Jacob felt a mix of envy and jealousy when he heard that Charlie was giving Elaine a million dollars. Although he had some income from the Calligraphy and Painting Association, it wasn't nearly enough for his expenses. As the Vice President of the association, he often had to entertain guests, and his frequent trips in the luxurious car incurred substantial expenses. Despite his position, he was not as shameless as Elaine was, and he had always felt indebted to Charlie for his achievements and the opportunities he had, such as driving the luxury car and living in Thompson First. So, he didn't feel comfortable asking Charlie for money.But when he saw that Elaine was about to receive a million dollars simply by asking for it, he couldn't help but feel frustrated. He even contemplated asking Charlie for some financial assistance, but when he thought of how he had insulted Elaine earlier, he was embarrassed to ask Charlie for money.Meanwhile, Charlie wasted no time and transferred a
Jacob instantly blushed at her words, and he stuttered as he tried to defend himself, “Who said I was asking my dear son-in-law for money? Did I say that?! I have other reasons for talking to my dear son-in-law. Don't make false accusations against me!”Instead of arguing with Jacob, Elaine turned to Charlie and said, “My dear son-in-law, you heard what he said. No matter what he's scheming, don't give him a single penny!”Jacob was immediately furious, and he angrily exclaimed, “Elaine, why are you like this? Why are you always just talking about money?”Elaine playfully shook her head and grinned as she said, “What's wrong? Since you're not asking my dear son-in-law for money, why does it bother you if I tell him not to give you any?”Jacob was speechless. Elaine's strong defense had thwarted his intentions completely. With her words, he couldn't bring himself to ask Charlie for money anymore. How could he, after being put in such a situation?Jacob, who was at the losing end, w
Jacob felt incredibly uncomfortable when he saw Charlie go upstairs, but he felt even worse as if it was no longer worth living when he saw Elaine's triumphant smile. As Charlie went upstairs, he couldn't help but sigh, wondering when his father-in-law would break through his hesitation and weakness and truly live the life he wanted.-After packing everything, Charlie left home alone at night, intending to drive to the airport. As soon as he took the elevator to the first floor, he saw Jacob, holding a cigarette, stand up from the sofa with a smile, saying, “My dear son-in-law, are you leaving now?”Charlie nodded slightly and said, “Yes, Dad. I'm leaving for the airport now.”Jacob rubbed his hands and was about to say something when Elaine suddenly limped down the stairs, saying loudly, “Oh, my dear son-in-law, let me see you off!”Both Elaine, who had received one million, and Jacob, who missed out on it, wanted to see Charlie off.Jacob wanted to find an opportunity to sub
Late night at Qi Temple.In a secluded meditation room that was closed to the public, a beautiful woman sat on a wicker chair, gazing up at the starry sky of autumn. A bald elderly woman emerged and placed a blanket over the woman's legs, saying respectfully, “Madam, Young Master's plane has taken off.”“He has left?” The beautiful woman looked toward the direction of the airport upon hearing this.Upon seeing some distant flickering lights in the sky, she couldn't help but sigh as she said, “I wonder which one of those shimmering lights belongs to the plane that my son is on.”She then asked the old woman, “Did Janus go with Charlie?”This beautiful woman was Charlie's mother, Ashley. The old woman beside Ashley was Jade Sun, who had disguised herself as a nun. Jade had been serving by Ashley’s side for many years, playing a role equivalent to that of a housekeeper.Jade then said to Ashley, “Madam, Young Master is indeed on the plane with Janus. Their plane flies fast, and it i
Janus said, “Not yet. I was in a hurry this time, so I didn’t tell him because I was worried that it wouldn’t be good if I couldn’t make time to come and see him.”Charlie smiled and said, “In that case, you don't need to call him. Let's just go over and give him a surprise.”“Okay!” Janus readily agreed, with clear anticipation in his expression. He couldn't help but say to Charlie, “Young Master, to tell you the truth, I've always treated Angus as my own son. It's been a while since I've seen him, so I really miss him.”Charlie understood completely.Janus had lived a very tough life in the United States in the past. In the earlier years, it was somewhat better with Jenna accompanying him and providing some comfort in tough times. However, after Jenna left, he was left alone, managing a roast goose stall with an illegal immigrant status. He was truly living a tough and hopeless life.For him, Angus was not just an orphan he adopted or an assistant, but he was more of a sustenanc
