Eastcliff.Following a brief exchange with Raymond online, he immediately called an expert who was also a close friend. As soon as his call was answered, he asked the other man if he had time to travel to Aurous Hill so that no one else would beat them to it—and they would drive out in the night if at all possible.After all, the earliest flight was at six in the morning, and it'd be eight by the time they made it to Aurous Hill Airport and nine by the time they got to Antique Street in a cab.Therefore, the ideal way to get there was by driving over six hundred miles at top speed, and that meant reaching A
While Jacob was feeling delighted after pulling off his con, Raymond had posted details of the bronze sculpture online.The website he was using was the biggest platform for antique collectors and the antique trade where each user could set a favorite tag in the antique category and era. If a user who preferred canvas art pieces of the Tudor dynasty set that label as their favorite, they would immediately be notified with text or desktop notifications in regards to any item with the same label.As medieval bronze sculptures were rare in the first place, most who were interested had already set that label on their favorites and were immediately notified soon after Raymond posted pictures of the bronze sculpture online.The collectors were naturally eager to check it out as gilded sculptures of the medieval era were really rare, and most collectors would go a lifetime without picking one up for their collection.On top of that, the seller had even listed a major flaw and was only ask
"Nope," Jacob chuckled. "We were both working separately and just happened to get back in at the same time."Then, he immediately became smug and excited, "Guess what, dear? I made 200 thousand out of the deal! In net profits!""For real?!" Elaine gaped. "200 thousand in just one night?! That's amazing! How did you do that?"Claire was surprised to hear that too, and she came over to ask, "What deal was it, Dad?"Jacob grinned, "Oh, it's nothing to brag about. It's just that I managed to pick up a nice antique item thanks to my wisdom and then sold it for 200 thousand."Pausing, he then sighed in dismay, "However, the buyer wasn't too rich—I would have squeezed him for 400 thousand, but he couldn't afford more, so I had to settle for less."Elaine quickly exclaimed, "Shit, we're talking about a loss of 200 thousand! People would work a year and still never earn that much…"She trailed off for a moment before asking, "By the way, dear—are we still flying out first thing tomorrow?
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