Harold was fast, but Charlie was faster. He avoided the grab and in a swift action, he clasped Harold’s wrist, shook it slightly, and sneered. “What? Is the injury on your hand healed? Pain is forgotten where gain follows huh?”Harold suddenly felt an enormous force surging into his body. He took two steps backward, feeling furious and shocked at the same time.This loser’s strength was quite powerful!Knowing that he was out of Charlie’s league, Harold growled coldly, “Damn it, you wait here, I’ll get the manager and kick you out!”Then, Harold turned his head and shouted for the manager to come.Soon, a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes walked quickly, with two security guards tagging along. The man managed a diplomatic smile on his face and said to Harold respectfully, “Yes, Mr. Wilson, how can I help you?”“Manager, check their invitation.” Harold pointed disdainfully at Charlie. “I suspect that theirs are fake.”For privacy and security reasons, the guest’s name
The crowd suddenly made way to form a passage in the middle, a man and a woman slowly walked into the hall.The woman wore a black evening dress that hugged her perfect and slender figure.Under the bright illumination, she was utterly beautiful and elegant, every move she made, even her walking posture, was exceptionally gracious.The woman was so beautiful that Harold couldn’t remove his gaze off of her.Jasmine walked into the venue, scanned around, saw two empty seats in the VIP section in the front row, and asked, “Where are my two VIP guests? Have they not arrived yet?”Finn Baxendale looked through the guest’s information and frowned. “Miss Moore, the scanner from the entrance indicated that the invitation cards of the two VIPs have been verified, they must have entered our hall, but we don’t know where they are right now.”Then, he ordered his staff, “Call the manager to see me.”Soon, the manager sprinted to them and asked, “Mr. Baxendale, what’s the matter?”Finn poin
Harold wanted to take this opportunity to establish a friendship with Finn, but never did he expect that Finn would suddenly kick him without a warning.He rolled on the floor several times before he could stabilize himself. He sat on the ground and blurted in a daze, “Mr. Baxendale, what is going on, there must be some misunderstanding…”The crowd was instantly shocked by the sudden commotion.“That’s the guy from the Wilson family, right? How did he offend Mr. Baxendale?”“The Wilson family? They are so insignificant already. Now that they’ve offend Mr. Baxendale, I think that’s it for them in Aurous Hill, huh?”There was a lot of shrill and gossiping whispers going on in the hall.Most of them were there simply to watch how Finn would beat the crap out of Harold.Finn glared at Harold and snorted, “Misunderstanding? F*ck you!”He lifted his legs again and stomped it hard on Harold, which sent the man wailing in agonizing pain.Finn was still burning in wrath. He stomped on
Charlie rejected Jasmine’s offer. “I’m sorry, Miss Moore, but my mood today had been ruined by those two irritating flies, so I won’t go back to the auction. Let’s keep a rain check on it.”Jasmine said apologetically, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Wade.”Then, she returned to her car to retrieve a wooden box and put it in Charlie’s hand. “Mr. Wade, this is a little token of my affection as an apology…”The moment the box was on Charlie’s hands, he could sense traces of Reiki from it, so he accepted it wholeheartedly.Jasmine was very glad that Charlie accepted her gift, so she continued, “Well, I’ll suspend today’s auction and ask Finn to regroup and observe his team of staff in the Treasure Pavilion. When he is ready, we’ll hold another auction sale, and I hope Mr. Wade and Mr. Wilson will be willing to join us then.”Jacob was astounded since he stumbled upon the woman. She was Miss Moore who appeared at the Vintage Deluxe when he smashed the antique vase, wasn’t she?She was so polite t
Neither of the women were at home when they returned. Elaine was still out playing cards, and Claire had not gotten off work yet.Charlie went back to his bedroom and carefully took the lightning-struck wood out of the box.He could sense a dense Reiki radiating from the wood.Sitting on the floor cross-legged, Charlie put the wood in his palm, closed his eyes, executed the mental strength written in the Apocalyptic Book, and slowly inhaled the Reiki into his body.When he opened his eyes, he felt that his eyes were sparkling and rejuvenated. The aura in his body had a dramatic change.On the other hand, the Lightning Strike Dragon Blood Wood in his hand became a little dim.Although it lost its Reiki, there was still some strong thunderous breath remaining, which proved that the wood was a treasure.If he had other magical things with him right now, he could use it to refine some simple magical artifacts.It was already dark when he came out of the room.As soon as he arrived
Claire opened the door in a careful manner before she asked in a vigilant manner, “How can I help you?”Charlie frowned before he walked towards the door immediately. At this time, he pushed Claire behind him before he asked in a calm and cold manner, “Are you looking for me?”At this time, a middle-aged man dressed in a suit stood outside the door. As soon as he saw Charlie, he smiled before he greeted him in a respectful manner. “Hello, Mr. Wade. I am the new manager of Treasure Pavilion. I just started working this afternoon. My boss feels very sorry about the way you left Treasure Pavilion earlier today and he sent me here with a gift to specifically apologize to you.”Charlie looked at the man with a shocked expression on his face. “You’re from Treasure Pavilion?”“Treasure Pavilion?”At this time, Claire, who was standing behind Charlie, was also very surprised.The middle-aged man hurriedly explained, “Our boss felt very bad about the way you were forced to leave Treasure
