Syland Province is located in southeastern Veridia, bordering the sea. The climate is cloudy and overcast year-round, with few sunny days, making for a very humid and warm environment.

A young man had just moved into an old, remote building. Rumor had it he was an outsider who had come to Syland Province to make a living.

"Landlady, how do I get the power on here?" the man asked in a thick out-of-town accent, speaking to the somewhat heavyset female landlady.

The landlady, holding an orange cat and with a cigarette dangling from her lips, stuck out a hand. Her meaning was obvious: he had to pay again.

The man pushed up his thick glasses and replied loudly, full of dissatisfaction, "Hey, didn’t I just pay the rent? Why are you charging me again?"

The landlady rolled her eyes. "You ate yesterday, so why are you eating again this year?"

"Hey, you’re being unreasonable! The contract we signed said utilities were included..."

The landlady sneered. "Read it carefully. It says utilities are included, not that the *cost* is covered."

"Hey, how can you be so unreasonable? My hard-earned money isn’t for some greedy landlady like you..."

Those words were like a lit match to a powder keg, and the landlady instantly flew into a rage. "If you don’t like it, you can leave! Did I beg you to stay? Get the hell out, you broke bastard—"

"Hey, you..."

The two of them argued heatedly in the narrow hallway, attracting a crowd of curious neighbors.

Among them was a young couple. The girl had a bowl cut and wore round glasses, looking a bit plain.

The man’s hair was a messy bird’s nest, and he wore a pair of glasses with lenses thicker than the bottom of a Coke bottle. He had on a white t-shirt, the back of which was now soaked with sweat.

It was an overcast day, but the temperature was high—a real sauna. And this dump didn’t even have an air conditioner because the downstairs neighbor wouldn’t allow one to be installed, claiming the dripping condensation would get his laundry wet.

"Want to go get some shaved ice?" the girl asked.

The man gave a slight nod.

The two of them backed out of the crowd, intending to go downstairs to buy some smoothies. But just then, they heard a loud roar from behind them: "I’ll kill you, you bastard—"

The girl quickly pulled the man aside, and they flattened themselves against the wall just in time to see a tall, thin figure being shoved down the stairs.

The landlady stood with her hands on her hips, pulled a wad of cash from her pocket, and threw it at the man. "If you’re too good for my place, then get the fuck out—"

Then, the man’s suitcase was thrown down after him.

The girl and the man shot a sympathetic glance at the man, who was dazed from hitting the wall. They quickly started down the stairs, wanting to get away from the drama, but the landlady suddenly yelled, "You two! When are you going to pay last month’s rent?"

The man froze, pushed up his glasses, and quickly replied, "As soon as we get paid." Then he put his arm around the girl and practically ran down the stairs.

Only after they had left the old building and walked out of the residential complex did their expressions return to normal.

"Why don’t we rent a better apartment?" Aurora Sinclair asked, suddenly looking up.

Alvin Morgan kept his arm around her shoulder and smiled. "If we’re going to be undercover, we can’t neglect any details. Right now, we’re just people from a small town trying to make it in the big city."

"Is this part of the character script Mr. Beta wrote?"

"Benjamin Morgan wrote it. So my girlfriend will have to put up with some hardship with me for a while..."

Aurora Sinclair’s cheeks flushed as she gave him an elbow to the ribs.

But Alvin Morgan didn’t let go. He lowered his head, leaned close to her ear, and chuckled softly, "Be good. Call me ’hubby’."

Aurora Sinclair’s cheeks turned even redder. She broke free from his arm and ran toward the dessert shop on the street corner.

As she pushed open the door, a cool blast of air conditioning washed over her, chasing away the sweltering heat.

"Cecelia, brought your boyfriend for some ice cream again?" the shop manager, Yara, asked with a cheerful smile.

Aurora Sinclair gave a shy nod.

"The usual double scoop of ice cream?"

"Mhm..."

Alvin Morgan pushed up his glasses, adjusted his expression, and pushed the door open to enter.

"Yara..."

Yara Linton smiled at him and handed him the container of ice cream she had just scooped.

Alvin Morgan paid and walked over to Aurora Sinclair with the ice cream.

They had become regulars at the shop, mostly for the chance to enjoy the air conditioning for a while.

The shop was quite far from the Seawell Pharma Headquarters Tower. Alvin Morgan and Aurora Sinclair had to take the subway for an hour every day to get to work.

