Ch. 101..110

Life at the Top Chapter 101

“Let’s go home.”

Jasper smiled and reached out his hand.

Wendy nodded and placed her small hand into Jasper’s large hand naturally.

The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder back to the parking lot.

On the way, Wendy saw an ambulance driving into the courtyard hurriedly and asked curiously, “Why is the ambulance here?”

“Zayden’s psychological state isn’t doing too well. He got so angry with me that he needs to go to the hospital.”

Wendy covered her mouth to laugh secretly after what Jasper said.

The two of them got into the car where Wendy said suddenly, “The daughter of the businessman from Harbor City is named Anna Law, right?”

“Yeah.” Jasper drove and did not glance sideways.

“I saw what happened. She spoke up for you and that’s how you got the chance to speak to Mr. Law.”

Wendy smiled.

“I think she can’t bear to look at Zayden’s arrogant face.”

Jasper’s expression was getting more and more serious.

“Perhaps.”

Wendy looked profound.

During the auction earlier, Jasper was not weak when he was devising a plan for the battle of more than a billion dollars of funds and when facing Mr. Law, but now, there was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

Back at Schuler Manor, Dawson was waiting for the two of them at the door with a huge grin on his face after he got the news.

“You’ve returned victorious!”

Dawson made a joke that was hard to come by.

“Luckily, we didn’t disappoint you,” Jasper said with a smile.

Dawson looked at Jasper up and down as if this was the first time he met him.

“I knew what happened. You rascal, you can remain calm and even-tempered, orderly and coherent, and have a sense of propriety when you’re facing the Laws. You have no idea how many friends of mine were praising you when you were in that situation.”

“The Laws are no different than any others to me,” Jasper said sincerely.

“They’re just richer, but I don’t think I’m requesting them to work with me. I just gave them a better direction for collaboration. They’re smart, so naturally, they’ll make the right choice.”

“Good boy!” Dawson patted Jasper’s shoulder. “Come, I’m happy today, so let us two men have some drinks.”

On the dining table, Wendy looked helplessly at Dawson who kept clinking his glass with Jasper’s. She said, “Dad, the doctor said your blood pressure is pretty high, so you can’t drink too much.”

“Alcohol is the essence of foodstuff, so the more I drink, the younger I’ll get.”

Dawson ignored his daughter’s worries. He turned around to lecture Jasper, “You have to listen to the woman at home. However, you should also know when to listen to them. For example, you don’t have to care about the women now.”

Jasper smiled and looked at Wendy who was fuming right now. He said, “You’re right. You’re right.”

Wendy could only change the topic when she saw the men behaving like this.

“The Hanks lost so much this time, and now they have to make a very difficult decision. Do you think they’ll clench their teeth and hold onto the land development rights?”

“No,” Jasper shook his head and said, “If Zayden is the head of the family, then maybe. However, his elders won’t be as brainless as him.

“The best choice for the Hanks right now is to give up on the bid. It’s better to give up on the cash deposit of 50 million than taking out 1.5 billion. If not, they would hurt their vigor greatly.”

“However, how will the Hanks gain ground? Won’t people laugh them to death? These families value their image the most,” Wendy said curiously.

“Normally, they value their image, but when they’re facing a matter of life and death, they’ll be more understanding than anyone,” Jasper smiled and said.

“That’s too bad. It’s just a 50 million loss,” Wendy said while feeling that it was a great pity.

Dawson chuckled softly and said, “Just leave this to me.”

Jasper and Wendy lifted their heads to look over. Dawson then smiled and said, “The Hanks have been so arrogant for so many years. So many people are not happy with them. Now, we finally have a chance to beat them while they’re down, so how will 50 million be enough?”

Life at the Top Chapter 102

Zayden opened his eyes slowly in the hospital room.

The person he saw after he opened his eyes was his father, Sylva.

Zayden felt a heavy weight on his chest as he anxiously opened his mouth and said in a trembling voice, “Dad, that Jasper kid… We’ve been…”

“I know,” Sylva said calmly.

“I won’t resign to this!” Zayden gripped the bedsheet and said through gritted teeth.

“You’ve lost everything,” Sylva said in an extremely disappointed voice.

“The family has decided to give up on this auction. We will surely lose the cash deposit. The city hall is furious because the auction was such a huge event and everybody’s attention had been on it. However, in the end, we decided to void our bid.

“The city hall is giving us a penalty of 200 million.”

“The family will never forgive me for this 200 million and the 50 million combined,” Zayden said in a trembling voice.

“You had walked into his trap since the beginning.”

Sylva sighed ruefully. “I didn’t think that young man named Jasper would be able to move Zachary Law. This is a huge variable and is the key for the Schulers to turn the tide.”

“I want to kill him!” Zayden gritted his teeth. He was so mad that his voice started to change.

“You should leave the province for now,” Sylva said flatly.

“Dad, you’re giving up on me too? Where can I go if I leave the province?” Zayden said hurriedly.

Sylva sighed and looked as if he had aged a few years. He said, “From the looks of it now, the Hanks have completely fallen into a disadvantageous position. The continuous loss has struck down hard on my prestige. When one is rising, the other is falling. Your Uncle Zach’s right of speech is growing now.”

