Spencer Lewis had firmly decided not to speak, leaving everyone unable to make any breakthrough with him.

The Vault stood in the monitoring room, gazing at the man below through the transparent glass. Her eyes were unfocused, making it impossible to discern what she was thinking.

A colleague scratched his head beside her, saying, “This guy is really tough! He’s completely given up.”

The Vault turned away, no longer observing, and said decisively, “Let’s look for another angle. He won’t talk.” From any perspective, Spencer Lewis taking the fall alone was the choice that maximized benefits. Benefits are the strongest contract.

“I’ll go see the friend who took Julia Campbell in that night one more time. You guys check the street surveillance. From the moment Julia Campbell left home to when she entered the residential complex, I need you to mark every intersection and every time she passed. Once you’ve compiled the data, bring it to me.” The Vault stepped out, pulling the door with one hand, and left a final message before leaving, “Michael Wood’s death was an accident. No matter how meticulous Julia Campbell is, she’s bound to leave many flaws in a hastily made plan. Let’s work a bit harder—this case will be over soon.”

The officer nodded, “Understood.”

·

The friend of Julia Campbell’s was surnamed Yu, a college classmate of hers.

It was said that they were very close back then, but unfortunately, Julia Campbell married early and almost completely devoted herself to family life, so their contact dwindled and they gradually drifted apart. Last year, Ms. Yu came to work here and needed Julia Campbell’s help with something, which rekindled their friendship.

Ms. Yu heard the doorbell and came to open the door, asking, “Who is it?”

The Vault and her companion showed their badges. “We’d like to ask you a couple of questions. Is now a good time?”

Seeing they were police, Ms. Yu immediately frowned and said sharply, “Didn’t you already ask before? Jiajia was with me the whole night—she absolutely couldn’t be the murderer! You’re just wasting your time on her!”

The Vault didn’t mind. Instead, she smiled gently and said, “Actually, we’ve already caught the culprit.”

“Huh?” Ms. Yu blinked in surprise. “You… you’ve caught them?”

The Vault: “Yes. Once the formal charges are filed, the police will make a public announcement. For now, please help us keep it confidential. We’re here today to verify some details with you to help us write our report.”

“I understand, I understand.” Ms. Yu’s expression softened, and she stepped aside. “Come in, please.”

The Vault entered, took off her shoes at the entrance, and sat on the edge of the sofa, keeping a seat’s distance from Ms. Yu. Her colleague sat on a single sofa nearby, taking out pen and paper to take notes.

The Vault relaxed her posture, leaned forward slightly, and asked, “Julia Campbell arrived at your complex around 1 a.m., correct?”

Ms. Yu nodded. “She came into my place at about a quarter past one. I went down to get her myself.”

The Vault: “How was her mood when she got here?”

“Of course she was furious!” Ms. Yu, recalling the matter, felt deeply that her friend deserved better and began to vent, “Back in college, I told her to keep her eyes open and not choose Michael Wood, but she wouldn’t listen and stubbornly went for him. And look—was Michael Wood good to her after marriage? She endured for so many years, they made money, but did she get to enjoy it? She supported Michael Wood, a so-called ‘phoenix man,’ from nothing, only to watch him become successful and then keep other women. Hmph, I feel bad for her! Even though Michael Wood is dead now, who knows how much marital property there is? Michael Wood was ungrateful, guarded against her like a thief, a total mama’s boy. If you ask me, Michael Wood’s mother is way more suspicious than Julia Campbell. That old lady is not normal at all!”

The young officer’s hand shook, leaving a streak of ink on the paper. He wiped it with his finger and looked up at The Vault with an indescribable expression.

The Vault asked, “So that night, she was crying to you the whole time?”

“That’s right.” Ms. Yu said with a look of disgust, “I only learned from her how awful Michael Wood’s mother is!”

The Vault asked, “Julia Campbell left home in the middle of the night—didn’t her family call her?”

“No! Jiajia left in such a hurry she didn’t even bring her phone.” Ms. Yu said, “She borrowed my phone to call Michael Wood’s mother, said she wanted a divorce and to split the assets, and really let her have it. I told her she was finally thinking straight!”

