Chapter 28: Yan Jing's Target Investor

The girl's blush said it all.

Yan Jing pressed the contract back into Gu Qingqing's hands and said solemnly, "You have a good eye, miss, but I sell my skills, not my body."

The rejection left Gu Qingqing a little dazed.

In her mind, a Sub-Class C Contract should have been a lifeline for an outcast abandoned by his Family like Yan Jing. He should have clung to it desperately, willing to do anything.

"Maybe you should think about it..."

Her gaze drifted down from his abdomen. She bit her lip and added, "Actually, a Class C Contract isn't entirely off the table."

"Gu Qingqing!"

Her wavy-haired friend sighed, genuinely unable to bear watching her best friend embarrass herself.

Yan Jing shook his head. Rejecting her a second time, he turned and walked away, leaving a forlorn Gu Qingqing standing rooted to the spot.

The wavy-haired girl stared speechlessly at her uninhibited friend.

"Stop staring, he's miles away by now. Let's go! I'll treat you to that new ice cream place—"

"Beep!"

Suddenly, her phone chimed in her pocket.

After reading the new message, she let out a sigh of relief and shoved the screen right in front of Gu Qingqing's face.

"Look at this. Still sad?"

Gu Qingqing read the message on the screen.

It contained a detailed report on the conflict between Yan Jing and Lin Mian during Stage A of the Dungeon, along with the Lin Family's subsequent reaction.

By the time she finished reading, all regret had vanished from her face. Beaming, she clung to her wavy-haired friend's arm.

"It's a deal, then! You're paying, and I want a double scoop!"

If he had a feud with the Lin Family's rising star, Yan Jing's slight advantage in looks was completely worthless.

He wasn't even worth an exploitative grade D contract, let alone a Class C Contract.

No one wanted to provoke a genius from a major family, especially with rumors claiming Lin Mian likely possessed a yellow-quality Day Selection Ritual.

Thank goodness she hadn't signed him. She had nearly brought disaster upon herself.

Her initial regret instantly transformed into the relief of a narrow escape. Such was the influence of the geniuses from Ling'an City's major families.

"Ding!"

The elevator doors opened, indicating the forty-fifth floor, and Yan Jing immediately stepped out.

The decor on the forty-fifth floor was noticeably different from the other floors. The entire ceiling was painted dark blue and dotted with countless tiny light sources. At first glance, it looked like a glittering starry sky.

The master of this floor was an investor firm named Star Orbit Investment Bank. Aside from a few obscure corners rented out to smaller, independent firms, the vast majority of the forty-fifth floor belonged to this investment bank.

Yan Jing walked over to the reception desk and asked one of the receptionists, "Hello, I'd like to ask where Youmai Investment Bank is located."

"Youmai Investment Bank..."

Clearly, this firm didn't see many visitors. The receptionist blanked for a moment at the name, then tapped away at her computer for a good while before finally giving him directions:

"Go all the way down the left corridor. It'll be one of the last few doors."

"Thank you."

Following the receptionist's instructions, Yan Jing headed left. The deeper he went, the dimmer the starlight overhead became. By the time he reached the final doors, the starlight had completely vanished.

Fortunately, there were only two doors in this area. The very last one was labeled 'Utility Room,' so he wouldn't get it wrong.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Yan Jing knocked on the second-to-last door.

"Come in."

A listless woman's voice called out from inside.

Yan Jing pushed the door open, but it only went halfway. Something was wedged behind it, leaving the door and the frame stuck at an acute angle.

After squeezing through the gap, he finally saw what was blocking the way.

Black garbage bags of all sizes were piled into mountains behind the door. Right in the center of these peaks, a desk was buried underneath, where he could faintly make out a woman's head resting on the surface.

Seeing Yan Jing enter, the woman struggled to her feet from amidst the peaks.

"Hello. What kind of business can I help you with?"

The woman blinked at him, wearing a slightly ingratiating, professional smile.

She looked to be around thirty and was wearing an old-fashioned pajama set as thick as a winter coat. Her face was completely devoid of color—not the sickly pale of malnutrition, but the haggard pallor of someone with a severely irregular sleep schedule who hadn't bothered to freshen up.

This was especially obvious from her lips. Had she applied a touch of rouge, they would have been stunning, but right now, they were as pale as faded cotton pants.

Seeing Yan Jing stay silent, the woman seemed to think she had scared him. She hurriedly smoothed down her messy, bird's-nest hair, her smile turning rather fawning.

"I'm sorry, sir. I've been busy with a few major deals lately and haven't gotten much rest. Why don't you have a seat for a moment while I clean up?"

With that, she struggled to climb out of the mountain of garbage bags, nearly pitching forward headfirst.

"Hehe, sorry, sir. Could you give me a hand?"

She reached out to Yan Jing with a grin, not looking embarrassed in the slightest.

Yan Jing reached out and pulled her from the pile of trash.

The woman patted the dust off her clothes and immediately smiled.

"Just a moment, Mr. Yan. I'll tidy up the room—"

"Don't bother, Miss Shen," Yan Jing said.

He looked into the woman's fox-like eyes hidden behind her thick, black-rimmed glasses.

He cut straight to the chase:

"I'm here because I want you to be my investor, Miss Shen."

"..."

Yan Jing wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but after he said that, even though the smile remained on the woman's face, the distance between them seemed to instantly widen.

"I'm sorry, sir. For my investor services, I already have my candidates."

She smiled. "Why don't you look elsewhere?"

"I haven't even introduced myself yet."

Yan Jing smiled. "Don't other investors offer contracts based on the investee's detailed circumstances?"