“You’ll go to Harbor City. I still have some resources, and I’ll plan for your future. The Laws have hoodwinked the public and they have a lot of rivals in Harbor City.”

Sylva looked deeply at Zayden and said, “You’ve had lessons coming at you one after another, so I hope you can grow from them. If not, there’s nothing else I can do anymore.”

After he said that, Sylva left the room.

Zayden widened his eyes to stare at the white ceiling and growled in a voice that was laced with extreme rancor. “Jasper Laine! Just wait, just you wait!”

…

‘The Hanks Tossed Out a Grand Total Of 1.5 Billion in the Auction to Obtain the 16-Acre Land in the Southface River and the Rights to Develop the south bank as a Whole!’

‘A Change of Attitude From the Businessman From Harbor City. Leaning Toward Working With JW Real Estates!’

‘The Hanks Voided Their Bid, Angering the City Hall and Causing A 50 Million Cash Deposit Deduction and a Penalty of 200 Million Dollars!’

The upper-class were all watching the drama as a series of huge news shocked the province.

There was so much news in one day and it was such a rare sight.

The twist and excitement of the story were not inferior to that of a blockbuster.

No one could expect that the initial winner would suddenly fall at the last hurdle. On the contrary, this meant JW Real Estates of the Schulers had become the key to turn the situation around.

At the same time, Jasper was sitting in Dawson’s office. He was on a call with the person in charge of the auction on his future father-in-law’s phone.

“Oh, Uncle Jasper, you’re hilarious. It’s an honor that you’re willing to transfer the land development rights and land to JW Real Estates.”

The name of the person in charge was also Jasper. He had the same name as Jasper and was also older than him, so in order to become closer to him, Jasper naturally addressed him as Uncle Jasper.

“Price? Oh, Uncle Jasper, you should know that I was so furious I got confused during the auction, so that’s why I called out 1.2 billion. Actually, we’re just a small real estate company that just started. Where will we get that money?

“I genuinely don’t dare to play any tricks on you. I’m not pretending to be poor, but I really am poor…

“Alright, Uncle Jasper. We’ll just do whatever you say. You’re occupied with important matters every day, so you must be so exhausted. We can’t provide any help to you, so why would we cause more trouble for you regarding these minor matters?

“Yeah, it’s the price I called out the third time. 710 million. That price is still doable. We definitely can’t afford 1.2 billion.

“Alright, you should go back to your business now, Uncle Jasper. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”

Dawson did not know whether to laugh or cry when he watched Jasper wrangle with the person in charge of the auction.

However, this kid was indeed skillful. He lowered 1.2 billion to 710 million just by being cheeky.

Who else in this world could do this aside from him?

Life at the Top Chapter 103

After exchanging some conventional greetings with the person in charge of the auction over the phone, Jasper finally ended the call.

“When are you going to visit the Laws?” Dawson asked.

“It’s better now than never.”

Jasper pondered for a while. “They’ve shown enough sincerity, after all, so I’d better go over and do something as soon as possible.

In the presidential suite of Sheraton, Jasper met Zachary once again.

“Mr. Law.” When Jasper saw Zachary walking out of the room, he got up and greeted him.

Zachary smiled and gestured to Jasper to sit. Then, he said, “Young man, we’re going back to Harbor City tomorrow.”

Jasper asked, “Has the investment agreement been confirmed?”

“If you’re the one with the land development rights, then yes, it has,” Zachary said with a grin.

Jasper said sincerely, “Thank you for your help, Mr. Law.”

“This is not even me helping you out. The situation in Mainland is not the same as in Harbor City. Even though we’ve invested here before, the central core would still be Harbor City. As such, we still have to work together with a local developer with a much larger strength in this project to have peace of mind.

“Meanwhile, the Schulers are considered to be a pretty strong company in the province, so I’m not worried.”

“Mr. Law.” Jasper was silent for a moment before saying suddenly, “I’ve been planning to go to Harbor City for a while because I think after the bubble burst in the real estate market in Harbor City three years ago, the current market situation is in a slump. It’s the best time for bottom fishing.”

At the time of the handover, under the malicious manipulation of the authorities, they had planned to make Somerland take over Harbor City which was now left in ruins and had been squeezed dry.

It was because ten years ago, the real estate market in Harbor City had been flourishing.

Almost all of the rich families and millionaires in Harbor City were dealing with the real estate industry.

In addition to that, the Laws were nicknamed God of Land in Harbor City.

The main reason this happened was that the authorities wanted to suck their blood dry. They wanted to converge all of the capital in Harbor City to the real estate industry before drawing all of them out.

It could be said that they stole all of the savings Harbor City saved up for decades and only left Somerland with the ruins.

However, although they did not have complete success because of a lot of reasons, the real estate in Harbor City completely ruptured and broke out that year.

That was the rule of the economy, and nobody could stop it from happening.

As such, the current housing prices in Harbor City were no different from cabbages to Jasper.

After Zachary heard that, he smiled and said, “Young man, it’s impossible to dabble in the real estate industry in Harbor City if you don’t have the capital.”

