Ch. 861..870

Life at the Top Chapter 861

Without waiting for Jasper’s reply, she said, “I know that I can’t hide anything from you. As the newly appointed president of the Terra regional branch of Colossal Investments, is there any better way for me to highlight my abilities than to exterminate Layman Investment Bank’s influence in Terra?”

“That’s why everything will remain the same as it has been in the past. This will benefit both of us, so we need to work together earnestly.

“Perhaps I’ve been rather busy lately, which is why I haven’t had the time to look at what he’s been doing. He has only just started working in Terra. Even if he can’t wait any longer to go against me, he should at least gain a firm foothold and build his own team up first. You’re in the same situation as he is, so you can’t rush things,” Jasper said in a lukewarm tone.

“Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to go onto the battlefield tomorrow. I’m just notifying you about it in advance so that you won’t be taken aback when you go against him in the future. In any case, what have you been busy with lately?” Celine asked.

“I have too many enemies. They’re all queueing up to attack me now. I have no choice but to slowly defeat them one by one,” Jasper said with a smile.

“What a loud-mouth,” Celine said, rolling her eyes at him.

Julian had been by Jasper’s side for some time now. Jasper also realized that he was getting better and better at coming up with sneaky ideas.

 

Jasper had originally intended to take Celine to a snack stall to grab some scrumptious supper, so Julian had found a snack stall for him. However, the stall was surrounded by several small hotels. What was he trying to imply?

The streets surrounding them were full of men and women that were wrapped in each other’s arms as they walked into the hotels impatiently. Jasper could not even tell if they were lovers or not. The women in the men’s embrace may not even be their own wives–they could well be the wives of other people.

Celine evaluated their surroundings in amazement. She then cast a meaningful glance at Jasper.

Jasper fixed his gaze on the hotpot restaurant in front of them. “Do you eat mutton?” He asked Celine without turning to look at her.

“I don’t mind,” Celine said cheerily in a tone that resembled Jasper’s usual demeanor. The explicit and implicit meanings behind her words were obvious.

“Let’s go then. Let’s have some mutton. I haven’t had it in a really long time,” Jasper said as he made his way into the hotpot restaurant.

The both of them soon sat down at a table. After placing their orders, Jasper regretted everything almost immediately.

A couple was seated right next to their table. Jasper and Celine both heard the man tell the woman that he had just bought some imported condoms with an evil smirk on his face. The woman then pouted shyly while she accepted a call from someone that she addressed as her husband.

“I’m working late tonight. I may be crashing at Lily’s place tonight, so you should rest first.

“Yes, I know. You’re so annoying. You don’t have to fetch me or wait for me. I’m busy catching up with my work right now. Alright, goodbye.”

The woman walked out of the hotpot restaurant in the man’s arms while she talked to her husband on the phone. They then made their way into a small hotel nearby.

From their conversation, Jasper could picture a man putting down the phone in despair with a bitter expression on his face, then getting up to continue doing the chores

He just knew it. He had spent his all his days living that way in his past life.

However, Penelope Hunt had never cheated on him during their time together. Usually, she only stayed out late to play poker with a few of her female friends. Jasper was quite pleased about that.

Time truly flies. Those days felt like they were eons away now.

“Hey!”

Celine’s voice startled Jasper.

He returned to his senses and caught sight of Celine waving her hand in front of him. “What is it?” Jasper asked.

“What are you thinking about? I’ve called your name a few times now, but it seemed like you didn’t hear me,” Celine said. A mischievous smirk formed across her face as she said, “Were you thinking about what the couple that had just left are doing in their room right now?”

Life at the Top Chapter 862

“Do I seem that lifeless?” Jasper asked in annoyance.

Celine placed slices of mutton into the hotpot intently. She replied nonchalantly, “I don’t know. After all, you’re still a man.”

Jasper chuckled and asked, “How long do you intend to stay in the Southeast Province?”

Celine thought about it for a while before replying, “I guess I’ll stay three to five days at most. I need to rush back to settle some work as my workload is piling up. I’m getting a few days of rest before I busy myself. I won’t have much time to go around once I officially take up the position.”

“What a coincidence. The topping-off ceremony of the Southface River project will be held soon. You can leave after attending it,” Jasper said.

“I don’t have much time. When does it start?” Celine asked.

“The day after tomorrow,” Jasper said as he massaged his temples. “I’ve been working day and night lately. I have so much work,” he added.

PlayvolumeAd2Just then, Jasper and Celine’s phones rang at the same time.

Both of them exchanged glances and proceeded to pick up their phones.

Jasper received a call from Jack Cullen. The first thing that he said caused Jasper to frown.

“Mr. Laine, I realized that Sena’s shares are fluctuating abnormally, which is very unusual, but I’m not sure why this is the case. Would you like to take a look at it yourself?

Jasper replied, “Alright, keep your eyes on it. I’ll take a look as soon as possible. Let’s contact each other if anything happens.”

“Alright, Mr. Laine.”

After hanging up the call, Jasper looked at Celine. He realized that she was staring at him as well.

“I’m guessing that we’ve just received the same news,” Celine said. She seemed to be rather pleased that the both of them were often on the same wavelength.

“Is it regarding Sena’s shares?” Jasper asked.

“It seems like we can’t finish this meal,” Celine sighed.

