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."
As a close friend of Charlie's father, Raymond hoped that Charlie would not repeat Curtis's mistakes, but Charlie's remarks made him realize that Curtis's and Charlie's lives had already been determined when Curtis decided to study the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book. Charlie's life was also destined to be full of dangers. Peace and serenity were a far-fetched dream for him. Thinking about this, Raymond sighed. "When I learned that people's destinies were divided into different levels, I thought that your father's fate of the dragon would bring him luck and joy, but from the looks of it, even if you have the fate of the ascending dragon, there are still difficulties and challenges everywhere." With a gentle smile, Charlie said calmly, "Now it seems that everything is fated." After that, he looked at Raymond and said respectfully with gratitude, "Thank you for everything you have done for me. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything later. You only need to stay here for one mo
Charlie huffed in surprise, "Wow, he's so bold. He can't wait to fuck your wife before your plane takes off." Bruce clenched his fists tightly and snarled indignantly, "Yes! That's what pissed me off the most! Actually, the bastard had already arrived at my house before I even arrived at the airport!" "Don't you want to man up and solve the problem?" asked Charlie curiously. Bruce abruptly burst into tears and wailed, "What can I do? No matter how pissed I am, I can't go against the Rothschilds! They are rich and powerful, but I only make a few million a year. Besides, it's hard for a middle-aged person like me to find a job now. If I stop working with them, I can't even find a job that pays 300 grand a year. I have no choice but to swallow my anger." "Hah!" Charlie laughed out loud. "You're really something." Then, something crossed his mind, and he asked, "By the way, you said that you installed cameras at home and filmed Malcolm going to your house. Did you get anything sp
In order to ease Raymond's problem and turn the passive situation into an active one, Charlie planned to have Bruce turn against the Rothschild family. However, he had to first find out how loyal Bruce was to the family before executing the plan. If Bruce was extremely loyal to the family, asking him to turn against the family would only make him feel unsure and skeptical. For this very reason, Charlie had purposely asked Bruce about his satisfaction and loyalty to the family. To his pleasant surprise, the marital affair between Bruce's wife and a member of the Rothschild family was exposed. Bruce's wife was cheating on him with a core member of the Rothschild family. Under such a circumstance, it seemed reasonable and natural to have him turn against the Rothschild family. After all, no man could hold on for too long when his wife cheated on him. Hence, Charlie kept manipulating him psychologically, letting him know that money was nothing compared to a man's dignity. B
"After you upload the video, you should immediately upload the video of Malcolm having an affair with your wife!" "Then, make another video in your office to explain why you want to attack the Rothschild family. Let them know that you will man up this time, and make the person who is sleeping with your wife pay the price!" "Remember, from now on, you are a fearless tiger! Use your sharpest teeth to bite their throats and never let go!" Shaking all over, Bruce howled almost fanatically, "Don't worry. I'll fight them to the end!" With a nod, Charlie instructed, "Include Mr. Cole in the first video and explain why the family imprisoned him here." "Yes, sir!" Bruce nodded without hesitation. "Roger that!" "You don't have to do it right away, though," Charlie said. "Send me up first and do what I just told you to do after I return to the cell." After that, he turned to Raymond and reassured him, "Once the video is released, I believe it will cause an uproar in the country. The
At this moment, a group of prisoners were taking turns to go to the bathroom in the cell to take a cold shower. It was because Charlie had demanded that they do everything they could to get rid of their body odor. These people didn't care about their hygiene. In addition, they had strong body odor and no deodorant. The smell emitted as these men crowded the bathroom was akin to a septic tank that had exploded. Gustavo approached Charlie as he wiped his hair and asked with a flattering smile, "Mr. Wade, have you met Bruce?" Charlie coldly snapped, "Listen, don't ask things you shouldn't ask." "Okay, okay..." Gustavo nodded repeatedly and then asked him with some concern, "I have something to ask you if you don't mind." "Go ahead," Charlie calmly said. Gustavo hastily said, "To be honest, I don't know what crime you committed, whether the trial has been held, and how long you will be sentenced after the trial. I may never be able to leave the prison. What if you get out one
Soon, more collectors had gathered outside Treasure Measure even before Raymond showed up at Antique Street, with over ten of them gathered outside in no time at all.Since Raymond had only prepared ten slips, the rest left in disappointment seeing that they had no chance.Even so, the ten collectors who had gotten a number were nervous—save for the first man who had arrived.The details on the online sales post insisted that the price was fixed, and that first-come first-serve applies.If he bought the bronze sculpture, the other nine would have come all this way for nothing.However, if the seller decided to make it an auction, they would have a chance too, although their net profit would thin in turn. After all, they could have acquired the bronze sculpture for just 20 million, and that meant a solid 8 million in profit.An auction would at least raise the price to 27 million, and more would make it chicken feed.If they gave up at that point, it was a waste of a trip.If
Trippy naturally wasn't going to tell Mick everything word-for-word, so he said vaguely, "Uh, they were just being stubborn and refused to listen to anything I said. They kept saying that they wouldn't know until they saw the actual item."Mick got out of bed, staring at his phone as he mused to himself.This was getting a little ridiculous, was it not? A fool who was scammed, actually able to scam someone else? But if he really could sell it, wouldn't all their work be for nothing?With that in mind, he promptly called Zachary, who wasn't even up yet.Ever since he had started working for Don Albert, his daily routine was no longer the same as the days when he was a humble stall owner working on Antique Street, but a man of importance who slept late and woke up late.In the evening, he would be spending his time patrolling Don Albert's night entertainment properties as well as holding meetings with subordinates to decide on management policies and the like. That was why he wo