Jasper smiled and said, “Indeed. Judging from my current assets, it’s indeed not enough to dabble in the real estate industry in Harbor City.”

After adding up all of the money Jasper had right now, he might be able to buy a normal piece of land in Harbor City with a decent location. That was it.

After all, Harbor City was indeed the economic center in the east currently. The pre-flourishing real estate prices in Mainland could not compare to that of Harbor City.

“So, the other reason I’m going to Harbor City is that I think there’s a huge opportunity in the stock market there.”

After Jasper said that, Zachary’s expression became solemn.

To Zachary, Jasper was already not a normal young man, after all.

Jasper’s identity as the mysterious individual shareholder in the international crude oil market was enough to make someone not dare underestimate his opinion in the capital market.

Not everyone had the ability and guts to snatch away more than one billion dollars of profit from the large countries all over the world and big shot capitalists.

After returning from the auction, Zachary had asked his people to look into the details of the battle in crude oils futures.

The more he understood what was going on, the more shocked Zachary felt about Jasper. Jasper was experienced—his foresight was savage and his decision was unwavering.

Now, the manipulation skills of the mysterious individual shareholder were being used as a classic example by the professors in educational institutes of finance and economy during lectures.

If he had not seen this with his own eyes, Zachary would not believe that this was done by the young man in front of him who was the same age as his children.

“I’ve mentioned to you about the opportunity in Harbor City’s stock market. It’s the chance to make up for the near tens of billions of loss your family suffered back then.”

Jasper’s tone sounded very confident.

Zachary looked at Jasper seriously and said in a low voice, “Are you saying that you want to make a stock market index?”

The stock market index was a way to invest.

For example, the stock market for Harbor City was called Hansel Index and this was fundamental for the entire market of Harbor City. If the market rose, then the Hansel Index would rise as well. If the market dropped, then the Hansel Index would drop.

Since the finance environment of Harbor City completely replicated that of the west, they could use the rise and fall of the Hansel Index to trade the futures of the market as a whole.

Basically, they would be treating the Hansel Index as one of the products of the futures. They could leave it empty or they could make more of it.

Jasper nodded and said, “There will surely be a huge quotation of market price in a short time.”

The reason Jasper was so sure was that the dot-com bubble was about to burst.

The stock exchanges of the world would rise because of the internet economy. At the same time, internet corporate would be in high demand for stock investors.

However, after the bubble burst, a financial crisis that swept across the world would arrive.

Jasper could not tell the Laws everything because of a multitude of reasons.

Zachary lowered his voice and asked, “How sure are you?”

Jasper smiled and said, “Mr. Law, you should know that there isn’t a 100% certainty on the capitalist market.”

Zachary nodded and said while feeling disappointed and frustrated, “Indeed. I was too rash. However, the Laws do need a quick opportunity to withdraw currency from circulation.”

“90% maybe.” What Jasper said froze the expression on Zachary’s face.

“Hahaha!” Zachary guffawed because he thought Jasper was joking with him. He said, “Oh, young man. Alright, I’ll wait for you in Harbor City. If it’s just like what you said, then you’ll be… the most valuable friend to the Laws.”

Jasper got up and said calmly yet solemnly, “Old Master Law was a legend throughout his life, and his heart was with his country the entire time. As a fellow compatriot, I feel proud to have such a senior.”

Zachary could feel that Jasper was saying that from his heart. He nodded and said, “I’ll wait for you to come to Harbor City and be a guest at our house. My father hasn’t met any guests in so many years. However, he must want to meet an excellent young man like you.”

Life at the Top Chapter 104

“As the younger generation, it’s my pleasure. When I get to Harbor City, I will definitely get in contact with you, Mr. Law,” Jasper said and smiled.

Zachary said in a forthright manner, “If you don’t come to find me, I’ll get someone to kidnap you and bring you to me. After all, you’ve promised that you’ll make money for us.”

After some conventional greetings, Jasper got up to leave.

The moment he got out of Zachary’s room, he ran into Henry and Anna.

“Damn it, why did I run into this Mainlander?”

When Henry saw Jasper, his face darkened and he wanted to turn around to leave.

“Stop.”

Anna’s word caused Henry to stop as if his feet had been nailed to the floor.

“How many times have I told you to respect the people from Mainland now that we’re here? It’s easy to offend them by calling them Mainlander, don’t you know that?” Anna lectured.

Henry said impatiently, “I just blurted it out. I don’t mean it that way.”

“How would they know if you don’t mean it that way? Apologize right now,” Anna said.

Henry widened his eyes to look at Anna and yelled, “Are you sick in the head? You’re asking your older brother to apologize to an outsider?”

“You’re at fault, so you have to apologize.” Anna looked at Henry coldly. “Are you going to or not?”

The corners of Henry’s lips twitched, and he turned around reluctantly to say to Jasper, “Sorry.”

It was insincere.

However, Jasper did not mind.

He knew Henry was not a bad person. Not only was he not bad, but he had a lot of the excellence of the Laws in his bones.

Why?

It was because in Jasper’s previous life, this spoiled brat from a rich family would marry the diving queen a few years later!

