"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
Holly and Jaxson asked Charlie many questions but avoided any mention of Zekeiah, almost as if they had a mutual understanding to steer clear of that topic. After lunch, Charlie stayed to chat with Holly for a while before saying his goodbyes. When Holly saw him preparing to leave, she stood up and said, "Charlie, let me walk you out." At this moment, Lulu, who had been silent, stood up and said, "Mom, you take a rest. I'll see him out." Charlie knew that Lulu wanted to talk to him privately, so he nodded and said, "Yes, Grandma. Lulu will take me out." Knowing that Lulu needed some privacy with Charlie, Holly nodded. "Okay. Lulu, see him out, then." Lulu and Charlie walked out of the villa one after the other. As they reached the courtyard, Lulu couldn't help but ask, "Charlie, be honest with me—is Zekeiah already dead?" Her question didn't surprise Charlie, and he replied candidly, "Yes, he is dead." Lulu pursed her lips and followed up, "How did he die?" Charlie a
Fortunately, the Acker family members had weathered many storms and had a far greater perspective than most people. Charlie said, "The infiltration capabilities of the scholars from the Qing Eliminating Society are far beyond what we could have imagined. The individuals who appeared around you and Jaxson back then—those who left a strong impression or even earned some of your admiration—were likely all part of their network. Even if it were me, I might not have been able to discern their true intentions in time." Lulu nodded gently, and Charlie's words seemed to offer her some comfort. Charlie knew that she needed time to process everything, so he spoke gently, "For the next couple of days, don't think about anything. Just rest. After some time, the situation between us and the Qing Eliminating Society should change significantly, and it will give us more control. When that happens, we might need to take the initiative, and at that time, you and Jaxson should try to be involved
Upon hearing that Charlie would host him, Julien was flattered and expressed his gratitude, saying, "I truly appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me!" Charlie smiled and replied, "We're good friends, no need for formalities. When do you expect to land in Aurous Hill?" Julien thought for a moment and respectfully responded, "I'll be flying in a few hours, with a flight time of about 15 hours. I expect to land in Aurous Hill around 10 a.m. local time tomorrow." Charlie said, "In that case, tomorrow at noon, I'll host a banquet for you at The Heaven Springs, the most famous restaurant in Aurous Hill. It's well-known, so your employees should be able to find it easily. You can just come over directly when you arrive." Although the Rothschild family didn't have personnel stationed in Aurous Hill, their Asian headquarters was located in Eastcliff with high-ranking officials as well as a large number of staff. Julien had already informed the administrative
The lawyer then finished, "To be honest, cases of regretting a donation and seeking a lawsuit to get the money back? Law firms usually won't even get one per year, and that makes it especially newsworthy for the press."Also, court records are always public. That means anyone can access the verdict, and there's no hiding anything. So, if you want the lawsuit, you'd better be prepared."Jacob was already left in despair.All he wanted was to get his money back, but he didn't think that it would end up as public knowledge.And Mr. Bay had just told him over the phone that he would try to quell the scandal's pressure and try his best to protect Jacob's place as vice president.If Jacob's name was suddenly mentioned in a lawsuit attempting to reclaim an 'accidental' donation, even Mr. Bay couldn't save him at that point.Hence, after thinking long and hard about it, Jacob realized that he was not getting his 300 thousand back.The thought crushed him, and he burst into tears, "What
At this hour, most of the employees at Talbot Associates had already left.However, there were several lawyers who had just finished a meeting regarding a certain case, and they were just leaving when Jacob arrived.Seeing that they were packing up their bags and ready to leave, he asked, "Excuse me, are you still able to take cases?"The leader smiled, "Yes, but it's a little late now. Why don't you come again tomorrow morning?"Jacob shook his head impatiently. "This is very urgent—please help me and hear me out, then see if it will work. 300 thousand banks on this, so I'll give you twenty percent whether or not I get it back!"300 thousand was really neither here nor there.However, if it were an easy civil case, that twenty percent commission would still mean sixty thousand.The lawyer thought about it. "Fine. Tell us what your problem is, and we will assess the situation first. If it's easy, we can give you a general strategy right now. But if it proves difficult, we'll hav
The cabbie nodded. "Well, Talbot Associates, it is! They're said to be number two."-While Jacob was heading off to consult a law firm, Charlie was calling Julien Rothschild over the phone.The manchild had just had room service and was lounging on the couch, fiddling with his phone.After visiting the kennels with Charlie, he had been idling his days away at the hotel, waiting for Salem and his son to post that video of them being out at sea.Once that was done, Julien would return to the States, once more the heir apparent of the Rothschilds. Still, it was boring to simply lounge around in the hotel, and he would really like to strengthen his ties with Charlie.However, he was also afraid of being too forward as Charlie could be intimidating, and he could upset him—just like a fan eager to get close to their idol but was still worried about their idol getting disgusted with them.As such, he never expected Charlie to call him, and he immediately answered eagerly, "Good even
Pausing, Mr. Bay continued, "If they're not that upset with the idea, I'll bang my gavel and make the call so that you can at least stay as a vice president."If they keep refusing, I just have to promote Mr. Zonda to become a vice president while you take over his position of head-of-department as insurance. What do you think?"Jacob certainly wouldn't protest the idea of insurance, especially when he thought he would be forced to leave the Calligraphy and Painting Association altogether earlier. He quickly exclaimed gratefully, "Thank you so much, Mr. Bay!"Mr. Bay chuckled, clearly relieved as well. "Come on, Jacob—you don't have to be so formal. I'm like a brother to you! Don't you think that's what I should be doing?"Jacob laughed earnestly for once. "Well, brother, I'm honestly relieved…" He trailed off but soon pressed on, "But I have to ask, won't the other members have things to say even if you manage to persuade the other vice presidents? What if they remain unhappy?
