Xavier Daniels spoke, his mind drifting, once again pulled back into that ridiculous past. He lifted his eyelids and met Henry Harris’s clear, sober gaze, which brought him back to himself. With a mocking tone, he continued, “But who knows, really? Now that I think about it, the timing of Leonard Campbell’s appearance is indeed strange. It could be another one of his experiments. A loyalty test? A clarity test? Progress confirmation? Or maybe some other selection criteria. In every respect, he really is a perfect fit. Captain Harris, what do you think?”

Henry Harris replied dispassionately, enunciating each word: “Not much to think. Verify one by one. Eliminate one by one. It’s my duty.”

Xavier Daniels let out a low chuckle. “People like you are actually quite frightening.”

Henry Harris was unfazed. “As long as they don’t break the law, I’ll be a good friend to the people.”

She picked up the coat hanging on the back of her chair, stood up, and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head out for today. Behave yourself.”

“Rock-paper-scissors—a model problem that’s both the simplest and the most complex.”

As Henry Harris reached the door, the man’s voice suddenly sounded from behind.

“When your opponent says, ‘Next, I’m going to play paper,’ that one extra condition turns a simple permutation problem into a complex model with fuzzy data and uncertain probabilities.”

Henry Harris turned around.

Xavier Daniels lowered his head slightly, a dark glint flickering in his eyes. He said meaningfully, “I hope this time, you won’t arrest the wrong person again.”

Henry Harris listened quietly until he finished, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile. “Thanks for the kind words. But I’ve always considered games that rely only on probability to be gambling. Public officials are strictly forbidden from gambling. That’s also why you’re sitting here today.”

The crisp sound of the door closing marked the end of their conversation.

·

The Vault looked at Harry Forrest. To be honest, sometimes she could see a reflection of herself in Harry Forrest. Whether it was a life of loneliness or an environment full of prejudice, there were always some overlapping parts.

So she couldn’t just stand by and watch Harry Forrest drift about with nowhere to go.

The Vault patiently said to him, “Leonard Campbell has met them, it’s not anything strange. He’s an elder of mine, and an authority in the field. Logan Carter asking him for help is perfectly normal.”

Harry Forrest began to resist. “I’ll verify it myself.”

The Vault: “Your own verification? And then what do you plan to do?”

“Pay the price.” Harry Forrest turned to the side, biting out each word, “He should be responsible for what he’s done. Even if his life is already worthless.”

The Vault took a deep breath, not knowing what to say to him.

“…Harry Forrest, this society has rules.”

Harry Forrest said coldly, “Will respecting the rules really let you live well?”

The Vault: “It’s cruel to say this to you, but… looking at the development of human social order, it’s always been built on a foundation of pain.”

Harry Forrest let out a self-mocking laugh. “So why me? Is sacrificing some people also part of human order?”

“Harry Forrest. Some things can’t be changed anymore.” The Vault soothed softly, “Things will get better, I promise you.”

A glimmer of moisture flashed in Harry Forrest’s eyes. He quickly lowered his eyelids, casting aside his own weakness, and shook his head. “Promises are the most useless thing. I’m going to find my own answer.”

Harry Forrest put on his hat, covering his whole face, and walked away with his back to her.

The Vault called after him, “Harry Forrest.”

A girl in the distance watched the two nervously.

“Harry Forrest!”

Harry Forrest took a few steps, but in the end hesitated and stopped.

The Vault quickly caught up, hung her umbrella on her wrist, and pulled a business card from her pocket.

She smoothed out the curled corner, handed it over, and said, “…Logan Carter and Andrew Forrest’s graves are here. Go visit when you have time.”

Harry Forrest stood there like a stone, as if this was a very difficult thing to do. After a long moment of preparation, he finally took his hand out of his pocket, his fingertips trembling as he accepted the card and held it in his palm.

“I believe in you,” The Vault said softly, “just like you believe in me.”

Author’s note:

After some organizing, I’ve readjusted the outline and decided to put Harry Forrest’s case at the very end, making it a teacher-student side story that both of them participate in together. So for now, some details and reasoning related to the case will be held back, and I’ll wrap up the current arc first, so the overall story will be clearer and more coherent.

