Part 121
“Hong ge.” Ruby Donovan struggled to speak, gripping his hand in return as she cried, “Right now I really want to eat cake. I promised Shawn I’d buy him some, but in the end I never took him.”
Justin Hall said, “I’ll go buy it, I’ll go.”
“Thank you, Hong ge.” Ruby Donovan said, “I’m really happy. Do you understand me?”
Justin Hall pulled his hand back, clenched his fingers, and repeated, “I’ll go buy it. Wait for me.”
He hurriedly turned around and ran out of the hospital room.
·
The three people in the interrogation room sat in a tense silence, as if in a standoff, waiting for the so-called evidence to appear. The rhythmic tapping of The Vault’s fingers was the only sound in the room.
Suddenly, a familiar cell phone ringtone broke the silence.
The Vault put the call on speaker. The young officer’s breathless voice came through.
“Captain! We rushed to the hospital to find Ruby Donovan, but she’s already—she’s already jumped!”
Sylvia Shaw looked up.
The Vault asked, “How is she?”
“She’s being resuscitated!” the colleague said. “But we found conclusive evidence that Xavier Daniels committed the murder. We’re on our way to search Ruby Donovan’s home now.”
The Vault said, “Understood.”
She looked up, meeting the ashen face of Sylvia Shaw across from her.
At the same time, the notification for clearing the instance sounded in both their ears, and the screen turned gray.
Only then did Julian Grant snap out of it and say, “It’s over? That was way too fast, wasn’t it?” He felt like he hadn’t done anything at all.
Chapter 78: Contact
Seeing The Vault gloriously exit the instance, the technicians felt much the same as Julian Grant.
Susan Scott doubted herself, “I don’t think I gave her any cheats, did I? How did she know about Ruby Donovan’s confession?”
“Could it be that the young lady has… a god’s-eye view?”
“Why not say she can see ghosts?”
“That was so fast. Some players are still wandering around Justin Hall’s house. That’s not just a small chunk of the plot skipped.”
They muttered, “If anyone gave cheats, it was Captain Harris who told us to. Not our problem, right? I’m not writing the report.”
“If anyone writes it, Susan Scott should.”
Susan Scott snapped, “In your dreams!”
The closed beta invited players with varying ability ratings to participate, to enrich the character settings, so each player finished the instance at a different time. For those who couldn’t clear the instance for a long time, the admins would give some hints. But it was rare to see a player clear it this quickly.
Quinn Foster cheerfully stood up and waved to everyone, “Sorry, I’m clocking out early. Keep up the good work, comrades, and remember to rest.”
He hadn’t brought much when he came, and left just as briskly. Amid the envious looks of the others, he swung on his jacket and prepared to leave.
Henry Harris moved to block his way.
Quinn Foster was still a bit intimidated by her. “Captain Harris, is there something you need?”
Henry Harris asked expressionlessly, “Are you going to the break room to eat?”
“Yeah?” Quinn Foster said, “It’s not often I get to come here. Why not take advantage of a free meal?”
Henry Harris turned and nodded to the technicians.
Quinn Shelby saw her expression and knew she had another idea. Sure enough, Henry Harris said, “Everyone’s tired. Let’s call it a day and go eat first.”
The Trident employees checked the time and realized it was only three in the afternoon. The nutrient solution in the equipment pods was enough. Usually, as the police monitoring the players, they wouldn’t let anyone off before eight, but today they were being so generous.
Susan Scott was secretly pleased and, using her admin privileges, posted an announcement: today’s instance was over, all players could log off and rest.
Everyone started packing up. Henry Harris grabbed her clothes and walked beside Quinn Foster, saying, “I’ll go with you.”
Quinn Foster was torn. Don’t think I don’t know. If you were after my body, fine, but you’re after my clients!
·
The Vault stepped off the machine and sat on a sofa chair to the side. She habitually emptied her mind to let the discomfort fade as quickly as possible. In her hazy, heavy thoughts, she thought of Harry Forrest, of Xavier Daniels, and of the truth buried under layers of dark clouds. She felt she was getting close to the world behind the truth, maybe just a turn away. But she didn’t know where that opportunity lay.
