Bruce was not that bold before. However, Charlie's psychological manipulation was indeed strong. More importantly, Bruce loathed the Rothschild family very much. The reason why he was able to suppress his hatred and frustration before was entirely because of his fear of the family. But now, the fear is gone. Hence, he couldn't care less even though Harrison had called him personally. On the other end of the line, Harrison was bewildered by Bruce's boldness, but he didn't want to provoke Bruce further, so he suppressed his rage and comforted the latter patiently, "Bruce, I know that you have been greatly betrayed and insulted. No one can accept this kind of thing in stride." Harrison pursed his lips and continued, "But we are adults, and we can resolve our problems in a business-like manner. Besides, there is room for negotiation as long as the price is right. Give me a number, a price that you think you'll be happy with, and forgive everyone and everything." "Do you thin
"Is 100 million not enough? That's fine, we can discuss the price." Harrison hastily suggested, "How about 500 million?" "500 million?" Bruce chuckled contemptuously. "Oh, Harrison. You're so old now that you might die anytime soon. How about you keep the money for your funeral!" With that, Bruce immediately slammed the handset shut and unplugged the phone. Then, he realized that his cell phone had been in recording mode, meaning the whole conversation had been recorded. He grinned triumphantly, and another revenge plan hatched in his mind. - On the other hand, Harrison was like a volcano on the verge of eruption, ready to explode at any moment. Stomping his feet agitatedly, he huffed under his breath, "Damn it! Bastard! Since when did that loser start to value dignity?!" Julien recounted, "The takeover team is about to arrive, and Bruce has refused our offer. What are we going to do with Biden?" Harrison sighed dejectedly. "I wanted to bribe Bruce and let him make Bide
Harrison's eyes widened in shock. He quickly unlocked his phone and checked the short video platform. He clicked on Bruce's third video and saw Bruce looking into the camera with a firm expression on his face, saying, "I know that once I upload the videos, the Rothschild family will do whatever they can to do crisis PR. They will definitely use their wealth and power to influence those seemingly fair social media platforms." "So, don't be surprised if those big websites delete my videos and any content related to me. This is the family's real power." "They can silence any American media on this matter, so the only people I can rely on now are you, my fellow netizens. Please share my videos and don't let my voice disappear on the internet!" Just as he said this, in the video, the phone on Bruce's desk suddenly rang. He answered it, and Harrison's voice was heard. Then, Harrison made a series of statements to Bruce on the phone to make peace. Bruce uploaded the whole conversa
Harrison's grandson added, "The phenomena on social media platforms is even worse. Almost all platforms are discussing our affairs. We are in a bad state now..." Donning a gloomy face, Harrison was so furious he wanted to bite Bruce's head off. He regretted his decision to call Bruce to make peace. If he hadn't made that call, he would have still remained in the dark. In that case, he could still make Malcolm take the blame alone, whether it was legal responsibility or public wrath. However, this plan was completely ruined after the release of the third video. At this moment, Julien said, "The think tank has come up with the best solution. The person in charge is waiting online. Do you want to talk to him?" The Rothschild family had its own think tank which consisted of a large group of intellectuals. Whenever a major event occurred, the think tank would analyze and simulate the direction of the event from the most objective perspective and at the same time, give their
Late that night, a video suddenly made the headlines of all media except the short video platforms. The title of the video was "Sincere Apology from Harrison, the Current Patriarch of the Rothschild Family". In the video, Harrison looked haggard, with a very decadent and sickly look, which made people feel that he was dying. The deliberate appearance was one of the think tank's ideas. They believed that acting old and pitiful could garner sympathy from the public and subconsciously reduce their hatred and guilt for Harrison. For example, compared to a healthy youth, if an old man with a terminal illness was caught pickpocketing, society would be more tolerant even though the cause and nature of theft were no different. Although Harrison's reputation would be tarnished by an old and pitiful makeover, it would definitely reduce the public's hostility toward the Rothschild family. The think tank's judgment was indeed correct. When Harrison appeared in front of the camera, tum
"Also, I would like to ask the police to investigate me. If my conduct is suspected of violating American laws, I am willing to accept all legal responsibility." "Finally, on behalf of my entire family, I would like to express my sincere apologies to Mr. Bruce Weinstein and Mr. Biden Cole. We will continue to be in contact with them and do our best to make up for the damage Malcolm has done to them." After his speech, Harrison stood up and bowed deeply to the camera with some difficulty. As expected, his apology statement managed to restore some of the Rothschild family's reputation. Coupled with their control over most of the American news media and with the deliberate media framing and hype, the Rothschild family's image saw a significant improvement. Many people accepted Harrison's statement and felt that Bruce's exposure was Malcolm's doing and had nothing to do with the family. As for Harrison's attempt to bribe Bruce, the public portrayed it as a matter of course for a pa