When that happened, everyone in the country enjoyed a lot of piping hot tea.

However, Jasper did not expect that the cultured and refined young master from the previous life would be a sloppy brat now. It felt as if they were two different people.

“It’s fine.”

Jasper looked at Anna and said, “Are you guys leaving tomorrow?”

Anna nodded and said, “Early flight tomorrow morning.”

“So, I’ll see you in Harbor City,” Jasper said with a smile.

“You’re going to Harbor City as well?” Anna asked curiously.

“Yeah, but not now. I still have to wait,” Jasper replied.

“Alright, I’ll see you in Harbor City.” Anna smiled. Her lovely feminine charms could shake one to their core.

After bidding farewell to the siblings, Jasper got out of the elevator.

Henry watched slyly as his sister stared at the door of the elevator until it closed. Then, he said, “Stop looking. He’s gone.”

Anna came back to her senses and peered at Henry flatly. “Do you like to get all up in my business?”

Henry chuckled and said, “Why do I have a feeling that you have a crush on this Mainlander?”

“Do you think I’d have a crush on someone so easily?” Anna said, in a bad mood.

“Hehe, don’t be shy. There were so many young masters pursuing you in Harbor City but you always gave them a dark face. However, you’re chatting and smiling with this Mainlander? Come, tell me, I’ll come up with a plan for you,” Henry patted his chest and said.

“Do you want me to tell Dad how many girls you’ve hurt when you were studying abroad? If I hadn’t solved your problems for you, I think Dad’s grandsons would be studying in junior high now, huh?” Anna said coldly.

Henry’s expression froze, and immediately, his disposition was gone completely.

Life at the Top Chapter 105

After all, some time ago when he started causing trouble outside and did not dare to tell his parents about it, his sister had always been the one to help him take care of those matters.

Sometimes, he would wonder if she was the elder sister and he was her younger brother

Everything in the province was basically completed, and now, what was left would be given to the subordinates to handle. Of course, Dawson would arrange for all of these.

As such, Jasper brought Wendy back to the city.

It had been a while since they came back. The moment Jasper and Wendy stepped through the door, they heard Jasper’s mother, Sally, nagging at them.

“Even if you’re busy, you have to rest and eat well. Where did you two go these few days? I saw that the lights in the house you’re living in next door were turned off at night. I didn’t see you two as well.”

“We were in the province these few days. We were with Wendy’s father.” Jasper took off his coat and hung it on the rack while replying.

“You’ve met her parents?” Sally had joy written all over her face.

“Did you remember to bring a gift?

“Did you forget your manners?

“Is Wendy’s father satisfied with you?”

Sally’s back-to-back questions caused Wendy to blush. She said quickly, “Sally, it was just a normal meeting. The main purpose of the meeting was still the business collaboration. It’s not what you think.”

“Wendy, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Let’s discuss this when Jasper’s father comes back. Let’s decide a time for us parents to meet,” Sally said something astonishing.

Jasper did not know whether to laugh or cry. “What meeting between parents? Mom, stop interfering!”

“What nonsense are you talking about, kid? Do you still want Wendy to stay with you with no status? I won’t agree to it, and the parents should meet when it’s almost time. According to our tradition, the man’s family should go to the woman’s home and invite the woman over.”

The more Sally talked about this, the happier she became. She wanted so badly to call Charlie back right now to discuss the meeting of the parents.

When Jasper saw Wendy being as shy as a mouse and wanting very badly to hide, he coughed dryly. When he was about to say something, the phone rang.

The person calling was John. He said it had been a while since they met each other, so he wanted to invite Jasper out for a gathering.

Jasper could hear some hidden trouble that John could not mention amidst his stammers.

As such, Jasper agreed without a second thought.

Back then, John had helped him a lot, so if he could help him now, Jasper would not be stingy about it.

When Sally heard Jasper saying that he needed to go out right after coming home, her face fell immediately.

“You’re always so busy and don’t even have time to eat at home, huh?”

Jasper said helplessly, “It’s about social nicety, and I can’t decline. I’ll come back early.”

After he said that, Jasper ran away under Wendy’s eyes that were filled with a secret grudge.

After Sally nagged for a while, she turned around and beamed at Wendy. She said, “Wendy, let’s ignore him. What do you want to eat? I’ll buy the ingredients now and make it for you.”

Wendy answered in a lovable manner, “Sally, let’s go together. I want to learn how to cook from you as well.”

The more Sally looked at Wendy, the more she adored her. She said unhurriedly, “Alright, let’s go to the supermarket. I think Jasper’s father should be back when we’re done.”

20 minutes later, Jasper arrived at the agreed location.

It was a cafe.

Nowadays, if someone wanted to eat out, it was either a down-to-earth restaurant or a high-end restaurant. There would not be a myriad of choices like in the future.

As such, the existence of a cafe would gain popularity among ordinary people because it seemed stylish and pretty petit-bourgeois to them.

After Jasper found the private room, Jasper pushed the door open to see John sitting and drinking alone.

‘What happened? You look like you just went through a breakup.”

John sighed and said, “Brother, you have to help me this time. If not, I’ll be done for.”

