Mick swore under his breath.If the Moore Group's human resources manager had come looking for him, it couldn't be for anything good.The thought left him even more furious at Zachary, and he promptly told the employee, "Just take them to the VIP room for now. Tell them I'll be right over.""Yes, sir," the employee nodded and turned to leave.As for Mick, he whipped out his phone and called Zachary.The instant Zachary answered, he bellowed, "Zachary Evans! You've really screwed me over this time! The Moore Group human resource manager is here at Vintage Deluxe to see me—the way I see it, he's here to fire me on the spot! If I'm going to lose my job because of you, I will spill the beans and make sure everyone knows you're the one who came up with this stupid idea!"However, Zachary was infuriated too, and he immediately snapped in turn, "Have a conscience, Mick Crane! This entire plan was meant to help you chase Raymond Cole out of Antique Street, and I never took a cent from yo
At that point, Zachary was completely seized by panic.He didn't think that trying to sell Mick a favor would only result in Mick turning against him now.However, he had been crawling amongst the dregs of society for years and knew human nature all too well.There was every reason for Mick to despise him now—it was just like a driver offering a car ride, but because of his poor driving skills, he had caused an accident that left his passenger paraplegic. If the poor man demanded damages in that state, there was no way a driver could just charge into the hospital and snap at him for being an ingrate.Moreover, Mick was a man with no talents, and it was a miracle that he had managed to land himself a respectable position that paid well.Most importantly, he was basically a feudal lord, and no one would prey on anything he did. As such, if Mick really lost this job that he had gotten by chance in the first place, he would hate Zachary to the bone.And even if Zachary could be con
Zachary was already shaking with rage and promptly bellowed, "How fucking impressive, Cardensky! But let me give it to you straight: that bronze sculpture was sold for 300 thousand to Raymond Cole, so it's not just you—Mr. Montague wants it too!""If you want it back, ask Raymond Cole yourself—but don't blame me for not warning you, Vintage Deluxe's Mick Crane was already humiliated because of your so-called forgery and might be fired as we speak. Not only that, but he thinks it's all my fault and wants me out so that I will go down with him."But what a coincidence it is, because I think this is all your fault! So, if he rats me out, I'm ratting you out as well! We will all just die together!"Also, you know that I know where you work. If the cops get involved, I'm leading them right to you. So, don't blame me for being unreasonable—it's all your fault for being blind. If you actually had any skill, you'd have kept that bronze sculpture for yourself and gotten rich with it. But the
Charlie was at the Champs Elys hot spring villa, and while surprised for a moment as to why Zachary was calling him, he soon had an inkling why.Answering his call, he chuckled, "To what do I owe the pleasure, Zachary?"Zachary's tone was at once fearful and remorseful. "Master Wade, I've called to apologize to you…""Apologize for what?" Charlie asked despite knowing the answer.Zachary sighed, his voice choking with tears, "Master Wade, I must have lost my mind… When I found out that Raymond Cole had returned, I remembered that he had hurt your father-in-law and that your father-in-law must still be holding a grudge. So, I reached out and tried to hatch a plot for revenge, but it all went south…."With that, Zachary told Charlie everything without missing a single detail.And Charlie listened, after which he asked, "So, Zachary—you never thought to tell me before, during, and after you succeeded in your plot, yet now you're telling me when everything has spiraled beyond your co
At this point, Zachary wasn't afraid of being exposed—he was afraid of Charlie and Don Albert kicking him to the curb.As such, when Charlie told him to expose his own wrongdoing and apologize personally to Raymond, he felt salvation.Sobbing, he said, "Thank you for forgiving me, Master Wade! From now on, I will keep myself grounded—no more cheeky tricks, I swear on my life!"Still, Charlie asked, "I told you to apologize—when did I say you're forgiven?""What…?" Zachary blurted. "B-But the way you put it, it was as if you were going to spare me…"Charlie sighed. "You are smart, Zachary—like I said, you should use that smartness in the right way. Understand?""Yes, yes, I understand!" Zachary promptly replied."Good," Charlie said quietly. "I can understand that such plots are normal for when you worked in Antique Street, what with defrauding and deception being the rules for survival. But you're no longer working there now, so your mistake is breaking the rules."While Raymon
Zachary nodded, exclaiming respectfully, "Yes, Master Wade! I understand now!"Charlie nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Then, I will see how you do."Remembering Jacob again, Zachary then said awkwardly, "There's something else, Master Wade. Mr. Wilson is on a flight heading to Dubai, and he warned me that he expects me to retrieve the bronze sculpture when he lands. He said he'd be asking for your help if I failed…""Doesn't matter," Charlie told him. "I'll get him to back off when the time comes. Also, toughen up when he comes to you again—don't yield to him for my sake, or in time, he'll forget his place and stray further."Pausing, Charlie then continued, "So, I'm telling you, Zachary—you're lucky no one lost anything this time. Or if Raymond really lost a few hundred thousand and pressed the issue, you'd both be going to jail!"Zachary was really traumatized then, and he promptly made himself clear, "Don't worry, Master Wade! I'll ignore Mr. Wilson if he comes to me again! No m
