The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

As the saying goes, when people meet, they're either lying or acting, and Chen Guan doesn't consider his acting skills to be bad.

"The guy in the hat said to stay in your position and report any situation using the walkie-talkie. I called after hearing on the walkie-talkie that something had happened in the southeast corner, but no one answered. The bald guy said to wait until dawn, so I waited."

The woman did not respond.

The two people behind her stood at the doorway, one looking at the bald man and the other at the short-haired woman, their expressions chillingly cold.

"What did you do before?" the woman asked.

"I've worked as a security guard, a courier, and occasionally a day job cleaning up strange beasts."

"Where did it come from?"

"southwest."

"How long have you been in Ruian?"

"Less than a month."

"Who recommended you?"

"No one introduced me. I spent a few days wandering around the No. 13 warehouse complex and heard there was work available, so I came here."

The woman's gaze shifted from him to the bald man.

"And you."

The bald man sat very upright and gave a concise answer.

"I was in the northwest corner and didn't move all night. After losing contact with the southeast corner on the walkie-talkie, I asked if we should go check it out. The team leader told me not to move, and then there was no sound."

"You didn't see anything either?"

"The northwest corner location faces the outer perimeter of the warehouse complex. With my back to the berths and cold storage, all I could see was the road outside and a few stray dogs."

The woman then looked at the short-haired woman.

"The south passage has always been there." The short-haired woman's answer was even shorter than the bald man's.

"Has anyone been passing by in your direction?"

"no."

The woman remained silent for a while.

"What happened last night wasn't something an ordinary person would do," the woman finally spoke again, her tone unchanged.

"The door to the cold storage was torn open from the inside. Neither of the two guards could be found; they were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. There were no signs of a struggle or blood at the scene."

"Anyone who can achieve this level must be at least at the fifth rank or higher, and most likely possess spatial abilities."

Chen Guan blinked under his mask.

The judgment that it pertains to a spatial system, specifically the fifth order or higher, is quite accurate.

However… Chen Guan thought back and realized that he couldn’t sense Guan Jinyue’s strength just now, and he didn’t know what her strength was now.

"The three of you are the only casual workers left from last night. According to the rules, if there is a problem with the work, the casual workers must either be dismissed or dealt with. There is no third option."

The woman glanced at Chen Guan: "You said you're a summoner."

"Um."

"Where is the beast?"

Chen Guan tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on Leopard.

The leopard lay down beside him, its head resting on its front paws, its purple pupils half-closed, like a sleepy big cat.

The woman's gaze swept over the cheetah, lingering for a moment on its purple fur.

"A mutant?"

"Um."

"What rank?"

"Third tier".

"What abilities do you have? And who are you?"

"It has some spatial abilities. As for me, I'm just over third rank, almost fourth rank."

Chen Guan tried to serve the food. This skill was commendable for an eighteen-year-old student, but not outstanding for He Chenguan's age.

After all, the period from eighteen to twenty-two is the golden age of a person's life, when progress is fastest.

She did not press the matter of rank further.

"What level of casual jobs did you take on before?"

"Most of them are low-level, and occasionally we've encountered one or two mid-level beasts to clear out. It's done in groups, so it's not too difficult."

After listening, the woman briefly looked away and glanced at one of the people at the door.

The person nodded slightly.

The woman looked at him again.

How much money do you want to earn?

The question came suddenly, and both the bald woman and the short-haired woman tilted their heads slightly.

"It depends on the size of the animal." Chen Guan didn't rush to quote a price.

"If there were a stable job with longer hours and three times the pay of casual labor, would you take it?"

"What job?"

"Still managing the place." The woman's lips moved slightly. "But the place will be different. You'll need to stay with us for a while and do something more important than last night."

Upon hearing the woman's words, Chen Guan knew what she was going to say next.

Guan Jinyue unintentionally helped him in this way.

What a kind person.

Chen Guan glanced down at the leopard lying at his feet, chose to follow procedure, and reached out to pat its head, as if he were consulting with his beast.

"OK."

Chen Guan agreed.

As for the bald man and the short-haired woman, they were dismissed by the woman from before, but they were given some money and left without lingering.

Whether the two of them could actually leave was no longer Chen Guan's concern.

The woman told Chen Guan that her name was Wang Dan.

Wang Dan took Chen Guan and left the No. 13 warehouse complex.

He took a different route than he had come by, passing through several rows of abandoned factory buildings, making two turns, and finally exiting through an iron gate that had been cut open with a welding torch. Outside, a gray van was parked.

"Get in the car."

Chen Guan opened the back door, and Leopard jumped up first, followed by Chen Guan.

A moisture-proof mat was laid in the carriage, and several empty iron boxes were piled in the corner, emitting a smell of engine oil mixed with disinfectant.

Wang Dan sat in the passenger seat and started the car without looking back at him.

After driving for about forty minutes, the car stopped.

Chen Guan stepped off the train from the back door. In front of him was a three-story cement building with a layer of grayish-white paint on the exterior walls, iron bars on the windows, and several rusty antennas on the roof.

"This is a transit station." Wang Dan got out of the passenger seat and stood in front of the building: "You'll stay here for now; all the work will be assigned from here."

Chen Guan glanced around the building. To the left was a narrow alley, and to the right was a wall. Outside the wall, he could see the shadows of several cranes. It was still within the port area, but much farther from the dock.

Without giving her more time to observe, Chen Guan followed her up to the second floor, walked down a dimly lit corridor, and stopped in front of a room at the end.

Wang Dan pushed open the door. The room inside was much better than the tin shack in the No. 13 warehouse complex. At least there was a window, a decent table and a chair, and the bed had been changed from a cot to a single iron-framed bed with a thin mattress.

"You'll stay in this room."

Chen Guan went inside, with Leopard following behind. They circled the room and chose a spot by the window to lie down.

Wang Dan stood at the door without coming in, her arms crossed over her chest, her back against the door frame.

"This time, I'll be more honest too." Wang Dan loosened her crossed arms, took out a palm-sized metal box from the inside pocket of her trench coat, and placed it on the table.

"There's a demon core inside."

Chen Guan glanced at the iron box but didn't reach for it.

"A fifth-tier dragon-skin demon core, in perfect condition."

Chen Guan blinked under his mask.

He knew about the demon core of the Jiao Shen. This thing could sell for an outrageous price on the black market, not because of its rank, but because of the rarity of the Jiao Shen species itself.