Mr. Chardon was completely stunned when he heard this. He did not know that this was the latest script that Charlie had prepared for Zachary, so he could only explain himself helplessly and innocently, “Boss, I’m really not an undercover cop…”“Don’t say anymore.” Zachary waved his hand and said impatiently, “To be honest with you, I asked him to quote a price of three million dollars for the jade ring in order to detect the presence of cops. Anyone who has a proper understanding of antiques would find the price to be absolutely outrageous as soon as they hear the price. Only those undercover cops who want to find out more clues will agree to the price in order to seize the opportunity to find out more clues.”Having said that, Zachary added, “But let me tell you, this trick of yours won’t work with me!”Mr. Chardon was truly speechless. He did not expect that this would be the reason why the other party was only quoting three million dollars for the jade ring. Mr. Chardon was eve
Mr. Chardon was furious, and he did not realize that he had completely believed in everything Zachary wanted him to believe in precisely because of his anger.He believed that Zachary was an antique dealer who was closely related to tomb robbing. Therefore, Mr. Chardon had a firm belief that he was simply lucky to be able to come across these two magical instruments, and it could not be a trap!He only had one thought in his mind at this moment, and that was to determine how he could get Zachary to believe him and sell him the magical instruments he had!Therefore, he could only suppress his anger and remain patient. He even spoke with a bit of humility as he said, “Boss, to be honest with you, I’m really not an undercover cop. I can use an overseas bank account to settle the bill in US dollars for you. Even if the domestic police want to catch you using an undercover cop and even if they really prepared millions of dollars to uncover clues for law enforcement, they cannot possibl
“Wait a while.” Zachary said casually, “I asked my subordinate to wait for the businessman from Hong Kong at the airport. The businessmen from Hong Kong are all cautious and have never called or sent any text messages let alone tell us which flight they are taking to Aurous Hill. They have to meet and identify the secret code and token before they reveal their identity, so it can happen at any time. My subordinate has to continue waiting there.”Zachary did not dare to ask Landon to come over because Landon had also been deceived by him. If Landon were to expose any clues after he came, all of Zachary’s previous efforts would be in vain.Therefore, Zachary thought for a moment and said, “Why don’t we do this? I’ll ask him to get an errand boy in the city to deliver the ring to you.”Mr. Chardon hurriedly said, “No, that wouldn’t do. How can you let others handle such an expensive item? If it’s not convenient for your subordinate to come over, I can go and find him to get the ring my
Mr. Chardon had finally gained Zachary’s ‘trust’ after a long process of explanation and flattery. He also remitted a total of eight hundred thousand US dollars to Zachary’s bank account directly. After Zachary had received the money, he was overjoyed and quickly said to Mr. Chardon, “Oh, old man, it turns out that you’re not an undercover cop, but you’re the God of Wealth!”Mr. Chardon asked impatiently. “Since I’ve already paid for the item, does the item belong to me now?”Zachary handed the Thunderstrike wood directly to Mr. Chardon and said, “You can take this first. The jade ring will be delivered here in a short while.”Mr. Chardon was overjoyed. He played with the Thunderstrike wood that was in his hand, and his fondness for it could not be explained with words. He no longer felt any hatred or resentment toward Zachary at this point. He just wanted to find an uninhabited place so that he could try out the power of this magical instrument made out of Thunderstrike wood.
