Touched by Raymond's patriotism, Charlie nodded and promised, "Don't worry. I'll bring the treasure tower back to Oskia. You have my word. I happen to know someone who has quite a diverse network. I can bring back the treasure tower through him." The person Charlie was talking about was Emmett, Vera's adopted son. He had no right to keep the treasure tower since it was a national treasure. Returning it to Oskia through Emmett was the right thing to do to honor the treasure. Excited to hear this, Raymond beamed, "Thank you, Mr. Wade. I can call it even after the treasure has returned to Oskia and I serve my fifteen-year sentence." Charlie cleared his throat and said in a solemn tone, "The British and the Rothschild family have looted so many historical relics from China. They belong to Oskia no matter how hundreds and thousands of years have passed, and that's the truth. Sooner or later, they will all be returned to Oskia. I won't let you stay in this hellhole for fifteen years.
Raymond's passion was so intense it overwhelmed Charlie. Truth be told, Charlie's father had already predicted and planned everything for him. At that moment, Raymond's eyes were filled with heightened excitement as he continued, "I've been waiting for the day when you were ready to rise from the abyss ever since your parents passed away. I've been waiting for twenty years!" "Old Master Lennard went to Eastcliff about five years ago. He departed from the United States, and I happened to be in the States as well. When he took off from Los Angeles in your family's private jet, I stood by the fence at the end of the airport runway and watched the plane fly into the sky. "At that moment, I knew that the moment when you reached the fate of the dragon would come soon!" "After arriving in Eastcliff, he spent several years and used his lifetime's knowledge to finally solve the dilemma of the dragon-stranding predicament in Mount Wintry. I was so excited when I heard the news, I could
"But why?" Charlie asked, bewildered. "How could my father, who was much better than me, not have the fate of the ascending dragon? Why me? An orphan who lost his parents at the age of eight and a loser who was a laughingstock in Aurous Hill! Why? I don't get it..." With a long sigh, Raymond lamented with a tearful hint, "Oh, Mr. Wade... You have no idea what the fate of the ascending dragon means. It isn't a fate that people are born with, but a fate that is changed artificially. Your father had the fate of the dragon, and your highest destiny is a dragon. To become an ascending dragon, you need the combination of two dragons..." As he spoke of this, Raymond choked up, tears flooding his eyes, "The reason you have the fate of the ascending dragon is because your father took away his destiny and gave it to you! "That combines with your own fate of the dragon, and you eventually acquired the fate of the ascending dragon!" "What? W-What did you just say?!" Charlie's heart skipp
At that moment, Charlie could no longer compose himself. He lowered his head, covered his face, and wailed aloud. His parents had been murdered when he was young. For many years after that, he often had survivor's guilt. If it weren't for Mrs. Lewis's decades-long care and guidance, he would have become depressed and disturbed, and at one point, he would have even committed suicide. Ever since receiving the Apocalyptic Book, he had been able to discover some of the hidden secrets behind his parents' death. When he learned it was his father's meticulous arrangement that enabled him to grow up safely in the orphanage, his sense of guilt and shame had intensified. And now, he learned that his father had left the Apocalyptic Book for him, and it was his father who had sacrificed himself so that he could have the fate of owning the book. The truth was so harsh and heart-wrenching that he felt immensely remorseful. Raymond's final remark was the last straw. He said that strippin
Charlie murmured, "I want to know what my father went through..." "I understand." Raymond nodded, asserting, "But too many attachments will only become your burden. Besides, I don't want to reminisce about the cruel and devastating past. I'm sorry..." Charlie pursed his lips and nodded gently. Raymond quickly changed the subject, "By the way, I hid the treasure tower in the same place. After you leave this hellhole, you must retrieve it and bring it back to Oskia as soon as possible." Charlie nodded and asked, "Where did you hide it?" Raymond chuckled and replied, "I hid it outside my family mansion's gate in New Jersey." He cleared his throat and continued, "Outside the gate is a pair of majestic lion statues. There is a secret compartment in the base of the male lion. That's where I hid it. It's easy to open the compartment. You just need a crane or forklift to lift the body of the male lion, and the base will open. You'll find the compartment there." "Huh?!" Charlie ga
Noticing the firm determination in Charlie's eyes, Raymond earnestly persuaded him, "Please don't get into a direct conflict with them for my sake. It isn't worth it, and it may affect our strategy." "Don't worry." Charlie nodded and reassured him, "They don't know who they are up against. It's easy to attack them when we're in the dark." As he said this, he looked at Raymond and said, "I still have some questions. I would like you to answer them for me." "Of course," Raymond replied hastily. Charlie swiftly asked, "I want to know how my father came into contact with the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book and the Apocalyptic Book. Also, how did he get involved with the Qing Eliminating Society?" With a sigh, Raymond illustrated, "Your father had similar experiences to you. The process by which he obtained the Preface is very similar to the process by which you obtained the Apocalyptic Book." Thinking of something his uncle had said, Charlie asked in surprise, "Did he also get
"There were several palace collections that the Qing court recorded, and their prices were even more expensive." "Such a large number of highly valuable cultural relics could easily reach 200 million dollars even in the lowest bid, and that was 20 years ago." "Although my family business was on a relatively large scale at that time, the antique industry is capital-intensive. Our family's assets might be tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars, but a large part of it was inventory all around the world. It was hard for us to come out with 200 million right away." "Also, in the antique industry, you can't expect to liquidate inventory quickly. The more inventory you have, the more patient you have to be." "Because the antique industry is similar to the stock market. The worst thing that can happen is a concentrated sell-off that crashes the market. I can buy ten pieces of 14th-century porcelain at once, but there is no way I can sell ten pieces at once. The more I
Charlie hastily asked, "You must have read the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book, right? What exactly does it say?" Raymond replied, "The content recorded in the book is all-encompassing, but its real core is a map that needs to be deciphered from the text bit by bit. Back then, your parents were very interested in studying and deciphering the Preface. Thanks to your father, I studied it briefly too, but I wasn't good at the Oskian language because I was born and raised in the States. The content was too difficult and obscure for me to understand, and I soon lost interest in studying it." "After that, your parents left the States and returned to Oskia. I heard that they went to great lengths to search for the place mentioned in the book. Thankfully, they found the place after going through so much hardship. That place was where your father took the Apocalyptic Book." "Really?" Charlie gasped, astonished. "What's the place's name? Is it called the Longevity Haven?" "I don't know."