The Vault responded calmly and continued, “Did you hear what the two of them said?”

Ms. Yu shook her head. “No, Jiajia is very strong-willed—she wouldn’t let me see her embarrassed. She made the call on the balcony, crying as she spoke. It didn’t last long before the other party hung up.”

The Vault asked, “Could I take a look at your phone?”

Ms. Yu casually picked up the phone with a pink crystal case from the coffee table, unlocked it, and handed it to The Vault, saying, “Jiajia deleted the call log, so you won’t see it now, but I promise I’m telling the truth.”

The Vault swiped through and found it was indeed so. She politely handed the phone back and asked, “Could you come with me to the mobile company to pull the call records for this number? If we apply for it ourselves, it’ll be a hassle. Lucy Sanders denies this call ever happened. She claims Julia Campbell would never divorce Michael Wood because she wants Michael Wood’s inheritance.”

Ms. Yu, upon hearing this, immediately said angrily, “Of course! That old woman is too much. Let’s go right now! Isn’t perjury a crime? Can’t you teach her a lesson? If her son made enemies, I bet more than half of it is her fault!”

The Vault stood up. “Thank you for your help.”

They went to the mobile company to retrieve the deleted number’s records. Her colleague escorted Ms. Yu home, while The Vault stayed behind to have the staff trace the number’s ownership.

Sure enough, the number didn’t belong to Lucy Sanders, but to Spencer Lewis.

The two had communicated that night; Julia Campbell had cleverly avoided using her own phone.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as she’d hoped.

When The Vault returned to the police station, the timeline analysis she’d asked her team to do on Julia Campbell’s vehicle was ready.

Although some street cameras weren’t yet connected to the smart surveillance system and could only store basic footage, Julia Campbell’s travel times were clear, and the streets were empty at night, making the investigation relatively easy.

The young officer saw her and waved the printed documents, calling out, “Boss, you’re back? We were just about to send the data to the tech department for modeling.”

The Vault reached out her hand. “Just give it to me.”

The officer handed it over suspiciously. The Vault glanced down and saw that even the speed measurements were marked in the table—quite detailed.

She entered the numbers and locations into the map, calculations already running in her mind. About a third of the way through, she stopped.

“For this section here, I want the full surveillance footage of the entire route,” The Vault said. “Julia Campbell stopped in this area. The stop lasted between 10 and 15 minutes.”

Her colleague craned his neck to check, then pulled out a laptop to compare the surveillance points, shaking his head. “No, Julia Campbell cut through an alley—there’s a stretch with no coverage. But we can ask nearby businesses if they noticed anything.”

The Vault asked, “Are there any 24-hour stores nearby?”

Her colleague replied, “There’s a KFC at the intersection. There’s also a 24-hour convenience store nearby.”

The Vault smiled. “Great, let’s go ask.”

Without resting, they hurried to the stores near the target location to ask the staff if they’d seen Julia Campbell that night.

Since the night shift staff weren’t present, it was hard for the police to get statements, so they simply asked the owners for the surveillance footage and got to work.

After watching so much surveillance, they’d become numb, propping their chins and staring at the fast-forwarded footage with dead-fish eyes.

This time, happiness came so suddenly.

They successfully spotted Julia Campbell entering the convenience store on the video.

She took a hundred yuan bill from her pocket, received a phone from the clerk, and went to a corner to make a call.

Because her back was to the camera and she was too far away, it was impossible to tell her mood or the conversation. After about five minutes, Julia Campbell returned the phone, and the clerk insisted on returning her money.

She was in a hurry and, after refusing twice, left in a rush.

The camera at the entrance caught her leaving and heading left. After about ten meters, she walked out of the camera’s range.

Everyone perked up, happily running to the neighboring shop to request the surveillance footage from outside their door, focusing intently on a new round of video.

·

The Vault and her team of NPCs were excited by the breakthrough, but the viewers in the livestream felt differently. They were genuinely exhausted.