Half an hour after leaving the company, Brian Foster handed the small paper bag from the inside pocket of his coat to the person he had called, “Test this and let me know the result as soon as possible!”

On the other side.

After leaving the Qianli Group Yongcheng branch office building, Henry Clark had no idea what had happened after his departure.

Anyway, he had said what he needed to say. Whether the other party listened or not was out of his control; at least he felt more at ease having spoken up.

Putting all that aside, Henry Clark felt a surge of energy. All the debts had been settled!

Time to set off! To Snake Mountain!

Chapter 4: Timid as a Mouse

After dealing with the debts and the studio matters, Henry Clark had another good night’s sleep.

But someone else didn’t sleep so well.

Because of what Henry Clark had said, after sending the item for testing, Brian Foster spent the night waiting anxiously for the results.

It was only at dawn that Brian Foster received the call.

The person on the other end sounded like they were hiding somewhere, speaking in a hushed tone as if about to reveal something terrifying.

“Mr. Foster, are you in some serious trouble?!”

Brian Foster’s heart sank. Just from that sentence, he knew things were bad.

“Just tell me the result first!”

The person on the phone took a deep breath, then continued in a low voice: “It’s real snakeskin, most likely wild. Not sure of the exact species—the leather’s been processed so it can’t be matched, but it’s probably a rare kind.

“I used the company’s newly imported, state-of-the-art equipment and test kits, so it took a bit longer. Luckily, all the machines are still in the trial phase, and I was the only one on night duty, so I didn’t keep any record of the results. Mr. Foster, where did you get this?”

Brian Foster squeezed his eyes shut hard, and when he opened them again, they were full of fierceness. He almost ground out the words through his teeth: “Someone gave it to me!”

The person on the other end let out a long sigh. “Bro, you’d better stay away from those people. I heard there’s an investigation into a batch of wild animal skins that hit the market recently. With the nature of your company, and your old man just recently saying in the official news that you’re responding to the national call to use more eco-friendly and safe materials… If you get caught up in this, even if you clear your name, it’ll still be a huge hassle. Plenty of people are just waiting for you to slip up! It’s not easy to build a big brand, and it wasn’t easy for you to get where you are. You can’t afford a stain like this!”

“I know all that! Just erase your operation records over there, and I’ll transfer the money to you in a bit.”

After hanging up and transferring the money, Brian Foster pulled up his contacts and sent a message to Henry Clark: “Thanks! I owe you one!”

……

Early in the morning, when Henry Clark got up, he saw the message and smiled.

Brian Foster might not show it on the surface, but he had listened. To fight his way to his current position in a big corporation, he was no simple character.

After replying politely, Henry Clark put the matter aside. He had a big mission ahead!

It was still a bit dark outside; the sun hadn’t come up yet.

Henry Clark slid open the glass door to the living room balcony, enjoying the cool morning breeze for a while, then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

He boiled a plate of frozen dumplings and steamed three eggs. That was all he had in the fridge—he’d been too busy lately to stock up.

Henry Clark took a bite of dumpling, cracked an egg, and was lost in thought when he looked up and saw a figure appear on the balcony.

If he hadn’t seen it, Henry Clark would have almost forgotten—there’d been a rat infestation in the complex lately!

A gray-brown rat, longer than a palm, swaggered in from outside the balcony.

Henry Clark tapped his egg.

The sound made the rat pause.

It glanced at Henry Clark, then kept walking into the room.

Henry Clark: ???

Not afraid of people?

So bold, right in front of him?

No wonder the residents had been complaining so much!

Thinking of what Jack Grant had said, Henry Clark quickly got up and closed all the room doors, including the bathroom and kitchen. The gaps under the doors weren’t big, so the rat couldn’t get in.

After shutting the bedroom door, Henry Clark returned to the dining table and continued cracking eggs.

When he’d gotten up, the rat had darted under the living room sofa. Now that Henry Clark was sitting again, it soon poked its head out from under the sofa, glanced at Henry Clark, and started rummaging through the living room trash bin.

Henry Clark stomped his foot. The rat shrank back under the sofa, but within five seconds it came out again, rummaging through the trash as if no one was there.

This time, even stomping didn’t work.

Henry Clark was stunned.

No wonder it was the king of the city!

There weren’t any handy tools at home, and Henry Clark had more important things to do today—he wasn’t going to waste time catching a rat.

After thinking for a moment, he used his chopsticks to peel off a piece of egg white, wrapped it in a napkin, and placed it on a low flower stand on the outside balcony. Then he retreated back inside to continue his breakfast, keeping an eye on the situation.

Sure enough, in no time, the rat lost interest in the trash, followed the scent to the balcony, and climbed up the flower stand to get the egg.

Henry Clark seized the chance to quickly slide the balcony glass door shut, trapping the rat outside. Then, through the glass, he snapped a photo and sent it to Jack Grant—

“Watch out downstairs.”

“…Damn! That woke me up real fast!” Jack Grant asked, “How did it climb up to your place?”