There were too many SSS-level missions, and Shermaine couldn’t be bothered to read through them all. She just picked the one with the highest reward. All it said was the bounty—three million dollars—and that they needed someone with expertise in energy tech. The specific details of each task weren’t disclosed upfront. Everything was highly confidential and required signing a non- disclosure agreement; violating that agreement came with serious consequences.
Shermaine chose to accept the task, and right after, a confidentiality agreement popped up. She agreed to sign it. Immediately after, the task issuer, Jaden Booth, reached out. Once their profiles were shared, they both realized they were Wallingtonians.
Jaden: [Bro, I looked at your mission history. You've only taken D-level gigs. Are you sure you didn’t click the wrong one?]
Shermaine: [I didn’t. What’s the mission?]
Jaden: [You don’t even have a certified energy tech expert badge on the Tech Forum.]
Shermaine: [I’m just lazy.]
Jaden wondered, ‘Wait, is this some kind of hidden pro?’ That task had been sitting there forever. Plenty of seasoned tech pros had tried to take it, but none had been able to complete it and claim the reward. Failure meant a deduction in score, and the higher the score, the more capable a person was considered. But for SSS-level tasks, even a top-tier score couldn’t guarantee safety. One failure could reset everything to zero. If the score wasn’t high enough to cover the penalty, the account would be terminated, and all accumulated reputation would be lost with it.
Jaden: [Alright, I’ll be straight with you. Our engineering lab discovered a new kind of nuclear energy. The problem is, we’ve been stuck for ages on designing micro-scale sensor units—like, smaller than a human body—that can actually work.]
They’d discovered a new type of nuclear energy that could wirelessly connect hundreds of micro-sensors—something with serious military potential. These sensors were so small they couldn’t even be seen with the naked eye, and they could detect chemical agents even in the harshest environments. If they picked up on any chemicals they weren’t supposed to, the sensors could ping a central hub, letting people locate chemical weapons without ever stepping foot on- site. They could also be used inside factories to detect trace amounts of harmful chemicals or gas leaks.
Shermaine: [Send me the data on the new energy.]
Jaden sent the file over. Shermaine opened it up, skimmed for five minutes, then figured this three million dollars was as good as hers.
Shermaine: [I’m in. Is there a deadline?]
Jaden: [Nope. But if you can’t pull it off, just cancel the mission yourself.]
After that, Shermaine didn’t reply. She logged out, shut the laptop, flopped onto her bed, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. It was late anyway, and she figured she’d need to be fully recharged to really dive into the project tomorrow. As for Jaden, he didn’t hold out any hope for someone who’d only ever taken D-level gigs. When he saw she hadn’t messaged back, he closed the dashboard and pulled up a soap opera on a streaming platform. When the leads got torn apart by fate and tragedy, he grabbed a tissue and bawled his eyes out.
A New Day and an Unexpected Call
The next day, over at the Basterel University engineering research lab, Professor Sheldon Wendell walked in and asked Jaden, "Did anyone take the mission?"
Jaden, his eyes puffy from all the crying, was in the middle of an experiment. "Professor Wendell, someone did last night."
Sheldon asked, "Are they any good?"
Jaden rubbed his nose. "Seemed pretty average."
"Alright," Sheldon thought, his face stiffening. ‘There are so many tech geniuses out there. Is there really no one who can help us finish this damn groundbreaking research?’
At 7 a.m., the sky was a clear, cloudless blue. Shermaine, who’d stayed up late, was jolted awake by the sound of her phone ringing. It was a call from Jay. Still half-asleep, she reached for the phone with her eyes closed and answered, "Hello?"
Jay’s voice was shaky. "Sheary, there’s an extra 2.3 million dollars in my account. Did you send it?"
Shermaine said, "Yeah. It’s for building you guys some villas."
Jay wondered, ‘I knew it.’ He was overwhelmed. 2.3 million wasn’t just pocket change. When he saw the transfer, his eyes had practically popped out of his head. He’d never seen that much money in his life. When Shermaine came back, she’d mentioned something about building a high-tech farm and pulling them out of poverty so they could live a comfortable life. They’d just nodded along at the time, not taking it seriously. But it turned out that Shermaine actually meant it.
Jay, still worried, asked, "Sheary, where did you even get that kind of money?"
Shermaine replied, "I earned the three hundred thousand. The two million came from my annoying father." She opened her eyes and sat up in bed. "Jay, just use it. Don’t worry about it."
