I give this a little "+1" thing, as if democracy.

i can't tell whether youre trolling or what >.<

Doesn't the server kick idling players?

But to know how long the paint takes to dry, we would need to know when it was applied... which means we would have to know exactly when a gremlin was in the location being graffiti'd equipped with spray paint... which means Spiral HQ would have been able to apprehend the graffiti-ers in the act, before the paint could even be fully applied. Furthermore, the gremlins would have to be carrying their painting materials with them, which means we could identify them without having to perform such tests as watching paint dry. Even if the gremlins had forseen this possibility and used unmarked paint containers, Spiral HQ has sufficient resources in the Lab to test the chemical makeup of the paints, and when cross-referenced with the complete list of Crimson Order Paint Production Facilities and Products as obtained from defectors in Emberlight, enough data should be produced to conclude not only what type of paint was used, but also where it was manufactured, what its intended use was, and the optimal way to remove it from any previously graffiti'd surfaces. Your event proposal is illogical.

1. If the camera was destroyed, how do they know how long it recorded for?

2. You couldn't figure that out on sight anyway, but I guess you also wouldn't be able to see the label on the paint can, if there was one.

3. Hold on, if spiral HQ has an entire team if turrets and guards set up, why can't one if the guards watch the paint instead of us? If they told us explicitly what to do, it stands to reason a guard is equally well-equipped for the job and player-Knights are better served doing more dangerous work.

4. If the Emberlight gremlins don't know what paints are available to the gremlins, how would knowing how long the paint takes to dry help determine what kind of paint it was? If SHQ is as incompetent as you previously mentioned, combined with the fact that Knights are not native to cradle (yes, cradle is artificial nothing is native to it, whatever, "relative newcomers" then) we do not know what paints are available. Someone who knows what all the different kinds of paint are would have to be brought in as an expert consultant. And it obviously can't be strangers, look at haven - nothing is painted!

Also, I have some suggestions for shoring up some other plot holes in your OP.

-the Knocker is replaced with a Ghostmane Stalker (T1 because haven), who is better equipped to handle such a dangerous and vitally important espionage mission.

-There were several different types of paint used in the vandalizations, so once the Knight gets the time on his graffiti there is a chance of it being a newly discovered paint type (you get rewards) or a previously known one (you get nothing).

And a few additional suggestions:

-instead of HQ calling to tell you the paint is dry (full of plot holes), instead the player should have to check whether the paint is dry or not themselves. This is done by walking up to the wall and inspecting it (interact, atk button), which brings up a screen showing an I image of the current state of the paint. The player will have to judge based on the brightness of the glare whether the paint is dry or not, which can be a difference of as low as 1 CYMK color ID number. If they guess wrong and the paint is in fact still wet, the entire process will be ruined by touching the graffiti and the knight will be fined 6000CE for desecration of public property and impeding military procedure, as the process now has to be restarted on a different graffiti and hope of removing the graffiti from this particular wall may have been lost forever, thanks to your blunder.

-And a Spray Paint Bottle bomb that's the first mist bomb to deal multiple statuses: poison (don't inhale paint), stun (oh god spray paint in the eyes) and fire (irritation from getting spray painted). .1% chance of getting it as a reward, as 1/1000 gremlin vandals left their paint cans behind.