Chapter 3

Later, my assistant reported back that someone really had been secretly following her.

The moment I heard that, my heart leaped. The fish had finally taken the bait.

After discovering gold at the Rosha River site, I rushed back to the institute as fast as I could. I arrived just in time to see Jane giving another presentation on a newly discovered gold deposit.

A thrill of anticipation ran through me. I was ready to watch her make a fool of herself.

Instead, she said, “This time, I identified a placer gold deposit at the Rosha River. The estimated reserves are...”

The moment I heard that, I froze.

I had planned everything so carefully, so how had she pulled it off again?

As I watched Jane speaking onstage with complete confidence, frustration and disbelief sank into my chest.

Just then, my fiancé, Ryan, walked over and sneered.

“What, seeing my junior apprentice find another gold deposit got you jealous again?”

“No, I...”

“Oh, spare me. You think I don’t know exactly what kind of person you are? From now on, just follow behind Jane and learn properly. Stop overestimating yourself.”

Before I could finish, Ryan cut me off without a shred of mercy.

I watched as Ryan and the rest of the crew crowded around Jane, congratulating her and slapping high fives.

My heart sank.

Why?

How was Jane getting her hands on my survey results?

Even after getting a second chance, was I still doomed to have my work stolen by her?

After locating several gold deposits in a row, Jane became the rising star of the institute. Some higher-level agencies even wanted to borrow her on temporary assignment.

Meanwhile, my standing at the institute kept sinking lower and lower.

After several surveys in a row turned up nothing, more and more people at the institute started looking down on me.

The engineering crew assigned to me complained nonstop and kept asking to be transferred to Jane’s team.

Rumors even started spreading through the institute that I was deliberately hiding discoveries so I could mine them in secret later.

Just when I was overwhelmed from all sides, the director called me into her office and spoke to me earnestly.

“Claire, I know you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately, and there have been plenty of rumors going around that aren’t doing you any favors.

“But now you’ve got a good chance to clear your name. You need to make the most of it.

“A special instrument from headquarters has detected an enormous gold deposit. The problem is, the target area is huge, and blind excavation would cause major waste. They want our institute to send an expert to pinpoint the exact location, and I recommended you.”

The moment I heard that, I felt a jolt of energy.

But then doubt crept in.

“Director, hasn’t headquarters been very impressed with Jane? If they send me, will they really agree to it?”

“Well... she was just received an excellence award, and is at the awards ceremony right now, so…”

After hearing the director’s explanation, I understood perfectly well that I was only the backup choice.

But I didn’t care.

As long as I seized this opportunity, I could still clear my name.

Over the next few days, I lived rough in the field. I dug pits in the mountains to collect samples, panned river sediment, and analyzed the geological composition by hand.

After relentless work, I finally confirmed that the gold deposit was located on Maple Ridge, on the west bank of the Boundary River.

Once I confirmed the site, I was ecstatic.

I rushed back to the institute overnight, determined to win back at least a little of my reputation.

But by the time I arrived, Jane was already standing at the presentation podium, announcing the exact location of the deposit.

“Maple Ridge, on the west bank of the Boundary River, contains a large amount of quartz veins, and the surrounding area also shows heavy sulfur and arsenic deposits. Those are all strong indicators of gold, so I’m certain the mine is located on Maple Ridge west of the river.

“The estimated reserves are at least one thousand tons. This is a super-giant gold deposit.”

The moment I heard Jane’s explanation, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning.

I stood there in a daze.

Her analysis was word for word what I had written in my notebook.

How was that even possible?