The Anchor

Valenti nodded. "I've heard."

"I think Shawn might not be suited for frontline combat," Calvin said, his words somewhat halting as he carefully chose his phrasing. "Both his personality and his abilities are still a bit..."

"The base will naturally consider these factors," Valenti said with a smile. "Given the current situation, Shawn may indeed not be ready for missions yet. But you don't need to worry; we won't let any reserve member rashly face danger without proper preparation. Besides, not every Quicksilver Needle is meant to charge the front lines; division of labor and cooperation are always important."

Hearing this, Calvin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He couldn't help but lightly punch his chest a few times, as if a great weight had been lifted, yet a persistent, unspoken worry and knot remained.

In the evening, Hesta and Liz both returned to the student apartments.

After getting back to her room, Hesta collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. She didn't wake up until past eight o'clock. By then, the base's cafeteria would likely be closed. She decided to make something for herself in the communal kitchen, but the thought remained just that—a thought. She lay still on the bed for a long time.

The sky outside had completely darkened, but a faint light still filtered into the room, perhaps from a streetlamp or something else. Sometimes she heard the rustling of conversations outside, but she couldn't quite tell if they were coming from downstairs or from a window on the ground floor of the apartment building.

Hesta felt a hazy, dreamlike sensation again. She remembered the song Liz had sung earlier. She couldn't recall the lyrics of the so-called Quicksilver Needle battle song, but the Askia chant, which she hadn't understood, had left a deep impression.

Liz had introduced her to several members of the base today. Hesta felt this was mostly because, during her days at the base, apart from her roommates in 403 and a few teachers, she had hardly interacted with any new people.

Liz had created this opportunity both to take her out of the apartment on Sunday and to allow her to expand her social circle a little.

Thinking about it, Liz must have been the elder sister at home. Otherwise, her care and attention wouldn't have been so natural and thoughtful.

Hesta sighed softly. Whether in Duanming Alley or Saint Anne Abbey, her connection to the world around her had never seemed deep enough. Yet, in those places, there was always someone like an anchor, holding onto her tightly, preventing her from becoming a mere shadow drifting at the edges.

Here, it was Liz. At the abbey, it was Boheng. In Duanming Alley... it was her mother.

Hesta sometimes couldn't understand why some people had so many desires and so much energy, always looking forward to the future, always like a burning torch.

Recalling past days, Hesta got out of bed barefoot and walked to the small side table by the window.

She sat down on the cast-iron chair, her feet sinking into the plush carpet.

She swung her feet gently, letting the carpet brush against her instep.

Hesta rested her cheek on the table, her fingertips gripping the edge of the surface, her body lying flat on the tabletop.

Moonlight spilled down, illuminating the glass dome on the side table. She gazed at the paper rose standing inside, feeling her heart grow calm once more.

But this alone wasn't enough. At this moment, someone should be standing in the distance.

There should also be a hand, gently caressing her hair.

Hesta's gaze slowly shifted to the silver key beneath the rose. Chiba had given it to her a few days ago, and she had kept it with the paper rose inside the glass dome.

She stared at the key. After a moment, Hesta gently lifted the dome and took it out.

She stood up, turned on the room light, and found a piece of string. She threaded the key onto it and hung it around her neck.

However, after looking in the mirror for a while, Hesta felt it looked a bit silly and too conspicuous. So, she cut the string again, wound it around her wrist a few times, and fastened it there.

If she then pulled down her sleeves, nothing would be visible.

After fiddling with it for about ten minutes, the earlier lethargy had completely disappeared. Hesta felt hungry again and got up to walk outside.

As she pushed open the door, she saw Liz lying horizontally on the sofa by the living room window, holding a book.

They greeted each other wordlessly. Hesta walked to a storage corner next to the kitchen and took out a bottle of purified water, drinking several large gulps.

She didn't notice that her position was blocking Liz's light, but Liz didn't say anything. She simply placed her book aside. "Were you sleeping in your room just now?"

"Mhm," Hesta nodded. "I'm a bit hungry, so I came out to make something to eat."

Liz lay there watching Hesta work. What she called "making something to eat" was boiling two eggs in plain water. It was apparent that Hesta was still somewhat unfamiliar with the induction cooker. Only when she saw the black cooking surface turn red, confirming that the thing was truly hot, did she pick up the nearby Yukihira pan, fill it with water, and place it on the stove.

The sight made Liz chuckle a little.

Perhaps Hesta didn't realize it herself, but when she wasn't smiling, her expression could appear rather fierce. This was probably why most people didn't approach her to say hello. Every time she went to the grammar class, she gave off a chilling aura as soon as she sat down, her face etched with vigilance, clearly saying, "Stay away."

Hesta still looked a bit fierce now, but her clumsy movements made it somewhat amusing.

Liz didn't go over to help, but as Hesta was looking around for things, she quietly said, "The lid is in the cabinet below."

Hesta heard this, squatted down, and quickly found the pot lid.

After preliminarily finishing these tasks, Hesta casually wiped her wet hands on her clothes.

She turned her head; Liz had already returned to her reading posture.

"Has Tulan not returned yet?" Hesta asked casually. She had barely seen her other two roommates these past few days. She knew Ligo was likely still in the underground hospital for treatment, but not seeing Tulan was indeed a bit strange.

"Mhm, I feel like she's been pushing herself with extra training a bit obsessively lately," Liz said, shifting slightly. "However, the support center said it's best not to interfere unnecessarily; letting her have an outlet is also good."

Hesta walked over to the large table in the living room, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "I did some searching on Catra City yesterday."

Liz put down her book again and looked toward Hesta. "Oh?"

Hesta continued, "It seems to be a habitable zone in Sector 4. When the incident occurred, thanks to the timely intervention of the Quicksilver Needles, there weren't many casualties... Is that right?"

"Mhm."

"Then... is there some hidden reason why she's so fixated on combat?"

"Mhm... How should I put it."

Liz thought for a moment, then said, "Generally speaking, Chelated Beings appearing in habitable zones mostly come from desolate areas. They bypass the isolation belt through some means or loopholes and breach the basic outer defenses of the habitable zones before entering the city. So, for the victims, these Chelated Beings are monsters that fall from the sky—we call them 'secondary Chelated Beings.'

"As for what you encountered before at the abbey, where people close to you became infected and eventually developed the condition, that's called a 'primary Chelated Being.'"

Liz reached up to scratch her head and then looked back at the book in her hands.

"In comparison, the victims of secondary Chelated Beings harbor deeper, purer hatred towards Chelated Beings, and their desire for combat is even stronger," Liz paused. "It's... only human nature, I suppose."