diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ebed832..5431425 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -220,11 +220,18 @@ one attributed user message:
 Programmatic use (another plugin, or a preset subtree):
 
 ```js
-ctx.stablemem.commit({ text: 'etcd 集群端口 2379', source: 'ops' })
-ctx.stablemem.recall('etcd 端口', 5)
+await ctx.stablemem.commit({ text: 'etcd 集群端口 2379', source: 'ops' })
+await ctx.stablemem.recall('etcd 端口', { topK: 5 })      // both are async since phase B
+await ctx.stablemem.recall('etcd 端口', { topK: 5, signal })  // pass the turn's signal
 ctx.stablemem.link({ sourceKind: 'block', sourceId: a, targetKind: 'block', targetId: b, type: 'supersedes' })
 ```
 
+> `recall(query, 5)` used to work and silently stopped meaning anything when the
+> second parameter became an options object — a number is not `{topK}`, so the
+> default was used. Both `commit` and `recall` are `async` now; omitting `await`
+> on `commit` still writes today only because the no-embedder path has no `await`
+> before `putBlock`, which is exactly the fragile assumption W6 guards.
+
 ### Phase B · group A — the async seam
 
 `recallBlocks` stays **synchronous and unmodified**; vectors get a separate async
@@ -421,6 +428,8 @@ chain (not by calling the seam directly): **54 ms**.
 | **W10** | aborting a pre-step returns in < 500 ms, degrade reported | drop `options.signal` at `embedText` ⇒ red, **30001 ms** |
 | **W10b** | the same at the seam, so a hook refactor cannot hide a regression | as above |
 | **W11** | a degraded recall puts a readable notice in the rendered text | remove the notice line ⇒ red |
+| **W11d** | degraded **and** zero hits still injects the notice (no entries) | restore either short-circuit ⇒ red |
+| **W12** | `aborted` and `embed_error` carry different labels and different wording | collapse the two labels ⇒ red |
 | **W11b** | a healthy recall renders no notice | — |
 | **W11c** | end-to-end: aborted pre-step text still carries the hit *and* the notice | remove the notice line ⇒ red |
 
@@ -595,7 +604,7 @@ because they will bite anyone writing a second dsh service plugin.
 ## Verify
 
 ```bash
-npm test          # 108 tests: store, recall, wiring, loader, isolation, regression, G6/G6b/G7, phase-B A + G + H
+npm test          # 113 tests: store, recall, wiring, loader, isolation, regression, G6/G6b/G7, phase-B A + G + H
 npm run check     # 10 checkpoints with human-readable evidence (V1–V5 + V3c + MIG3 + mutations)
 ```
 
@@ -651,7 +660,7 @@ dsh-memory · phase A checkpoints
 10/10 checkpoints passed
 
 plugin: name=dsh-memory inject=[systemPrompt, tools]
-workspace: /tmp/dsh-memory-cp-DfToyx (removed)
+workspace: /tmp/dsh-memory-cp-d2Mqss (removed)
 ```
 
 ---
diff --git a/docs/phase-b-criteria.md b/docs/phase-b-criteria.md
index 195573d..d18e7c3 100644
--- a/docs/phase-b-criteria.md
+++ b/docs/phase-b-criteria.md
@@ -271,6 +271,30 @@ phase B 必须把向量放进 **[0..1) 带**，不得越到 exact 带。
 
 ---
 
+### W. 实施期新增（H 组落地时发现的判据，草案里没有）
+
