Antonio was the underground emperor of all of New York, so when he summoned those gang leaders, every one of them responded eagerly and promptly.Moreover, Charlie's instructions to Antonio were quite misleading. Antonio acted according to Charlie's instructions and told the gang leaders that he had a very important business deal to discuss with them in person. He also instructed them to bring their most trusted confidant to the roast goose shop in Oskiatown for a confidential meeting.Furthermore, Charlie instructed Antonio to inform these leaders that this business was exceptionally important. That was why it was chosen to be discussed in Oskiatown, to avoid drawing unwanted attention. Antonio specifically warned them not to tell anyone else about this matter except their confidants, or they would be permanently expelled from the Zano family's territory.These gang leaders all relied on Antonio for their livelihoods. They could maintain their territories in New York not only throu
He came from humble beginnings and didn't understand much about political maneuvering. His philosophy was simple, that was, as long as his brothers worked hard alongside him, he would ensure they were well taken care of. If there was food on his plate, there would be soup for his brothers.However, Maikey was much smarter compared to him. When Maikey graduated from high school, he was the only talented student from his African-American neighborhood to be accepted into a reputable public university that year.In that neighborhood, crime and divorce rates were sky-high. Many young people learned to shoot and do drugs before they even grew facial hair. If a day passed without a gunfight in the area, everyone would have trouble sleeping due to the unfamiliarity.In such an environment, Maikey's acceptance into university was a testament to his exceptional intellect. However, once he entered university, the stark contrast between his impoverished background and the lavish lifestyles of w
Charlie wanted to use this trick to turn all the gangs in New York into his puppets in one night.After returning, these surviving second-in-commands who were completely shocked would never dare to disobey Charlie again, considering that Charlie was backed by the powerful Ten Thousand Armies. They would definitely obey Charlie's orders wholeheartedly.The Zano family's decades of hard work would also be cut off by Charlie after tonight.Antonio, who had already accepted his fate, could only lament to Danial at this time. “Danial, not only us but also the leaders of other gangs. When they arrive one after another, we will go to Syria together and set off early tomorrow morning.”Danial was even more surprised and asked him, “Boss, we are a gang, not mercenaries. What can we do in Syria? We can't go to Syria to grab territory, right? The people over there are much fiercer compared to us. We are still using 9mm pistols to grab territories, but they should be running around with RPGs t
Antonio made full use of his identity as the underground emperor of New York. Every gang leader he notified arrived eagerly and excitedly.However, no one could have expected that waiting for them in Oskiatown was a scene where they were all tightly bound with stinky rags stuffed in their mouths. They were huddled together in a corner of the second floor of a roast goose restaurant alongside other top members from various gang units.As more people arrived, Antonio grew increasingly anxious.During a brief lull between the last batch being taken upstairs and the next one arriving, he couldn't help but ask Charlie miserably, “Mr. Wade… I've tricked all these gang bosses into going to Syria. I’m betraying all of them. When we get to Syria, if they join forces to come after me, I won't end up dead there, right?”Charlie smiled and asked him, “So, what do you think should be done?”Antonio swallowed nervously and cautiously said, “Since I'm cooperating like this, why don’t you leave m
Charlie pointed to Antonio beside him and said, “This is the boss of the New York Mafia. Get acquainted with each other. There are quite a few prominent figures from New York gangs upstairs. You should greet them one by one later. These people have a rebellious nature. When I deal with them alone, they won't be convinced. It requires someone like you, famous, well-connected, and with a team behind you, to truly intimidate them. After daybreak, you will take him and his men by boat out of the United States and then arrange to go to Syria, handing them directly over to Hamed.”Porter nodded immediately and said, “Okay, Mr. Wade. Is there anything else you want to instruct me or convey to Commander Hamed?”Charlie glanced at Antonio and continued, “This is Antonio, a true Sicilian man despite having a lame leg. Tell Hamed that medical conditions in Syria are limited, so he doesn't need to bother treating him. Just find a carpenter to make him a wooden leg. They're in the middle of const
Charlie smiled and said, “If I had the same knowledge as you, I would have learned your method and let Antonio kill you.”As he said that, Charlie looked at Antonio and asked him, “Antonio, I have a proposal for you. If you are willing to kill Aman, I will let you stay in New York and continue to manage the Zano family. What do you think?”When Antonio heard this, he didn't care whether what Charlie said was true or not. He blurted out without hesitation, “Mr. Wade! As long as you give me a gun, I will beat Aman's head into a pile of flesh now!”Aman's face turned pale.He didn't know whether Charlie really meant this. After all, he had thought of using Antonio to kill Charlie just a few hours ago. If Charlie also used his own method to treat him, he would definitely die in Antonio's hands.When Charlie saw that Aman's face was full of fear, he smiled and said, “You don't have to be so scared. I've already said that I won't argue with you.”Aman was relieved immediately. At this
