Chapter Summaries

Eucali agreed to go to Pingjing and meet Mikhailo, but insisted on hearing the plan from him personally. Hesta and Yu Xuekun traced Eucali to an apartment building, then waited for surveillance footage while Yu Xuekun warned Hesta that Mikhailo’s clients might see him as their savior and that Mei County’s lockdown would prevent anyone from leaving for seventy-two hours.

• Eucali agreed to travel to Pingjing and meet Mikhailo, but asked to confirm the plan with him directly after his plane landed.
• Hesta and Yu Xuekun searched the apartment building where Eucali had been staying and found a broken piece of Hesta’s phone, suggesting someone had disposed of the electronics.
• Yu Xuekun warned Hesta that Mikhailo was influential and widely trusted by his clients, so Eucali might not want to leave with her.
• Yu Xuekun learned that Hesta’s young friend was safe, while the friend’s brothers had been detained after trying to remove her from quarantine.
• Hesta urged Yu Xuekun to check surveillance footage, but Yu Xuekun told her to wait for the required procedures and reminded her that Mei County would stay closed to departures for seventy-two hours.

Yu Xuekun and Hesta raced to Dongshun Airport after tracing Eucali’s car, while Eucali spoke with Mikhailo and was smuggled into a cargo crate bound for a plane. As the police reported that their first search had found no one suspicious, Hesta interrupted the radio call with a question.

• Yu Xuekun and Hesta learned that Eucali’s car was heading to Dongshun Airport and joined a police convoy to search for her.
• Yu Xuekun worried that Mikhailo might be exploiting the military supply operation to get Eucali out of Mei County.
• Eucali spoke with Mikhailo, who told her to avoid Hesta and promised to meet her at Pingjing Airport.
• Eucali’s escorts brought her to a warehouse and pushed her into a cushioned cargo crate to be taken onto a plane.
• The airport reported that its first round of inspections had found no suspicious people, and Hesta interrupted the radio call to ask a question.

Yu Xuekun realized Eucali was not at Dongshun Airport and turned back to search another location. Hesta found Eucali hiding in a cargo box and tried to talk with her about Mikhailo as police surrounded the warehouse.

• Yu Xuekun confirmed that some medical supplies were being delivered to Dongxi Estate and concluded that Eucali was unlikely to have passed through the airport unnoticed.
• Yu Xuekun and Hesta turned around and headed back, while Eucali was moved in a cargo box among supplies.
• Hesta found Eucali in the cargo box at a warehouse and told her that police had surrounded the building to arrest her.
• Eucali accused Hesta of trying to arrest Mikhailo, but Hesta said she wanted to clear up misunderstandings between them.
• Eucali insisted that Mikhailo was not a bad person and said she would not tell the police anything against him.

Hesta persuaded Eucali to hide in the cargo container and leave with her rather than face arrest, then rejoined Yu Xuekun and the police. On the rainy return trip, Hesta said she was glad but felt sleepy and tired.

• Hesta told Eucali that her flight was headed back to Northern District 14, not Pingjing, and urged her to come along.
• Eucali accused Hesta of deceiving her, but Hesta pleaded for a chance to help and warned that refusing would lead to arrests and trouble for Mikhailo.
• After lamenting that she had never had a real choice, Eucali climbed into the cargo container and shut the lid.
• Yu Xuekun and the police returned, and Hesta told Yu Xuekun that everything was sorted out.
• Yu Xuekun secured the container in the transport truck and drove away with Hesta.
• During the rainy return trip, Hesta told Yu Xuekun she was happy but sleepy and tired.

On the drive home, Hesta reflected on why she had helped Eucali and on the people who had left her life. At Yu Xuekun’s apartment, Eucali explained that officials had rejected her university documents because she lacked recognized citizenship, and Yu Xuekun began investigating why her identity records had never been issued.

• Yu Xuekun asked Hesta why she had intervened for Eucali, and Hesta said Eucali reminded her of someone who had left long ago.
• Yu Xuekun told Hesta that people who left could return in different ways.
• Yu Xuekun brought Eucali to her apartment, gave her clean clothes, and invited her to discuss her difficulties.
• Eucali told Yu Xuekun she had waited two years for a Residency Permit and could not obtain her high school graduation certificate.
• Yu Xuekun explained that Jiaozhi Mountain’s population records should have been completed within a year and questioned why Eucali had no recognized identity status.
• Eucali said Songxueyuan’s education department had rejected her university application documents because it did not recognize her as a District 14 citizen.

