Chapter 310: The Ultimate Humiliation, Naive Chuck!
"Come on!"
Ross shouted, "I know we didn't get along before, but I'm Monica's brother—why can't you be one of my connections?"
"I can,"
Chuck said bluntly, "but I don't want to."
"..."
Ross immediately looked to Monica for help.
Hearing Chuck's words, especially after his near-death experience, he was immediately terrified.
He would definitely hire professional security personnel in the future, but he was genuinely worried about being scammed.
It wasn't unheard of.
There were even many unimaginable methods waiting for him.
He felt a mixture of joy and fear.
In his social circle, it seemed that only Chuck could truly be relied upon... although he had previously been very annoyed by Chuck's confidence.
"Chuck, don't scare him,"
Monica said with a laugh, trying to smooth things over. "Ross, look at yourself—if it weren't for Chuck, would you still be here?"
"Yeah,"
Rachel laughed. "If you weren't Monica's brother, by the time we called the police after you'd been missing for two days, it would've been too late."
"That's true."
Ross gave Chuck a forced smile, then, as if remembering something, his eyes widened as he looked at his friends. "Why did it take you two days to realize I was missing?!"
"You have the nerve to say that,"
Monica immediately retorted. "Why didn't you send a single message after that woman started messing with you? Two whole days! What were you thinking about?"
"What else could he be thinking about?"
Chandler teased. "Of course—charge, charge, charge!"
"..."
Ross's face darkened.
But thinking about those two days, and especially after the judge had declared the marriage invalid and Vicky got nothing, a smug smile crept onto his lips.
Yes.
No matter what country you're in, human weakness is all about getting something for nothing!
All he lost was his dignity.
But what he got was two days of VIP all-inclusive freebies.
Vicky used every trick in the book to completely tie him to the bed; the experience was indescribable.
Wait!
No!
He absolutely had to talk about it. Once Chandler, Joey, and the other guys were around, he had to tell them everything!
It was so satisfying!
Actually, after he recovered from his exhaustion, he immediately thought of contacting his old friends to share, but Vicky stopped him.
To keep him in his confident state, Vicky not only used her own efforts but also cleverly used Chuck's reputation to provoke him.
One sentence was enough to make him stick to his plan, even if it meant taking enhancement pills.
Detective Chuck can do it, so why can't you?
Unfortunately, this only lasted two days before it became useless, leading the new Mrs. Vicky Geller to completely decide to kill him.
"Look at that expression—I want to hear the details,"
Chandler said, pointing at Ross's eyes.
"Stop fooling around, let's get down to business."
Monica wasn't in the same mood as them, still worried about her brother's safety. "Chuck, what do you think Ross should do?"
"It's no use saying anything—it's his own decision."
Chuck shook his head.
"He'll listen to you!"
Monica glared at Ross, constantly giving her brother meaningful glances, forcing him to take a stand.
"Ahem."
Ross was still a little giddy from the thrill of getting away with it, and couldn't quite shake it off. He put on airs and said, "Chuck, just say it."
Chuck didn't speak, just looked at him.
"On the condition that you don't mention donating money."
Chandler immediately understood and leaned closer to Ross's face, adding what Ross hadn't said.
"It's not that I'm unwilling to donate money..."
Ross immediately hesitated. "It's just that donations of a hundred million here and a hundred million there—my money doesn't grow on trees... Besides throwing money around, what other good options are there?"
"Don't rush to claim the prize—you have six months to think about this carefully."
Chuck said calmly. "In these six months, for Monica's sake, I can basically guarantee your safety."
There are time limits for claiming Powerball prizes in the United States, and they vary from state to state—some have 90 days, some have 180 days, and some have a year.
"How can you do that?"
Ross asked subconsciously.
"Have you heard of The Wizard of Oz?"
Chuck asked.
"Oh, I know that."
Ross smiled proudly. "We paleontologists often exchange ideas with colleagues all over the world.