“Let’s go for now. I’ll ask Julian to pack some supper for us later,” Jasper said as he got up.

Having fun was great, but business was still business. Jasper always recognized the boundaries that existed between them.

At this stage, he had to prioritize his career. Everything else came second.

After all, he did not have complete autonomy over his empire right now. There were too many people and forces working in the shadows right now. Even if he was unwilling to move forward, he would be pushed forward by the people and environment around him. If he stopped, his enemies would destroy him and everything around him immediately.

This was the price that he had to pay for his rapid rise to success. It was a necessary sacrifice.

On the way back to the office, Jasper’s head hurt. The internet speed during this era was way too slow.

If this had happened during the era before his reincarnation, everything would be much easier. He could just turn on his phone and check everything online.

However, as things stood, the phone was just a tool that enabled him to receive messages and make calls.

Staring at the latest Nokia model that Wendy had gifted him with, Jasper was lost in thought.

Should he lay out the market of the mobile phone in advance to accelerate the development of mobile data?

However, this was an extremely complex industry, and it involved the most sophisticated technologies. Forget him as an individual, other countries may not be able to successfully navigate this industry either.

All things aside, Warwick was considered the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer in terms of the number of units sold before his reincarnation. Officials from Somerland had also been vigorously showing their support for Warwick as it was a national enterprise. However, what were the results from all this?

The United States had its hands on all the technology. Without the processor chip technology, Warwick could only try to win over people’s hearts to try and make an impact.

If Jasper were to do this, he would not walk down the same path. He had to get a firm hold of the processor technology.

Life at the Top Chapter 863

He did not aim to overtake the countries from the West, but he also did not want to be taken for as a fool. The last thing he wanted was to get tricked or driven off by other countries.

However, things were never this simple.

On an international scale, the technical blockade of Somerland and its businessmen was extremely serious.

If one was from Somerland, one could only dream of getting their hands on the best technology. They could only get their hands on things like the MP3, which none of the technology conglomerates took seriously, easily. This was evident from Sentel’s careless attitude toward them previously.

Just as he was thinking about this issue, the car arrived at the company.

The company had already moved into the Southface River Tower. As it was around eleven o’clock at night, most of the lights in the building were off. The corridors were quiet as well, and the entire building seemed desolate.

Jasper took the elevator to the top floor. After entering his office, Jasper asked Julian to buy some supper. After that, he sat in front of his computer with Celine and opened the interface of the US Nasdaq index.

 

Sena’s share price was 225 US dollars right now. It was an extremely high price.

However, Jasper frowned when he set his eyes on the share price.

Sometimes, a high share price did was not a good thing. If it was abnormally high, it indicated that someone was speculating about the share. It was fine if they just wanted to offload their shares and earn a large sum of money, however, things would be different if they had ulterior motives.

Li Jin opened the trend chart and transaction data from the past week. He then stared at the complicated data on the computer screen and fell into contemplation.

As the president of the Terra regional branch of Colossal Investments, Celine knew the financial share market well. After looking at the data for a while, she could tell that the overall direction of the index seemed normal. However, there were a few subtle points that most people would fail to notice.

Just as she was about to turn around and tell Jasper about it, she caught sight of Jasper’s side profile. His brows were pinched into a slight frown while his gaze was fixed on the computer screen.

He was pondering something.

Right then, Celine had the urge to pounce on him and take him as hers as she stared at the conscientious expression on his side profile.

In Celine’s eyes, a man’s charm was definitely not found in his facial features.

Celine would not even bat an eye at the handsome young men out there. Furthermore, the youth were now ushering in a non-mainstream trend where men liked to grow out their hair and surround themselves with a melancholic aura. Celine was amused by this trend.

It made them look neither manly nor feminine. It was simply a deformed aesthetic.

In Celine’s opinion, men had to have their own characteristic aura. It could be the residual scent of washing powder on clothes, or it could be the elegant scent of a cologne, but most importantly, they had to emanate self-confidence, maturity, and power!

A man should have a spine that was strong enough to support a woman. A man should have arms and shoulders that were capable of blocking all wind and rain for a woman.

“There’s a problem.”

Jasper was oblivious to the intense thoughts running through Celine’s mind at that moment. After saying these three words, he immediately called Jack Tanner.

He did not even spare a glance at Celine.

Keen as he was, Jasper had detected something unusual in the index. The potential ploys raised by these unusual signs could give rise to very serious consequences!

Therefore, he did not have time to discuss or mull it over. He instantly woke Jack up from his deep slumber with a phone call.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Laine?”

Far away in Swallow Capital, Jack turned on the bedside lamp in his dark bedroom. He put on his glasses and asked Jasper over the phone.

“Haven’t you noticed that the trend of Sena’s share price is moving in an abnormal direction? We’re a listed company, so your vigilance really disappoints me!

“If any of our enemies want to go against Sena right now, they would start with the Nasdaq!

“They’re already pointing their guns at our doorstep, but you’re all still sleeping?”

Life at the Top Chapter 864

Jasper’s words caused all of Jack’s drowsiness to instantly vanish.

He snapped to attention, immediately awake.

“What’s going on, Mr. Laine? I did not receive any reports,” Jack said as he put on a coat. He rushed into his study without putting on his slippers.

Jasper suppressed the burning rage within him and spoke in a heavy voice.

