On this day, when Chiba and Hesta left the "White Ship" and entered the "Bang Bang Club", it was already more than half an hour later than expected.
Hesta noticed that there was also a simple world map on the wall here. While Chiba was registering the information, she began to search for the location of "Vilyuchinsky" on the map.
At first, she looked around the Askia Wasteland, but found nothing, so Hesta then expanded the scope to the entire third area, but still couldn't find it.
In the end, she had to start from the left end of the map and look over it bit by bit. Finally, she finally found her target - at the easternmost edge of District 14, there was a piece of land extending downwards out of the sea like a long beak. On land, the middle end of the bird's beak is marked "Viluchinsky" in writing.
Askia and Vilyuchinsky are separated by the entire fourteenth district and half of the third district—this distance of nearly a thousand kilometers already accounts for almost one-third of the entire map.
No wonder Mrs. Daria said she has not been able to go back for more than ten years...
This is really too far.
…
At night, Chiba took Hesta back to the base. On the way, Hesta told Chiba about the confrontation between him and Sean a few days ago. To her surprise, Chiba didn't seem happy for her.
"What do you think, Miss Chiba, of this handling method?"
Qianye pursed her lips and said, "...very good."
"I think I can put it off like this for now." Hesta said softly, "Next I plan to talk to Calvin. He doesn't seem as unreasonable as Sean. If I can get his help, I can Believe that things will get better.”
"What can he help you with?" Qianye asked calmly.
"Give me some warning?" Hesta replied, "Since their brothers are always inseparable, he must be the person most familiar with Sean's condition. If I have both Liz and Calvin who are familiar with Sean, Is it always better?”
On the dimly lit road, another car was approaching. The light and shadow of the car lights illuminated Chiba's face, and then dimmed quickly.
Hesta saw Chiba deep in thought, seeming to be pondering some difficult problem.
"Is there something I haven't thought carefully enough about?"
"No," Qianye said slowly, "It just... complicates things."
Back in the apartment, Hesta opened the door of 403. The room was dark, and Turan and Liz were not there at the moment.
Hesta guessed that they might be in the gym or library on the second floor. She put the desserts she brought back from the White Ship into the refrigerator.
The warm orange light in the refrigerator shone on her face, and she looked at the tips of the strawberries on the fruit tart in a trance.
Until this moment, she had not figured out what exactly "complexity" Chiba was referring to - no matter from which point of view, she chose the solution with lower cost.
Maybe Miss Chiba thinks it would be better to teach Sean a lesson directly?
But coming up with an elaborate plan and punctuating his bullet time with just the right gun only adds to the complexity.
Hesta closed the refrigerator door.
Maybe...Miss Chiba has such a personality.
She had sent a pistol quietly before, and when they met again, she didn't tell her exactly what she was going to do. It wasn't until she followed her on the shooting range for the first time with live ammunition that she explained her thoughts. Come.
For Ms. Chiba, there is probably a line between "able to communicate" and "unable to communicate". Only when she feels that the other party has entered the category of "able to communicate" will she speak her mind.
If so, you'll just have to wait.
About half an hour later, footsteps were heard outside the door, and Liz and Turan entered the door one after another.
The two of them smelled the unusual scent of butter in the air almost immediately, and Turan saw the unfamiliar paper bag placed next to the refrigerator.
Hesta poked her head out of her room, "I brought some snacks from the city center. Do you want to eat them?"
…
On the table in the living room, the three of them sat in a row around the big white square table. Liz sat in the middle. She carefully removed the red ribbon on the carton, and inside were four small square cakes put together.
Turan and Liz sighed in unison - since arriving at the base, they had almost forgotten the taste of cream cake.
The two of them ate happily, and when they ate the last bit of food, they felt a little reluctant to part with it.
"In the past few missions, we all went directly to the destination. They didn't give us reservists time to hang out at all," Liz said. "I have only been to the city center once so far - still sitting in the car. Viewed through dark gray glass.”
"I really want to go out and have a look." Turan bit the metal fork and sighed softly, "I almost forgot what it looks like outside."
Hesta really didn't expect that the two of them had stayed in the base for two years.
"Essentially, the base does not belong to Tan Yi City, nor does it belong to the Third District. When you step out of the base, it is equivalent to walking from one administrative area to another - do you understand this?" Liz explained ,
"The regular mercury needles enjoy a certain degree of regional freedom, so they can come and go as they please in some regions, but if our reservists want to go out, there must be a reasonable reason," Turan added on the side, "Such as internship tasks, Visiting relatives--"
"Stop talking about this...I envy you." Liz looked at Hesta, "I have to figure out when you will go out next time."
"It doesn't depend on me, it depends on Miss Chiba's time," Hesta replied, "It could be Monday morning, Wednesday morning, Thursday afternoon, Friday morning, or any time during the whole day on Saturday and Sunday."
Turan lay on the table, looking at the empty cake box with unfulfilled interest, "What's the name of this shop? I'll go and check it out next time I have a chance."
"The White Ship," Hesta answered.
Liz's eyes widened a bit, and she repeated the word softly, as if meeting a close friend after a long absence, "Where is the boss from?"
"Viluchinsky Wasteland, over there in the 14th district." Hesta replied, "The landlady's name is Mrs. Daria, and she also told me about Askia."
Liz let out a heartfelt sigh - this sigh was full of surprise and satisfaction. A smile appeared on Liz's face. The coincidence brought by fate was like an unexpected gift that suddenly fell on her head.
"Do you know each other?"
Liz shook her head, "I probably don't know him."
Turan looked at Liz's changing expression and couldn't help but wonder: "The White Ship...is it an allusion?"
"It's that song."
Liz hummed softly - Hesta quickly recognized that this was an Askia ditty that Liz had sung when she took her to learn the mercury needle war song a few weeks ago.
Liz played the accordion that day and sang softly in a language that no one else could understand under the soft morning sun:
Is there any river wider than yours, Aenese?
Is there any land more dear to you than yours, Enese?
Is there any suffering greater than yours, Anessei?
Is there any freer will than yours, Anesse? (1)
——
(1) Quoted from the poem "White Ship". Enese means "Mother River".
