The Vault first went to the place selling brooms and picked out a wooden one. She tried it in her hand and found it too heavy, which would affect her performance. So she turned to the area selling clothes-drying rods and chose a long rod made of stainless steel.

Light and easy to carry—this one was good.

If anyone dares to come again tonight, they’ll get a taste of iron whip stir-fried meat.

No, as an important plot point, someone is bound to come.

After picking out her weapon, The Vault went to the next aisle and bought a few snacks, stuffing them into her arms before heading to the checkout.

She placed her meal card on the card reader, her gaze casually sweeping around as she listened to the “beep, beep” of the machine, raising her eyebrows at the shop owner.

While scanning the items, the owner glanced at her a few extra times out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t just a simple look, but carried a hint of scrutiny.

Most people might just get a vague feeling. But The Vault’s instincts were usually right.

She tentatively said, “Long time no see.”

The owner mumbled, “Yeah.”

The Vault paused, then asked, “Do you still have the things I usually buy?”

“Prank toys?” the owner replied. “Not many left. Bottom shelf of the first row.”

The Vault followed his directions and took a look. The shelves were filled with rather ordinary little toys, just like the small gadgets that were once popular on certain online shops. The packaging was plain, but there was a small mechanism inside.

She only glanced at them and didn’t buy any, then walked back.

The owner handed her the bag after payment, and The Vault took it and walked out the door.

Julian Grant was wandering around the open space, bored out of his mind.

Holding her yogurt in one hand, The Vault said, “Go inside and ask the shop owner something.”

Julian Grant: “Hm? Ask what?”

The Vault said, “Just go and ask. I feel like he remembers me.”

Julian Grant glanced a couple more times at the golden staff on The Vault’s back, even suspecting that she had beaten someone up inside and was tricking him into going in to clean up the mess. With a hint of suspicion, he walked toward the convenience store.

Author’s note:

“Military might sweeps the desert, murderous aura soars to the firmament.” The term 穹苍 has existed for a long time; it’s not a reversed word order.

Chapter 6 Analysis

The shop owner was a middle-aged man in a short-sleeved shirt. His hair was a bit long, and he looked somewhat unkempt, holding a bowl of rice and staring intently at his computer, watching a drama.

Julian Grant walked around inside, then stopped by the counter, bent down, and pointed up at the rolling door: “Hello, boss, how’s business lately?”

The owner, with food in his mouth, replied without turning his head, “Not bad.”

Julian Grant: “Can you handle it when it gets busy? There are so many students coming and going here, must be hard to manage, right?”

“It’s alright.” The owner finally put down his bowl and looked him over. “Wait, who are you?”

“Sorry to bother you.” Julian Grant took out his badge from his chest pocket. “Police, just a few questions.”

He said “just a few,” but it’s hard for anyone to really feel casual when facing the police.

“Oh, I see.” The middle-aged man stood up from his armchair, cleared his throat, and said, “You’re here about the case of those two girls who committed suicide, right?”

Julian Grant put his badge away. “Yes. Although the case has been closed as suicide, the victims’ families are still having a hard time letting go. They want to know the deeper reasons behind their daughters’ suicides and have pleaded with us to keep investigating. It’s not official, just some informal questions.”

The middle-aged man nodded in understanding. “It’s good that you police officers are so responsible. Such good kids, gone just like that—it’s only right to give the parents an explanation.”

Julian Grant asked, “Do you have any leads?”

The owner looked a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I don’t have any useful clues. Your colleagues came to take my statement before, but I was too nervous and didn’t explain a lot of details clearly. After you all left, the more I thought about it, the more I felt I shouldn’t have left things out, so I kept the surveillance footage. I couldn’t see anything wrong, but maybe you can? If you want it, I can give it to you right now.”

To prevent theft and ensure he could capture students’ faces, he had installed cameras both inside and outside the rolling door. Based on their placement, they could cover about half the street outside.

Since this convenience store was on the main road to the dormitory building, when the bodies were first discovered, his experience watching crime dramas made him very conscious about saving the surveillance footage. He later stored it on his computer and never deleted it.

