Quinn Sinclair roared, "What's the point of me being brave! The first person to die won't be them, it'll be Birdie! It'll be Birdie, do you believe it or not! She gave up everything, she has no future left! Do you know that? She did it all to help me! Please let her go!"

　　The Vault: "This isn't helping her, and I'm not trying to hurt her either. Try to think a bit further ahead!"

　　"Ah—stop talking!" Quinn Sinclair screamed, pressing down on The Vault's head and shoving her to the side.

　　The small shovel The Vault bought was nearby, and since she had no strength left, she crashed right into it. Fortunately, the shovel wasn't sharp to begin with, and after being used to dig for so long, it was caked with dirt and had become quite blunt.

　　At this point, The Vault couldn't feel any pain, but she could sense some liquid trickling down her forehead.

　　Quinn Sinclair didn't notice her condition and took the opportunity to snatch the camera back.

　　"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Quinn Sinclair mumbled, clutching the item to her chest and backing away step by step, "I'm sorry... Winter Gray... just let it go!"

　　The Vault lifted her eyelids and, through her blurry vision, watched the other person flee in panic.

　　That retreating figure overlapped with a scene from her memory. Darkness fell again, and The Vault, her hands trembling violently, hugged her head and let out a few painful groans from her throat.

　　After a long while, The Vault calmed down a bit and pulled herself out of a cold sweat.

　　She adjusted her position, lay on the ground, and fell into a long daze. Suddenly, she remembered something, reached for the phone on the ground, found her pinned contact, and dialed.

　　"Beep—beep—"

　　The electronic tone sounded especially clear in the night.

　　Before the third ring, the other side had already picked up.

　　"Hello."

　　A lively male voice instantly dispelled the chill of the night.

　　A spark of light flickered in The Vault's eyes as she murmured, "Julian Grant..."

　　There was a noticeable pause on Julian Grant's end before he said, "Why are you calling me by my real name? Good thing the game can filter it, right?"

　　The Vault usually didn't make phone calls; her preferred method of contact was always texting.

　　Julian Grant turned up the volume, and all he could hear from the receiver was shallow breathing and the sound of the wind.

　　Julian Grant softened his voice and asked, "Where are you?"

　　The Vault coughed before replying, "At school."

　　Julian Grant quickly put on his clothes, grabbed his keys, ran out the door, and still gently asked, "Where at school?"

　　The Vault obediently answered, "The open space behind the dormitory."

　　Julian Grant: "I'm coming over right now. How are you?"

　　"I'm fine." The Vault's voice was muffled. "Just tired."

　　Julian Grant started his vehicle and said, "I'm on my way now, wait for me ten minutes... five minutes is enough. Just talk to me about anything... tell a joke if you want, I'll make the sacrifice."

　　He didn't ask what had happened to The Vault, nor did he hang up. He just placed the phone on the stand beside him and sped over as fast as he could, acting patient and gentlemanly.

　　The Vault didn't say anything else either. She stared at the green icon on the screen showing the call was connected, listened to the faint sounds, and inexplicably felt at ease, resting her head on her arms and closing her eyes.

　　·

　　Julian Grant climbed over the wall and dashed toward the back hill, achieving the best steeplechase run of his life.

　　Several streetlights at No. 1 High School were broken, and near the back hill, the light cut off completely; there were no light sources deeper in. The wild grass on both sides of the path had grown half a meter high, swaying unevenly in the darkness.

　　But Julian Grant had no time to notice the scenery. As he sprinted, all he could hear was his own rapid breathing, drowning out the wind and insects of the night.

　　When he finally approached the location shown on his phone, he unsurprisingly saw a curled-up shadow on the ground.

　　"Wendy Ward?" Julian Grant held his breath, crouched beside her, and softly called her name, "Wendy Ward?"

　　He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, wanting to check her condition.

　　The shadow moved, then got up on its own and pressed a button, lighting up the phone screen.

　　The pale blue light shone upward from her chin, making her already pale face look even more bloodless. The hair on her forehead was matted with blood, and a streak of red, not yet dried, slowly trickled from the wound.

　　Even though Julian Grant was a successor of socialism and a torchbearer of science, he couldn't help but shudder at the sight.

