A few minutes later, the sharp wail of police sirens pierced the silence of the rainy night, as a floating police car, flashing cold blue lights, precisely landed in front of the Gloni Clinic.

Several police officers got out and subdued the terrified Goss Gloni before beginning a thorough search of the clinic. They uncovered numerous gray trading records hidden within various magitek terminals, encrypted multiple times and disguised as ordinary invoices.

These records involved a range of illicit activities, including the sale of counterfeit drugs, addictive substances, illegal weapon transactions, and restricted spell transactions, presenting a shocking array of crimes.

Faced with the exposure of these transactions, coupled with evidence provided by the mysterious anonymous whistleblower, the once-arrogant Goss was left utterly devastated, like a struck lightning bolt, as he was roughly dragged into the police car, facing the same fate as Regel Hoffman.

In the dimly lit corner of the street outside the clinic, standing beneath an umbrella, Rosalyn stared blankly at the situation unfolding before her, and murmured, “Teacher… did you do this?”

Yvette nodded slightly and replied calmly, “In Blackwater Zone, as long as one isn’t a saint, one will, to some extent, be involved in gray industry. It all depends on how well-hidden it is. Unfortunately, I’m quite good at uncovering such things.”

Like Rosalyn, Yvette was also very concerned about the anonymous whistleblower behind the report that shattered the Hoffman family.

Especially since this report was lodged just a month after she had joined the clinic, and during that month, the number of patients had increased significantly due to rumors of the “beautiful young nurse.” This inevitably made her suspect that if she hadn’t suddenly requested to observe at the clinic, the sudden report might never have happened.

Thus, using her rune hacking skills, Yvette directly pinpointed the source of the anonymous report sent to the police station, which was located just 1.5 kilometers away from the Gloni Clinic—completely unmasked and utterly lacking any counter-surveillance awareness.

Combining this with the information she had gathered from Mrs. Susan, the answer became strikingly clear.

This was undoubtedly a very straightforward case of professional competition. A long time ago, Goss had been aware that Regel was practicing medicine without a license. However, at that time, Goss’s clinic still had a decent patient base, and his income and profit margins were higher than Regel’s, so he didn’t bother to create an enemy by reporting him.

Recently, due to “someone’s” influence, Regel’s clinic had attracted a good number of new patients, essentially taking away business from Goss. While his income was still better than Regel’s, he couldn’t sit idly by, watching the gradual decline of his clinic. Hence, Goss sent an anonymous email to report the Hoffman Clinic.

And that’s how today’s events unfolded.

In a sense, Yvette could be considered the catalyst for the entire incident.

However, this wasn’t her responsibility. Her decision to help the Hoffman family identify the whistleblower and retaliate was simply out of sympathy and her distaste for Goss. While she couldn’t guarantee that good people would receive good outcomes, she could ensure that bad people wouldn’t have smooth lives.

Additionally, this provided a rare opportunity for Rosalyn to grow.

After all, in a world reduced to wasteland with only a few people, many of the necessary trials that would lead her from childhood to maturity couldn’t possibly be experienced.

Now, using this grand dream, she was at least able to fill a gap, thereby fulfilling some responsibility as a teacher.

…

The autumn rain of the night came and went quickly, and as Rosalyn walked a few steps on her way back, the sky quickly cleared. The dark clouds dissipated to reveal a silvery crescent moon, adorned by twinkling stars, forming a hazy, magnificent galaxy.

Noticing that she had become the umbrella-bearer, Rosalyn closed the umbrella and walked step by step behind her teacher.

She gazed at the unfamiliar starry sky above her, so different from her hometown, and suddenly coughed lightly, using a somewhat shy tone to tentatively ask, “Teacher, um… did you investigate Dr. Goss because of me?”

“No,” Yvette replied without missing a beat, her pace unwavering.

“Really?” Rosalyn quickened her steps, turning her head to look at Yvette’s graceful jawline. Doubt lingered thickly in her tone.

She still felt that her teacher must have done this for her sake. After all, Yvette had endured countless storms as a recluse master and had long seen through worldly matters. She had even reminded her that everything in the dream was fake; yet, Rosalyn couldn’t help but feel that her teacher had personally stepped in to resolve the obsession haunting her.

“No,” Yvette reiterated firmly.

“That means yes!” Rosalyn countered definitively.

“Not at all.”

“Is too!”