The woman's smile didn't waver:

"Yan Jing, male, twenty-three years old. Recently entered the Novice Dungeon 'Rotten Vegetable Village.' Participants from the same cohort include the Lin Family's rising star Lin Mian, the second daughter of the An Family's fifth branch An Ranran, Qianjin Investment Bank's most promising newcomer of the past two years Mu Wan, Mu Wan's investee Mo Nagu, and the Wu Family's key nurtured target Wu Mian."

"During Stage A, leveraging an information gap, you caused both Lin Mian and An Ranran to be infected by a type of black, hair-like root. Even a newly ascended Third Rite expert from the Lin Family couldn't eradicate it, thus forging a bitter grudge with Lin Mian."

"I never expected you to make it out of Stage B of the Dungeon alive. You must be quite lucky."

Her words stopped just short of explicitly stating that Yan Jing was too weak and entirely unqualified.

Yan Jing smiled and nodded.

"As expected of the sole surviving scion of the Shen Family. Your intelligence is far more detailed than anyone else's."

Hearing this, the smile on the woman's face faded slightly.

Being called the sole surviving scion of the Shen Family was no compliment to her.

Mimicking her tone, Yan Jing continued, "Shen Youran, daughter of the Shen Family, once the most famous investor family in the Third Ring Domain."

"Over ten years ago, Mu Yi—the investee most favored by the Shen Family head—suddenly turned traitor. He colluded with two branch factions to completely hollow out the Master Household's lineage. From then on, the Shen Family existed in name only, and the Mu Family rose to power."

"And you, the Shen Family daughter, fled with hidden assets and managed to survive."

By the time Yan Jing finished, the smile on Shen Youran's face had faded until it was barely visible.

"Sir, anyone could find a mountain of information about this with a simple online search. How about you tell me something I can't find on the web?"

Yan Jing nodded and pulled a notebook from his pocket. Aside from the two thousand or so Surface World currency, this was the only inheritance the original owner had left him.

It contained records of all the investors the original owner had ever looked into.

He flipped to a specific page.

"Six years ago, Shen Youran abruptly announced her return to the Third Ring Domain with a mysterious investee. This investee displayed extraordinary talent and strength, dealing a heavy blow to the Mu Family at the time."

"Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, that investee ultimately chose to leave. Afterward, this Shen Family survivor left the Third Ring Domain and never invested in anyone again."

"Until now."

With her biggest scar laid bare, Shen Youran's smile vanished entirely.

She stared at Yan Jing, her narrow eyes behind the black-rimmed glasses seeming as though they wanted to see through him completely.

This reminded Yan Jing of the Iceberg Woman's gaze in the Inner World, though Shen Youran's eyes held a bit more fury right now.

Suddenly, Shen Youran smiled again.

"Mr. Yan, I have no idea what you're talking about. But frankly speaking, it's impossible for me to choose you as my investee. Compared to my other candidates, you are simply too weak."

"Are they all scions of major families?" Yan Jing asked with a smile.

Shen Youran didn't back down, her smile sharp:

"Of course."

"Then why would they choose you?"

He asked with a smile before answering his own question: "Unless their standing within their families is utterly average, or even rather difficult."

"Do you really think people like that can help you achieve your goals?"

He looked at her with a gentle smile, one that seemed particularly glaring in Shen Youran's eyes.

"And how are you any different from them, Mr. Yan?"

Shen Youran crossed her arms, refusing to show weakness as she sneered. "Is your only advantage that you've already been thrown out by your Family?"

Yan Jing's smile was unbothered.

"Perhaps you're right, Miss Shen. What a pity. I thought you would be somewhat unique compared to the others—at the very least, your information network should have been more advanced."

With that, he simply turned and walked away.

He still had plenty of options; he didn't strictly need Shen Youran.

Shen Youran watched Yan Jing walk out the door and let out a cold laugh.

Playing hard to get? I've been using that trick since I was in diapers.

If I take a single step to chase after you, I'll call you my dad!

"Beep, beep, beep!"

Just as she was about to head back to her desk, a flurry of phone notifications went off. Fumbling around, Shen Youran pulled her phone out of her pajama pants and checked it.

With a single glance, her pupils shrank and her breathing involuntarily grew ragged.

[Reliable intel: Yan Jing of the Yan Family obtained at least two yellow-quality items during Stage B of Rotten Vegetable Village. See the attached file for details.]

Yellow-quality items?! A Novice Dungeon?! Day Selection Ritual?!

Staring at the now-empty doorway, Shen Youran froze for a second. Ignoring the flip-flops on her feet, she burst out the door, sprinting after Yan Jing, who hadn't gotten far. With a flying leap, she threw herself at him and wrapped her arms tightly around his thigh.

"Miss Shen, what are you..."

Yan Jing's expression remained perfectly calm.

"Mr. Yan, let's talk a little more."

Shen Youran clung to Yan Jing's thigh, flashing him a smile so radiant it bordered on exaggerated.

It was a complete 180 from her dismissive attitude just moments ago.

"Why don't you let go first?"

Yan Jing glanced around; people in the distance were already turning their eyes toward them.

"Promise me! Promise me and I'll let go. Just pretend whatever I said earlier was a fart in the wind. I was wrong. Let's just chat a little longer. It won't take up much of your time, hehe."

So what if she had to call him dad? Her real dad was already dead anyway, chopped into minced meat by that damned bastard without a single bone left behind.

Amidst her shameless, awkward laughter, the famous investor known in the industry by the code name 'Female Ruffian,' Shen Youran—

—had finally revealed her true colors in this moment.