“You won’t listen until we resort to violence, eh? Fine, then I'll fulfill your wish. Let's see if you can withstand this beating. Men, skin him alive." Tiger’s eyes flared with fury as he gave the orders. His men were all ruthless. Since their boss had given the order, they had to follow it to the T. They stretched their shoulders and rolled up their sleeves, preparing to fight.Elio was also ready to fight back. He would not allow himself to be bullied by these hooligans.At the very last second, Jeanette was the one who stopped them. "Hold on a second.”The gangsters did not dare to disobey her. They retracted their fists and turned to look at the influential woman, patiently waiting for her instructions.There was a revered leader in the underworld of Cloudsea, someone who went by the title of Third Master Chance.Even though he was almost seventy years old and semi-retired now, he could still control the underworld with a flick of his hand. Everyone was afraid of him.Jean

Tiger and the others were stunned. Zaffino was one of the big shots in Cloudsea, but he seemed to really care about Elio! He was willing to bet 150 thousand dollars to ensure Elio did not lose his hands. What was he planning?Wendell was secretly thrilled. This way, he would not have to pay anything at all! He said happily, “I have no objections.”Jeanette glanced at Elio and said sweetly, “I had no idea Zaffino thought so highly of you. He really wants you to keep your hands.”Elio gave Zaffino a nod. “Thanks.”Zaffino smiled. “Don't mention it, Master Rinz. Just keep coming back to my humble store. I look forward to working with you more in the future.”Tiger did not mind as long as he got the money in the end. He did not care about whether Elio got to keep his hands or not. “Then let's go with Zaffino's suggestion and cut the stones first.”The staff members pushed the stones over to the cutting counter with a cart. Other customers gathered to watch, but they were unimpressed

Jeanette was no ordinary woman. She had already decided to take twice the amount of the actual bonus from the pot before they split it, so she happily agreed. She grabbed a stack of notes, quickly counted out fifty, and handed them to Elio.Elio gave the money to Leid, saying, “Thanks, sir. Here's your bonus.”Even though the money was Jeanette's, Leid was grateful to Elio. Without Elio, he would not have gotten a single cent. He hurriedly thanked Elio, saying, “Thank you, ma'am. And thank you, Master Elio. How would you like me to cut the next stone?”“Cut it over here and give us a sneak peek on what's inside.” Elio drew a line on the stone with his finger. Leid cut the stone accordingly. After they got a glimpse of what was inside, the onlookers were surprised. “Huh? There's definitely a gem inside, but it doesn't look too high quality.”“It won't be worth that much, especially because the color looks all off. At least they'll break even…”They were right. The gem inside was

The crowd was stunned. Nobody saw Tiger's backstabbing move coming. Although he had already sold the gem, now, seeing its value skyrocket, he was backpedaling faster than a thief caught red-handed. Talk about a street thug's move!Jeanette was having none of it. Hands on her hips, she threw caution and her image to the wind, going full-on banshee mode. "You heard me! We snagged that stone first. That little twerp conned us, didn't pay a penny, and now he is trying to hustle our gem? Dream on! Cough up twelve hundred thousand, or no deal."Zaffino looked like he had swallowed a sour grape. He knew better than to cross Tiger and his spitfire wife, yet rules were rules. "The thing is, I already paid you for the gem, seventy thouand, straight into your account."Jeanette was relentless. "Fine, I'll send back your 700,000, but then you owe us 12 million. We hand over the violet jade, and we're square."Zaffino shook his head. "Can't do it. It's against the rules. Sorry, but without Mast

It felt like there was a void in people's souls that just could not be satisfied, particularly for those who fought their way up from nothing. They might have stumbled upon a fortune, but the sight of Elio's remaining seven hundred thousand was too tempting to ignore. Dividing the spoils three ways was tolerable, but watching the younger guy they had underestimated walk away with the lion's share? That was enough to make their blood boil.With Zaffino running the show at the trading spot, Tiger could not just blow his top then and there. If they came to blows, it would be an all-out war, with both sides taking hits. Since Tiger did not have a leg to stand on, starting a fight would be more trouble than it was worth."We'll see about that," Tiger growled, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light as he swept past Elio. With a dramatic wave of his hand, he led his crew and their newfound fortune out the door.Jeanette clicked her heels and shot Elio a look that could freeze lava, her s