“Solving a case doesn’t rely on coincidences, Lao Xie.” Julian Grant also put on a serious face and said, “You’re very biased right now. You know there’s no evidence, so you’re resorting to this approach. What you’re doing now is unprofessional.”

　　Quinn Shelby: “I just don’t want to see more tragedies happen.”

　　Julian Grant: “Tragedies usually begin with prejudice.”

　　Quinn Shelby said, “You can’t explain those coincidences!”

　　“The reason coincidences are called coincidences is because they can’t be explained,” Julian Grant said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty in this world.”

　　Quinn Shelby wanted to say more, but Julian Grant interrupted him: “Lao Xie, thank you for your reminder, I’ll be careful. I respect you, and I hope you’ll respect me and my work as well.”

　　Quinn Shelby knew his brother’s personality well; they both understood each other’s stubbornness. After hesitating a few times, he could only say helplessly, “Alright.”

　　Julian Grant said, “Go ahead and look around for a bit. I have something to do right now, I’ll come find you later.”

　　·

　　Julian Grant returned to the lounge and pushed the door open. The Vault was still sitting inside.

　　She noticed the movement, kept her arm in her bag, and suddenly said, “Don’t move.”

　　Julian Grant froze, stopping in place, his gaze following her arm into the closed bag.

　　He saw The Vault slowly pull a piece of bread out of her bag. Then, as if nothing was unusual, she unwrapped it and took a small bite.

　　This was their first meeting in real life. Julian Grant had felt a bit awkward and even embarrassed, but now that feeling was completely gone.

　　“Heh.” Julian Grant was both amused and exasperated. “Are you messing with me?”

　　“The reason you hesitated is because you really suspected I was carrying something dangerous.” The Vault’s voice was even clearer than in the game, but also more flat. She chuckled, “Even though entering your Trident lounge requires passing through multiple security checks, there’s no way I could bring in any so-called dangerous items.”

　　Julian Grant said, “I didn’t think that at all.”

　　The Vault turned her face, staring directly behind him.

　　Julian Grant turned around as well. Sure enough, Quinn Shelby was peeking through the door crack, sneaking a look inside. When he realized he’d been caught, he scurried away.

　　Julian Grant: “……” Where’s that tough, upright man you claimed to be?

　　“He always talks bad about me.” The Vault twisted open a bottle cap. “I’m used to it.”

　　Maybe because the game session had lasted so long, she hadn’t eaten properly, and her voice sounded weak.

　　Julian Grant noticed the bread in her hand looked a bit dry and asked, “Do you want to heat that up?”

　　The Vault said, “No need.”

　　Julian Grant suggested, “There are lots of pastries and candies up front. If you want something else, just order it, and a chef will make it for you. The dishes and ingredients all come from the restaurant downstairs—they’re very fresh.”

　　The Vault: “Mm. The table is big, I saw. No need.”

　　Julian Grant studied her face for a while, then blurted out, “It’s free. Just swipe your login card, it won’t cost anything.”

　　The Vault’s hand was suddenly held back by some mysterious force. She tactfully changed her answer: “Oh.”

　　Why is it that poverty in this world can so easily bring someone to tears?

　　After a brief silence.

　　The Vault asked sincerely, “Can I take food to go?”

　　Julian Grant held back a laugh and said, “Technically, no. But since you cleared the game perfectly, help yourself.”

　　The Vault asked again, “When are you leaving?”

　　Julian Grant felt a pang in his chest. He took a deep breath and extended his hand: “Let me formally introduce myself, Julian Grant.”

　　The Vault shook his hand perfunctorily.

　　Julian Grant rarely experienced this kind of rejection. For a moment, he even wanted to stay and chat with her forever, but fortunately, he quickly realized that would only make himself miserable.

　　“Congratulations on clearing the game. You can leave at any time now. But we’ll have a follow-up visit later, so please keep your contact info up to date.”

　　The Vault was a bit more enthusiastic and nodded, “Okay.”

　　Julian Grant walked to the door and used his privileges to send a message to the lounge staff, asking them to provide The Vault with takeout and delivery service. Then he went to his office to organize the data from this game session, preparing to archive and close it.