“Some people have been secretly collecting shares since last week. It’s possible they have been doing so for even longer. They have pushed the stock price up by 8%. So, what does this mean?

“This means that they have accumulated a large number of shares. If they aren’t worried about being discovered, they single-handedly have the ability to cause Sena’s share price to rise or absolutely plummet.

“Once they start doing that, the retail investors will definitely sell their shares in order to protect their investment due to the continuous fluctuations. This will happen regardless of if the price rises or falls to its limit.

“At this moment, if they accept any orders, the number of shares under their control will increase greatly. If they don’t, Sena’s share price will collapse. Do I still need to explain all this to you?”

After registering Jasper’s words, Jack, who was waiting for his computer to turn on, broke out into a cold sweat.

He understood why Jasper was behaving so sternly right now. Thus, he gulped and replied, “Sorry, Mr. Laine. We were being negligent.”

“You guys have been way too complacent lately. Do you think that you can sit back and relax now that you’re the top Internet company in the country?”

Although Jasper’s tone was not heavy, his words were harsh.

“I deserve to be penalized, Mr. Laine,” Jack said.

“It’s not the time to talk about punishments now. Ask the person in charge of this area to wake up and come up with a countermeasure right now.

“If I’m not satisfied with your plan, I don’t mind firing the entire department!”

Jack smiled bitterly as he heard the beep of Jasper hanging up the call.

Right then, Jack’s wife, who had gotten up as well, came in with a cup of hot tea. It was the blend that Jack usually enjoyed. She placed the cup beside Jack and said in a gentle voice, “What’s wrong? Did you get scolded by Mr. Laine?”

Jack sighed and said, “I don’t blame him. Everyone at the company is at fault, including me. Too many people have been blinded by the glory of our successful listing. We shouldn’t have acted that way.

“Alright, you should go rest. I don’t think I’ll get any sleep tonight,” Jack said as he patted his wife’s hand.

…

Nauritus City, Southface River Tower.

“You’re unexpectedly fierce when you scold people,” Celine told Jasper.

Jasper massaged his temples and said in exasperation, “It’s understandable if the people from Sena didn’t notice this problem, but I’m displeased at the fact that everyone, Jack included, has been blinded by the wealth and glory of the company’s listing!

“Do you know what half of Sena’s executives were up to some time ago? They were either throwing celebratory parties or accepting interviews from financial magazines. What nonsense!

“Dane Warren, the founder of Sena that I had previously kicked out, turned out to behave the best out everyone in the senior management team. He reaped the most profits amongst all the executives with all the shares that he owned. Nevertheless, he was down-to-earth and managed to operate most of the company’s business on his own.”

Celine shook her head. “This usually happens once a company expands. All sorts of birds tend to flock into a large forest. Those employees have worked hard for so many years. Now that the company has been listed and is making a large sum of profits, their bonuses have increased greatly as well. It’s natural for them to become conceited,” she said in an understanding tone.

“Such fickle-minded people. In that case, I’ll pour a bucket of cold water over their heads. Only those who return to their senses can remain. Those who can’t recover from their current states should all leave the company,” Jasper said in an even tone.

“What do you intend to do about this?” Celine asked as she pointed to the computer screen.

“I have no idea,” Jasper heaved a sigh while he shook his head.

“We don’t know the identity nor goals of our opponent. The only thing we can do now is to keep track of their activity.

“We need to raise funds and wait for our opponent to take action. Once they hammer the market, we need to spend a large sum of money to get a hold of their shares. Otherwise, the share price will collapse. If that happens, Sena will suffer a major loss. We won’t be able to recover from the damage even after a whole year. Now, everything depends on the number of shares that they own and what they intend to do with it.”

“Look here!” Celine exclaimed suddenly as she rotated Jasper’s computer monitor. She inched closer to Jasper and got up to grab ahold of the mouse.

She had to lean across Jasper’s body to do so.

Jasper watched as Celine slowly approached him. When Celine moved the mouse and began to retrieve the data on the screen, strands of her hair tickled Jasper’s face in a mischievous manner.

His face itched, but his heart craved for her even more.

The fragrance of her perfume lingered about his sense as strands of her hair brushed against his skin. It felt like she was teasing him slowly and trying to test his limits.

However, Celine did not notice all these details this time around. She did not even realize that the distance between both of them was very inappropriate at that moment.

After displaying the data on the screen, Celine sat back down on her seat.

“Generally speaking, the larger the trading volume, the higher the share price will be. After all, the price will naturally go up if there’s a consistent amount of trading.

“Although Sena’s trading volume has continually increased since last week, the share price has remained stable.

“This person is a master. His methods are extremely confusing.

“However, the data won’t lie. Linking all of these clues together, I’m almost certain that the person behind all this definitely isn’t trying to earn a fortune by manipulating Sena’s share price…

“This person is aiming to take over Sena completely by absorbing a large number of shares!”

Life at the Top Chapter 865

As soon as Celine finished speaking, she noticed that Jasper was looking at her like she was an alien.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Celine asked.

“I realized that for you to be able to replace William and take the position of the president of the Terra regional branch of Colossal Investments, that you must be quite capable as well,” Jasper said sincerely.

“Why’s that? Don’t you think that I got this position just because I rode on your coattails?” Celine asked proudly.

“I never said that,” Jasper chuckled. “You got the position because of your own abilities,” he added.

