Charlie glanced at Jordan, then at Kathleen.Indeed, Jordan was on the verge of dying. His breathing was growing weaker and weaker by the passing second.Charlie said nothing as he watched Kathleen and Chandler’s pleading faces. He silently took out a Healing Pill that had been cut in half from his pocket. He had prepared half a Healing Pill ahead.When he took out the pill, Kathleen became so emotional that she immediately burst into tears.The medicine pills looked pretty much the same. She thought the half pill Charlie took out was the Rejuvenating Pill her grandfather desired.She recalled the miraculous effect of the Rejuvenating Pill earlier. A quarter pill could easily save her grandfather. If he could take a half pill, his life could be extended by six to seven, maybe even ten years.She was overwhelmed by excitement, and didn’t know how to thank Charlie. While she was lost for words, Charlie interrupted her in a stoic tone, “Miss Fox, I must make this clear. This is not
Charlie looked at the elderly man lying weakly before him. He then introduced himself with a polite smile, “Nice to meet you, Lord Fox. I’m Charlie Wade.”Jordan could feel a bit of strength in his body. He seemed slightly stronger than before, so he tried to get up, though not without some struggle. When he finally managed to stand, he wanted to bow to Charlie. However, Charlie extended his arm and stopped him from doing so.“Lord Fox, you’re still weak. You don’t need to bow to me.”Jordan, however, felt very indebted. “Mr. Wade, I’ve heard of your greatness. To think I could finally meet you today… Thank you for saving me! Had it not been for your help, I'd probably be dead already…”Charlie waved his hand in dismissal. He glanced at Kathleen next to Jordan and said, “You should thank your granddaughter. If I didn’t owe her a favor, I wouldn’t have involved myself in this.”Charlie then added, “By the way, you should also thank Old Master Lennard for helping you.”Jordan nodde
Charlie didn’t attend college and didn’t receive any proper tertiary education. However, his family gave him a very good education before he was eight years old.He studied classical works under his mother’s guidance ever since he was a young child. He had thoroughly read books like Records of the Grand Historian and Classic of Poetry, and remembered them by heart. Naturally, he clearly remembered the names of his three uncles and youngest aunt.He couldn’t have imagined that the Number 99 bidder that was escorted out of the hall earlier would be his eldest uncle!That explained why he found Christian to be familiar-looking, yet he couldn’t put a finger as to where he had seen Christian.After all, the last interaction he had with his uncle was more than two decades ago. His uncle’s appearance had changed a lot since he was in his twenties. Therefore, Charlie couldn’t recognize Christian.Charlie pondered, ‘My uncle doesn't seem to be getting the Rejuvenating Pill for himself. Oth
Kathleen finally understood Charlie’s real identity. He could be their life-saver.She dropped her knees on the floor again and begged desperately, “Mr. Wade, please! Please help my grandfather take back his power…”Kathleen’s sudden request dumbfounded Jordan, who couldn’t understand why his granddaughter would beg Charlie to help.Charlie might have the Rejuvenating Pills, but even if he gave one to him, that would only allow him to live longer.He might survive, but that didn’t mean he could easily regain his power over the Fox family.His eldest son’s action was the same as eradicating him from the center of power. He was powerless, with no way to fight back at all. Moreover, he might not be able to return to the United States.His son might see him as a thorn if he returned to the United States. Therefore, Jordan was certain that his son would never let him return alive.Chandler was taken aback by Kathleen’s request, for he didn’t not expect Kathleen to figure out his true
Charlie sighed.He said grimly, “My parents passed away, but I survived.”Then, he asked Jordan, “Do you know anything about the reasons why my parents passed away?”Jordan shook his head. “Mr. Wade, the news of your mother’s death in Oskia was a great shock to the United States’ high society. Many claimed that she was murdered, but no one knew who the perpetrator was. It’s said that the Acker family has also been investigating her death, but to no avail. Outsiders like us wouldn’t know the reasons.”Kathleen also added, “Mr. Wade. After your mother’s passing, her peers at Stanford and several Silicon Valley bigwigs who have become top entrepreneurs through her investment have been trying everything to uncover the truth behind her death. Until today, they haven’t found any clear clues yet.”Charlie was disappointed to hear that. At first, he thought his parents were murdered by the Schulz family. When he finally found the Schulz family, however, he realized they weren’t capable of
Chandler’s words gave Jordan a huge reality check. Truly, Jordan couldn’t refute any of Chandle’s arguments. Chandler wanted to give his old friend a wake-up call once and for all, so he continued, “Jordan, you have to understand. Your son didn’t just seize your power willy-nilly. He even instigated everyone on the board of directors to overthrow you. Your obsession with the Rejuvenating Pill had gone overboard. You’ve even prepared two hundred billion US dollars just to win the auction! That must have alarmed your children, your board, and all the other shareholders.”“In other words, you’re no different than an old king who didn’t hesitate to exchange the power of his country in pursuit of longevity. Your descendants and followers couldn’t stand it anymore, so they lost their trust in you and stopped supporting you. They even regarded you as a failed king and a tyrant. They simply wanted to overthrow you so that everything will be normal again.”“You should think about it careful
Charlie’s words led Jordan to an epiphany. He realized he had been overly optimistic about his current predicament.His son wanted to see him dead overseas. His son thought that the faster he died, the better. What would happen if he defied his son’s expectations and continued to live on? After all, the Healing Pill guaranteed that he wouldn’t be dying anytime soon.Thought made Jordan shudder in fear. Kathleen began to panic as well. She hurriedly asked Charlie, “Mr. Wade, what should Grandpa do now…?”Charlie replied indifferently, “At a time like this, you shouldn’t think of trying to return to your peak. First, you must accept your failures and find a way to survive.”Chandler, too, grew slightly worried. “Mr. Wade, both of them don't have any support in Aurous Hill. They have Sir Jarvis with them, but if Jordan’s son discovers that Jordan is still alive, Jordan won’t be able to live in peace. When that happens, I fear that man might lose his patience and send someone after
Charlie’s revelation dumbfounded Kathleen and Jordan. He said it so easily, but it hit them like a bolt out of the blue.They had never expected the rumors to be so vastly different from reality. Word had it that the Wade family had to give away half their assets to the Ten Thousand Armies in order to be freed from Porter, the leader of Ten Thousand Armies. The truth turned out to be the complete opposite.The Wade family never ceded half their assets to Ten Thousand Armies. Instead, Charlie had taken the whole Ten Thousand Armies under his command. The Ten Thousand Armies, which was made of thousands of powerful mercenaries! A mercenary group couldn’t be compared to the American army. However, a wealthy family like the Fox family was incomparable in terms of scale and combat strength,Kathleen could barely process the newfound information. On the contrary, Jordan came to a sudden realization. He blurted out, “No wonder… That explains why Master Yant found it odd when we entered
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