Why it never ends

Chapter 1210 Veteran
Eleven couldn't stop crying; her sobs echoed down the corridor, attracting the curiosity of more children. But all the children who tried to peek were pushed back into their rooms by the teachers. They gently closed the dormitory door, allowing Eleven to sit alone in a corner.

At first, Shiyi was still sad, but eventually her crying turned into pure tears. The tears flowed freely, washing away all her fear like rain. Her voice grew softer and softer, eventually becoming irregular sobs. Her sleeves were soaked a deeper color with tears, and the feeling of them scraping against her cheeks was uncomfortable.

Eleven grumbled as she put her hand down, then turned around and saw a pack of tissues and water that had appeared on the corner of the hallway. Her breath hitched for a moment as she remembered the rules of the heart-to-heart talk session that evening. After a brief hesitation, she jumped lightly off her chair, grabbed three or four tissues, haphazardly pressed them to her face, and then gulped down the water in the cup.

After doing all this, she ran back to her dormitory again—knocked on the door, went inside, climbed onto her small bed without saying a word, faced the wall, and closed her eyes.

She felt that Qiqi hadn't forgiven her. Therefore, Shiyi desperately hoped that the night would end quickly so that she could see her again soon.

……

"You said those things to Connor González just now, probably to provoke him into saying something."

In the dead of night, Sire and Clara walked together along the deserted ridges of the fields. The wooden streetlights standing on one side of the path illuminated the night road in circles, and flying insects swarmed around the lights above their heads.

Clara glanced at Si Lei: "Why would I provoke him?"

"...You can't really think that, can you?" Si Lei said. "Do you really believe that these cases on the farm were committed by the inspector?"

“Even if she didn’t do it, I think she probably knew about it,” Clara said. “This case has obvious signs of group crime, and judging from the way the victims died, the two sides had a deep grudge. Inspector Herstal is new here, so she probably doesn’t hate these people to the point of wanting them dead, but if their deaths would benefit her, why wouldn’t she? Officer, don’t tell me you couldn’t think of such a simple reasoning.”

Just as Si Lei was about to speak, Clara silenced her again: "If you insist that you can't think of it, then I can only question your stance as well."

“Okay.” Si Lei shrugged slightly. “That makes sense.”

Clara burst out laughing and patted Slay on the back: "I was just kidding!"

“But I don’t quite understand,” Si Lei said, “why are you taking this case so seriously? It’s not even under the jurisdiction of the Royal Police—”

“For justice,” Clara replied.

She stopped, hands on her hips, and looked at Si Lei. Everything was just as she had expected. Si Lei didn't react in any particular way; she neither applauded her as if to flatter her nor put on a sarcastic tone as if she were an expert. She calmly accepted the answer, as if it didn't surprise her at all.

This gave Clara a strange sense of comfort.

“I took a few people back from the farm last time,” Clara continued, “a few men who were terrified by the torture and murder and wanted to escape from the farm.”

“That’s a good idea.” Si Lei nodded. “The fact that they’re afraid of being targeted by the killer means they know something.”

“Yes, that’s what I think,” Clara said. “They’ve come out of nowhere and said they abused some undocumented workers, many of whom are now with Hershtar… They insist these workers are the murderers. What do you think, officer?”

"If these laborers could really commit such a serious crime, they probably wouldn't have silently endured the abuse before."

“That’s what I think too,” Klar said. “I handed them over to my superiors, and they’re still being interrogated. Once they reveal more accomplices who committed atrocities, I’ll continue to make arrests.” Si Lei glanced at Klar again, his eyes filled with a hint of admiration.

"It looks like you're pushing two lanes at the same time."

“Actually, it’s one thing,” Clara said. “I’ve always felt that the best way to stop these kinds of revenge cases is to get justice for the previous victims, rather than unilaterally hunting down the perpetrators. Now it seems that my method is working; at least since I started arresting and trying old cases, there haven’t been any new victims on the farm.”

Clara looked at Sire, awaiting her comment—but Sire's expression was serious, as if she were thinking about something else.

"What are you thinking about?"

“…That’s a good approach.” Si Lei snapped out of his reverie. “So, what’s next?”

“Next, of course, we’ll be going to make trouble for you inspectors,” Clara said jokingly. “After all, from what I’ve analyzed, you inspectors are the most direct beneficiaries of those men’s deaths—she’s been cleaning up the farm lately, right? Those guys took the lion’s share of the farm’s profits. If they all die, Herstal will probably make a killing.”

"How old are you this year?" Si Lei suddenly asked.

"Twenty-four, what's wrong?"

Si Lei sighed softly – “The younger generation is truly formidable.”

"You chased after him to speak up for Hershta, didn't you?" Klar asked again. "Why aren't you saying anything now?"

“Your analysis makes a lot of sense.” Si Lei lowered his gaze and smiled. “Even she herself would agree with it.”

"I haven't seen her at the farm lately, what has she been up to?"

“You really have to ask her yourself,” Si Lei replied. “Many of her tasks involve direct communication with AHgAs headquarters, and she won’t tell me—given the current level of the farm case, I doubt she’ll tell you directly either.”

“She’d better tell us,” Clara said. “After all, the farm case has been temporarily suspended recently, which could be interpreted as her leaving and the murders ceasing.”

"Do you want me to relay these words for you, so you can give her a heads-up in advance?"

“If it’s convenient, that would be best,” Clara said. “You can also tell her that ‘confession is the best policy’ works for me. Whether she was involved or the mastermind, since the deceased was a heinous criminal, I will certainly try to get her lenient treatment.”

Sire laughed again. The way Clara spoke made it seem as if she were a seasoned police inspector, and anyone standing in front of her would never guess that a police officer who uttered such arrogant words was just an intern.

Clara keenly sensed the reason for Sire's laughter, and she couldn't help but chuckle a few times herself: "...Did I go too far?"

"Who taught you this?"

“A senior colleague,” Clara replied, “in our line of work, you have to do things like a veteran.”