Life at the Top Chapter 106

“Tell me, I’m listening. Let me know what’s going on,” Jasper said while sitting down.

John rubbed his face and started to tell Jasper what had happened to him during this period.

Gradually, Jasper understood what was going on.

The trouble John had run into was indeed directly related to him.

Although Jasper had won a huge amount of money after the fight with Hugh in Royce Villa, Hugh never planned to let this matter go so easily.

However, after that incident, Jasper was either in the province or Cavern City, so Hugh could not find a chance to seek revenge on him.

As such, Hugh, who had lost 50 million dollars, then channeled all of his anger and desire to seek vengeance on John, who was closest with Jasper.

Even though John also belonged to the circle, at the end of the day, he was just a president of Commercial Bank’s district branch. He still depended on his salary for his living.

Normally, when the firms wanted to take loans, they would need to see if he was in a good mood. However, to be honest, those millionaires never paid much respect to John.

Plus, Hugh was the one attacking first, so it was even more improbable for someone to be willing to offend Hugh for John.

It was because of this Hugh played some dirty tricks and set a trap to get hold of the details of how John went against the rules to approve loans for companies. Then, he even disclosed this to the city branch.

Hugh’s people were among the leaders of the city branch and were tough. John pulled some strings but they still closed the door in his face.

If the investigation team came after him, then he would lose his job. As such, John only called Jasper because he had no choice.

“Is it true that you violated the rules and approved the loans? How much?” Jasper asked.

John’s eyes were red as he gritted his teeth and growled. “It’s not a lot, just more than three million. However, those inhuman b*stards with no conscience will still complain about life even if they have more than enough. They’re all thankless wenches!

“I did violate the rules in some parts. If I have to go strictly by the rules, then a lot of companies won’t fit the requirements for loans. The ones who fit the requirements might not even want a loan. How do they expect us to do our jobs like this?

“These are the unwritten rules in the industry. Everyone will turn a blind eye to this. It’ll be fine as long as no one causes any huge trouble.

“That b*stard Hugh deliberately asked someone to set a trap for me. That person wasn’t a stranger, so I wasn’t worried that he wouldn’t pay up and that’s why I approved the loan. In the end, who knew that person would take all the money and run?

“I can’t get the money back, and Hugh is using his connections to disclose this to the branch. So, that’s how I got into trouble.”

Jasper did not say anything as he was thinking.

John remained silent for a while, then he gritted his teeth and said, “Brother, it’s fine if you can’t take care of this. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just quit my job as the president.”

Jasper shook his head and said, “If they really implicate you, it’s not a matter of losing your job or not. You might even get sent to jail if this is not handled correctly.”

John’s face turned white. He was in the industry, so how would he not know the sensitivity of these banking matters? If he approved loans without following the rules and the person ran away, as a president, he would really be sent to prison.

“But don’t worry.” Jasper smiled and calmed John down.

“This is easy to take care of. However, my goal is not just to take care of this.

“A person like Hugh will always bear grudges at one side, and he’ll be a time bomb for you and me. Why don’t we use this opportunity to get rid of him?”

When John heard what Jasper said, he widened his eyes and controlled his excitement. He said, “Brother, are you sure?”

According to the memories of his past life, John would keep getting promoted, and in the end, he would be the second-in-command of the provincial branch.

On the other hand, Hugh’s Lantern Capital would bomb, and in the end, it would be finished.

At the end of the day, the reason Jasper knew this was still because he had changed some things after his rebirth.

However, overall, there was one thing that would remain unchanged.

It was that Lantern Capital would definitely be finished.

Lantern Capital’s investments were running at a loss. If Hugh wanted to fix the hole and also the 50 million he lost back then, he could only rob Peter to pay Paul.

He might have already used the clients’ funds.

Plus, there was another important point. Jasper remembered that in his previous life after Hugh’s business completely went down the drain, he was eventually sentenced.

The team from the Municipal Bureau of Economic Investigation had been watching Hugh a very long time ago. The moment the company went down, they immediately got hold of him. Back then, he was arrested for illegal fund-raising.

To Jasper, it was not too complicated to destroy Hugh.

“Can you get in contact with Hugh?” Jasper asked.

John did not know why Jasper asked this question. However, he said, “Yeah, but I had a falling out with him over the phone yesterday.”

Jasper said, “Call him and tell him you’re treating him to a meal.”

John stared blankly at him and said, “Um… Won’t you be walking right into the trap? He’s been looking for you all over the place.”

“I’m worried that he won’t find me. If he does, then I have everything planned. Make the call,” Jasper said.

John nodded and called Hugh. He also deliberately put it on loudspeaker.

Immediately, the call went through and Hugh’s gloomy, hoarse voice sounded from the phone.

“Jackson, why are you still calling me? Are you gonna beg for mercy?”

Jack took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his chest before saying, “I’m inviting you to a meal.”

Hugh was stumped for words before chortling. “A meal? I won’t let you get away with this even if you kneel in front of me! You should blame yourself for following the wrong person. I’ll consider letting you off if you get that Jasper kid to come over, ask him to kowtow to me, and apologize to me.”

Jasper gave Jack a look.

