“Hmm, his other performances are fairly good. The security, duty shifts, and dorm inspections organized by our school are all managed by the students themselves. He’s done it for three years straight—this is volunteer work, with no reward except for a few extra credits, so usually no one wants to do it. And every semester’s public service activities, he always takes the lead, even though he’s not in the student council, he’s done more of this work than the council members... As for his major, it’s average. He’s a promising student.” Director Sullivan said, not sparing any words of praise, almost turning him into a flower with compliments. Chief Grant didn’t think much of it, but Paul Carter was curious and asked, “Isn’t there some exaggeration here? Are there really such noble people nowadays, doing volunteer work every day?”

“This is actually true, there are records... Oh, and he was specially recruited, has great physical fitness, is a guard on the school basketball team, and won a silver medal for the school in the 5,000 meters at the provincial games.” Director Sullivan said, clearly holding a high opinion of Eric Foster.

At this moment, Paul Carter recalled the evaluations of the students in the classroom. The differences were so great that he knew in his heart what to believe. Even teachers, no matter how well they know their students, can be biased. He didn’t expose this, just asked in a peculiar tone, “With such good qualifications, why didn’t he participate in the selection?”

“That, you’d have to ask him yourself. Weren’t there several people who didn’t participate? Why, Mr. Carter, are you interested in him?” Director Sullivan asked with a smile. Paul Carter also smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

While waiting, out of years of professional habit, Paul Carter compared the limited personal data, recalling the graduates he’d seen at the school. Some were dazzling, like Adam Parker, Emily Brooks, Peter Harris, William Thompson—whether it was their own abilities or family backgrounds, they could attract attention anywhere. In contrast, another group was plain and unremarkable, like Grace Howard, Samuel Reed, Ethan Cooper, and most students, whose resumes were so bland they only listed where they studied and graduated. Of course, there were also those whose depth was hard to gauge, like Eric Foster, who appeared completely different in the eyes of teachers and students—a total two-faced character.

A hundred people, a hundred faces. Even with these rookies who haven’t yet left school, it’s not so easy to see through each one of them.

The whole observation lasted three hours, with a fifteen-minute break in the middle. By the end, everyone was yawning. The closing remarks were given by Chief Grant, who shared some insights without making any demands. The idea was to get to know the students’ personality traits and psychological tendencies through small details. He also assigned an interesting homework: everyone could write freely, without signing their real names, but had to use a pseudonym they came up with—just like posting anonymously online, with nothing to worry about. If someone really had unique insights, they might get an invitation from the provincial criminal investigation department. If not, it didn’t matter; it wouldn’t be recorded in their academic files.

This arrangement sparked a moderate amount of interest among the students—at least they didn’t have to force themselves to write those formulaic essays about how heroic the railway police are and how stupid the criminals are. The students gradually got up and left the multimedia classroom, many greeting Paul Carter as they went. The last to leave were Mouse and Ethan, who grinned mischievously at Mr. Carter and Director Sullivan before dashing off. Out of sight, out of mind, but seeing these two, Director Sullivan couldn’t help but get annoyed, muttering that these two had some character issues—they never participated in public service activities, never missed a private gathering, and especially loved to gamble. They’d even received verbal warnings for it. If it weren’t for their decent attitude in admitting mistakes, he would have put it on their records.

The speaker was casual, but the listener took note. Paul Carter just smiled, giving the two another look. He hadn’t noticed they had such skills before, and seemed even more interested in these two troublemakers than in the well-behaved ones.

……

Winter days are short, and it gets dark early. After dinner, it was not yet six o’clock but already growing dark. Back at the guesthouse, Chief Grant brought back the videotapes from the classroom and multimedia room. Unexpectedly, Paul Carter didn’t look at the files again, but instead watched the faces on the screen, as if relying on intuition to find the person he was looking for. Chief Grant asked him something, but he replied absentmindedly. Seeing Mr. Carter so absorbed, Chief Grant didn’t want to disturb him and went out for a stroll.

In this male-dominated environment, even the decorations seemed especially robust. The bushes were trimmed into angular shapes, and in the center of the flowerbed with the national emblem were the big characters “Serve the People as Police.” Even during leisure time, the students who came out walked with their chests out and backs straight, their strides echoing the military step. Chief Grant looked at this place, known as the cradle of the province’s police force, and thought this was probably the easiest assignment he’d ever had. He strolled leisurely around the campus, watching the people passing by, seemingly reminiscing about his own youthful days, a slight smile on his face.

After dinner, people were out for walks everywhere. Unlike other universities, it was rare to see couples here, mainly because of the severe gender imbalance.

There were exceptions, though. Across a building, Adam Parker was dialing a number—it was Emily Brooks’s phone. Soon, he saw the beauty he admired coming out of the dormitory building. He greeted her with a smile, but Emily Brooks complained unhappily, “Why did you call me down? I still have to prepare my reflection for tomorrow. Have you finished yours?”