+这组不在原草案里。它们是实现过程中被真 bug 逼出来的，每条都对应一次
+「绿着但错」，所以留在这里作为历史与方法记录。
+
+| # | 断言 | 逼出它的 bug | 变异 |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| W1/W5 | `exec.signal` 传到 `embedText`；abort 仍落盘（vector 空） | 写路径不接信号，取消后等满 adapter 超时 | 不传 signal ⇒ 红 |
+| W4 | 写侧维度校验：长度不符按 embed 失败处理 | 坏向量会入库，召回时被 skippedDim 静默跳过 | 删校验 ⇒ 红 |
+| W6 | 无 embedder 时 `commit` 与 `putBlock` 同形 | 九处调用点靠「无 await 也同步写完」的隐式事实 | — |
+| W7 | 空指纹在 embed **之前**判 | 原顺序白付一次网络往返 | 改为事后判 ⇒ 红 |
+| W8 | `rebuildCentroid` 从块重建（空间过滤 / 维度跳过 / 0.6 阈值） | `saveSpaceCentroid` 在 lib/ 里零调用点，中心表永久空 | 去空间过滤 / 去维度过滤 / 改阈值 ⇒ 红 |
+| **W9** | 真 adapter 下 caller abort 打断真实请求 | **`embedText(text)` 单形参，第二实参被 JS 静默丢弃** | 单参 + 去 fuse ⇒ 红 |
+| W9b | adapter 自身超时在有 caller signal 时仍生效 | 接 caller 信号时容易把自身 timeout 丢掉 | 只留 caller ⇒ 红 |
+| **W10** | 读路径（pre-step → contextForStep → recall → adapter）也接信号 | **读路径完全没有取消**，每次 pre-step 可卡 30s | 删 `options.signal` ⇒ 红，30001ms |
+| **W11** | 降级要在**渲染文本**里可见 | `degraded` 是 `enumerable:false`，对任何序列化都不可见 | 去掉提示行 ⇒ 红 |
+| **W11d** | 降级 + 零命中仍要注入提示，且无条目 | **两处短路**（contextForStep 与 renderRecall）各自都能吃掉它 | 恢复任一短路 ⇒ 红 |
+| **W12** | `aborted` 与 `embed_error` 标签与文案必须分开 | 取消被描述成「搜索失败」，会诱导无谓重试 | 合并标签 ⇒ 红 |
+
+★ 这组里 W9/W10/W11d 的教训是同一个：**判据用替身/短路/自造形状时，
+验的是替身而不是真代码**。W9 之前用假 embedder（它自己监听 abort），
+W11d 之前两处短路互相掩盖，V3b 之前用自造 2 段 batch。
+补判据时先问一句：这条路径上有没有替身站在可能出错的那段前面。
+
 ## 2. 变异规则汇总
 
 一句总纲：**每条断言至少一条变异能把它打红；打不红就说明这条判据没测到东西。**
diff --git a/lib/index.js b/lib/index.js
index 1836c78..f60bc90 100644
--- a/lib/index.js
+++ b/lib/index.js
@@ -258,7 +258,11 @@ export class StableMem extends Service {
     const query = lastUserText(messages)
     if (query === '') return ''
     const hits = await this.recall(query, { signal })
-    if (hits.length === 0) return ''
+    // ★ Do NOT short-circuit on `hits.length === 0` here. renderRecall decides
+    // silence by asking whether there are BOTH no entries and no notice; a
+    // degraded recall with zero hits still has something to say. Short-circuiting
+    // here would discard that notice before renderRecall ever sees it — and
+    // fixing only renderRecall without this line changes nothing (W11d†b).
     return renderRecall(hits, name)
   }
 
diff --git a/lib/recall.js b/lib/recall.js
index 70ce473..ecf8be0 100644
--- a/lib/recall.js
+++ b/lib/recall.js
@@ -361,7 +361,8 @@ export function recallBlocks(store, query, { topK = 5, poolSize = 50 } = {}) {
  * against phase A output.
  *
  * @param {Array<object>} hits
- * @param {string|null} mode one of `no_embedder` / `embed_error` / `hybrid` / null
+ * @param {string|null} mode one of `no_embedder` / `embed_error` / `aborted` /
+ *   `vector_ready_unused` / null
  * @param {Error} [error]
  * @returns {Array<object>} the same array
  */
@@ -437,7 +438,17 @@ export async function recallBlocksHybrid(store, embedder, query, options = {}) {
     queryVector = await embedder.embedText(String(query ?? ''), options.signal)
   } catch (error) {
     // Decision §0.4: never let the vector side take the whole recall down.
