Ch. 1911..1920
Life at the Top Chapter 1911
“First, I will issue a reward to Harbor City in my own name. If anyone can find Wendy, or provide clues to help us findWendy, I will personally offer 100 million Somer Dollars as a cash reward.
“Secondly, issue a diplomatic note to the Harbor City government in the name of JW Company. Ask them to use any and all means to help locate Wendy. The reward mentioned just now is equally valid for the Harbor City Government. This reward i s for all individuals and organizations.
“In addition to this, I will rush to Harbor City tomorrow morning. Help me convey this message: JW Company and I will dowhatever it takes to find Wendy!”
On the other end of the phone, Anna replied softly.
Then, they both hung up the phone. This was not the time to talk about other things. The most important thing rightnow was to find Wendy.
After he saw Jasper hanging up, Mr. McNeal immediately said, “Ms. Wendy, the president of JW Company, went missing in Harbor City?”
Although Mr. McNeal did not know what Jasper heard on the phone, he could easily infer the news from what Jasper replied.
Jasper nodded, but underneath his seemingly calm expression, there was a huge storm such that even at this moment, his fingers were still trembling slightly.
It was because of anger, but also because o f fear.
He could not allow anything to happen to Wendy.
“An hour ago, Wendy came out of the hotel with just the driver, but after that, the car was found parked on the side of the road. The driver suffered a few gunshot wound and he’s being treated now. However, Wendy disappeared.”
Upon hearing what Jasper said, Mr.
McNeal’s face was terrifyingly dark.
Although he had not met Wendy before, since the higher-ups chose Jasper as the key figure, he must have conductednumerous comprehensive investigations on Jasper, and Mr. McNeal naturally knewthe relationship between him and Wendy.
From how Mr. McNeal saw this, Wendycould replace Jasper to manage JWCompany when Jasper was away, so itseemed that she was of great significance to both JW Company and Jasper.
Yet, at this crucial point, someone hadkidnapped Wendy.
There was no doubt they had gone overthe line.
However, Mr. McNeal was more worriedthat Jasper would be affected by thisincident, which would seriously affecttheir future plans.
One had to know that tomorrow wasSunday, and the day after tomorrow wasMonday, at which point the trading wouldcommence.
Whether it was the United States or thedomestic financial market, the core of their strategy was Jasper.
If Jasper was affected by this incident, the scope of the impact would be immense.
This was what Swallow Capital was absolutely unwilling to see.
“Jasper, we must not mess up at this time.
Don’t worry. If Ms. Wendy is being kidnapped at this time, then the person who kidnapped her must be after you. In this case, her safety can be guaranteed for the time being. As long as nothing goes wrong for a while, then the government will definitely try its best to help”
As he said this, Mr. McNeal paused for a while and added, “It doesn’t matter if it’s the Harbor City government or Swallow Capital.”
This statement could be taken as a promise.
A high-level promise.
Which was typically absolutely impossible for high-ranking personnel like Mr. McNeal to make.
“Thank you, Mr. McNeal.”
Jasper knew what Mr. McNeal was worried about. He said in a calm tone, This time, no matter who is the culprit, I will make them regret it for the rest of their life.
“Since we can’t find her now, then the most important thing right now is to get some clues about her whereabouts. How big is Harbor City? With a 100 million reward, the kidnappers will immediately see the power of the people.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1912
Jasper was not worried that he would not find Wendy.
Just as he said, Harbor City was small, but 7.5 million people were packed into such a tiny place.
Hence, in Harbor City, so long as there was enough money and enough manpower, it would be impossible for himto not find any clues unless Wendy disappeared from this world.
With the resources and abilities that Jasper currently had, he could find those bold kidnappers in the shortest time aslong as there was even the slightest clue.
What he was worried about now was that Wendy might encounter some unexpected events.
Mr. McNeal’s analysis was veryreasonable, and Jasper figured that thesekidnappers must have kidnapped Wendybecause of him and would not do anythingto Wendy. After all, she still had to remainin their hands to act as a bargaining chip to threaten him.
However, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Harbor City was notoriously chaotic ten years back. There was a thief of the century who covered himself with bombs and swaggered over to abduct Half-the Harbor Langdon’s son. Then, he swaggered to Half-the-Harbor Langdon t o ask for ‘pocket money’. It was hard to say whether another equally mentally-ill person was at work here.
If that was the case, it would not help even if Jasper sliced that person into pieces afterward if something really happened to Wendy.
Mr. McNeal looked at Jasper seriously for a while and seemed to be assured that Jasper was not affected by the sudden blow. Therefore, Mr. McNeal was also slightly relieved.
“I will inform Swallow Capital of this matter as soon as possible. If necessary, w e can deploy the special power of Harbor City directly.”
Mr. McNeal said through gritted teeth.
Right now, Jasper’s importance was selfevident.
Neither Swallow Capital nor he wanted tosee any accidents surrounding Jasper.
Thus, if the situation was urgent, hewould persuade Swallow Capital todirectly use the armed forces.
“No.”
Unexpectedly, Jasper refused.
As Mr. McNeal looked at him withstunned eyes, Jasper said, “Our domesticsituation has attracted the attention ofmost countries around the world,especially the United States. The reasonwhy the United States government is notinvolving themselves and only used WallStreet capital to cause trouble is thatthey’re not yet able to bring things up tothe national level.
“And Harbor City is an extremely specialplace, Harbor City citizensgovern Harbor
City, which is a rule set by great men.Harbor City is not a city on the mainland.Once Swallow Capital uses its power inHarbor City, it will instantly arouse international public opinion and an uproar. Most importantly, this is tantamount to giving the United States government an excellent excuse.”