Aman knew that Charlie sparing his life was already repaying kindness with enmity. In this situation, his best choice was to take what he could get and not attempt to plead further. Otherwise, if Charlie changed his mind, he might end up with an even worse offer.He could only say to Charlie helplessly, “Mr. Wade, rest assured, when I get to Syria, I will do my best to collaborate deeply with Commander Hamed, and contribute as much as I can…”Charlie nodded approvingly and said with a smile, “Good, good. Mr. Ramovic, you are a righteous man. There aren't many truly righteous people left in this society.”After saying that, Charlie checked the time and said to Porter, “Porter, it's dawn, and almost everyone has arrived. Arrange for the ship and then go upstairs to administer a strong dose to those upstairs. You can then set sail with them to leave the United States.”Porter nodded respectfully and asked Charlie, “Mr. Wade, how exactly should I administer the strong dose? Do you have
The crowd wondered what Antonio was up to as they watched his bizarre movements in confusion.It wasn’t until Antonio hopped and revealed the lower half of his body that everyone realized one of his legs was gone. What was even more startling was the dreadful state of his injury. He hadn’t seemed to have dealt with the wound of his severed leg. The blood in the wound was still fresh, and it looked shocking to the eye.Antonio had long since lost his aura as a mafia leader.To minimize these people's hatred toward him, Antonio took off his hat after laboriously jumping up to the second floor.The view made the crowd even more speechless. Both of Antonio's ears had been cut off, leaving only bloody scars.Antonio's horrific injuries showed that he must have been subjected to inhumane torture. At this point, it went without saying that someone else had tricked them into coming here today and bound them together. Right at this moment, Charlie and Porter walked up the stairs one af
"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.
Julien was startled by the slovenly old man with a scruffy beard, gray hair, and sloppy appearance. Sensing that the old man recognized him as a member of the Rothschild family, he asked curiously, "Do you know me?" "Yes! Of course, I know you!" Salem cried. "You're Julien Rothschild, Harrison's eldest son. I... We are somehow related. My name is Salem Steve Whittaker, head of the Whittaker family. In fact, we share the same middle name, Steve. Please... Please save us!" After hearing this, Julien looked at the man wailing and begging him and the sickly younger man on the bed crying and struggling to sit up. The scene and the realization that dawned upon him horrified him. Although he had been ordered to look for the Whittaker pair, it had never crossed his mind that he would find them on the first day he arrived in Aurous Hill. What shocked him even more was that it was actually Charlie who had locked them up! And from the looks of it, they were being tortured so miserably.
After descending to the underground level, Julien discovered that this was indeed a miniature prison. There was a long corridor in front of him, and on either side of the corridor were rooms sealed off by reinforced concrete walls on iron railings. Each room had no walls facing the corridor but iron railings that allowed you to see everything inside at a glance. Even the simple toilet inside had only a one-meter-high wall, and people's heads were exposed when using the toilet. Even though it was completely underground, the air, temperature, and humidity inside were no different from those above. Charlie thought there would be a strange smell when he came down, but he was surprised that he didn't feel any discomfort at all. Albert came to him and said, "Mr. Wade, we installed a fresh air system when we built this place. The air in here is circulated twice an hour. It even includes a central dehumidification system, so it doesn't feel humid even underground. I also installed centra
Jiro swiftly ran up from the descending staircase. When he saw Charlie and Albert, he was pleasantly surprised and greeted them enthusiastically, "Hello, Mr. Wade, Don Albert, and Mr. Cameron!" Next, he saw the unfamiliar face of Julien and, noticing his foreign face, couldn't help but feel curious about his identity. Despite his curiosity, Jiro was well-mannered and knew his place. Given his current status, it was not appropriate for him to ask unnecessary questions. So, he courteously greeted Julien, "Hello, sir." Julien, recognizing the name as Japanese, also felt curious about his identity and was even more curious about what exactly this place was. Seeing Jiro's vibrant face, Charlie smiled and asked, "Jiro, how is your life here these days?" "Very good!" Jiro answered with a beaming smile. "Everyone is very nice to me. Everything is fine." Currently, Jiro was considered a semi-free man at the dog kennel. Aside from not being allowed to leave the place, he had qui