"You said you saw the deceased at around 9:20, and then said goodbye to her. But when you returned to the camera shop, it was already nearly 9:45. Given the distance between the two places, no matter how slowly you walked, it shouldn't have taken that long." The Vault lifted their eyelids, their gaze sharp as they watched him, not missing a single detail on his face. "Where did you go during that time?"

Harry Forrest gave an unexpected answer: "I was wearing a new pair of shoes."

The Vault tilted their head in confusion. "Hm?"

"My mom bought me a new pair of shoes, and I didn't want them to get wet," Harry Forrest said. "Then the rain got heavier, and the road out was low-lying, with a lot of water pooling ahead. If I wasn't careful, the shoes would get soaked and ruined. So I waited for a while under the eaves of someone's house, hoping the rain would let up a bit before I went around the edge."

As he spoke, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his fingers, resting on the table, tightened, betraying his emotions.

The Vault asked, "Is there anyone who can vouch for you?"

Harry Forrest shook his head again, the movement very slight. "No."

The Vault: "Then is there any internet record?"

"...No." Harry Forrest's voice became low and hoarse. "I was playing a single-player game at the time."

The Vault fell silent, and Julian Grant also stopped taking notes because of the silence between the two.

This suffocating quiet made a dazed expression appear on Harry Forrest's face.

The scene was all too familiar. Harry Forrest felt a surreal sense of detachment, as if his soul had floated out of his body and was watching this ridiculous scene from a third-person perspective.

A criminal, unable to argue his way out, making up ridiculous excuses in his defense. The uniformed police officer across from him would look at him with a scornful, cold, and mocking gaze, judging him and branding him as despicable in their heart.

Harry Forrest took a deep breath, forcing the fragmented images from his mind.

The Vault: "Laura Lowell was investigating something? Did she have any enemies?"

"I don't know!"

This time, Harry Forrest's answer was a bit stiff. He was angry at his own helplessness and dissatisfied with his situation, so he couldn't control his emotions.

With a soft sound, the file was closed.

The Vault pressed a hand on the cover page. Though the statement was flat and even, it carried a hostility that could instantly provoke anyone's temper.

"So, you don't know a single key issue. And you have no evidence to prove your innocence. Is that right?"

A flash of anger shot from Harry Forrest's eyes. He stiffened his neck, stubbornly raised his head, and stared straight at the person across from him. That was the only way the sixteen-year-old "Nancy Dawson" could express protest.

The viewers in the livestream had long since felt pity. Their fingers nearly smashed the keyboard as they typed, their empathy so strong that even The Vault became the target of their resentment.

"Pitying Harry Forrest now. After knowing he's innocent, I can't bear to see him show any hurt expression. Baby, let me hug and comfort you. [crying emoji]"

"Stop the torment! It's killing me! [clutching heart in pain]"

"The Vault, if you keep treating Harry Forrest like this, your sons are all going to run away. [smile] Are you sure you're on the right team? Why are you suddenly attacking your own side?"

"The real situation must have been even worse than this. After all, Harry Forrest was really only sixteen then, and the police interrogating him weren't as neutral and calm as The Vault. During interrogation, the police would definitely put a lot of pressure on him to get a useful confession."

"[highlight] Harry Forrest has never confessed! Never! Not even once!"

"Honestly, if I were the one interrogating, I would really think Harry Forrest was the real culprit... It's just too much of a coincidence! I'd feel like even his excuses weren't sincere."

·

Harry Forrest didn't know much about the details of Laura Lowell's death. The Vault quickly ended the interrogation, got up and left, leaving Harry Forrest sitting alone in the room, waiting for the next player.

As Julian Grant packed up, he glanced at the gloomy aura surrounding Harry Forrest out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest.

But he knew very well that compared to comfort and care that never existed, that bloody reality was what Harry Forrest had truly experienced in life.

Harry Forrest no longer needed outdated comfort. The pain that had been soaking at the bottom of a muddy pond, unknown to anyone, was what should finally surface and see the light of day.