When Jasper said this, he continued through gritted teeth, “I will keep this matter under control and solve it through civilian means. I asked for help from the Harbor City government because she went missing in Harbor City. It’s normal if the Harbor City government uses the police or other nation’s mob ruled department to investigate, so no one can say anything about that. However, it will be different if Swallow Capital intervenes, so let me solve it myself.
“If I can’t protect my woman after leading JW to this point and still need help from Swallow Capital, I might as well just quit.”
After Jasper’s words, Mr. McNeal looked a t Jasper deeply. For a long time, he did not say anything. Instead, he patted Jasper on the shoulder heavily.
He had been in the official career for his whole life. Now, 99.99% of ordinary folks
from Somerland could only look up to him but never get to his status in their entire lifetime. Yet, he was educated by Jasper on this sort of thing.
This made Mr. McNeal a little bit emotional, but at the same time, he felt more grateful.
“Pay close attention to it and don’t take the initiative to intervene. However, going overboard will never be tolerated.”
This was the last thing Mr. McNeal said to Jasper before boarding the plane.
After sending away Mr. McNeal, Jasper inhaled sharply and made a call.
“Julian, go to Waterhoof City with your senior in the shortest time possible. We’ll set off to Harbor City immediately.”
This call was made to Julian, who was given a long vacation because of his wedding.
Yes, Julian got married some time ago.
However, at that time, Jasper had a lot on his plate and he could not attend in person, but even so, he prepared everything he should for Julian.
Meanwhile, aside from his elder sister, Julian also had a senior, which Jasper also gave time off to.
Now, Jasper had to interrupt Julian’s wedding leave.
Julian did not hesitate or waste time asking what happened on the other end of the phone. Instead, he immediately replied, “Okay, I will be there in two hours.”
After hanging up, Jasper looked at the dark night sky above the airport, his eyes cold and murderous.
With the rise of his wealth and status, Jasper had seldom been furious, and there were increasingly fewer things worthy of his emotion.
Yet, this time, these people dared to touch Wendy, which was equivalent to provoking Jasper. If these people were not given a painful blow and made to bleed, then this kind of thing might happen again in the future.
This was something Jasper would neveraccept.
Harbor City.
Although the night was getting darker, apiece of news caused a sensationthroughout Harbor City.
In the past two days, Jasper, the boss of JW, an influential mainland company inHarbor City, released a reward for all ofsociety to find a group of kidnappers.Those who found these kidnappers oreven provided valuable clues could get 100.million as a reward..
This caused an uproar among the people in Harbor City.
It was 100 million.
Moreover, with Jasper’s title of the richestman in the young generation in themainland and also the good news about JW Company that the news media hadblown up over the past few days, no onewould doubt that this was fake.
However, there was a problem here.
That was, so far, no one knew what thegroup of kidnappers looked like. Theyonly knew that it was a group ofkidnappers of unknown number andappearance who had kidnapped Wendy,the president of JW.
Thus, the driver who was still in thehospital was extremely important as hemight have seen the kidnappers.
Anna and Zachary came to the scene inperson.
Not only that, but the Boyles who received
the news also sent someone over in the
form of Zed.
“How’s the situation?”
Zed asked Anna immediately afterarriving.
Zed was in a bad mood. Originally, thecooperation with Wendy would make theNine Dragon Corporation under hismanagement take off quickly, but rightnow, something so serious had happened.At this time, Zed wanted to catch thatgroup of kidnappers and skin them alive.
Anna shook her head and said, “He’s still undergoing an operation. The doctor came out just now and said that they managed to save his life, but it’s hard to say whether they can keep him conscious.”
Zed gritted his teeth and said, “Now we have issued a reward and the TV and broadcast stations are also ready. However, they lack the faces of the kidnapper. It all depends on the driver now.”
At this moment, the lights in the operating room suddenly went out.
The operation was over.
Life at the Top Chapter 1913
When they learned that the operation was over, both Anna and Zed walked to the door and waited.
Not long after, the surgeon walked out of the operating room.
At this moment, although he had just finished a major operation that lasted a few hours, he did not dare to neglect the two even though he was exhausted.
Aside from the surgeon, the arrival of Anna and Zed shocked the hospital’s director and two deputy directors to come and accompany them personally. Even though he was the number one surgeon in treating a gunshot wound to the heart, he did not dare to put on airs at this moment.
“Dr. Molesley, how is the patient now? Will he regain consciousness?”
Anna directly asked the surgeon.
The surgeon took off his mask and immediately replied, “The operation is considered a success. The patient’s body is not weak, which saved us a lot of time in the rescue.
“He should be able to regainconsciousness immediately if mypredictions are not wrong, but the patient.is still under anesthesia now. He’ll takeabout 10 to 20 minutes to wake up and besent out. If you have any questions at thattime, you can directly ask him.”
Anna and Zed looked at each other andbreathed sighs of relief at the same time.
This was the best news they had heard inhours.
“Thank you for your hard work, Dr.Molesley. There will be a generous gift foryou and your team later. Please don’trefuse,” Zed said.
Harbor City was different from themainland after all. Over here, capitalmoved more obviously and openly.
Plus, the truly good hospitals here wereprivate hospitals. Since they were privatehospitals, both the hospital and thedoctors were here for the money.
Therefore, it was not illegal to receivemoney as a gift from truly wealthypatients in Harbor City. On the contrary, everyone was accustomed to it.
Dr. Molesley had a bright smile on his face. Compared to this gift, which was certainly not a small amount, he valued being noticed by big families such as the Laws and the Boyles more. Everything else aside, if he was lucky enough to become the private doctors of these wealthy families, he would be able to live a worry-free life.
When he saw the director and the deputy director of the hospital not far away, Dr. Molesley dismissed himself tactfully and informed them that he would bring the patient out as soon as he was awake.