　　The Vault let out a long breath: "Scared me to death."

　　Julian Grant: "..."

　　Damn—what right do you have to say that?!

　　The Vault continued, "Someone suddenly appeared in the middle of the night."

　　Julian Grant's expression grew more and more twisted.

　　The Vault gestured, "And just started whacking me on the head."

　　Julian Grant: "Heh."

　　The Vault said mournfully, "Ouch."

　　Julian Grant: "..."

　　Julian Grant patted the dirt off her, checked her hands and feet, and asked, "Did you hurt your leg?"

　　The Vault replied pitifully, "No."

　　"Then why are you lying here?" Julian Grant exclaimed, "Soaking up the damp in the middle of nowhere at midnight? You can actually lie down in a place like this?"

　　"I was scared stiff, my legs went weak. It's too dark here, I didn't dare to move."

　　The Vault spoke very seriously, but with her tone and expression, it always felt like she was joking.

　　And yet The Vault even mocked herself: "It's like a dream, even after waking up for a long time, I still don't dare to move."

　　Julian Grant was at a loss for words. He had wanted to tease her, but seeing the emptiness and faint sadness in The Vault's eyes, all his words vanished.

　　"Sit with me for a while," The Vault said. "Let me gather myself first."

　　So Julian Grant sat down beside her, waiting for The Vault's mind to start working again. After he finished a game on his phone, he found that the person next to him was still in the same position.

　　She was very quiet, or perhaps numb, staring blankly at one spot, lost in thought.

　　Julian Grant had never seen such an expression on her face before. He always thought The Vault was invincible, that everything was under her control.

　　Julian Grant nudged her with his shoulder and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

　　The Vault replied slowly, "Hmm... the evidence was taken."

　　"Yeah." Julian Grant turned to her, brushed the stray hair from her forehead, and said, "It's fine. Isn't that the police's job anyway? What are you worrying about?"

　　The Vault looked up at him.

　　After a while, Julian Grant said again, "Come on, let's get you to the hospital first."

　　The Vault: "I..."

　　Julian Grant bent down: "I'll carry you, get on. Don't end up dying from an infected wound before you even meet the conditions for suicide."

　　The Vault reluctantly said, "Fine, I guess."

Chapter 15: Calling the Police

　　The Vault sat in the brightly lit hospital, getting an IV drip. Watching the nurses passing by from time to time, she finally regained that cold, unapproachable aura she had before.

　　But Julian Grant still felt that The Vault's state wasn't great. Or rather, she wasn't as in control as she was at the beginning; she seemed to be troubled by something he couldn't understand.

　　Julian Grant held the medical record, pushed off with his foot, and slid over from his chair to sit shoulder to shoulder with her. He smiled and asked, "Do you know what it says in my character introduction when I load into the game?"

　　"Hmm?" The Vault played along, "What?"

　　Julian Grant crossed his arms and said, "This NPC is based on one of the police officers who investigated the suicide case back then. After Wendy Ward's suicide, they conducted a thorough investigation of all the students at No. 1 High, using the most basic screening methods to try to find the connection between the three who died. Unfortunately, the evidence was too scattered, the students were all tight-lipped, and the school muddied the waters, giving a lot of misleading hints, which made the investigation very difficult. At one point, they even thought it was just a coincidence. Because of that, the other side gained the upper hand in public opinion, and during the case investigation, there were a lot of negative voices, which contributed to the deaths of the other two students."

　　The Vault mused, "Hmm..."

　　Julian Grant rubbed his face hard: "Every time I think about those students hiding things, too scared to tell anyone, anxious and alone, and finally choosing suicide out of desperation, it really hurts. It's not just helplessness, but also the disappointment of not being trusted."

　　His expression was serious, and his tone solemn: "These people work so hard, striving to maintain social stability, just to protect more people like Yvonne Thornton who still can't defend themselves. They don't think their ideals are so lofty, and they know this society is far from perfect. But they really want to tell everyone: call the police. As long as you call the police, even if they're powerless, they'll do their best to help. This society hasn't reached the point where these girls have to bear everything themselves. Even in a game, they hope these young people can have a chance to live in this world."