Considering how Elaine had had the guts to wire away twenty billion dollars, heaven knows how much worse she would be now if Charlie hadn't taught her a lesson to remember.-Just as Zachary was rushing to Antique Street, Mick finally appeared before the Moore Group human resources manager.The Moore Group human resource manager drew out a document envelope and slid it to him, cutting to the chase right away. "This is your termination notice as you have inflicted significant monetary losses and tarnished the reputation of the company. With those as our legal basis, we are unconditionally annulling your employment contract."Delegate any tasks you have and pack up all personal effects, and you can leave by the end of the day. Your remaining salary will be counted until today and wired to your account on the tenth of the next month as is customary for employees of the company."Mick was left thunderstruck, and he blurted, "That's against labor laws! I didn't cause any loss—all I did
With those words, Mick whipped out his phone, holding it in front of the Moore Group human resource manager and showing his chat records with Zachary as well as the script he had sent."I know words don't mean much, but here's the chat records between myself and Zachary Evans! See for yourself!"At this point, Mick had to do whatever he could.After all, Don Albert was a friend of Jasmine Moore, and the chat records would prove that he hadn't made a blunder and was merely following a staged act that Zachary had planned.From a certain point of view, he was implicating Zachary and Don Albertas as well, but he really had no choice but to bet everything on it.The human resource manager was actually frowning after seeing the chat records too, surprised that something like this had happened, with Don Albert's henchman being involved too.Eyeing Mick, he said, "Hold on. I'll make a call."Seeing that the human resource manager was taking him seriously, Mick felt hope once more as the
Later, after Charlie told Jeremiah over the phone about the joint venture with the Ackers to establish Curtis Autos, the old man was awash with tears, especially after Charlie told him that it was Keith who suggested it. After all, Curtis was his favorite son whose death he could never really get over. Moreover, he once believed that only his family mourned Curtis while the Ackers never did, and he held a grudge over his son's passing. As such, he was surprised that Keith held such great respect toward his late son and didn't hesitate to say yes when Charlie invited him to Aurous Hill to sign an agreement with the Ackers.Still, Charlie wasn't in a hurry to arrange for a specific time, and he was going to let the Ackers sort out the human resources of Godot Autos over a few days. It still wouldn't be too late by then.Moreover, he was keen to allow the buzz to have time to grow so that the automotive industry would be astounded by the joint project between the Ackers and the Wade
Christian was the first to exclaim in approval, "Yes! Curtis Autos sounds wonderful! It has my vote!""Seconded!" Kaiden nodded, pumping the air with his right fist. "I've looked up to Curtis the most, and I absolutely agree with naming the company after him!"Jaxson was nodding too. "Me too!""Yes!" Lulu chirped.Yolden couldn't help agreeing as well. "Curtis Autos is definitely a good name!"Merlin raised his hand gingerly as well. "Quit it with your flattery already," Keith chuckled, and he turned toward Charlie solemnly. "In the end, Curtis is Charlie's father, and the final decision goes to him!"Charlie's eyes were welling up with tears—his parents had been gone for almost three decades, yet he had never thought of dedicating anything to their memory.As such, Keith's suggestion to use Curtis's name for the car company left him thrilled. After all, wouldn't his father's soul be honored if Curtis Autos rocked the country, maybe even the world?With that in mind, he nodd
Charlie also had to agree that this was an opportunity to formally reconcile the Wades and the Ackers.While he couldn't reveal himself just yet, the Wades and the Ackers had been in-laws for years. Even if they had had a dispute for the longest time, restoring good relations made sense now that the Ackers had come to Oskia, and it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.That was why Charlie agreed to it without hesitation, even making a mental note to invite his paternal grandfather, Jeremiah, to Aurous Hill.The old geezers could meet up and clear the air while deciding on the partnership.Yolden was prepared to resign as a professor as well so that he could help the Ackers and Charlie fully develop their automotive company.With a general direction planned, he asked everyone, "Since we're creating a new brand, has anyone come up with a name?"No one was feeling inspired at that moment, but that was when Lulu, who had been silent throughout, said, "Since Charlie and our family are worki
