Just as the voice echoed through the room, Don Albert, followed by Bill and a large group of men, entered the room.Upon entering, he ordered Bill, “Shut the doors, don’t let others in this room!”Bill nodded. “Understood, Don Albert!”Zazpi stared at Don Albert, still in shock. It was as if his brain had been short-circuited. It was Don Albert Rhodes!The underground overlord of Aurous Hill!Zazpi was just one of the mere leaders within the area. However, Don Albert was the overlord of this very area! Everyone within the city knew that Don Albert was the absolute power!He would never have expected that he would meet Don Albert just because he had been asked to handle such small matters for Jerome!Jerome didn’t know who Don Albert was, however, seeing how shocked Zazpi was, he furrowed his eyebrows. “Zaz, what is going on? Who is this old man?”As soon as he heard those words, Zazpi was so scared that he started trembling.In the next second, Zazpi had grabbed Jerome by t
Right then and there, Bill took a metal rod out and approached Zazpi. Although the latter tried to beg for his life, Bill did not hesitate to raise the metal rod above his head and swing it down at a great speed.Crack! Zazpi’s right kneecap was smashed into pieces instantly. Such a comminuted fracture was almost impossible to recover from! Zazpi yelped in pain, but Charlie did not stop there. “We’re not quite done yet. We have only broken one leg, he would still be able to limp with the other. I want him crippled forever!”Bill nodded and raised the metal rod once more, and in no time, another loud crack came from Zazpi’s left knee. Zazpi rolled on the floor, screaming for help, his body about to go into shock.Don Albert barked out an order. “Bill, shove something into his mouth. His loud whining is going to annoy Mr. Wade!”“Yes, Don Albert!” Bill complied and shoved a few pieces of gauze pads into Zazpi’s mouth as the latter was already curled up into a ball on the ground.
Lawson had not expected that admitting to his faults would not do him any good either. He had just fainted out of shock, however, the pain from the impact woke him up in a mere second. “Ah!!!” Lawson had never experienced such torture in his entire life.Tears streamed down the wrinkles on his face as he cried out desperately, “Mr. Wade, it’s all my fault! I’ll never overlook her faults ever again, I won’t let her do such vile actions.”Disgusted, Charlie said, “Well, aren’t you good at blaming others for your faults?”Just this sentence was enough to send chills down Lawson Lewis’s spine.Charlie then demanded, “Lawson Lewis! Regarding the ten thousand dollars that my brother invested in your restaurant, why did you refuse to pay him back? Why did you claim that it was a gift?”Lawson’s face drained of color, and he tried to explain. “I was wrong, I was wrong for doing that! I was greedy, and I was shameless, I’m so sorry!” He then looked over to Douglas, who was enraged. Law
After a long pause, Charlie turned to Bill. “This old man seems to be quite sharp. He thinks that he won’t be punished as long as he doesn’t answer. Bill, shatter both of his legs!”“Yes, Mr. Wade!” Bill obeyed.Looking at Dylan, who was now panicking, Charles spoke in a cold tone. “You only have your son to blame.”Following two horrifying screams, Dylan Hunt was now crippled as well. At the sight of his father being beaten up, Jerome felt as though he had lost control of his body. In just a few moments, he was sitting in a pool of liquid that had a strong and unpleasant smell.He had actually wet his pants!Charlie chuckled. “Well, won’t you look at that? It looks like you can’t control that thing of yours! It’s the main cause of everything that has gone down up till now! I’d say that you would no longer be needing it anymore!”He then ordered, “Since that’s the case, destroy the one thing that makes him a man!”Bill seemed to hesitate. As a man himself, upon receiving such an
Charlie then had his men carry the five of them out, adding before they left, “I’ll spare your lives for now. However, if any of this is leaked to anyone else, I’ll kill all of you, understood?”The five of them nodded without hesitation. It was pure luck to be still able to walk out alive after this, how could they dare to defy Charlie even further?Knowing that the five of them no longer dared to defy him, Charlie nodded in satisfaction and turned to Lawson Lewis. “Trying to manipulate my brother comes at a great price. I want you and your daughter out of the restaurant and for it to be transferred under my brother’s name by tomorrow, understood?”Lawson nodded repeatedly. “Understood, I’ll be out of the restaurant by tomorrow for sure!”Charlie then turned to Dylan Hunt. “Your son hooked up with my brother’s fiance, even going as far as to beat him up this badly. You’d better prepare two million dollars as a compensation fee to him, and don’t you dare try and cut corners, unders
