Quicksilver Needles

Hesta reached out with all her might again.

"Alright," the woman looked at her. "About three minutes after you called us, we arrived at the scene. The entire abbey was already engulfed in flames. We quickly found and dealt with Director Elma, who was suffering from the sickness, but putting out fires isn't exactly our specialty.

"Although the Tanyi City fire department was dispatched immediately, the mountain road made it impossible for them to arrive in time to help with the fire. But you don't need to worry too much. Before the flames consumed the entire building, my colleagues and I had already evacuated all the children from their dormitories, so the casualties caused by the Chelated Being this time weren't significant."

Hesta's breathing grew ragged. A strong doubt gnawed at her heart – what about Boheng in the confinement room?

Did you find him? Did you save him?

However, she couldn't speak, couldn't express it.

"I'll come check on you again in a while," the woman reached out and patted Hesta's head. "My name is Chiba, Chiba Masaki. I'm the leader of Group 403 under the Chelated Being Hunting and Prevention Organization AHgAs. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A month later, Hesta was discharged from the hospital, safe and sound.

During that month, every day, she still woke up early, just as she had at Saint Anne Abbey. The only difference was that this time, she didn't have to quickly dress and rush out of bed to ring the morning bell.

Most of the time, her eyes were bandaged, and she lay alone on the hospital bed, feeling the pain within her gradually subside.

Hesta reminisced about the past. At times, she even had a vague hallucination that everything that happened that night wasn't real; it was just a nightmare, and perhaps everything would be the same as before once she woke up.

It wasn't until two weeks later, when Chiba visited her for the second time, that Hesta, though still unable to see, could finally speak.

That day, Chiba brought an invitation, asking Hesta to join her organization.

"Chelated Being Hunter?" Hesta asked suspiciously, taking the paper. "Me?"

Chiba laughed heartily. "It's been so long since anyone called us 'Chelated Being Hunters.' I guess that's what you get from those ascetic traditions at the abbey… people haven't used that term in centuries."

"Then what do you call yourselves?" Hesta's fingertips brushed against the "AHgAs" printed above the invitation. "...What does that stand for?"

"AHgA," Chiba explained rapidly. "It stands for Anti-Homogenization Agent, specifically referring to individuals among humanity who possess innate talents, allowing them to resist the erosion of the Chelation Disease on their own. Because the name is too cumbersome and it contains 'Hg,' in informal settings, most people call us 'Quicksilver Needles.' Have you perhaps heard that name somewhere before?"

"Quicksilver Needles..." Hesta repeated softly.

The name felt somewhat familiar to the girl.

Chiba looked at Hesta and continued, "You can think of this status as a talent. There are 1.9 billion people living in this world, but only about 4,000 Quicksilver Needles. In other words, the probability of becoming a Quicksilver Needle is roughly one in a million.

"The night we killed that Chelated Being, we suspected there might be a gifted child in Saint Anne Abbey because that Chelated Being showed signs of mild poisoning – most likely caused by it coming into contact with or consuming a Quicksilver Needle's blood.

"Although you were indeed severely injured, the Chelation Disease spores within you were basically metabolized on their own within the first week. In other words, Hesta, you, like us, are someone who will never contract the Chelation Disease."

Hesta's voice was calm. "...Is there some mistake?"

"Hahaha, there's no mistake," Chiba rubbed her nose. "Although the Chelation Disease isn't as active as it was a decade ago – we're still desperately in need of new recruits… Would you be willing to join us?"

At that moment, Hesta, still blindfolded, frowned and said nothing.

"Of course, this is a very big decision… I should give you some time to think about it, shouldn't I?" Chiba smiled. "This is a high-risk profession, but the good news is you can apply for retirement at 25. Although in most cases—"

"Miss Chiba?" Hesta turned her head in Chiba's direction. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Go ahead."

"Behind the main church of Saint Anne Abbey, there's a row of old houses. On the second floor, the northernmost room is a confinement room. On the night of the incident, a fourteen-year-old boy with black hair was locked in there – is he safe?"

"I don't recall. I'll ask."

Chiba stood up and made a call in the hallway outside. When she returned, Hesta immediately turned to face her. "How was it?"

Chiba pondered for a moment. "Two pieces of bad news and one piece of good news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Hesta's face turned pale. "...The bad news."

"A few of the team members responsible for the rescue did consider the possibility of oversight, so they searched every building in Saint Anne Abbey, even the basements. But besides you, they didn't find anyone else."

Hesta's breathing grew rapid. Suddenly, her nose stung, and the tip of her nose began to turn red.

"And the good news is," Chiba continued on her own, "according to the Public Security Bureau, besides that Chelated Being, only two sets of remains were found at the scene: one elderly person and one child – you must know who they were."

Hesta froze for a moment – yes, she knew. They were the unfortunate Sister Gurdin and Flosang.

"You didn't find a third person?"

"No, we didn't."

"...Then what's the other piece of bad news?"

Chiba looked directly at Hesta's bandaged eyes. "This isn't really news, more like a deduction. When we arrived at the abbey, the Chelated Being was lurking in the confessional behind the main church, which… is very close to the confinement room you mentioned."

With Chiba's explanation, Hesta finally understood what she meant. In the three minutes when the Quicksilver Needles were absent, Boheng might have been attacked. The fact that there were "no bodies at the scene" had many possible explanations. The most likely one was that he might have fallen into the swift current below the cliff where Saint Anne Abbey was located in the chaos, making it very easy for no remains to be found.

"Don't be too despairing. He might still be alive… If you can provide more information about this boy, we can help you search the Severn Mountain area."

That's what Chiba had said at the time.

Now, more than half a month had passed since that night. Hesta had not received any news about Boheng. The fire had erased most of the traces from that night, and no one knew Boheng's whereabouts.

Today, Hesta's injuries had completely healed. She changed into the clothes Chiba had prepared for her and sat alone in the hospital corridor, waiting for Chiba to pick her up.

Chiba had promised to take her back to the scene of the incident today. In return, Hesta had promised to give her an answer today – an answer about whether she would join the Quicksilver Needles.