Chapter 559: It’s not him.

"Ahh... why is it so boring here?" Penny stretched her arms and legs, reclining in the chair as she did so. "I’m not like this."

In her first life and even in this one, Penny had always been diligent with her work. Consistency was something she never failed to maintain. Yet today, for some reason, she felt unusually lazy and less productive.

"Although I’ve finished half of them..." she murmured, glancing at the files on the desk. "I guess it’s the setting that’s making me feel this way."

This was the first time Penny had been in this house without Zoren. Her body was more accustomed to his presence, especially in his home.

"It’s also too quiet," she whispered, cupping her face with her hands as she stared at the monitor. "What’s wrong with me today?"

Her work output was still the same, and she often liked working in silence. Even when Zoren was around and she needed to do some quick reading, he would stay quiet. In other words, what she was doing right now was the same as how she was on most days. Yet, Penny felt like something was wrong with her.

Or rather, she felt like something was wrong with everything.

"Is it because..." Her brows slowly rose as her focus drifted from her work. "...I am happy?"

Looking back, ever since Penny moved in with Zoren, things had been peaceful and quiet. Although some matters needed fixing and there were lingering problems she was aware of, she didn’t feel tense. If anything, she was too relaxed.

"I need to reset this brain of mine," she told herself and pushed herself up. "I am too happy. Things always go south when it’s too peaceful for me. A part of me knew this would expire soon."

With that thought in mind, Penny stretched her arms and legs for some quick exercise. When she felt that wasn’t enough, she decided to take a walk to clear her mind and perhaps refocus on the other things that also mattered.

One of the good things about Zoren’s place was that there was plenty of space for a walk. Although one didn’t need a vast expanse just to take a stroll, it was still a nice bonus.

"So, in the morning, when Renren is out, some people come in here to clean," she whispered as she stepped out of the mansion after greeting a few workers tidying up. "Why am I surprised about this?"

Zoren didn’t have a stay-at-home maid to do everything. Normally, in a house this big, there would be plenty of servants for everything. But all she saw were a few — exactly five people — cleaning the house.

"Although the house isn’t that big," she muttered, "at least compared to the old residence, Renren’s place is much smaller."

She also noticed that the number of guards in the house was less than one would expect. This wasn’t surprising, though, considering the guards were supposed to protect Zoren, not the house. So mostly, the people here were just a small fraction of Zoren’s original bodyguards.

As Penny took her walk, inhaling the fresh breeze and processing all this little information, she felt more clear-headed. Although these details didn’t seem significant, they were enough for a mental workout.

"A walk is like magic," she whispered as she looked around the grounds. "Though somehow, walking here feels a bit like prison."

All she could see, after all, were lands decorated in a way that was pleasant to the eye. Although the view was unlike a prison, the feeling it gave was the same. How? Because in prison, she could only see the same view the place offered and nothing beyond it.

"Why am I thinking of prison?" she murmured, stopping as she felt her phone vibrate. Fishing her phone out of her pocket, she exhaled shallowly before answering. "Uncle Wild!"

"Oh, you answered!" Wild mused, nodding in satisfaction. "I thought I’d have to call you multiple times before you picked up."

Penny chuckled. "Sorry, Uncle Wild. You know how busy things are."

"Right, right. You’re busy," he agreed, and his tone made her brows rise.

"Uncle, is there something wrong?" she asked. "You’re only like this when you’re about to tell me bad news."

Wild frowned. "What do you mean, I’m only like this when I’m about to deliver bad news?"

"Then what are you going to say?"

"Ahem!" Wild straightened his back before continuing. "That guy you told us to find."

Penny squinted as she listened to Wild, hoping he was about to tell her they’d finally tracked down Nathaniel. "You mean Nathaniel?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Well..." Wild cleared his throat and said, "He’s dead."

Wasn’t this bad news?

"What?" Penny frowned. "Didn’t you say you weren’t going to tell me bad news?"

"I did, but I didn’t think this was bad news."

Her lips curled into a deeper frown. "Uncle Wild, did you confirm it?"

"Yes."

"So, the Phantom Circle killed him?"

"No."

"Huh?" Penny glanced at her phone, displeased with Uncle Wild, who was clearly teasing her to annoyance. "Uncle Wild, can you please tell me what happened? This is important to me."

Wild chuckled as he waved her off. "Fine, fine. I’m just playing with you because, according to my source, you’ve married. You brat! How dare you not tell me, huh?!"

"Oh." Penny pressed her lips together. "Oops?"

"Tch. Never mind. I’ll criticize you later." Wild’s expression grew more solemn now. "Like I said, I found out that a body turned up somewhere under the river. I sent my men to check because that area is one of the places he frequented."

"He frequented under the river? His trading spot?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"So, I’ve confirmed that it’s him. The police confirmed it’s him," he continued. "But I was a little skeptical, so I contacted a friend who could run another test for me."

Wild paused as he tilted his head, keeping his phone steady. "It’s not him."

"..." Penny’s expression sharpened as soon as she heard that. "But if even the authorities confirmed the body is him, that means..."

"That means it’s either he joined the group and became one of them, or those people didn’t want anyone to know he was still alive," Wild guessed. "Penny, I don’t think we should pursue this any longer."

’No,’was the first thing that came to her mind. ’I think I need to pursue this even more because if the reason is the former, then... I’m afraid I’ll have a bigger problem in the future.’