“…”

Yvette cast a glance at her, closing her mouth and falling into complete silence.

Rosalyn didn’t mind at all; she chuckled lightly and strode ahead toward the direction of the Light Apartment.

A few days later, news of Goss being taken away by the police spread through Acid Street, and many who had known the details of the report beforehand, like Susan, Hans, and Mary, couldn’t help but cheer in delight.

Then, just as past events repeated, the Gloni Clinic also closed as a result of the report.

However, unlike before, no one came to express condolences to Goss’s relatives, and in court, Goss faced a much harsher end—although his illegal activities and involvement in the gray industry were minor, their sheer quantity led to a sentencing of twelve years, double that of Regel’s six years.

On the evening of Goss’s trial, the setting sun melted gold onto the broad window frames of the apartment, casting a soft glow. Rosalyn leaned against the window, observing Mrs. Susan busily working at the roadside stall below, her mood now a far cry from the days that had passed.

“Teacher, I heard from Hans that Mr. Regel Hoffman was given a lighter sentence of six years because a ‘kind person’ slipped the judge and jury some money, but he doesn’t know who did it since so many people came to express their condolences at the time.”

“Mm.”

“Was it you, teacher?”

“What do you think?” Yvette replied, her gaze fixed on the text on the holographic screen without lifting her head.

“I think it definitely was.”

“Why?”

“Because you said you’d buy me the latest magitek terminal, but I still haven’t saved enough money for it yet.” Rosalyn frowned, unable to resist sneaking a glance at her teacher’s expression. “Um, I’m not implying anything. Absolutely not.”

The corners of Yvette’s lips curled upward slightly as she lowered her gaze, not responding.

Previously, during exchanges with her students, she had explicitly stated that her 500,000 credit points were earmarked for purchasing the “Elemental Replenishment Technology,” which meant that she couldn’t spare any funds to help the Hoffman family.

However, the fact was that her welding gun had found new clients in neighboring Gray Port City, allowing her to finish buying her professional books while still having some spare cash left over. She used half of that to smooth over the relationships that led to the leniency in court, reducing Regel’s original sentence of at least ten years down to six.

So where did the other half of the money go?

Well, looking at how Goss was unfortunately sentenced despite hiring a high-priced lawyer, the answer seemed clear.

Without receiving a response from Yvette, Rosalyn took it as a reply in itself. She lowered her head contentedly and continued watching the street scene below the apartment.

Then, she caught sight of Briel, dressed in finely made, perfectly tailored Blacktower Middle School uniform, accompanied by two lackeys. They suddenly appeared roadside, scanning around as if looking for someone, and after a moment of fruitless searching, they ran over to Mrs. Susan’s stall. Each ordered a pancake with added eggs and sausage, then they walked away, eating as they went.

The evening light fell upon the three elite youths as they chatted, casting long shadows on the dirty pavement.

Watching this scene, a smile crept onto Rosalyn’s face. Just as she was about to say something to her teacher, she suddenly felt the world before her becoming illusory. The familiar wallpaper, the window frames, and the bustling sounds from below melted like an oil painting submerged in warm water, slowly transforming into colorful, swirling water patterns.

“It’s over.” Clad in a pristine white dress, Yvette stood up and walked behind her, a newly acquired magitek ring adorning her slender fingers. Inside was specialized literature worth 500,000 credit points—key texts for future energy supply to the manor.

“Mm, it’s over…” Rosalyn murmured, her expression dazed.

…

In the evening, the two returned to the real world, riding an almost-defunct magitek motorcycle as they made their way back from the Blackwater Zone to the site of their estate in Central District.

As they passed by the dilapidated, overgrown ruins of the Blacktower building, Rosalyn, sitting in the passenger seat, couldn’t help but gaze up, deeply absorbed in thought.

She remembered that for Hans and Mary, the Hoffmans had the highest hopes—that they could rise from Blacktower Middle School to the corresponding university, and then go on to work for Blacktower Pharmaceuticals, eventually improving their status and standing at the pinnacle of Ish City.

This ideal future conjured by the Hoffmans was now almost impossible to realize. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel(ꜰ)ire.net

A wave of sadness washed over her as she thought, if one day she could traverse the remnants of the abyss and return to her hometown, she too would build a tower where she grew up.

But not a black tower; hers would be a white tower, like a lighthouse capable of dispelling all darkness in the night.

A tower akin to her teacher.