Chapter 57: Thief (2)
Shani turned toward Nora and asked bluntly, "The fat bloodworms inside my container are yours? Are you sure?"
Shani’s calm demeanor was completely different from her panicked attitude earlier.
Instantly, the hair on the back of Nora’s neck stood on end. As an expert manipulator, she knew this was a sign that she should back down.
But she had already said too much, and all her classmates were on her side.
The tears that had dried from Nora’s eyes began falling again. She looked at Shani as if she were suffering terribly.
"I only suggested that for your sake. But if you insist on acting like this, I won’t say anything else when you receive an F."
Nora decided to end this now. Someone as dangerous as Shani couldn’t be allowed to remain in this class, lest she uncover her lies.
As if on cue, Orin turned toward Slater, who had his arms folded across his chest, seemingly enjoying the drama.
"Instructor, it’s obvious that Shani is the culprit. You should remove Shani from this class." Orin demanded "justice."
Slater had to admit the drama was no longer as boring as it had been earlier. He was even willing to watch their acting a little longer.
But he was still an instructor. He cleared his throat and changed his expression to a serious one.
"This container has high-security technology. It cannot be breached without leaving a trace... So, Nora Clay, are you certain that Shani stole your bloodworms?" Slater asked firmly.
Cold sweat dampened Nora’s palms. She knew that despite seeming uninterested in his students and even his own class, Slater was a strict instructor.
She knew she couldn’t provide a logical explanation. So her only option was to appeal to his emotions. And men were easy to sway.
Nora suddenly dropped to the floor, weeping.
"I feel so suffocated knowing that I’m still not believed even after showing the evidence. I have taken care of my bloodworms with all my heart. If this is how things are going to be, then I’ll just give up. I only hope Shani doesn’t make my healthy bloodworms die like hers did."
At that moment, Nora’s eyes caught something resembling a brown string near the leg of a desk in the back row.
In the middle of her weeping, she realized that it was her own emaciated bloodworm.
She immediately looked away. No one could see that bloodworm, lest another problem arise.
Orin quickly helped Nora to her feet. "Don’t do this, Nora. You did nothing wrong. Shani stole your bloodworms after hers died."
Nora watched Slater’s expression. The instructor didn’t seem impressed by her performance. She began to panic and refused to stand, continuing to cry on the floor.
This time, Slater genuinely intended to end it.
The crying was hurting his ears, and he felt like all of Nora’s tricks had already been used. If she continued, she’d only be repeating herself.
"Stop crying! To find out—"
"Instructor, I installed a small camera on my container," Shani interrupted Slater.
Instantly, Nora’s crying, Orin’s consoling words, and the other students’ threatening whispers all stopped.
Even Slater had to fight hard to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting in anticipation. Apparently, this drama wasn’t going to end so boringly after all.
Shani ignored everyone’s gazes and pointed at the glass container on her desk.
Beside the buttons on the upper rear of the glass, there was a tiny micro-lens camera, no larger than a shirt button. It was seamlessly integrated among the other buttons. Only after looking closely did they realize it wasn’t a function button.
"How could there be a camera there?" Nora blurted out. She stood up, her expression filled with panic and disbelief.
"I’ll show you the recording from yesterday, starting from when I installed this camera," Shani said, ignoring Nora’s panic.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the holographic video projected from Shani’s smartwatch.
The video showed the two fat, healthy bloodworms inside the container. Because the container was transparent, the camera also captured Nora’s container behind it.
The bloodworms inside Nora’s container were clearly small, thin, dried out, and weak.
"Shani already swapped them! She deliberately made this video to create an alibi!" Nora shouted after spotting the discrepancy.
Her heart, which had been racing with panic, began to calm down.
"This can’t be used as evidence!" she added, seeing the other students turn their sharp gazes toward Shani.
Before Nora could say anything else, the footage continued. Shani wasn’t visible on screen except for a brief flash of silver hair, but her footsteps could clearly be heard walking out of the classroom.
At that moment, Nora remembered that she had entered the classroom after Shani left. This video recording would contradict her statement.
She lunged at Shani, wanting to turn off the video, but Shani stepped behind another student, causing Nora to crash into them.
In the video, Nora’s figure appeared. The other students looked confused about why Nora had entered the classroom again, especially the student she had just bumped into. He immediately gave her a suspicious look.
It was clear in the video that Nora opened her container and hurriedly put meat inside. Her careless movements were nothing like how she had described herself earlier. She didn’t look like someone who took care of her bloodworms wholeheartedly.
Then she appeared to speak into her smartwatch before closing the container and hurriedly leaving, unaware that the container lid had not been properly closed.
At this point, everyone had already figured out what had happened. All eyes turned toward Nora.
"I was only careless this one time. I was just unlucky enough to get caught on camera. But that still can’t prove that Shani didn’t steal my bloodworms!" Nora defended herself.
Meanwhile, in the video, the bloodworms managed to crawl out through the open container. Because of the camera angle, they couldn’t see where the bloodworms went.
"Whether they escaped or not, bloodworms that skinny will die within a few days. This isn’t Nora’s fault. Shani is still a thief." Orin continued to defend Nora loyally.
Shani let out a mocking chuckle. "I really feel sorry for your bloodworms."
Another video appeared. It showed the development of Shani’s bloodworms from the first day until now. Every recording clearly showed Shani’s name on the container, and the bloodworms could be seen gradually growing fatter.
Meanwhile, the bloodworms in the background, which occasionally appeared in the videos by accident, became skinnier with each recording.
Shani looked at Nora with a mocking gaze. "Am I the thief, or are you the fraud?"
...