Mick was utterly hopeful as he watched the Moore Group human resource manager return, believing that he had turned things around.However, as soon as the human resource manager sat down, he immediately said, "Apologies, Mr. Crane. It seems that it's not just the significant losses you've incurred for the company—you are now also found guilty of personal misconduct, specifically unethical business stratagems. As per the company's wishes, your labor contract is terminated immediately."Mick certainly didn't think that telling the truth had failed to resolve the significant losses part, and he was now slapped with personal misconduct on top of that.Bracing himself, he asked the human resource manager, "But what did Ms. Moore say? She's close friends with Don Albert, and everyone involved in this are friends, anyway…"The human resource manager shook his head and said coolly, "Save your breath, Mr. Crane. The issue has been decided without grounds for further discussion. The notice of
At the moment, Treasure Measure was congested as crowds of people were there to congratulate Raymond on his new business or ask for appraisals of their items.Zachary stood at the door, hesitating for a moment before steeling himself and entering.Many in Aurous Hill's Antique Streett knew him and also knew that he wasn't the man he was before, so many greeted him the instant he entered, each person more respectful the next.Zachary was left sweating, only realizing then that he had really messed up and didn't deserve the privilege that Master Wade and Don Albert had given him.His eyes fixed on Raymond, and he went over, feeling very embarrassed.Seeing him, Raymond presumed that he was going to do it himself after his men had failed to recover the bronze sculpture, and he asked warily, "To what do I owe the pleasure, Zachary?"Zachary suddenly dropped to one knee, exclaiming in regret, "Mr. Cole, I'm sorry!"Raymond was frowning as he thought Zachary was up to more tricks, but
With that in mind, Raymond quickly understood what had happened—Charlie must have been informed of the entire story and was intent on teaching Zachary, Mick Crane, and Jacob a lesson.Hence, he smiled at Zachary, "You really didn't have to apologize about that. I should be thanking you gentlemen since business isn't exactly booming in Antique Street, and I couldn't ask for more, opening up with such a grand deal."Zachary felt like he had been slapped in the face, but he was also relieved that Raymond wasn't pressing the issue, so he said earnestly, "Don't worry, Mr. Cole—I won't ever meddle with your business or conspire against you again. However, I won't hesitate to answer if you ever call on me!"Also, you have nothing to worry about—we will return the full amount of the 300 thousand we got from you. Please forgive us and don't charge us with anything else…"Raymond pulled him to his feet, smiling as he said, "After a conflict comes friendship. Do drop by more often if you have
The man who had called out to him shrugged. "Zachary posted it on his account. Check it out yourself!"Mick promptly tapped out of his message editor, refreshed his social feed, and immediately saw Zachary's apology post.Once he tapped on it and read it, he almost had a stroke and was cursing before he knew it, "Fuck technology! It's like a self-exploding truck! Fuck you, Zachary Evans, blowing yourself up before I could end you! What a bitch!" Naturally, the post also made Jacob infamous.The Calligraphy and Painting Association more or less had a stake in the antique trade, and the members were shocked that Jacob was involved in such a scandal.Within minutes, word reached Mr. Bay, leaving him pacing around in his office anxiously.Mr. Bay was eager to suck up to Jacob too, which was why he had intended to let Jacob inherit his position as president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association after he was promoted.But while he thought it was as good as done, he didn't expec
Within hours, Jacob and Elaine's flight had landed at Dubai International Airport, and the first thing he did was turn off his phone's flight mode.Then, staring at the upper right corner, he waited for the phone to find a network signal.He had connected to international data roaming, and within a few dozen seconds, he was connected to the internet.Once he did, a ton of notifications popped up on his phone, but he didn't care to check any of them and instead opened his contacts and called Zachary.Zachary was in his office, ready to do his usual rounds inspecting Don Albert's premises.While he had indeed completely lost his reputation at Aurous Hill's Antique Street after pinning that post on top of his social page and was given plenty of weird looks by people around him, he didn't care because he knew how to prioritize.Right now, the most important thing that he had to do was put all his body and spirit into his work and not get distracted by anything else.Only then could
