Eavesdropping

In Moly's office, Chiba and Moly sat at the same desk. Each wore an earphone, listening intently to the conversation Calvin and Shawn had just had in the hallway.

After returning Hesta last time, Chiba had specifically sought out Moly. She'd retrieved the Grangua brothers' movements within the base and quickly discovered that while their trajectories were chaotic when they were with Shawn, seeming to go everywhere, Calvin's movements when alone were very simple: the student dorms, the mess hall, the academic building, or the training grounds, and that was it.

On one hand, Chiba asked Moly to instruct Calvin to try and record his conversations with Shawn from now on. On the other hand, she felt that since Shawn's rating had been lowered and they could no longer return to the student dorms or use the library within the complex, Calvin would inevitably go to the base's library.

Therefore, she had placed over twenty listening devices along the way, especially in this section of the hallway without surveillance, as a second layer of security.

— Chiba's original plan was to install secret surveillance directly at their current residence. However, Moly, having already broken a rule once, adamantly refused the proposal, and Chiba had no choice but to give up.

"Shawn's quite insightful," Chiba said, taking off her earphones. "If all new recruits knew to focus their efforts on what they're good at, Valenti wouldn't have to spend all day figuring out how to relieve their stress."

Moly's face turned ashen. She shot Chiba a cold glance and, after a long moment, let out a scoff.

Chiba thoughtfully reached behind her head and softly said, "My main concern now is where Shawn got those casualty ratio data from. It sounds a bit like the files we used to fool the United Government two years ago... Even though they were fabricated, they shouldn't have passed their security clearance yet, right?"

"We're investigating," Moly replied in a low voice. "Currently, within the base, at least six faculty members' computers have been infiltrated by him, but they're all relatively peripheral staff who don't have access to classified documents. Shawn likely obtained some external social engineering databases and used credential stuffing to hack into the accounts of some key figures in the United Government to get the materials."

"Of course," Chiba laughed, as if hearing a joke. "If Shawn had infiltrated core staff, he'd either be in prison by now or have been officially recruited."

Moly glared at Chiba, finding nothing amusing about it.

"However, once this matter is resolved, you should still find an opportunity to clarify this with him," Chiba said, rubbing her chin. "The stability of female Quicksilver Needles is good because the estrogen in their bodies can mitigate some of the effects of blood loss—this was over ten years ago. With the advent of battlefield infusion devices, our gender casualty rates are far from that bad."

"Is that the main point?"

"What else is there?" Chiba said softly. "Regardless, I feel more at ease after listening."

"At ease?"

Chiba leaned back slightly, tilting her chair onto its front legs, swaying back and forth leisurely.

"Since Shawn is thinking about going into logistics in the future, he's unlikely to do anything out of line. Even if he wanted to leave the base to seek employment with the United Government, he'd have to consider how much stain his file could withstand."

Moly let out a cold laugh. "Perhaps I should consider submitting a report to headquarters, forwarding all your words and actions, so they can see if you truly have the capacity to fulfill your guardianship responsibilities."

"Of course I do," Chiba's smile faltered slightly. "You see, during this period, I've made time to take Hesta out every now and then—among all active Quicksilver Needles, where else would you find a more responsible guardian than me?"

"What did you take her out to do?"

"Eat desserts, wander around the old district..." Chiba counted on her fingers, listing her outings with Hesta. "And sightseeing, experiencing life, things like that... that's all."

Moly narrowed her eyes, offering no response.

"You don't believe me?" Chiba held up three fingers. "Moly, I haven't lied to you at all, not about anything big or small."

Moly had no mood to argue with Chiba. The situation outside had been escalating over the past few days. What started as rallies and protests within Tanyi City had, with the instigation of various media outlets, slowly spread to other habitable zones.

Within the Third District, at least a dozen foundations maintaining close ties with AHgAs had issued warnings and inquiries to varying degrees, demanding that the base respond to external doubts as soon as possible.

She clasped her hands together—a posture that usually meant Moly wanted to end a conversation or issue an ultimatum.

"Regarding the dispute over Hesta's custody, how do you plan to resolve it?"

Chiba maintained her usual superficial attitude. "The plan is steadily progressing."

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

"It depends on the United Government's efficiency. The current protests are mostly confined to Tanyi City, and the scale is too small. We need to give the other habitable zones in the Third District some time to react." Chiba smiled. "For this trend to reach the core cities of the Third District, it will take at least another month or a month and a half."

"Don't you think the current situation is chaotic enough," Moly's jaw trembled slightly from shock, "and you want to wait for this trend to reach the core cities—"

"Stay calm," Chiba said with a knowing smile. "Everything is under control right now."

Moly took a deep breath. "...So, what's the general progress at the moment?"

"If we're lucky, the plan has progressed to 40%."

"Lucky?" Moly was shocked by such imprecise wording. "...And if you're unlucky?"

"If we're unlucky, it's already reached 90%."

Moly found this unbelievable. "...What do you mean?"

"It means I always have a more reliable Plan B, though it might be a bit more crude."

Chiba gave Moly a bright, open smile.

"As long as things haven't reached an unmanageable point, I will always prioritize more civilized and ethical approaches... So please cooperate with me, Ms. Moly."

Moly lowered her gaze slightly, her expression not looking good.

"There won't be a next time."

"That's pretty much it."

In Valenti's office, Calvin had finished relaying Shawn's thoughts about Hesta. He hadn't mentioned anything about Shawn's future plans during the conversation.

Sometimes he felt Shawn's reasoning wasn't without merit, like when he previously mentioned the need to keep some of his information private and not to expose himself entirely to the base. But other times, he felt the guy was simply unreasonably stubborn.

Lost in thought, Calvin heard Valenti sigh softly across from him. His heart sank, and he started to worry about Shawn's situation. Just as he was desperately trying to think of something to say to improve Shawn's image, he heard Valenti suddenly say, "You've worked hard during this time."

"...What?" Calvin looked up, somewhat surprised.

"You've really worked hard, always troubling you when something happens with Shawn," Valenti said warmly. "This wasn't something you needed to worry about."

"It's nothing, it's what I should be doing." Calvin immediately shook his head. He hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Maybe I shouldn't bring this up now... Do you know about our first external combat mission next month?"

Thanks for the monthly ticket, dordor2019~