Severed Limb

"Mm, I know," Hesta nodded.

"Then I have nothing else to say," Tulan took a step back. "You should get some rest."

"Right, Miss Tulan, why didn't you join the main group for training tonight?" Hesta suddenly asked. "...Was it to take care of me?"

"Haha, that's not it," Tulan smiled back. "Their kind of physical training is no longer meaningful to me. If I want to improve my Bullet Time... I need to find another way."

Hesta didn't understand what she meant and just said softly, "I wish you success."

"I hope so," Tulan smiled, gave Hesta a fist bump, and then walked quickly towards her room.

Hesta watched Tulan leave. Tonight, she truly got to know this brown-haired, green-eyed Katra girl.

In the following days, even though Liz wasn't around, Shawn didn't come to cause trouble again.

Hesta was quite happy that her first proactive move had yielded good results. She had intended to tell Chiba about this change in person as soon as possible, but strangely, Chiba hadn't shown up for several days.

During these days, the person who picked Hesta up for shooting practice in the city center was an old man in a suit. He always appeared during Hesta's free time, taking her out of the base for shooting practice.

The old man's hair and beard were silver. The small mustache above his upper lip was neatly groomed. He wore a snow-white shirt with a black vest over it, and the outermost layer was a perfectly fitting black long coat and morning dress.

His eyes were narrow. When he wasn't smiling, he looked like a gentleman. But once he smiled, his eyes, narrowed into slits, were hard not to associate with a scheming fox.

Molly seemed to know this person because she wasn't surprised at all when she saw him picking Hesta up instead of Chiba.

As they greeted each other, Hesta heard Molly address him as "Mr. Elu."

Hesta overheard their conversation. Molly asked if Chiba's condition had recovered, and the old man replied faintly, "She's almost there."

"Is Miss Chiba sick?" Hesta asked.

Neither of them answered her.

Another week passed, and Chiba finally appeared, but this time she was in a wheelchair.

Chiba's face was bandaged on the left side, and her entire left eye was covered. Mr. Elu pushed Chiba from behind, as silent as before.

As they got into the car, Hesta noticed that Chiba's left pant leg and left sleeve were both empty. It was only then that Hesta finally understood what Molly's question "has her condition recovered" meant—it seemed Chiba had suffered severe injuries, so severe that both her limbs had to be amputated.

After getting into the car, Chiba didn't mention her changes at all. Hesta glanced at her several times and found Chiba resting with her eyes closed.

She was indeed quieter than usual today, but as soon as they entered the shooting range, the spirited Chiba was back. She had prepared special targets for Hesta—the bullseye targets 25 meters away had been replaced with human figures, each pair depicting a hostage and a gangster.

The "gangster" only revealed one arm and half of its head, with the rest of its body completely hidden behind the "hostage."

During practice, Hesta couldn't help but glance behind her. Miss Chiba was standing there on one leg, supporting herself with a crutch.

For half the afternoon, Hesta was a bit distracted. She was really unsure whether it would be impolite to directly ask "What happened to your hand and foot?" in the habitable zone when the other party didn't bring it up.

As she was agonizing over this, Chiba's crutch unexpectedly hit Hesta's back.

"Don't slouch!"

The slender crutch felt like a whip, and the sensation of it hitting her was searing. Hesta snapped back to attention, only to realize she had shot the "hostage" again.

Chiba sighed.

Hesta glanced at Chiba. "Sorry."

Chiba suddenly laughed. "Your method... is also a way of thinking."

Hesta detected a hint of mockery in Chiba's words but didn't understand.

Chiba hopped forward with one hand on her crutch. "When you really encounter a robber in the future, you just shout, 'Listen up, bandit inside, I've already killed the hostage, so come out and surrender quickly'... Which scoundrel wouldn't surrender?"

Hesta's face instantly flushed red.

She took a deep breath. "...Let me try again."

Chiba remained noncommittal. She looked at the newly erected target figures in front of her and fell into thought. She could indeed feel that Hesta was preoccupied today, but she hadn't expected Hesta's shooting skills to decline so rapidly under these circumstances.

"Concentrate," Chiba said seriously. "No matter what distracted you before, when you're holding a gun, focus all your thoughts on your target—if you still want to live."

Mr. Elu wore earmuffs the entire time, standing straight beside them with a professional and kind smile.

On the way back, they went to "White Ship" again. This time, Chiba only ordered two Canelés. Hesta tried a new fruit tart, and the shopkeeper, as usual, brought her a cup of hot cocoa, which she drank in one gulp.

That night, Liz discovered a welt on Hesta's back while she was showering and immediately asked if any training officer at the base had violated operational guidelines and subjected Hesta to corporal punishment.

Hesta tried to change the subject, but Liz was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Seeing that she couldn't fool Liz, Hesta had to improvise, saying that in the afternoon, when she and Chiba went out, they encountered a robber on the road and she took him down. Unfortunately, she was hit twice by the man.

Liz's hands, which were rubbing shampoo into her hair, stopped abruptly. "Chiba just left you to handle the situation alone?"

"She helped too, it was mainly thanks to her," Hesta began to cover her tracks. "It's just that I rushed out first, so..."

Liz sighed. "I went to see Ligo today and found out Chiba scheduled surgery at the base this week... Is she sick?"

Hesta was silent for a moment. "Maybe... she's injured."

Liz let out a thoughtful hum in the steam. Finally, she said softly, "It's quite rare for active Quicksilver Needles to book surgery at a reserve base."

"Why?"

"Although the underground hospitals here are very advanced, they are still slightly inferior compared to the Core City. After all, the Mother City is within the Core City, and some equipment is inconvenient to transport remotely," Liz said softly. "I heard that the doctor performing Chiba's surgery this time was temporarily dispatched from the Core City."

Hesta recalled Chiba, whom she had met today. "I see."

That evening, Valenti changed her clothes as soon as she finished work and hurried to the underground hospital at the base.

The clock struck nine at night, two hours after Chiba's surgery had ended. This was well past visiting hours, but Chiba's room was always an exception. At any time, all visitors would be announced to Chiba by a nurse before entering the room, and she alone would decide whether or not to meet them.

Valenti waited outside for only a short while before a nurse came out and told her she could go in.

In the white hospital room, Chiba was not asleep.

Chiba, uncharacteristically, had her long hair down. She was wearing a spare pair of rimless glasses today, which looked quite old. A red pen clip was held between her middle and ring fingers, swaying rhythmically with the movement of her hand.

Various paper documents were scattered all over the hospital bed. Some of the papers had short red annotations, and Mr. Elu quietly organized old manuscripts on the bedside table nearby.