Charlie’s words left Albert utterly horrified. He anxiously inquired, “Master Wade, what do you mean by this? Will you be facing great danger today?”Charlie remained silent for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Great danger? He felt that he would probably not be in any real danger. The great earl from the Qing Eliminating Society possessed three crudely crafted magic instruments Charlie had made, and the great earl treated them as treasures. This indicated a lack of profound mastery in Reiki on the great earl’s part. Moreover, Charlie possessed two offensive-type magic instruments along with multiple pills, providing him with both offensive and defensive capabilities. Additionally, he was in hiding, whereas the opponent was out in the open. This meant that Charlie could gain the upper hand if a confrontation occurred. Therefore, Charlie believed that in any aspect, he had a better chance of success than the opponent. If it came to a fight, Charlie was confident he could overp
Charlie then took out his cell phone and called Merlin. Meanwhile, Merlin was having a meal with the Ackers several kilometers away at Willow Manor.The Ackers had been conducting investigations in Aurous Hill for the past few days but had not found any clues related to Charlie. Charlie’s uncle, Christian, was about to consider asking Merlin for suggestions at the dining table when Merlin’s cell phone rang. Merlin stood up hastily and said to the Ackers, “Please continue chatting first. I'll step outside to take a call.”He then walked to the courtyard and ensured that there were no onlookers before he answered the call. “Hello, Mr. Wade,” he said in a respectful tone.Charlie went straight to the point, “Chief Lammy, is my grandfather and his family at Willow Manor right now?”“Yes, they are.” Merlin curiously asked, “What's the matter, Mr. Wade? Is there something wrong?”Charlie affirmed with a serious tone, “Someone might pose a threat to my grandparents and the rest of his
At 9:00 p.m. at night at Willow Manor.The Ackers had just finished dinner and were asking Merlin to analyze the clues they had gathered over the past few days in the living room.Keith, the head of the Ackers, had been staying in the villa during this period of time and had had significant improvement in his health. Not only did his memory stop deteriorating, but he also gradually recovered the memories that he had forgotten. More importantly, after recovering, his overall logical thinking had improved greatly, restoring his commanding style and momentum from the past.During this family meeting, Christian briefed everyone on the progress of his collaboration with Moore Group first. Christian said, “Our collaboration with Moore Group has officially entered the negotiation process. Starting today, the legal teams of both sides are negotiating the details of the cooperation, mainly to finalize the specific terms. Due to the sincere approach of the Ackers, the negotiation atmosph
Lady Acker said, “Go ahead and speak up, Lulu.”Lulu said, “I investigated the situation at Aurous Hill Welfare Institute today. I wanted to see if there was any information related to Charlie among the orphans they rescued over the years. Currently, the institute's records show no clues related to Charlie, but what's strange is that Aurous Hill Welfare Institute underwent a major personnel change last year. From the institute's director to the staff below and even the chef who cooked for the orphans, all of them underwent a complete turnover. None of the old employees were retained at all. I find this matter quite unusual. It's not uncommon for personnel changes in welfare organizations, but a complete and sudden change seems a bit strange. What do you think?”Keith frowned and said, “There must be ten to twenty people in the management and execution side of a welfare home. Even if the management changes, the operational staff below them shouldn't be replaced entirely, right? After
“That’s simple!” Lulu said excitedly, “We can check the social security files of the previous team! The welfare institute is a social welfare organization funded by both the government and private donations. As a unit that requires public supervision, their personnel records must be very complete, especially if they are really on a major mission, as Merlin suggested. They would need to appear compliant and flawless, otherwise, if someone notices abnormalities in their personnel records, it could immediately raise suspicions!”Merlin praised, “Lulu’s thinking is very clear. We will probably be able to get some clues by finding a way to check the previous personnel records of the staff at Aurous Hill Welfare Institute!”Kaeden exclaimed, “I'll get someone to check it right away!”After saying that, he immediately took out his cell phone and made a call.Keith had retired for many years, and over time, his connections had diminished. There were not many connections that he could use a
Ashley and Curtis’s only son, Charlie, had gone missing twenty years ago as well.Everyone felt as if they had been blindly searching for twenty years worldwide, and this time, it felt as if they had finally grasped something.Christian blurted out impatiently, “Tell us about the entry times of these sixteen people in detail!”Azure hastily responded, “Among these sixteen people, fourteen joined at the end of winter in February twenty years ago, and their previous dean, Killian Caito, joined in the fall in November twenty years ago. Aside from these fifteen people, the latest entry was a female worker who joined in winter in December twenty years ago. It will be twenty years in another three months.”Lady Acker suddenly had an extremely horrified expression. She burst into tears and sobbed as she said, “Ashley and Curtis left Eastcliff and came to Aurous Hill in March twenty years ago. They met with their accident at the end of October, and Charlie disappeared at the end of October
At this moment, the yard surrounding the villa had turned into a hellish battlefield!Mr. Chardon held a wooden sword that was less than thirty centimeters long in his hand, but the invisible blade it carried had a length of nearly two meters!This was the temporary magic instrument that the British Lord had entrusted to Mr. Chardon. Although the wooden sword looked short, small, and unremarkable, in reality, it functioned like a lightsaber from Star Wars, with an extraordinary attack range.In the logic set in the movie, a lightsaber emitted plasma from the hilt to form the blade. Mr. Chardon’s wooden sword surpassed this concept. It could transform Reiki into a blade, and he could control the blade at will!Several bodyguards attempted to surround and attack Mr. Chardon, but he casually swung the sword in the air with just one hand. An invisible energy then shot out swiftly from the sword, piercing through the chest of the frontmost bodyguard when he was still a meter away from
She had underestimated Mr. Chardon for quite some time, always thinking that this old man was solely focused on cultivation. However, it was not until today that she realized that this old man actually harbored such a strong desire for slaughter!Just as she felt that Mr. Chardon was being excessively ruthless, a helicopter that was flying low in the sky appeared, swiftly approaching Willow Manor!At this moment, the Acker family members felt a lump in their throats when they heard the wails outside. They could not have anticipated that after their recent crisis in New York, the other party would quickly trace them back to Oskia.Charlie’s third uncle, Jaxson, nervously said, “Dad, Mom, I’m afraid that it will be a life-threatening situation this time. The two of you should leave through the back door first!” Christian also realized the situation and hastily said, “That’s right, Dad. You and Mom should leave first. We will stay and keep guard here!” Keith snorted coldly and sai
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