"Let's set aside what happened before for now. But Jane was the one who hit someone yesterday, and Shawn was the one who got beaten up."
"What kind of beating was that? Other than a broken nose, did he suffer any serious injuries? Once Jane was discharged, with Molly's personality, she would definitely downgrade her rating according to base regulations—ah, I found it."
Chiba finally spotted the F series and hurried toward her target.
Valenti caught up with her. "Chiba, no matter what, as an adult, you shouldn't directly interfere between them—"
"I didn't directly interfere. Did you see me looking for Shawn? I've come to the base so many times, and I haven't even seen Shawn's face once." Chiba stepped onto the mobile two-person ladder by the display shelves and looked back at Valenti. "Coming up?"
Valenti bit her lower lip, took Chiba's outstretched hand, and stepped onto the moving ladder.
Chiba entered Liz Fletcher's name into the search interface. The ladder rose steadily, stopped at the fourth level, then began sliding left.
"I stayed at this base too. I know perfectly well what Molly's so-called 'order' is all about. She really is very fair, but honestly, in a completely closed-off place like the base, what use is that kind of one-sided fairness?"
"...Why is it useless?"
"For some Quicksilver Needles, life at the Reserve Base is far harder—far crueler—than life after they transfer and become independent." Chiba looked at Valenti. "Do you know why?"
Valenti was somewhat at a loss. She did not understand what Chiba meant. After leaving the Reserve Base, young Quicksilver Needles had to truly face endless battles with Chelated Beings. From any perspective, life within the base seemed more like a beautiful cocoon, a temporary haven untouched by storms.
Chiba did not wait for