Celine glanced at Jasper and continued speaking in a serious tone.

“We can basically confirm our opponent’s goal now. He doesn’t want money. He has acquired a book loss of approximately 200 million US dollars in order to stifle the share price during this period. This is just a rough estimate that we can use to make an educated guess.”

“Can you find out who is it?”

Jasper shook his head after hearing Celine say this. “As I’ve told you previously, I have too many opponents. All of them are imbued with a motive and the ability to pursue their goals. With the limited number of clues that we have right now, I still can’t tell who’s behind all of this,” he said.

“In that case, there’s no way to find out.”

Celine spread her arms and said, “I can only help you by analyzing the other party’s intention and possible goal on a technical level. I can’t help you resolve this problem or tell you how to fish them out.”

“You’ve already helped me a great deal,” Jasper told her in a sincere tone.

Jasper knew how to interpret the market board. His skills were impressive as well.

However, his skills only applied to general situations. They were not enough for him to see through the meticulous plots set up by masters in the share market like the one that he was facing right now.

He did not emerge victorious in the stock markets of Harbor City and Nasdaq because of his skills. Rather, he had managed to do so because he possessed a strategic vision and planning that went beyond the current era and extended almost two decades into the future.

He knew about the classic financial battles that would happen in the future. He also knew a lot of cases whereby immaculate manipulation of the market led to fascinating results.

Therefore, this knowledge served to greatly improved Jasper’s strategic planning.

Meanwhile, he simply relied on the technical skills that he had gained from his experience of working at a financial company for more than ten years in his previous life to get by.

When it came to his technical skills, Jasper could not even begin to compare to Jake Cullen.

At that moment, Jasper had finally witnessed the extraordinary trading skills of the top trader of the era.

Ordinary people may see streaks of broken lines when they looked at a market index, but Celine Maynard could instantly detect the true meaning concealed by the data whenever she looked at it.

Jasper was beyond jealous of her talent and abilities.

“Now that we know that the other party is trying to hammer the market, we aren’t left with many options.”

Jasper said in an exceptionally calm and even tone.

“If an ordinary person were in such a situation, they would definitely be overcome with anxiety regardless of how self-confident they were. But, look at you. You don’t look nervous at all,” Celine remarked in amusement.

“It’s important not to panic before the battle begins. Furthermore, it’s useless to do so. I think that I’m rather lucky, as , at the very least, we have uncovered our opponent’s plans. It’d have been too late if we discovered his plans after he made his move,” Jasper said.

“By the way, was the person that reminded you about this issue one of your subordinates? If he is, you should really reward him. One of the professional teams from the investment bank discovered this problem on our side. That person managed to find out about it at the same time as our team did. His skills are pretty extraordinary.”

After hearing this, the image of Jake’s face flashed across Jasper’s mind. He chuckled and said, “He deserves a reward, but we’ll talk about it after we overcome this challenge.”

Since they had already uncovered the other party’s plans, the next steps that Jasper planned to take were extremely simple.

He began to raise money from Sena’s company funds as well as whatever money he could pull from his private account.

The share market could be complicated, but it was also extremely simple at times.

At the end of the day, everyone was just fighting for money.

Jasper planned to catch their opponent off guard by making sure that he did not have the chance to mobilize his funds. That way, he could achieve a highly satisfactory result with a minimum cost.

However, once they got into a tug of war, it would be a battle waged with money.

If their opponent offered to buy shares from the sellers for five dollars per share, Jasper would offer them a price of six dollars per share. If their opponent offered the sellers six dollars per share, Jasper would offer them seven dollars.

If their opponent sold his shares for five dollars per share, Jasper would sell them for four dollars per share. If their opponent offered to sell his shares for three dollars per share, Jasper would sell them for two dollars.

In the end, the one who finishes spending all of their money first would lose the battle.

“As the actual head and majority shareholder of Sena, you can always release some shares into the market. No matter how many shares our opponent buys, he would still only be buying the shares that you’ve released. There’s no need for you to personally engage him in battle.”

Celine told Jasper when she saw him mobilizing his funds.

Jasper shook his head and said, “I cannot lose control of the company. Who knows? This might very well be our opponent’s goal. Won’t I be in great trouble if some people came together and asked me for additional shares after forcing me to give up my rights as the company chairman? If that were to happen, I’d lose control of Sena.”

“In other words, you have a strong desire to have control over everything. If someone wants to overthrow you and gain control of Sena, it’d cost them a sum of more than 4 billion US dollars given Sena’s current share price and market capital. That is pretty much impossible,” Celine said.

“I managed to get all the way here because I’m good at making the impossible possible, and dashing my enemies’ hopes of defeating me,” Jasper said calmly.

Celine was stunned. She could not help but smile when she thought of his shocking life experience. “You’re right, I forgot how you made it big. In that case, I won’t comment any further on your choices,” she said.

“I need your help in terms when it comes to technical skills. I’m not as good as you are,” Jasper said.

“You need to pay me for this,” Celine said in a satisfied tone.

“Sure, I’ll pay you an hourly wage of 100000 dollars per hour.”

“Talking about money will hurt my feelings. I don’t need your money. Why don’t we talk about our feelings instead?”

“It’s a waste of money to talk about our feelings. I’d rather hurt your feelings.”

“You scumbag!”

