Julian Grant said, “Although Julia Campbell’s family background is pretty average, it’s still much better than Michael Wood’s back in the day. Her parents both have jobs, and the family owns two apartments. Michael Wood was definitely marrying up.”

The Vault nodded. “After graduation, Michael Wood went into the self-media industry, trying to develop an influencer business. He bought cameras, cosmetics, paid for advertising and other expenses—all of which were probably covered by Julia Campbell.”

“The two million needed to start the company initially was provided by Julia Campbell, who mortgaged her parents’ property.” Julian Grant picked up a document from the floor. “The company’s legal representative isn’t Michael Wood or Julia Campbell, but Michael Wood’s mother. How did he convince Julia Campbell to agree to that?”

The Vault added, “The villa they’re living in now is also registered under Michael Wood’s mother’s name, with no mention of Julia Campbell. Looks like even if they divorce, Julia Campbell won’t get much out of it.”

The Vault put the things down and commented, “The so-called successful man worth a billion, Michael Wood, the woman behind his success isn’t Julia Campbell, but his own mother.” Her tone was full of disbelief.

In just over ten minutes, the two of them sorted through all the documents in the folder at a speed that left the livestream audience stunned, and extracted several key clues.

As The Vault packed things back up, she analyzed, “He’s really rude to Julia Campbell. One reason might be that after years of marriage without children, their relationship has grown cold. Another reason is probably his strong pride—he doesn’t want to admit he once relied on a woman’s support. It’s even possible that, from the start, that relationship wasn’t all that pure.”

Julian Grant nodded.

There was no doubt about that.

After The Vault finished speaking, her hands suddenly stopped moving, and she stared at him motionlessly.

Julian Grant felt a chill down his spine. “What is it?”

“You know, from the perspective of our in-game identities, I don’t actually trust you. Ever since I saw that medical report on the coffee table, I’ve thought you had enough motive to kill.” The Vault said seriously, “At the very least, I couldn’t stand living with a man like Michael Wood for years.”

Julian Grant kept a straight face. “Now that you’ve seen these documents, you should be even more convinced. So what now? Are we splitting up?”

The Vault shook her head. “No, I’m still willing to share all the clues I find with you.”

Julian Grant sneered. “Why? Want to keep carrying me to an easy win?”

“No. If you really are the killer, I’m confident I can find decisive evidence and stop you before you act.” The Vault paused, then gave a strange smile. “This is the indulgence of an outstanding man who’s never been weaned, towards his own woman.”

Julian Grant: “……”

He lost control of his strength and tore the paper to pieces.

Julian Grant gritted his teeth in anger, threw the stuff down, and cursed, “Are you freaking crazy?!”

·

The livestream audience sent a string of ellipses.

“One sentence completely changed the atmosphere in the stream and lowered the boss’s cool factor. What is she thinking?”

“Is this teasing or flirting? The boss’s world is so wild—she actually dares to flirt with the killer in a death game.”

“The clue-gathering speed here is insane. The folks in the next stream are still on their way to the hospital for infertility tests.”

“Do all 93-point bosses read documents this fast? She turned the page and I’d just finished the first paragraph.”

“Basic operation, just basic operation. New viewers, calm down—this boss once finished a senior high student’s entire workbook and draft paper in a single day.”

“Prime suspect: Julia Campbell. With this setup, the case doesn’t seem that hard, does it? How did Trident adapt it?”

“This is a tutorial copy for fear of marriage. [Suffocating]”

·

After putting everything back in the safe, The Vault returned to her own bedroom to change out of her pajamas.

Although The Vault hadn’t said she wanted to separate, Julian Grant, in a fit of anger, locked himself in the study next door.

The Vault went over and knocked on the door. “Brother Q, can you drive? Take me out for a bit—I want to buy some surveillance cameras while I have the chance.”

Julian Grant came over and opened the door. “You can’t drive?”

The Vault smirked. “Someone of my noble status—how could I possibly…”

“Bang!”

The door slammed shut in her face.

