Vera nodded knowingly and asked, "What do we do with these photocopies?" Charlie thought for a moment and said, "I'll leave them to you. You can put them away or burn them." "Alright." Vera nodded. "I'll take care of it." Vera saw Charlie out and asked Logan to arrange for Marilyn to drive Charlie to Champs Elys. She then went back to the top-floor courtyard and sorted out all the photocopies of the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book. Initially, she planned to throw these papers into the stove and burn them. However, after meditating for a few minutes, she suddenly stood up determinedly, grabbed her backpack, stuffed all the papers in the bag, and then walked out of the courtyard with the bag on her back. After going down the stone stairs, she said to Decan, who was standing guard, "Ask Logan to prepare a car for me. There's a place I need to go now." "Alright, Miss." Decan asked hastily, "Would you like me to accompany you?" "No." Vera waved him off firmly. "I'll go by my
Ashley suddenly remembered something, her expression turning slightly anxious, and she said, "There's a chance that Vera might come here to see you. To be cautious, I'll leave Aurous Hill and head to Mount Pantro for a few days later today. You should stay here for one more day. If Vera hasn't come by this time tomorrow, meet me at Mount Pantro. If she does come and is alone, find an opportunity to meet her. Confirm whether Charlie has any intention of cultivating the Apocalyptic Heart Formula. Also, inquire about what agreements Charlie reached with the Rothschild family during his trip to America." "This morning, I received news that several Silicon Valley companies waiting for Nvidia to supply GPUs have had their deliveries inexplicably delayed. I can't shake the feeling that this is somehow connected to Charlie." With a puzzled expression, Suzanne asked, "Why do you suddenly feel that Vera is coming here to see me?" Ashley replied, "Last time, when you intercepted her in Moun
Meanwhile, Vera, as Ashley had predicted, drove her car onto the elevated road leading to Qi Temple. Her thoughts aligned closely with Ashley's reasoning. She believed that since the fake nun had been constantly monitoring Charlie and even stepping in to protect him at critical moments, it was likely that these individuals were still keeping an eye on him. There was a possibility that they were currently in Aurous Hill. If that were the case, they would surely be tracking her actions as well. By suddenly heading to Qi Temple alone, she expected that they would interpret this move as her desire to meet with them. Of course, Vera was also aware that the situation might not be as she had guessed. It was entirely possible that all of this was just her wishful thinking and that the other party wasn't monitoring her at all. However, Vera didn't mind. After all, trying this approach wouldn't cost her much. If nothing came of it, she could simply drive back home. The traffic at n
"Good to know that." Suzanne heaved a sigh of relief and said, "At this moment, as long as he doesn't go to Mount Tason and stays away from the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book, he can basically avoid the crisis." "The crisis you're talking about is Master Marcius, right?" Vera asked. "Yes." Suzanne nodded. "It's Master Marcius." Vera asked again, "Is he really not dead?" Suzanne thought for a moment before answering, "He died, but not completely. Once the right moment arrives, he can be reborn." Vera nodded. "It seems he really is trying to cultivate an Ascended Dragon Fate body for himself to be used for soul possession." "That's right," Suzanne replied, not surprised that Vera could see through this. She nodded and explained, "Although Marcius managed to survive for a thousand years, that was the ultimate limit of all his opportunities. Even if he were to be reborn ten times, he would never surpass a thousand years of life. If he wants to reach the peak of the Heavenly Pa
Originally, Ashley believed that if Charlie went to America and rescued Biden, he would inevitably obtain the Four-Sided Treasure Tower. Even if he didn't claim the treasure tower for himself, he could at least keep it for some time to gain some insight from it. However, she never anticipated that after acquiring the treasure tower, he would immediately have Janus send it back to Oskia as quickly as possible. In such a short period, it was naturally impossible for Charlie to comprehend any profound teachings or techniques from it. This was something Ashley found deeply regrettable. She did not necessarily wish for Charlie to claim the treasure tower as his own. However, considering its rarity and the great effort he expended to retrieve it from New York, she felt he should have kept it temporarily to gain insights from it. After obtaining valuable understanding, it wouldn't have been too late to return it to Oskia. At this moment, Vera smiled and said, "Mr. Wade has his own
