He was afraid that even killing Charlie wouldn’t help him restore his dignity. After all, the horrifying beating which he had endured was already known to every Japanese in Japan. It was already rooted deeply within the hearts of the people.Machi’s expression turned sour and he was thinking of ways to comfort his son. During that moment, his cell phone rang.Machi took out his cell phone and saw an unfamiliar number. He pressed on the answer button and answered the call.From the other side of the call, a familiar voice rang. It was Ito Yahiko!“Oh, Brother Machi! I heard that Eikichi was beaten up by someone in Tokyo today?”Yahiko’s voice seemed to be somewhat concerned at first but anyone with a brain could have figured out that it was actually sarcasm.Machi replied with a blackened face. “Yahiko, I remember saving your number. Did you change it?”“No.” Tahiko replied with a cheerful tone. “My number is still the same. This is my personal assistant’s cell phone. I was afrai
For so many years, Machi and Yahiko merely had friendly rivalry with one another. It could be said that in those years, the two of them only saw each other as their biggest competitors.However, both of them were only around their early fifties. They grew up in the post-war period where Japan was at its weakest, most fragile moment. It was an era where people had no vision and self-esteem. They grew up during the peaceful moments and thus, there was no longer the viciousness and wickedness that their predecessors once had in their blood.That was why after competing with one another for so many years, their main motive for competition was only for business advancements. They had never had the intention of killing their opponents.It was like Alibaba and Tencent company bosses. Despite their competition being very fiery, they still abided by the laws and regulations.No matter how upset they were with one another, they will still try to remain as polite and rule-abiding as possible.
That night, the four of them took shifts monitoring. The shift was split into two and for each shift, two people would be monitoring while the other two would rest. Each person would be working for four hours to ensure that the rest of them got enough rest.They thought that their plan was perfect but they had no idea that everything had all been planned by Charlie.Till now, Charlie hadn’t taken any actions because he didn’t want to tip off the enemy. Additionally, he wanted to proceed more flexibly as things unfolded.The main reason as to why he was not interested in dealing with these ninjas in Tokyo was because he didn’t want the Takahashi family to be on his tail since he would be travelling to several other cities as well. If he were to kill off the ninjas, the Takahashi family would definitely watch him like a hawk, which would cause more problems in the future.Instead of all these unnecessary problems, it would be better to just let these four ninjas follow him. When the
The moment Sophie heard the words that were spoken by Machi, she couldn’t help but raise her brow.In her heart she couldn’t help but feel suspicious.Yesterday, Father just had a conference to collaborate with one of their families to eradicate the other family. Why would the Takahashi family suddenly offer the idea of collaborating with us to eradicate the Ito family today?! Did Takahashi Machi eavesdrop on the three-way conversation?Sophie felt that maybe her hypothesis might not be too far-fetched.In her mind, she thought.Yesterday, before they entered the hotel, the bodyguards had already made a thorough inspection. It was confirmed that the room had no eavesdropping bugs nor any recorders. Nevertheless, this is Tokyo. This is the Takahashi family’s area. If he wants to eavesdrop on my brother and I, then it shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off…Jaime too felt suspicious, wondering if Machi had eavesdropped on them.However, due to Machi’s presence, Jaime couldn’t disc
Isaac had booked the best hotel in Nagoya for everyone.Charlie could also sense that the four ninjas who had been following him had followed him to the hotel.After Charlie had checked in, Fujibayashi Masatetsu, who was the leader of the ninjas, brought the other three to the front desk of the hotel.They booked two rooms on the same floor as Charlie.Moreover, they were very clever to reserve four different rooms. These four rooms were next to the two elevators and the emergency staircase.Due to the fact that Japan was an earthquake prone country, their hotel designs therefore revolved around the concept to ease the escape of the people in case such a natural disaster were to occur.Two emergency escape staircases in a single building was not something one can find elsewhere.They had purposely chosen these locations to monitor Charlie’s every move. This really helped ease the monitoring process.As to why they did not book the rooms surrounding Charlie’s, that was mainly du
The main reason why Charlie wanted to leave Isaac and Albert’s group was so he could operate by himself. He wanted to test out the ninja who was tracking him. He wanted to know how strong the ninja who had been tailing him all this while was.Moreover, he knew very well that the other party had followed him to the hotel and he was able to theorize that the opponent would have the mindset that since Charlie had checked into the hotel, he would definitely return to the hotel. Therefore, they would not track him down with all four men.It was not that Charlie was afraid of being surrounded by the group. Instead, to Charlie, it seemed like Mr. Takahashi might be lacking in manpower since only four of them had followed him all the way from Tokyo. If he were to sweep all of them under the rug, then the rest of his days in Japan would be very boring.Therefore, Charlie was hoping for them to separate so he could take them out one by one.Only by taking them out individually like this woul
