“People without an ‘identity’...” Logan Carter said, “That does make sense...” He muttered thoughtfully, “If this ‘Michael Bolton’ is a member of the ‘resistance organization’, then it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s an ‘ability user’, right?”

“Yes.” Scram replied, “At this stage, this person is the prime suspect in the case, so the police task force is focusing its resources on investigating him as the top priority.”

By this point in their conversation, they had already reached the fifth floor.

On the way up, they hadn’t stopped at any other floors, and all the electronic doors along the way had been set to open freely.

Scram led Logan Carter straight to the surveillance room on the fifth floor, stopping in front of the control console.

“So... let’s talk about the surveillance now.” As Scram said this, he looked at Logan Carter with an openly suspicious gaze.

“Just say whatever you want to say.” Logan Carter said.

“Alright.” Scram really did “just say it.” “I suspect you.” He paused for two seconds. “I suspect you’re an accomplice in this case.”

“What makes you say that?” Logan Carter was accused to his face, yet remained as calm as ever.

“On the night of the 25th, when the first group of officers arrived at the entrance of this building, it was 19:32. You were already waiting at the door.” Scram said, “According to your statement, after you arrived at the scene, you immediately began searching, and at 19:25 you used the phone in the fifth-floor surveillance room to call the police. After calling, you immediately returned to the building’s main entrance to wait for the police to arrive... Up to this point, you have no objections, right?”

“None.” Logan Carter replied.

“Good.” Scram continued, “You also said that during the entire search, apart from the restroom stall door and the surveillance room phone, you didn’t touch anything else at the scene... is that correct?”

After this question, Logan Carter... actually hesitated.

“No.” Logan Carter said, “I also touched...” As he spoke, he gestured with his eyes toward the control console behind Scram, “...that control console.”

“What?” Scram’s expression and tone both turned cold and aggressive. “Are you changing your statement now?”

“No.” Logan Carter denied again, “This isn’t a statement, and I have no obligation to provide any so-called ‘testimony’ to anyone other than my superiors.” He paused, “I’m only telling you this.” He turned his head slightly, looking at the surveillance console. “The night before last, before I called the police, I checked the surveillance footage, and I specifically wore gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.”

“Why didn’t you tell the police about this?” Scram pressed.

“Because it doesn’t comply with investigative procedures. If I told the police... my actions would be recorded in writing, giving others leverage, and causing unnecessary trouble for FCPS.” Logan Carter still appeared very calm, showing no sign of being pressured. In fact, the other party looked more anxious than he did.

“Oh? At this point... you suddenly care about ‘procedure’?” Scram sneered, “For someone on leave who suddenly commandeered police equipment on the street...”

“Commandeering an officer’s gun and car, discovering the scene of a major case—that’s merit.” Logan Carter interrupted, “But not strictly following regulations at the scene—that’s leaving a handle for others to use against you.” He paced a couple of steps. “This has nothing to do with whether I care about ‘procedure’ or not. I’ve said before... whether an attitude is correct sometimes depends on the outcome.”

His response was logically flawless, and Scram knew it. So, the latter quickly put on a fake smile: “Heh... then, may I ask, what exactly did you do at this console?”

“I already said, I checked the surveillance footage.” Logan Carter replied, “And the purpose... was naturally to find out what really happened here.” He exhaled through his nose. “The result was the same as what you know: all footage after midnight on the 25th had already been erased. Just like the police... I didn’t see any footage from that day.” He paused, then added, “Therefore, I had even less reason to specifically report to the police that I’d watched the footage.”

“Then how can you prove...” Scram continued, “that you only ‘watched’ the footage, and didn’t ‘erase’ it?” He licked his lips and went on, “If you’re the culprit’s accomplice, you could have arranged in advance for the culprit to call the police at a set time, and you... could have locked onto the officer closest to the crime scene at that time, used your inspector status to intercept his assignment, been the first to arrive at the scene, checked if your partner left any traces, covered them up, then gone upstairs to delete the footage, and finally called the police again at your leisure...”