Part 1: The Interrogation Room – A Battle of Wits**

  The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting sterile white reflections across the mirrored walls of the interrogation room. Xue Wen—**Ah Wen**—sat calmly in the metal chair, his fingers steepled before him. The Enforcement officer across the table leaned forward, his breath heavy with the acrid scent of cheap tobacco.

  *"Name!"* the officer barked.

  Ah Wen didn’t flinch. *"Xue Wen. Male. 28. Resident of Building 5, Unit 13, Wenshang Avenue. Studied electronic information engineering. Currently employed at a tech sales firm."* His voice was smooth, rehearsed.

  The officer’s eyes narrowed. *"Do you know why you’re here?"*

  A faint smirk tugged at Ah Wen’s lips. *"Because you’ve made a mistake?"*

  *"Oh? Is that so?"* The officer slid a transparent evidence bag across the table. Inside y a sleek bck device—a **decoder**. *"Recognize this?"*

  For the first time, Ah Wen’s composure flickered. His gaze locked onto the device, then darted back to the officer’s face. *"Of course. Decoders are everywhere. My company sells them. Want a discount? I could give you eight—"*

  *"Cut the crap!"* The officer smmed his palm on the table. *"This one’s scrubbed clean of its security code. That’s not something your average salesman does."*

  Ah Wen chuckled, unfazed. *"Officer, with all due respect, even a child could wipe a security code with a basic tutorial. What’s your point?"*

  The officer circled behind him, exhaling a cloud of smoke. *"Then expin why your fingerprints are on it."*

  Silence.

  Ah Wen’s eyes traced his own reflection in the mirrored walls. *"Why me…?"* he muttered, almost to himself.

  The officer grinned, mistaking resignation for confession. He activated the recording device. *"Speak up. Own your actions."*

  Ah Wen arched a brow. *"Own what? That decoder passed through my hands? So do dozens every day. And your forensic analysis—fwless, is it?"*

  Before the officer could retort, the door swung open.

  **Haruko** strode in, her bck tactical boots clicking against the linoleum. A flick of her wrist dismissed the officer. She leaned against the interrogation table, her voice deceptively light.

  *"How’s your mother’s condition?"*

  Ah Wen’s jaw tightened.

  Haruko pressed on. *"Cooperate, and this ends with five years of community service. We’ll even arrange welfare support for her."*

  Ah Wen’s ugh was ice. *"You’ve got six hours to prove I’m guilty. Otherwise, let’s not waste each other’s time."*

  Haruko crossed her legs atop the table, unfazed. *"The evidence is irrefutable."*

  *"Is it?"* Ah Wen tilted his head. *"Where was this decoder found?"*

  *"Wenshang Avenue. Red 470S’s door. Two AM."*

  *"Ah. Midnight."* Ah Wen’s grin widened. *"Funny. At two AM, I was at Pine Mountain Hotel—twenty minutes away by Skyrunner. Check the cameras."*

  Haruko’s blood ran cold.

  ---

  ### **Part 2: The Alibi – A Phantom’s Proof**

  One hour ter, Haruko stared at the hotel footage, her fists clenched.

  **2:00 AM**: Ah Wen exited the elevator, strolled to the café, and joked with the barista. He even raised his coffee cup to the security camera—**a toast to his own alibi**.

  **4:00 AM**: He’d napped in the lobby until a staff member woke him.

  *"Release him,"* Haruko ordered, her voice hollow.

  The room erupted in protests.

  *"NOW!"*

  As the officers scattered, Haruko slumped into a chair. **How?** The fingerprints matched. The timeline didn’t.

  ---

  ### **Part 3: The Hospital – A Mother’s Wish**

  Central Hospital’s sterile halls echoed with whispered conversations. Ah Wen knelt beside his mother’s bed, adjusting her bnket.

  *"Xiao Wen…"* she coughed. *"You didn’t tell me about your girlfriend!"*

  Ah Wen froze. Behind him, **Haruko**—now in civilian clothes—beamed.

  *"Auntie, don’t bme him. He’s shy!"* Haruko csped the old woman’s hand.

  Ah Wen’s gre could’ve melted steel. But as his mother ughed—**a sound he hadn’t heard in months**—his anger dissolved into aching gratitude.

  Later, in the hallway, Haruko dropped the act.

  *"Her treatment costs a fortune,"* she murmured. *"Steal a few more cars, and you might cover it."*

  Ah Wen’s voice was a bde. *"Stay away from her."*

  Haruko matched his stride. *"Make me."*

  ---

  ### **Part 4: The Sting – A Thief’s Shadow**

  **Wenshang Avenue, Midnight**

  Qin Hong perched on a rooftop, **Void-Splitter Bde** humming at his hip. Below, a figure slunk toward his parked F300S—**a silver lure for a phantom thief**.

  The man pressed a decoder to the door. A cigarette fred to life between his lips.

  Qin Hong grinned. *"Got you."*