The man was enraged by Moses's snarky remarks and was about to strike him with his clenched fist when Gustavo suddenly admonished him, "Shut the fuck up, Armando!" The man named Armando abruptly stopped, gritted his teeth, and huffed in rage. Moses sneered disdainfully at Armando, who glared at him furiously. Then, he walked over to the table, picked up the half-empty bottle of wine, and said to Gustavo, "Let me try this. Since you have something this nice, just give me one." Gustavo was not annoyed. Instead, he smiled and joked, "My mistake. I'll prepare some for you next time." Then, he asked, "Do you need a decanter and a glass?" Moses drank a few mouthfuls straight from the bottle, then burped and laughed. "Wine glass? Nah! That's not my style." After that, he reached out, picked up the remaining half of the steak from Gustavo's plate, put it in his mouth, and exaggeratedly took a big bite. While chewing, he grumbled, "Fuck, why don't we have this? It's so unfair. If th
"So what?" Armando jabbered, "We're not afraid of them! I've killed more people than the women he has slept with!" "Do you really think we're in Mexico?" Gustavo snapped coldly. Once you kill someone here, those guys will lock you in a dark cell until you die!" He glared at Armando and continued, "You're all well-trained killers, but it's useless here without handy weapons and terrain advantages to hide in. Also, don't forget that we're outnumbered. If you start a fight, these bastards can beat all of you to death by throwing a chair at each of you. If you die, no one will protect me here, and I’ll have to beg the Rothschild family to send another group of people to protect me. When that happens, they will come up with another Moses to mock me..." He then sighed and added, "I know what the Rothschild family is up to. It's simple. They don't want me to enjoy my life here too much. They must also know that we're using our resources to recruit more people here, so they must want to
Charlie, who had been inquiring about the situation in the prison from Leandro, listened closely to the conversation between Gustavo and Moses. He hadn't expected an internal conspiracy circling Brookly Prison, a fully enclosed prison in downtown New York that didn't even have an outdoor yard. Observing the circumstances, he presumed that Moses, the boss of Area 2, was looking for a chance to deliver a fatal blow to Gustavo, the boss of Area 1. Although Gustavo lived a life of luxury in the prison that other inmates couldn't enjoy, he had his concerns. His family was powerful, but these lawless drug dealers couldn't even enter the country, let alone Brooklyn Prison, to help him. As a matter of fact, his safety and the future of his family were in the hands of the United States government and the Rothschild family. Leandro suddenly leaned over to Charlie and whispered, "Moses looks a little strange today. I bet he's up to something." "How can you tell?" Charlie asked curio
Charlie was a little anxious. He thought that Biden had been detained in the prison area. He figured that as long as he could meet Leandro, he would have a chance to uncover clues about Biden.However, he didn't expect that Leandro, who was extremely observant and well-informed, wouldn't know anything about Biden. It was not easy to search for a single person in such a big prison. Since he couldn't find Biden in the prison area, his other resort was to explore other areas using Reiki. Reiki exploration was Charlie's second choice in the search for Biden in the prison. Reiki was best for locating a singular enemy in a vast area, just like when he had searched for Miss Dijo, Ruby Chain, in the valley. At that time, she was the only living person in the valley. Reiki had covered the entire valley, and he had found her instantly. To put it bluntly, Brooklyn Prison was a complex building that accommodated thousands of people. The density of living beings in the institution was
At this moment, Charlie's Reiki suddenly sensed that someone had emerged from the ground. He immediately gathered his Reiki there and abruptly found that next to the prison's pipe shaft, there was a very narrow elevator shaft. The length and width of the elevator shaft were both about 1.5 meters, and the elevator cabin was pitifully small, only about 1.2 square meters. Moreover, the elevator shaft had no openings on the first and middle floors, which meant that it went directly from the top floor to the underground. Charlie was not in a hurry to send his Reiki downward. Instead, he stayed with the people in the elevator to the top floor. What was even more outrageous was that the elevator was in a compartment hidden behind a huge office on the top floor. According to Charlie's perception, this office was the largest in the entire prison. He figured that it was most likely the warden's office. Therefore, he hastily used his Reiki to go down the elevator shaft, but to his bewil
Gustavo wanted to see the warden, and so did Charlie. It would be best if he could meet the warden without being noticed by the Rothschild family. However, due to the special situation in the prison, it was not easy for Charlie to achieve this goal. It seemed that Gustavo was his chance. In Charlie's opinion, approaching Gustavo was at least easier than approaching the warden. Moreover, he and Gustavo happened to be in the same prison area. Hence, he leaned toward Leandro and asked, "Do you know how I can be friends with Gustavo?" "Who? Gustavo?!" Leandro shrieked in surprise and then laughed. "Dude, Gustavo was a drug lord in Mexico and also a billionaire. He is probably among the top 100 richest men in the world. He is also the leader of Mexico's leading private armed forces. His existence in this prison is like locking a tiger in a cat's cage. How could he be friends with people like us..." Charlie couldn't help but snort when he heard this. In Leandro's view, Charlie