　　Author’s note:

　　Quinn Shelby: Damn, that scared me to death!

　　The Vault: Hehehehe~

Chapter 21: Curiosity

　　Julian Grant, taking advantage of a break while the backend was retrieving files, checked the Trident forum. As expected, many people were discussing the just-concluded game session.

　　This session was actually quite difficult, because there was so much misleading information, and all the clues carried a sense of unreality. Once you fell into a mental trap, you could easily fall into the mastermind’s snare. Fortunately, The Vault took a different approach in searching for physical evidence, allowing them to avoid many pitfalls.

　　“I recorded the scene of the expert grading our homework. With her helping me study, reaching the peak of my life is no longer a dream. [Don’t wake me up]”

　　“I’ve rarely seen anyone solve a murder case and get a happy ending.”

　　“This expert seems different from the other 90-point players. Can we expect her to create a miracle?”

　　“She’s a newcomer, right? I don’t think 92 points is her limit. [Analysis] Comparing the usual methods of the top players in solving cases.”

　　“[Dry goods] Full video, condensed version, with BGM. If you like it, follow me.”

　　Julian Grant smiled as he read a page. By then, the backend data had finished loading, so he pulled up the case prototype for this session and quickly flipped through it.

　　The perpetrator, the victim, then the witnesses…

　　Xiang Qingxi, prototype: Qi Mou.

　　Julian Grant was about to flip past this page, but stopped when he saw the character “Qi.”

　　There aren’t many people with the surname “Qi,” but what really caught his attention was how striking the girl in the photo was.

　　There were three photos of her in the file.

　　The first was taken during her high school years. Her hair was a bit yellow from malnutrition, making her skin look even paler. She smiled brightly at the camera.

　　The second was her wedding photo. She leaned against a man, all traces of youthfulness gone. Her smile was a bit reserved, but you could see the joy in her eyes and brows.

　　After that, it seemed she rarely took photos. The third was a surveillance screenshot. She looked haggard and lifeless. It was taken… the day before she committed suicide.

　　Other than that, there was no more information about her in the file. No one knew why she killed herself, not even her real name was provided, since it wasn’t relevant to this case.

　　Maybe beautiful people all look alike, but she and The Vault really shared a certain resemblance, making it hard not to suspect a connection between them.

　　Julian Grant stared at the photo for a long time, then pulled up The Vault’s file from the backend and compared the two. He realized it wasn’t just his imagination.

　　The Vault’s file didn’t go into detail about her childhood, since Trident didn’t want to use that as an evaluation criterion.

　　However, the Trident database was enormous, especially since [Murder Case Analysis] was an official collaboration project. If he wanted, he could use his highest-level access to view all of The Vault’s major online records.

　　For example, her guardian, the reason she changed her name, her hospital records, and so on—digital traces that could paint a mirror-like portrait of her.

　　For a moment, Julian Grant did hesitate, his finger hovering over the screen for a long time, but in the end, he chose to close it. He archived the file and the livestream data, then withdrew them from the game database.

　　From now on, this session would no longer accept new player challenges.

　　Julian Grant leaned back in his chair, spinning around once, shielding his eyes from the overhead light with his arm.

　　Often, being too interested in someone is not a good thing.

　　Besides, why did he keep thinking about The Vault? It didn’t make sense.

　　Realizing this, Julian Grant’s face darkened. He slapped the armrest, stood up, grabbed his jacket, and walked out.

　　·

　　Three days later, Trident headquarters still hadn’t received any requests from The Vault.

　　Normally, right after passing the rookie test is when players are most excited. Many people, after a day’s rest, would jump straight into a second game, hoping to retain their first audience and make a lot of money.

　　The Vault didn’t. She disappeared without a trace. Not even the free buffet could tempt her.

　　Julian Grant sat in his office, taking a deep breath and then exhaling in frustration. All he could think of was her mischievous smile.

　　She couldn’t have just joined [Murder Case Analysis] on a whim.

　　…Fine, she’s doing this on purpose to get my attention.

　　His mood seriously affected the rest of the team.

　　These energetic young guys gathered together every day, whispering in his ear.