Yu Xuekun investigated Eucali’s identity and learned she could not buy a home or complete her old residency application as she had hoped. She offered Eucali a route to a special permit through Hesta’s caregiver slot, leaving Eucali to consider becoming a District 3 resident living in District 14.

• Yu Xuekun explained that Eucali could not buy a home in Songxueyuan without legal work and more than twenty-seven months of local tax payments, then asked Eucali to write down her identification numbers so she could investigate.
• Yu Xuekun learned that Songxueyuan had rejected Eucali’s application two years earlier because its materials were incomplete, and that the deadline to supplement them had passed.
• Yu Xuekun told Eucali that a new application would need approval from her local Habitation Office before it could reach Songxueyuan.
• Yu Xuekun offered Eucali a way to bypass the preliminary procedures by applying to accompany Hesta as a caregiver, potentially earning a six-month Special Permit and later permanent residency.
• Yu Xuekun explained that permanent residency would make Eucali procedurally a person from District 3 living in District 14, and that she could later bring her parents but would need another way to bring her sister and brother.

Eucali considered Yu Xuekun’s offer of a Special Permit and discussed her decision with her family. After deciding not to pursue Mikhailo’s path, she talked with Hesta and Yu Xuekun about her family’s advice and the risks of buying a home without secure status.

• Eucali asked whether the Special Permit would remain useful if she later left District 14, and Yu Xuekun explained that she had to stay for six months.
• Eucali asked for until the next day to decide and said she wished Mikhailo could hear the news.
• Eucali told Yu Xuekun and Hesta that her mother supported her choice, while her uncle had urged her to think carefully about giving up Mikhailo’s opportunity.
• Eucali explained that her uncle had suggested a sham marriage as a way to qualify to buy a home, and Yu Xuekun warned her about the financial and legal risks.
• Eucali said she had decided not to take Mikhailo’s path, and Yu Xuekun urged her to rely more on herself as she entered Songxueyuan.

Hesta and Eucali searched for Eleven after learning she had escaped quarantine, and Hesta tracked her to a garbage dump in a shantytown. Eleven was taken to a temporary hospital in critical condition, while Yu Xuekun intervened when police tried to take Hesta in for questioning.

• Hesta learned that Eleven had escaped the quarantine center and began trying to contact her.
• Hesta called Yu Xuekun for help locating Eleven's phone, then followed its ringing to Eleven's home in a shantytown.
• Hesta tracked Eleven's scent through the rain to a garbage dump and found her barely conscious beneath a heap.
• Eleven was taken to a temporary hospital for emergency treatment, and the hospital notified the police.
• Police identified Eleven as the quarantine-center escapee and tried to take Hesta for questioning, but Yu Xuekun intervened on AHgAs's behalf.

Yu Xuekun confronted Hesta for secretly entering Bullet Time to rescue Eleven, warning her that Quicksilver Needles in District 14 could only do so when encountering a Chelated Being. Hesta agreed to follow the rule, and Yu Xuekun said Eleven’s brothers were still being held in detention.

• After Eleven’s surgery, Yu Xuekun returned to the hospital and ordered Eucali to pay the medical bills while she took Hesta to the rooftop.
• Yu Xuekun angrily demanded to know how Hesta had found Eleven and accused her of risking arrest by acting without permission.
• Hesta explained that she believed no monitors were watching her yet, since no Quicksilver Needle had helped her during an earlier encounter with a Chelated Being.
• Yu Xuekun confirmed that surveillance on Hesta would begin once she entered Songxueyuan and ordered her never to enter Bullet Time except when encountering a Chelated Being.
• Hesta asked about Eleven’s brothers, and Yu Xuekun said they were still being held in the detention center.

Eleven woke in the hospital and told Hesta that someone had bullied her, though she refused to identify them. Hesta considered how to help her leave the hospital, but explained that the family-accompaniment arrangement that brought Eucali to District 3 could not be used for Eleven.

