Since Cyprus had mobilized a large number of personnel and equipment from multiple departments to come and support the scene at the moment, there were various people from different departments integrated at the scene. The military troops responsible for keeping guard were also focused on blocking the media reporters from approaching, so they did not realize that Arlo and the others had already bypassed their defense. When Arlo quietly came to the periphery of the copper mine, he was completely shocked by the sight in front of him. He never expected that this huge copper mine which had taken decades to be completed would now be a ruin that was more than ten meters deep!A large number of excavators were excavating at different points of the ruins at this time, and there were even several drilling machines on site. These drilling machines were constantly drilling underground, trying to bring up the soil components that were hundreds of meters deep underground to see if there were any
The few staff members around the commander were horrified as soon as he said this! Arlo, who was eavesdropping outside the tent, was even more appalled!When he heard this, he connected the events that happened before and immediately guessed the general context of the entire matter. They had long suspected that there was a possibility of a spy in Cyprus, but they had initially thought that the enemy was simply eyeing this place or that the Section Ambassador was colluding with the enemy. Arlo finally realized that this place had long fallen into the complete control of the enemy! If the enemy did not have complete control over this place, how could they have secretly prepared a killer weapon such as a close-defense missile?!The enemy might even have known that Brody was coming, so they had set up a death trap for him here in advance!Arlo combined the clues of Brody’s disappearance along with the human DNA found on the artillery shells at the scene and thus deduced that Brody w
It was indeed mind-boggling to find a military base that did not belong to one’s own country in one’s own country. However, the logic behind the commander’s judgment was extremely reasonable, and the fact that the other party could obtain a heavy weapon such as the close-defense missile proved that the other party was not an ordinary person but was definitely a militant who possessed strong practical combat experience.As a place where militants used close-defense missiles to defend the copper mine, it was very likely that this was indeed a military base. Even if it was not really a military base, this place had to contain huge and unknown secrets!The commander said somewhat nervously, “No, this is a matter of great importance! I must report this matter to the President immediately!” Soon, the commander contacted the President directly. After giving the President a detailed report, he hung up the phone respectfully and then instructed the few people beside him, “Gentleman, the p
Arlo instantly made up his mind never to report the actual situation here to the British Lord! At the very least, he could not tell the British Lord that there were artillery shells and shell casings from close-defense missiles found here. He also could not let the British Lord know that there were traces of a person’s DNA found on the artillery shells from the close-defense missiles and that the DNA probably belonged to Mr. Jothurn. After all, close-defense missiles were a sensitive matter, and the discovery of shell casings within the scope of the copper mine was sufficient to prove to the British Lord that the enemy had long been secretly controlling the dead soldiers’ base under his watch. In that case, it would be a serious dereliction of duty on his part.Coincidentally, the officials from Cyprus were currently planning to conceal the news about the close-defense missiles, and they wanted to fill in the entire collapsed area. This meant that everything that had happened here
Arlo quickly said, “British Lord, I’ve already entered the location of the copper mine to investigate, but the entire copper mine has collapsed from top to bottom, and even the part above the ground of the copper mine has collapsed into ruins. The entire site is completely destroyed, and there is only debris left, so I can’t find any clues at all…”The British Lord asked solemnly, “How could this happen?! Such a huge base is gone just like that?! What about the people inside, then? Have they all been killed?!”Arlo said in fear, “British Lord, I don’t know what happened to the people inside. I was originally hoping for the officials from Cyprus to conduct an official investigation, but they have given out an order for the entire site to be filled in. They are going to make a public announcement that the copper mine has reached the end of its service life and will be abandoned. The place is heavily guarded now, and I’m unable to do anything to continue investigating this matter!”The
When Silas heard his brother’s question, he turned to look at Arlo and then sneered as he said, “My dear brother, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I’m only acting on the British Lord’s order. To be honest with you, I am your alternative.”“What?!” Arlo was stunned. He had never thought that he actually had an alternative as one of the five Military Governor Officers and one of the British Lord’s most trusted confidants! Moreover, he could not imagine that his alternative was actually his brother!He blurted out, “When did you become my alternative?!”Silas smiled and said, “I was already your alternative before you became the Right Military Officer of the Right Military Governor Office. In fact, I knew that you were going to become the Right Military Officer before you even knew it.”“You b*stard!” Arlo yelled angrily, “You’re my brother and I watched you grow up! You were my alternative, but you never told me about it at all throughout all these years?!” Silas asked him, “Wh
Arlo was filled with resentment. He did not expect that this younger brother of his whom he had brought up, trained, and supported wholeheartedly since he was young, would betray him at a critical moment.He wanted to fight back and escape at this time but felt as if his whole body was completely anesthetized. He slumped on his seat and did not even have the strength to lift his arms, let alone escape at this moment. Even opening the car door was a pipe dream.Arlo had tears in his eyes as he said to Silas, “Silas, if I die, the British Lord will also train an alternative to be placed by your side in the future. You might even end up just like me one day, and I am serving as a warning to you!”Silas shook his head and said calmly, “That will never happen. I’m not the same as you. I will never betray the British Lord!”After saying that, Silas added, “If I do well, I will accept it if the British Lord rewards me, and if I do not do well, I will also accept it if the British Lord pun
Arlo looked at his brother with bloodshot eyes and begged in an extremely humble tone, “Silas, as your brother, I beg you to please bury my wife and son with me since I’ve taken good care of you all this while. I have never asked you for help before in this life, and this is my last request before my death…”Silas shook his head and said calmly, “Bro, if we were in Naples, I would have honored you and buried you with your family even if you did not say anything, but we are in Cyprus now, and I can’t take your corpse back with me on the plane. Either airport won’t allow a corpse to enter or exit the country.”Arlo was speechless and said, “Silas, in that case, you can cremate my corpse and take my ashes back with you to be buried with my family!”Silas refused expressionlessly, “That’s impossible. Where would I cremate your body in this situation? The Cyprus police will be here before your corpse is fully cremated.”Arlo asked him, “You can’t let me die alone in the wilderness in Cy
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
Seeing that Mick had a favor to ask, Trippy was naturally eager to seize the opportunity to get in his good graces."Don't worry, Mr. Crane!" He promptly replied. "Just leave it to me!"Returning to Treasure Measure, he went up to the first man who had come and said, "Hey, brother… Did you come to buy the bronze sculpture from Mr. Cole?"The man asked warily, "You know about the bronze sculpture?""Of course!" Trippy grinned. "I know all too well—it's actually famous here in Aurous Hill."Whipping out his phone, he played the short video that Mick had spent five grand promoting, saying, "Here—check this out!"Curious, the man took the phone and watched the video solemnly.The other latecomer soon hurried over as well and stared fixedly at the screen too.They watched as Bill entered a room with the bronze sculpture with Mick, the latter who checked it out and started commenting on it.The first man exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, it really is that bronze sculpture."The second ma
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