The vault-level {} content protection protocol is now active. All {}-enclosed content will remain absolutely unchanged and unaltered. Proceeding with full translation of all other content:

The sky pointed teasingly at the girl sitting on the blue row of seats, who kept glancing over, and said, “That girl, is she your girlfriend?”

“Just a friend I met when I used to work part-time.”

Harry Forrest followed her gaze. The girl, thinking she’d been noticed, lowered her head guiltily.

Harry Forrest quickly looked away and said calmly, “She’s very good to me, a little clumsy.”

The Vault wasn’t sure if those last two sentences were separate statements, or if they were cause and effect.

Harry Forrest turned his head slightly and asked, as if casually, “Back then, when you and Zachary Campbell were fighting together, you just jumped down like that—weren’t you afraid I wouldn’t catch you?”

“It was fine.” The Vault chuckled carelessly and said, “I told you, I trust you, just like you trust me.”

Harry Forrest smiled along with her, then put one hand in his pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. “You go on ahead, I’ll have another smoke.”

The Vault patted him on the back. “You should quit smoking.”

Harry Forrest raised his hand in a gesture. “Last one.”

·

The police announcement was released one morning.

Just as everyone was waking groggily and hurrying off to work, the official notice was posted online.

The specific details of the case were not made public; only the outcome was briefly stated, saying that the police had caught the latest suspect in the murder case from eleven years ago on a rainy night, and that the detailed investigation process would be announced at a press conference that evening.

Trident reposted the announcement and pinned it to the top of their homepage, and soon the related topic began to trend rapidly online. Major official and marketing accounts all shared it, and when users opened their social apps, the headlines all featured the name Harry Forrest.

Harry Forrest’s case attracted a lot of attention, but the main reason wasn’t the murder from eleven years ago. At the time, the murder method wasn’t particularly brutal, and the investigation wasn’t especially convoluted. The only real controversy was that the perpetrator was a minor.

What truly made it so notable was the multiple crossovers with Trident’s side stories, and the successive deaths of five witnesses after Harry Forrest was released from prison.

Even though netizens had already speculated about this, when the truth came out, they were still shocked. Both online and offline, everyone was talking about it.

“Harry Forrest really wasn’t the murderer?”

“So it really was a wrongful conviction? That’s just too tragic for Harry Forrest.”

“The real killer is so vile, bribing witnesses to frame a minor—what grudge did he have against Harry Forrest? I hope he’s severely punished!”

“This case is over a decade old. The original suspect had already served his sentence. Who would have thought they’d actually catch the real culprit? Incredible.”

“If it weren’t for the five witnesses dying one after another, this case might have quietly faded away. Is this fate?”

“Five witnesses dying in succession is too much of a coincidence. I don’t think fate can explain it. The real killer could bribe witnesses to give false testimony back then, and now could silence them.”

Various theories appeared online, and while people felt a mix of emotions, they were also filled with fear.

If they were Harry Forrest, if they had lived through Harry Forrest’s darkness, they might never have seen the day justice arrived. The precious and cruel thing about life is that there are no do-overs.

The heated debate reached its peak at 8 p.m.

Tens of millions of people were online at the same time, waiting in livestream rooms to watch the police press conference.

Henry Harris and others, as the main investigators, sat on stage answering reporters’ questions.

They had prepared for this announcement for a long time. Chief Campbell spoke very calmly, his expression solemn, his tone almost unwavering. As he reported, he also explained the investigation of the case from eleven years ago.

After discovering the victim’s body, because the rain had washed away evidence, the police began a large-scale search and canvassing.

They questioned all the residents in the neighborhood and checked nearby surveillance footage, confirming that Harry Forrest had enough time to commit the crime. Combined with the testimonies of five witnesses and some other indirect evidence, they ultimately decided to prosecute Harry Forrest.

The court, based on the evidence provided by law enforcement, sentenced Harry Forrest to ten years in prison.

Over the eleven years, there were personnel changes in the police. Harry Forrest’s family repeatedly pleaded for a retrial, but due to lack of sufficient evidence to reopen the investigation, related work could only be carried out secretly in private.

During multiple verifications, those responsible failed to obtain any useful information, so the file was shelved again.

Until Harry Forrest was released from prison, and Quentin Summers died.

