Dean had thought that Charlie would continue to torture him. Instead, he had been given a chance to contribute. At this moment, he felt a glimmer of hope. Excited, he nodded profusely to express his sincerity. "No problem, sir. I'll take good care of him and make him happy." Jonah was so terrified and shocked that he almost fainted. Knowing Dean's attitude, he could imagine how Dean would torture him in exchange for Charlie's praise. As the thought flashed across his mind, Jonah fell to his knees and begged, "Please forgive me! I'm old. I can't stand it!" Charlie waved him off. "It's okay, don't worry. You won't die." He turned to Dean and directed, "Listen carefully. No matter what you do, you must make sure he stays safe and alive, do you understand?" "Yes, yes!" Dean nodded repeatedly. After that, he looked at the teary Jonah and assured, "Don't worry, Jonah. I'll be gentle!" Instead of feeling glad, Jonah realized that his future days would be bleak and terrible. H
Charlie immediately pointed at the man and scolded, "What's wrong with you? Don't you understand my command?!" The man desperately shook his head and whimpered, "I-I'm sorry, sir. I-I can't tell left from right..." "You can't tell left from right? I see..." Charlie smiled slightly. "It's okay. I can help you with that." With that, Charlie grabbed the man's right hand, and with a little force on his thumb, broke the latter’s right wrist single-handedly like breaking a pencil. In contrast to the man's agonized wail, Charlie reprimanded him indifferently, "Remember, this is the damned right! I believe you can tell left from right from now on." Charlie's action gave the inmates goosebumps, and then they heard Charlie shout, "Turn left!" The inmates quickly turned around. The guy who had just broken his right wrist turned in the correct direction this time. Nodding in satisfaction, Charlie pointed to the man on the far left and ordered, "Starting with you. Tell me your name, w
"Aye aye, captain!" The man slapped Jonah without hesitation. The inmate on the other side of Jonah swiftly joined the man to slap Jonah too. Both men were too tired to lift their arms before they could complete 100 slaps. Jonah, on the other hand, was worse off. His face was completely swollen. Someone would have mistaken him as a corpse that had been drowned in water for weeks. Jonah fainted by the time the slapping was over. One of the men asked respectfully, "Sir, the 100 slaps are over. What should we do with him?" "Drag him to the bathroom and leave him there." Charlie waved his hand. "Aye aye, sir!" the man replied. He signaled toward the other man, and both of them carried the unconscious Jonah to the bathroom. The introductions then continued. Most of the remaining inmates had been arrested for murder and assault. Almost all of them were gang members in New York, and some were Dean's underlings. After the inmates had finished introducing themselves, Charlie turne
The inmates would have given Charlie the cold shoulder had this happened a few hours ago. However, after experiencing and witnessing Charlie's wrath and ruthlessness, the inmates did not think that Charlie's request was excessive. Therefore, they nodded vigorously, fearing that Charlie would be upset if they didn't respond quickly enough. Seeing them nodding in agreement, Charlie smiled and commanded, "Since you have no objections, we will start right away. The cell is so dirty and smelly, so you should clean it first. It must be spotless, or you will all be punished." Without hesitation, the inmates immediately began to clean the cell. In order to fulfill Charlie's request, those who could move immediately joined in the spring cleaning. Some were in charge of removing all the bedding that had not been cleaned and bringing them to the bathroom, some washing the bedding, while the rest started to clean the cell. They were fully aware of the consequences if Charlie was not sa
Charlie asked, "What about Area 2?" Dean responded, "The boss of Area 2 is Moses Norris, the boss of the New York mafia ten years ago. Back then, he was infamous in New York and had many members under him. The Italians from Sicily didn't even dare to fart in New York when he was still out there, but ever since he was imprisoned, the Italians rose and took over the streets." Charlie nodded and asked, "How long until dinner?" Dean looked at the digital clock and replied, "Forty minutes." "Okay." Charlie nodded and instructed, "Introduce Leandro to me when we get to the dining area.""Sure!" Dean agreed respectfully. Charlie smiled slightly and suddenly reproached, "By the way, you won't try to snitch on me during mealtime, will you?" "No, I won't, sir!" Dean waved his hand hastily and promised, "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I won't tell the guards anything. There's an unwritten rule in the prison that we solve our problems ourselves and shall never seek the guards' help.