“Miss Law, Mr. Walters, the chief of the Harbor City Police Department and the deputy bureau chief of the Security Bureau are here.”
Wendy was kidnapped in Harbor City, so this news shocked not just wealthy families like the Laws, the Harbor City government also responded immediately. With what Jasper said on the mainland, he directly summoned the chief of the police department and the second-in-charge of
the Security Bureau.
As professionals, they understood better than anyone how important the only driver who might have seen the faces of the kidnappers was at this time.
Not to mention, Anna and Zed were keeping an eye out here. So, no matter what they had to come here in person.
After the director of the hospital finished speaking, Anna and Zed saw a group of people walking over.
The two people walking in the middle were two faces that they were very familiar with.
Due to historical reasons, the police department was the so-called boss in Harbor City, although, on the surface, there were two higher-level departments, the Security Bureau and the Harbor City Government above them.
However, the police in Harbor City held more power than the police in the mainland, and this was thanks to the head of the police department. If he did not dabble in both the good and the bad side of
the law, he would not have been able to get to this position.
It was just that Chief Barrow was feeling
troubled at this time.
He just took over the position from the previous chief, and he encountered this big case before even having the chance to enjoy a few days of the good life.
As the new chief of the police department, he had a very close relationship with the mainland… After all, he would not be able t o hold this position if he had a bad relationship with the mainland. One had t o know that since the handover, the chief of the Harbor City Police Department was directly appointed by Swallow Capital.
In this regard, the particularity of this position was much more special and important than other authorities in the Harbor City government.
It was precisely because of this that Chief Barrow learned from various sources that the kidnapping incident had attracted the attention of the highest level of Swallow Capital. If the case was not handled well, h e did not know if he could retire safely, let alone enter the Security Bureau after his
three-year term in office was up.
“Miss Law, Mr. Walters.”
After Chief Barrow arrived, he did not bother exchanging pleasantries. He asked directly, “How is the patient?”
Zed replied, “He just finished the operation. The doctor said he will take more than ten minutes to wake up.”
“That’s good.”
Chief Barrow breathed a sigh of relief and continued, “It’s good as long as he can wake up.”
To put it bluntly, the reason why this group of bigwigs was guarding the operating room was not that the driver’s life was important, but instead, the information he might provide was.
To put it more practically, as long as the driver could wake up for a few minutes and tell them how the kidnappers looked, no one would care even if he was seriously injured and died immediately after.
Sigh, the world was like this. Ordinary people in Harbor City were so humble and lowly in a society where capitalism was rampant.
“Chief Barrow, you know the current
situation. The social impact of Ms. Wendy’s kidnapping is huge. It will not only directly affect the impression of other merchants from other countries toward Harbor City, but it may even affect the relationship between the local business community in Harbor City and the mainland.”
Anna said solemnly, “That’s why I ask the police to solve this case in the shortest possible time.”
Chief Barrow’s face twitched when he heard the words. If the second generation of other wealthy families spoke like this, with his status, he could just turn them a deaf ear, but he could not do the same with Anna.
“Miss Law, you can rest assured that the police will not ignore such a horrendous case.
“This time, the police dispatched the senior deputy director, director of operations, and Senior Superintendent Frankie Lake to take charge of this case. Harbor City’s best forensic experts have also gone to the scene to investigate and collect evidence. In addition to this, I currently have the best and most experienced criminal sketcher with me.
“All in all, we have dispatched the most experienced personnel and experts in kidnapping cases in Harbor City, hence, we’ll definitely solve this kidnapping case as soon as possible.”
Anna nodded at Chief Barrow’s words. Just as she was about to speak, the door of the operating room was pushed open.
The driver was awake!
Life at the Top Chapter 1914
This driver was just an ordinary driver brought over by Wendy from the mainland to work for JW Company.
Originally, Wendy’s full-time driver was Julian’s senior, Fallon, but Julian got married and Fallon was on leave with him. Hence, Wendy transferred this driver over from the company.
He never expected to not be able to enjoy the prosperity of Harbor City while on a business trip with the boss, on the contrary, he almost died after being shot.
For ordinary people in the urban areas of the mainland, they could never imagine what getting shot was like, but he had experienced it first-hand.
Still, this was nothing, but after being shot, he fell unconscious. When he opened his eyes again, he was looking at all of Harbor City’s top big shots.
There were also many people in police uniforms crowded outside.
He was just an ordinary driver, so he could not tell the rank and status of the police officers from their uniforms.However, he at least knew that in the mainland, the chief would be in white uniforms.
“You’re awake.”
What brought the driver back to his senses was an extremely pleasant female voice.
He thought that his boss Wendy was already the most beautiful and temperamental woman in the world, butthe woman in front of him was not inferior to his boss in terms of appearance or temperament.
At this moment, the driver was still a littleconfused.
Wasn’t he injured?
Why was there such a beautiful woman as well as all these big shots?
‘Did I transmigrate into another person’s body?
‘Did the plot of a novel happen to me?’
Without giving the driver time to process things, Anna said, “Before Wendy was kidnapped, you were the only one on the scene. Now please try to remember how many kidnappers there were and what they looked like…
“I know this is not easy for you because you have just recovered from a serious injury, but please help us. The more information you provide, the faster we will find Wendy. In other words, Wendy’s safety is in your hands now.”
Anna’s words made the driver suddenly come back to his senses.
He opened his dry lips and said weakly but firmly, “I-I remember…”
This short sentence excited Anna.
At this moment, under the command of Chief Barrow, several proficient criminal sketchers and the most experienced and elite professionals who handled kidnapping cases immediately swarmed over.
Anna knew that the next step was to leave these things to the professionals. Now, she just needed to wait for the results.
