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
She was afraid that the thunder just now was related to Charlie, so she kept chanting, “Answer the phone quickly… Answer the phone quickly…”After a moment, the call was connected, and Charlie’s voice came through, “Veron, do you need something?”Upon hearing Charlie’s voice, Vera immediately heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, “Charlie, I’ve been feeling grateful for what happened last time, so I wanted to ask when you're available. I'd like to invite you for a meal.”Charlie chuckled, “Let's talk about it after your orientation ends. During this time, just stay at school and don't go anywhere.”As he spoke, Charlie remembered something and asked her, “By the way, you should still be in the middle of your orientation, right? How come it's convenient for you to call me?”Vera deliberately lied, “There was a sudden clap of thunder just now, and it felt like it was going to rain. Therefore, the instructor asked us to take a break and check the weather.”“Oh.” Charlie frowne
Soon, the Rolls-Royce driven by Madam Marilyn stopped inside Scarlet Pinnacle Manor’s courtyard. Vera pushed the door open herself without waiting for Madam Marilyn, got out of the car, and walked toward her top-floor courtyard. Without looking back, she said, “Madam Marilyn, starting today, I won't be leaving the house. Just place my three meals outside my courtyard door, knock, and then you can leave.”Madam Marilyn felt surprised. She understood that Vera did not want to participate in the orientation, but she did not understand why Vera wanted to stay indoors without leaving the house.As a servant, she knew better than to ask unnecessary questions, so she said without hesitation, “Okay, Miss Lavor, I understand! Do you have any special requests for your meals?”Vera casually replied, “Anything will do. Just arrange it as you see fit.”After saying that, she quickly ran to the top floor, pushed the door open, and entered her own courtyard. The elderly Logan saw Vera ascendi
In the midst of his contemplation, he suddenly received an online call from the British Lord. His expression changed to surprise, and he quickly answered the call, respectfully saying, “Hello, British Lord.”On the other end of the phone, the cold voice questioned sternly, “Mr. Chardon, when did you arrive in Aurous Hill?”Mr. Chardon hurriedly replied, “British Lord, I arrived in Aurous Hill this morning.”The British Lord continued, “It should be late at night there now. You've been in Aurous Hill for over fifteen hours, so why haven't you dealt with the Ackers yet?”Mr. Chardon’s heart skipped a beat, and he said, “British Lord, I just arrived in Aurous Hill today and haven't had a chance to familiarize myself with the environment yet…”The British Lord pressed on, “Haven't I already told you that the Ackers are residing in the villa at Willow Manor? You only need to arrive at Willow Manor late at night and eliminate them all to avoid any complications in the future. It's a sim
Mr. Chardon was well aware that he could not afford to defy orders again without a suitable reason given that he had previously defied orders by delaying his arrival in Aurous Hill. Not defying orders meant he had to go to Willow Manor immediately and kill the Acker family members who were sleeping, along with everyone protecting them. Such a massive operation would undoubtedly shock the world. It was predictable that as the site of the incident, Aurous Hill would definitely enter an unprecedented state of martial law. If that happened, how could he continue to trace the clues about Zachary and his superior?Therefore, the best way to postpone the operation was to voluntarily disclose the matter of the magic instrument. After all, the magic instrument was precious not only to him but to the British Lord as well. Mr. Chardon thought of withholding the Thunder Order that could summon heavenly thunder, taking out the jade ring, and using it to persuade the British Lord to grant him
Still, Jacob soon clenched his knuckles and pulled himself together. "It's fine—I'll just find another way of revenge. Whatever happens, if Raymond Cole dares to return to Aurous Hill, I'm not going to spare him. If I can't fight for my honor, how would I ever show my face in Antique Street ever again?"And without another word, he turned and left the dining room.Claire turned in exasperation toward Charlie then. "Please keep both eyes on my dad, dear. Don't let him cause trouble out there."Charlie nodded slightly. "Don't worry, I will."And with that, both of them cleaned up the dining room and stepped out together to find Jacob on the drawing room couch, sipping tea while watching TV.As for Elaine, she had a rare smile on her face as she sat beside Jacob, constantly refilling his cup.Then, seeing Claire and Charlie, she promptly beckoned, "Come, children—sit and have a taste of my tea."Claire and Charlie shared a look and sat down on the couch while Elaine poured them tea
Charlie, who hadn't spoken, had plenty of ideas in mind.He definitely didn't want to see Raymond humiliated in a rotten place like Aurous Hill's Antique Street—not when the man was a qualified hero, putting his life on the line to meet the Rothschild family and trade for the Four-Sided Treasure Tower.That was why Charlie's first thought was to call Don Albert and ask him to keep a close eye on Antique Street, preemptively killing the issue in the cradle before any saboteurs reached Raymond.However, Charlie also knew that Raymond would most likely refuse protection as the latter had seen action and was brave enough to fight the Rothschilds—and this was Aurous Hill they were talking about. He would be quite adept at resolving issues, especially one as simple as a handful of saboteurs.Hence, after some thought, Charlie decided to not get involved for now. Instead, he would watch quietly while letting Raymond deal with Aurous Hill's locals. As long as said locals—including Jacob—di