Vera mumbled quietly under her breath, "The agreement between Mr. Wade and the Rothschild family mainly revolves around selling elixirs and exchanging them for an AI model. I didn't expect they not only monitor Mr. Wade but also keep an eye on the Rothschild family and Nvidia. The graphics cards he requested were personally arranged by Harrison, the Rothschilds' family head. With Suzanne and her organization's vast network, even if I don't disclose the details, I'm sure they'll find out before long." With this in mind, she said, "To be honest, Mr. Wade made an agreement with Harrison Rothschild, exchanging medicinal pills for the family to help build an AI model. The delayed graphics card deliveries you mentioned are probably related to this. As for the specifics, I'm not entirely sure." Suzanne's eyes widened in astonishment as she exclaimed, "The most advanced AI model on the market is controlled by the Rothschild family. Could it be... could it be that Mr. Wade's agreement with
The young woman swiftly nodded and said, "Okay, Mrs. Acker. I'll get it done right away." Ashley couldn't help lamenting, "If only we had a fully developed AI model of our own. With sufficient computing power, tasks like this could be entirely handled by AI." The young lady responded, "Our tech team has started to develop our own AI model based on Google's DiT architecture according to your requirements. I believe we will make a breakthrough soon." Ashley pursed her lips, slightly shook her head, and sighed, "The current AI, aside from its internal algorithm structure, is also facing a huge hardware issue. In order not to attract attention, I can only source Nvidia chips through a few reliable small to medium-sized companies in Silicon Valley, then queue up for delivery, bit by bit. After all this time, I've only managed to gather over 3,000 chips, and just when I was about to get more than 1,000 more, Nvidia suddenly delayed the delivery again. The hardware is still not set up,
"A huge piece of good news?" Ashley raised an eyebrow, curious as she asked, "What exactly is this good news?" Suzanne, overjoyed, said, "Aren't you curious about what kind of deal Mr. Charlie reached with the Rothschild family? Miss Lavor told me that he made a secret agreement with Harrison, the current Rothschild family head. Mr. Charlie gave him a pill, and in exchange, he received some cash and a complete AI model." "A complete set?!" Ashley widened her eyes in astonishment. "Is it the most powerful AI model currently invested in by the Rothschilds?" "Yes!" Suzanne nodded vigorously. Ashley hastily asked again, "This AI model is currently the biggest trend in internet technology, and its future market value will be no less than several hundred billion dollars. It has even been elevated to a strategic level by America, with both software and hardware being banned from export. How did Charlie manage to pull this off?" Suzanne replied, "Miss Lavor didn't reveal too many d
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
Raymond chuckled at the title, humble as ever, "The Duke of Wastage? Now, that's quite the royal title, and I don't think I deserve such an honor…"Trailing off, he then made an especially curious look, "By the way, how'd you know they were calling me that?"Seeing that he was still so ignorant, Jacob scoffed. "You bought a Renaissance-era bronze sculpture earlier, didn't you?"Raymond nodded. "I did. But technically, it's medieval and not Renaissance, along with a Renaissance-era base."Jacob clutched his stomach as he laughed, "Oh, please! Medieval? Hahaha… You're killing me, Mr. Cole!"Raymond kept a serious look on his face. "It's really medieval. Why don't you take a look?""No way," Jacob snorted, pursing his lips. "Anyway, word has already spread that someone was selling a counterfeit bronze sculpture to defraud Antique Street for some serious dough. He went first to Vintage Deluxe, but their manager, Mr. Crane, saw through it and didn't buy it… and then he came to you, an
