"You're looking for someone?" Charlie raised his eyebrows upon hearing Julien's remarks and, with a faintly amused expression, curiously asked, "What kind of person would require an heir as wealthy as yourself to personally come to Oskia? Could it be that you're searching for a long-lost younger son of your family?" Julien chuckled and replied, "You must be kidding, Mr. Wade. Our family values bloodlines above all else—there's no way we could have any lost lineage out there." Lowering his voice intentionally, Julien spoke seriously, "You might have heard that when the American president travels, even a single strand of hair or a drop of saliva must be collected and taken away by designated personnel. The same goes for our family men—every bit of sperm, how it's used, and with whom we spend the night, must be accounted for. Even what's left in the condom is meticulously collected and taken away. Anyone daring to father an illegitimate child outside the family becomes a public enem

Charlie calmly said, "You and I have direct contact, but your father doesn't. Whether in theory or practice, you are closer to me. If it weren't for your lack of sincerity, why would I bypass you and have Helena establish an indirect connection with your father on my behalf?" "Think about it this way. If you were the owner of a supermarket and you noticed that the person living across the street chose not to shop at your store but instead went to a more distant one, you wouldn't blame the customer. Instead, you'd have to reflect on your own shortcomings. Either others offer something you don't, or you're overpriced compared to them, or you provide inferior service despite similar pricing. If you don't examine yourself, you can't simply block the customer and ask why they didn't shop with you, can you?" "You're absolutely right, Mr. Wade..." Julien nodded repeatedly in shame. "From now on, I'll be 100% honest with you without the slightest bit of concealment." "We'll see." Charlie

"Uh... Mr. Wade..." Julien couldn't help but be a bit taken aback and asked, "The car... Its privacy is a bit too much, isn't it?" Charlie chuckled and replied, "The place I'm taking you to is highly confidential. Naturally, we need to be cautious. But don't worry—your people know you entered the restaurant, so it's not like I can openly harm you. Wherever I'm taking you, just relax and follow me. Once everything's done, I'll return you safely without a scratch." Whatever concerns Julien had were instantly dispelled. He quickly put on a carefree expression and laughed loudly. "I trust you completely. Wherever you take me, I won't even bat an eye." - The van left through the back door, taking an alternate route that led directly to a street behind Heaven Springs, avoiding any contact with Julien's bodyguards. After leaving the city, the vehicle headed straight for the outskirts. Facilities like a dog training compound were typically located far from residential areas due to no

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.

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