It's a classic American story—Dorothy following the Yellow Brick Road with her companions."
"Good that you know it."
Chuck didn't ask what he knew, and said expressionlessly. "But think about it differently—imagine if Dorothy was carrying something everyone wanted, say a treasure worth billions.
Your situation is similar. You've won a massive $2.04 billion lottery, and that's like carrying the most valuable treasure in the world.
Every criminal, con artist, and desperate person out there now sees you as a walking ATM.
And you, like someone naive and trusting, think you can handle this on your own, always thinking you can still hold on.
In fact, because you haven't claimed the prize yet, even if those people capture you, they won't kill you immediately, giving me time to rescue you."
"The premise is that you don't get married again."
Chandler couldn't help but scoff. "Otherwise, the third or even more Mrs. Ross Gellers would be eager to inherit everything as widows... As long as you don't get married, Chuck can get you out of there—don't worry."
"I understand!"
Monica's eyes lit up. "Ross, you should choose to receive it long-term, split into thirty years, receiving a little over seventy million each year—enough for any expenses you might have.
This way, you can not only receive the full $2.04 billion, but also keep various people from killing you outright. Even if you get kidnapped, you'll have enough time for me to ask Chuck to rescue you."
"So much money sitting there unclaimed, splitting into thirty years—who knows when the lottery company will go bankrupt, and I might not even get the money then."
Ross hesitated, seeing his sister glaring at him with disapproval, and weakly said, "Besides, I'm not exactly in the same situation, am I? Let me think about it some more..."
"It's definitely different. In some versions of the story, Dorothy's beauty attracted attention along with her treasure,"
Chuck corrected. "But if you were captured, no beautiful criminal would look at you that way. You don't really think that Vicky only did this because you're extremely stingy, and that's why she didn't hesitate to become a widow?"
"..."
Ross's face darkened instantly.
He knew what Chuck meant.
"Looks like you understand."
Chuck nodded. "You can't count on attractive criminals having any interest in you personally, and you probably wouldn't want those desperate, violent criminals to be your next spouse either.
In crimes with such high stakes, violence is inevitable, and once violence occurs, all sorts of unpredictable accidents will happen.
Most criminals who capture lottery winners will wait to see if law enforcement can stop them. Only after confirming that the authorities can't do anything would they consider more extreme measures.
But there are always a few wild cards who don't know the rules, or a few criminals with too much power who think law enforcement can't touch them, so they capture their target and immediately act on their plans.
So I can only say that before you claim the prize, and assuming you don't rush into a third or fourth marriage, I have a high chance of rescuing you.
But I'm not 100% sure.
And after you claim the prize, even if you choose to receive it long-term, I have absolutely no chance of rescuing you in time."
Ross's dark face instantly turned pale again.
He didn't fully understand all the analogies, but he grasped the concept perfectly.
After all, he had just experienced it firsthand.
"Why?"
Monica asked, puzzled. "He only receives a little over 70 million a year, and there's still over a billion left to collect. Would those people really be willing to kill him?"
"That depends on who it is,"
Chuck explained. "Even if he only receives the first year's 70 million, that amount is enough to tempt all sorts of greedy people to take risks.
Once they get that money, they don't care who gets the rest."
"That sounds terrifying,"
Phoebe complained. "Forget it, I'm not buying a lottery ticket. What if I won 2.04 billion dollars? I wouldn't know what to do!"
Ross was conflicted. He was still ecstatic—after all, it was 2.04 billion dollars—but now, after Chuck's analysis, his worry and fear intensified, completely erasing the initial euphoria.
The next morning,
Ross was discharged from the hospital, resolved the police questioning, and returned to New York with his companions.
"Are you alright?"
Jack, who was already waiting at the apartment, patted Ross on the shoulder. "Dude, a $2.04 billion jackpot—awesome!"