Sure enough, after more than ten minutes of work, the extremely weak driver slowly fell asleep. After that, Anna had three sketches of different people in her hands.
“Just three?” Anna asked, looking at the three sketches in her hand.
“There are more.”
As the person in charge of this case, Frankie came over and replied, According to the driver’s description, there were at least five of them, but the situation was very chaotic at the time and there were several people who remained i n the car. All he could remember was these three who got out.
“The first sketch in your hand is the head kidnapper, Miss Law. The driver has the deepest impression of him because he was responsible for negotiating with the kidnapped Ms. Wendy Schuler.
“According to the driver’s description, we now have two leads. First, this gang of kidnappers was hired to do this, and they were pretty courteous to Ms. Schuler. In
addition to shooting and deterring the driver, they didn’t commit any excessive o r violent actions against Ms. Schuler,
“Secondly, the head of the kidnappers goes by the nickname of Phoenix and calls himself Mr. Phoenix.
“According to the driver’s description, we suspect that Phoenix may be from one of the gangs. At present, we have called colleagues from the Anti-Triad Department to come over. They know more about the gangs.”
After listening to Frankie’s description, Anna sneered and said, “Mr. Phoenix? As long as he is still in Harbor City, I will find him out and skin him even if he really turns into a phoenix.
“Copy the sketches and send them to all the printing houses in Harbor City immediately. Ask them to work overtime t o print 500 thousand copies of the sketch for me. I want everyone in Harbor City to get a copy of their sketches before dawn. I want to see where they can possibly escape to.”
The power of money was undoubtedly revealed at this moment.
Especially in places like Harbor City.
With money, you were God.
Money could even do things that God could not.
After all, not everyone believed in God. There were even some people who worshiped Satan, but no one would refuse the colorful bills, especially the 100 million Somer Dollar bounty!
Hundreds of printing houses in Harbor City, large and small, began to rush to work overnight. In some smaller printing houses, the owner and his family even worked together to print as many of the sketches as possible.
This was because the Laws said they wanted as many sketches as they could print before dawn, and they would pay 50 Somer Dollars per copy!
This was a huge profit that had never happened in decades.
Then, these printed sketches would be taken away immediately in the special cars that were waiting at the entrance of the printing factory after they were fully loaded.
These portraits were sent to Harbor City’s Nine Dragon Area, Neu Region, Sharp Promenade, and so on…
It went all over Harbor City.
Driven by the bigwigs headed by the Laws, all the companies affiliated with the families distributed the sketches to their employees and asked them to distribute it once again to their families and friends.
Then, they also hired someone to distribute them on the street for free.
At this time, everyone in Harbor City already knew about the 100 million Somer Dollar bounty. Now that they had these sketches in hand, the power was further increased.
Moreover, Harbor City’s large and small TV stations as well as broadcasting channels began to broadcast these sketches and news of the reward. This was to completely cover Harbor City as
much as possible so that everyone in
Harbor City would know this news.
With that, a marvel happened in Harbor City after being driven by the power of money.
The streets and alleys were full of people holding portraits. Office workers who passed by, middle-aged women who went out to buy food, and even the students on their way to school all held a few sketches in their hands.
Everyone was looking around and were observing each other carefully. Whenever they met a stranger, they would compare them to the sketches carefully.
Usually, when they saw people who were holding the same sketches as themselves, they would smile awkwardly at each other and head to the next intersection to continue wandering around…
After all, that was a bounty of 100 million.
No one would turn down money.
The entire Harbor City went crazy after being driven by this 100 million.
Life at the Top Chapter 1915
At this moment, South Island in Harbor City.
Since it was an island that was far away from Harbor City, it had always been a relatively remote place that wasconsidered the countryside. After tying Wendy up, Mr. Phoenix and his gang drove directly to the pier andtook her to South Island in a speedboat. In their opinion, staying in the densely populated Harbor City was like diggingtheir own graves. Only the remote South Island was a suitable place for them to hide.
In an ordinary residential building in the fishing village.
A young man dropped his cigarette butt and glanced inside through the window. He saw Wendy sitting on the sofa in theliving roo with her eyes closed as she rested. There was takeaway food and coffee on the coffee table in front of her.She did not look like she was being kidnapped, instead, she looked as if she was on vacation.
The young man had never seen such beauty before as he looked at Wendy’s perfectly slim figure and angelic face.
With flery eyes, he walked to Phoenix atthe entrance of the corridor.
“Mr. Phoenix, this woman is having the time of her life and she is even served delicious food and drinks. She’s ourhostage anyway, so why don’t we….” Before the young man could finishspeaking, Phoenix slapped him and senthim directly to the ground.
“You fool, don’t have these kind ofthoughts, understand?”
Phoenix’s expression was cold. “Icontacted the boss before and all he askedus to do was to wait with this hostage fora few days. After that, we’ll wait for hisupdate.
“How many f*cking lives doyou have,you fool? How dare you touch that kind ofwoman?”
Phoenix actually regretted it a bit now.
He was blinded by the money, so he agreed to do this for the sake of a mere 10 million and a green card to the United States.
After kidnapping Wendy, Phoenix already knew through some sources just how much trouble he had caused.
She was the president of JW Company.
And a bounty of 100 million!
Hiss!
Phoenix had an urge to surrender himself and receive the 100 million.
He was not using his brain when he did
this.
Now, the good and bad sides of Harbor City were turning the earth over to find him. This scared him even more.
While under this kind of panic, he started t o understand the situation a little better.
That was, even if they kidnapped Wendy, h e would wait upon her and serve her delicious food. He would not even do anything to her, so when he was caught, those aloof bigwigs would not doanything too bad to him.