Chapter 112: Reporting In

The Vault followed behind Harry Forrest, watching him leave, until his figure disappeared into the vast sea of people.

She stopped at the street corner, looking at the endless stream of traffic and the bustling mall, feeling countless people pass by her, yet experiencing a loneliness as untouchable as the morning mist.

She put her hands in her pockets and strolled along the sidewalk. After walking a while, she finally noticed her phone vibrating nonstop in her pocket.

The Vault was startled, a bad feeling rising in her chest. She pulled out her phone and, sure enough, the home screen was lit up with a string of missed calls—all from Julian Grant.

Julian Grant had called her urgently more than ten times, and when she didn’t answer, he sent several text messages in between.

At first, he was calm, just asking where she was.

“Where did you go? What are you out doing?”

“What’s going on? Why aren’t you answering?”

“Call me back when you have time.”

“Why did you put the check under the mouse? I wasn’t snooping on the cameras, I just thought you were gone. And what’s with the salute you gave me?”

But later, he got more and more agitated.

“Why aren’t you answering my calls? Not even replying to texts! Why are you taking it out on me if you’re mad? I didn’t do anything to you!”

“You upset me last time and I didn’t even hold it against you, so why do you get to leave without a word?”

“We agreed that if nothing’s wrong, don’t run away from home. You’re not going to pull such an immature, irrational stunt, are you?”

“If you don’t call me back, I’m calling the police! I’ll use my clearance to track your location. You’re an adult, how can you just disappear like this?”

“The Vault! If you keep this up, I’m going to get mad too!”

After this storm of venting, there was a gap in the message timestamps. Just now, Julian Grant sent a single, very calm sentence.

“Call me back when you have time.”

Behind the calm was clearly a sense of resignation, vividly painting Julian Grant’s acceptance and surrender.

The Vault sat in silence for a long time, carefully reading the messages several times. The gloom that had built up because of Harry Forrest was finally shattered by Julian Grant, every last bit swept away like debris on a conveyor belt to the incinerator.

Honestly… this was a string of texts that came with its own set of emojis.

The Vault didn’t know how much Julian Grant misunderstood her survival skills. It was just a normal outing, but he was as anxious as if a child had gone missing. Still, being cared about is never something to dislike. In fact, The Vault even found Julian Grant’s panic a little funny.

She held her phone, stepped back a bit, and squatted at the edge of a shop’s steps so as not to block anyone’s way.

The Vault knew well that at times like this, she couldn’t just bluntly tell Julian Grant, “I didn’t hear it.” Otherwise, he’d probably put her on his blacklist for good. Plus, there were still old scores unsettled from last time, so for now she’d have to deal with a passive-aggressive Q-ge.

After thinking for a moment, The Vault carefully composed a text.

The Vault: I went to see Captain Harris.

Julian Grant replied instantly, showing he’d been watching his phone the whole time.

Julian Grant: Seeing Captain Harris again? What’s your relationship with Captain Harris anyway? Didn’t you just meet not long ago?

The Vault started to doubt herself.

Captain Harris… Is there something wrong with Captain Harris?

Julian Grant: Why didn’t you answer the phone?

The Vault: Captain Harris wouldn’t let me answer, needed quiet.

Julian Grant: What’s with that? Then why didn’t you reply to texts?

The Vault: Captain Harris wouldn’t let me turn on the ringer. I was on the street just now, it was too noisy, didn’t hear the vibration.

The Vault: [Sad] Sorry.

The explanation was pretty flimsy, but maybe that last emoji did the trick, because Comrade Xiao He only hesitated for a second before letting it go.

Xiao He really is a kind person.

Julian Grant: I thought you’d run off, you know? Next time you go out, can you at least let me know first?

The Vault’s attitude when admitting fault was always quick and soulless.

The Vault: My bad.

Julian Grant was still angry. He furiously typed two words—

Forget it.

The Vault: I didn’t take anything with me when I left. Before I went out, I waved at the security camera—I thought you’d get it.

Julian Grant: Get what! Do you know what waving means? And you weren’t even waving, you saluted! Isn’t a salute a farewell? Who salutes when they go out? And you left the money behind. How am I supposed to get it? From the front or the side?