Oasis Vale was isolated from the rest of the world. Few knew that in this peaceful valley lived a group of extraordinary people, including the overlords of the criminal underworld, business magnates with net worths that rivaled countries, and even core government officials of various countries.It was noon, and Gideon Snow walked out of the cottage with a basket in hand."Sir!"Ajax Bale, a burly, heavily bearded man, scrambled up to Gideon as he herded the goats around him. "As per your punishment, I have tended to the goats for a month. Today is the last day. What should I do next?""You can start harvesting the wheat next.""That's my job, sir! What am I supposed to do if Ajax takes over?" Donald Ingleson, Cherony's minister of defense, asked with a pitiful expression."You can be in charge of cleaning up the dung.""You got it, sir."Gideon had only taken a few more steps when someone approached him and reported, "Sir! Justin Mugler, the military commander of Magaria, and P
"I knew it! It's just as I thought. I knew you didn't die, you old bugger! You tricked me for three years!"Gideon hadn't found a body in the grave, but he had expected as much. Titus had been an enigmatic figure who possessed extraordinary abilities. Why would someone like that abruptly claim to have come to his life's end and decide to bury himself? It was unthinkable.Nevertheless, Gideon couldn't disobey Titus, his mentor, so he had to do as told and guard the grave for three years."If I don't get a treasure that's to my satisfaction, Titus, that means you wasted three years of my youth. I'll make you pay for that at some point," Gideon grumbled.Alas, even after combing through the entire grave thoroughly, he found nothing other than a letter."You old con artist," Gideon ranted before opening the envelope with a scowl on his face. He found two pages of a letter.After he read the first page, his scowl of dissatisfaction was replaced by a moved expression. According to the
"No!" the crowd screamed, but the suicide operative merely cackled evilly.Yet, all was silent. There was no explosion.Even the suicide operative was stumped. He kept spamming the red button, but nothing happened. He had no clue that a silver needle had been shot into the controller, cutting off the circuit.At the same time, Benny and Derek shot down the two armed operatives, while the bomb-strapped one was hit in all four limbs and fell onto a pool of his blood. The airport police swiftly swarmed in to subdue him."Let go of me! This is impossible! Why didn't it explode? Why?" the suicide operative screamed at the top of his lungs."This proves that fate favors Dasovia and me," Lavinia declared icily. "Tylland has committed many atrocities and will surely come to a terrible end. Take him away and interrogate him."Slowly, peace returned to the departure hall. The passengers, who were still reeling from the ordeal, came up to Lavinia with looks of awe and respect."It is truly
"Dominic Zeller?" Gideon repeated. Frowning, he remarked, "The name sounds familiar to me.""He's a good friend of Hercule's, sir! Hercule mentioned that to you before.""I remember now."When Gideon first captured Hercule and brought him back to Oasis Vale, Hercule claimed that Dominic would be coming to save him.Dominic had indeed turned up, but it wasn't Gideon he faced. Paul, Ajax, and a few others had given him a thorough thrashing, and he fled with his tail between his legs.Smiling, Leopold explained, "Somehow, Dominic heard that you'll be coming to Goldspire, so he dared not stick around to act like a big shot here. He came to me and offered Beaker Island to be your residence."Gideon chuckled. "He's quick-witted and amenable, I see. Did he mention anything about wanting to save Hercule from Oasis Vale?""He said he wouldn't dare to and that it would be good for Hercule to undergo some training at Oasis Vale," Leopold replied. "In fact, he said that if given the chance,
"How is he not good enough for you?" Arnold fumed. "Your grandfather was a farmer, too! He built the family business from the ground up, and that is how our family's wealth came to be! "He doted on you the most before he passed away. I don't want to see you disobeying his dying wish! This marriage is going to happen. I won't let you back out of it!""Mr. Seymour."Gideon had arrived.Arnold hurried through the door and greeted with a smile, "Gideon! You're finally here. We've been waiting for you. Do come in!"Gideon didn't expect Arnold to be this welcoming. As Arnold ushered Gideon into the house, he called out, "Ella, hurry up and head to the city hall with Gideon to get the marriage registered. I'll pick a good date for you guys to have the ceremony.""I don't want to, Dad!""If you don't listen to me, I'll freeze your bank account and cut off your allowance! I'm not letting you have your way with this. You're going to do as I say. Anyone who protests will suffer my wrath
"How dare you hit me, Gideon? How dare you call me a lackey?" Eric shrieked in fury as he clutched his face."Why not?""Do you think you Snows still possess the prestige you once had? Do you think you're still Gideon Snow, one of the Four Elites of Goldspire? I'll show you the price you'll have to pay for hitting me and humiliating us Grosses!"Eric wanted nothing more than to rip Gideon to pieces, and he swore to take Gideon down."I'll be waiting," Gideon retorted condescendingly. "You'd better not disappoint me. Also, pass your family a message for me. Tell them to be prepared for when I buy out Gross Group."Eric was flabbergasted, but after a moment, he mocked, "You must've gone mad, Gideon. To think you'd say such ridiculous things. You want to buy out our company? With what? Just wait, all of you! It's over for the Snow family!"And with that, he stormed out of the Snow residence.Only then did Cormac bellow, "Look at what you did, Gideon! The Grosses will surely join fo