After all, he was just a hired thugs. People like him were nothing more than maggots in the eyes of those bigwigs.
Phoenix could feel this from the look in Wendy’s eyes. He might even be worse than a maggot.
“But why?”
The young man who was slapped felt a little aggrieved. He said, “The hostage has food and drink in the room, and we can only keep an eye on her out here while being blown by the sea breeze. I’ve never felt so vexed before.”
Phoenix, who was already upset, became even more agitated when he heard the words. He took a few banknotes from his pocket and threw them on the young man. He snapped, “Damn it, you’re a fool indeed. You good-for-nothing piece of trash, buy some supper. Don’t buy alcohol. You guys always cause me so much trouble when you drink too much, d o you hear me?”
“I got it, Mr. Phoenix.”
The young man stopped complaining when he got the money. He smiled and stuffed the money into his pocket before pulling another man with him.
After the two went downstairs, they found a small shop.
“Boss, give us some kebabs and some
snacks for supper. Hurry up.”
The young man slammed the money on the table with a grin and shouted.
Life at the Top Chapter 1916
“Okay, right away.”
The boss took the money. When he was about to leave, he glanced at the young man’s face by the light and was taken aback.
The young man frowned and cursed, ” What the hell are you looking at? Do you believe that I’ll smash your f*cking head i n?”
The boss was shocked, and he hurriedly said with a smiling face, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll go to prepare the kebabs right away.”
After speaking, the boss left.
Soon, the boss came back with what the young man wanted.
“Guys, the kebab and snacks you wanted.”
The boss said cautiously. As he was saying that, he kept looking at the young man as i f he was confirming something.
“Are you f*cking sick in the head? Whatare you doing looking at me like this?”
After saying that, the young man took thethings impatiently, turned around withhis friend, and left.
As soon as they walked away, thetelevision in the shop began to broadcastthe news.
“Dear citizens, the sketches of thesuspects in the kidnapping case arecurrently available for free in Harbor City,and this channel will also broadcast thesketches in a loop. If you see the suspects,please call the police immediately. Thefollowing are the sketches of the suspectsannounced by the police…”
The boss looked at the sketches of thesuspect on the television and the printedsketches he had just been passed in hishand. He became more and more excited as a feeling of disbelief washed over him. He tremblingly took out the phone andcalled the police…
After Mr. Phoenix got a kebab, he got upand walked to the room.
The door opened and Wendy immediately.opened her eyes vigilantly to look at Mr.Phoenix as the latter walked into theroom.
“Don’t be so cautious, sweet cheeks. If Iwanted to do something to you, I wouldhave done it a long time ago, right?”
Even though he was a kidnapper andWendy was just a hostage, Mr. Phoenixstill could not help but feel the inferioritythatcarved into his bones when hewas facing Wendy.
They were both humans but why wasthere such a big difference between them?
Mr. Phoenix felt like trash in front of
Wendy.
Putting down the kebab, Mr. Phoenixsighed and said, “Look, I’m notkidnapping you for my own sake. I washired by someone to do this, and I have nogrievances with you so you don’t need tosee me as your enemy. You should eatsupper.
Wendy did not even look at the kebab. Shesaid flatly, “Who asked you to do this?”
Mr. Phoenix chuckled and said, “I can’t tell you, and what’s the use even if I did? How do you say that? You’re the fish….”
“I am fish and you are the sword,” Wendy said lightly.
Mr. Phoenix looked embarrassed, but he still shrugged and said, “Yes, I am uncultured but so what? Aren’t you sitting here obediently?”
Wendy said nothing more.
She knew it was definitely not a smart choice to provoke Mr. Phoenix at this time. Not only could she not provoke him, but she had to keep him calm as well.
“You and I have no grievances indeed. Even if you kidnapped me this time, as you said, you were only being instigated b y others. So, no matter what happens, if you are kind to me, I won’t do anything too bad to you.”
Wendy’s words made Mr. Phoenix breathe a sigh of relief.
The overwhelming search outside put him under immense pressure and Wendy’s assurance at this time also made him feel relieved.
“Sweet cheeks, you probably have to stay here for a few more days. Rest well.”
Mr. Phoenix got up and went out after speaking.
Wendy closed her eyes silently and said
nothing.
At this moment, an airplane had landed steadily at Harbor City International Airport.
Life at the Top Chapter 1917
This time, it was Zachary who picked Jasper up after he rushed to Harbor City overnight.
“Jasper, I’ve let you down.”
As soon as they met, Zachary felt embarrassed.
Harbor City was equivalent to the Laws territory, and on this territory, something had happened to Jasper’s people, soZachary could not shake the feeling that he had let down Jasper.
Jasper waved his hand and said to Zachary, “Uncle Law, you are too courteous. This matter has nothing to dowith you. I didn’t expect anyone to do anything to Wendy in Harbor City, let alone you guys.”
Zachary smiled bitterly, “It’s very unexpected indeed. Perhaps they knew we wouldn’t expect this, and that’s how theysurprised us.”
The two walked towards the exit of theairport and chatted the whole way. How is the situation now?” Jasper asked.
“The driver has woken up and provided three sketches of the criminals. Now, the sketches of the criminals have been released to the entirety of Harbor City through various channels. TV stations and broadcasting stations are reporting relevant news continuously. The police also dispatched the most capable force to form a team to conduct investigations across Harbor City.
“At present, the biggest suspects are the triads. The appearance and outfits described by the driver also conform to the image and behavior of the members of the mass organization.
“Harbor City has returned to the sovereignty of the mainland for many years while the majority of triadss have
basically been cleared, while the remaining large ones have also begun to start doing good. However, at the end of the day the power of Harbor City’s triadss was too large and complex back then, so it is not possible to pinpoint exactly which organization did this for the time being.
