Leo looked at Nicola, nodded, and smiled, “What do you think, Miss Pater? You are surprised by me, right?”
“Hmph, 60% success rate, you actually did it. You’re really an anomaly!” Nicola said, though she couldn’t help but have a newfound respect for Leo.
Such a terrifying success rate, probably only this guy in the entire country could achieve it.
“Not quite!” Nicola suddenly exclaimed, scrutinizing Leo suspiciously. “There’s something off about your expression. Most people would be extremely excited after hearing the results from Miss Wilde. But your expression seems like you knew this result in advance… Do you know how much these selected stones are worth in total? Close to 100 million, bro! It’s money that an average person couldn’t make in several lifetimes. How can you be so calm?”
Leo sighed, “I’m just a lucky guy, money, big or small, it’s just a number. I’ve already learned not to care too much about it…”
“You’re pretending a bit too much,” Nicola felt Leo’s expression was genuinely annoying.
Coral laughed, “Alright, you two, stop bickering. Follow me and see.”
With that, Coral took the lead and headed out of the room.
The building, called Autonomy Tower, was entirely owned by Wilde Jewelry Company. The company’s various departments, such as the design department, marketing department, advertising department, and jade processing department, were all housed in this building.
Leo and Nicola followed Coral to the elevator. The employees inside greeted Coral with respectful nods, “Hello, Miss Wilde.”
Many eyes were on Leo, as he was unfamiliar to them, and he was accompanying Coral and Nicola. It naturally piqued curiosity about his identity.
Soon, the hallway was abuzz with gossip.
“Who do you think that man with Miss Wilde is?”
“I heard the company just hired a gemstone consultant; could it be him?”
“A gemstone consultant so young? I bet he’s Miss Wilde’s boyfriend.”
“He looks more like Miss Pater’s boyfriend.”
Leo was perceptive and overheard those discussions before entering the elevator. He thought, gossip is everywhere, no matter where you go.
Inside the elevator, Leo noticed something strange. Although Coral pressed the 9th-floor button, he felt like the elevator was going down.
Soon, they reached the 9th floor, but when they got out, Leo found himself in the basement.
“Isn’t it surprising?” Nicola knew what Leo was thinking from his expression.
Coral explained, “The 9th floor is actually the B2 floor. It’s specifically used for storing and cutting jadeite raw materials. The jadeite cut here is sent to B3 for further processing before being sent back up for sale as finished products.”
Three of them arrived at a special door with security guards standing on either side. They stood upright and had sharp eyes, seemingly ex-military personnel.
“Hello, Miss Wilde. Hello, Miss Pater,” the two guards greeted Coral and Nicola, then opened the door.
“Security is really tight here,” Leo remarked.
“That’s for sure. This place is like a treasury, and ordinary people can’t get in,” Nicola said.
As they walked, Leo noticed cameras installed at regular intervals.
When they arrived at another door, Coral swiped her card, and the door opened automatically.
Outside was calm, but upon opening the door, the characteristic sound of cutting stones rushed towards them.
The staff at the door handed Leo and the others protective masks and noise-canceling earphones, which allowed them to communicate normally in this high-decibel environment.
Leo scanned the area. It was a large hall divided by semi-transparent tempered glass to distinguish different functional areas. There were areas for raw material inspection, washing, cutting, and polishing, among others.
The stone processing tools here were much more advanced than those at the gambling square in Starry Lake Town.
A man who looked like the supervisor quickly approached Coral, saying, “Miss Wilde, the twenty pieces of jadeite you sent in this morning have all been processed.”
Coral nodded, “Mr. Marshall, you’ve worked hard.”
“Twenty pieces, twelve of them have green. I’ve been working for so many years, and it’s the first time I’ve seen this,” Mr. Marshall exclaimed.
From Mr. Marshall’s expression, he was clearly excited.
“Mr. Marshall, the full gamble jadeite from Kostmochlor can be cut,” Coral instructed.
“Sure, Miss Wilde. Miss Pater, and who is this…” Mr. Marshall looked at Leo.
“Coral, this is Leo, the newly hired gemstone consultant of the company. The twenty pieces of jadeite you processed this morning were all selected by him,” Coral introduced.
Mr. Marshall quickly approached and shook hands with Leo, “Mr. Bloomer, you truly are extraordinary. Twelve out of twenty pieces, you’re indeed a genius!”
“Mr. Marshall, you’re exaggerating. It’s just luck,” Leo modestly replied.
Nicola was displeased. “Old Marshall, why didn’t you treat me this warmly before? How come you’re like this now?”
The three entered a large compartment. This was Mr. Marshall’s special stone-cutting room, where he personally cut the jadeite that had the potential to produce high-grade jade.
Mr. Marshall pointed at the piece of jadeite on the table that Coral had photographed and said, “Miss Wilde, judging from my many years of experience, the performance of this jadeite raw material’s skin isn’t great, but there is still a high possibility of a rise. Please watch me open it.”
Mr. Marshall said and proceeded to don protective gear. He then activated the stone-cutting machine’s power.
Under this not-so-inexpensive machine, the jadeite raw material was quickly split into two pieces.
Mr. Marshall took a flexible nozzle from the cutting machine and began to wash the cut surface.
Soon, the clear-cut surface was revealed.
“Ice type, greenish blue, close to a nine-grade clarity,” Nicola was the first to comment on the internal quality of the jadeite.
Mr. Marshall exclaimed, “Heavens, another big rise! This morning’s big rises just keep coming one after another.”
Next, Mr. Marshall had to extract the jadeite completely from the raw material. After a series of processing, the final value of this piece of jadeite could be no less than 25 million.
Leo looked at the cut jadeite with a gleam in his eyes. He could clearly feel the abundant spiritual energy inside it.
“Nicola, Leo, let’s go to B3,” Coral said.
Following Coral, they took the elevator and arrived at B3.
The security here was even tighter than on B2, with more cameras and alarm devices.
When they reached the first door, a password and fingerprint were required to enter.