"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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
Before Charlie had arrived, Jacob was still furious that Matilda would soon marry Yolden.After Charlie came, however, he was instead worried that Matilda would send him a wedding invitation.Meanwhile, Matilda and Yolden were discussing their list of guests.They had different social circles, but most of their friends were Stateside, and they only had some distant relatives in this country.Still, they had colleagues in Aurous Hill. Matilda had classmates too, but she was out of touch with them aside from Jacob, whom she often met.Still, as they discussed who should be invited, Matilda first suggested, "Let's go through everyone. First, our Stateside friends… I don't think we should tell them at all since it's a long journey, and inviting them would seem tactless. What do you think?"Yolden nodded, smiling, "I was just thinking the same thing. We're close with our Stateside friends and always keep in touch, but inviting them to our wedding might be a stretch. We'd just hit a wa
With that being said, once Matilda was thrown in the mix, Elaine would suddenly become an African honey badger, with every bit of black air force energy that was implied.As such, if Jacob had managed to be brave and take that one step back then, Charlie would have tried to help, stopping Elaine from harassing Jacob or Matilda.However, the reality was that Jacob had to bungle the chance when Matilda offered it to him.That was why the best option was for Jacob to understand that he couldn't get together with Matilda now so that he would feel much better.And since he had always been a coward, Charlie's slight intimidation cleared his head considerably.He then sighed, "Well, that's just life—you don't always get what you want, and you should never try to claim what you couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to choose Matilda over thirty years ago, so not being together now only makes sense.""Now, I can only pray that Elaine never finds out… or at least that things don't get out of h
Then, Jacob quickly pressed, "Dear boy, maybe you could stay a few days instead of taking more jobs. At least you could be there to stop my wife if she snaps.""Sure," Charlie chuckled, cheerfully agreeing to it. "Don't worry—Claire's returning in a couple of days too, and you'll be fine with us around. You're cheating in your mind, anyway…"Pausing, he then added a reminder, "But if she's really furious, just bear with her beatings and clawings. Live and let live, as they say."That left Jacob sulking, however. "What the hell! If I knew this would happen, I should have just taken her to court and divorced her openly! That way, I'd definitely make things work with Matilda. Yolden wouldn't even stand a chance!"Charlie had to keep a straight face. "Now, you're not quite right there—don't you know what would happen to your wife if you took this to court?"Jacob snorted coolly. "Elaine would just snap at me, hit me, and make sure I don't get a cent in the divorce. That's no big deal—
"Fuck!" When Jacob heard what Charlie said, he was horrified. He nervously asked, "Matilda isn't going to come to our house to deliver the invitation, is she? If Elaine finds out that I've been hiding Matilda's return from her all this time, I'll be so dead!" Charlie, having long seen through Jacob, knew he would never escape the shadow and claws of Elaine. He shook his head and said, "Whether they'll invite you, I have no way of knowing. If you're worried, you can tell Matilda that you don't want to be invited to her wedding and that you don't want to go." Jacob sighed. "That's just a temporary solution. Even if she doesn't know now, she'll probably find out sooner or later. A lot of our mutual friends already know about Matilda's return. You went to the gathering too. But those friends are not really in contact with Elaine, so she hasn't found out yet." Charlie smiled and said, "Matilda's return to the country was at a pretty sensitive time. If I'm not mistaken, she came b
Jacob then realized that Charlie was also driving a Rolls-Royce, and it was a more expensive Phantom. Surprised, he asked, "Charlie, where did you get this car?" Marilyn had prepared the car for Charlie when he left Scarlet Pinnacle Manor. He had driven it to Thompson First, so he had decided to use it today. Charlie replied, "A client lent it to me. You sounded urgent, so I drove it over." Then, he added, "You're something else. You're crying like a baby yet you're still in the mood to ask about the car. What's going on? Your friend said you'd cried twice already?" "That bloody Simon!" Hearing this, Jacob became furious and cursed, "He still doesn't have the slightest clue! He's such a damned fool! The more I try to avoid him, the more he keeps blabbering on and on. Argh, he's so stupid!" Charlie asked, "What exactly is bothering you?" Jacob's face instantly turned dejected, and with a long sigh, he choked up and said, "Charlie— Matilda— She's getting married—" "Gettin
Things were a little different and unique in the United States, though. Westerners tended to approach marriage with greater caution. Many couples stayed together for years, had several children, and yet remained as boyfriend and girlfriend. Being together, having children, and raising them jointly didn't necessarily mean they would get married. In fact, it was not uncommon for some to walk down the aisle only after having multiple kids. Because of this environment, elderly couples in the West often limited their relationships to dating, and at most, cohabitation. Very few progressed to the stage of marriage. However, Yolden, like a young man in the throes of passionate love, had invited her on a trip, secretly prepared a proposal ceremony by the seaside, and gotten down on one knee with a ring to propose. These actions deeply moved Matilda and, at the same time, gave her an unprecedented sense of security. Now, Yolden had moved their wedding up a big step and set the date just on
Hearing Jacob's tone, Charlie could tell that Jacob must have already learned about Matilda's plans to marry Yolden. So, Charlie said, "I'm just around the corner. I'll head over now, and we can meet at the gate." Choking up, Jacob replied, "Alright, I won't drive then. I'll wait for you at the gate. Hurry!" "Okay," Charlie agreed, but after hanging up, he deliberately waited for a few minutes. It was because Yolden had just left moments ago to pick up Matilda at Senior University. If Charlie had gone there right now, all four of them could have run into each other at the gate, which would make things even more awkward. Charlie wasn't worried about feeling awkward himself—he was more concerned about Jacob being further hurt. After intentionally waiting a bit, Charlie finally drove to the university. Just as Charlie drove toward Senior University, Matilda was waiting for Yolden by the roadside at the entrance of Senior University. At this moment, Jacob stumbled out of th
Charlie asked, "There are too many new domestic energy brands now. Do you think they still have a shot in vehicle manufacturing?" "Of course," Yolden affirmed. "There are indeed many new energy brands now, and many of them are struggling on the edge of survival. A lot of them have already disappeared, but the automotive market is so vast, and new energy vehicles only account for a small portion of it, which proves that the future of new energy still has great potential. Now, if the focus is only on competing with other new energy brands, the scale is indeed a bit small. The scope should be broadened to compete with traditional gasoline vehicle manufacturers. If you can cut Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's global sales in half, that would truly be a giant." Yolden paused for a moment, almost as if remembering something, and then said, "Actually, you could consider researching this field. You don't lack money or resources, and with Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group as your logistics channe
When Jacob came to his senses, he was already in tears. The student presumed he was unwell and asked, "Mr. Wilson, do you want me to call your wife to pick you up?" Elaine's sarcastic face immediately popped up in his mind, and he trembled with fear. He quickly wiped away his tears and stammered, "D-don't bother... I... I just got something in my eyes..." The student obviously didn't believe him and asked worriedly, "Why don't you call your wife? Or I'll call a cab for you." "No, no." Jacob waved his hand and said, "I'll call my son-in-law to pick me up. He has just returned to Aurous Hill, so it shouldn't be a problem." After that, he quickly took out his phone and called Charlie. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie had left the cafe and was about to walk Yolden to his car. When he saw Yolden walking straight toward a domestic new energy vehicle, he asked curiously, "I don't think you were driving this model before, were you?" "I just bought it," Yolden replied with a smil