The hindrance would disappear if Gustavo were to die in the prison riot, and both the US government and the Rothschild family would lose their bargaining chip to control the current ruler of the Sanchez family. Upon thinking about this, Charlie smirked, knowing that his chance had come. He leaned toward Leandro and asked, "Has there been a riot here before?" "Of course," Leandro joshed casually. "Riots are common here, and the guards don't give a damn at all. They are like the owners of a kennel who lock a bunch of dogs in cages and let them bite and fight as they please. They simply stay behind the bars and watch the game. When they have enough fun, they come in to intervene, separate the dogs, drag out the bodies, and beat the crap out of the living dogs." Then, he frowned skeptically. "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Charlie looked over to Moses's table and saw that Moses's men had begun to disperse and detour toward Gustavo's table from several directions. "I fe
As Moses's men gradually surrounded Gustavo and his men, Gustavo's men formed a circle around Gustavo. Gustavo's expression was cold with a hint of rage. He felt that these hares were trying to pull dead lions by the beard. He thought of his days in Mexico when he had thousands of men under his command. If someone dared to look at him for even a second, he would take out his gun and shoot him in the head without hesitation. But now, he was in an American prison with no choice but to be threatened by these idiotic musclemen. Noticing that he was outnumbered, Gustavo snapped, "Moses, what do you think you're doing?" Moses nudged his men to the side and walked to the edge of the encirclement. He looked at Gustavo, pointed to his men, and grunted in a serious tone, "You are too boastful here. Some of my men haven't had a real steak in years, but there you are, enjoying the finest food every day! “Half of them don't know what caviar tastes like, but I've seen you pouring a can
Raymond chuckled at the title, humble as ever, "The Duke of Wastage? Now, that's quite the royal title, and I don't think I deserve such an honor…"Trailing off, he then made an especially curious look, "By the way, how'd you know they were calling me that?"Seeing that he was still so ignorant, Jacob scoffed. "You bought a Renaissance-era bronze sculpture earlier, didn't you?"Raymond nodded. "I did. But technically, it's medieval and not Renaissance, along with a Renaissance-era base."Jacob clutched his stomach as he laughed, "Oh, please! Medieval? Hahaha… You're killing me, Mr. Cole!"Raymond kept a serious look on his face. "It's really medieval. Why don't you take a look?""No way," Jacob snorted, pursing his lips. "Anyway, word has already spread that someone was selling a counterfeit bronze sculpture to defraud Antique Street for some serious dough. He went first to Vintage Deluxe, but their manager, Mr. Crane, saw through it and didn't buy it… and then he came to you, an
That was why most of the collectors only knew that such an item existed but they did not know in whose possession it was.After registering a new account and paying the ten thousand registration fee, Raymond got in.It was very safe as it was anonymous, and he posted a photo of the bronze sculpture and an announcement with an asking price of twenty million.In his opinion, it wasn't that expensive—if it was still gilded, it would be worth around a hundred million. Without it, it was plenty reasonable to cut the price down to just thirty million.And Raymond was cutting another ten million off that, so twenty million was plenty reasonable.Moreover, medieval bronze sculptures were exceedingly rare, and less than one specimen showed up annually at times. Collectors who desired it would therefore be willing to break the bank for it, and that was why Raymond was sure that someone would put in an order once he posted it.As he wrote the summary of the item, someone knocked on his door
Jacob frowned in disdain. "Why would I be worried? He's no longer the manager of Vintage Deluxe, and he just lost a shit ton of money for messing up his appraisal. I am also the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, so why would I be worried about some loser who will soon be kicked out of Antique Street?"Straightening his collar, he snorted coldly, "I am now going to see Raymond Cole and humiliate him face-to-face! He thinks he's impressive, doesn't he? Let's see how he will keep up that facade!"Zachary chuckled, "Yes, exactly! People like him need to be given a slap in the face! As hard as you can! Don't worry—I'll be right behind you. If he gets physical, I'll rush in to help. If he doesn't dare to start a fight, you just insult him as much as possible!""Good plan!" Jacob nodded since he was concerned that Raymond might get physical when pushed too far.And with his body, there was no way he could beat anyone…Spreading his arms, he exclaimed, "Come! I'l
Mick inspected every video to see who was getting the most views, and he then paid out of his own pocket to use paid advertising to get the video viral.It cost five thousand and it hurt, but reaching the trending page was definitely worth it.Mick was quite shrewd too, making sure that the paid advertising was focused locally. After all, he knew all too well that five thousand didn't buy many clicks, and clicks from elsewhere might be too sporadic to gain any worthwhile attention.As he worked in Antique Street, he naturally had to come up with a plan to promote himself in this place, ideally presenting himself as a master appraiser.That way, his fame would slowly extend throughout the province and perhaps Eastern Oskia, and eventually the country.As such, focusing on Aurous Hill was the best idea.Moreover, he also had another idea—if Jasmine Moore happened to see this video, she would see him in a new light.When that happened, he could look forward to getting really rich!