…

Conrad Monty opened the door of a villa located in Nauritus City. Valentine Estrada was in the midst of a heated discussion in a video conference with their team in the United States.

“Mr. Monty.”

Valentine got up and greeted Conrad when he entered the room.

Valentine’s eyes were bloodshot, and she looked extremely tired. “You’ve worked hard during this period. I’ll let you go on a long holiday once things are over. You’ll be given a nice bonus as well, so you’ll have time to relax by then,” Conrad said in a gentle voice.

Valentine grinned and said, “I don’t find it difficult. I’ve found something truly meaningful to do with my life; I’ve been wasting my life away before this.”

Indeed, this was meaningful. They were attempting to pry apart a listed company with a market value of billions of dollars, with a capital flow of 10 billion US dollars. How could it not be meaningful?

“How’s everything going?” Conrad asked.

Life at the Top Chapter 866

“Everything is going smoothly.

“As things stand, we have used up 600 million dollars. According to our original plan, 200 million dollars from the total of a billion dollars will remain as our backup funds. Once we get our hands on 800 million dollars worth of shares, we can start taking action,” Valentine said.

“At our current pace, we can start taking action the day after tomorrow as there’s still one more trading day tomorrow. We will start carrying out our plan at about nine o’clock in the evening on the day after tomorrow during Nasdaq’s trading time.”

“The day after tomorrow?”

“It must be fate. The topping-off ceremony of his project at Southface River will be taking place on the day after tomorrow. I wonder if Jasper Laine will be so touched by our massive gift for him that he’ll lose sleep over it at night,” Conrad said with an unreadable expression on his face.

Valentine chuckled when she noticed that Conrad was in a good mood. “I’m not sure if he’ll be touched, but he’ll surely lose sleep over it,” she remarked.

Conrad guffawed loudly.

PlayvolumeAd3…

Sena was instantly thrown into a state of turmoil after Jasper’s phone call.

Jack had called everyone in Sena’s financial department to the company in the middle of the night. The sky outside was still pitch black, but the meeting room within the company was brightly lit up. Jack scolded each and every one of them harshly.

“First off, I need to reflect upon myself for causing this incident as I’ve indeed become complacent. I’ve been blinded by our recent success.

“However, from this incident, it’s clear to see that the moment we get too relaxed, we’ll encounter a crisis. Mr. Laine managed to discover it early on this time around, but what if he didn’t manage to?!

“Can anyone tell me who Mr. Laine would hold responsible for this incident?! Will it be you guys or me?!”

All the executives lowered their heads, not daring to look at the heavy expression on Jack’s face. Although there were more than ten people in the room, nothing else could be heard except for Jack’s voice. Nobody dared to utter a single word.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the meeting room. Jack’s secretary then entered the room.

“Mr. Tanner, here’s the data. It can be projected on screen right now,” the secretary said in a cautious tone.

“What are you waiting for? Project it at once!” Jack shouted.

The secretary responded to him aggrievedly and began to start up the equipment in a hurry.

Not long after, Sena’s share trading data and trend chart during this period appeared on the huge projection screen in the meeting room.

Everyone in the room was involved in financial trading. Thanks to Jasper’s guidance, they managed to detect the unusual parts of the data after some careful observation.

Everyone instantly broke out into a cold sweat.

Obviously, someone was manipulating Sena’s share price. Once the other party started attacking them, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Mr. Tanner, the other party has been planning this since a long time ago. It seems like they own a hefty amount of shares right now. I’m afraid we can’t resolve this on our own,” a pale-faced deputy manager said.

Jack replied icily, “What’s wrong now? You guys were busy celebrating, shopping, and accepting interviews from financial magazines without anyone reminding you to do so. That’s why none of you managed to detect the problem.

“Now that someone else has given you a clear reminder, you’re telling me that you can’t resolve this on your own. In that case, why did the company even hire you?”

The deputy manager’s lips quivered. He did not dare to say a word.

“From today onward, none of you are allowed to go back home until this problem is resolved. All of you are required to stay at the company and pay attention to the activity on the Nasdaq at all the times. Meanwhile, Mr. Laine and I come up with a plan to salvage this situation.”

Life at the Top Chapter 867

“However, due to the time difference, we need to pull an all-nighter if they take action. Make sure to re-adjust the work schedules of your departments. If anyone makes a mistake, don’t bother explaining it to me. Explain everything to Mr. Laine himself.”

Everyone gazed at each other after hearing Jack’s words. Heaving a collective sigh, they agreed unanimously.

…

Back in Nauritus City, it was already two in the morning when Jasper arrived home after sending Celine back to her hotel.

Jasper had been communicating closely with Jake throughout his journey home.

Jasper did not have anyone that he could rely on in the United States, and the topping-off ceremony would be held in two days’ time. Because of this, it was impossible for him to stay up all night just to monitor the American stock market. Thus, he had no choice but to hand this task over to Jake.

“Sena’s funds amount to 600 million dollars right now. I have another 300 million dollars on hand. This is all held in US dollars. I’ll let you handle this sum of money for now–our main goal is to snatch back all of their shares.”

Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreenJasper remained on the phone with Jake after arriving home.

“Mr. Laine, it shouldn’t be hard to take over their shares, but the other party has been preparing for such a long time. It is unlikely that we’ll be able to obtain an equivalent number of shares within such a short period of time. If we try too hard to do so, the share price will rise. If that happens, we will have to pay a higher price.”