Seeing that Mick had a favor to ask, Trippy was naturally eager to seize the opportunity to get in his good graces."Don't worry, Mr. Crane!" He promptly replied. "Just leave it to me!"Returning to Treasure Measure, he went up to the first man who had come and said, "Hey, brother… Did you come to buy the bronze sculpture from Mr. Cole?"The man asked warily, "You know about the bronze sculpture?""Of course!" Trippy grinned. "I know all too well—it's actually famous here in Aurous Hill."Whipping out his phone, he played the short video that Mick had spent five grand promoting, saying, "Here—check this out!"Curious, the man took the phone and watched the video solemnly.The other latecomer soon hurried over as well and stared fixedly at the screen too.They watched as Bill entered a room with the bronze sculpture with Mick, the latter who checked it out and started commenting on it.The first man exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, it really is that bronze sculpture."The second ma
The other antique traders who were keeping tabs on the situation were left confused by Trippy's message.[Maybe even those out-of-towners know that Raymond is a sucker? So they traveled overnight just to see what happens?][I know Raymond is in trouble, but is it really worth traveling hundreds of miles just to watch?][Maybe they know he's a sucker, so they came to sell him more counterfeits?][Shit, that must be it! Suckers are rare these days, after all!][Damn straight! Just knowing that there's one in Aurous Hill, you'd be eager to come over.]Even Mick Crane who had just woken up and saw the message immediately sent a voice message: "Those conmen are just like flies flocking around shit as soon as they smell it.""Oh, but what they don't know is that Raymond has no more money! I heard he only had a few hundred thousand for the startup, and the bronze sculpture must have cost most of it. I'm afraid those people won't even get their gas money and toll costs back after travel
Trippy rolled his eyes as he texted back: [Hell no. I need to start my business instead of wasting my time. You morons can come get a number yourself if you like. Haha!]Still, Trippy had just sent his text when a trio arrived in a hurry outside Treasure Measure.Seeing that the doors were closed, the leader asked Trippy, "Excuse me, can I ask if this is Treasure Measure? Owned by a man named Mr. Cole?"Trippy was at once surprised. "You mean Raymond Cole?"The leader quickly said, "We don't know his first name, only that his last name is Cole, and his handle name was Treasure Measure's Mr. Cole."Trippy chuckled. "That'd be him. Has to be, since he hand wrote that shop sign."Pausing, he then asked in curiosity, "So, you've come to see him being a sucker?"The leader was naturally curious as to what Trippy was talking about. However, he was also reluctant to reveal why he had come since there was a killer bargain at stake. In fact, every other collector who was coming was k
Raymond also added that the 20 million price tag wouldn't be cut or increased. To put it simply, the bronze sculpture was right there in Aurous Hill and waiting—it was a race.Hence, many reputable collectors contacted expert appraisers throughout the night, some even booking night flights straight to Aurous Hill.The best amongst them was a fanatic collector of bronze items in Eastcliff.Following a brief exchange with Raymond online, he immediately called an expert who was also a close friend. As soon as his call was answered, he asked the other man if he had time to travel to Aurous Hill so that no one else would beat them to it—and they would drive out in the night if at all possible.After all, the earliest flight was at six in the morning, and it'd be eight by the time they made it to Aurous Hill Airport and nine by the time they got to Antique Street in a cab.Therefore, the ideal way to get there was by driving over six hundred miles at top speed, and that meant reaching A
While Jacob was feeling delighted after pulling off his con, Raymond had posted details of the bronze sculpture online.The website he was using was the biggest platform for antique collectors and the antique trade where each user could set a favorite tag in the antique category and era. If a user who preferred canvas art pieces of the Tudor dynasty set that label as their favorite, they would immediately be notified with text or desktop notifications in regards to any item with the same label.As medieval bronze sculptures were rare in the first place, most who were interested had already set that label on their favorites and were immediately notified soon after Raymond posted pictures of the bronze sculpture online.The collectors were naturally eager to check it out as gilded sculptures of the medieval era were really rare, and most collectors would go a lifetime without picking one up for their collection.On top of that, the seller had even listed a major flaw and was only ask
"Nope," Jacob chuckled. "We were both working separately and just happened to get back in at the same time."Then, he immediately became smug and excited, "Guess what, dear? I made 200 thousand out of the deal! In net profits!""For real?!" Elaine gaped. "200 thousand in just one night?! That's amazing! How did you do that?"Claire was surprised to hear that too, and she came over to ask, "What deal was it, Dad?"Jacob grinned, "Oh, it's nothing to brag about. It's just that I managed to pick up a nice antique item thanks to my wisdom and then sold it for 200 thousand."Pausing, he then sighed in dismay, "However, the buyer wasn't too rich—I would have squeezed him for 400 thousand, but he couldn't afford more, so I had to settle for less."Elaine quickly exclaimed, "Shit, we're talking about a loss of 200 thousand! People would work a year and still never earn that much…"She trailed off for a moment before asking, "By the way, dear—are we still flying out first thing tomorrow?
Jacob laughed. "Put that issue behind us? Sure, but we're not becoming friends. Hell, I can't even hold a grudge now that you're shit out of luck."Then, his tone changed sharply and suddenly became icy, "But you see, Aurous Hill is not a place you can stay just because you want to. No… After this, you're not going to be able to make a living in the antique trade.""If I were you, I'd be running a thousand miles away, far away from Aurous Hill where no one would know my face to start over. That way, you just might be able to make a living."Raymond simply kept smiling, "You need not be concerned about how I'm going to survive here, Mr. Wilson. I'd be very grateful if you'd cease any form of harassment once you leave my premises."Jacob pursed his lips, staring at Raymond in disappointment. "I'm plenty magnanimous, so I won't stoop to such pettiness. Just do whatever you like!"Clicking his tongue, he huffed, "Tut, tut… And here I'd thought you're tough, but you're just yet another