In order to fulfill Charlie's demand, the fifteen inmates started cleaning up the cell immediately. They threw all the bedding that had not been changed in a long time into the bathroom. Some inmates were in charge of washing the bedding while the rest started cleaning all corners of the cell. As for the injured, they tried their best to participate by all means. Those with broken legs sat on the floor and wiped the lower part of the wall, and those with broken arms stepped on the towel and wiped the floor. Because of the large number of people and the small space, it didn't take long for the inmates to make the cell spotless. None of the fifteen inmates would have thought that their cell would one day be cleaner than a five-star hotel room. They knew that they would be beaten if Charlie was not happy with the result, and he would not be merciful when punishing them. The floor that used to be sticky and dirty was now as shiny as new, and it was so slippery they had to be care
Jonah shuddered in fear when he heard the word "Father" and snapped, "No! Don't call me Father! I'm no longer a priest!" In the past, Jonah enjoyed being addressed as ‘Father’. Many prisoners had religious beliefs although they had committed countless crimes. They would respect a priest when they saw one in prison even though they knew that the priest might have done something wrong to be convicted and imprisoned. However, Jonah knew that Charlie was upset with him because of his past identity as a priest. He could see his bleak future when he thought of the punishment of 100 slaps per day. Therefore, he gathered his courage, went to the guard, and whispered, "Can you do me a favor and transfer me to another cell? I don't like this one..." Except for Charlie, all the prisoners gasped and glanced at Jonah in shock as soon as Jonah spoke. The rule of Brooklyn Prison was that internal affairs would be handled internally. Whoever went to the guards for help was breaking the rul
Charlie asked, "Do you have a boss here?" Dean shook his head and replied, "The boss of Area 1 is Gustavo. He looks down on hooligans like us and won't let us get too close to the other bosses here, so we don't dare to disobey his orders. Otherwise, I would go to Moses because he is from New York and is our senior." Charlie asked curiously, "Since Gustavo looks down on you, why doesn't he let you off to the other bosses?" Dean sighed and lamented, "Gustavo has too many enemies. Rumor has it that he killed at least thousands of people when he was making his way up in Mexico, and many of them were government officials. Countless people in Mexico want to take revenge on him, so he is very concerned about his safety. Anyone who forms a gang in Area 1 is a certain threat to him. If he finds someone in Area 1 forming a gang, especially with people from Area 2, he will issue a death warning. He has his own army in Mexico and will send a team to kill the whole family. It's too much of a
Later, after Charlie told Jeremiah over the phone about the joint venture with the Ackers to establish Curtis Autos, the old man was awash with tears, especially after Charlie told him that it was Keith who suggested it. After all, Curtis was his favorite son whose death he could never really get over. Moreover, he once believed that only his family mourned Curtis while the Ackers never did, and he held a grudge over his son's passing. As such, he was surprised that Keith held such great respect toward his late son and didn't hesitate to say yes when Charlie invited him to Aurous Hill to sign an agreement with the Ackers.Still, Charlie wasn't in a hurry to arrange for a specific time, and he was going to let the Ackers sort out the human resources of Godot Autos over a few days. It still wouldn't be too late by then.Moreover, he was keen to allow the buzz to have time to grow so that the automotive industry would be astounded by the joint project between the Ackers and the Wade
Christian was the first to exclaim in approval, "Yes! Curtis Autos sounds wonderful! It has my vote!""Seconded!" Kaiden nodded, pumping the air with his right fist. "I've looked up to Curtis the most, and I absolutely agree with naming the company after him!"Jaxson was nodding too. "Me too!""Yes!" Lulu chirped.Yolden couldn't help agreeing as well. "Curtis Autos is definitely a good name!"Merlin raised his hand gingerly as well. "Quit it with your flattery already," Keith chuckled, and he turned toward Charlie solemnly. "In the end, Curtis is Charlie's father, and the final decision goes to him!"Charlie's eyes were welling up with tears—his parents had been gone for almost three decades, yet he had never thought of dedicating anything to their memory.As such, Keith's suggestion to use Curtis's name for the car company left him thrilled. After all, wouldn't his father's soul be honored if Curtis Autos rocked the country, maybe even the world?With that in mind, he nodd
Charlie also had to agree that this was an opportunity to formally reconcile the Wades and the Ackers.While he couldn't reveal himself just yet, the Wades and the Ackers had been in-laws for years. Even if they had had a dispute for the longest time, restoring good relations made sense now that the Ackers had come to Oskia, and it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.That was why Charlie agreed to it without hesitation, even making a mental note to invite his paternal grandfather, Jeremiah, to Aurous Hill.The old geezers could meet up and clear the air while deciding on the partnership.Yolden was prepared to resign as a professor as well so that he could help the Ackers and Charlie fully develop their automotive company.With a general direction planned, he asked everyone, "Since we're creating a new brand, has anyone come up with a name?"No one was feeling inspired at that moment, but that was when Lulu, who had been silent throughout, said, "Since Charlie and our family are worki