“We’ll just have to pay the price then.”

Jasper said in an even tone. “After taking down this cunning wolf, we’ll gain a considerable amount of profits. The problem now isn’t money. We need to know is how many shares they have under their control, and when they intend to take action.

“Mr. Laine, we’ll surely be able to notice the signs before they start carrying out their plan. I will be monitoring the share price the entire team. If anything happens, I’ll be the first one to tell you.”

Jasper nodded with satisfaction and replied, “Sure, I’ll hand this task over to you.”

“Don’t worry.”

After hanging up the call, Jasper stared out the window. The sky was always darkest before dawn. He sighed lightly.

Time passed at an alarming rate. The next day, people from Easy Media told Jasper that they have already completed all the equipment debugging and rehearsals required for the topping-off ceremony.

The Southeast Province, which was thrown into the spotlight after the mining company’s scam was resolved, became the center of everyone’s attention due to the upcoming topping-off ceremony.

Everyone had their eyes set on the Southface River project. Hundreds of millions of dollars had been invested into this project, which had lasted for a year. Now, it was finally time to unveil it to the world.

On this day, the mining company incident was collectively resolved with the joint intervention of the municipal government, the bank, and two state-owned enterprises.

Vista Mining Company declared bankruptcy less than a week after its establishment. The funds obtained from the Agricultural Bank in the company account were all recalled by the bank. After this, Vista Mining Company would no longer be held accountable by the Agricultural Bank or state-owned enterprises.

This included Hill County. Conrad had invested a lot of money into the poor county town of Hill County for the construction of roads and to develop utilities. Since the people of Hill County benefited from the substantive welfare that he had provided, they did not continue to hold Conrad accountable for his actions.

After all, it’s not like any of them were made worse off by this.

Conrad, who had set up the entire scheme from the very start, was the only one who suffered from this. The funds that he had previously invested vanished into thin air.

Most parties considered this to be an acceptable ending. However, they were now not as friendly toward Conrad as they had been in the past.

After all, anyone would be cautious when dealing with a vicious person who was willing to lose a hundred million dollars just to set up a trap for someone else.

Therefore, the number of people gloating over Conrad’s misfortune soon outnumbered the number of people who felt sympathetic sorry for him after his scheme failed.

Life at the Top Chapter 868

The topping-off ceremony attracted plenty of prominent figures due to Jasper’s renowned reputation and extensive connections.

Among other things, Zachary Law’s appearance at the event alone garnered a lot of attention.

“Not bad. I heard that a lot of celebrities from Harbor City have volunteered to attend this event. Something like that is truly rare.”

Seated in one of the reception rooms in Southface River Tower, Zachary chuckled as he stared out at the lively and happening ceremony going on outside the building.

The large reception was empty except for Jasper and Zachary. Meanwhile, Henry sat by the side of the door like he was a mascot for the event.

“Everyone simply feels obligated to show their support,” Jasper chuckled.

“You’re now a big boss within the entertainment industry. Those celebrities will definitely have to deal with the two entertainment companies under you. Nobody would dare to not show you their support.”

Zachary seemed to be in a good mood that day as he joked around with Jasper for a while. However, a frown formed on his face once he turned around to look at Henry.

“What’s with that private jet of yours?” Zachary asked him with a dark expression on his face.

“I bought that with the money that I earned on my own. It’s none of your business,” Henry said in an aggrieved tone.

Zachary was angered by his response. “Money you earned on your own? Do you think I’m unaware of know how much money Jasp lent to you? He’s paid for half of that private jet. How dare you say that you bought it with your own money!” He barked at him.

“Besides, that private jet is parked in our space now. Our family is paying for its maintenance crew. How dare you tell me that it’s none of my business?”

“I’m your son. Do you need to be so calculative with me over every single thing that I do?” Henry asked bitterly.

“Hmph, when I took over our family business from your grandpa back then, I used the car that your grandpa passed down to me. I would never dare to even think of a private jet. What did I tell you? All you know how to do is enjoy life. You’ve never thought about where those luxuries come from.

“Let me tell you right now. If you continue being such a bum, I’ll pass down all of our property to Anna in the future. When that happens, you’ll have to rely on the family trust fund for your daily expenses. I’ll give you an allowance of a few million dollars every month. Let’s see what will happen to you then.”

“No! I can’t live a single day in such poverty!” Henry shouted out in terror.

“Pfft…”

Zachary and Henry both turned around to look at Jasper, who had spit out a mouthful of tea, with an odd glance.

“It’s alright, sorry for interrupting. Please continue,” Jasper said as he waved his hand awkwardly. He wiped away the water on the coffee table immediately.

The life of an aristocrat was really extraordinary! Even a disobedient son could receive a monthly allowance of a few million dollars. In this era, an ordinary person may not even be able to earn a few million dollars in their entire lifetime.

In the eyes of an aristocrat, a few million dollars was simply their monthly allowance.

Henry turned around and told his father, “Father, why don’t you give me more allowance? Besides, Anna is my younger sister. Isn’t it all the same if you gave all the property to me?”

“Besides, I’ve thought about it. Why should I follow in you and grandpa’s footsteps? Both of you are always tired. Why should I work that hard? Grandpa is smarter than you–he retired a long time ago.