"What?!" Jacob exclaimed excitedly, suddenly on his feet. "That prick is really going to start a business in Aurous Hill? What, did he get sick of living the good life elsewhere?"In Jacob's mind, there were only two reasons why Raymond had returned to Aurous Hill.The first was that he had gotten so rich that he had come back to open a shop on Antique Street, to salvage some dignity after he had been fired from Vintage Deluxe. The other was the complete opposite—he had screwed up elsewhere too and had no choice but to return to Aurous Hill to make a living.If it was the former, he certainly wouldn't have hope for his revenge.But that was not the case if it was the latter!Meanwhile, Zachary replied, "Truth be told, I haven't seen the man in the flesh. But judging from my tip, he definitely wasn't doing well elsewhere, since the business he's planning now that he's back is quite modest."Jacob immediately laughed. "Hahaha! I see… He must have messed up out there and had no ch
Claire pursed her lips, grumbling, "Like you said, I won't tell Mom for the sake of peace. But you know very well that you shouldn't do that ever again!"Jacob nodded repeatedly as he promised. "Don't worry—I'll never do it again."As he finished, his phone rang on the table, and he looked down to see that it was Zacahary."That's weird," he murmured in surprise. "He's been hiding from me for the longest time, but he's calling me now?"Charlie was surprised too.After Zachary left Antique Street and started helping Don Albert's more unsavory business, he shouldn't have any reason to contact Jacob.So, why call him now?Jacob was confused too, but he ultimately answered the call.On the other end of the call, Zachary greeted him respectfully, "Mr. Wilson? It's me—Zachary. Do you still remember me?""Nonsense," Jacob snorted. "Why wouldn't I remember you after we've spoken so many times? I also couldn't reach out to you when I had all that good stuff before, but you're contactin
Meanwhile, at Thomson's First, the family of four was peacefully having dinner for the first time.While Charlie and Claire never argued, Jacob and Elaine were always either bickering or dissing each other, leaving the air around the table tense and awkward.But this time, neither of them argued, and they didn't seem to despise each other.The table was not just peaceful either—Elaine was a lot less bossy, even helping put food on Jacob's plate, having him try this and that, almost as if she was suddenly the best of wives.Jacob used to regard Elaine with disdain in every way, constantly lamenting how a great man like him didn't have a good wife.But with him being the way he was now, he utterly resigned to himself.It made sense that Matilda wouldn't be interested in him given his current state, and it was amazing that Elaine willingly stayed with him. That was why he no longer regarded Elaine with unconcealed disgust and disdain like before and was instead gentle and emotiona
Mick was left gritting his teeth. "Shit, that's true. It's going to be hard to pull the wool over Raymond's eyes—it has to be the best to actually trick him."Then, he sighed. "If there's someone who can do that, it'd be Zachary Evans! The man was a God back in the day!"The employee nodded. "Well, it's true that his replicas were impeccable… But the man has made it big time working for Don Albert, and we won't be able to ask for his help!"Mick shook his head. "No, it's fine. We're quite close—let me call him right now."With that, he whipped out his phone to make the call.While Zachary used to be humble in Mick's presence before, Zachary was now way above him on the pecking order.Afraid of being remotely disrespectful, he promptly greeted Zachary politely as soon as the latter answered, "Hello, Zachary! It's me, Mick Crane!" "Uh-huh," Zachary replied noncommittally before asking in curiosity, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"Ever since Zachary had started working for Don A
Raymond may have worked abroad for years and was a veteran in antiques, but he was still lacking when it came to reading between the lines.Taking Mick's words at face value, he promptly shook his head, "No, you really shouldn't. I wasn't planning to come back here to work, so you mustn't mention me to Ms. Moore either."And unlike Mick, he really meant what he said, while Mick was saying the complete opposite of what he was thinking.Naturally, Mick didn't believe Raymond, even presuming that Raymond was a liar like himself.The more Raymond said he didn't want to return to Vintage Deluxe, the more he thought he was.Hence, he asked despite knowing the answer, "Well, what are you planning to do now that you've returned to Aurous Hill?""It's been years of traveling for me, so I was just getting a little tired," Raymond admitted. "I'm planning to set up a small business in Aurous Hill, most likely here in Antique Street. That's why I'm visiting—do be neighborly when I set up shop
Meanwhile, Raymond had no idea that he was being targeted as soon as he returned to Antique Street.He had reached the middle where rows of three-floored buildings stood, the largest on the street, and where Vintage Deluxe was. It was not closed yet as tradition on Antique Street was for stalls to open in the morning and close in the afternoon. In comparison, shops opened later and closed later.With the difference of two to three hours, they could afford to have customers who had lower purchasing power or were just window shopping to stroll through the outdoor stalls. Then, when they were gone, customers with actual purchasing power would come on their own time.As Raymond arrived outside Vintage Deluxe, Mick just finished his meeting with his employees, summing up, "So, does anyone have anything to do tonight?"They all shook their heads, answering as one, "No!!!"Mick nodded. "If there's nothing else, stay back for overtime. Ask for some spicy crayfish and beer for dinner."
However, Raymond had accomplished the assignment Curtis had given him years ago, so he had no intention of staying at Aurous Hill and remained unrepentant despite Jasmine's pressure. That was why he could ask to resign without hesitation, even urging her to let him go despite the pain.That was why Mick was now worried that Raymond would return to reclaim his position as manager."Keep an eye on him for me," he told Trippy. "Tell me if anything comes up right away—I will make it worth your while.""Alright!" Trippy agreed to it. "Don't worry—I'll call right away if anything comes up."Once Trippy hung up, Mick gathered the handful of Vintage Deluxe employees.They were all his close allies he had groomed after he took over Vintage Deluxe. Even if Mick hadn't been succeeding in his business, he was succeeding in building his own forces. Anyone who didn't obey his orders had since been removed, and the remaining ones were basically his co-conspirators, embezzling a considerable am