Aspiration

The moment the two of them sat down, the mother took out her own handkerchief to wipe the girl's face—the girl's bangs were completely soaked, sticking wetly to her forehead. That girl also ordered a fruit tart, though it was blueberry-flavored.

The two of them had been chatting ever since they came in, though most of the time it was the daughter doing the talking. The little girl looked very unhappy, constantly complaining that her violin teacher was overly strict, elderly, and pedantic. She named several friends in a row, saying they had all recently hired another music tutor who was handsome, witty, and humorous, and she wanted to join them as well.

The mother was noncommittal, simply smiling as she listened to the daughter finish, then listing a string of awards and asking whether the music tutor her friends hired had achieved the same accomplishments. The daughter glared resentfully at the mother and did not answer.

Right at that moment, a waiter walked over carrying another cup and a small saucer.

"Hello, your canelés, and a complimentary hot chocolate."

Because Chiba already had coffee in front of her, the waiter placed the hot chocolate right by Hesta's hand. She was just about to say she didn't need it, when Chiba beside her had already answered, "Thank you."

Chiba pushed the small plate holding two canelés in front of Hesta, then pinched one up with her bare fingers and tossed it whole into her mouth: "This place doesn't do delivery for their canelés, they only do dine-in. Try it."

Hesta did not refuse, still cutting the small canelé in half just as she had before, and then eating with a fork.

Most of her attention was still on the mother-daughter conversation beside them. She heard the little girl already starting to bargain with her mother, saying she hoped to go to the theater with her father to watch a musical at the end of the year. Her father had clearly promised her last year, but in the end he said again that he hadn't secured tickets, and she had regretted it ever since.

Then the mother made a certain promise.

Suddenly, the burnt aroma of the canelé diffused in her oral cavity, and Hesta briefly awakened from the others' conversation. She raised her head, "...This flavor, it's so unique."

Chiba smiled and said, "Is it good? I make a special trip every time I pass through the old district."

Hesta nodded, and casually picked up the cup of hot chocolate nearby to take a sip, but suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Hesta's strange expression, Chiba asked, "Is it too sweet?"

Hesta shook her head, "The taste is different from the ones in the base... It's not bitter."

Chiba laughed out loud, "Hot chocolate outside is made with cheap compound cocoa butter and sugar. It's not like the base, where everything is authentic dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Of course it's not bitter."

Hesta put the canelé aside as well, and intently held the cup of hot chocolate. The intense sweetness lingered between her teeth and lips, making her forget everything else for a moment.

Looking at Hesta, who had been completely conquered by the sugar industry, Chiba suddenly smiled and looked out the window again.

After a while, they and the pair of mother and daughter next to them stood up and left at the same time. After stepping out the door of the bakery, the mother opened an umbrella and led her daughter into the misty rain curtain.

"This way." Chiba raised a finger to point in the opposite direction.

"Aren't we going back to the car?"

"No, our destination is right around here. It's a five-minute walk, we don't even need an umbrella."

Following the protruding eaves along the roadside, Hesta silently walked behind Chiba. When turning into the underground passageway, Hesta suddenly spoke up: "Is it possible... for Quicksilver Needles to live ordinary lives?"

Chiba didn't look back: "How ordinary?"

"Just like... the people living here," Hesta replied.

"In theory, once you retire, you can."

"What about in reality?"

"Well, of course, everyone has their own difficulties," Chiba replied. "If you really decide to leave AHgAs, Quicksilver Needles generally choose to be rehired by the United Government—and you still can't avoid dealing with Chelated Beings."

"Then how long do you have to work after being rehired before you can retire?"

"Since you've already been rehired, of course there's no retirement. You just keep working until you die."

"Can you refuse to be rehired?"

Chiba finally sensed something unusual. She turned her head and looked at Hesta, whose hair had been slightly dampened by the rain: "That's not very likely."

"I don't understand..."

"In this world, some people who need Quicksilver Needles will chase you to the ends of the earth. Whether you're in the Habitable Zone or the wasteland, they won't give you any other choice." Chiba said softly, "When you really reach that stage, it'd be better not to leave AHgAs from the very beginning, or simply go to the United Government. But these things are still too far away for you."

"...No other choice?"

Chiba smiled.

"We are like the few sharp blades in this world, Jane," she said softly. "The fate of a sharp blade is to be tempered, polished, sent into battle... repeating this over and over until it snaps."

Chiba led Hesta to an empty warehouse. After entering the door, there was a long flight of stairs with a very gentle slope. The stairs were made of metal and painted with dark red paint, but it had peeled off in many places, making them look very mottled.

After passing through several thick doors wrapped in perforated leather, Hesta heard faint gunshots.

Passing through the final door, she saw an unlit neon sign hanging on the wall at the entrance. A bit of dust had settled on the curving white neon tube, twisting and turning to spell out the words "Bang Bang Club".

This was an underground shooting range.

After putting on her goggles and ear protectors, she followed Chiba to an open sub-venue. Chiba casually picked a shooting lane and looked back at Hesta, "Have you ever used a gun?"

"Mm." Hesta nodded.

Chiba handed the gun to Hesta, "Fire a few rounds and let me see."

Hesta started shooting from the three-meter target, and all five bullets landed within the nine-ring. Then five meters, seven meters, twelve meters, fifteen meters, seventeen meters... twenty-five meters. Aside from a few slight deviations, she hardly had any hits outside the nine-ring.

This was not the first time Hesta had held a gun; she had experience using firearms back in Duanming Alley. Chiba seemed to have understood this from the very beginning and wasn't particularly surprised by Hesta's quick mastery, but the pleasant surprise in her eyes still overflowed.

"Who taught you all this? They taught you so well."

"...A friend."

"From Duanming Alley?"

"Mm."

"You were so young, and they dared to let you participate in gunfights?"

"...It wasn't a gunfight."

Chiba didn't ask any further. She stepped forward and demonstrated 15 rounds at the 25-meter distance, and the results were all between 10.3 and 10.9. Hesta was also taken aback.

Afterwards, Chiba very strictly corrected some of Hesta's incorrect habits, from breathing, posture, and aiming perspective to pulling the trigger... Deviations in these details would severely degrade shooting accuracy and gun-handling time.

During breaks in practice, the two sat on chairs to the side. Chiba told Hesta about the origin of this underground shooting range, and mentioned that recently, she would strive to make it back to Tanyi every week to bring Hesta over to practice. However, besides physical training, Hesta could also practice aiming and drawing actions inside the base on her own.

"You've always doubted whether you can contend with Quicksilver Needles using a handgun," Chiba put down her gun. "My answer is that it depends on the person. If your opponent is Liz Fletcher, it's virtually impossible for you to succeed with a handgun; but if it's Shawn, it's a different story."

"Why?"

Chiba raised three fingers: "To answer that question, you first need to understand three concepts: Bullet Time, Constraint Time, and the Acheron Moment."