Jack said coldly, “He’s the one who wants to see you.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Then, Hugh chuckled and said, “That kid has really appeared?

“Alright, he’s pretty ballsy for having the guts to see me. Tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock, I’ll book a table at Grand Millennium and treat him to a meal.

“Remember to tell him that if he wants to beg for mercy, he needs to bring a check of 80 million dollars. If not, I’ll break his legs and let him crawl out the door.”

After he said that, he hung up the phone.

Jack said with worry, “Hugh has some connections with the mafia. Aren’t we a little impetuous by doing this?”

Jasper smiled and said, “Those tricks are better kept under the table.”

“So what should we do now?” John asked.

“Find two experienced stock traders and just follow my instructions tomorrow,” Jasper said calmly, “I know Lantern Capital has one main holding share. So, we’ll get it down for him tomorrow. His clients will feel the fire catching their eyebrows before he can even feel anxious.”

John said excitedly, “Brother, I’ll count on you this time.”

Jasper smiled and said, “You’re in this position because of me too, so I should help you to the end.”

While he said that, Jasper stood up. “Come, let’s go to a place.”

“Where?” John asked curiously.

“The Securities Commission in the city.”

Life at the Top Chapter 107

“Are you…” John looked blankly at Jasper as if he knew what he was thinking about.

“Hehe, do you think someone like Hugh would have a clean background?” Jasper smiled indifferently. Then, the two of them went to the Securities Commission.

As for why they went there, only they and the president of the Securities Commission would know!

The next day in John’s office.

Two young people who had just stepped into society were shaking in fear.

It was obviously their first time in the president’s office and doing personal matters for the president. Damn it, they were being favored by the president now…

“Do you remember now?”

John’s expression looked solemn.

“The account and target shares have been given to you two. When the trading commences in the afternoon, go in and immediately hammer the market. Hammer it as low as you can.”

The two young people nodded in haste. “Don’t worry, sir. This is easy, so we’ll definitely do well.”

“However, since we’re going to hammer the market, what about the capital?” one of the two young people voiced out their concern.

This was the stock market, and if they did not have at least hundreds of millions of capital, they would not even cause a ripple.

John gestured to them to look at the capital in his account in the back-end.

The two confused young people opened the back-end. Then, they widened their eyes as if they had just seen a ghost and their mouths turned into O shapes.

“Gosh, there’s so much money! Two billion?”

“I-I’ve never had this much money to play the game with before…”

The two young people were looking at John as if they were looking at a tall mountain.

Two billion dollars. No ordinary people would be able to see this much money in their lifetime.

“Anyway, the task handed to you two is not difficult. You’ll be fine if you do it properly. If you cause any trouble, then you can take off your clothes and get lost.”

John gave the two of them a warning.

“Got it.”

The two of them did not dare to say anything more. It had been so difficult for them to get into this industry after pulling some strings. They were not idiots, and if they were able to do this well, then they would be able to get the chance of being favored by the president and become his people. If they did not do well… then they might seriously have to leave.

After his announcement, John looked at the time. When he saw that it was about time, he left his office.

After he left, the two young people started murmuring immediately.

“Say, which God-tier client is this? Two billion? How f*cking scary.”

“We shouldn’t ask what we shouldn’t. We should be careful not to cause trouble for ourselves.”

The other was more cautious and sensible. After they said that, they shut their mouths and waited for the time to come.

Downstairs, John had already gotten into Jasper’s Bentley.

“It’s great to have money,” John said ruefully. He remembered his predicament when he remembered the two billion capital and sat in the Bentley.

“Both have their advantages and disadvantages; both have their troubles,” Jasper chuckled and said.

John nodded and said nervously, “Are you sure it’ll be fine?”

“Don’t worry. Does he really have the balls to kill us?” Jasper said indifferently.

John nodded heavily when he thought about this.

Grand Millennium was one of the assets under Hugh, and it was considered a pretty high-end hotel.

Jasper’s car stopped at the entrance, and the two of them got out.

After they got out of the elevator to go to the reserved private room, Jasper and John could feel the tension in the air.

There were people on both sides of the corridor.

All of them looked like thugs. They were chewing gum and shaking their feet as they looked at the two of them in a rowdy manner.

There were roughly over 20 people standing in the corridor at first glance.

John was starting to panic when he saw this. Then, he remembered the rumor about Hugh keeping a bunch of desperadoes as his subordinates, and his face turned white.

Life at the Top Chapter 108

However, Jasper was not scared at all. He walked straight to the private room without glancing sideways.

Behind Jasper, John’s face was pale. He kept swallowing his saliva and did not dare to look at the thugs on both sides.

When they got to the door of the private room, John, who wanted so badly to run away from this corridor, took the initiative to grab the doorknob.

With a smack, one of the men who looked like the leader of the thugs smacked John’s hand away.

“Mr. Lewis said you have to kneel and crawl into the room if you want to go in!”

The head of the thugs had a buzzcut and was showing off the sinister-looking tattoos all over his arms. He snickered, and his eyes were filled with sinister glints.

John was shaking from anger. However, he did not dare to say anything, so he turned his eyes to Jasper.