Upon seeing Angus's nervous expression, Charlie, who had been silent all this time, immediately realized that the increasingly closer sound of motorcycle engines outside might be coming for Angus.At this point, Janus realized that Angus might have gotten into big trouble, so he asked sternly, “Angus, tell me the truth. Who have you offended?”When Angus saw that he could not conceal the matter any longer, he had no choice but to explain, “Uncle Janus, these people who are here are all from a new gang in New York…”Janus exclaimed, “Did you borrow money illegally?”Angus quickly explained, “No, Uncle Janus! They just took over Oskiatown a couple of days ago, and now, they're going door to door collecting protection money. It's three thousand US dollars a month, and if you can't pay, they'll beat you up and threaten to smash your shop.”Janus furrowed his brow and asked, “Hasn't Oskiatown always been managed by the Oskian gangs? It's been three hundred US dollars a month for protec
Charlie simply sat down and said with a smile, “To be honest, I have never seen gangsters collecting protection fees. This would be a good opportunity for me to witness it. Angus, go and get me a plate of roast goose rice so I can eat while I watch.” Angus hurriedly said, “Mr. Wade, they really dare to kill people! You should…”Before Angus could finish speaking, Janus interrupted him, patted his shoulder, and said, “Since the young master has already asked you to prepare a plate of roast goose rice for him, you should prepare it quickly. Make me a portion as well so I can taste whether your cooking skills have regressed.”At this time, five young black men dressed in trendy street clothes stepped in. The leader was thin and tall and wore a large hoodie, which covered his head and half of his face. His hands were in the horizontal pockets in front of the hoodie, and he looked like he was carrying a weapon. When the man came in and saw Angus, he immediately sneered and teased, “
“Damn it!” The man was furious when he saw that Charlie did not seem to be afraid and was even taunting him. He used the bottom of the pistol to push all the bottles and jars on the table to the ground, then stood up and held the muzzle of the gun against Charlie’s head as he cursed with a sinister expression, “Oskian! This is the United States! If you dare to cause trouble here, no one will let you go back to Oskia but will shoot you directly in the head with a pistol!”Charlie smiled and said, “You’re really arrogant,”After saying that, Charlie stopped smiling and said contemptuously, “Unfortunately, I’m not afraid at all.”The man clenched his teeth and said, “Damn it! You must be really tired of living!”Charlie spread his hands and said calmly, “I’m sitting here today, so regardless of whether it’s a burning angel or a wild dog in the crematorium, if you dare to come and challenge me, you will have to come and appease me. If you satisfy me, I might spare your life, but if I
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
"Good." With a light nod, Charlie turned to Jiro and spoke up, "Jiro, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself." "Okay, Mr. Wade!" Jiro beamed excitedly. "Please tell me what to do! I promise I will do my best to serve you." Charlie smiled and said, "Once the ship is ready, you'll board it together with them. Your only task is to keep a close watch on them the entire time. Don't let them pull any tricks. If you succeed, you'll be a free man here. You'll get a basic monthly salary and can ask for anything you like within reason—so long as it's not contraband, it will be yours." Hearing this, Jiro was so thrilled that he trembled all over. His current treatment was already decent, but he was still only a semi-free man. He didn't dare casually set foot on the ground outside. If he could become a truly free man, he would be able to enjoy the sunlight outdoors freely. More importantly, from then on, he would have a salary. Although he couldn't personally go out shopping, having a sa