“This is still under investigation.”
By the time Zachary finished speaking, the two were already in the car. At the same time, the expressionless Julian and Fallon were also seated in the car.
Things were especially tense for Fallon, as Wendy’s personal bodyguard for many years, her relationship with Wendy was n o worse than that between Jasper and Julian. The two of them blamed themselves now that Wendy had gotten into trouble.
They felt that if they had not asked forleave and failed to protect Wendy, thiskidnapping would never have happened.
After listening to Zachary’s words, Jasper
was expressionless.
In his past and present life, Jasper hadhardly dealt with the power of theorganizations in Harbor City.
He did not have the qualification to dothat in his previous life, and theorganizations did not have a reason tointeract with him in this life.
After all, they were all in shady businessesand Jasper was born in Somerlandmainland, so he was naturally highlysensitive and vigilant toward people withshady backgrounds. Thus, he wasunwilling to have any dealings with thesetriads.
However, even if you might not see it, but
you ought to have at least heard about it.
Harbor City’s triads background could betraced back to when Somerland was still arepublic. The founder of one of the threemajor triads, Righteous Guild, was themajor general of Somerland during thosetimes, and he passed that title down to thefamily, the Hills.
The Fourteen Club had a bigger backing,and the founder was the lieutenantgeneral of Somerland back in the days.
As for MSM, it was an organizationformed by the local forces of Harbor Cityunder the pressure of two triadss.
In the mid-1980s and 1990s, when thesethree pillars stood together, they were noless famous than the Italian mafia,Sunrise Land’s Mountain Group, and other world-class criminal organizations
at their peak.
It was just that after the handover, under the heavy hand of the politics, the ones who managed to flee, fled, while the ones who could not were shot dead. Now, the ones who remained were considered smart as they had done the right thing early.
Even so, the leaders and backbone of various so-called companies today were still desperadoes who escaped the bloody battlefield back then.
From Jasper’s perspective, as a person who was reincarnated, he knew it would take at least 10 years before the strength o f the Harbor City triads was truly ablated..
And now, these desperadoes would still do
anything they wanted. If this happened half a year ago, Jasper
would find it very tricky.
Triads had been rooted and developing in Harbor City for decades. With intricate forces and deep backgrounds, a butterfly effect would happen if some slight
changes happened. Yet, Jasper could not indulge these damned rascals now. “I want to meet the current heads of
Righteous Guild, the Fourteen Club, and
MSM within the hour.”
Jasper’s request surprised Zachary
slightly.
“The three heads have different tempers, and one is more arrogant than the other, especially the leader of the Fourteen Club. He’s the oldest and the most experienced, I am afraid that it will not be so easy to talk to him.”
Worried that Jasper would lose his sense and reason because this matter involved Wendy, Zachary persuaded him to act impulsively.
“It’s not easy to talk to them?”
Jasper sneered and said, “I am more difficult to talk to than them.
“Uncle Law, times have changed. It’s no longer the days when these little old hooligans could run into the streets with machetes. If these men were the stubborn and pedantic, they would have been executed in the mainland during the Handover. The timid ones would have escaped too.
“The remaining ones who could transform and succeed in time are not so brave, but they are clever. They understand what the current era is all about.
“When Uncle Law sends them over, help me pass on a message. If I can spend 100 million to turn Harbor City upside down, then I can spend more money to wipe out their companies and organizations that have been passed down for decades. I didn’t bat an eyelid when I was chased by the agents from Sunrise Land to the United States. They’re just gangsters and they want to throw a tantrum at me? Do. they think they can bully Jasper Laine?
“This time, it’s not me begging them to d o anything. It’s my people who had an accident in Harbor City and it’s obviously related to the triads. So, all of them, young or old, need to come up and give m e an explanation. If they can’t, then I will destroy the lair of these hooligans. Will J Wbow down to these hooligans after
surviving for so long?”
Zachary looked at Jasper in surprise. After a long time, he smiled bitterly and said, ” You punk.”
Indeed, Jasper had always been gentle and cultivated in front of Zachary. Plus, he would typically use his brains more than other methods.
Although the methods were also thought u p by the brain, Jasper’s strategy had always been subduing the enemy without fighting. It was also closer to the majestic and grandiose plot of a nobleman as he often disdained using power to pressure others.
Zachary always thought this might have something to do with Jasper’s background.
However, this time, Jasper’s
overbearingness was vividly displayed.
Now, Zachary finally realized his understanding of Jasper was not as profound as the old master’s. It might even be possible that he knew less than Anna.
Thinking of what his daughter Anna said t o him before, Zachary said, “The old master expects you to do this, and even Anna was right about this. Jasper, you really changed how I see you.”
“Where is Anna?”
Upon hearing Anna’s name, Jasper’s
mood finally changed a little. “She’s already on the way to contact the heads of the three major triads for you
Life at the Top Chapter 1918
As Zachary had said, the Laws had indeed helped Jasper contact the heads of the three major triads in advance to set up a meeting.
The Laws were also well-prepared. The meeting place was arranged to be in the Laws’ villa on the Hilltop.
This was carefully selected.
This was not the Laws’ home; it was impossible for them to arrange the meeting to take place there. That waswhere Old Master Law rested, so, to put it bluntly, these groups of gangsters had no right to enter that place.
However, with Jasper’s weight and status, the arrangement of this meeting place had to be unusual, otherwise, it would not be able to suppress the three triads and it would not reflect the Laws’ attention to this matter.
The Hilltop, from the time of InspectorRocky in the 1960s and 1970s, had been awell-known top-notch wealthy district inHarbor City. In addition to the Laws, the Boyles’ and
even Half-the-Harbor Langdon’s original home in Harbor City were also here. Even if the Laws’ house was not here,
they also had a large-scale property in the villa area on the top of the mountain.
