Gu Heng stopped just outside the threshold of the public lounge.
Voices from the dining area carried over through two corridors.
Karuizawa had already returned to sit among her companions, her phone pinned beneath her knee.
Ayanokoji withdrew his hand and turned toward the vending machine.
He did not leave immediately.
"Do you know what she's dealing with?" Gu Heng asked.
Ayanokoji pressed a selection button on the vending machine, and a bottle of water rolled into the pickup slot.
"I know you've already seen enough."
"That isn't an answer."
"Nor is it an invitation."
Ayanokoji bent down and took out the bottle. He did not open it, merely held it in his hand.
Gu Heng looked down the corridor behind him. "If she's tied to you, I at least need to know whether that connection will reach Class D."
"You can investigate Class D." Ayanokoji raised his eyes.
"Don't use her as an entry point."
Gu Heng pressed his fingers against the edge of his terminal. "Are you protecting her?"
"I'm warning you."
"What's the difference between a warning and protection?"
"You can still tell the difference right now."
Ayanokoji twisted open the cap and took a sip without explaining further.
Gu Heng did not activate Weight Vision again either.
The two weights from before were still displayed on the personal page.
`Secrecy`
`Dependence`
Those two words could not prove that Ayanokoji was the object of that dependence.
Nor could they prove that Karuizawa was doing something for him.
They only showed that, in that moment, she had placed concealment and dependence first.
Gu Heng deleted the name "Ayanokoji" from the record page.
Then he wrote in the source field.
`Source: Ayanokoji intercepted voluntarily; relationship subject unknown`
This record did not enter the Class D shared table.
Ayanokoji saw