Lost in thought, she was startled by a knock at the door. Julian Grant called from outside, “The Vault, have you eaten?”
The homely question caught her off guard. She paused for a moment before going to open the door.
Seeing her, Julian Grant pointed down the hall and asked, “Want to go eat?”
The Vault said, “Sure.”
The two of them headed downstairs to the break room together.
Julian Grant matched his pace to The Vault, glancing at her from time to time, several times wanting to speak but stopping himself. To cover his awkwardness, he even wiped his nose.
The Vault found it hard to ignore his little gestures. Just before they reached the elevator, she stopped, checked the time on her phone, and said, “I’ll give you a chance to ask questions—three minutes, starting now. Go ahead.”
Being so direct, Julian Grant was momentarily at a loss for words.
The Vault looked up at him. “I’m starting the timer. Aren’t you going to ask?”
Julian Grant opened his mouth. His first instinct was to ask if her analysis of Ruby Donovan was real. But he quickly suppressed the thought—if he guessed wrong, the instance couldn’t have ended so smoothly.
So Julian Grant changed tack and asked, “How did you get Xavier Daniels to talk about Ruby Donovan? Was he willing to cooperate?”
“He didn’t say it outright. I guessed. Some problems, once you know the answer, you can work backwards to the process.” The Vault said, “He already knew he’d been used. To him, that was a ridiculous thing.”
Julian Grant was half-convinced, half-skeptical, and asked, “Then how did you force Xavier Daniels to log off? Did you ask him something… related to Harry Forrest?”
The Vault thought for a moment and replied, “He didn’t really reveal anything. He just expressed his admiration for me and sincerely invited me to visit him.”
Julian Grant’s face showed a complicated expression.
The Vault was surprised. “You don’t believe me?”
Julian Grant turned away blankly, pressed the elevator button, and said, “I’m immune to your deadpan jokes now, ma’am. People grow and learn. I hope you can keep up with the times too.”
The Vault nodded, taking the lesson, and said meaningfully, “Sir, you really are… a very interesting person. I should learn from you.”
The elevator doors opened and Julian Grant strode in.
The Vault said, “Aren’t you going to keep asking? It’s not even a minute yet.”
Julian Grant, sounding a bit petulant and a bit smug, said, “No point. I can review the replay myself. Let’s just eat.”
The Vault: “Oh—”
Julian Grant said, “Girls shouldn’t always be so sarcastic.”
“Oh.”
They reached the break room together. As they pushed the door open, another group entered from the other side.
The woman in front looked around, then quickly approached them.
Julian Grant recognized her and said in surprise, “Captain Harris? You’re done too? Isn’t it early? Did my staff make some unreasonable request?”
Henry Harris smiled, “No. Moderate physical activity helps players think. I suggested they balance work and rest.”
Julian Grant thought, do all you strong women have a knack for lying? He didn’t show it, and graciously introduced, “This is Captain Harris, Henry Harris, who’s in charge of this case. She’s a famous iron lady in the field. The Vault, you probably all know her.”
Henry Harris nodded, smiling at The Vault.
Anyone who knew her would know how rare her smile was, but The Vault didn’t feel it—instead, she paid more attention to the man behind her.
The Vault nodded at the quiet, reserved Quinn Shelby and joked, “Brought your parent along, huh?”
“You—” Quinn Shelby was easily provoked, lowering his voice, “Can you not joke around?”
Henry Harris said, “Since everyone’s here, why not eat together and chat? Dr. Foster probably wants to discuss the instance results with you too?”
Quinn Foster: “??” He didn’t. His clients were always left to their own devices.
In just a few words, the entrance became lively as the other players arrived. The few of them standing at the door looked a bit odd.
The Vault made a welcoming gesture, inviting them in, found a spot nearby to put her things down, and went to get her dinner.
When the five of them finally sat around a round table, the atmosphere was extremely awkward. They looked at each other, even small talk felt unfamiliar. Especially since Henry Harris kept staring straight at The Vault, and The Vault stared right back, neither willing to back down. The electric tension between them left the other three at a loss, wishing they could disappear.
Fortunately, more players began to gather nearby, excitedly discussing the game, so it wasn’t too quiet on their side.
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