“Oh.” James Carter took it, placed it in his palm, and felt its weight. He muttered, “It’s so heavy, is it platinum?”

　　Chapter 5 Opportunity

　　“Little miser.” Uncle ruffled his hair again, both exasperated and amused, and said, “It’s much more precious than platinum. Take good care of it, and don’t you dare lose it.”

　　As he spoke, he glanced at James Carter’s rather slender fingers and reminded him, “When you get home, find a necklace and wear it around your neck, keep it close to you.”

　　“Uncle…” James Carter said with a troubled look, “Since it’s so valuable, you should keep it yourself…”

　　Looking at the wolf-head ring that James Carter was fiddling with, Uncle’s gaze grew deep, and he said quietly, “If I could keep it myself, why would I entrust it to you? Just take care of it.”

　　Uncle had never asked him to do anything before. The things he was asking today were just small favors, and James Carter couldn’t and wouldn’t refuse.

　　He nodded, carefully put the ring into his pocket, and said solemnly, “Don’t worry, Uncle, I’ll keep it safe and return it to you when you come back.”

　　“Mm.” Uncle took a deep breath, nodded with satisfaction, then patted James Carter on the shoulder and said, “You’re very smart. When I was your age, I was still a clueless kid. But smart people are easily misled by their own cleverness. In the future, you must choose your path carefully. You only have one life—if you don’t cherish it, it will leave you. Remember, never risk your life, no matter what. The thing I hate most in this life is taking risks.”

　　James Carter nodded repeatedly and said, “I’ve remembered everything you said, Uncle.” After a pause, he half-jokingly added, “Uncle, why do you sound like you’re giving your last words today?”

　　Uncle was taken aback, then burst out laughing.

　　James Carter had only meant to lighten the mood with a joke, but unexpectedly, his words became a prophecy. This meeting turned out to be the last time he ever saw Uncle. From that day on, Uncle disappeared from his life—completely and utterly vanished, never to appear again.

　　Uncle was like a mystery. James Carter didn’t know Uncle’s name, background, or origins, nor did he know where he went after leaving this time, whether he was alive or dead. In short, he was gone, as if Uncle had never existed in this world. Even if he wanted to report him missing, he couldn’t provide a single complete or accurate piece of information.

　　If it weren’t for the wolf-head ring and that laptop, James Carter would have suspected he had schizophrenia, that he’d spent the past year talking to someone who never existed, a figment of his own imagination.

　　Uncle never returned after leaving, and James Carter continued to do what Uncle had entrusted to him: on the fifteenth of every month, he would open the website of that adult products company, log in, wait for the page to load, and then enter the amount of two hundred thousand to make a transfer.

　　He was also curious how much money Uncle’s account actually had, but he never checked. He knew the balance must be astronomical, and he didn’t want to look, nor did he dare, for fear that seeing it would tempt him.

　　He did try opening the chatroom once, but there was no one there. In the chatroom’s sidebar, only his own name appeared.

　　Uncle had disappeared, but his life went on. Day by day, he kept up his habit of running with weights every day.

　　Time flew by, and James Carter advanced to his final year of high school. His studies became even more demanding, and even at home, his older brother forced him to get up early and stay up late to study every day.

　　In the second semester of his final year, James Carter finally got the chance he’d been waiting for—a chance to bring down Edward King once and for all.

　　Now, he truly realized how accurate Uncle’s prediction had been. Long ago, Uncle had told him that people like Edward King would inevitably get into trouble sooner or later, so waiting for a chance to deal with him wouldn’t be difficult.

　　Sure enough, the opportunity came.

　　Edward King did something incredibly stupid—he had an affair with Michael Bolton’s wife. Michael Bolton was a notorious thug in the G district, running clubs and dance halls, involved in all sorts of shady businesses—gambling, drugs, prostitution. He had his own crew and enforcers, a bona fide gangster.

　　Compared to him, Edward King was just a petty hoodlum, a small fry. But Edward King, not knowing his place, got involved with Michael Bolton’s wife. When the affair was exposed, Michael Bolton threatened to tear Edward King to pieces, and Edward King was so scared he went into hiding, not daring to show his face.

　　Of course, Edward King had his own backing—he had connections in the police. His uncle was the captain of the district’s criminal police team. In the past, whenever he got into trouble, his uncle would clean up the mess for him. He figured this time was no big deal either; as long as he laid low for a while and waited for Michael Bolton to cool off, his uncle could step in and mediate, and Michael Bolton wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. After all, you have to give some respect, unless Michael Bolton wanted to make life difficult for himself in the future.

　　No matter what Edward King was thinking, this incident made James Carter keenly aware that his chance for revenge had finally arrived.