"Ross, this is Jack,"
Chandler introduced his friend. "He's a detective. He was a huge help this time, confirming Vicky's identity immediately. Otherwise, Chuck wouldn't have been able to save you before you were hit by the train."
"Thank you so much,"
Ross said gratefully to the detective.
"You're welcome,"
Jack laughed. "You're Chuck and Chandler's friend, so helping you is only right."
Ross nodded and went inside to lie down on the sofa.
Monica smiled awkwardly at Jack, thanking him profusely on behalf of her brother. Then she told Chandler to attend to Jack while she went inside and dragged Ross, who was slumped on the sofa, into the bedroom, giving him a good scolding.
After a while, Ross came out muttering, "I know, okay?"
Then he went to the side, took out his dinosaur checkbook, and started writing.
"Finally, the thank-you payment is here!"
Chandler smiled at Jack upon seeing this.
"This... is this appropriate?"
Jack rubbed his hands together, a smile playing on his lips.
"Stop pretending!"
Chandler bluntly called him out. "You're in a financial crisis right now. You've wasted all your money on that sports car, and you're spending lavishly on other things.
The rental apartment your grandmother left you is going to be repossessed—it's filled with your fond childhood memories.
You're just a cop, and when you went to the bank to get a loan to buy the house, the bank manager burst out laughing after you finished speaking, almost forcing you to resort to loan sharks.
Are you sure you don't want this tip for rescuing a billionaire?"
"I should at least be polite."
Jack immediately dropped the act, chuckling as Ross approached with the check.
"Jack, thank you for helping me. This is just a small token—you must accept it."
Ross reluctantly handed over the check.
"I'm so sorry... but I know you're a billionaire, so thanks, buddy!"
Jack said politely, then, at Chandler's signal, he snatched the dinosaur check, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the number, then his smile froze.
"How much?"
Rachel had already noticed the commotion and crept over, snatching the dinosaur check, looking at it, and exclaiming incredulously, "$400?! Are you serious?!"
Jack didn't speak, but his look at Ross conveyed the same message.
"What's wrong?"
Ross was uncomfortable with this expression and tone, and retorted stiffly, "Jack's a cop—he only gets $200 a day, and he doesn't even need half a day to help me. I'm giving him two days' worth, which is practically four times that amount. Isn't that enough?"
"Now I know why Vicky made that choice."
The glimmer of enthusiasm Rachel had for Ross vanished completely. She tossed the dinosaur check for $400 aside, her attitude returning to normal.
Hmm.
Not only indifferent, but also a little contemptuous.
How incredibly stingy!
A billionaire worth $2.04 billion who helped save his life was dismissed with just $400.
And even then, he was reluctant!
No wonder Vicky made that choice—Rachel now felt that Vicky was indeed shrewd, calculating, and decisive!
"I was naive."
Having witnessed Ross's outrageous actions, Chuck was silent for a moment, then bluntly said, "I actually suggested he donate $100 million each to the NRA and the Texas government."
He then looked at the annoyed detective holding the $400 dinosaur check, his expression unreadable. "If I were you, I'd have him write a new check."
"Whatever you think is appropriate, I'll write it."
Ross, relentlessly pestered by Monica, finally couldn't take it anymore. For his own safety, he had no choice but to compromise with Chuck, forcing a smile as he said, "I haven't collected the prize money yet, and I don't have any money in my account..."
"You definitely have enough money in your account."
Chuck glanced at him, then looked at the annoyed detective. "If I were you, I'd have him write a check for $165.70."
"Why $165.70?"
Everyone couldn't help but wonder.
Chuck didn't answer, but simply opened his phone, flipped to a page, and showed it to everyone.
"Pfft!"
After a moment of stunned silence, Rachel and the others couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Ha! I get it."
Chandler looked at the market price of beef shown by Chuck. "Beef price per pound multiplied by Ross's weight—$165.70, no problem!"
Ross, who had just been valued at meat prices, turned ashen-faced. "..."
(End of Chapter)
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