Albert chuckled and spoke up, "Mr. Rothschild, this is the dog kennel I run. We mainly breed dogs with strong attack capabilities. Before I met Mr. Wade, I used to make money by entering the dogs bred here into underground dog fighting competitions. After I started working for Mr. Wade, the purpose of this place has shifted, and it's no longer about making a profit." Hearing this, Julien relaxed a little and curiously asked, "Why keep so many dogs if it's not for profit? It seems like you really do love dogs." "Well, not exactly," Albert casually replied. "This place mainly handles some disobedient troublemakers. To cultivate the dogs' fighting spirit, I've always fed them raw meat. As you know, dogs aren't picky eaters. As long as it's meat, they'll eat whatever it is." "Oh..." Julien, who had just relaxed, felt a chill run down his spine at Albert's words. As the second-in-command of the Rothschild family, he had encountered his fair share of bloody affairs, but right now, he
But as they waited and waited, the anticipated rescue never came. Instead, Albert's dog kennel became more and more upgraded, more concealed, and more fortified. Eventually, Edmund and Salem gave up on their unrealistic hopes and resigned themselves to survive in this place. At this moment, Edmund had just finished his dialysis and was lying weakly on the bed, having eaten the porridge his father had fed him. Jiro, who worked here, was pushing a small cart over. He called out, "Hey, Whittakers, bring the dishes over after you're done eating!" Salem quickly took the dishes to the iron fence, and after Jiro came by, he threw the dishes into the plastic recycling bin. Just as Jiro was about to leave, Salem hastily said, "Wait a minute, Mr. Kobayashi!" Jiro glared at him. "What?" Salem pleaded, "Tomorrow is my son's birthday. Could you please ask the supervisor to bring a cake for him?" He then quickly added, "It doesn't have to be a big one, just an ordinary cupcake will do.
Jiro swiftly ran up from the descending staircase. When he saw Charlie and Albert, he was pleasantly surprised and greeted them enthusiastically, "Hello, Mr. Wade, Don Albert, and Mr. Cameron!" Next, he saw the unfamiliar face of Julien and, noticing his foreign face, couldn't help but feel curious about his identity. Despite his curiosity, Jiro was well-mannered and knew his place. Given his current status, it was not appropriate for him to ask unnecessary questions. So, he courteously greeted Julien, "Hello, sir." Julien, recognizing the name as Japanese, also felt curious about his identity and was even more curious about what exactly this place was. Seeing Jiro's vibrant face, Charlie smiled and asked, "Jiro, how is your life here these days?" "Very good!" Jiro answered with a beaming smile. "Everyone is very nice to me. Everything is fine." Currently, Jiro was considered a semi-free man at the dog kennel. Aside from not being allowed to leave the place, he had qui
After descending to the underground level, Julien discovered that this was indeed a miniature prison. There was a long corridor in front of him, and on either side of the corridor were rooms sealed off by reinforced concrete walls on iron railings. Each room had no walls facing the corridor but iron railings that allowed you to see everything inside at a glance. Even the simple toilet inside had only a one-meter-high wall, and people's heads were exposed when using the toilet. Even though it was completely underground, the air, temperature, and humidity inside were no different from those above. Charlie thought there would be a strange smell when he came down, but he was surprised that he didn't feel any discomfort at all. Albert came to him and said, "Mr. Wade, we installed a fresh air system when we built this place. The air in here is circulated twice an hour. It even includes a central dehumidification system, so it doesn't feel humid even underground. I also installed centra
Julien was startled by the slovenly old man with a scruffy beard, gray hair, and sloppy appearance. Sensing that the old man recognized him as a member of the Rothschild family, he asked curiously, "Do you know me?" "Yes! Of course, I know you!" Salem cried. "You're Julien Rothschild, Harrison's eldest son. I... We are somehow related. My name is Salem Steve Whittaker, head of the Whittaker family. In fact, we share the same middle name, Steve. Please... Please save us!" After hearing this, Julien looked at the man wailing and begging him and the sickly younger man on the bed crying and struggling to sit up. The scene and the realization that dawned upon him horrified him. Although he had been ordered to look for the Whittaker pair, it had never crossed his mind that he would find them on the first day he arrived in Aurous Hill. What shocked him even more was that it was actually Charlie who had locked them up! And from the looks of it, they were being tortured so miserably.
Charlie warned with a cold and stern voice, "You must tell him everything you did, or I will make you eat dog food for a month." Trembling in fear, Salem quickly said, "O-okay... This is what happened... My son, he was momentarily misguided..." As he spoke, he detailed how Edmund had become infatuated with Doris and the Emgrand Group. He went on to describe how Edmund had poisoned Doris's father, leaving him in critical condition with kidney failure and then used the promise of a kidney transplant to coerce Doris into submission. Since Charlie was standing right there, Salem didn't dare to omit or conceal a single detail. When he finished, Charlie sneered, "You really are a shameless piece of trash. You just described your son's series of despicable actions in meticulous detail. The careful planning and the step-by-step execution—this clearly shows that it was premeditated and deliberate. Yet, from the start, you tried to excuse him by calling it a momentary lapse in judgment.
Salem was stunned by Julien's slap. He covered his face, looked at Julien in shock and sorrow, and sobbed, "But... but I'm older than you... I was given that middle name first." Instead of calming down, Julien became even angrier. He slapped Salem again and furiously scolded, "When your damn father found out my middle name was also Steve, why didn't he change yours? Acting above your station—who gave you the guts?!" Salem's face was swollen on both sides, and his heart was filled with even greater indignation. Crying, he pleaded, "Sir, now isn't the time to blame me for sharing your middle name! You need to figure out a way to get my son and me out of here!" "Get you out?!" Julien laughed in exasperation, pointing at him with rage. "Your wretched son committed such heinous crimes, yet you still expect me to save you? I'd rather kill you both myself to ease Mr. Wade's anger!" Julien's words were not idle talk. For him, the task in Aurous Hill had only two possible outcomes:
Salem cursed angrily, "You bastard! We've been desperately waiting for you to rescue us, but now you want to kill us! Are you even human?!" Julien kicked Salem far away and shouted furiously, "Damn it! You should be glad this is Oskia and not America! Otherwise, I would have shot you dead on the spot, you bastard! And your son too!" Then, Julien looked at Charlie very seriously and said, "Mr. Wade, please give me a chance! Give me a gun, and I'll take care of these two scumbags right now!" Edmund and Salem, terrified, knelt on the ground, with Edmund desperately pleading, "Mr. Wade, please spare us! Please!" Salem crawled to Charlie and wailed, "Mr. Wade, please don't believe anything Julien says! If you let him kill us, it will cause you unnecessary trouble. Just pretend that nothing happened today and let us continue to be imprisoned here!" Charlie grinned as he watched the scene and said to Julien, "If you want to kill them, go ahead, I won't stop you, but you can't take t