• Hesta asked Yu Xuekun whether the police had notified Eleven's family, then said she might go to Songxueyuan in a couple of days.
• Eleven woke at midnight, drank water from a cotton swab, and asked Hesta where she was and what had happened during the monster attack.
• Eleven grew tense when someone passed the ward and admitted that someone had bullied her, but refused to say who.
• Eleven advised Hesta to fight back against bullies, and Hesta recalled that her guardian had given her a gun and taught her to defend herself.
• Hesta offered to look for a way to take Eleven away, but explained that the accompanying-family slot could not be used for her.

Hesta refused to take Eleven to Orange Town after Eleven insisted she could not leave her mother, then prepared to leave Mei County. The next morning, Eleven was being transferred to an AHgAs-affiliated hospital, while Hesta went to Eleven’s home with a suitcase of payment and was led inside by Eleven’s brother.

• Eleven rejected Hesta’s offer to take her to Orange Town, saying her mother could not manage without her.
• Hesta said she would leave for Orange Town, and Eleven panicked at the thought of her disappearing again.
• Yu Xuekun told Eucali that Eleven would be transferred to an AHgAs-affiliated hospital before ten that morning.
• Hesta arrived alone at Eleven’s home and tried to deliver money from Dr. Mikhailo.
• Eleven’s brother invited Hesta inside after learning she had brought payment, while Eleven’s mother watched her warily.

Hesta visited Eleven’s home to deliver a commission from Mikhailo, but Eleven was missing and her family tried to claim the money. The chapter left Hesta realizing that Eleven had been abandoned as a baby and that her family intended to use her as a bride.

• Hesta learned that Eleven’s family had not seen her since the previous night and that they were accustomed to her staying away.
• Eleven’s brother tried to persuade Hesta to hand the commission to the family, but she insisted it had to go directly to Eleven.
• A drunken man returned home and fought with the woman in the yard before the family settled back into their routine.
• Eleven’s brother claimed their father had found Eleven as a baby abandoned in a bicycle basket and said she would eventually marry his younger brother.
• Hesta realized why Eleven’s family wanted to take control of her commission.

Hesta left the woman’s home with Eleven, leaving the woman money and saying Eleven would not return. Several days later, Hesta cared for Eleven at the hospital as they prepared to travel to Songxueyuan and Orange Town.

• Hesta watched the wary woman work and care for two boys whose language neither she nor the boys seemed to understand.
• Hesta placed more than a thousand Robbie on the well cover and told the woman she was taking Eleven away for good.
• The woman reacted with renewed hostility, but Hesta left the alley without being followed.
• Several days later, Hesta sat with Eleven in a garden beneath the AHgAs affiliated hospital while messaging Eucali about travel plans.
• Eleven deliberately struck her toes against a wall, cried, and blamed Hesta, who used her translator to tell her she had seen what she did.

Eleven learned that Hesta and Eucali would leave for Orange Town soon and resisted the idea of going with them. In a private conversation with Hesta, Eleven admitted she hated Orange Town but began considering accompanying her if Hesta agreed to a condition.

• Eleven worsened her bandaged injury, and Hesta took her to the nurses’ station for treatment.
• Eucali told Eleven that she, Hesta, and Jane would leave for Orange Town the day after tomorrow, stopping at Songxueyuan first.
• Eleven borrowed Hesta’s translator and asked to speak with her privately on the terrace.
• Eleven insisted she hated Orange Town and refused to go, while Hesta said she did not want them to be separated.
• After Hesta said she wanted Eleven to accompany her, Eleven said she would consider going if Hesta agreed to a condition.

Hesta promised Eleven she would care for her and not abandon her, then arranged to take Eleven to Songxueyuan under a new identity. The next morning, Hesta, Eleven, and Eucali set out with Yu Xuekun to obtain that identity.

• Eleven told Hesta that leaving her family meant placing great trust in her, and Hesta promised to take good care of her and never abandon her.
• Hesta told Yu Xuekun that Eleven feared returning to Orange Town, where she had been abandoned, rather than leaving her current family.
• Hesta and Yu Xuekun concluded that Mikhailo had deliberately revealed the three thousand Robbie commission, leading Eleven's brothers to cause trouble and beat her.
• Hesta decided to get Eleven a new identity as Eureka and asked Yu Xuekun to move their departure for Songxueyuan to the following afternoon.
• Yu Xuekun arrived the next morning, and Hesta, Eleven, and Eucali set out to obtain Eleven's new identity.