The owner smiled, deep wrinkles gathering at the corners of his eyes, making him look a bit simple and honest. “Even though my cameras can’t catch the places you want to see, they’re high-definition! Much better than the ones the school uses!”

Julian Grant was stunned—he hadn’t expected things to go this way.

“Zhou Nansong… no, the second girl who jumped, do you still have the footage from the day she died? What about the days before?”

“I kept all the footage from the week both girls committed suicide! I’ve never seen anything like this before—two students dying at once, it was just too strange! At first, I even thought there was some kind of conspiracy.” The middle-aged man got so worked up that he spat as he spoke. He grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth vigorously, then continued, “It’s rare for anyone to jump from this dorm building, and now there were two in a row. I remember both of them quite well. Such a coincidence.”

Julian Grant perked up. “There must be a lot of students coming and going at school, right? You can recognize them?”

The man said, “I don’t actually know their names, but their faces are familiar. The first girl who jumped lived in this dorm building. Her family wasn’t well-off, I think she was a student in need. To save money, she often came here to buy things that were about to expire. I felt sorry for her and would set things aside for her.”

Julian Grant nodded, occasionally responding with an “mm.”

“The second student’s family was much better off. Girls all like pretty things, right? I often stock up on nice stationery, and she was one of my best customers! Books, pens, tape, stickers—she liked them all,” the owner said. “The two of them were probably best friends. The long-haired girl was more generous and would sometimes treat the other girl to meals.”

Julian Grant: “So, in the days before their suicides, did either of them act unusual?”

“If someone’s planning to kill themselves, of course they won’t act normal. The second girl who jumped stopped coming to my store before she died. I saw her on the street—she looked completely lost, obviously something was wrong.” The owner shook his head and sighed. “Tsk tsk, the pressure on senior students is just too much. I heard people say the first girl’s family was poor, and her parents put a lot of pressure on her. When her grades dropped, she couldn’t take it and jumped. The second girl was affected by her, poor thing. I hear a lot of students have depression these days—if you’re not careful, they’re just gone.”

Julian Grant: “What do you think? Is it really like they say?”

“I don’t know! If I could tell, I would have called the police!” The owner leaned forward, looking sincerely into his eyes. “Officer, is there anything else you want to ask?”

Truly a warm-hearted citizen.

Julian Grant gave a small smile and asked, “Are there any other students who left a strong impression on you?”

“There is—just the girl who left a moment ago.” The owner lowered his voice, glanced out through the glass door, and pointed at The Vault. “That girl. She comes here to buy all sorts of strange things, like prank toys and such. Once, I even saw her arguing with that… the second girl who committed suicide, the long-haired one. They were both red in the face, almost about to fight, but a very pretty girl pulled them apart. Ah, that girl was really beautiful, and she spoke so gently.”

Julian Grant: “Did you hear what they were arguing about?”

“What do girls argue about?” The owner imitated them vividly, pinching his voice, “‘You’re shameless!’ ‘No, you’re shameless!’ ‘You’re even more shameless!’ ‘You’re the most shameless!’ ‘Why are you like this?’ ‘Why do you care?’”

Julian Grant was amused by him.

After making a face, the owner quickly returned to seriousness and sighed, “It’s tough, really tough. I see that girl outside hasn’t been looking well lately either. There’s some nasty talk about her at school. If only the truth could be found out. No. 1 High should really strengthen students’ mental health education—no more accidents.”

Julian Grant was moved by his words. “Let’s hope so.”

The owner said, “Watch the store for me for a moment, I’ll go get the files for you.”

“Alright.” Julian Grant waved. “Thanks, brother.”

Five minutes later, the owner came out holding a hard drive. Halfway over, he suddenly slowed down, looked up at Julian Grant, pressed his lips together, and seemed a bit hesitant.

Julian Grant smiled and said, “Go ahead, say whatever’s on your mind. It’s fine. Maybe there’s a clue in there.”