Neither Charlie nor the Ackers expected Yolden's insight to cover all corners.In fact, it felt like the man had a blueprint ready and was only waiting for the time to put it to use.That was why everyone was immensely approving of Yolden and wanted no other man for the job of CEO.Kaeden smiled, "Well, since everyone has agreed, let's put this to rest as soon as possible—this will be a joint investment between our family and the Wades, and Professor Hart will take the post of CEO. Let's all do our best to make this a good one!"Yolden also made up his mind, deciding that he didn't want to let slip a chance to realize his ambitions. "I'll resign from the university after my honeymoon trip. It probably shouldn't be long, and I can get involved in early preparations via teleconference."Charlie nodded. "Then, we can have Uncle Kaeden stay on schedule while I'll ask the Wades to send a representative over to sign a memorandum for the investment."Keith smiled and nodded. "You should
Charlie hadn't been born and raised in Aurous Hill, but he still started living here at the age of eight and was more attached to this place than Eastcliff.If he was going to take part in this automotive investment with the Ackers, he naturally found Aurous Hill the ideal location.Not only would it create a huge number of jobs for Aurous Hill, but it would also rake in much economic flow for the region.Yolden also nodded at his suggestion. "If the first plant is meant to cover the demand of the entire local market, there's no reason for a coastal plant. Aurous Hill stands at an intersection between the north and the south, so transportation is convenient. It's also killing two birds with one stone, as Mr. Wade is fond of the city."Charlie couldn't help but agree. "I won't lie—Aurous Hill has been good to me, and I hope to give back. Nothing's better than succeeding in that respect."Yolden spread his hands, "Heavy industries are certainly ideal to contribute to Aurous Hill's e
Yolden had actually been researching new energy for a while—in fact, it was when Tesla's first car models were produced.He was passionate about the subject and had his own opinions as well as ambitions, but he was busy teaching, so he couldn't realize any of it.But was this not a golden opportunity tailor-made for him?Seeing that Yolden was clearly interested, Charlie turned toward Kaeden, "Actually, the professor is getting married soon. There's no way we'd split up newlyweds so soon after the wedding, right? So, is it possible to set up base in Aurous Hill instead?""Not a problem!" Kaeden replied without hesitation. "Our family is planning to return to Oskia anyway, and everyone knows about Ashley and Curtis. So, why don't we invest in this enterprise alongside the Wades and have the base set up in Aurous Hill? And then bring Godot under as a subsidiary?"Turning to Yolden, he continued, "By the way, Godot's plant is already in the province—barely 100 miles from Aurous Hill,
Pausing, Yolden continued, "Moreover, the greatest advantage of AI is that it is self-conscious and has the processing power to analyze astronomical proportions of data. As car sales grow, every car owner's driving data will add precious new data to our data vault, and it will be processed by AI for even greater space of imagination."For example, kst's say I experienced a bumpiness along a certain road, and when the sensors pick up on that anomaly, the data will be uploaded to the servers along with images of the road condition in real time. The processing AI module would determine in no time at all that there was damage and label said location on the map, and then forward the data to other vehicles close to that location, sending notifications when they are close enough and providing the appropriate advice for countermeasures."Naturally, the AI can even be refined further so that it immediately warns us to slow down while uploading the data to the servers and informing any cars cl
Yolden's mind short-circuited at those words. "The most advanced AI module?!"He had been working on Wall Street for years, having invested in substantial startup tech companies as well as assisting plenty of Nasdaq tech enterprises with their IPO. That was why he especially had a sharp six sense for cutting-edge technology.It had been a while since he had gotten up the saddle, and AI had just become the trend recently, but he still paid close attention. He was well aware what applications were possible for AI modules, but he was shocked that Charlie already possessed what all the online giants were coveting!Thrilled, he quickly asked Charlie, "Can the Rothschilds resolve all the hardware and software issues? High-processing power display cards are a dime a dozen these days, and local enterprises are all planning to sell them one by one. The demand is just that high!"Charlie chuckled. "Don't worry—the Rothschilds will handle both issues for me, even the data centers. We bought i
Keith, who had been silent throughout, waved him off as he said solemnly, "Please don't sell yourself short, Professor Hart. I'm sure you can do well in this position, but it's still a matter of will."If your heart is truly set on educating future generations, then I'm sure you'd reject our offer no matter what we say."However, if you felt the slightest interest, even anticipation, for such a major project, then you really should consider our offer."We've already invested in Godot Autos for 3 billion USD and over 10 billion if we're counting in Ricebolt. But we still have 30 billion more in capital available—and that means it's 40 billion USD at play."I doubt any other global car maker can afford that much, let alone a new car maker. So, I dare say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"Keith's words spoke to Yolden's very soul—a startup capital of forty billion US dollars was certainly unprecedented for electric-powered vehicles. Even Ricebolt had barely garnered ove