That was why most of the collectors only knew that such an item existed but they did not know in whose possession it was.After registering a new account and paying the ten thousand registration fee, Raymond got in.It was very safe as it was anonymous, and he posted a photo of the bronze sculpture and an announcement with an asking price of twenty million.In his opinion, it wasn't that expensive—if it was still gilded, it would be worth around a hundred million. Without it, it was plenty reasonable to cut the price down to just thirty million.And Raymond was cutting another ten million off that, so twenty million was plenty reasonable.Moreover, medieval bronze sculptures were exceedingly rare, and less than one specimen showed up annually at times. Collectors who desired it would therefore be willing to break the bank for it, and that was why Raymond was sure that someone would put in an order once he posted it.As he wrote the summary of the item, someone knocked on his door
Jacob frowned in disdain. "Why would I be worried? He's no longer the manager of Vintage Deluxe, and he just lost a shit ton of money for messing up his appraisal. I am also the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, so why would I be worried about some loser who will soon be kicked out of Antique Street?"Straightening his collar, he snorted coldly, "I am now going to see Raymond Cole and humiliate him face-to-face! He thinks he's impressive, doesn't he? Let's see how he will keep up that facade!"Zachary chuckled, "Yes, exactly! People like him need to be given a slap in the face! As hard as you can! Don't worry—I'll be right behind you. If he gets physical, I'll rush in to help. If he doesn't dare to start a fight, you just insult him as much as possible!""Good plan!" Jacob nodded since he was concerned that Raymond might get physical when pushed too far.And with his body, there was no way he could beat anyone…Spreading his arms, he exclaimed, "Come! I'l
Mick inspected every video to see who was getting the most views, and he then paid out of his own pocket to use paid advertising to get the video viral.It cost five thousand and it hurt, but reaching the trending page was definitely worth it.Mick was quite shrewd too, making sure that the paid advertising was focused locally. After all, he knew all too well that five thousand didn't buy many clicks, and clicks from elsewhere might be too sporadic to gain any worthwhile attention.As he worked in Antique Street, he naturally had to come up with a plan to promote himself in this place, ideally presenting himself as a master appraiser.That way, his fame would slowly extend throughout the province and perhaps Eastern Oskia, and eventually the country.As such, focusing on Aurous Hill was the best idea.Moreover, he also had another idea—if Jasmine Moore happened to see this video, she would see him in a new light.When that happened, he could look forward to getting really rich!
Soon, the video of Mick's staged act was uploaded to the online group, and everyone eagerly watched it as soon as it was done uploading.Mick certainly set a new bar with his acting as none of them could see that it was an act.Moreover, everyone could see that the bronze sculpture looked like the real deal, and they might have been swindled if it were them.As such, they couldn't help being impressed as Mick had easily seen through Billy's con, and he was the definition of a pro in that video.No matter how Billy had packaged it, there was no tricking real experts like Mick Crane. Just a quick glance and he had seen through that it was a postmodern replica, matched with a base from the Renaissance era to misdirect and beguile.With that, many fellow antique dealers changed their opinion of Mick.After all, Vintage Deluxe's business had been declining after Mick took over as manager, and people were presuming that his skills were lacking.But now, they were all shown that he had
"Amazing, Mr. Crane!""It's Mr. Crane who shines through, in the end! His eyes see through everything!""I guess Miss Moore made the right choice firing Raymond and appointing Mr. Crane! Mr. Crane is infinitely better!"Mick was immediately thrilled to see them fawning over him, and he laughed, "You flatter me—I'm merely sharing my personal perspective on this. In this trade, anyone who knows would understand how hard it is to get the good stuff in this age of technology.""There are plenty of people who hold ulterior motives and change their tactics knowing that there are always those scheming to get their hands on vintage treasures, so they just have to make it. That is how they started making counterfeits of everything, from scrolls to sculptures to statues, each of them so real just to trick those fools who think they could get rich overnight!""Exactly!" Someone promptly agreed. "There's never a lack of any such fools, and I just happened to meet one. I had this piece of jade