-    return withDiagnosis(recallBlocks(store, query, options), 'embed_error', error)
+    //
+    // ★ Cancellation and failure are different facts and must not share a label.
+    // `aborted` means "we stopped on purpose", so the model must not be told the
+    // search was incomplete in a way that invites a retry; `embed_error` means
+    // "the provider failed", where absence of evidence really is suspicious.
+    // Collapsing them made the notice say "search FAILED" for a deliberate
+    // cancellation — misleading in exactly the case where the user is watching.
+    const aborted =
+      options.signal?.aborted === true ||
+      (error instanceof Error && (error.name === 'AbortError' || /abort/i.test(error.message)))
+    return withDiagnosis(recallBlocks(store, query, options), aborted ? 'aborted' : 'embed_error', error)
   }
 
   if (!Array.isArray(queryVector) || queryVector.length === 0) {
@@ -478,17 +489,29 @@ export async function recallBlocksHybrid(store, embedder, query, options = {}) {
  * @returns {string} rendered block, or '' when there is nothing to say
  */
 export function renderRecall(hits, sourceLabel = 'stablemem') {
-  if (!Array.isArray(hits) || hits.length === 0) return ''
+  if (!Array.isArray(hits)) return ''
 
   const lines = hits.map((hit, index) => {
     const tag = hit.exact ? 'exact' : 'text'
     const body = String(hit.text).replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim().slice(0, 200)
     return `[${index + 1}] (${tag} ${hit.score.toFixed(2)}) ${body}`
   })
+  const notice = degradationNotice(hits)
+
+  // ★ "no entries" and "nothing to say" are different questions.
+  //
+  // A degraded recall with zero lexical hits still owes the model an explanation:
+  // otherwise silence means "memory has nothing on this", when the truth is
+  // "memory could not be searched fully". Staying silent there is the false
+  // negative the notice exists to prevent.
+  //
+  // The converse must hold too: a HEALTHY empty recall stays silent. Emitting the
+  // header on every empty turn would burn tokens on the commonest case and train
+  // the model to ignore the memory section entirely.
+  if (lines.length === 0 && notice === '') return ''
 
   const header =
     `[Memory · ${sourceLabel}] Recalled from durable block memory — these are PAST notes, not the current conversation.`
-  const notice = degradationNotice(hits)
   return [header, ...(notice === '' ? [] : [notice]), ...lines].join('\n')
 }
 
@@ -510,6 +533,10 @@ export function degradationNotice(hits) {
       return '[Memory] Semantic search is off (no vector space configured); matches below are lexical/symbolic only.'
     case 'embed_error':
       return '[Memory] Semantic search FAILED for this turn; matches below are lexical/symbolic only. Absence of a memory here does not prove it is unrecorded.'
+    case 'aborted':
+      // Deliberate stop, not a fault: say so plainly and do NOT imply the memory
+      // is incomplete, which would invite a pointless retry.
+      return '[Memory] Semantic search was cancelled for this turn; matches below are lexical/symbolic only.'
     case 'vector_ready_unused':
       // Group A state: the vector was computed but does not take part in scoring
       // yet. Not something the model needs to hear about — but keeping the case
diff --git a/test/phase-b-h.test.js b/test/phase-b-h.test.js
index e5559ec..24fedb8 100644
--- a/test/phase-b-h.test.js
+++ b/test/phase-b-h.test.js
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import { DatabaseSync } from 'node:sqlite'
 import { createHttpEmbedder, deriveFingerprint, normalizeEndpoint } from '../lib/embed/http.js'
 import { BlockStore } from '../lib/store.js'
 import { createUserMessage } from '@deepseek-ai/dsh-llm'
-import { recallBlocks, recallBlocksHybrid, renderRecall } from '../lib/recall.js'
+import { degradationNotice, recallBlocks, recallBlocksHybrid, renderRecall } from '../lib/recall.js'
 
 /**
  * Run `body` with `globalThis.fetch` replaced by a stub.
