Chapter 160: The Villas Around a Dead Lake

The three of them had arranged to meet at a lakeside villa. In the suburbs of Sabine City, there was a vast natural lake. In earlier years, a real estate developer had taken a liking to the beautiful scenery and development potential there. After buying a stretch of land, he built a high-class gated community around the lakeshore.

At first, the developer had not considered selling off the resources in his hands on a large scale. Judging by the conditions of the previous few years, the price of the lakeside villas would only continue rising because of the environment and the neighbors.

Some of them had been sold at relatively suitable prices to certain socialites as favors. The rest remained in his own hands, waiting for housing prices to slowly rise.

At the same time, he also rented out the empty villas. He even put up the slogan, “During the holidays, we take the whole family out boating on the lake to get close to nature,” turning part of the villas into short-term rentals for middle-class families with the money to take their families into the countryside for an outing.

It had to be said that this developer had very distinctive vision. In those good years, whenever the weekend came, this place was almost packed. Around this gated community, a quick little economic atmosphere had even grown naturally.

Every Thursday, some food trucks would begin gathering here in clusters, providing cheap delicacies to people enjoying their weekend here, or renting out outdoor barbecue and cooking equipment and materials.

But now...

There were still bits of torn paper and adhesive residue on the walls that had not been cleaned away. Occasionally, faded pennants could be faintly seen among the crowns of certain trees.

Everywhere was filled with the bleakness of abandonment. There was no one at all on the streets. Even the houses that had already been sold looked especially dilapidated from a distance because of a lack of maintenance.

Inside the guard booth at the entrance was a security guard who looked forty or fifty, his hair already graying, dozing off. He did not even hear the sound of the car engine.

There was no doubt. This place was finished. This gated community, once praised as something that could feed three generations with the purchase of a single house, was dead.

The driver honked several times. The security guard in the booth was startled so badly he shuddered. He sprang up and looked around. Only when his gaze focused on the car outside the barrier did he seem to remember his job.

The barrier rose, and the car slowly drove in. Drowsiness surged up again, and he sank once more into heavy sleep.

“You came earlier than I expected.”

When William knocked on the door of Villa 006, Jorgreman immediately came out to greet him. Perhaps because he had specially tidied up the place, the villa did not look quite so lifeless. It had a little warmth and vitality.