The Vault touched her nose and knocked again.

Julian Grant stood behind the door with a cold face. The Vault said, “Yeah, I can’t drive.”

Julian Grant replied grumpily, “Then wait a bit. I’ll go change.”

Author’s note:

As mentioned in the previous two chapters, this case has already been solved, and it’s confirmed that the killer isn’t Harry Forrest. But the public still doubts its authenticity, which is why this scenario was created.

Chapter 24: Surveillance

The Vault humbly got into Julian Grant’s car.

Julian Grant had changed into a rather androgynous outfit: a loose shirt and long pants, topped with a black trench coat. Her long hair was tied up and tucked into her hat, as if she was trying hard to hide the fact that she was a woman. But her shifty expression made her look anything but trustworthy.

The Vault was already in the car, so it wasn’t convenient to comment on this.

Fortunately, the electronics store was in a large mall not far from their villa. The Vault walked in quickly, picked a model at random, and asked the owner to pack it up. By the time the two of them got back home, it had only taken about half an hour.

After entering, The Vault took the surveillance equipment out of the box. Several red circles immediately appeared in the corners of the villa, marking the suggested installation spots—probably the same places where Michael Wood had installed cameras in real life.

It seemed that after realizing he was being followed, Michael Wood had also taken some precautions.

The Vault looked around, roughly sketched out the surveillance coverage in her mind, and nodded. “Given the width of the camera’s field of view and the layout of the house, he chose the installation spots well. There are hardly any blind spots in the whole house. Plus, the cameras can be partially hidden by decorations, making them pretty discreet.”

Julian Grant said, “This villa is the primary crime scene. If there was surveillance, wouldn’t it have caught the murder directly? That would make the case too easy—no need to make it a special scenario.”

The Vault carried the equipment inside and said, “That means the surveillance didn’t end up serving its purpose.”

Julian Grant: “So why are you still installing it?”

“Of course. If it didn’t serve its purpose, there must be a reason.” The Vault said, “Maybe it’ll leave behind some other evidence.”

The Vault sat cross-legged on the floor, inserted a memory card into the camera slot, and prepared to install it. “I only bought the most basic ARM-embedded remote surveillance system this time. It runs on Linux, supports cross-gateway, and can quickly transfer data across multiple platforms. The cameras have built-in storage and network functions. Michael Wood was found dead less than 12 hours after dying, so the data on the memory card and in the cloud definitely hasn’t been overwritten yet. In this situation, to completely delete all surveillance footage so that even the police techs can’t recover it—I won’t say it’s impossible, but at least an ordinary hacker couldn’t do it.”

The Vault lined up the prepared cameras beside her. “If you want to avoid the surveillance, you either have to stop the cameras before committing the murder—which only Julia Campbell could do. Or, if the killer isn’t her, the best way is to take away all the cameras and connected devices, so the police never even know there was surveillance here.”

“If the killer really did that, then it’s even easier.” The Vault smiled. “In Michael Wood’s wide social circle, finding a killer whose identity is unknown is much harder than just looking for a bunch of missing cameras in a fixed area. Which do you think is easier?”

She wasn’t wrong.

Julian Grant walked over to help her set up the network.

It didn’t take long for them to finish installing and configuring the surveillance equipment as instructed. The Vault checked the feed on her phone and, satisfied, said, “If you don’t mind, please take me to the office—I have to go to work.”

Although they’d been busy for a while, in-game time had only just passed noon. For The Vault, the remaining half day was enough to investigate the company.

Julian Grant nodded.

As long as she spoke normally, Julian Grant was happy to oblige. To show his encouragement, he even said enthusiastically, “No problem!”

·

Given Michael Wood’s personality, his company’s office had to be impressive.

He rented two floors in a commercial building in the tech district. There was a glass monument at the entrance, with the company’s name embossed in gold, looking modern and grand.

The Vault’s late arrival didn’t surprise anyone. She walked straight past the front desk to her own office, closed the door and windows, and shut out the outside world.