When Zachary saw that Mr. Chardon was extremely cautious, he knew that this matter could not be forced and should not be rushed. Therefore, he patted his chest and said, “Okay then, Sir, you can come over again in the morning tomorrow and take a look.”Mr. Chardon approached and deliberately lowered his voice, saying, “Boss, how about this? I’ll pay you two hundred thousand US dollars in advance. If there’s anything new, you should keep it for me first instead of displaying it so that others will not snatch it before me. It would be best if I happen to like the item after I’ve seen it, otherwise, you can continue selling it to others. What do you think?”Zachary thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “Okay, I won’t hesitate since you’re so straightforward. We’ll do as you say, then.”Mr. Chardon was overjoyed. He took out his cell phone once again and transferred another two hundred thousand US dollars to Zachary’s bank account. Mr. Chardon spent a whopping one and a half mil
Just as Mr. Chardon was heading toward Mount Phoenix, Charlie received a text message from Zachary. In the message, Zachary only wrote one sentence: ‘New store opening next month.’ Upon seeing it, Charlie immediately replied with a thumbs-up emoji.This was the code that they had agreed upon. ‘New store opening’ was a slang in the tomb raiding industry which meant there was a new tomb to be raided. According to their agreement, once the Thunder Order was sold, Zachary would send this code to Charlie. The reason for having such a code was as a precaution. If someone with ill intentions saw it, they would think it was two tomb robbers planning a new operation, not connecting it to anything else.Upon receiving the message, Charlie knew that the Thunder Order had been sold, so he immediately called Isaac. Ten minutes later, Isaac sent several video clips to Charlie.These video clips were surveillance recordings from the airport arrival hall and the vicinity of Zachary’s stall in A
The heavenly thunder summoned by the Thunder Order not only shattered the huge boulder but also created a giant pit in the soil beneath it. The almost terrifying power excited Mr. Chardon to the point where he almost roared to the sky. He could not believe that the Thunderstrike wood had turned out to be a magical instrument capable of summoning heavenly thunder. Moreover, the power of this heavenly thunder was comparable to that of a heavy artillery shell, far surpassing the wooden sword given to him by the British Lord. Overwhelmed with excitement, Mr. Chardon stood by the giant pit, gazing at the intact Thunder Order, murmuring to himself, “The power of this Thunderstrike wood is truly terrifying! With it, even if I encounter opponents stronger than me, I can still hold my ground. It seems I'm incredibly lucky to have come to Aurous Hill this time!”With these thoughts, Mr. Chardon sighed, “However, the consumption of Reiki for this thing is enormous. Just casting it once deple
Meanwhile, at Aurous University, thousands of freshmen from various departments were divided into different formations on the field for a 14-day orientation. Today was just the beginning, and many freshmen were not accustomed to the high-intensity quasi-military orientation. They were all expressing complaints regardless of gender. The scorching sun was already unbearable, and wearing long-sleeved camouflage uniforms and continuously marching in step made it particularly torturous for these freshmen.A thunderous sound suddenly came from the southwest, startling all the students on the field. The students were secretly rejoicing as they looked at the dark clouds in the southwest, hoping for a sudden downpour.Most students thought that if there was heavy rain, the orientation would probably be suspended. In that case, everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Even if the orientation could not be suspended, training in the rain would be more comfortable than enduring the sc
Hearing Jacob's tone, Charlie could tell that Jacob must have already learned about Matilda's plans to marry Yolden. So, Charlie said, "I'm just around the corner. I'll head over now, and we can meet at the gate." Choking up, Jacob replied, "Alright, I won't drive then. I'll wait for you at the gate. Hurry!" "Okay," Charlie agreed, but after hanging up, he deliberately waited for a few minutes. It was because Yolden had just left moments ago to pick up Matilda at Senior University. If Charlie had gone there right now, all four of them could have run into each other at the gate, which would make things even more awkward. Charlie wasn't worried about feeling awkward himself—he was more concerned about Jacob being further hurt. After intentionally waiting a bit, Charlie finally drove to the university. Just as Charlie drove toward Senior University, Matilda was waiting for Yolden by the roadside at the entrance of Senior University. At this moment, Jacob stumbled out of th
Charlie asked, "There are too many new domestic energy brands now. Do you think they still have a shot in vehicle manufacturing?" "Of course," Yolden affirmed. "There are indeed many new energy brands now, and many of them are struggling on the edge of survival. A lot of them have already disappeared, but the automotive market is so vast, and new energy vehicles only account for a small portion of it, which proves that the future of new energy still has great potential. Now, if the focus is only on competing with other new energy brands, the scale is indeed a bit small. The scope should be broadened to compete with traditional gasoline vehicle manufacturers. If you can cut Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's global sales in half, that would truly be a giant." Yolden paused for a moment, almost as if remembering something, and then said, "Actually, you could consider researching this field. You don't lack money or resources, and with Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group as your logistics channe