There were times when making a person despair to some extent could be a people-strategy.For example, when your distant acquaintance asked for a ten grand loan but you could only lend him one, you couldn't tell him directly that. It would make them think you were being insincere.The better option would be to tell them how you were worse off than they were and had a debt yourself, or that some other friend had borrowed money for three years and never repaid it.And when that mere acquaintance was in despair, you could tell them that if it was really important, you could lend them one thousand with a credit card loan.That way, while the mere acquaintance wouldn't exactly be awash with gratitude, they at least wouldn't complain about your lack of sincerity.That was exactly what Mr. Bay was doing.He had no intention of offending Jacob, but he also couldn't directly tell him to give up on claiming the position as president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association. Otherwise, Ja
Jacob felt absolutely horrible just then, and he certainly did not expect Don Albert to give him the cold shoulder.If he had known, he would have just stayed content with the 200 thousand he had made and enjoyed his trip to Dubai! If he had, the Calligraphy and Painting Association wouldn't have found out about the bronze sculpture plot, and Don Albert would still be on friendly terms with him.Absolutely regretting everything, Jacob got in the backseat of the cab, tears of grief almost welling up and out of his eyes.Then, noticing that the cabbie was quietly watching him from the rearview mirror, he turned his face aside, whipped out his phone, and called Mr. Bay.As soon as Mr. Bay answered, he asked, "How did things go over there? Have you sorted out Zachary Evans yet?"He was waiting for Jacob to ask Don Albert for help so that the latter would pressure Zachary into posting a statement retracting his previous claims.However, Jacob knew full well that there was no hope for
Ramond replied, "I'm not planning on getting my name out there—I was just thinking I could start slow from one shop, but now, I'm suddenly so popular everyone's consulting me for appraisals, so I guess that's the short end of this."Either way, I'm planning to let things cool off by opening the shop late and closing early. That way, I'd receive fewer customers, and the hype will die down in a month."Once it does, I'll lead a slow life, which is perfect in Aurous Hill since it's how things are here. I'm not aiming to get rich or expand my business, and it's a comfortable life, so I plan to retire here."Charlie nodded. "The Rothschilds are relatively manageable, but I'm not sure if the Qing Eliminating Society is still looking for you and the Four-Sided Treasure Tower. You'll be completely free once they are wiped out.""And I'm sure with your abilities, Mr. Wade, that day will soon arrive." Raymond smiled and soon remembered. "By the way, you probably haven't had dinner yet, right
Charlie was never one who covered up misdeeds, and what Jacob had done reflected his corrupted character and clear refusal to feel remorse.As such, Charlie naturally refused to offer any help, completely giving up and allowing Jacob to keep going off on his own tangent, tearing himself apart in the process.Still, Raymond did put a good word in for Jacob. "Actually, one can understand Mr. Wilson's motives from a certain point of view. I was the one who set him up so that he broke that vase, and had him beaten up so that we didn't arouse suspicion. He has every reason to bear a grudge."Charlie sighed, nodding. "There's no issue with holding a grudge or getting revenge—in fact, I have no problem with him trying to salvage some pride. However, what he did was unseemly, and he doesn't know when to stop."He didn't lose anything before Zachary exposed everything. Even if he had missed a killer deal, he bought it off someone's hand in the first place and made two hundred grand in clean
With those words, Jacob didn't wait any further as he turned and left Antique Street, intent on seeking legal counsel.Raymond watched him leave before returning to Treasure Measure.He wasn't going to leave, but he had said so because he didn't want to waste much time with Jacob.Still, to avoid any trouble, he turned the sign outside to 'closed' before locking the door from the inside.That was when a man suddenly arrived, asking through the glass door, "Can I still take a look inside, sir?"Raymond was ready to refuse without even turning around when he realized that it was Charlie.He turned around and saw him standing outside just as expected.Smiling, he hurried over to open the door for him. "It's been a while, Mr. Wade!"Charlie was aware that Raymond was sticking to his identity of 'Raymond Cole' who had not been in touch since Raymond had been fired from Vintage Deluxe.Charlie chuckled in turn. "It has indeed. And you're a business owner yourself now, too.""It's j