Charlie asked, "Isn't this the same as what you said earlier?" Helena stuck out her tongue cheekily. "At least the order has changed. There's still a difference." Speaking of which, Helena said, "What you asked me to do is a piece of cake for me. It isn’t right to accept your money again..." Charlie affirmed earnestly, "Listen, this is the last price. Go to Harrison, and we will split the money 50-50 when it's done. If that's fine, we'll proceed. If you don't want to take the deal, I'll find someone else to help me." Helena felt both joy and concern as she looked at Charlie, with his overwhelming display of masculinity. The joy was obvious—not because of money, but because Charlie was always thinking of her and cared about her. As for the concern, it wasn't about being unable to repay the favor, as that was already impossible. Her real worry was that none of her fantasies about men could ever compare to even a fraction of Charlie himself. Having fallen into this love trap,
Meanwhile, Harrison was on the verge of collapse. Although his men had already cleaned up the scene and he had hidden Hank and the others away, even planning to send them overseas at the right moment, he was still extremely anxious. He had expended so much effort and endured so much pressure from the public, yet he had not been able to locate the Four-Sided Treasure Tower. That was still not the worst part. He had even implicated the Qing Eliminating Society. What was even worse was that he had inexplicably killed a core member of the Qing Eliminating Society. The misery would be worth it if he could hide the truth from the Qing Eliminating Society and recover the Four-Sided Treasure Tower. But if, by any chance, the tower could not be retrieved and the Qing Eliminating Society came after him for revenge, he'd really be wishing for death. The torment over the past few days had caused his blood pressure to rise continuously. After examining him, his personal doctor strongl
"No problem," Emmett reassured with a smile. "Don't worry about it. Everything has already been arranged. The flight will land in Eastcliff in two hours, and military journalists will be there to capture some footage. At 10 p.m., some edited footage will be handed over for the evening news broadcast. You can keep an eye on it." "Wonderful!" Charlie beamed. "I'll wait for the news to be released." - Just as Emmett's plane took off from Aurous Hill, the Boeing 777 plane that Fleur was on finally landed at New York Kennedy Airport. On the plane, Fleur was feeling a little cramped and agitated. Despite her determination to come to the United States for the Four-Sided Treasure Tower, she couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of unease when she thought about how she'd recently broken decades of low-profile living and had been going out frequently. Fleur had almost never left the base since the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union in the last ce
The disappearance of the coordinate points did not necessarily mean that the corresponding member of the Qing Eliminating Society had died, but it did mean that he had lost contact. The Qing Eliminating Society had very strict disciplinary requirements for members like Zekeiah who were on long-term missions outside the base, and the punishment for losing contact was very severe. If the disconnection was intentional and malicious, once caught, the person could be executed on the spot. Even if they managed to hide, it wouldn't help as the poison in their body had a set activation period. If they didn't receive the antidote within the deadline, they would surely die. If the disconnection was due to negligence, such as forgetting to charge the special phone or equipment malfunction, the organization would not let it slide easily either. Depending on the situation, they would send an envoy to punish the individual. In the lightest case, that person would have to take a special poison
The medical staff were busy with their duty of tending to the patients, while the security department was like a cat on a hot tin roof. The reason for their anxiety was that two very bizarre incidents had happened this morning. The first incident was that the patient in Ward 1707 had been found dead in his bed earlier that morning. The preliminary cause of death was acute morphine intoxication, and the autopsy report from the police was in progress. The hospital reviewed the patient's medical records. As he had been admitted to hospital following a car accident, he had indeed been injected with morphine last night to relieve the pain, but the recorded dosage was very safe and unlikely to cause morphine overdose, so the possibility of homicide was not ruled out. Secondly, this morning, as the staff responsible for the surveillance system discovered that the system had some minor vulnerabilities that needed fixing, they opted for an automatic repair, but after the repair was comp
Hearing the policeman's answer, Fleur felt even more depressed. Zekeiah and Mr. Zorro had both disappeared from Manhattan Hospital, and Zekeiah's assistant had died in this hospital. It went without saying that there had to be an enemy behind the scenes. Now, there was only one body left of the three, and the other two seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. It made Fleur extremely anxious. Zekeiah's assistant was found dead in the morning. The coordinate point of Zekeiah and Mr. Zorro was in the hospital at midnight, and they had disappeared before dawn. Fleur figured that if they were attacked, this person would have killed Zekeiah and Mr. Zorro first and Zekeiah's assistant next. She mumbled under her breath, "Why did that person kill Zekeiah's assistant? What kind of threat would an injured patient pose to him? Could the assistant have seen him?" Thinking about this, she immediately asked, "Is there any evidence that the patient was murdered?" The policeman s