Julien had uncovered Charlie's true identity quite some time ago and investigated Charlie's background. He was well aware that Charlie had become the head of the Wade family and that the Acker family fully supported him. Although the outside world believed that Ten Thousand Armies had subdued the Wade family, Julien had witnessed Charlie's methods firsthand. Even the top two figures of the Rothschild family had been toyed with by Charlie, so how could Ten Thousand Armies possibly make him surrender? Thus, Julien deduced that Ten Thousand Armies was undoubtedly Charlie's covert tool. Considering the combined strength of the Wade family, the Acker family, and Charlie's personally cultivated forces, it was evident that Charlie even had the power to contend with the entire Rothschild family. Moreover, with the life-extending pill in his possession and the life of the Rothschild family head in his hands, Charlie's chances of prevailing in a confrontation against the Rothschilds were e
Enraged, Julien cursed while angrily raising his leg, "Damn it! How dare you negotiate your terms now?!" Charlie stopped him and said, "Calm down. 1 billion dollars is quite a good amount. You offer 100 million, he offers 1 billion—doesn't that mean I'll make 1.1 billion?" Dumbfounded, Julien said, "Mr. Wade, how can you even take that money? Wouldn't taking the money expose you?" Charlie smiled and said, "That's simple. I'll give you a plan that not only makes your task impossible to complete but also gives me a chance to collect the money. What do you think?" "What's the idea?" Julien asked in surprise. Charlie replied, "Here's the plan, I'll have someone put these two on a cargo ship bound for the Middle East. Once the ship passes Sri Lanka and enters the Arabian Sea, I'll have them record a video with the endless ocean as the backdrop. In the video, they'll inform their family to prepare 1 billion dollars. The money will be transferred directly in cryptocurrency." "Once
Salem cursed angrily, "You bastard! We've been desperately waiting for you to rescue us, but now you want to kill us! Are you even human?!" Julien kicked Salem far away and shouted furiously, "Damn it! You should be glad this is Oskia and not America! Otherwise, I would have shot you dead on the spot, you bastard! And your son too!" Then, Julien looked at Charlie very seriously and said, "Mr. Wade, please give me a chance! Give me a gun, and I'll take care of these two scumbags right now!" Edmund and Salem, terrified, knelt on the ground, with Edmund desperately pleading, "Mr. Wade, please spare us! Please!" Salem crawled to Charlie and wailed, "Mr. Wade, please don't believe anything Julien says! If you let him kill us, it will cause you unnecessary trouble. Just pretend that nothing happened today and let us continue to be imprisoned here!" Charlie grinned as he watched the scene and said to Julien, "If you want to kill them, go ahead, I won't stop you, but you can't take t
Salem was stunned by Julien's slap. He covered his face, looked at Julien in shock and sorrow, and sobbed, "But... but I'm older than you... I was given that middle name first." Instead of calming down, Julien became even angrier. He slapped Salem again and furiously scolded, "When your damn father found out my middle name was also Steve, why didn't he change yours? Acting above your station—who gave you the guts?!" Salem's face was swollen on both sides, and his heart was filled with even greater indignation. Crying, he pleaded, "Sir, now isn't the time to blame me for sharing your middle name! You need to figure out a way to get my son and me out of here!" "Get you out?!" Julien laughed in exasperation, pointing at him with rage. "Your wretched son committed such heinous crimes, yet you still expect me to save you? I'd rather kill you both myself to ease Mr. Wade's anger!" Julien's words were not idle talk. For him, the task in Aurous Hill had only two possible outcomes:
Charlie warned with a cold and stern voice, "You must tell him everything you did, or I will make you eat dog food for a month." Trembling in fear, Salem quickly said, "O-okay... This is what happened... My son, he was momentarily misguided..." As he spoke, he detailed how Edmund had become infatuated with Doris and the Emgrand Group. He went on to describe how Edmund had poisoned Doris's father, leaving him in critical condition with kidney failure and then used the promise of a kidney transplant to coerce Doris into submission. Since Charlie was standing right there, Salem didn't dare to omit or conceal a single detail. When he finished, Charlie sneered, "You really are a shameless piece of trash. You just described your son's series of despicable actions in meticulous detail. The careful planning and the step-by-step execution—this clearly shows that it was premeditated and deliberate. Yet, from the start, you tried to excuse him by calling it a momentary lapse in judgment.