All Chapters of From Campus Trash To Tycoon: Chapter 161
- Chapter 170
220 chapters
Chapter 161
Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-OneBy 5:30 p.m., the industrial horizon of the North District was painted in a grim, bruised shade of orange. Towering smokestacks belched thick, grey plumes into the fading light, and the heavy, metallic tang of rusted iron and cheap diesel fuel hung low in the stagnant air.Adrian Vale stood inside the cavernous, grease-stained bay of the municipal commercial yard, wiping a thick layer of carbon from his forearms with a rag. His shift was finally over. For the past eight hours, he had been deep in the underbelly of a heavy-duty transit grid, his hands moving with the methodical ease of a master mechanic. To the other laborers shouting across the concrete floor, he was just a quiet, unbothered guy who didn't talk much but could fix a seized hydraulic valve faster than anyone else in the province.“Hey, Adrian!” a burly older mechanic yelled, tossing his wrench into a metal chest. “A group of us are heading over to the tavern down the street for a couple
Chapter 162
Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-Two“What are you all standing around for?!” Black Bear roared, his voice cracking slightly as he tried to force down the rising panic in his chest. “He’s just one man! He got lucky! Use the blades! Cut his hamstrings!”Spurred by their leader’s desperation, eight thugs pulled long machetes from beneath their leather jackets. With ragged, terrified yells, they rushed Adrian in a disorganized wave, swinging wildly to overwhelm him through sheer numbers.Adrian didn't retreat a single inch. Instead, he stepped directly into the oncoming storm.His movements were a masterclass in economy. To the untrained eye, he seemed to be barely moving, but every slight tilt of his bodyleft a blade slicing through empty air. Smack! Crunch! Thud!In less than thirty seconds, the four armed attackers were scattered across the asphalt, clutching their shattered joints and weeping in agonizing pain.The remaining men dropped their weapons, the metal pipe and iron bars clat
Chapter 163
Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-Three“Master Vale!” Black Bear choked out, desperately turning his head while keeping his chest low to the ground. “Please… give us a chance to atone! Master Tiger is on his way to the North District headquarters right now. He is ready to chop off his own hand to show his loyalty!”Adrian paused by the driver-side door of his truck. He rested his arm on the rusted roof, his dark eyes reflecting the cold, distant lights of the high-rise buildings in the South District.“Tell Tiger to keep his hand,” Adrian said smoothly, his voice carrying an unbothered, detached authority. “A severed hand won't fix the ledger. If he wants to keep his life, he needs to clean up the mess that the Noble family left on my doorstep.”Black Bear frantically nodded, his face smeared with tears. “Yes! Anything! Just give the command, Master!”“Alexander Noble paid you two hundred thousand dollars to break my hands and legs,” Adrian murmured, pulling open the squeaking door of hi
Chapter 164
Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-FourThe morning sun had barely crested the glittering skyscrapers of downtown Cape City before the upper crust of society received their exclusive digital invitations.The Grand Pavilion Hall, a masterpiece of French-classical architecture overlooking the Cape City marina, was being prepared for an emergency medical charity gala. Ostensibly, the event was organized by the Moore Group to raise funds for low-income healthcare infrastructure. In reality, everyone in the Southern Provinces knew the true purpose: Seraphina Moore was publicly celebrating the miraculous recovery of her grandfather, Old Master Moore, and asserting her absolute dominance over the city’s pharmaceutical and corporate networks.In the executive suite of the Moore Group, Seraphina stood before a marble-framed mirror, smooth silk falling perfectly around her silhouette. Vera stood behind her, adjusting the delicate diamond clasp of her evening gown.“Miss Seraphina,” Vera murmured,
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Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-FiveThe air inside the Grand Pavilion Hall grew suffocatingly dense. Dr. Gerald Moore stood beneath the multi-million-dollar crystal chandeliers, his tailored Italian suit reflecting the sharp flash of high-society cameras. He adjusted his silk pocket square, his face a mask of supreme, institutional arrogance as he looked down his nose at Adrian.“Traditional arts?” Dr. Gerald sneered, his voice amplified by the acoustic design of the ballroom so that every billionaire, healthcare director, and pharmaceutical executive in the Southern Provinces could hear him clearly. “Miss Seraphina, with all due respect to the Moore Group’s charity, this is an insult to modern science. You are parading a common manual laborer and a live-in son-in-law who spends his days clearing industrial grease and calling him a physician? He used a parlor trick to find the error with the artifact purely by coincidence. It was luck, nothing more. To allow him near actual medical e