Soon, the video of Mick's staged act was uploaded to the online group, and everyone eagerly watched it as soon as it was done uploading.Mick certainly set a new bar with his acting as none of them could see that it was an act.Moreover, everyone could see that the bronze sculpture looked like the real deal, and they might have been swindled if it were them.As such, they couldn't help being impressed as Mick had easily seen through Billy's con, and he was the definition of a pro in that video.No matter how Billy had packaged it, there was no tricking real experts like Mick Crane. Just a quick glance and he had seen through that it was a postmodern replica, matched with a base from the Renaissance era to misdirect and beguile.With that, many fellow antique dealers changed their opinion of Mick.After all, Vintage Deluxe's business had been declining after Mick took over as manager, and people were presuming that his skills were lacking.But now, they were all shown that he had
"Amazing, Mr. Crane!""It's Mr. Crane who shines through, in the end! His eyes see through everything!""I guess Miss Moore made the right choice firing Raymond and appointing Mr. Crane! Mr. Crane is infinitely better!"Mick was immediately thrilled to see them fawning over him, and he laughed, "You flatter me—I'm merely sharing my personal perspective on this. In this trade, anyone who knows would understand how hard it is to get the good stuff in this age of technology.""There are plenty of people who hold ulterior motives and change their tactics knowing that there are always those scheming to get their hands on vintage treasures, so they just have to make it. That is how they started making counterfeits of everything, from scrolls to sculptures to statues, each of them so real just to trick those fools who think they could get rich overnight!""Exactly!" Someone promptly agreed. "There's never a lack of any such fools, and I just happened to meet one. I had this piece of jade
In groups like these, any gossip would immediately spread like wildfire as people share everything here with their other circles.Within minutes of these people's good work, Antique Street was abuzz even as the skies darkened: one of the antique traders had been swindled for 300 thousand, and it was Raymond Cole—the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe at that!Some of them wondered when Raymond had actually returned while others were laughing.He was supposed to be the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe, but he had messed up as well? You had to be kidding!Many were dumbstruck too—how would Raymond survive in Antique Street after losing so much money? It had been so long since such a major scam had been pulled!As such, all the antique dealers were asking one question: how did Raymond Cole get fooled?Meanwhile, Mick didn't leak the security footage right away, instead sending his people out to spread the news in other channels, claiming that Raymond thought he had won big by
Mick had already clipped the security footage and was waiting for Zachary's word.He had checked the footage repeatedly as well and was only getting more impressed with his masterful acting by the second. He looked just like a maestro, and every detail he mentioned was flawless and showed experience.Zacahry even said that Raymond had truly slipped up with that bronze sculpture, leaving him endlessly thrilled.The proverbial missing piece of the puzzle was here!Hence, calling all the staff he trusted, he told them excitedly, "Spread the word right away—Raymond Cole slipped up, spending 300 thousand on a fake Renaissance-era bronze sculpture!"His staff had no idea of the conspiracy involved, only that Mick had said that someone had tried to sell a counterfeit bronze sculpture but he had seen through it right away and chased him away, only for Raymond to end up buying the fake bronze sculpture soon after.Someone asked, "Mr. Crane, don't you think Raymond Cole bought from the man
Raymond had said everything he should and shouldn't and with complete sincerity exactly because Billy would never believe it.As Billy just wanted to swindle him, it didn't matter how sincere Raymond was—he wanted the 300 thousand whatever it took. The key here was that Billy had refused a better prospect when told it was possible, and there was evidence that would support Raymond if either he or Zachary realized the truth and came to start trouble.That meant Raymond had nothing to worry about—they could take this to the United Nations but he'd still win this case.Having been in the antique trade for so long, he had seen every form of oddity and was always cautious with people, considering every aspect of any issue.Hence, once he downloaded the security footage to his phone, Raymond decided that he needed to sell the bronze sculpture—not because he was in urgent need of money, but because he realized that there were those who wanted him out of Aurous Hill's Antique Street.Afte