After leaving Gideon at the city hall half an hour ago, Elara had been in such a foul mood that she went to a bar to drown her sorrows in alcohol. By sheer coincidence, she bumped into Matthew Carter.He was the handsome and talented son of the Carters of Goldspire, and they had been classmates at college, too. Over time, they became great friends who confided everything in each other. In fact, she considered him her bosom friend despite him being a guy."Why are you upset, Ella? Tell me what happened," Matthew asked in concern as he patted Elara's hand."I don't even want to talk about it. I got married.""What did you say?" Matthew exclaimed in shock. Frowning, he asked, "You're joking, right? Why would you have gotten married out of the blue? This is my first time hearing about this."Elara replied in frustration, "It was my dad who arranged this marriage for me. He made me marry a stinking farmer! We even got our marriage license already."Matthew's expression turned dark.E
"Thanks to you, Matthew, we get to share in this honor, too! I never even dreamed of being able to partake in such precious wine.""I have to take a photo of it and share it on my feed!"While everyone else showered Matthew with flattery, he was utterly confused as well. The Carters were merely a run-of-the-mill wealthy family without much prestige. Meanwhile, the owner of Twilight Bar was a big shot in the criminal underworld.They belonged to two entirely different social classes, so why was he being given such expensive wine?"Hey, Matthew. Is this a sign that the Carters are about to make it big? Why else would the owner of Twilight Bar give you this wine?""Well, about that…"Matthew didn't know what to say, but after a brief moment, he came up with an idea. Straightening up, he said with a smile, "Since this has happened, I won't try to hide it any longer. A few days ago, I had the honor of receiving the recognition of the chairperson of Avila Group. "She said she was int
"You're treating me to a meal?" Gideon asked."You saved me and stopped Matthew from assaulting me. Isn't it normal for me to thank you by treating you to a meal? Let's go." Elara gestured for him to follow.Rubbing his nose, Gideon felt a little puzzled. He couldn't figure out what she was up to.Since when did she become so polite? She even knew how to show gratitude, huh?They entered a high-end clubhouse and headed straight upstairs to the sixth floor.As they walked, Gideon sensed something wasn't quite right. The clubhouse was extremely luxurious, and the costs were undoubtedly sky-high. Elara couldn't possibly afford a private room on the sixth floor.A cacophony of loud laughter and voices filled the air when the door was pushed open."Ella, you're here!" A well-dressed young man approached her with a smile."And this must be Gideon! Mr. Snow, right? I've heard so much about you." The young man extended his hand toward Gideon.Gideon shook his hand, thinking it wou
"Ms. Trott, what did you say? One billion dollars? Are you saying Ms. Avila is ready to invest that much in me?""No kidding!" Maggie rolled her eyes.Matthew was dumbfounded. Then, he immediately flushed with excitement, his body trembling.One billion dollars! Good Lord! If he were to just put it in the bank and live off the interest, he would be set for life!"I've said all I need to say. Think it over carefully. But remember my advice. Ms. Avila doesn't like delays. Act quickly, or you'll miss the once-in-a-lifetime chance to leap into greatness.""Okay, okay. Thank you, Ms. Trott. I'll treat you to a scrumptious meal sometime."Matthew hurriedly left the building and got into the car. He couldn't wait to call Jacob. "How did it go? Did it work out?" Jacob asked.From his tone, it was clear that Jacob was nervous, his voice slightly trembling with anticipation."Dad, file for bankruptcy immediately. Shut down the company and clear out all the junk."Jacob was stunned. "Y
"Ms. Avila, here is my proposal. Please take a look."In the office, Matthew handed the proposal to Rachel, waiting with eager anticipation.Truthfully, Rachel didn't have the slightest interest in looking at the proposal. She didn't even want to flip it open.However, for Gideon's sake, she decided to put some effort into putting Matthew and the Carter family through the wringer. Suppressing her impatience, she opened the proposal.Upon reading it, she found it to be complete garbage. The proposal that Jacob had arranged for someone to write had some level of competence, but unfortunately, it was entirely unworthy of Rachel's standards.For a second- or third-rate business owner, the proposal might have seemed decent. But for someone of Rachel's caliber and position, reading it was nothing but a waste of ten minutes.Matthew asked, "Ms. Avila, what do you think?""It's alright," she replied with a forced smile.Hearing this, he was overjoyed. "Ms. Avila, does that mean I've pa