“Those old men around the same age as Grandpa who are still reluctant to retire are all riddled with illness. None of them are as healthy as Grandpa. If you go for a health checkup right now, you may discover that you are less healthy than him. Because of this, I reckon that I’m meant to live a busy working lifestyle. It’s good to live in idle relaxation.”

“Pfft…”

Jasper spit out another mouthful of tea.

As the father and son were busy expressing how much they cared for each other, Wendy came over and knocked on the door of the reception room.

“Mr. Law, Jasp, the officials from the municipal and provincial government have arrived. My father has gone to meet them. Shall we head over to greet them as well?” Wendy asked.

Jasper got up and told Zachary, “Uncle Law, shall we head over?”

Zachary nodded. He left Henry, whose figure was now slumped from all the scolding, and said, “Alright, let’s go.”

They made their way out of the building. The entire area was glowing with bright decorations and immersed in a lively atmosphere.

A short distance away, Dawson Schuler was chatting with two middle-aged men in front of some cars with special license plates. Those with lower-ranking positions did not even have the right to approach them.

Jasper and Zachary made their way toward them. In an event like this, Zachary had to stand behind Jasper. Meanwhile, Wendy stood next to Jasper because of her relationship with him. They then joined in the conversation with the highest-ranking officials from the municipal and provincial government.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Law.”

“Hello, Mr. Law.”

The two high-ranking officials from the municipal and provincial government smiled widely when they caught sight of Zachary Law. They immediately took the initiative to greet him.

Zachary laughed cheerily. After shaking hands with the two officials, he said, “Look at me. My memory is getting poorer now that I’m older. I was chatting with Jasper in the reception room and I forgot to look at the time. Otherwise, I would have came out and welcomed both of you.”

Zachary’s words were a sign of respect to the two officials.

As the head of the Laws, Zachary had every right to stand tall amongst these government officials due to his prominent status and social ranking. However, he took the initiative to lower himself before them in order to please them.

The official from the provincial government laughed and said, “You’re being way too courteous, Mr. Law. We should have greeted you at the airport when you arrived in the province. After all, we’re the hosts, and you’re our guest.”

Zachary smiled and said, “I’ve invested in a number of projects here. Now that the amusement park and Southface River projects are complete, I should be partly considered as a host as well.”

The group exchanged glances, then burst out into laughter.

“Learn from your father,” Jasper told Henry.

Henry pouted and said, “It’s impossible for me to learn how to speak courteously like these cunning foxes.”

While they were speaking, the official from the provincial government chuckled and said to Jasper, “This must be the young talent from Southeast Province. This is our first time meeting, right?”

Jasper behaved respectfully but without any hint of inferiority toward the high-ranking official. He grinned and spoke to him in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant.

“This is your first time meeting me, Sir. However, I’ve often seen you on television. Also, the province is burgeoning with talent. I’m young, but I won’t say that I’m talented. I simply managed to get things done at the right time.”

The provincial official was stunned. He laughed out loud and told the municipal official, “Look at how slick he is with his words. My son is about the same age as Mr. Laine, but they’re on completely different levels.

“Nauritus City has produced a real talent!”

Life at the Top Chapter 869

The municipal official had previously dealt with Jasper a few times before this, and Jasper had left a great impression on him. The official chuckled softly.

“Yes, the Nauritus City Government is planning to compile a list of young and promising entrepreneurs; we intend to give them a commendation in order to encourage all the young people within the city to learn from their peers!

“Mr. Laine from JW Capital is on the list. However, he hasn’t been officially notified.”

The provincial official nodded and said, “That’s good to hear. A young man like him deserves to be supported.”

“We shouldn’t just stand here and chat. How about Jasper and I bring all of you to see the Southface River?” Dawson asked them at the perfect timing.

“In that case, Mr. Law, why don’t we take a look together?” The provincial official invited Zachary as he turned to look at him.

“Alright, let’s go and take a good look at the project,” Zachary said with a chuckle.

Not only did the Southface River project mean a lot to Jasper, Dawson, and JW Real Estates, the Nauritus City Government and the Southeast Province City Government also considered it an extremely important project.

JW Real Estates had spent a total amount of 1.8 billion Somer Dollars on the project. With the support of massive funding and Dawson Schuler’s full-time supervision, the project had progressed at an astounding pace!

Amazingly, the construction was completed within ten months.

Usually, the construction of a complex, large-scale project like the Southface River project typically took three to five years. It was common for such projects to encounter a shortage of funds. Occasionally, construction could take as long as ten years.

However, JW Real Estates had outperformed them all.

While Jasper and Dawson brought the group of prominent figures to the Southface River and began introducing the area to them, a young man glared coldly at Jasper’s silhouette from a short distance away.

“Damn f*cker! This jerk does not deserve any of this!”

Zane Lancaster, who had just arrived at the Southeast Province only two days before this, had been greatly shocked within the past forty-eight hours.

He initially thought that Somerland was a poor and undeveloped country, and had expected farms and wooden houses to litter the real estate. He did not even expect there to be a single six-story building in the entire country.

However, once he stepped out of the airport, he was faced with the sight of a bustling city as he traveled along the airport highway.

Although the excessively broad roads and tidy streets looked slightly aged, a vibrant energy surged through them!

None of this could be seen in Harbor City, which was small and cramped.