Jacob turned his phone's loudspeaker on before switching panels to Twitter.He was already shocked to find dozens of people directly messaging him, and he was naturally curious why so many of them were looking for him while he was on his trip to Dubai.However, he had no time to find out as he promptly tapped on his social feed, and it took much swiping to reach Zachary's apology post.He tapped on it, scanning through it just before he went dizzy, the world spinning around him while a dull hum rang in his ears.Never would he have expected Zachary to spill the beans, leaking every detail including Jacob's name and contact information. What was that if not mutual destruction?!Absolutely furious, he bellowed at Zachary again, "What the fuck is this?! Are you trying to kill me, posting this shit?!""I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but I've come to understand how grave of a mistake I've made," Zachary calmly replied. "I've actually visited Treasure Measure earlier to apologize to Mr. Cole
Jacob bellowed furiously, "Raymond Cole made over 19 million dollars! From my bronze sculpture! Yet you're telling me to refund that 300 thousand too?! You're just fucking with me, aren't you?!""Well, if you don't like it, just do what you like, then," Zachary replied calmly and quickly hung up before Jacob could answer.Jacob was left twitching and shaking endlessly, and there was no telling if it was from rage or fear.Beside him, Elaine quickly asked, "What did Zachary say, dear? Can he get that bronze sculpture back?"Caught by surprise at her question, Jacob flinched, and his phone slipped out of his grasp.As it seemed to hover in the air, he tried to catch it twice but failed, but Elaine managed to grab it.It was then that she noticed that he was sweating all over his face, and she promptly asked, "What's wrong, dear?"Coming to his senses, Jacob's eyes went wide with rage. "Zachary is trying to kill me! He leaked the whole thing to his Twitter page—it's like he's pulli
As soon as Jacob sent the voice message, Mr. Bay called.Jacob quickly answered, asking nervously, "How are things over there, Mr. Bay?""How, you ask…?" Mr. Bay sighed in exasperation. "The entire Calligraphy and Painting Association was demanding your dismissal as soon as Zachary Evans posted his statement, thinking that you have no business being the administrative vice president let alone have a place in the association."Even those officials came asking me questions, and you know how they are—gossipers, every last one of them, always finding out about the juicy stuff instantly even if it's really no big deal. The only excuse I have to stop them is that we don't have the facts, but this issue still needs to be taken care of."So, be straight with me. Were you a part of this? If you don't, do you have any definitive evidence that can refute Zachary's claims?""I… Uh…" Jacob stammered, unable to answer.He certainly wanted to say no, but he had no evidence to back himself up.
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
Charlie smiled. "Who, me? You'd laugh at me, but it was only after Steven found me that I learned to drive. I never bought my own car either and only had the two supercars gifted to me, and I only drove those a handful of times at best. Even now, I'm driving the BMW 5-series I bought for my father-in-law."Then, he remembered Marianne Long and said, "I did drive a friend's Tesla back to Hong Kong, but it was only for a short time, and I didn't manage to look into their so-called assisted driving system."Yolden thought about it and smiled, "But y'know… how would I describe the car, specifically? Have you heard of Mario Balotelli, the soccer player?"Every man present aside from Keith nodded—Mario had been a philosopher on the soccer field, and even those who didn't watch soccer were familiar with his name.Nodding, Yolden continued, "The way I see it, Mario has been a player with top-class hardware but third-rate software. Give him Messi or Ronaldinho's intelligence, and he'd be a
Kaeden then asked, "Well, professor, how do you suppose we overtake the competition at turning points? Or indeed, what qualifies as succeeding in that respect?"Yolden thought about it, formulating his words before explaining, "My personal understanding of the matter isn't simply to aim for turning points. Instead, it's things like staying on the inner lane of the race track and reaching the finish line faster by going where no other race car had gone before—or indeed where people never thought to go before."That's the case for new energy cars. Our fossil fuel energies have constantly lost to other countries and would always come up short. But with new energy cars, we can change the rules altogether."We can't catch up to their engine tech? Then we won't—there's no way they are masters in electric-powered engines, are they? They've spent decades on internal combustion engines and haven't the first clue about electric-powered engines."So, while everyone hasn't turned all their foc