This place could not only represent the Laws but it could also hold down the three triads. This was the least they could do for Jasper.
When the car that Jasper and Zachary were in arrived at the location, they found that the three triads had already arrived one step ahead of schedule.
When Jasper got out of the car, the first person he saw was Anna at the door.
“Thank you,” Jasper whispered to Anna.
Anna smiled softly and said, “I am also somehow related to this matter, so I have t o do more. They have already arrived. You should go in now.”
Jasper nodded and joined Zachary as they walked into the house.
There were seven or eight men in thehouse. Three of them were sitting and theothers were all standing.
Whether they were standing or sitting,those who could come here, regardless ofwhether they were doing shady business or legal business, would have a certainstatus, so their manners would not be toobad.
When Jasper and Zachary came in,
everyone stood up.
“Hello, Mr. Law, Mr. Laine.”
A man with a handsome face and solidfeatures smiled and greeted them. Even ifhe was in his forties, he was still veryhandsome and stylish.
Jasper knew this person even without
introduction.
Jimmy Hill, the third generation ofRighteous Guild and the Hills. Hisgrandfather was the major general whenSomerland was still a republic.
The character Sky from the Red StarOrganization in the Young and Wild Series was based off of him.
Speaking of which, Righteous Guild andthe Hills were definitely the mostsuccessful triads that had transformed inHarbor City. This organization was stillactive in the upper class of Harbor Cityeven up until Jasper was reincarnated inhis previous life. For the people who weredoing shady businesses, they were anabsolute model for success.
“This baldy with a beer belly and fat facewearing crystal beads on his wrist iscalled Chuck Pearson. He is the speaker ofthe Resolute Clan in the Fourteen Club.After The Fourteen Club turned to thegood side, he founded the CrownCompany, where he is the currentchairman. It mainly engages inentertainment, real estate, jewelry, andtransportation business.
“The thin old smiling man with gray hair is the senior figure of MSM, CadmusMorello, nicknamed Number Six.”
With Anna’s introduction, Jasper had apreliminary understanding of the heads oof these three triads.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Jasper walked straight to the main seat and sat down.
This action made the corners of the eyes o of the three heads twitch.
Don’t look down on them because they were gangsters. It was precisely because they were gangsters that they valued seniority and etiquette very seriously.
After all, this was the Laws’ territory and Zachary Law had not moved yet, but Jasper took the lead and sat down on the main seat.
Regardless of what the Laws thought, to them, this had subverted their original impression of Jasper, a wealthy businessman from the mainland.
None of them had been in contact with each other before, and they only knew that Jasper was a wealthy businessman who had risen very fast in the mainland in recent years. Plus, he had a lot of money and was a hard-core ally of the Laws.
What happened to Jasper in the mainland had little to do with them, but the Laws were very much connected to them.
Back then, the thief of the century dared to abduct the son of Half-the-HarborLangdon, but why didn’t he dare to touchthe Laws, who had become famous forlonger and have a deeper heritage?
It was because Old Master Law used tosmuggle ammunition with explosive kitstied to his body when they were stillbabies.
If they wanted to compare who wasshadier, more savage, and more willing torisk their lives, these so-called triads inHarbor City were like street gangsters andinternational mercenaries in comparisonwith Old Master Law.
Thus, the Laws had a very special status In both Harbor City’s good side and badside. No one dared to provoke them, and no one dared to offend them.
Now, Jasper’s behavior was completelydifferent from the gentle image they hadpreviously formed.
He was even more overbearing thangangsters like them.
“Mr. Hill, Mr. Pearson, Mr. Morello.”
Jasper spoke.
Once he spoke, everyone in the roomquieted down and looked at him silently.
“I know everyone’s background very well
and everyone knows my background too.
“Originally, everyone was eating out oftheir respective bowls, and everyone wasminding their own business. I think there is a high probability that your businesswould never have overlapped with mine.
“But why are you sitting here today? Idon’t think I need to go on with thatnonsense again.
“My person got into trouble in HarborCity, and I am 80 to 90% sure that it hassomething to do with triads like you. Assuch, I am going to make my attitudeclear.
“I don’t care which of the three majortriads here has something to do with thismatter. You three are the heads of yourrespective triads. I want to ask the three of you to help me and mobilize your men tofind these people even if you have to turnHarbor City upside down to get her backsafely.”
After speaking, Jasper took out acheckbook and wrote three checkswithout any concern for the suddenchanges on the faces of the three heads.
“Each of you will get a 50 millionpromissory note that can be exchanged atany bank in any country in the world atany time. It’s irrevocable and can’t bereported if lost. This piece of paper is 50million in cash.”
Three checks were thrown in front of thethree heads while Jasper’s flat but coldvoice followed, “Similarly, I won’t allowyou to be sloppy with what I want you to dO.
“When it’s done, the 100 million SomerDollar bounty will go to its rightful owner.Right now, this money is consideredmoney for you guys to buy tea. But if youcan’t do it well and something badhappens to my person, I will uproot thethree major triads!”
As soon as this remark came out, the faceof the three heads of the triads, who wereoriginally shocked by Jasper’s generosity,changed drastically. Among them, the face of Chuck Pearson, the most thug-like head of the Fourteen Club, immediately darkened and he snorted coldly.
Life at the Top Chapter 1919
“What do you think the three major mass organizations are? Beggars on the roadside?”
Chuck pointed directly at Jasper’s nose and cursed unceremoniously, “I came here today because I respect Mr. Law, not you, you mainlander! You’re still far from being qualified to put on airs in front of m e.”
After Chuck said that, the burly men standing behind him glared at Jasper with a threatening gaze. They looked like they would attack Jasper if there were any disagreements.