Charlie nodded. “Just get some rest. Once you’ve recovered, you can then run the restaurant. If I need anything, I’ll be sure to find you.”Douglas exclaimed, “Whenever you need me!”Charlie then added, “Oh, by the way, don’t tell anyone about what happened today. I don’t want people to know who I am, understood?”Douglas nodded. “Understood. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to take this secret with me to the grave!”Charlie smiled. “I’ll have two caretakers to take care of you, just get some rest. I’ll be off.”Upon reaching home, Charlie didn’t plan on telling Claire about what had happened since he didn’t want her to know too much. It was safer if she didn’t know anything about his identity.The next day, as he was buying groceries, Charlie received a call. When he picked up the phone, he realized it was the daughter of the boss of Vintage Deluxe, Jasmine Moore.Confused, Charlie couldn’t help but wonder what Jasmine wanted from him.As the call went through, Jasmine spoke, “Mr. Wa
Jasmine had only told the truth. She really did think that the new chairman of Emgrand Group was a mysterious man.After all, he had been able to acquire a group that was worth over a hundred billion just because he wanted to. Moreover, he hadn’t shown his face at all throughout this process. It would seem that his net worth was much grander than that of Emgrand Group.In comparison, the Moore family would seem quite insignificant.However, she had not realized that the chairman of Emgrand Group was currently sitting in her passenger’s seat. Charlie, on the other hand, was a man who liked to keep things as low-profile as possible. Although he would dismissively respond to Jasmine, he never once revealed any information about his identity to her.In a fast but steady speed, they had arrived at a small garden near the river in just a few minutes. The garden was elegant and tranquil. On the outside, it seemed quite worn and crude, however, it was extremely grand on the inside. Fro
The fat man glanced at Travis before placing a simple wooden box onto the round table. Inside the box was a crimson red jade, seemingly an ancient treasure. As soon as the box was opened, everyone present felt as though the lobby had been filled with a hint of warm energy.Everyone’s eyes lit up.Jasmine turned to Quilt. “Uncle Quilt, what do you think?”Quilt stared at it and nodded. “I think it’s the real thing. It seems to be the Bloody Jade from the Zhou dynasty. It also appears to have been blessed by a very powerful monk!”Jasmine nodded and then turned to Charlie. “What do you think, Mr. Wade?”Charlie, on the other hand, scowled in disgust. “It’s a fake……” Quilt glowered at him. “You’re just a youngster, who gave you the right to lie through your teeth in front of this many people?” Matthew Gibson, the elderly man who was sitting next to Travis, opened his eyes and stared at the piece of jade. “May I hold it?”The fat man let out a cold laugh. “Mr. Gibson, are you kid
No one except Raymond expected that the terms would be agreed upon so quickly.He was utterly confident in his judgment and even more so in his value appraisal.He was convinced that once they had a good look, any one of these collectors who could afford twenty million wouldn't miss this bargain.After all, an opportunity to secure an item worth millions more than the price they paid was very rare.In fact, when the other nine collectors heard that the first collector was buying it, it was only to be expected even if it left them all gloomy. They had all held the bronze sculpture in their hands—they knew it was definitely worth that much.However, no one in the room was more shocked than Trippy.He looked utterly flabbergasted, his eyes wide and bulging as he stared at the bronze sculpture while asking himself the same question repeatedly.Was that crap really worth twenty million? How?!While Trippy was still stunned, Raymond had already sent his payment details to the first
Unable to nitpick on the air stewardess' response, Elaine pouted, "Well, try to ask management to improve on your first-class cabins anyway. Maybe even make a premium-class or something since it's not like we can't afford it."The air stewardess quickly said, "We will definitely relay your message to the management."Nodding in satisfaction, Elaine waved her off. "Alright. You can go back to work now."Clearly relieved, the air stewardess bowed her head respectfully. "Always happy to be of service."After the air stewardess left, Jacob asked Elaine in curiosity, "Was the private jet that good?"Elaine rolled her eyes. "Didn't you see the stuff I posted in the chat group?""Not really," Jacob blurted. Elaine was ready to snap at him for not caring, but considering that they had made up now and she shouldn't fuss too much over the little things, she snorted, "Just remember to like and comment on all my posts in the chat group, otherwise, I will make you regret it!""No problem!"