Matthew was completely stunned after getting slapped. "Dad, what did I do?"Jacob roared, "What did you do? Because of you, the Lawson family has terminated all their collaborations with us."The company is already struggling, barely staying afloat with those projects from the Lawsons. Now that they've been cut, the company is completely paralyzed. We're one step away from bankruptcy!"Matthew finally understood. It had to be because he had embarrassed Kian at Avila Group earlier. That old man was getting his revenge."Dad, don't worry. The Lawsons won't be able to stay smug for long. Give it some time, and Kian will be kneeling in front of us, begging for forgiveness.""Bullshit!" Jacob slapped him again. "You little punk! Are you out of your mind? The company is on the brink of bankruptcy, and you're still spouting this nonsense! Have some shame!"Feeling wronged, Matthew protested, "Dad, I'm telling the truth! I was going to tell you yesterday, but I didn't come home.""Tell
Kian left Avila Group with a dark expression. On his way back, he wasted no time in contacting his company's project department to terminate all collaborations with the Carter family."That little punk. I want to see just how much of a splash the Carter family can make. I'll wait for you to come crawling back to me and begging to resume our partnership." He sneered coldly.He didn't believe for a second that Matthew could earn Rachel's favor. He knew exactly what kind of person Matthew was.…Meanwhile, Matthew was reporting the situation in Rachel's office. He started by mentioning that he had already canceled contracts with families like the Seymour family. Rachel nodded approvingly. "You've done a good job."Matthew was overjoyed. To be praised by Rachel felt like pure bliss."Ms. Avila, don't worry. I'll prove my abilities to you," he said eagerly. "By the way, when will you be investing in me?" he asked, his voice filled with anticipation.Rachel sneered inwardly, but her
The butler left to make arrangements.Not long after, news came back. The butler reported, "Mr. Carter, everything at the Snow residence seems normal.""Are you sure?""There's no doubt about it."Matthew frowned, cursing internally at Fisher for playing games.Could it be that Fisher didn't even take anyone to the Snow residence or follow through on his task? That damn idiot!"Find Fisher. I'm going to skin him alive! That bastard dared to mess with me!"Matthew was furious.…The next morning, the butler rushed into Matthew's room, panicked. "Mr. Carter, something big has happened!""What could be so important? Let me sleep.""Mr. Carter, wake up. Fisher has been arrested. It's not just him, but every single one of his men has been caught, too.""What?" Matthew bolted upright.The butler continued, "This is the latest information, and it's from a reliable source. They say soldiers were mobilized yesterday to arrest Fisher and his 300 men. They've all been taken to the de
With police cars, fighter jets, and soldiers, it was a lineup and display these gangsters had never seen before. Their legs went weak, and they began trembling uncontrollably.Fisher's face turned ashen.Even the Snows were terrified, thinking they must have committed some grave offense for the government to come knocking."What's going on?"Elara was filled with confusion and unease. She had never witnessed such a scene before and didn't dare to even breathe too loudly.Suddenly, a thought popped into her head. She turned to look at Gideon, who was still sitting in the main living room, as though nothing had happened. He continued to sip his coffee leisurely.Could it be…Did he summon all these police cars, fighter jets, and soldiers?That was impossible. How could Gideon possibly have such influence? Elara didn't want to believe it.At this point, the police cars stopped, and several hundred officers got out. Three thousand soldiers also halted, their gazes fixed on Fisher
This could cause some trouble."Get him! Break his arms and legs, so he knows what real pain feels like!" Fisher ordered decisively.At his comment, a few burly men behind him charged forward."Stop!"At that moment, Fred arrived with a group of guards, placing themselves between Gideon and the attackers."You thugs dare to barge into private property and attempt to harm someone in broad daylight? Do you have no regard for the law?""The law?" Fisher sneered. "Sorry. I don't care about the law. What are you going to do about it?"Fred was speechless.However, Gideon spoke up, "Tsk, tsk! I wonder where you get your confidence from, openly disregarding the law. Is it because that useless Matthew is backing you?"Did he tell you that the Avila family supports him and that with them as his shield, you can act without fear?"Fisher's heart skipped a beat. Surprised, he asked, "How do you know that?"Gideon merely smiled and said nothing. He pulled out his phone and sent a text me
"What are you here for?" Gideon asked as he entered the living room. Seeing Elara leisurely sipping coffee and seemingly in good spirits, he was somewhat surprised. Was she not here to complain?Elara set down the coffee cup and said calmly, "I heard from my dad that you went to Matthew's villa last night and brought me back.""That's right. Don't get the wrong idea. It was your father who reminded me that we're not officially divorced yet. If you and Matthew were to get involved, it would look like I got cheated on."It would affect my reputation. Once the cooling-off period ends and our divorce is finalized, you can do whatever you want. It won't concern me anymore."Elara frowned slightly.What was Gideon doing? Shouldn't he be trying to reconcile with her? Why did it feel like he couldn't wait for the divorce to happen?Was this some kind of reverse psychology? It had to be.Thinking of this, she felt more at ease. She lifted her chin and huffed coldly. "Either way, I came