At this time, Jimmy and Number Six looked at each other. Both of them fell silent.
Was 50 million a lot?
Very.
Even if Jasper was doing investments, especially during this period of financial hedging, he was fighting Wall Street capital from the United States which would require tens of billions or hundreds of billions of Harbor Dollars funds.
However, that money he was using was
the blood drawn by the entire domestic
financial community. It was only 2001. Even in Harbor City, 50 million Harbor Dollars in cash was
already what 99.99% of people could
never have in their lifetime.
Moreover, their organizations needed this money even more desperately.
On the surface, these triad bosses looked prestigious and regarded themselves above others, but in reality, they were pretty poor.
After all, they had to feed so many people under them, and every one of their men needed to be paid.
The triad’s industries were small, and no. one dared to dabble in the shady channels where the money came quickly, so they could only become good and do some legal business.
However, apart from Jimmy’s Righteous Guild’s success in the entertainment industry, the others such as the Fourteen Club and MSM were not having a good time.
It was not that they could not makemoney, but that there were mouths oftens of thousands of men under each ofthem to feed, and even the mostprofitable companies could not supportthe high expenses.
So, when Jasper took out 50 million
Harbor Dollars, they were all tempted.
However, Jasper sounded very rude. Forthe three of them, it was not a bigproblem to accept the money, but whatabout their prestige when this spread out?What would their men think of them?
Hence, even if Chuck was hooting at thistime, it was just a facade. This could beseen from him constantly glancing at thecheck.
Jasper saw all this.
He knew very well that by giving Chuck away out now, Chuck would be able to stopthis kerfuffle, and then everyone wouldhappily collect the money and work forhim.
However, Jasper really did not have thetime to waste with this group of people.
The most important thing was that Jasperwanted to do this in one go.
He wanted to leave an indelibleimpression in the hearts of this group of
people.
They were not to test his limit. Whoeverdid so would die and there was no secondpossibility.
“Mr. Pearson, you look very emotional.Does this kidnapping case havesomething to do with you?”
Jasper’s faint words made Chuck freeze.
He just wanted to take the 50 million.Somer Dollars in a more dignified wayand go to work. He never even consideredtaking Jasper as his enemy before, letalone kidnapping Wendy.
As Jasper said before, the triads memberswho were mostly thugs and hotheads hadlong since been executed, while othersfled. The rest of them who were still in thebusiness were all timid, scared of death,but clever.
How could he not know that in this era, the rich were the real bosses?
Life at the Top Chapter 1920
A thug who was always fighting in gangs seemed to be so mighty, but he was just pretending in front of ordinary people. However, when he really faced a wealthy businessman with high status, he truly did not have the confidence to argue with them.
In addition to this, Jasper was a wealthy businessman from the mainland, and not only the Laws were behind him, the mainland was too.
How would he dare to kidnap Wendy?
“Don’t slander me maliciously. This
matter has nothing to do with me!”
The contrast between Chuck’s current
panic-stricken explanation with his previous simulated indignant outrage was so large that it was a bit unbearable.
“If it wasn’t you, why are you making so
much noise?”
Jasper’s eyes turned gloomy, “Is the Fourteen Club too comfortable doing legal business? How many skills do you violent gangsters have to play with capital and dabble in business?
“Do you believe that I’ll bankrupt your company and turn you into a real beggar i n the street for yelling at me here?
“Or do you think you have a lot of men under you and I won’t have the balls to do anything to you?
“Believe it or not, if I wanted to see the chief of the police department, I could just give him a call. When I do so, it’s not me who’ll go to see him, it’s him who has to jump out of his bed and run here to see m e!”
At this moment, the extremely ruthless rage due to Wendy’s kidnap was gushing out of Jasper. He got up and looked at the stunned and sweaty Chuck whose eyes were filled with terror like he was staring a t a ghost. He said coldly, “Boss, times have changed. I can crush you with my money.”
After he said that, the room fell silent.
Zachary and Anna both looked at Jasper with a stunned expression, let alone the heads of the three major triads.
Right now, Jasper was so violent and arrogant and he was completely different from before.
One good and one bad. A god and a demon.
When he saw that Chuck was shivering in fright, Jimmy lifted his hand to loosen his tie. At this moment, his throat was dry, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.
He thought he was arrogant, but his arrogance was child’s play in front of Jasper.
If Jasper was overbearing now, then Jimmy was as elegant as a teacher in school.
Now that things had escalated to this point, Jimmy knew that the situation could not be allowed to worsen. Right now, Jasper was a lion that had almost lost his mind in a rage. If they enraged him again, this lion would really eat them.
“Don’t worry Mr. Laine, we will handle this. The three major triads will surely handle this matter properly.”
Jimmy expressed his stance. Chuck, whowas terrified, and Number Six, who hadthe same pale face, nodded quickly after he said that.
Jasper glanced at Jimmy. It was notwithout reason that this guy could turnRighteous Guild around, make a lot ofmoney, and make models and celebritiesfrom Harbor City line up to get into hisbed.
Chuck and Number Six could never
compare with Jimmy’s vision and
determination.
Upon seeing Jasper’s expression relax, thetense atmosphere in the whole villadissipated and it was as if they were back to the peacefulness a few minutes ago.
“Wouldn’t it be good if you said thatearlier? What I need most now is time, sodon’t waste my time. I will get impatient.”
Picking up the check, Jasper put it inJimmy’s hand and said indifferently, ”You should do what you’re asked, and I’llpay you accordingly. I won’t let you workwithout paying you. Your men also have to support their families. I don’t mindspending some money, but this thing must be settled, understand?”
“Understood!”
Surprisingly, Chuck’s response was the loudest.