While the ten collectors were taking turns studying the bronze sculpture, Jacob and Elaine were boarding their flight.As they were flying first-class, they had priority over the other passengers and boarded from the separate plug door at the first-class section.The capacity of the Boeing 777 was huge, and the wide-body aircraft could be connected to a special double corridor bridge where first class and business class passengers boarded separately from the economy class passengers.As the terminals to economy class and business class were connected, Elaine and Jacob were able to get through the first-class terminal unimpeded, but the passengers in economy class had a queue of over two hundred passengers. Even as she walked, Elaine was looking over her shoulder and exclaiming at Jacob, "Must be nice being rich! We used to have to queue like the rest of them, waiting for over thirty minutes just to board our flight." "In first class, we may be in the same plane, but we don't hav
Meanwhile, once Raymond had briefed everyone about the rules, he opened the door and invited everyone into Treasure Measure.It was not that wide but appeared spacious since the interior was mostly empty—it was not really crowded even with thirty-ish people.Then, locking the door from the inside, Raymond told them, "I can tell from everyone's faces that we are all veterans here, so I'm sure you understand the rules while appraising: no photos or videos, thank you very much."Indeed, there were many rules that governed the hobby, the most important being respecting the seller's requests and privacy.As the collectors listened, they knew that Raymond was selling but did not want the public to know too much about him.They all nodded, and those who had their phones out slid them back into their pockets.With that, Raymond took out the bronze sculpture that he had brought, leaving Trippy a little surprised.He had never seen the bronze sculpture with his own eyes before, only from
"Alright!" Trippy was at once fawning, tagging along behind Raymond like a little child.Around thirty people were waiting in front of Treasure Measure by now. The collectors came in twos or threes, and all ten numbers had since been taken.Before Raymond arrived, he had a brief look at the collectors' faces through the security cameras before walking over, and he was really relieved to see no familiar faces.Having traded Oskian antiques for years abroad, it was only natural that he was acquainted with some of the elite collectors in the country.He also knew that they were especially demanding with the quality of their collection and wanted almost flawless items. As such, the bronze sculpture which had been completely lost wouldn't interest them.Still, he was also a little concerned that amongst the elite collectors he knew, there might be some who were losing money and losing purchasing power in turn. If they happened to take an interest in the bronze sculpture on top of that,
Trippy grinned. "I mean, just look at my stall—ain't no way I'm getting any business here. Why not let me check out this item of yours? And see how interested they are? I'm really interested in learning and upping my game."Then, as if worried that Raymond would refuse, he quickly added, "Don't worry—I promise to stay in a corner and just watch."Still, Raymond could guess right then that someone must have sent Trippy to spy on him.It didn't matter whether it was Mick, Jacob, or Zachary either—they were all in this plot together, and one knowing meant all three knowing.Trippy was a gossiper in nature. If he was allowed to witness the whole process, everyone down Antique Street would definitely know before long.In fact, he could use someone like that right now, and Trippy had come straight to his doorstep.With that in mind, Raymond smiled, "Come join me if you're interested. It's not like there's anything to hide…"Pausing, he then warned Trippy, "But since you're going in my
After watching Mick's video, Jasmine's opinion of the man improved considerably.She was actually well aware that the decline of Vintage Deluxe was mostly due to Mick's incompetence.However, as Jasmine was now managing a billion-dollar company, she couldn't spare any time to ask many questions about Vintage Deluxe's performance. In her opinion, as long as Vintage Deluxe didn't lose too much money or ruin the reputation they had worked so hard to build, she wasn't interested in a regime change.It was the same mindset as Marianne Long, who begged her father to keep that lane full of food stalls in Hong Kong over sentiment.As such, seeing that Mick actually had some skill pleased her considerably.She couldn't resist checking out the comments of the video too.She saw that many were praising the manager of Vintage Deluxe for taking a tough stand against the scammer as well as how Vintage Deluxe's reputation was long-standing and without comparison.She soon noticed Jacob's comme
Soon, more collectors had gathered outside Treasure Measure even before Raymond showed up at Antique Street, with over ten of them gathered outside in no time at all.Since Raymond had only prepared ten slips, the rest left in disappointment seeing that they had no chance.Even so, the ten collectors who had gotten a number were nervous—save for the first man who had arrived.The details on the online sales post insisted that the price was fixed, and that first-come first-serve applies.If he bought the bronze sculpture, the other nine would have come all this way for nothing.However, if the seller decided to make it an auction, they would have a chance too, although their net profit would thin in turn. After all, they could have acquired the bronze sculpture for just 20 million, and that meant a solid 8 million in profit.An auction would at least raise the price to 27 million, and more would make it chicken feed.If they gave up at that point, it was a waste of a trip.If
Trippy naturally wasn't going to tell Mick everything word-for-word, so he said vaguely, "Uh, they were just being stubborn and refused to listen to anything I said. They kept saying that they wouldn't know until they saw the actual item."Mick got out of bed, staring at his phone as he mused to himself.This was getting a little ridiculous, was it not? A fool who was scammed, actually able to scam someone else? But if he really could sell it, wouldn't all their work be for nothing?With that in mind, he promptly called Zachary, who wasn't even up yet.Ever since he had started working for Don Albert, his daily routine was no longer the same as the days when he was a humble stall owner working on Antique Street, but a man of importance who slept late and woke up late.In the evening, he would be spending his time patrolling Don Albert's night entertainment properties as well as holding meetings with subordinates to decide on management policies and the like. That was why he wo