Chapter 8 — From Collapse to Brilliance: I Don't Need You

Three weeks after the conversation with Nhật Lam in the cafeteria, Diệu Kỳ realized that relying solely on chance encounters and her own memory was not enough. She needs a more systematic method, a more serious and professional approach to deal with a sophisticated manipulator like Ý Nhi - whose previous life cost her life simply because she lacked solid evidence to defend herself.

She began spending her free time on weekends learning about knowledge she had never paid attention to before — how to securely store digital data, how to check file integrity through timestamps and hashes, how to distinguish between an original screenshot and an edited one. This is knowledge in the field of information technology, quite unfamiliar to a medical student, but extremely necessary in her new context, when the biotechnology industry she studies also requires equally rigorous data management capabilities.

She went to the school library, borrowed an introductory book on information security and digital forensics, and read it voraciously on nights without urgent homework. She learned how a text file can retain its entire edit history if stored properly in the cloud, and how a message can be edited, but the return timestamp is difficult to perfectly fake if the auditor knows how to compare it with the server's system log.

With the new knowledge she learned, Diệu Kỳ began building an organized evidence storage system. She created a separate cloud storage account, unlinked from any account she used in the medical lab, and set a complex password that only she knew. Every time there is new information — a conversation, a text message, an observation — she records it in a consistent format: time, place, people involved, content of the incident, and a field to rate the information's reliability based on the number of independent confirmation sources.

She also learned another important lesson from her previous life: circumstantial evidence, no matter how much, is not strong enough against someone who has fabricated direct evidence that seems authentic. So, instead of just taking notes on what she heard, Diệu Kỳ began to find ways to cross-verify information through many different sources — other students in the department who knew the lab members, seemingly random conversations with Thảo My or Đình Vũ that she skillfully arranged to be able to observe their reactions more objectively.

One afternoon, while sitting in the library reading documents, Diệu Kỳ happened to meet Phùng Nhật Lam, who was sitting alone in the corner of the room, with an unusually pensive look on his face. Diệu Kỳ came to sit at the table and asked.

“You seem tired,” she said. "Is something wrong?"

Nhật Lam looked up, looked at her for a moment, then lowered his voice. "I don't know who else to tell. Yesterday, I accidentally saw Ý Nhi editing something in the group's shared lab notes file, at nearly midnight, when there was no one else in the lab. When I asked her what she was doing, she said she was rearranging the format to be more neat. But I have a feeling it's not that simple."

Diệu Kỳ heart beats faster. This could be the first important piece of the puzzle — evidence that Ý Nhi is directly tampering with public research data, an act that, if what she remembers from her past life is true, is a preparation for a much larger conspiracy.

"Do you remember exactly which file she edited?" Diệu Kỳ asked, trying to keep a calm tone.

"I remember that the file compiled notes of the month's experiments," Nhật Lam replied, then sighed. "But I don't dare say anything to Mr. Tuan or everyone else, because I don't have specific evidence, it's just what I see. What if what I say is wrong? Ý Nhi always acts very hardworking and dedicated in front of everyone, no one believes me." Diệu Kỳ nodded, understanding her friend's worries - this was exactly the situation she had been in her previous life, when no one believed in suspicions without clear evidence. "You did the right thing by being cautious," she said. "But if you see anything unusual again, can you note down the specific time and date? There's no need to say it right away, just write it down for yourself, so you can compare it later if needed."

Nhật Lam looked at her, a bit surprised by that advice. "Why do you say that? Do you think something will happen?"

"I don't know," Diệu Kỳ replied, trying to keep her answer vague but sincere. "It's just that, in scientific research, taking careful notes is never redundant. Who knows, maybe it will be useful later." Nhật Lam nodded, seemingly finding the consensus she needed. "Thank you, Diệu Kỳ. Talking to you, I feel much more relieved."

After that conversation, Diệu Kỳ returned to his room, recorded all the details in his evidence storage system, marking this as "reliable internal source - Phùng Nhật Lam",She also noted a long-term plan: to quietly maintain contact with Nhật Lam, not to draw her friend into a dangerous fight, but to have a direct source of observation from inside the lab - something she, as someone who had left, no longer had.

She also began to think of another important detail: if Ý Nhi was really editing public research data, this could be directly related to the clinical trial project that had become a tool to harm her in her previous life. If so, that project, even though she was no longer directly involved, still had the risk of causing serious consequences for a certain volunteer — a consequence that she, even though she had left, still could not stand by and watch.

That night, Diệu Kỳ tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She realized that leaving the lab did not mean she had completely escaped the dangerous spiral created by Ý Nhi. As long as Ý Nhi is there, as long as she continues to manipulate and interfere with research data, the risk remains — not only for her old friends, but also for any volunteers participating in the trial.

She sat up, turned on the desk lamp, opened the secret notebook, and wrote a new note, this time with a more decisive tone: "Can't just stand by and watch from afar. Need to find a way to access information about the progress of the clinical trial project, making sure to not let history repeat itself to others, even though I'm no longer the person directly responsible."

She closed the notebook and looked out the window, where the night sky was already dotted with sparse stars. The road ahead was still long and full of thorns, but this time, she was no longer alone in the darkness like her previous life — she had the knowledge, the preparation, and most importantly, she had a clear goal to aim for: not only protecting herself, but also protecting others from Trịnh Ý Nhi's manipulative hands.

A few days later, during a practice session at the Dawn Institute's computer lab, the class was assigned an assignment about managing research databases - a seemingly dry topic but made Diệu Kỳ extremely excited. The problem requires students to design a procedure for storing experimental data so that any unauthorized tampering with the original data can be detected. While most other students simply completed the assignment according to the instructed format, Diệu Kỳ proposed adding an additional layer of protection — saving a read-only copy of the original data at the time of collection, with a hash code so that it could be compared at any time later if changes were suspected.

Nhan Bách Sơn, when checking each group's homework, stopped for a long time before Diệu Kỳ's assignment. “This idea of hash collation is quite interesting,” he commented, his eyes showing interest. "This is knowledge beyond the introductory program. Did you learn more on your own?"

"Yes, I read some more documents about data safety in biomedical research," Diệu Kỳ replied, trying to keep her tone as natural as possible. "I think in trials involving human health, protecting data integrity is as important as collecting accurate data in the first place." Bách Sơn nodded and wrote something down in his small notebook. "This idea, if developed more fully, can be practically applied to the institute's research projects. Are you interested in learning more about this direction?"

Diệu Kỳ looked up, a bit surprised by that hidden suggestion. "I really want to, if I have the chance."

"Okay," Bách Sơn said, closing the notebook, a thin smile flickering on his lips. "I will remember this."

He walked to the next table, leaving Diệu Kỳ sitting there with a strange feeling welling up in her heart — not just joy at being recognized, but also a vague glimmer of hope that, perhaps, this new path would bring her allies she never dared to dream of in her previous life.