At first, the police didn’t connect the two events, but soon, two more witnesses died in succession, and parts of the investigation leaked online, causing a huge stir.

The police immediately put Harry Forrest under surveillance and set up a major crimes task force, coordinating multiple departments for a thorough investigation.

Dozens of staff helped review footage, reconstructing Harry Forrest’s movements during the three murders, but found no evidence of his involvement. Due to the negative impact of public opinion, they did not relax their surveillance of Harry Forrest.

With no leads, the task force decided to thoroughly review the testimonies of the five witnesses.

Because so much time had passed, this work progressed slowly. The police encountered many difficulties during the review.

They expanded the scope of the investigation, and while going through files from the relevant time eleven years ago, they found evidence in an unsolved robbery case that one of the witnesses had lied.

This discovery changed the direction of the investigation.

Soon after, Andrew Forrest and his wife died, and Harry Forrest left the police surveillance area without permission, prompting the police to issue a wanted notice for him.

“Based on the evidence the police had at the time, investigators made a bold guess that the killer of the five witnesses was acting under someone’s instigation, and that there was more than one perpetrator. This guess was later confirmed during interrogation.”

Chief Campbell then described the effort and energy the police had devoted to investigating the five deaths.

In Trident’s side stories, decisive evidence might be hidden at home, nearby, or in some small detail—it was like a puzzle game.

But the real investigation was much more complicated.

The police had to deal with vague testimonies, the abuse and lack of cooperation from victims’ families, and review dozens or even hundreds of hours of surveillance footage, visiting dozens or even hundreds of ordinary people, just to find useful clues among the complex information.

At the same time, Chief Campbell also thanked The Vault and Trident for their help in solving the case.

All their efforts were summed up in just a few understated sentences. After many changes in direction and tireless pursuit, the police finally found the murderer of Zoe Collins and the mastermind behind the case.

The press conference lasted nearly four hours, given the large number of people involved and the complexity of the case.

During the livestream, someone had already organized a timeline of the case based on Chief Campbell’s statements.

Netizens kept refreshing the updates. From their initial curiosity, they gradually recalled their own frenzy when they participated in the case. They were chilled by the deep malice of the mastermind, and ashamed of the harm they themselves had caused in the past.

“I just want to know, where is Harry Forrest? Is he okay?”

“Can we donate to Harry Forrest? I used to curse him—sorry, I’m willing to pay compensation for emotional distress.”

“Which media outlets led the smear campaign back then? They can’t be innocent, right?”

“I remember Fan’s mother also died because of this. The killer didn’t just take Ms. Collins’s life, but also ruined the lives of everyone whose paths were twisted by this.”

“I feel so powerless. No matter how much netizens regret it, all the victims get is a ‘sorry’—but what good does that do?”

“Harry Forrest was taken away just after starting high school, right? What a pity. It’s so hard to get by in this world without an education. Even if the state compensates him, it can’t make up for much.”

“Harry Forrest is a genius—even in prison, he studied with The Vault. Now that things have finally turned around, I hope everything goes well for him from now on!”

“Reminds me—our national model teacher. Could she team up with Harry Forrest as teacher and student? @Trident, please consider it.”

“@Trident, please open a livestream for Harry Forrest, I want to send him gifts.”

“Where exactly is Harry Forrest? I’ve been asking this question for months.”

Chapter 126 Main Story End

At this moment, Harry Forrest was enjoying his rare leisure time. He didn’t have to worry about anything, didn’t have to think about anything, and could spend his time however he wanted, without any concerns.

The house left by Logan Carter had been vacant all along. He went there quietly to clean up, but since there were many old acquaintances nearby, he didn’t know how to face them, and was afraid of being reminded of the past, so he didn’t stay there.

The spare apartment The Vault had finally found a use, welcoming its short-term guest.

Many media outlets wanted to interview Harry Forrest, but he refused them all. TV stations wanted to invite him on shows or organize donations for him, but Harry Forrest did not respond.

He didn’t want to appear in the public eye again because of the case. He understood very well that so-called public opinion is the most fickle and uncontrollable thing. If he appeared too often, understanding would turn into suspicion, sympathy into resentment. Malice is infinitely amplified in the world of the internet.