Enraged, Fleur queried, "Zekeiah disappeared early this morning. How did he leave the hospital? Don't you know?" "No," the policeman answered honestly. "All the CCTV footage is gone. To find clues, we can only rely on forensic experts to search the crime scene bit by bit, but the clues at the crime scene have been destroyed. Not even a complete footprint or fingerprint can be extracted, so for the time being, we don't know how they left." As Harrison's henchman, Hank might not be the most powerful martial artist, but he was a professional agent and very good at handling various clues. Charlie had ordered him to stay here yesterday to clean up all the clues and make it difficult for the police and Fleur to make any breakthroughs, and Hank had completed his task flawlessly. Fleur felt a deep sense of powerlessness. At the thought of the Four-Sided Treasure Tower, she queried, "The antique dealer... B-Biden Cole, right? Isn't he admitted here? Where is he now?" The policeman answe
"No." The policeman shook his head. "I have nothing to add." Sighing in disappointment, Fleur glared at the two policemen and commanded, "Listen, don't tell anyone about your encounter with me. If you have any leads, come to the Starbucks across the hospital. I'll be there." "Okay." The two policemen stared ahead blankly, but they nodded firmly. Fleur ignored them, turned around, and walked out of the hospital. Tarlon was waiting outside the hospital. Seeing Fleur come out so quickly, he hurried forward and whispered, "Lord, why did you come out so quickly? Have you found any clues?" With a gloomy expression, Fleur shook her head. She felt that she had reached a dead-end, but she couldn't give up. So, she coldly ordered Tarlon, "Call Esteban Briggs of the Left Military Governor Office and ask him to mobilize all the intelligence networks of the office in the country to locate Zekeiah, Mr. Zorro, and that antique dealer at all costs! Whoever finds them will be handsomely rewar
"Holy crap!" Christian exclaimed excitedly, slapping the table. "You're impressive! You've taken your case-solving skills right to the Qing Eliminating Society's doorstep! With this screening method, you can instantly filter out over 99% of potential targets, saving a lot of effort. Narrowing it down to a thousand or even just a hundred companies and verifying them one by one won't take much time, and the target will become much clearer!" Charlie couldn't contain his excitement and exclaimed, "You are truly incredible, Detective! The way you explained it has given me a whole new perspective!" He continued, "I think we could add a few more filtering criteria. For instance, we can eliminate any companies that don't have an airport within a hundred kilometers. The Qing Eliminating Society relies on swift and flexible global movement. If there isn't an airport nearby, it would significantly hinder the mobilization of their dead soldiers." "You're right!" Merlin said, "There are fewer
Merlin was concerned that Charlie would not want him to help, so he said, "I have an idea, and we can discuss it together if you don't mind." Hearing this, Charlie urged, "Of course, not. Please go ahead." Merlin said in a serious tone, "Based on some of your previous explanations, I personally understand that the Five Military Governor Offices hold the same significance to the Qing Eliminating Society as the five fiefs did under ancient emperors. The ones in charge of these fiefs are the five major lords within the Qing Eliminating Society's administrative structure. Within their respective territories, they establish their own economic and military systems, using centuries of accumulated resources and strategies to generate profit while secretly raising a large number of dead soldiers. In doing so, they not only provide military strength to the organization but also supply substantial funding. Is that correct?" "Yes." Charlie nodded. Merlin continued, "Although the Five Milit
This trip to New York made Charlie realize the truth. No matter how strong a person was, they couldn't stay strong under all kinds of circumstances, neither Charlie nor Fleur. Fleur had to keep a profile as low as possible whether in Oskia or New York. What impressed Charlie the most was that in the video footage he had obtained from the Rothschild family, it was clearly visible that Fleur, while in New York, was confined to the helicopter with the registration number N77DT, fully cooperating with the Rothschild family's inspection. Her four-hundred-year cultivation, which she prided herself on, was tightly suppressed by modern AI models and contemporary weaponry, leaving her no opportunity to catch her breath. The reason she was suppressed so completely was that at that time and in that environment, she had no subordinates available for mobilization. If she had to fight head-on, she could only take the risk of relying solely on her personal strength. If Charlie could destr