@@ -1260,7 +1260,7 @@ test('W10b: a signal reaching recallBlocksHybrid directly also aborts', async ()
       })
       const elapsed = Date.now() - started
       assert.ok(elapsed < 500, `must abort promptly; took ${elapsed}ms`)
-      assert.equal(hits.degraded, 'embed_error')
+      assert.equal(hits.degraded, 'aborted', 'a cancellation is not a provider failure')
       assert.ok(hits.length >= 1, 'and still answer from the symbol path')
     } finally {
       store.close()
@@ -1334,9 +1334,10 @@ test('W11c: an aborted pre-step renders the notice end to end', async () => {
       assert.ok(elapsed < 500, `the aborted recall must not hang; took ${elapsed}ms`)
       assert.notEqual(text, '', 'the symbol path still produced content')
       assert.ok(
-        text.includes('FAILED'),
+        /cancelled|FAILED/.test(text),
         `the notice must reach the model-facing text; got:\n${text}`,
       )
+      assert.ok(text.includes('cancelled'), 'a cancellation says so, not "FAILED"')
       assert.ok(text.includes('4324'), 'and the hit itself is present')
     } finally {
       await done()
@@ -1358,3 +1359,148 @@ test('W11†: removing the notice line makes the degradation invisible again', (
   assert.ok(!oldShape.includes('FAILED'), 'the old shape carries no warning — so W11 would fail on it')
   assert.ok(renderRecall(degraded, 'dsh-memory').includes('FAILED'), 'the current shape does')
 })
+
+// ── W11d: degraded AND empty must still say something ────────────────────
+//
+// The mixed case: recall was degraded (so absence of evidence is not evidence of
+// absence) and the lexical fallback found nothing (so there are no entries). The
+// model must be told the search was incomplete — staying silent here is exactly
+// the false negative the notice exists to prevent.
+//
+// ★ Two short-circuits suppress it, and fixing only one changes nothing:
+//   1. `contextForStep`: `if (hits.length === 0) return ''`
+//   2. `renderRecall`:   `if (hits.length === 0) return ''`
+// Both must treat "no entries" and "nothing to say" as different questions. Each
+// gets its own mutation below, because fixing one and reverting the other is
+// invisible to a test that only exercises the fixed path.
+//
+// Measured behaviour of the four combinations (real adapter, real hooks):
+//   A  degraded + hits      -> text, FAILED, entries
+//   B  degraded + no hits   -> text, FAILED, NO entries        ← this test
+//   C1 healthy  + hits      -> text, no FAILED, entries
+//   C2 healthy  + no hits   -> EMPTY (correct silence)
+test('W11d: degraded + zero hits still injects the notice, with no entries', async () => {
+  const endpoint = await hangingEndpoint()
+  try {
+    const { mem, done } = await makeMem({
+      embedder: createHttpEmbedder({ endpoint: endpoint.url, dimension: 3, timeoutMs: 30_000 }),
+    })
+    try {
+      // One embedded block so the vector path is taken, but its text shares no
+      // symbol with the query, so the lexical fallback finds nothing.
+      await mem.commit({ text: 'zzz 完全无关的内容', vector: [1, 2, 3], fingerprint: mem.space().fingerprint })
+
+      const controller = new AbortController()
+      setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 50)
+      const text = await mem.contextForStep(
+        [
+          createUserMessage({
+            content: [{ type: 'text', text: '值班室分机号是多少' }],
+            source: { kind: 'user' },
+          }),
+        ],
+        controller.signal,
+      )
+
+      assert.notEqual(text, '', 'a degraded empty recall must not be silent')
+      assert.ok(
+        /cancelled|FAILED/.test(text),
+        `the notice must be present; got:\n${text}`,
+      )
+      assert.ok(
+        !text.includes('[1]'),
+        `and it must carry no entries; got:\n${text}`,
+      )
+    } finally {
+      await done()
+    }
+  } finally {
+    await endpoint.close()
+  }
+})
+
+test('W11d†a: restoring the renderRecall short-circuit alone breaks it', () => {
+  // Emulate `if (!Array.isArray(hits) || hits.length === 0) return ''`.
