Two and a half hours later, there was a soft knock on the office door.
Led by Su Mansu, a travel-worn Ma Da and Ji Yu walked in one after the other. Ji Yu was carrying a black combination briefcase.
"Eldest Miss, we’re back."
Liu Yutong rose from behind her desk and walked over to the lounge area, motioning for them to take a seat.
Su Mansu picked up the purple clay teapot from the table, poured tea for the three of them, and then quietly slipped out of the office.
"It’s been hard on you. How did it feel, going abroad for the first time?" Liu Yutong asked.
Ji Yu, still maintaining his usual blunt and honest demeanor, scratched his head and said, "The food over there is terrible. I don't ever want to go back."
Liu Yutong chuckled. "Was it really that bad?"
At those words, Ma Da couldn't help but start venting.
"Eldest Miss, it wasn't just bad; it was truly awful! For the first two days, I thought the cheese and bread were quite novel. But by the third day, I started wondering if foreigners have stomachs made of iron. Every single meal was either bread with meat, meat inside bread, or some kind of mushy paste. I spent half a day looking for a bowl of hot noodle soup and couldn't find one anywhere. I finally found a restaurant claiming to serve 'Oriental flavor,' but they brought out this sticky, sickeningly sweet mess they called fried noodles. I almost thought the cook had used sugar instead of salt."
Liu Yutong couldn't help but laugh. "Couldn't you have found a nicer restaurant? I gave you plenty of travel funds, didn't I?"
"Hehe, mostly we just couldn't bear to spend it. Things are ridiculously expensive over there."
"Eldest Miss, you have no idea how high the prices are. One bottle of water costs as much as a whole case back home. That bowl of nonsense fried noodles cost me nearly fifty euros. I did the math—that’s enough for twenty bowls of top-tier beef noodles back in Pearl City, with two meat-filled buns on the side," Ma Da added.
Ji Yu nodded beside him. "And it didn't even taste good!"
Liu Yutong waved her hand dismissively. "Alright, alright, I know you suffered. I’ll have the hotel prepare a feast for you later to make it up to your stomachs."
"Thank you, Eldest Miss!" the two replied in unison.
Ma Da gestured for Ji Yu to place the briefcase on the table. "Eldest Miss, should we open it now?"
Liu Yutong nodded. "Open it."
Ma Da immediately entered the code. With a crisp click, the lid sprang open.
Inside the case were several well-preserved manila envelopes containing documents. Besides those, there were three gold bars and an exquisitely beautiful necklace. The pendant of the necklace was a red diamond weighing a staggering 11.28 carats, nestled within a dragon-scale clasp.
The reason Liu Yutong knew it was a red diamond was because of the description included in the packaging. The necklace was named "Dragon’s Dawn." The centerpiece was an extremely rare natural red diamond; the original rough stone weighed 23.06 carats, and even after cutting, it remained a massive 11.28 carats.
If she remembered correctly, the largest known natural red diamond in the world wasn't even this big.
She vaguely recalled a news report about the world's largest natural red diamond being exhibited abroad. That stone was less than 6 carats, yet its estimated value at the time exceeded twenty million US dollars—and even then, it was the kind of treasure that money couldn't easily buy.
If the necklace in her hand truly held a natural red diamond, it would be a world record holder, worth at least a hundred million—and that was in US dollars.
"Eldest Miss, this necklace really suits you. Listen to the name, Dragon’s Dawn—it sounds wonderful," Ma Da flattered her.
Liu Yutong smiled slightly but didn't speak.
She truly did like the necklace; she had fallen in love with it from the first moment she saw it. That dazzling shade of red was breathtakingly brilliant.
However, she still planned to have a professional agency test it, just in case. After all, a red diamond of this size had never appeared in the world before. If it were a counterfeit, she would only make a fool of herself by wearing it out.
Next, she opened an aged manila envelope.
Inside, besides a cashier's check for twenty million US dollars, there was an old photograph, a paper document, a stack of bearer bonds, and several stock certificates.
She could only understand the gist of it; the bearer bonds and stock certificates seemed to be related to a foreign company called MapperLithography.
She had never heard of this company; it was a complete blind spot in her knowledge.
"Did you hear any rumors while you were abroad?" she suddenly looked up and asked Ma Da and Ji Yu.
Both men shook their heads.
"Eldest Miss, we followed your instructions to the letter. We only focused on retrieving the items and didn't dare ask around."
Liu Yutong nodded. They had done the right thing. Since these items were so valuable, it was best to be cautious while abroad.
"Assistant Su, come in for a moment," she pressed the internal intercom.
Su Mansu pushed the door open and entered quickly.
"Boss!"
"Make a copy of these documents and keep the originals safe. Then, have someone use the copies to look into this company called MapperLithography. Find out what they do—their background, core business, technical capabilities, market position, and current financial status. I want a detailed report."
"Understood, Boss." Su Mansu took the file and hurried out.
Liu Yutong’s gaze fell once more upon the necklace named Dragon’s Dawn. The fiery red hue was hauntingly beautiful under the office lights.
She then closed the briefcase and pushed it to the edge of the desk.
"Ma Da, contact a jewelry appraisal institution. Ask them to send a professional over to test this necklace and confirm its authenticity."
"Will do, Eldest Miss." Ma Da nodded. He and Ji Yu relocked the briefcase and left with the necklace.
Once they were gone, Liu Yutong finally picked up the yellowed old photograph. She leaned back on the sofa, sipping her tea as she studied it.
The background of the photo looked like an industrial laboratory or workshop from over a decade ago. There were several people in the frame.
In the center was a middle-aged Chinese man. Standing next to him were a foreign man and woman who appeared to be quite close to him. She wasn't sure if it was just her own facial recognition failing her, but she felt the foreign man looked somewhat familiar.
However, she wasn't particularly interested in the identities of the people in the photo; it likely had nothing to do with her anyway.
She then placed the photo, the twenty-million-dollar check, and the gold bars into the office safe and left the company.
The following day.
In one of the core commercial districts of Pearl City, gongs and drums thundered while colorful flags fluttered in the breeze.
The first large-scale shopping mall under the Wanlong Association, Wanlong Plaza, was officially open for business.