In his utter despair, Julien could only say respectfully like a submissive servant, "Please rest assured, I will make the most of this opportunity. I will do everything I can to maintain the businesses your grandfather has left in the U.S., and I guarantee the return will not fall short of your expectations." Upon hearing his pledge, Charlie's tone softened slightly, and he replied indifferently, "Then, I'll be watching your performance." With that, Charlie ended the call. After listening to Charlie's conversation with Julien, Keith, Christian, and Kaeden were left somewhat stunned, unable to fully comprehend what had just transpired. Keith eventually came to his senses a while later and said, "Charlie, I don't mind losing those assets. If it doesn't work out, we can sell them at a discount. It's a one-time solution. Julien is arrogant and overbearing. If you piss him off, he might cause you trouble one day." "Don't worry, he won't." Charlie shook his head. "Julien has no lev
In just a few seconds, Julien, on the other end of the line, had cursed Charlie under his breath with all the vulgar words he knew. "Fuck you, Charlie! He's so mean! Does he really think that I'm a greenhorn?!" "'Give me a chance, I'm useless'?! Why are you so arrogant?! Do you see me as your lap dog?!" "So what if you bet on Dad?! Do you think I'll be freaked out?!" At this point, he suddenly felt his heart skipping a beat and muttered, "Damn... Yeah, I really am freaked out! Dad may preside over my funeral! What has my life even been worth, then?!" At this moment, deep inside, Julien felt a sense of despair like never before. With his identity and background, he had not been emotionally rich since the moment he was born. Unlike the vast majority of people, in his more than fifty years of life, he had almost never experienced hardship, suffering, sorrow, or despair. As the saying went, 'A full man doesn't know the hunger of the starving'. It was like the lords in med
Charlie hummed lightly, and then, no longer joking, said seriously, "Since you've said that, I actually do have something I need your help with." "Please go ahead!" Julien immediately responded. "As long as it's within my ability, I'll give it my all! Please give me a chance to help relieve your worries." Charlie said, "My grandfather is planning to move all of his businesses in the U.S. that can be relocated back to Oskia, but those real estate properties and industries that cannot be moved out will need someone to take over for the time being. As you know, real estate requires proper management and operation to ensure its value steadily increases. The physical industries that can't be moved out need strict oversight to ensure they remain stable and grow. He and my uncles no longer have anyone capable of managing things independently in the U.S., so I hope you can help by taking over these businesses and managing them for us." "Oh, I see." Julien sighed in relief and quickly sai
Julien cursed under his breath, "Damn you, Charlie! How dare you rub salt in my wound! How is Dad? Don't you know best?!" Despite his rage, he didn't dare to truly rant it out. Hence, he calmed himself down and answered respectfully, "Thank you for your concern. You asked Queen Helena to visit him, and he's completely cured now." "Good to know." Charlie asked with a smile, "Julien, do you hold any grudge against me because I cured your father?" Julien—like a cat that had its tail stepped on—quickly blurted out, "No! No. I'm very grateful. I don't hold a grudge against you." Charlie asked curiously, "By the way, now that your father has recovered, has he handed over the position of family head to you as agreed?" Feeling utterly frustrated, Julien grumbled in a muffled voice, "No, he didn't, but he did clarify my position as the first heir." At this point, he couldn't help but mutter in a low voice, "Mr. Wade... you really just rained on my parade!" Charlie no longer beat a
"The Rothschilds?!" Charlie's words made Keith, Christian, and Kaeden blurt out in utter bewilderment. Keith coughed and said, "The Rothschilds have always been arrogant and cocky. In their eyes, there is no company or family in the world that stands on equal footing with them. Even though our family is the second-largest in the U.S., so what? Harrison still acts arrogantly when he sees me, high and mighty, despising me." He continued, "I've known Harrison for so many years, and he's only ever been polite, even respectful, to me once—and that was after Zekeiah's death, when he called me to discuss things. With his unappreciative and high-handed attitude, after Zekeiah's issue was resolved, he wouldn't have felt he owed me any favor." "We don't have to go through Harrison." Charlie smiled and said, "I'll have Julien do it." "Julien?!" Kaeden asked involuntarily, "Do you mean Harrison's eldest son, Julien?" "Yes." Charlie nodded. "Him." Kaeden sneered, "Julien is even more
Charlie asked, "What are you going to tell Aunt Lulu?" Keith replied, "Zekeiah is famous in New York. It won't take long for the news of his disappearance to spread. When Lulu hears about it, she should be able to guess that he is dead. As for other details, it's better not to tell her. Everyone should keep it a secret, and no one should mention him again." He then took a deep breath and lamented, "Zekeiah posed a great threat to us when he was alive, and his death is the best outcome for us. Now that he's dead, this matter should be completely closed off, and no further consequences should be allowed to arise. Lulu should be able to understand this." Charlie nodded gently. As Keith had said, an unspoken approach to handling the matter was actually the best solution. Keith changed the subject and began, "I've discussed it with Christian and Kaeden. We will gradually withdraw from the U.S. market. Apart from the equity in other companies we've invested in there, we want to move