Chapter 529:System.

Chapter 529: 529:System.

The photograph remained on Ravenna’s desk for three days before she finally gathered the courage to put it away.

It wasn’t that she disliked looking at her mother. Quite the opposite, actually. Every time she glanced at the photograph, she found herself studying Selena’s expression, searching for details she might have overlooked, wondering whether the gentle smile on her mother’s face concealed something that had been troubling her long before Ravenna was old enough to understand it.

The unidentified man standing beside Selena remained an equally persistent source of frustration. His face had been deliberately obscured, and although Ravenna had examined the photograph under different lighting conditions and even borrowed a magnifying scanner from one of the academy’s general equipment rooms, she hadn’t managed to recover anything useful.

The paper itself was old, the damage had been inflicted directly upon the original image, and the handwritten designation on the back, Site 096, only created more questions.

But the sentence inside the envelope was what troubled her most.

If anything happens to me, do not let them take Ravenna.

Take her.

Who had Selena been afraid of? The researchers associated with Project 006? The mysterious man in the photograph? The military? Or someone entirely different?

She had spent years believing that her mother’s death was simply an unfortunate tragedy, something that had destroyed what remained of her childhood and left her trapped in a household where she was constantly reminded of how little she mattered.

Now, however, every new discovery suggested that Selena’s life had been considerably more complicated than anyone had ever admitted. There were missing research records, questionable financial transfers, altered family documents, and a facility designation that continued appearing in places it shouldn’t.

And perhaps most frightening of all, there was the possibility that Selena hadn’t simply died. Perhaps something had happened to her, something that other people wanted forgotten.

"You’re doing it again."

She blinked, looked away from the photograph and toward Silver, who was sitting on the edge of her bed with a tablet balanced on one knee. He had come in after she had informed him that her roommate was in training.

"Doing what?" She defensively asked.

"Staring at that photograph like you’re trying to interrogate it."

She sighed.

"I wasn’t."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Ravenna, you’ve been looking at it for nearly twenty minutes."

She frowned.

"Have you been timing me?"

"Of course. Very important scientific research."

She rolled her eyes.

"Idiot."

Silver smiled, then set his tablet aside and approached her desk. His gaze briefly settled on the photograph before moving toward the old letter beside it.

"Any progress?"

She shook her head.

"Not really. I compared the designation with the information I copied from the academy archives, but the records are too incomplete. Site 096 could be an independent facility, an experimental division, or something associated with Project 006. There’s not enough information to determine which."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"And the man?"

"Nothing. Whoever damaged the photograph knew what they were doing. They didn’t just scratch out his face. They removed enough of the original image that I can’t reconstruct it."

Silver folded his arms.

"Then we’ll have to find another photograph."

Ravenna looked toward him before rolling her eyes.

"You make that sound easy."

"It probably won’t be."

"Then why are you smiling?" She asked.

"Because difficult isn’t the same as impossible."

Ravenna stared at him for a moment before her expression softened.

He continued, "Besides, we’ve already found more than we knew a month ago. Your mother had assets nobody told you about, there are inconsistencies in your family records, and we now have evidence that she was worried someone might come after you. That’s not nothing."

She lowered her gaze.

"I know."

He reached out and gently touched her shoulder.

"But?" He coated her

She hesitated, then quietly answered, "I’m afraid of what happens when we finally find the truth."

He remained silent.

She looked toward the photograph again.

"What if she was involved in something terrible? What if Project 006 wasn’t just research she happened to participate in? What if she helped create those things we saw at the Transit Research Station?"

Silver considered her words, then pulled the chair beside her desk closer and sat down.

"Ravenna, your mother might have made mistakes. She might have been involved in things she regretted. Or she might have been trying to stop something dangerous. We don’t know yet."

She nodded slowly.

He continued, "But you don’t have to decide whether to forgive her before we even know what happened."

She looked at him.

"And if the truth is worse than we expect?"

He smiled faintly.

"Then we’ll deal with the truth."

She laughed bitterly.

"You always say that."

"Because it’s usually the only reasonable answer."

Ravenna shook her head and she reached for his hand.

"You’re becoming annoyingly mature."

He looked offended.

"That’s a terrible accusation, I’m older than you if you’ve forgotten that," he jokingly said

"I’m serious."

"So am I. I have a reputation to maintain."

Ravenna laughed, and Silver found himself smiling as well.

It was a small moment,nothing particularly extraordinary but after everything that had happened over the past several weeks, moments like that had become increasingly valuable.

And apparently, his system agreed.

[Significant Emotional Milestone Detected.]

[Partner: Ravenna Arkland.]

[Emotional Stability Improved.]

[Trust and Emotional Reliance Deepened.]

[Relationship Milestone: Choosing Each Other Beyond External Obligations.]

[Calculating Rewards...]

He froze.

Oh?

A second notification appeared.

[Milestone Evaluation Complete.]

[Partner Has Successfully Established Greater Independence From Harmful Family Influence.]

[Partner Has Demonstrated Increased Emotional Trust, Personal Agency, and Commitment.]

[Special Relationship Milestone Reward Activated.]

[Affection Points +50,000.]

[Emotional Recovery Bonus +15,000 AP.]

[Mutual Growth Bonus +10,000 AP.]

[Total Affection Points Awarded: 75,000 AP.]

Silver stared at the Rewards in complete shock. For several seconds, he genuinely forgot what Ravenna had been saying.

Seventy-five thousand?

His previous balance had been a miserable 314 Affection Points after purchasing the emergency disruption charge that helped him escape the Rank Five assassin.

Now...

[Current Affection Points: 75,314 AP.]

He slowly leaned back.

Well, that’s certainly one way to recover financially.

Ravenna narrowed her eyes.

"Silver?" She called.

He blinked out of it.

"What?"

"Why are you smiling like that?" She asked.

Silver looked toward her, then smiled even wider.

"Something wonderful just happened," he excitedly said.

She flatly stared.

"Should I be worried?" She asked.

"Possibly."

"Silver."

He laughed.

"Relax. The system just gave me a reward."