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?

After hearing Jane’s explanation, the entire institute burst into enthusiastic applause.

Once the applause died down, the director showered Jane with praise before turning to me with a dark expression.

“Claire Hayes, you’ve really gone too far this time. The survey area for this gold deposit was already narrowed down. All we asked you to do was confirm the exact location, and you still couldn’t figure it out after an entire week.

“Fortunately Jane came back in time. She took one look and pinpointed the exact location of the mine.

“You dragging this out on purpose… are you really up to something like the rumors say?”

As soon as the director finished questioning me, several engineering crew members who had already been unhappy with me began chiming in.

“She obviously has an ulterior motive. We work ourselves to death every day, and in the end it’s all just paving the way for her.”

“Three straight years as the institute’s chief gold prospector, yet in the last six months she hasn’t found a single mine. Who would believe that? Something’s definitely off.”

Jane then spoke up in a deliberately sweet but sarcastic tone.

“Everyone, please calm down. Claire is the institute’s chief prospector. Her professional skills are obviously beyond question. The reason she hasn’t found a mine recently is simply that… the timing hasn’t come yet.”

Her words sounded polite, but the hidden meaning was obvious.

She was implying that I had already found deposits but was deliberately hiding them so I could claim them for myself.

To prevent the tragedy of my previous life from repeating itself, I cut in before she could continue.

“Jane, don’t twist things and spread nonsense. Every time I go out on a survey, I carry a body camera with me. The footage can prove my innocence. If anyone continues to slander me, I will pursue legal action.”

The moment I said that, Jane and Ryan both froze.

Clearly, they had been caught off guard.

Seizing the moment, I pointed directly at Jane and demanded, “And you. Stealing the results of my work and pretending it’s some kind of supernatural ability. Don’t you feel any shame?”

Jane’s face turned red with anger after being exposed.

“You’re talking nonsense!” she shouted.

I stared straight at her.

“Then explain something for me. What exactly is your basis for claiming the gold deposit is located at Maple Ridge?

“You mentioned quartz veins, sulfur, and arsenic deposits. But those same minerals also appear on Eagle Slope on the east bank of the river.

“So why are you so certain the mine is on Maple Ridge on the west bank, and not on Eagle Slope on the east bank?”

My eyes locked onto Jane as I waited for her answer.

When I wrote my notes earlier, I had deliberately left out the key factor used to determine the exact location of the deposit.

I had done it precisely to guard against this situation.

Ryan rushed forward the moment he saw me pressuring Jane and tried to pull me away.

“It’s bad enough that you’re incompetent, but now you’re also petty and jealous. Get out of here before you embarrass yourself even more.”

I knew exactly what he was trying to do.

He was afraid Jane might slip up, so he was deliberately trying to interrupt me.

I shoved Ryan aside and pointed at Jane again.

“What’s wrong? Can’t answer?”

Jane suddenly smiled calmly.

“To determine the location of a gold deposit, mineral indicators aren’t the only factor. The most important thing is the geological fault lines.

“Maple Ridge happens to sit right at the intersection of two major fault lines, which is where mineral-rich fluids tend to accumulate. That’s why the deposit is located there.

“As for the ore on Eagle Slope, those were simply formed by mineral runoff carried by water. They can’t be used as evidence of a gold deposit.”

Cold sweat instantly broke out across my forehead.

My body trembled uncontrollably.

I couldn’t believe those words had come out of Jane’s mouth.

I had never written that key factor down in my notebook.

So how did she know?

The director walked over with a dark expression.

“Claire Hayes, what exactly is going on with you? How can you accuse a colleague just because you failed?”

Facing the director’s criticism, anger and frustration surged inside me, but I didn’t know how to respond.

My mind was in chaos.

Rage burned in my chest, yet I had nowhere to release it.

After forcing myself to calm down, I took a deep breath and looked straight at the director.

“Director… if that’s the case, I would like to submit my resignation.”