Neither Charlie nor the Ackers expected Yolden's insight to cover all corners.In fact, it felt like the man had a blueprint ready and was only waiting for the time to put it to use.That was why everyone was immensely approving of Yolden and wanted no other man for the job of CEO.Kaeden smiled, "Well, since everyone has agreed, let's put this to rest as soon as possible—this will be a joint investment between our family and the Wades, and Professor Hart will take the post of CEO. Let's all do our best to make this a good one!"Yolden also made up his mind, deciding that he didn't want to let slip a chance to realize his ambitions. "I'll resign from the university after my honeymoon trip. It probably shouldn't be long, and I can get involved in early preparations via teleconference."Charlie nodded. "Then, we can have Uncle Kaeden stay on schedule while I'll ask the Wades to send a representative over to sign a memorandum for the investment."Keith smiled and nodded. "You should
Charlie hadn't been born and raised in Aurous Hill, but he still started living here at the age of eight and was more attached to this place than Eastcliff.If he was going to take part in this automotive investment with the Ackers, he naturally found Aurous Hill the ideal location.Not only would it create a huge number of jobs for Aurous Hill, but it would also rake in much economic flow for the region.Yolden also nodded at his suggestion. "If the first plant is meant to cover the demand of the entire local market, there's no reason for a coastal plant. Aurous Hill stands at an intersection between the north and the south, so transportation is convenient. It's also killing two birds with one stone, as Mr. Wade is fond of the city."Charlie couldn't help but agree. "I won't lie—Aurous Hill has been good to me, and I hope to give back. Nothing's better than succeeding in that respect."Yolden spread his hands, "Heavy industries are certainly ideal to contribute to Aurous Hill's e
Yolden had actually been researching new energy for a while—in fact, it was when Tesla's first car models were produced.He was passionate about the subject and had his own opinions as well as ambitions, but he was busy teaching, so he couldn't realize any of it.But was this not a golden opportunity tailor-made for him?Seeing that Yolden was clearly interested, Charlie turned toward Kaeden, "Actually, the professor is getting married soon. There's no way we'd split up newlyweds so soon after the wedding, right? So, is it possible to set up base in Aurous Hill instead?""Not a problem!" Kaeden replied without hesitation. "Our family is planning to return to Oskia anyway, and everyone knows about Ashley and Curtis. So, why don't we invest in this enterprise alongside the Wades and have the base set up in Aurous Hill? And then bring Godot under as a subsidiary?"Turning to Yolden, he continued, "By the way, Godot's plant is already in the province—barely 100 miles from Aurous Hill,
Pausing, Yolden continued, "Moreover, the greatest advantage of AI is that it is self-conscious and has the processing power to analyze astronomical proportions of data. As car sales grow, every car owner's driving data will add precious new data to our data vault, and it will be processed by AI for even greater space of imagination."For example, kst's say I experienced a bumpiness along a certain road, and when the sensors pick up on that anomaly, the data will be uploaded to the servers along with images of the road condition in real time. The processing AI module would determine in no time at all that there was damage and label said location on the map, and then forward the data to other vehicles close to that location, sending notifications when they are close enough and providing the appropriate advice for countermeasures."Naturally, the AI can even be refined further so that it immediately warns us to slow down while uploading the data to the servers and informing any cars cl
Yolden's mind short-circuited at those words. "The most advanced AI module?!"He had been working on Wall Street for years, having invested in substantial startup tech companies as well as assisting plenty of Nasdaq tech enterprises with their IPO. That was why he especially had a sharp six sense for cutting-edge technology.It had been a while since he had gotten up the saddle, and AI had just become the trend recently, but he still paid close attention. He was well aware what applications were possible for AI modules, but he was shocked that Charlie already possessed what all the online giants were coveting!Thrilled, he quickly asked Charlie, "Can the Rothschilds resolve all the hardware and software issues? High-processing power display cards are a dime a dozen these days, and local enterprises are all planning to sell them one by one. The demand is just that high!"Charlie chuckled. "Don't worry—the Rothschilds will handle both issues for me, even the data centers. We bought i
Keith, who had been silent throughout, waved him off as he said solemnly, "Please don't sell yourself short, Professor Hart. I'm sure you can do well in this position, but it's still a matter of will."If your heart is truly set on educating future generations, then I'm sure you'd reject our offer no matter what we say."However, if you felt the slightest interest, even anticipation, for such a major project, then you really should consider our offer."We've already invested in Godot Autos for 3 billion USD and over 10 billion if we're counting in Ricebolt. But we still have 30 billion more in capital available—and that means it's 40 billion USD at play."I doubt any other global car maker can afford that much, let alone a new car maker. So, I dare say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"Keith's words spoke to Yolden's very soul—a startup capital of forty billion US dollars was certainly unprecedented for electric-powered vehicles. Even Ricebolt had barely garnered ove