Jay suddenly understood. He’d heard that not long after Shermaine arrived in Basterel, she’d reunited with her birth family. But beyond that, he hadn’t really asked for details. In Basterel, most locals were either filthy rich or born into privilege. A few million dollars probably didn’t even make them blink. And to the Jean family, two million was practically nothing.
But that wasn’t what Jay cared about. He asked, "Are they treating you well?"
"My brother’s great." Shermaine didn’t bring up her so-so parents as she figured there was no point worrying Jay over that. She added, "Jay, just use the money. Once I start making more, I’ll keep wiring it to your account. The amounts will only go up. I already sent the farm’s design plans to Troy’s phone. He knows how to build houses and has some experience with renovation work. If you’re short on help, hire people from the town. Don’t make the older guys in the village work too hard."
Jay was deeply moved. "Got it." They had only raised Shermaine for several years, but never imagined that, a few years later, she would give back this much.
Ruth's Visit and a Broken Vacuum
After getting up, Shermaine didn’t linger in bed. She washed up, went for a morning run, and came back to find that Mariam had already made breakfast. The spread was generous, and Joshua was already dressed in a sharp suit, sitting at the table eating.
Out of courtesy, Shermaine greeted him, "Good morning."
Joshua replied, "Good morning."
Shermaine smiled briefly, then turned and went upstairs for another shower. She was a bit of a clean freak. After sweating from her run, she had to shower and change into fresh clothes before she could sit down to eat in peace. By the time she came back downstairs, Joshua had already left for the office.
After breakfast, Shermaine took a plate of fruit salad upstairs and got to work. Time always flew when she was in work mode. Near noon, Mariam came knocking on the door.
"Come in," Shermaine said.
Mariam pushed the door open and stepped inside, only to find Shermaine typing away with a rhythm so precise it almost sounded like she was playing piano. The screen was filled with a mess of data and symbols Mariam couldn’t begin to make sense of.
Mariam paused for a beat, then lowered her gaze. "Ma’am, your mother is here."
Only then did Shermaine lift her head and say flatly, "Okay."
In the living room, Ruth sat upright on the couch, dressed stylishly. Maybe it was because this was Joshua’s place that, even in his absence, she still felt uncomfortably tense.
Mariam poured her a cup of coffee. "Mrs. Jean, would you like some coffee?"
"Yes, thank you," Ruth said.
Mariam gave a smile.
It was a while before Shermaine finally came downstairs. She flopped lazily onto the couch across from Ruth and asked, "Mom, what brings you here?"
Ruth forced a smile. "I just said yesterday I’d take you out for a bit. You already forgot?"
Honestly, Shermaine had. If Ruth hadn’t brought it up, it wouldn’t have crossed her mind. Just as Shermaine was about to speak, something brushed up against her foot. Instinctively, she lifted her leg and kicked. There was a loud clang. Shermaine looked down and realized she might’ve just busted something in Joshua’s house. She silently apologized in her head.
Mariam, thinking something had broken, rushed over to check. She found that it was the high-end robot vacuum Joshua had bought at a steep price. She bent down to take a look and tried restarting it, but it didn’t respond at all.
"Is it broken?" Shermaine asked.
"Looks like it," Mariam said with a troubled expression. "That was an AI smart vacuum Mr. Joshua York bought overseas for a high price. Not sure where it got damaged, or if it’s even fixable."
Shermaine wondered, ‘For a high price? It looks pretty average to me.’ She remarked calmly, "Take it up to my room. I’ll fix it myself tonight when I have time. I was the one who broke it, after all."
Mariam thought, ‘Can something this high-tech really be fixed that easily?’ She hesitated. "Ms. Shue, are you sure you can handle it?"
"I’m sure." Shermaine’s tone was full of confidence. Not only could she fix it, but she could also upgrade this robot while she was at it.
Ruth found her attitude completely inappropriate—too smug, too blindly confident. She wondered, ‘Where does she even get the nerve to act this cocky? I don’t know what Joshua sees in her. Fine. Let her keep messing things up. The more chaos she causes, the sooner Joshua will realize she’s nothing but a useless troublemaker. I just have to give him a little nudge. Once he sees her for what she is, this engagement will fall apart on its own.’
Mariam had no choice but to carry the robot upstairs. Only then did Shermaine ask Ruth, "So where exactly are you taking me?"
"Just come with me," Ruth said, acting mysterious.