The next day, sunshine filled the campus of Imperial College.
In a window seat at the library, Russell was bored to death, flipping through a thick copy of Introduction to Mechanical Dynamics.
He recognized every single word in the book, but combined together, they seemed like incantations from another world.
Last night, he had slept soundly for the first time in a long while.
No ear-piercing violin sounds, no genius whose thoughts needed painstaking conjecture to guess—221B Baker Street had returned to its due tranquility.
This was all thanks to himself.
Russell enjoyed this peace he had created with his own hands with a clear conscience, and drowsiness surged up again like a tide.
Just as he yawned and prepared to cover his face with the book for an open and above-board afternoon nap, that familiar scent—a mixture of white tea and ink—once again uninvitedly occupied his nasal cavity.
"Good morning, Mr. Watson."
Mary Morstan's voice rang out beside him, carrying a trace of a perfectly measured smile.
"Did you rest well last night?"
"Thanks to you, quite well." Russell looked up, meeting those azure eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.
"How did you know I was here?"
"Someone complained that an unmotivated fellow was hogging the best seat in the library, only to use it for sleeping." Mary pulled out the chair opposite him, sat down elegantly, and placed the few books in her hands onto the table.
"Just kidding. It was merely a basic deduction."
"..."
Russell suddenly felt that this young lady would definitely have things to talk about with Holmes.
"So, is the case resolved?" Mary asked as she opened her book.
The outcome of the matter had not been published in The Times, so Mary was still in a state of ignorance regarding the case's conclusion.
But that didn't stop her from knowing the result.
"Resolved." Russell nodded.
"Mr. Edgar Wright's suspicion has been cleared, and he has been released. As for what happens next, that is not within Holmes' scope of consideration."
"Is that so? That's good." Mary nodded. After a moment, she thought of something else and asked curiously, "By the way, what was Holmes' reaction when she learned the truth?"
"Huh? Just a normal phone call to Inspector Lestrade asking him to release the man. What else?" Russell said, somewhat perplexed.
"Just that?" Mary frowned slightly; it seemed Charlotte's reaction was not within her expectations.
"You spoiled the answer for her, and she wasn't angry?"
"Spoiled... I never did such a thing." Russell raised both hands. Hearing this answer, Mary's frown deepened.
"You didn't tell her about the martyrdom?"
"Of course not. I only supplemented two of the most basic clues for her. She deduced the rest herself. If she had known earlier, the case might have been solved long ago."
Russell said faintly, "After all, she is Charlotte Holmes."
Hearing this, Mary fell into a rare silence. Those azure eyes flickered uncertainly, seemingly pondering something.
A moment later, the corners of the young girl's mouth hooked up slightly, and a gleam flashed through her eyes.
A light named 'competitiveness'.
Russell Watson, Phantom Thief Moriarty, and also a Charlotte Holmes.
One by one, they were constantly refreshing her expectations and cognition.
London is truly interesting; it is full of talented people everywhere.
She was starting to like this city a little.
At this moment, Russell did not know what the young girl beside him was thinking.
The only thing on his mind right now was one thing—where to go in a couple of days to farm some more Malice Points.
Although he could open Blind Boxes when indecisive, sometimes the things given by Blind Boxes weren't that great.
When the System says random, it means true random, unlike the pseudo-randomness of online games.
Last month, it opened a map to a poor family's home for Russell. He wandered around there, and in the end, silently took out five pounds and left it on the table.
Therefore, if there was a choice, Targeted Maps were definitely better.
Though they were also more expensive.
A Blind Box only cost 10 Malice Points, while a Targeted Map would charge according to the complexity of the target building.
If the map of the Morstan Estate hadn't been obtained from a box but paid for as a custom order, it would have cost at least several dozen Malice Points, perhaps even breaking into triple digits.
Right now, Russell's thoughts were running wild like a runaway horse, pondering which nook and cranny still hid lucrative, easy targets that were rich in oil and water.
He totally failed to notice that the girl beside him had already called him several times.
Until Mary finally grew a bit impatient, picked up the pen in her hand, and lightly poked Russell's waist.
"Mr. Watson—are you listening to me?"
[Mary feels a slight dissatisfaction with your neglect. Malice Points +10]
Russell snapped back to reality, looking at the girl opposite him with a blank expression.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"What are you thinking about?"
Mary rested her chin in one hand, while the other held the fountain pen, tapping the book cover rhythmically.
"I've called you several times."
"I was thinking about what to eat tonight," Russell said without changing his expression.
"Please find a more plausible excuse when lying, alright?"
Mary sighed helplessly but didn't press the issue further.
"Compared to that, you will come to the party this weekend, right?"
"Party? What party?" Russell blinked blankly. "Will credits be deducted if I don't go?"
"Of course, it's the icebreaker party spontaneously organized by the freshmen. Did you not know?"
Mary's tone became complex.
"I didn't know. No one told me about this." Russell shook his head.
Hearing this, the look Mary gave Russell involuntarily took on a tinge of realization.
She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but also appearing afraid of hurting his self-esteem.
Eventually, Mary cleared her throat and said in a relatively tactful manner:
"Then it's possible they... forgot. After all, there are quite a few people to notify, hmm."
"I understand. You don't need to say anymore," Russell said faintly. He seemed not to care about this situation of being socially isolated.
In fact, he should thank those guys who isolated him; it saved him the trouble of thinking up an excuse to refuse.
With the time spent attending some rubbish icebreaker party, he could have extracted with millions from the wealthy district.
What noble connections, what cliques—those were all hollow.
Only the Malice Points in the System wallet—that was the truly useful stuff.
"As it happens, I might have something to do this weekend, so I probably can't go," he said.
Hearing this, Mary frowned, seeming slightly dissatisfied with Russell's attitude.
"You're really not coming?"
"In this world, how can one find a perfect path for both?"
"What does that mean?"
"A verse from the East," Russell explained. "It means that there is rarely a way in this world to have the best of both worlds."
Hearing this, Mary fell into silence, unsure if she was pondering this verse or something else.
Finally, she slowly raised her head, as if speaking to herself, yet also speaking to Russell.
"The party time is Saturday evening, starting at six and ending at eight."
She put away the books in her hand, then stood up and walked past Russell.
Leaving only a light, airy sentence to disperse in the wind.
"I will wait for you."
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