Hesta arranged a temporary identity for Eleven as “Eureka,” allowing her to receive a pass to enter Songxueyuan before the identity could be reviewed. After retrieving an old red fountain pen and taking care of other business, Hesta joined Yu Xuekun and Eucali, and the group reached Songxueyuan that night.

• Eucali asked Yu Xuekun about her relationship with Jane, and Yu Xuekun explained that one of Jane’s elders had asked her to look after her.
• Hesta registered an identity for Eleven as “Eureka,” securing her a temporary pass with Hesta as guarantor.
• Eleven received her new ID card and excitedly repeated the name “Eureka” as the group left the temporary workstation.
• Hesta returned to retrieve a red fountain pen that had been confiscated, saying she had to get it back because she still had questions about it.
• Yu Xuekun drove Hesta, Eucali, and Eleven through several checkpoints, and they arrived at Songxueyuan after dark.

Eucali, Eleven, Hesta, and Yu Xuekun arrived in Songxueyuan, where Hesta learned that her documents required a lengthy review and that she would have to follow the Habitable Zone covenant. Hesta realized the written rules were vague and that she would need to discover the local rules for herself.

• Eucali and Eleven admired Songxueyuan's night scenery as Yu Xuekun drove them to an AHgAs apartment.
• Yu Xuekun gave Hesta a packet of temporary document receipts and explained that her identity as a Quicksilver Needle meant her paperwork would take longer to process.
• Hesta read the Habitable Zone Residential Conduct Covenant and asked whether entering Bullet Time counted as a harmful act.
• Yu Xuekun confirmed that breaking the rules within three months would end Hesta's recovery plan and lead to her transfer elsewhere.
• Hesta concluded that the covenant did not spell out the real rules and that she would have to learn them herself.

After settling in Orange Town, Hesta wrote to Ligo and Tulan about the challenges of adapting to District 14 and the progress Eleven and Eucali had made. Her school placement remained uncertain, but Yu Xuekun reassured her that she would be satisfied with her assigned major.

• Yu Xuekun advised Hesta to accept whatever came and to ask her for help before revealing a difficult problem to the local service station.
• In July, Hesta and the others settled in Orange Town, and she began emailing Ligo and Tulan about her experiences.
• Hesta took Eleven and Eucali to a performance in the City Hall square and took a photo with them.
• Hesta reported that Eleven had been placed in temporary care and preparatory school, while Eucali began training for a foreign language teaching qualification.
• Hesta attended a migrant language class, made friends with Olya, and accidentally upset her by misunderstanding her family situation.
• Hesta wrote that she still did not know her university faculty or major, while Yu Xuekun predicted she would be satisfied with the result.

On her first day at school, Hesta struggled to register, then wandered into a conference refreshment area and was confronted by a security guard. A young girl with chestnut hair and golden eyes intervened, and Hesta froze at the sight of her.

• Hesta completed her enrollment after persuading the staff to accept copies of her documents and charge her through the regular student channel.
• Hesta followed the smell of coffee to a conference refreshment station and thought she saw Liz pass by.
• A security guard demanded Hesta's identification and ordered her to leave because she was not a conference attendee.
• The guard grabbed Hesta, and coffee spilled as she tried to restrain herself and explain that she did not understand him.
• A chestnut-haired girl with golden eyes stepped in, challenged the guard, and drew a crowd as he shoved Hesta toward the wall.

After being mistaken for a threat at school, Hesta was recognized as a new student by Professor Chen and reunited with Ksenia. A summons to the Principal’s Office led her to Ava’s portrait, leaving her overwhelmed by the unexpected sight.

• Hesta stared at Ksenia during the commotion until Professor Chen spoke to the crowd in District 3 Language and confirmed Hesta was a new student.
• Ksenia introduced herself to Hesta, then left with Professor Chen after asking whether Hesta was all right.
• Hesta sat alone and recalled Anna’s warnings about her many weaknesses.
• A student told Hesta that the Principal wanted to see her, and Hesta went to the ninth floor.
• Hesta froze when she saw a carefully maintained portrait of Ava outside the Principal’s Office.