Jasper glanced at the head of the thugs and increased the volume of his voice to say to the person behind the door, “Hugh, is this how you treat your guests?”

The private room was dead silent.

“Alright, if you think these thugs can hold up the facade, then you can have fun on your own.”

After he said that, Jasper turned around to walk away.

The moment he turned around, the door of the private room opened.

The inside of the room was huge. There was a big round table that was filled with food. Hugh was sitting on the main seat that was facing the door in an imposing and forthright manner. He was holding a piece of roast chicken, and his face was greasy from chomping down on it.

On the other seats of the round table were a few of the people Jasper knew and had seen in Royce Villa before. They looked as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

Behind Hugh were a few tall and sturdy bodyguards.

He had the manner of the head of the mafia.

“Haha, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. My men were insensible. Guys, please come in.”

Hugh grinned and said. He pointed at the seat opposite him with his greasy finger. “There. I saved those seats for you guys.”

Jasper led John into the room and sat down directly.

Hugh stood up and walked to John so that he was behind him. He wiped his greasy hands on John’s suit and chortled. “Did you bring the money?”

“What money?” Jasper asked him back indifferently.

The smile on Hugh’s face disappeared gradually. Then, he slammed his hand down on the table.

He had exerted a lot of force in that slam. Not only did the utensils on the round table jump, but even the people on both sides of the round table were startled.

Hugh roared at Jasper, “Are you f*cking joking with me right now? I told you to bring 80 million! Where’s the money?”

Jasper stood up and looked straight at Hugh. He took out a checkbook from his pocket and wrote a sum of 80 million.

Hugh’s eyes were twinkling when he saw this.

He thought Jasper was scared of him and he really came here to beg for mercy.

Back then, he had lost 50 million, and during this period, he had secretly embezzled a large number of the clients’ funds to barely fill in the gap. Even so, a lot of clients were starting to feel suspicious.

However, Hugh managed to suppress all of them.

If he was able to get this 80 million today, then not only would he make the losses back, but he would even earn 30 million.

“Hahaha!”

Hugh patted Jasper’s shoulder and guffawed. He said, “A wise man submits to his circumstances. Young man, I admire you for having a sense of propriety.”

At this moment, Jasper had already written the check but did not sign it.

“Do you want this?”

Jasper glanced at the grease Hugh got on his coat and said indifferently, “Wash my clothes till they’re clean again.”

Hugh stared fixedly at the check in Jasper’s hand and sneered, “It’s just a piece of clothing. Sign the check, give it to me, and I’ll buy ten of them for you!”

“Mr. Lewis, money has always been nothing but numbers to me, but… do you think I’m here to give you money?”

After he said that, Jasper ripped the check in front of Hugh and the others.

With a rip, the check that was able to cash 80 million dollars from the bank turned into waste paper.

The smile on Hugh’s face froze.

Then, Jasper looked at Hugh and uttered a statement coldly.

“You dirtied my clothes, so you have to wash them for me!”

Life at the Top Chapter 109

Gulp.

That was the sound of John swallowing his saliva with difficulty.

At this moment, the air in the private room was extremely tense.

It felt as if everyone had been set firmly in place with glue. Nobody dared to do or say anything.

John was seriously scared.

He was scared that Hugh would be completely infuriated and do something irrational.

This place was filled with Hugh’s men, and if he really were to go insane, nobody would guarantee what would happen to Jasper and him.

“Heh!”

When everyone was holding their breath and did not dare to exhale, Hugh made this sound from his throat.

It sounded like a laugh, but since it was too short and cold, nobody felt any benevolence from it.

“Jasper, nobody dares to be impudent in front of me. Meanwhile, you have completely enraged me.”

While he said that, Hugh stared fixedly at Jasper with his eyes glinting in a hostile manner.

“I’ll let you guess if I have the guts to call a few of my men in here, pluck the nerves of your hands and legs and give them tens of thousands of dollars to leave the country. What will be waiting for you then is a lifetime of disability.”

A little while before Jasper and John arrived at the hotel.

The two young men in John’s office were waiting for the trading to commence.

They did not dare to hesitate. When it was time, their fingers immediately flew across the keyboard and they started doing what John had told them to do before he left.

At the next moment, Company A received a two billion cash injection.

Zoni was the blue chip stock in the eyes of a lot of stock investors.

A second before the trading commenced, its price was still flat and reasonable.

A lot of the stock investors who were following this got the news about the dealer hyping and there would be a huge increase very soon.

When they were considering whether to buy some, in the next second, the price of the stock plummeted.

When the stock investors were in a daze, the price plummeted horrifyingly once again after staying still for less than a second.

The stock investors who did not buy were feeling lucky that they had dodged the bullet. However, the stock investors who had bought in were crying to the heavens and selling the stocks they were holding at the lowest price as if they had gone insane.

However, the plummeting stock price would not give them the chance to sell.

After they had their lowest price pending, the current stock price would fall below the price they set.

This plummeting of stock prices without warning attracted the attention of a lot of people.

Including the vice president of Lantern Capital who had been staring fixedly at the situation all along.

He was Hugh’s trusted aide, so naturally, he would know that his boss and a few owners of a private enterprise had a controlling number of shares and were trading in Zoni.