Elaine was extremely excited.All of those gifts were money to her!She did not know how much those antique vases cost but she knew that each bottle of Moutai Flying Fairy liquor was worth at least thirty to forty thousand dollars! Moreover, there were twenty bottles of liquor in this box. This meant that this box of liquor was worth a few hundred thousand dollars!There was also a box of Yellow Crane Tower cigars. The cigars cost five thousand dollars each and there were fifty cigars in the box! That would mean that the box of cigars was worth more than two hundred thousand dollars! Just the liquor and cigars were already worth at least one million dollars!Why shouldn’t she accept it?Moreover, if she had the VIP card from Treasure Pavilion, she would be able to show off in front of her friends!When Claire saw how obsessive and materialistic her mother was, she called out in a reluctant manner, “Mom…”Elaine glared at her before she replied, “What’s wrong? Are you going to sa
Graham’s face was pale and his body trembled slightly, as though he was really in fear.Charlie frowned before he asked in a faint manner, “Did the jade plug crack?”“Mr. Wade, you really are a master! I can’t believe that you’ve actually guessed it right.”Graham’s voice was very soft as he sighed, “Initially, we followed all of your instructions without fail. After sealing the jade plug off in the yellow bag, our entire family ate vegetarian food for seven days without seeing any blood at all.”“However, one day, my stupid nephew Adam secretly ate some stewed pigeon soup. Moreover, he accidentally stained pigeon blood on the yellow paper bag that the jade plug was sealed in. As soon as the blood fell on the yellow paper bag, the jade plug cracked immediately. I’ve already beat Adam up and locked him up at home but strange things are still happening!”Charlie frowned before he asked, “What kind of strange things have you encountered?”Graham hurriedly replied, “Last night, there
Jimmy didn't expect Matilda to break down the share ownership of Smith Group Corporate Law to such detail, and he hollered as he was starting to feel embarrassed, "Now, you're just being irresponsible, Matilda. My father gave my brother a million to start the law firm in the first place, and they had agreed that the family would have a stake, albeit only at 49%, to not deny your decision-making as a startup. Or are you denying it?"Matilda immediately became furious and snapped, "Bullshit! That was just a loan of one million, and the agreed term was three years. However, your brother returned it in one! I even asked him to return the money with every single one of his siblings watching, since you might all get skeptical, yet suddenly, you're calling it an investment?""You said he's returned it? Well, what proof do you have?" Jimmy quickly shot back. "Our entire family can testify that the money hasn't come back to us!""So, this is how you're going to play it?" Matilda smirked. "Th
In the first place, Jimmy had come to Oskia to claim a stake in Smith Group Corporate Law, ideally strong-arming Paul and Matilda into splitting the firm in two, with Jimmy taking everything in the States while Paul kept what was left.The way Jimmy saw it, Paul and Matilda were going to be permanently residing in Oskia anyway. There was no way they could manage things over in another country properly, so it was basically returning the firm to the rightful owner.Naturally, Jimmy also knew that despite bearing the Smith family name, the success of Smith Group Corporate Law was all the work of Jimmy's brother and Matilda. Jimmy's father had helped to a certain extent, but that extent of financial support wouldn't amount to an investment at all. No judge in the world would support his claim to the law firm's shares.Therefore, when he learned that Matilda was remarrying, he thought he could seize the moment to cause a scene. Nothing could be better if she and Paul decided to sacrifice
Jimmy deliberately raised his voice as he said coolly, "Oh, but I didn't want to intervene. It's you and your mother who left the States in a split second, taking with you the law firm which bears the Smith family name. Don't you think such behavior is inappropriate?"Seeing the surprised reactions of the guests, Paul promptly retorted, "The law firm uses the Smith family name, but it is my parents' legacy! They worked blood and sweat to build it from the ground up, and as their only son, I have a veto when it comes to decisions. Or did we need your permission to move to Oskia?""Where's your conscience, Paul?" Jimmy pursed his lips. "Even if you don't know how Smith Group Corporate Law was founded, is that the case for you? It would have been a joke if it weren't for my father's connections!"Hell, it's no exaggeration that it was my father who fought to expand the law firm across America, and just using the family name means you're borrowing the family's influence. The family hono
