Will tomorrow really be better? At least right now, Emily Thompson doesn’t think so. Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him, Emily Thompson really has the urge to punch him hard. This guy has been holding his file and reading it for a full hour and a half, and from start to finish has only said one thing to him: “Your file is pretty thick! Just wait a bit, let me finish reading and then I’ll assign you some work.” And in this office, there’s only one chair, and of course, the one sitting isn’t Emily Thompson.

Once again, it’s that Grace Carter playing tricks. You’re really something, setting me up again, trying to force me to leave Hongda—no way. I, Emily Thompson, will stick it out with you.

Finally, after what felt like forever, even the balding Director Parker couldn’t hold out any longer. “Xiao Li! From your file, it looks like you’re quite capable. Here’s the thing: since you’re an old employee of Hongda, I happen to have a big case here—a vintage-style mansion in the center of Nanhui Town. The owner has left the keys and fully entrusted our company to sell it on their behalf. Your task is to sell this mansion before the end of the month. As for the client base, I’m sure with your experience you’ve built up quite a few contacts, so I won’t worry about that. Here’s the signed commission contract and the house keys. This job is yours. It’s a 4.5 million deal—if you pull it off, the bonus will be quite substantial. Alright, if there’s nothing else, go check out the mansion first.”

Under the “encouraging” gaze of Director, Emily Thompson forced himself to walk out of Director’s office despite his numb legs. As soon as he came out, the colleagues who had been chatting and laughing immediately fell silent, heads down. Looks like they’d been warned too.

With a self-mocking smile, Emily Thompson grabbed his coat and set off.

Sitting on the bus heading to the outskirts of Nanhui, Emily Thompson flipped through the mansion information that Director had given him: building area 860 square meters, usable area 676 square meters, three floors, listed at 4.75 million, net price 4.5 million, with a private garden covering 150 square meters. With over three years of real estate experience, Emily Thompson could tell from the data that this mansion really wasn’t expensive. But a big question mark rose in his mind—does Director look like the kind of person who’d just hand him a big deal for free? The answer was no.

Looking out the window, there were still at least two hours to go before reaching the Nanhui Town center stop. No point overthinking—better to close his eyes and rest.

“2 Xinnan Street, I finally found it.” Staring at the “mansion” he’d struggled so hard to locate, Emily Thompson’s heart sank. Was this really the 4.5 million mansion?

A building that could only be described as “dilapidated.” After nearly breaking the key, Emily Thompson finally managed to open the rusted main gate, only to be greeted by a swampy field overgrown with weeds—probably the result of last night’s heavy rain.

“Well! A 150-square-meter private garden, and there really are a few wildflowers.” Joking to himself, Emily Thompson couldn’t help but recall the “encouraging” look Director had given him before he left the office, finally understanding the hidden meaning in that gaze—it was mockery.

No matter what, since he was here, he might as well go in and take a look. Who knows, maybe the inside was luxuriously decorated, with imported Italian tiles, handwoven cashmere carpets from Northern Ireland, the most expensive West German bathroom fixtures…

Emily Thompson’s fantasies were instantly crushed the moment he pushed open the rickety wooden door that looked like it would fall apart at a touch. “Pfft, 4.5 million? I’d be lucky to sell it for a million.” He quickly ran through all three floors. If he had to find a fitting description for this so-called mansion, Emily Thompson would blurt out two words: “haunted house.” Maybe a horror film crew would be interested in this place.

Just as he was about to leave, a sound like insect chirping reached Emily Thompson’s ears, but it didn’t feel like any ordinary insect noise—it was very strange.

Could there really be a ghost? In broad daylight, what’s there for a grown man like me to be afraid of? His curiosity piqued, Emily Thompson followed the sound.

Pushing open the door, he stepped into the weed-choked field that looked like a graveyard, struggling over several deep pits and muddy patches. The strange chirping grew louder, pushing Emily Thompson’s curiosity to its peak.

This was it. When Emily Thompson suddenly parted a clump of weeds almost as tall as himself, he froze like a statue. If he hadn’t been an orphan who’d developed nerves of steel since childhood, he would have screamed and bolted.

What kind of monster was this? It was… just too bizarre. In front of Emily Thompson was a creature with the body of a snake and the head of a fish, seven or eight meters long and as thick as a bowl. Its pair of jade-green eyes stared right at Emily Thompson, and its throat kept undulating—the strange chirping was coming from there.

After a moment of blank terror, Emily Thompson’s first instinct was to run. But he didn’t immediately turn and flee, because something else caught his eye: an ancient, elegantly shaped black jade ring, faintly emitting a green glow.