Last month, they had submitted their resumes and successfully been hired as employees at a subsidiary of Seawell Pharma.

Alvin Morgan joined the technical department, while Aurora Sinclair went to the administrative department. Neither of their salaries was very high.

To make their cover more convincing, the two of them posed as a couple and rented a place in that remote, old building.

Today was the weekend, and they had already spent half the day cooped up in their apartment looking at surveillance feeds. Hearing the commotion outside, they had decided to go out for some fresh air.

As they were eating their ice cream, they saw the young man who had been kicked out walk in, dragging his luggage and looking utterly dejected.

"She’s so snobby, looking down on people like that. I’m a research assistant at a major corporation, you know? What kind of person is she?"

The young man bought a carton of ice cream and sat down at the table next to them, eating with a wronged expression. It looked like his eyes were even getting a little red.

He wasn’t very old, looking like a recent graduate who had just entered the workforce and had yet to experience the harsh realities of life.

As Alvin Morgan listened to him, a glint flashed in his eyes. He spoke up, "Hey, buddy. Where are you from?"

The young man wiped his eyes and looked at them warily. "None of your business. And where are you from?"

"Hey, relax. We live in that building you were just trying to rent from. That landlady... she’s got a bit of a temper."

Hearing this, the young man looked as if he’d found a kindred spirit, and the floodgates of his complaints opened.

"A bit of a temper? That’s an understatement. She’s a total shrew. Even Widow Lowell back in my hometown is better-tempered than her..."

Alvin Morgan listened patiently to his complaints, nodding and chiming in with a few words of agreement from time to time. The young man gradually let his guard down.

"She’s just a snob who looks down on people. I got hired by the Seawell Pharma headquarters! When I start making money, I’m gonna bury her in it..."

"You’re at Seawell, too? We also work at Seawell."

"Really? Wow, what a coincidence."

"I’m in the technical department, and my girlfriend’s in administration. How about you?"

"I’m in the labs..." The young man’s eyes lit up as he reached out to shake Alvin Morgan’s hand. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

A glint flashed in Alvin Morgan’s eyes. "In that case, you shouldn’t leave. The rent here is about the cheapest you’ll find."

The young man looked a bit embarrassed about his finances, and his voice dropped. "My budget’s too tight. After paying rent, I’ll only have two hundred yuan left. I really can’t pay any more."

Alvin Morgan pretended to think for a moment. "Since we’re colleagues, I can spot you the money for now, but you have to pay me back next month."

The three of them returned to the old building. Alvin Morgan and Aurora Sinclair knocked on the door of the innermost apartment.

The sound of multiple dogs barking came from inside. The door opened to reveal the landlady in a nightgown, who asked impatiently, "What is it?"

Alvin Morgan rubbed his nose and pulled the young man forward.

The young man had an awkward, fawning smile on his face. "Landlady, is that apartment still for rent?"

The landlady rolled her eyes and was about to slam the door shut, but the young man blocked it. After a torrent of pleading and flattery, and an agreement to raise the monthly rent by five hundred yuan, he finally managed to rent the place again.

To thank Alvin Morgan, the young man invited him and Aurora Sinclair to his place for a meal.

He had brought a lot of specialty foods from his hometown in his suitcase, which were perfect for a table of dishes to go with drinks.

Aurora Sinclair also brought some food from their apartment, and the three of them started drinking together informally.

The young man’s name was Wallace Lawson, and he was a research assistant at the Seawell Pharma Drug Research Laboratory.

He had just graduated with a master’s degree this year. Normally, Seawell Pharma offered good benefits to its researchers, even providing housing for assistants. But he’d had a stroke of bad luck; his train had been delayed by a landslide ahead on the tracks.

He ended up arriving a day and a half late to report for work. As a result, the person in charge of housing told him all the rooms were full and that he’d have to wait until next month.

But since he knew housing was supposed to be provided, he hadn’t brought much money with him from home. Too embarrassed to call his parents and ask for more, he had dragged his luggage all over the city looking for a place to rent, which was how he’d ended up here.

"Miles, you’re my savior! As soon as I get paid, I’ll send you the money first thing. I’m a man of my word..."

Wallace Lawson drunkenly raised his glass, took another sip, and then, with a THUD, passed out on the table.

Aurora Sinclair reached out, checked his pulse, and nodded.

Alvin Morgan quickly connected the man’s nearby phone to his own watch and installed a surveillance program...