However, the use of the shuriken is quite different from that of a dagger.The dagger is mostly used for piercing and cutting whereas the shuriken is normally used for throwing.It could be said that the shuriken is closer related to the flying daggers used by the Circus Dagger Masters, which is performed by throwing their daggers at moving objects.If martial arts is about glory and righteousness, then Japanese ninjutsu would more closely resemble cruelty and heartlessness.Ninjas do not like face-to-face confrontations. They prefer attacking from the dark where their victims have no idea where they are. This is the ultimate path a ninja would pursue.They would use weapons such as shurikens, darts, and blow darts. They also like coating their blades with highly toxic substances so their opponents cannot escape death even if they were to fail in the upfront assassination. In case they fail, the toxins would work their magic and eventually kill the opponent.A minute had passed a
When Aota heard this sound, he was overwhelmed with terror.This confirmed the scariest assumption that he had in his heart!The Oskian man had indeed been here all along. He had never left before!Furthermore, he had not heard the sound of this person’s breathing or heartbeat, from the very beginning to the end! How did he do it?Moreover, he had also hit his shoulder twice. This proved that he had been very close to his own body at least twice but he did not hear anything at all! He did not even hear the sound of his footsteps!At this time, he subconsciously wanted to turn around and throw his shuriken at the other party. However, he was a little worried deep inside his heart.After all, he only had six shuriken. He had already thrown four of his shuriken earlier. Therefore, he was holding onto the last two shuriken in his hands now!What if he missed again after throwing out his last two shuriken?His opponent was directly in front of him and he would never give him the opp
Jimmy was taken aback since he didn't recognize Julien at all, mainly because the Rothschilds had always kept out of the public eye.In fact, it was basically impossible to gather genuine information about the Rothschilds online, as it was a mix of press releases and gossip. Most online biographies would only be about the older generations or certain frivolous figures. Any information about key members like Steve would never be searchable online.Matilda was confused as well, not quite understanding who Julien was since he wasn't on the list of guests invited.Seeing that she was confused, Julien turned and smiled at Yolden, "So, Professor, shouldn't you introduce me to the bride?"Yolden finally remembered that and quickly nodded, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."Turning toward Matilda, he smiled, "Darling, this is Julien Rothschild… A friend of mine from the states…"Julien's full name left everyone within earshot gaping as the Rothschild name was way too famous across the globe.
Seeing that Jimmy was getting a little nervous, Charlie smiled and assured him, "Please, you have nothing to worry about. No one's going to do anything to you, but if you feel threatened in any way, you can call the cops. The Oskian emergency hotline is 110, by the way."Jimmy was slightly relieved as he could see that Charlie really wasn't trying to make things awkward for him, and he straightened his collar as he said, "Actually, I didn't mean to cause trouble—I'm pleased that Matilda has found true love once more, and if we can be friends, I can set aside my claim and stay for the rest of this wedding, offering the newlyweds our best wishes as a representative of my family."Still, his expression showed contempt as he turned toward Yolden. "Also, I'm really curious and looking forward to seeing what connections Professor Hart might have that you say could be better than Bill.""You'll see soon enough," Charlie smiled and nodded.Jimmy remained skeptical and scoffed, "I really do
If Charlie really did get Jimmy to stay, who knew what other rubbish Jimmy would spout.As for Jimmy, he was actually surprised Charlie was asking him to stay, and his instincts told him that Charlie definitely didn't mean well.Not only that, he was on foreign soil—wouldn't he be defenseless if Charlie called in his friends to beat him up?Hence, he shook his head without hesitation as he said, "I'm sorry, but my sister-in-law is quite keen for me to leave, so I have no reason to stay and add to her problems. And it is her big day. I can afford to let her save face instead of spilling the beans on her all at once.""Oh, but you were complaining about the lack of important people just now!" Charlie quickly interjected. "It just so happens that we have a big-shot on his way here, and he's a good friend of the groom. When I told him about you over the phone, he said to keep you here no matter what it took, since he would like to talk to you face to face."Jimmy frowned. "What, are y
And with those words, Jimmy turned to leave.Despite threatening Matilda, there was no such agreement, and he knew that Matilda was well aware of that.Regardless, the only strategy he had in mind when he came to Oskia was harassment. As such, he simply came up with a lie to make Matilda look bad in public. All it took from there was just for one person to relay what he had said—even if it were all lies, Matilda's character would still be called into question.He made himself very clear so that Matilda would understand that if she didn't give in, his family would keep hounding her to take their two pounds of flesh. Even if she wouldn't surrender the stateside estates and human resources of Smith Group Corporate Law, they would still claim a sizable chunk.But if that failed too, they would just have to destroy Matilda's reputation along with Smith Group Corporate Law.Either way, they were not letting her off easy!And reading that much from Jimmy's behavior, Matilda snapped co
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