Charlie nodded with a smile. "Go to the toilet now with your phone and record a video. Tell us how you made a deal with the Rothschild family, why you were imprisoned here, and how the family used your family's power in Mexico to achieve their goals." "What?!" Gustavo blurted in shock. "They will kill me if I do so!" Charlie smiled reassuringly. "Let me finish." Gustavo quickly shut his mouth and nodded vigorously. Charlie cleared his throat and continued, "Look. Moses almost killed you yesterday. In the video, you can ask your son for help. Tell him that you nearly died in prison and that someone framed him for the murder attempt, but you didn't believe him at all." "Then, you tell them what you think about this. You say that you feel the Rothschild family wants to kill you because you are no longer useful and know too many of their dark secrets. They not only want to kill you but are also trying to frame your son." "You need to both denounce the Rothschild family for thei
To Charlie, Gustavo had lost his value after he had successfully approached Bruce. A Mexican drug lord who had lost his power and was imprisoned by the Americans on top of having a son who wanted to be killed had no practical value. He would be useless unless Charlie got him out of jail and brought him back to Mexico to help him regain control of the Sanchez family, but that was even less cost-effective for Charlie. Firstly, Gustavo was a notorious drug dealer whom Charlie did not want to get involved with, especially in terms of interests. Secondly, Gustavo had been extradited from Mexico by the U.S. government at a great expense. It was a great achievement of the government in eradicating drugs. They had to make sure that Gustavo stayed in prison for the sake of their reputation. Once he escaped from prison, it would be a great shame to the US justice system. At that time, the US government would be even more desperate to catch him. Hence, even if Gustavo returned to Mexico
"Alright!" Trippy was at once fawning, tagging along behind Raymond like a little child.Around thirty people were waiting in front of Treasure Measure by now. The collectors came in twos or threes, and all ten numbers had since been taken.Before Raymond arrived, he had a brief look at the collectors' faces through the security cameras before walking over, and he was really relieved to see no familiar faces.Having traded Oskian antiques for years abroad, it was only natural that he was acquainted with some of the elite collectors in the country.He also knew that they were especially demanding with the quality of their collection and wanted almost flawless items. As such, the bronze sculpture which had been completely lost wouldn't interest them.Still, he was also a little concerned that amongst the elite collectors he knew, there might be some who were losing money and losing purchasing power in turn. If they happened to take an interest in the bronze sculpture on top of that,
Trippy grinned. "I mean, just look at my stall—ain't no way I'm getting any business here. Why not let me check out this item of yours? And see how interested they are? I'm really interested in learning and upping my game."Then, as if worried that Raymond would refuse, he quickly added, "Don't worry—I promise to stay in a corner and just watch."Still, Raymond could guess right then that someone must have sent Trippy to spy on him.It didn't matter whether it was Mick, Jacob, or Zachary either—they were all in this plot together, and one knowing meant all three knowing.Trippy was a gossiper in nature. If he was allowed to witness the whole process, everyone down Antique Street would definitely know before long.In fact, he could use someone like that right now, and Trippy had come straight to his doorstep.With that in mind, Raymond smiled, "Come join me if you're interested. It's not like there's anything to hide…"Pausing, he then warned Trippy, "But since you're going in my
After watching Mick's video, Jasmine's opinion of the man improved considerably.She was actually well aware that the decline of Vintage Deluxe was mostly due to Mick's incompetence.However, as Jasmine was now managing a billion-dollar company, she couldn't spare any time to ask many questions about Vintage Deluxe's performance. In her opinion, as long as Vintage Deluxe didn't lose too much money or ruin the reputation they had worked so hard to build, she wasn't interested in a regime change.It was the same mindset as Marianne Long, who begged her father to keep that lane full of food stalls in Hong Kong over sentiment.As such, seeing that Mick actually had some skill pleased her considerably.She couldn't resist checking out the comments of the video too.She saw that many were praising the manager of Vintage Deluxe for taking a tough stand against the scammer as well as how Vintage Deluxe's reputation was long-standing and without comparison.She soon noticed Jacob's comme
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