The blonde man's voice drew everyone's attention in an instant.Despite his foreign appearance, he spoke Oskian fluently and walked with a haughty gait, almost as though he was above the rest.Paul's expression turned grim the instant he saw him, and he hurried over with Charlie.Still, before Paul could speak, Charlie stopped him, frowning at the man as he said, "Don't you think it's inappropriate to come slinging personal attacks at someone else's wedding?"The man clearly didn't know Charlie, and he wasn't worried, seeing that he was young.Snorting in disdain, he asked, "You must be from the groom's family, yes? Please tell him that he doesn't deserve my sister-in-law.""It's up to the happy couple to decide that," Charlie retorted quietly. "Deserving someone is no issue as long as they both love each other."The man pursed his lips and looked pointedly around him. "Just look at how simple this wedding is. Forget picking an unassuming city like Aurous Hill—is there a single
Pausing, Charlie then said, "I'll call Steve to drop by later too. I'm sure folks in Aurous Hill won't know him, but your potential troublemaker might.""I-Is that really fine?" Yolden blurted."What's not fine about it?" Charlie chuckled. "He has been treated like a tool ever since he came to Aurous Hill, and now that he has a chance to strut about, he wouldn't ask for more."Yolden appeared slightly relieved at that, and Charlie asked, "By the way, where's Paul, Matilda, and Autumn?""Getting their makeup done," Yolden replied. "Paul's my best man while Autumn's the maid of honor.""Good," Charlie nodded with a grin. "Don't worry—the wedding's going to be a success."As they spoke, Matilda stepped out of the dressing room in a stark-white wedding dress, flanked by Autumn and Paul.Seeing Charlie, Autumn nodded politely, "Good morning, Mr. Wade."As Charlie nodded in turn, Paul started, "G-Good morning… Mr. Wade…"Seeing that he was nervous and tentative, Charlie knew that he
As Yolden and Matilda were remarrying after living abroad for years, the wedding ceremony was much simpler, skipping Oskian customs and having a simple wedding reception for their guests at the hotel hall.There weren't that many guests either—aside from their children and close friends, only a handful of Yolden's colleagues at Aurous Hill University were invited.As the celebrant, Charlie didn't have much to do and was mainly the emcee.He brought along his jacket as he headed out to Shangri-La, not wearing it immediately so that Claire wouldn't guess that he was attending Matilda's wedding.Arriving at the Hanging Gardens before the guests were supposed to arrive, he found Yolden working with the staff to finalize the preparations.Seeing Charlie, Yolden approached him and said, "Thanks for coming this early, Charlie."Noticing that he was a little tired, Charlie asked in concern, "Had a bad night?"Yolden nodded, sighing, "Paul's uncle caused a huge mess. Both Matilda and I a
Tarlon nodded. "How do you suggest we find them?"Fleur scowled. "There's no rush. There are things which I'm still confused about, so just keep a close eye on the Ackers and the Wades for the time being. Report to me right away if anything important comes up—don't afford our enemies any opportunities to exploit.""Yes, milady!" -The next day, more news outlets were covering the joint project between the Ackers and the Wades as word continued to spread.However, neither family revealed too many details, be it the name of the company, who was the CEO, or the scale of their business.While the public was dying with curiosity, nothing else was known.Still, Aurous Hill's officials were especially interested, with the town hall visiting the Ackers the next day and showing utmost sincerity by leasing a whopping 2-million-square-meter land along the southern highway. Still, the condition was for the Ackers to come true on their promise to propel the city's economy to 15 billion US d
Fleur had repeatedly mentioned the conspiracy theory of Ashley using a body double over the last twenty years.Tarlon had investigated from many different angles, but everything from the gender, age, dental records, to body figure pointed to the fact that the deceased was Ashley Acker.And yet, Fleur had never bought it, insisting that Curtis was prepared for them just because Curtis' son had gone missing soon after.There was no way Curtis would save his son but not his wife, and the disfigured corpse only added fuel to Fleur's suspicion.Thus, over the last twenty years, Fleur had kept a close eye on the Ackers, arranging for two 'scholars' to be embedded amongst their ranks as sleeper agents. She went that far all to determine if Ashley was dead or had faked her death.However, the scholars had since been killed in action, and they had no spies within the Ackers left.As for Tarlon, he still doubted Fleur's theory even now, but he remained respectful as he spoke, "Milady, I mu
Meanwhile, on the edge of the South Pole, Tarlon Griffin rushed outside of Fleur Griffin's room, knocking the door gingerly as he announced, "I have news, my lady!"Fleur didn't respond, but the thick wooden door between them slowly opened as if pushed by an invisible force.Tarlon entered to find Fleur seated on the floor with her legs crossed at the ankles. Her eyes remained closed as she molded her Reiki, asking, "What is it?"Tarlon quickly answered, "News from Oskia. The Ackers are partnering with the Wades on a joint venture into electric-powered vehicles."Fleur slowly opened her eyes, asking quietly, "And you're telling me because?"Tarlon quickly explained, "It just came out of the blue, so I thought I should report it to you right away."Fleur sighed. "After I tried and failed to wipe out the Ackers so many times, they wouldn't dare set foot stateside. If anything, they must have decided to seek asylum in Oskia by offering a substantial investment, and it's a base whe