When Jacob came to his senses, he was already in tears. The student presumed he was unwell and asked, "Mr. Wilson, do you want me to call your wife to pick you up?" Elaine's sarcastic face immediately popped up in his mind, and he trembled with fear. He quickly wiped away his tears and stammered, "D-don't bother... I... I just got something in my eyes..." The student obviously didn't believe him and asked worriedly, "Why don't you call your wife? Or I'll call a cab for you." "No, no." Jacob waved his hand and said, "I'll call my son-in-law to pick me up. He has just returned to Aurous Hill, so it shouldn't be a problem." After that, he quickly took out his phone and called Charlie. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie had left the cafe and was about to walk Yolden to his car. When he saw Yolden walking straight toward a domestic new energy vehicle, he asked curiously, "I don't think you were driving this model before, were you?" "I just bought it," Yolden replied with a smil
If Matilda still had feelings for Jacob, his nostalgic strategy would definitely have a strong impact. However, Matilda had already decided to move on, so Jacob's suggestion did not stir any emotions in her at all. With an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Jacob, Yolden is downstairs waiting for me. We have something to discuss. How about another day? We can have dinner together, and I'll treat you." Jacob didn't expect the nostalgia strategy to fall flat. His original plan was to use nostalgia to get Matilda to go with him to eat near the school, then take the opportunity to revisit old places and subtly reignite their past memories. After all, revisiting old places was the best way to rekindle old feelings, no exceptions. It was like drinking the pasta water after cooking the pasta. However, he never imagined that Matilda's expression wouldn't change in the slightest. There was no shyness, no hesitation, no nervousness, and certainly no fluttering heart. She simply and
Matilda had been listening attentively before, but now, she was lowering her head, fiddling with her phone, and her expression even carried a hint of shyness and happiness, like that of a young girl. Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. While doing the presentation, he couldn't help but resentfully think to himself, "What has Matilda been chatting about with that Yolden guy? She's so happy..." At that moment, Matilda had just received a message from Yolden. In the message, Yolden informed her of the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to have the wedding as soon as possible. Seeing how eager her beloved was to marry her, Matilda naturally felt very touched. At that moment, she had completely fallen into Yolden's love. For this man, who had a similar background, education, values, and even lifestyle to her own, she could find no fault with him. She felt that he was perfectly tailor-made for her by heaven itself, almost as if everything about him perfectly m
Charlie's worries were not unfounded. He had long known that Jacob had not completely given up on Matilda despite her relationship with Yolden. After returning from the cultural exchange in Korea, Jacob had been more dejected than ever before—something he hadn't even displayed when his family had gone bankrupt. If there was still a chance to salvage the relationship when one's beloved was merely dating someone else, their marriage was tantamount to a death sentence. Furthermore, considering the high intellectual backgrounds of Matilda and Yolden as well as their age and life experience, their decision to marry at this stage of life undoubtedly signaled their intention to build a long-term future together. This left Jacob with absolutely no chance at all. At this moment, Jacob was blissfully unaware of the devastating news and was busy conducting a calligraphy and painting workshop at Senior University. The so-called workshop was essentially a few slides showcasing classic
After that, Charlie asked with a bit of curiosity, "When did you and Matilda decide to get married?" Yolden smiled sheepishly and explained, "Remember when the city organized our cultural exchange trip to South Korea? I confessed to Matilda during that trip, and she accepted. After spending some time together, we both felt we were a great match. Considering our age, we didn't want to delay such an important decision any longer, so we decided to take the next step and build a family together." He continued, "Last month, we went to Lambonear for a few days. I bought a ring and proposed to her by the seaside, and she said yes. We also sought the opinion of our respective children—Autumn and Paul—and they were both very supportive. Both kids are exceptional and independent, so they urged us to have the wedding as soon as possible. I wanted to wait until you returned so I could check your schedule. For our wedding, we'd like to ask you to be our officiant." "What? Me as the officiant?
Charlie said without hesitation, "Sure. When is it convenient for you? Send me the address, and I'll go meet you." Charlie had always respected Yolden not only because he was a nice and talented man but also because he and his mother went way back and went to the same school. Yolden said hastily, "I've just come from Senior University. It's the weekend, and I don't have classes today. Why don't you send me the address and I'll meet you?" Charlie gave it some thought. It was a little past 3 p.m., so Yolden had likely already had lunch, and there were still a few hours until dinner. Inviting him to The Heaven Springs didn't seem ideal for a discussion. Considering that he had lived in the United States for many years and probably had a habit of having coffee in the afternoon, Charlie said, "How about this? There's a Starbucks not far south of the university. Let's meet there for a cup of coffee." "Perfect!" Yolden said with a smile. "I was just thinking you could give me an addre
On the way back to The Heaven Springs, Julien was in a much better mood than when he had arrived. Initially, he was filled with anxiety, unsure of what Charlie had planned. But now, everything had become clear. The troublesome matter of Salem and Edmund was no longer his concern. All he had to do was wait for the video from the ship to be released and then head back home. Charlie noticed his improved mood and smiled as he asked, "Julien, you've resolved the most critical matter right after landing in Aurous Hill. You must be feeling pretty happy, right?" Julien chuckled and said, "To be honest, before coming here, I was worried that I'd end up going back empty-handed and being secretly mocked by others. But now, it's different. Once your video is released, no one can blame me for not doing my job. If anything, they can only blame their family for missing their chance. After all, so much time has passed, and it's their fault Salem and Edmund were moved to the Middle East." As he