Since it had great potential, Hugh had invested most of the funds from Lantern Capital into Zoni. He was waiting to make a huge amount of money when the time came.

However, Zoni was now plummeting as if it had fallen down a cliff. Sweat was forming on this vice president’s forehead.

In the blink of an eye, he received a lot of calls. All of them were asking whether Lantern Capital was the one that caused this plummet because of something they secretly did.

The vice president only wanted to curse.

If Zoni’s stock price plummeted, the one suffering the biggest loss would be Lantern Capital. He was not an idiot, so why would he let it plummet?

After a few calls, the price was still plummeting. On the other hand, the floating loss account of the company had reached a ghastly number.

This was beyond his range of control.

The vice president did not hesitate before calling Hugh.

At this moment, Hugh was considering whether to cripple Jasper.

The hurried ringtone eased the tension in the silent room.

Hugh frowned and answered the call while feeling pissed.

However, after hearing the urgent report from the other end, Hugh’s expression changed slowly.

The contrast of that was Jasper’s eyes that were getting calmer.

“How is that possible…”

Hugh muttered in disbelief. Then, it was as if he had come back to his senses. He grabbed Jasper’s collar and roared, “It’s you? Did you do that to Zoni?

Life at the Top Chapter 110

“Were you the one who caused Zoni to plummet ten minutes after the trading commenced?”

Hugh’s furious roars caused everyone’s expressions to change.

“Zoni? The one where Lantern Capital is the dealer and has the main holding shares?”

“I heard in order to make back the 50 million loss, Hugh put all of his money in it.”

“How could it have plummeted? Even though Zoni doesn’t have a huge market, it’s impossible to control the price without a few billion dollars.”

“My gosh, they’re seriously taking drastic measures to deal with a situation.”

The crowd who did not dare to speak because of Hugh were now like cats on a hot tin roof. All of their expressions started to change.

Suddenly, John was no longer panicking in the crowd.

He even took out a cigarette and lighted it before taking a drag happily.

Looking at the crowd around the table who were overwhelmed with shock, horror, or amazement, John suddenly wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh at all of them.

These people had no idea how horrifying Jasper could be.

On the other hand, Jasper lifted his hand to remove Hugh’s hands before saying indifferently, “You’re involved with Zoni? I’m sorry, I didn’t like that company so I smashed its market. Now, I might let it lose a few hundred million dollars.”

Hugh felt as if his heart had been ripped out after Jasper said that.

He looked at Jasper with rancor and gritted his teeth. He said, “My entire fortune and life are on Zoni. If you smash it, then you’ll be taking my life!”

“Too bad, then.” Jasper chuckled lightly.

He lifted his eyes to look at Hugh who was like a mad dog. He said slowly, “Or maybe you can kneel in front of me? If I’m in a good mood, I might save a few coins for you to spend for the remainder of your life.”

“Jasper!” Hugh had completely lost his mind. He roared, “I’m going to kill you!”

“Shut up!”

Jasper roared all of a sudden.

All this while, Jasper’s tone had been neither fast nor slow. This was the first time he used his voice to completely overpower Hugh.

“If I were you, I’d be wondering what the investors will do to you after such a huge loss. Will they pluck your nerves or will they skin you alive?”

Jasper’s words caused Hugh’s face to turn white.

He was clear that the money from Lantern Capital had all come from the investors, and none of those people should be provoked.

If word about what happened today got out, Hugh Lewis would be completely finished.

There was intense fear in Hugh’s eyes. His lips were trembling as he said, “Y-You’re a devil.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Jasper said slowly.

“Do you think you’ve won?” Hugh said suddenly.

“If not?” Jasper asked.

“Hahahaha!” Hugh lifted his face and guffawed. He pointed at the outside of the room and said, “Everyone out there was arranged by me. Yes, I’m done for and Lantern Capital will close down tomorrow, but so what? Before that, I want to kill you!”

“You can only blame yourself for being too savage. You burnt all of the bridges, so don’t blame me for being cruel!” Hugh said while laughing nastily.

Some people on the round table were shaking their heads while sighing.

“Even though Jasper’s skills are amazing, unfortunately, he’s still not Hugh’s rival.”

“The carpet pulling is great, but at the end of the day, a slow remedy does not address the current emergency.”

The people who were talking looked at Jasper, and their eyes were filled with pity.

“Everyone here is under Hugh, and the ones out there are desperadoes who will seriously do anything for just 10,000 dollars. Jasper is finished for forcing Hugh to a dead end.”

“He’s still inexperienced, not like us seniors. If not, he would not have come here. It’d be enough manipulating this from the dark. He wouldn’t have to face these risks if he did that, would he?”

When John heard that as he was smoking his cigarette, he wanted to laugh even more.

He wanted so badly to stand up and tell those opinionated idiots that they had walked into Jasper’s trap right from the beginning.

Hugh’s final counterattack was just vulgar claptrap to please the crowd.

However, he could not do that, so John was having such a hard time holding himself together.

Bang!

At this moment, the door of the room was kicked open and a team of uniformed officers walked over to Hugh solemnly.