The Vault strode out of the interrogation room, quickly scribbled a note in the blank space of a sheet of paper, tore it off, and handed it to a nearby detective.

The officer glanced at the note, put on his hat, and ran straight out.

The Vault took out their phone and sent a message in the group chat: "Notice, meeting. Main conference room in half an hour."

Half an hour later, all the detectives who could make it back had gathered in the spacious conference room. Those still out investigating found a relatively quiet spot, joined the group chat channel, and listened in on the discussion.

The Vault sat at the head of the table, legs crossed, glanced at their watch, and seeing it was about time, said coldly, "Let's begin."

Julian Grant scrolled his mouse and sent a video request to one of the accounts.

On the projection screen was the officer whom The Vault had sent out on an errand not long ago. He was standing on what looked like a balcony, holding a pair of white shoes and showing them to the camera from all angles.

"They've been washed. Washed very clean."

Everyone started whispering when they saw this.

"Such expensive shoes, you wouldn't usually wash them so roughly, right?"

"Nancy Dawson's mom said she saw Nancy Dawson really liked these shoes, but both the soles and uppers were dirtied by mud, so she couldn't help but wash them."

"That means we can't see the contamination on the shoes, and can't extract any useful evidence from the soles."

"I'm telling you, Nancy Dawson must be lying, right? I don't believe any of his reasons. It's just too much of a coincidence?"

The person on screen put the shoes down and then turned off the video.

The conference room fell silent for a moment, and everyone turned to look at The Vault.

The Vault raised a hand in a gesture of invitation, signaling them to speak freely.

The group didn't hold back, calmly stating their points.

"Nancy Dawson has many fatal suspicious points."

"First, the seven thousand yuan. Why did Laura Lowell give him seven thousand yuan? Just for a few lessons? That seven thousand was clearly a gift, right? Why did she have to find Nancy Dawson? And if she wanted to give money, why did Laura Lowell choose to do it at night?"

"Second, Nancy Dawson has no alibi. To be precise, none of his explanations are convincing."

"Third, there are already multiple eyewitnesses who can confirm he was the only person present at the crime scene!"

The Vault looked calmly at the speaker, waited for him to finish, then nodded and asked evenly, "But do you realize that your theory also has some fatal flaws?"

The person who had spoken earlier looked surprised, sat up straighter, and asked, "Where?"

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Happy Qixi Festival~ By the way, could I ask for some more nutrient solution?

Extra: Harry Forrest 03

To ensure a clear projection, the conference room curtains were tightly drawn. The Vault's seat was directly under the light.

Everyone looked at her, seeing her face half in shadow and half in light, her features distinct, her expression calm, yet she exuded a natural air of authority.

For some reason, everyone could read a sense of sternness on her face.

The Vault glanced sideways and asked, "How did Nancy Dawson know that Laura Lowell had seven thousand yuan on her? And how did he know where Laura Lowell was going afterwards?"

The group thought for a moment, exchanged glances, and one person replied after some consideration:

"They talked on the phone.

"The call time matches what Nancy Dawson said, around 9 o'clock. Nancy Dawson called Laura Lowell first, and the call lasted just over a minute. No one knows what they actually said.

"Maybe during the conversation, Laura Lowell casually mentioned, 'It's raining hard today, and I have cash I just withdrew in my bag, can't get it wet.' So Nancy Dawson knew she had money, and used the excuse of bringing her an umbrella to find out her exact location."

The Vault said with a half-smile, "Do you think that's reasonable?"

The person being stared at immediately felt a chill.

A young man on the other side interjected, "I don't think it's reasonable. According to the camera shop owner, Nancy Dawson went to his shop first and chatted for a while. At that time, Nancy Dawson already knew he would get seven thousand yuan, and this was before Laura Lowell withdrew the money."

Another young man quickly added, "And Laura Lowell withdrew money on a rainy night, then took a detour to an unfamiliar neighborhood. All these unusual actions suggest she had an appointment with someone."

"In other words, Nancy Dawson wasn't lying about the seven thousand yuan."