"Passed Successfully"

Fan Ning opened his eyes again and looked around the room.

The candle had gone out. Benjamin held a pipe, smoke rings slowly drifting out from beneath his felt hat.

"Caloen van Ning, you may leave now. Good luck."

That was it... I'd passed?

The Special Inspection Office hadn't "seen" anything wrong?

Had Benjamin only seen the memory details I wanted him to see?

And failed to notice any traces of manipulation?

Thinking back to that day, since they had followed him, they must have at least known about—or suspected—certain "abnormalities" about him.

Yet he himself knew very little about it.

That information gap made Fan Ning deeply uncomfortable, leaving him with a persistent undercurrent of unease.

So it was really over?

Should he act a little confused first?

Fan Ning gathered his thoughts, gave an "Huh?" and rose while glancing around. Then, in a tentative tone, he said:

"Mr. Benjamin, the things I went through before... I don't know why, but a lot more details just surfaced again..."

Fan Ning swallowed. "I'm feeling especially anxious and uneasy right now. Could I be in danger anytime soon? Could you help me?"

"Your mental and physical condition is fine for now," Benjamin said flatly. "If you are concerned about future risks, you may seek Lord Viadlin's help yourself."

"Thank you. Hearing that conclusion has relieved a great deal of pressure," Fan Ning said happily, bowing in thanks.

After Fan Ning closed the door behind him, Benjamin asked the older police officer beside him, "Mr. Herman, have you confirmed that Vincent van Ning was the 'Fractalist' who investigated Anomaly Zone B-105 back then?"

"There is a seventy to eighty percent chance, sir."

The chief official of the Ufransel Public Security Bureau was exceedingly respectful.

"Over the past few years, I have personally led and coordinated the investigation across Ufransel. The initial list of several hundred suspects has recently been narrowed down to only a handful. Vincent ranks near the top among those remaining. The reason we have not yet submitted a formal report to the Special Inspection Office is that, for the sake of rigor, we still need more time to further determine whether there is anything abnormal about the Turner Art Gallery."

"That's interesting." Benjamin wore a faintly amused expression beneath his felt hat. "Our people investigated the Turner Art Gallery three times. Aside from finding The Remnant of the Musical Scale the first time, we found nothing else worth noting. We have always classified the gallery as an ordinary public art venue that went bankrupt due to poor management..."

"Was there truly nothing unusual about the research results on The Remnant of the Musical Scale?" Herman asked.

"We arranged for team members studying different kinds of Hidden Knowledge to conduct three rounds of cross-review. They all concluded that the remnant contained no special materials, involved no Hidden Knowledge, and was not a ritual object. Music experts were also consulted, and they found no special information in it. In the end, we concluded that it was an ordinary and safe antique."

"However, given that Vincent is one of our key suspects, we are unwilling to abandon any promising source of information in our pursuit of the secret the 'Fractalist' brought out of Anomaly Zone B-105 all those years ago. Since internal research yielded nothing, we followed protocol and lowered its control level to the minimum. It was placed in the custody of the Prudence Auction House, and we monitored its whereabouts for six months to see whether any knowledgeable scholar might buy it and discover something through further research. Of course, we did not hold out much hope."

"We received the notice of that conclusion at the time," Herman said with a nod. "That was also one of the reasons our investigation into Vincent has been delayed in reaching a final conclusion."

"But you know what happened afterward. At Saint Leniya University, one incident after another. We sealed it up as contraband again."

Benjamin's voice was low and grave.

"Most notably, a professor died! Although he had become somewhat marginalized in recent years, he was still a composer with a certain degree of social influence.

Saint Leniya University is Bologna School territory. Those old fellows may not dare protest openly, but they have already expressed their dissatisfaction to us in private several times! This matter earned us a severe reprimand from our superiors. He has developed serious doubts about the investigative, research, and decision-making abilities displayed by Special Inspection Office personnel!" Herman asked, "So, did you notice anything wrong with Caloen van Ning just now?"

Benjamin shook his head slightly.

"There is nothing wrong with him. Or rather, his rank is comparable to mine, perhaps even higher. That is impossible."

He took a deep draw from his pipe. "I have been firmly established as a Third-Rank Knower for six years, yet I still have no confidence in advancing to the middle rank of the fourth tier. Caloen is merely a student. Even if he has advanced through illegal exploration of Hidden Knowledge in recent years, his spirit could not possibly have risen to a level close to mine. Even if those charlatans or pedants had accepted him without the Special Inspection Office's approval, they could not have helped him advance at such a speed."

"If he had advanced recklessly, he should have already suffered Aberration or Lostness."

"I see." Herman nodded.

"But were those two anomalies at the scene really just coincidences?" Benjamin tapped the red table with his fingernail. "That fellow happened to favor a revolver with a scorched grip? The chaotic scuffle happened to shatter the glass so thoroughly? I would rather assume that some force in the shadows had noticed something again..."

Herman attempted to offer a suggestion. "Although the possibility of Caloen coming into contact with taboos is very low, that does not prevent us from temporarily taking him into custody first."

"That would not help our ultimate objective." Benjamin waved a hand. "What we care about is the secret that the 'Fractalist,' or Vincent, brought out of the Anomaly Zone back then. Yet the Special Inspection Office's research into The Remnant of the Musical Scale and the gallery has still made no progress..."

"Caloen kept his teacher's handwritten copy of The Remnant of the Musical Scale. Even if he knows nothing now, he will gradually begin exploring everything around him..."

"He may be our future Key."

Benjamin's gaze lingered on the empty seat across from him where Fan Ning had just been sitting.

"So what you need to do is maintain your surveillance of him." His brows furrowed deeply beneath his felt hat. "What I did not expect was that his teacher also had personal ties with the Guidance School. The matters being drawn in are getting more and more tangled, Mr. Herman. It is time to put your professional skills to the test."

"We will handle the matter with due discretion, Mr. Benjamin. I will swiftly relay your instructions to every precinct." The chief official of the Public Security Bureau immediately stated his position.

The weather in Ufransel had been unusually fine these past two days.

Amid the crowds, Fan Ning and Hiran walked side by side along Green Peacock Street.

The snow piled along the roadside reflected a harsh glare. The air entering their lungs was still icy, but the places touched by sunlight felt pleasantly warm.

"Don't you have anything you want to ask me?" Fan Ning turned to ask.

"I do." Hiran nodded earnestly and firmly.

"Then go ahead."

"The place you asked me to call, was it somewhere called the Woodpecker Inquiry Office?"

"...Yes," Fan Ning replied after a moment of hesitation.

Hiran's eyes suddenly dimmed, and a complicated, wistful expression appeared on her pretty face.

"You met my sister's piano teacher, didn't you?"

"Yes."

Lowering her head, Hiran said, "My sister has been dead for over five years. I was still quite young then. I only knew roughly what kind of thing had happened to her. At first, I thought she was lucky to have been rescued, but later I realized the ending was still hopeless. No matter what, though, my father and I remain deeply grateful to Lord Viadlin."

Fan Ning comforted her. "It has happened twice already. I will not let it happen a third time."

The two walked in silence until they reached the vicinity of No. 90 Green Peacock Street. Following the road ahead to the left led to the main gate of Saint Leniya University at No. 1, while continuing straight into a narrow lane more than a hundred meters long led to the gate of the university's affiliated elementary grammar school.

Only then did Fan Ning speak. "Hiran, you'll have to explain to your teacher why you were late by half a day today."

But Hiran stopped at the fork in the road.

"Caloen, I still have a question." Her tone had returned to normal.