Yearning

As soon as the two sat down, the mother took out her handkerchief to wipe the girl's face—the girl's bangs were all wet, sticking damply to her forehead. The girl also asked for a fruit tart, but it was blueberry flavored.

The two had been chatting since they entered, but mostly it was the daughter who was talking. The young girl looked very unhappy, constantly complaining that her violin teacher was too strict, old, and pedantic. She named several friends who had recently hired another music tutor, who was handsome and humorous, and she wanted to join them.

The mother offered no opinion, just listened to her daughter finish speaking with a smile, then listed a series of awards, asking if the music tutor her daughter's friends had hired had similar achievements. The daughter glared resentfully at her mother and did not answer.

Just then, the waiter came over with another cup and a small saucer.

"Hello, two Kanneles, and a complimentary hot chocolate."

Since Chiba had already been given coffee, the waiter placed the hot chocolate directly beside Hesta. She was about to say she didn't need it when Chiba beside her replied, "Thank you."

Chiba pushed the small saucer with two Kanneles in front of Hesta, then picked one up with her bare hands and popped it into her mouth: "They don't offer delivery for the Kanneles here, only dine-in. Try it."

Hesta did not refuse, and as before, cut the small Kanelé in half and ate it with a fork.

Most of her attention was still on the conversation between the mother and daughter nearby. She heard the young girl start to bargain with her mother, saying she hoped to go to the musical with her father at the end of the year. Last year, her father had promised her, but in the end, he said he couldn't secure the tickets, and she had regretted it ever since.

The mother then made a promise.

Suddenly, the caramel aroma of the Kanelé spread through her mouth. Hesta briefly snapped out of others' conversations. She looked up, "...This taste is so special."

Chiba smiled and said, "Is it good? I always stop by here whenever I pass through the old town."

Hesta nodded. She casually picked up the cup of hot chocolate nearby and took a sip, but then froze.

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

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

Chiba laughed. "The hot chocolate outside is made with cheap cocoa butter substitutes and sugar. It's not like the base, which uses real dark chocolate and cocoa powder, so of course it's not bitter."

Hesta also put down the Kanelé and focused on holding the cup of hot chocolate. The intense sweetness lingered in her mouth, making her forget everything else for a moment.

Watching Hesta, who had been completely captivated by the sugar industry, Chiba suddenly smiled and looked out the window.

After a while, she and the mother-daughter pair beside them got up to leave at the same time. As they stepped out of the bakery, the mother opened an umbrella and led her daughter into the hazy rain.

"Let's go this way," Chiba said, pointing in the opposite direction.

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

"No, our destination is nearby, only a five-minute walk, and we won't even need an umbrella."

Following the raised eaves along the roadside, Hesta walked silently behind Chiba. As they turned towards an underpass, Hesta suddenly asked, "Can the Quicksilver Needles... live a normal life?"

Chiba didn't look back. "How normal?"

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

"Theoretically, yes, after retirement."

"In reality?"

"Well, everyone has their own difficulties," Chiba answered. "If they decide to leave AHgAs, the Quicksilver Needles usually choose to be rehired by the United Government—they still have to deal with the Chelated Beings."

"And how long does it take to retire after being rehired?"

"If you're rehired, there's no retirement. You work until you die."

"Can you refuse to be rehired?"

Chiba finally sensed something unusual. She turned her head, looking at Hesta, whose hair was already slightly damp from the rain: "That's unlikely."

"I don't understand..."

"In this world, there are people who need the Quicksilver Needles and will chase you to the ends of the earth, whether you're in a habitable zone or the wasteland. They won't give you other choices," Chiba said softly. "If it really comes to that, it's better not to leave AHgAs in the first place, or just go to the United Government. But these things are still too far away for you."

"...No other choices?"

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 forged, polished, put into battle... and so on, until it breaks."

Chiba led Hesta to an abandoned warehouse. After entering, there was a long, gently sloping staircase. The stairs were made of metal, painted a dark red, but the paint had peeled off in many places, making it look very mottled.

After passing several thick doors covered with perforated leather, Hesta heard faint gunshots.

Walking through the last door, she saw a dim neon sign hanging on the entrance wall. The curved white tubes formed the words "Bang Bang Club," covered in a bit of dust.

It was an underground shooting range.

After putting on goggles and ear protectors, she followed Chiba to an open practice area. Chiba casually picked a shooting lane and looked back at Hesta, "Have you used a gun before?"

"Yes," Hesta nodded.

Chiba handed the gun to Hesta, "Shoot a few rounds so I can see."

Hesta started shooting from the three-meter target. All five bullets landed within the nine-ring. Then she moved to five meters, seven meters, twelve meters, fifteen meters, seventeen meters... twenty-five meters. Except for a few slight deviations, she rarely missed outside the nine-ring.

This wasn't Hesta's first time holding a gun. She had experience using firearms in Duanming Alley. Chiba seemed to understand this from the beginning and wasn't particularly surprised by Hesta's quick proficiency, but the surprise in her eyes was still evident.

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

"...A friend."

"From Duanming Alley?"

"Mhm."

"You're so young, they'd let you join a firefight too?"

"...It's not a firefight."

Chiba didn't ask further. She stepped forward and demonstrated at a distance of 25 meters, firing 15 shots. The results were all between 10.3 and 10.9, which surprised Hesta.

Afterward, Chiba very strictly corrected some of Hesta's incorrect habits, from breathing, stance, aiming sight, to pulling the trigger... These minute deviations would severely impact shooting accuracy and gun-holding time.

During a break in their practice, the two sat on chairs nearby to rest. Chiba told Hesta the origin of the underground shooting range and mentioned that for the time being, she would try to make it back to Tanyi every week to bring Hesta for practice. However, aside from practical training, Hesta could also practice aiming and drawing her weapon within the base.

"You used to doubt whether a pistol could contend with Quicksilver Needles," Chiba said, putting down her gun. "My answer is that it depends on the person. If your opponent is Liz Fletcher, it's unlikely you'd succeed with a pistol. But if it were Shawn, it would be different."

"Why?"

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