+  const empty = []
+  empty.degraded = 'embed_error'
+  const withShortCircuit = (hits) => (!Array.isArray(hits) || hits.length === 0 ? '' : renderRecall(hits, 'x'))
+  assert.equal(withShortCircuit(empty), '', 'the short-circuit really does silence it')
+  // The correct form asks "entries AND notice both empty?" instead.
+  const lines = []
+  const notice = degradationNotice(empty)
+  const correct = lines.length === 0 && notice === '' ? '' : 'rendered'
+  assert.equal(correct, 'rendered', 'so W11d would fail with the short-circuit in place')
+})
+
+test('W11d†b: restoring the contextForStep short-circuit alone breaks it', () => {
+  // Emulate `const hits = …; if (hits.length === 0) return ''` in the caller.
+  const hits = []
+  hits.degraded = 'embed_error'
+  const withCallerShortCircuit = (h) => (h.length === 0 ? '' : renderRecall(h, 'x'))
+  assert.equal(withCallerShortCircuit(hits), '', 'a caller-side short-circuit silences it too')
+
+  // Even with renderRecall fixed, the caller would have thrown the notice away —
+  // which is why both places need their own guard.
+  const notice = degradationNotice(hits)
+  assert.notEqual(notice, '', 'there WAS something to say; the caller discarded it')
+})
+
+// ── W12: cancellation and failure must not share a label ─────────────────
+//
+// Both used to report `embed_error`, so a user-cancelled turn told the model
+// "semantic search FAILED", which invites a retry that will also be cancelled.
+// They are different facts: `aborted` is a deliberate stop, `embed_error` is a
+// provider fault where absence of evidence really is suspicious.
+test('W12: an aborted embed reports "aborted"; a failing one reports "embed_error"', async () => {
+  const endpoint = await hangingEndpoint()
+  try {
+    const store = new BlockStore({ path: ':memory:' }).open()
+    try {
+      store.putBlock({ text: '值班室分机号 4324' })
+      const embedder = createHttpEmbedder({ endpoint: endpoint.url, dimension: 3, timeoutMs: 30_000 })
+
+      // Cancelled.
+      const controller = new AbortController()
+      setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 50)
+      const aborted = await recallBlocksHybrid(store, embedder, '4324', {
+        topK: 3,
+        signal: controller.signal,
+      })
+      assert.equal(aborted.degraded, 'aborted')
+
+      // Genuinely failing: a server that closes the socket immediately.
+      const broken = {
+        async embedText() {
+          throw new Error('connection refused')
+        },
+        info: () => ({ fingerprint: 'fp', dimension: 3 }),
+      }
+      const failed = await recallBlocksHybrid(store, broken, '4324', { topK: 3 })
+      assert.equal(failed.degraded, 'embed_error')
+
+      // The two labels must read differently to the model.
+      assert.notEqual(
+        degradationNotice(aborted),
+        degradationNotice(failed),
+        'a cancellation must not be described as a failure',
+      )
+      assert.match(degradationNotice(aborted), /cancel/i)
+      assert.match(degradationNotice(failed), /FAILED/)
+    } finally {
+      store.close()
+    }
+  } finally {
+    await endpoint.close()
+  }
+})
+
+test('W12†: collapsing the two labels makes W12 red', () => {
+  // The mutation is `aborted ? 'aborted' : 'embed_error'` -> always 'embed_error'.
+  const hits = []
+  hits.degraded = 'embed_error' // what the collapsed version would report
+  assert.doesNotMatch(
+    degradationNotice(hits),
+    /cancel/i,
+    'the collapsed version cannot say "cancelled", which is what W12 asserts',
+  )
+})