Harbor City was still much more developed than most cities within Somerland, and was filled with plenty of skyscrapers. The business district was extremely lively and happening as well.

However, anyone could tell that the development of Harbor City was now at a bottleneck, whereas Somerland had only just begun.

There was nothing wrong with this.

What Zane found the most unacceptable was Jasper Laine’s prestigious reputation over here!

Almost everyone knew him!

Zane had just been here for two days, but he had heard the people around him shower Jasper with all sorts of praise.

The prince of business?

A young talent?

A business prodigy?

What an over-exaggeration.

They talked about Jasper like he was a deity.

Zane was filled with jealousy.

“F*ck this. Back in Harbor City, I’m always on the newspaper, and I’m also well-known by the public, but what do those newspapers say about me?

“They either report on my recent purchases, my spending, or the women that I’ve slept with! Those reports make me seem like a useless jerk!”

Mitch Langdon stood beside Zane. His gaze flashed ambiguously as he replied in an even tone, “Aren’t you a useless jerk? Those newspapers are merely telling everyone the truth.”

“Is Jasper Laine any better than I am? Does he have less women around him than I do?” Zane huffed angrily.

“This has nothing to do with women. He’s different from you because he managed to get those women with his own abilities. What about you? Has any woman ever approached you after you left your father?” Mitch asked with a cold sneer.

Life at the Top Chapter 870

“……”

Zane was rendered speechless. Nevertheless, the jealousy on his face grew much stronger and more obvious.

“Look at how glad Law is. As a young master from Harbor City, he’s truly an embarrassment. He’s so happy being someone else’s follower. He’s acting just like their assistant–he has nothing to be proud of,” Zane huffed in annoyance.

“At least he doesn’t rely on his family’s money and managed to buy himself a private jet. Do you think we have the ability to do so?” Mitch asked him.

Zane turned around to look at Mitch. “You always tell us that they are good, and we’re worthless, Mr. Langdon. Is it really that fun to do so?” He asked Mitch in distaste.

“Do you think that I want to do it?” Mitch sneered and replied, “However, it is the truth. Let’s wait it out for a few more days. Soon, he won’t have the chance to hop around freely like this anymore. What’s wrong with that?”

All of a sudden, Zane seemed to have thought of something. He lowered his voice and asked Mitch, “Mr. Langdon, how is the plan that you previously mentioned going on? If everything goes smoothly, Jasper Laine will be out of luck today, right?”

Mitch cast a wide-eyed glance at Zane and replied to him in a low voice, “This isn’t Harbor City. Jasper Laine may have eyes and ears everywhere, so you’d better be careful with your words. If Jasper hears about any of this, you and I will be in big trouble.”

Zane curled his lips in distaste. “Who does he think he is? Even if he hears about it, what can he do to me?” He said in an irritated tone.

While Zane and Mitch were talking to each other in hushed voices a short distance away, Henry patted Jasper’s arm.

“Look over there. Why are those two fools here?” Henry remarked with a curious expression on his face.

He looked like he had finally found something that piqued his interest and amused him amidst this sea of boredom.

Jasper glanced in the direction that Henry was pointing.

A slight frown formed across his face when he caught sight of Mitch Langdon and Zane Lancaster.

Neither Bob Lancaster nor Kennedy Langdon were his friends.

Although Jasper had sent them invitations out of courtesy, he did not know if they would be attending the event since they did not notify him beforehand.

Mitch and Zane were here at the event instead of Bob and Kennedy. What were they trying to do?

They were here without an invitation. What did that imply?

Hence, Jasper sensed that something odd was going on.

Just as Jasper was thinking about how to handle the situation, Henry walked over to them with a wide grin on his face.

“Don’t cause any trouble.”

Jasper only had time to give him a single reminder.

“I know, I know. It’s your big day today. I won’t cause any trouble,” Henry said, waving his hand nonchalantly. He did not even turn around to look at him.

“The Southface River project has been completed. This is the biggest urban reconstruction plan for our city since it opened up to the world!

“With this project, JW Real Estates broke the national construction time record due to their strong financial power, advanced design concepts, and the support of the municipal and provincial governments!

“The entire construction of the barren South Bank of the Southface River was completed within ten months.”

Meanwhile, Wendy, who was standing next to Jasper, began to give an overview of the Southface River project to the provincial and municipal officials. Naturally, she did not forget to shower them with praise every once in a while.

Jasper turned away from Mitch and Zane after hearing Wendy’s eloquent introduction. Then, he continued socializing with the two officials intently.

On the other hand, Mitch and Zane’s expressions instantly changed when they saw Henry walking over to them with a large grin on his face. Instinctively, they attempted to avoid him by walking away.

“Hey, why are you guys running away after seeing me? Am I that scary?”

Henry called out to the both of them, who had now turned away from him.

Zane and Mitch could not pretend not to have heard him in a situation like that. After all, they were all people of status. If they really did run away from Henry, it would be absolutely humiliating.

“Young Master Law, we didn’t do anything to provoke you,” Zane said in disdain as he looked at Henry.

He could not compare to any of these wealthy men from the four richest families of Harbor City. Although Bob Lancaster was a prominent figure in Harbor City, he was nothing compared to Zachary Law and Kennedy Langdon.

Henry tended to target Zane the most amongst the group of second generation youth, which led to Zane being overcome with frustration whenever he saw Henry.