Smile

The next day, the sun rose as usual.

Because she needed to submit her job transfer documents early, Liz unusually did not go out with the main group. She took personal leave and remained at the base.

At lunch, Tulan asked Liz, "Have you noticed that the base's security seems more lax lately than before?"

"A little, but the ground-level security was never the base's main force," Liz replied as she ate. "Whether it's lax or tight probably doesn't matter much."

"It's still annoying," Tulan said with a frown. "Today, two people slipped into the base from who knows where and used a loudspeaker outside Miss Valenti's office building to demand that we release someone. They were driving everyone crazy."

Liz suddenly recalled what Ms. Moly had mentioned—the United Government and AHgAs were fighting over Hesta's custody rights. That was precisely why the base could no longer openly investigate and deal with Shawn.

Yet over this period, the uproar outside had not subsided. Instead, it seemed to have grown even more intense than before.

...What exactly had Ms. Moly and the others been doing all this time?

What happened to "solving the problem"?

"Did you see Jane this morning?" Liz suddenly asked.

"No. She had class, didn't she?" Tulan answered. "What's wrong? Do you need something from her?"

Liz fell silent for a while. Jane had experienced an extremely intense emotional fluctuation in the middle of last night, but because the system had classified it as a nightmare, it had not issued an emergency alert. Liz had only seen it during her routine information check that morning.

"It's... nothing. I was just thinking, it's lunchtime, so why haven't I seen her—"

Before she could finish, Liz's phone suddenly emitted a piercing pulse alert. She quickly picked it up and checked it.

Tulan leaned closer as well. "What happened?"

"It's Jane..."

Liz frowned and opened the alert message she had just received. Like the one triggered when Hesta pressed the fire alarm last time, this was an automatic notification activated in an emergency.

However, after reading its contents, Liz was briefly stunned.

She was... fighting someone?

Liz had no time to explain. She threw down her utensils and rushed toward the scene.

In the first-floor corridor of the student dormitory, Mrs. Lavette's screams echoed through the entire passageway.

"Fighting... They're fighting—ahhh, oh God... Stop it, children—sob... Someone, help—"

She was shouting so hard she could barely catch her breath, watching from afar while constantly looking toward the dormitory entrance.

Mrs. Lavette had already made every call she could, but in less than half a minute, the two people grappling over there had fought from the middle of the passageway all the way to the end of the corridor.

Battered and bruised, Shawn had nowhere left to retreat. His left eye had turned black and purple, swelling slightly, while an unstoppable nosebleed streamed down his face. It was a bloody sight.

That warm blood had also stained Hesta's fists. Her punches rained down on Shawn's forehead, cheeks, jaw, chest, and abdomen.

Shawn raised a hand to wipe his face, bracing himself against the wall as he tried to stand. Five bright red bloody handprints pressed against the wall. Before he could put any strength into it, Hesta kicked him back down.

"Where's my key?" Hesta growled in a low voice. "Give it back."

Hesta's face was reflected in Shawn's eyes—her cheeks were covered in splattered blood, fury surged from her blue eyes, and red veins crawled across the whites. Her face had become twisted with rage and hatred, making her utterly unlike the silent, detached girl she used to be.

Shawn looked at the frenzied Hesta before him and laughed mockingly.

"Look at yourself now, Hesta... What? Do you really... want to kill me?"

Shawn did not fight back at all. He spat a mouthful of blood to one side, then grinned and tilted his head back, exposing his neck. "Mrs. Lavette is watching."

Hesta seized Shawn by the collar and yanked him up from the ground.

She lowered her head slightly, her bangs obscuring her eyes.

"I'll ask you one last time... Where exactly did you hide my key?"

Shawn gave two weak laughs and muttered something.

"Louder," Hesta said coldly.

Shawn lightly beckoned Hesta over, signaling for her to come closer. When she did, he spoke with a trembling smile.

"Guess... whether I'll tell you?"

Hesta's pupils suddenly contracted. She released him, straightened up, and took half a step back. Her breathing became quiet and steady once more.

For a moment, Shawn, who had been enjoying the show, actually felt a faint chill. His instincts toward an enemy sharply caught some unusual change, and he watched the person before him suspiciously.

"...Hesta?"

Hesta raised her head slightly. Under the dim corridor lights, half her face was submerged in shadow.

Yet there was no longer any anger on that face. Every trace of confusion, humiliation, and hatred had vanished, replaced by... a smile.

A smile...

Shawn thought he was seeing things.

Her eyes still held that scorching, burning gaze, but the lower half of her face really was smiling.

Hesta's lips moved lightly, forming several silent words. Shawn no longer had any mind to consider what she had said. He instantly entered Bullet Time and bolted toward the nearby window like an arrow loosed from its string.

The instant he jumped, Shawn felt something seize his ankle tightly. Instinctively, he knew it was Hesta's hand.

But that was impossible. There was no way she could catch him in this state—

The next instant, he lost his balance completely and was slammed heavily to the ground.

He suddenly realized what Hesta had just said.

"As you wish."

The entire world fell silent. Before Shawn could even think through how any of this had happened, the scent of death was already closing in. His mind went blank, and he did not even have time to feel afraid.

"Jane!"

Liz's voice suddenly pierced his ears.

Shawn turned around. At some point, Liz had appeared behind Hesta and tightly wrapped her arms around her from behind.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Hesta's bangs drifted up and fell again, like a drowning person breaking the surface.

In the distance, Mrs. Lavette had been frightened into tears. With both hands covering her mouth, tears streaking her face, she stared at the reserve conflict that finally seemed to be drawing to a close.

Hesta collapsed into Liz's arms, completely motionless.

"...Jane?" Liz released her, her voice trembling slightly. "Jane?"

Hesta's expression was pained. Her eyes were closed, and she did not answer. Soon, her body suddenly convulsed, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Outside the dormitory, the base security personnel who had received the alert finally arrived. They rushed into the corridor. "What happened here—"

Liz turned around, Hesta's freshly spat blood covering her arms.

"Quick... Save her."