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Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-SixThe paralyzing silence that had gripped the Grand Pavilion Hall finally cracked, replaced by a low, frantic murmur that rippled through the hundreds of elite guests.Dr. Gerald Moore remained frozen on his knees in the spilled wine, his hands still trembling as he stared at his father, Lord Harrison Moore. The billionaire patriarch was now sitting up completely on his own, his breathing deep and steady, the healthy color fully restored to his face. The state-of-the-art diagnostic scanner in Gerald hand beeped mockingly, its screen still flashing error codes Adrian stood with his usual unassuming slouch, casually rolling up his worn leather pouch of silver needles and sliding it back into his jacket pocket.Lord Harrison pushed his son’s hands away, his sharp eyes instantly locking onto Adrian. The elderly tycoon possessed a lifetime of experience; he knew exactly what had just happened.The modern western specialists had been ready to call his time
Chapter 167
Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-SevenThe thick, heavy glass doors of the Grand Pavilion Hall closed behind the Andrew family, cutting off the frantic murmurs of Cape City’s elite. The cool, salt-kissed air of the marina rushed over them, but it did nothing to cool the raging, silent storm brewing inside the luxury sedan on the drive back to the villa.Uncle Andrew gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned a bloodless white. In the passenger seat, Aunt Martha stared straight ahead, her chest heaving as she gripped her designer purse like a lifeline. She was suffocating in her own rage. Ten million dollars. Ten. Million. Dollars. Their brainless, live-in son-in-law had casually turned his back on a sum that could have elevated their entire household into a completely different social tier.Yet, every time Martha opened her mouth to scream, her eyes would catch Adrian’s reflection in the rearview mirror. He was sitting in the back seat, casually staring out the window a
Chapter 168
Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-Eight“Go on,” Seraphina demanded.“The entire remaining logistics infrastructure, the shipping charters, and the hidden warehouse networks of the Noble estate, assets worth over three hundred million dollars that the Moore Group was preparing to bid on this morning were entirely swallowed,” Vera reported, her breath hitching. “An invisible financial hand executed a total sovereign buyout at 3:00 a.m. The corporate shell registry listed the buyer as a primary subsidiary of Northern Holdings.”Seraphina slowly lowered herself into her executive chair, a cold sweat breaking out across the back of her neck. Northern Holdings. The massive, untouchable shadow empire that controlled the entire northern province had moved with a speed that defied modern regulatory law. It was as if they knew exactly when the Noble family would fall, waiting in the darkness to consume the carcass before the Moore Group could even open their ledgers.A profound, chilling realizat
Chapter 169
Chapter One-Hundred and Sixty-NineLina’s brow furrowed, a heavy weight settling into her chest. She knew her grandmother’s cold, ruthless nature all too well. Sophia had never acknowledged Adrian as a human being, let alone a grandson-in-law. For her to suddenly demand his presence meant only one thing: a trap was being laid in front of them.“Mother, if Grandmother is planning to use Adrian to flatter the elite, I won't go,” Lina said firmly, her fingers tightening around her laptop strap.“Lina, it’s fine,” Adrian spoke up softly, his rural drawl completely calm as he handed her a warm cup of tea and a small, neatly wrapped breakfast pastry. He smiled gently, his eyes entirely steady. “Family is family. It’s her 70th birthday. It would look inappropriate if we didn't show our respects. Besides, I should prepare a proper birthday gift for the matriarch.”Martha let out a sharp, involuntary cough, nearly choking on her coffee. She wanted to mock him—to scream that a cheap mechanic’s
Chapter 170
Chapter One-Hundred and SeventyLina let out a long, heavy sigh, her heart aching with a mixture of deep affection and intense anxiety. She knew her husband possessed a brilliant, eccentric understanding of traditional arts, but Grandma Sophia didn't care about health or vitality. She cared about ledgers. She cared about metrics of human worth.“Adrian,” Lina murmured, reaching out to gently touch his arm. “I love how thoughtful you are, but you don't know my grandmother. My cousins are bringing certified imperial jade carvings and imported Swiss gold watches worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you hand her a box of old tea leaves that looks like it came out of a dusty cellar, the entire family council will use it as an excuse to humiliate you in front of the elite guests. They’ll call it trash.”Adrian casually closed the wooden lid, the latch clicking softly into place. He looked into his wife’s anxious eyes.“True value isn't measured by the price tag the merchant slaps onto