"Grace, leaving so early today? Do you not have class this afternoon?" Joanne Chase was walking toward the school gate with a few classmates when she happened to run into Grace Winslow, who was on her way out.

Grace Winslow glanced at the people with her and immediately became alert. She walked up and linked arms with Joanne Chase. "That’s right, I don’t have class this afternoon. Do you? If not, come out with me for a bit. I have an errand to run. I was originally planning to go home and wait for you, but it’s perfect that I ran into you here."

Hearing this, Joanne Chase looked troubled and subconsciously glanced at the classmates she had just been walking with.

They were all local students. She wasn’t particularly close with them, but today they had suddenly invited her to a party.

Joanne Chase hadn’t really wanted to go, but she couldn’t find an excuse to refuse.

Now, Grace Winslow had basically handed her the perfect excuse.

She considered it for a moment before speaking up. "Sorry, I have to go run an errand with my sister. I can’t make it to your party."

The students immediately looked displeased.

They started chattering in protest.

Grace Winslow pulled Joanne Chase closer. "Oh, you want to take my sister out? How about another time? I happen to know William, a senior here. He said he’s inviting me to his birthday party next week. You all probably know him, right? We can all go together then."

As soon as they heard William’s name, the students’ expressions changed. They gave sheepish smiles, said a quick goodbye, and ran off.

Grace Winslow watched their retreating backs with a cold gaze. Once they were far enough away, she pulled Joanne Chase along and left.

"Grace, what was that about?" Joanne Chase asked, looking completely lost.

"Something’s not right with them. Are you usually close with that group? Why would they suddenly invite you out?" Grace Winslow asked with a frown.

Joanne Chase shook her head. "We’re not that close. We’re just classmates, and we don’t interact much. They just suddenly said they wanted to hang out, and when I was about to refuse, they insisted on dragging me along."

"I saw another student from our program was with them, so I didn’t think too much of it and came along."

"What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Of course there’s a problem, you silly girl. They were probably planning to set you up. Stay away from them from now on; they’re up to no good." Grace Winslow poked Joanne Chase on the forehead. "Don’t be so naive. You can’t just agree to whatever people say. If you don’t want to do something, just say no. Don’t force yourself to do things that make you uncomfortable."

"You’re here to study, not to make friends with them. The exchange program will be over soon and we’ll be going home. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get on their good side."

Joanne Chase nodded, her expression serious. "I understand. I’ll definitely stay away from them in the future."

"It’s a good thing you showed up. Otherwise..."

’I don’t even dare to imagine the consequences.’

’Alone in a foreign country, if something really happened to me, there would be nowhere to turn for help.’

Grace Winslow shook her head. "Those people are probably up to no good. I’ll make a call later and have someone keep an eye on you. Come on, I’m taking you somewhere."

Still shaken, Joanne Chase let Grace Winslow pull her along.

The scrap yard wasn’t too far from the university.

Unwanted books and other waste from the university were all sent here.

When Grace Winslow and Joanne Chase arrived, some people from the university had just been there and were driving away.

Grace Winslow pulled Joanne Chase aside to hide. Only after the car had left did they enter the scrap yard.

The place was filled with all sorts of things.

Abandoned cars, all kinds of scrap metal, and waste paper were piled up haphazardly.

Seeing Grace Winslow and Joanne Chase approach, the owner of the scrap yard came out.

He wasn’t young, probably in his fifties or sixties, with a bulbous, red nose and a face full of age spots. Seeing the two young women, he smiled and said, "Well now, where did you pretty girls come from? What are you doing here? I don’t have anyone you’d be looking for."

"Sir, how about we make a deal? I’d like to rummage through your junk for some useless scrap. What do you say?" Grace Winslow took a step forward, not at all intimidated, and got straight to the point.

The man looked Grace Winslow up and down. "A Celestian? I don’t do business with Celestians." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Money isn’t an issue. I have money. Didn’t you open this place to make a profit? You must have some hefty monthly payments, right? But you spend all your earnings on booze. Do you have enough to cover them?" Grace Winslow smiled, seeing right through the man.

The man flew into a rage out of embarrassment. "Go, go, go! I don’t do business with you Chink pigs."

"Is that so? In that case, I guess all this junk will only ever be sold for scrap prices." With a look of regret, Grace Winslow took Joanne Chase’s hand and turned to leave.

They had only taken a few steps when the man couldn’t help but call out, "Wait! What is it you want to buy?"

"Those were people from the university just now, weren’t they? I’d like to buy a few pieces of discarded equipment. Price is negotiable," Grace Winslow said with a friendly smile.

The man frowned. "What do you want that broken junk for? It’s all busted and can’t be used anymore."

"For my collection. I just like collecting these things. I don’t get the chance to handle this kind of equipment, so even buying a broken one to look at would be nice. Are you going to sell it to me or not?" Grace Winslow urged him.

An opportunity to make money like this was too good to pass up.

If she didn’t buy them, he would only be able to sell the items for scrap value.

However, he had promised the people from the university that he wouldn’t just sell these things to anyone, so for a moment, he was still hesitant.

"Do you know William? I’m very good friends with him. If you don’t trust me, surely you trust him?" Grace Winslow played the William card again.

That name really worked like a charm.

The man, who had been hesitating, had a sudden change of heart. He then stared at Grace Winslow’s face for a long while.

Everyone knew that William had recently taken a liking to a beauty from Celestia. The man had wondered who this mysterious person could be, but seeing her in person now, he had to admit she really was a stunner. No wonder William was so smitten.

He led Grace Winslow and Joanne Chase into a building.

Inside were all kinds of discarded instruments, some of which had been dismantled. "It’s all in here. Pick whatever you want. But I’m telling you, the price won’t be cheap. If you can’t afford it, I’m not letting you take anything with you."

Grace Winslow nodded and went over to look. It was all stuff you’d find in a laboratory. Much of it was severely damaged and beyond repair; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been thrown out here.

She picked out a few items, and then she noticed a cardboard box piled on the floor. She was just curious at first, but when she leaned in for a closer look, her heart began to race.

’It was data from the lab!’

’Was it useless, or was it accidentally thrown out with the trash?’

Keeping her expression neutral, she glanced at some books that had been carelessly tossed on the floor before speaking. "I’d also like to take some of these books. Can you sell them to me all together?"

The man’s craving for a drink was kicking in. He didn’t look closely, just saw that she only wanted some useless books that weren’t worth much anyway. If she liked them, she could have them.

"Whatever you want. One dollar a pound."

This price could be considered exorbitant.

But Grace Winslow didn’t refuse.

She finished picking out her items, paid two hundred and fifty US dollars, and then left with Joanne Chase, their arms full.

She was afraid the man would have second thoughts and demand the items back.