"Why?" Liz asked.
"what why?"
"Before, in the underground base, you dared to turn back in such dangerous situations... Why are you still unwilling to be an 'excellent mercury needle'?"
Seeing that Liz seemed to be very concerned about the answer to this question, Hesta also put away her joking tone and began to think about this question seriously.
"It's not that I can't do it, it's just that... I prefer living here." Hesta stretched herself, "The first time Miss Chiba took me to the old city's White Ship, I met a Girls…”
When Hesta spoke, Liz turned to look at her.
In the darkness, Hesta was lying a few centimeters away from her. When she let out a long sigh or a long sound, Liz could feel some warm wind blowing against her face.
This scene suddenly reminded Liz of the past when she and her family were lying together and whispering, and it almost aroused a shudder in her.
Hestad was still immersed in her memories. She told about the mother and daughter who walked into the "White Ship" in the rain - the girl had bright brown brogues on her feet, and the mother had a leather violin case hanging on her shoulders. , just by seeing its lines, Hestad could imagine how it would feel to touch.
The girl's complaints - her old violin teacher, new topics that she couldn't get involved in between friends, her father who broke the promise and didn't take her to see the New Year's play... all sounded novel to Hesta.
And that day, when the girl left, there was still more than half of the fruit tart that her mother bought for her. None of them thought of packing it away, so they just left it on the guest table.
The more he recalled, the more details came to Hesta's mind. She didn't think about why she was so impressed by the mother and daughter who met by chance. She just told Liz the scenes that she found interesting in detail.
"Can you play the violin, Liz?" Hesta asked suddenly, "Liz?"
Liz woke up from a dream, "...me? Oh, I can't."
“Is it difficult to learn the violin?”
"It's difficult," Liz replied affirmatively. "My mother can play the violin. She taught me for a while when I was a child, but it was too boring...I was too young and impatient at the time. Do you want to learn the violin, Jane?" "
"Yes." Hesta nodded, "When I came out of the White Ship that day, I asked Miss Chiba if it was possible for the mercury needle to return to ordinary life... She said no."
Hesta looked at Liz, "Are you saying there really isn't?"
Liz laughed, "I don't know."
"What are you laughing at?"
"You know, Jane, when I was a kid, when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always answer, 'Mercury Needle.'"
Hesta held her breath.
"Why?"
"Because at that time, I thought mercury needle was a perfect career."
Hesta rubbed her ears and repeated in an even more puzzled voice, "...Where is the perfection?"
Liz clasped her fingers and spoke softly.
"First of all, the salary during Mercury Needle's tenure is very generous, and you will never be unemployed. You never have to worry about going without food for one or two years in a row, or being fired after a certain age. I am in Aspen When I was a child, I met several elderly mercury needles. They are no longer directly involved in the battle against chelation, but they are still active in other fields related to chelation disease in their own ways.
“Even if you are unlucky and die before the age of 25, the ahgas pension will be enough to allow your family to live in peace for the rest of their lives.
"Second, the purpose of the mercury needles in their lives is very clear - to eliminate chelation and make chelation disease disappear from the world. This is a... magnificent ideal.
"I have seen many heroes in Askia, and I have also seen many drunken bastards. More than heroes and bastards, there are nameless people living in the wasteland. Nameless does not mean that they have no names, but their Names will not be passed down, and will be forgotten after a few generations at most.
“There are many tombs in Askia’s East Cemetery. Some of them you can tell were once prominent, but now they are covered with decaying grass and eroded by wind and rain. Even the words and years on the tombstones cannot be seen clearly.
“History is obviously created by countless unknown people, and the world we live in is formed by them as a solid foundation. However, these people are often the first to be thrown away in turmoil and the fastest to be forgotten after peace. Whenever I think about myself following in their footsteps, I feel a strong urge to grab onto something...Have you ever felt like this, Jane?"
Hesta shook her head.
"In short, in my opinion at the time, the only disadvantage of Mercury Needles was that recruitment was not open. No one knew how the Mercury Needles were selected."
Liz smiled, "I briefly discussed these ideas with my grandmother. At that time, she was surprised that I had to be a mercury needle. After hearing my reasons, she laughed, and then said to me A word."
"What?" Hesta asked.
"She said that at the southernmost end of the Vilyuchinsky Wasteland, there is a garrison war monument with an inscription on it, which seems to be very famous in the 14th district."
Liz paused and said softly: "'The noblest people accept the cruelest trials, and the purest ideals are always realized at the heaviest price.'
"...She asked me this question, 'Lilia, are you ready?'"
Hesta heard the slight tremor in Liz's voice. She didn't say anything and hugged Liz quietly.
Liz's tears wet Hesta's shoulders, and Hesta patted her back gently.
Although Hesta didn't fully understand what Liz said at the moment, she did feel that something majestic and heavy seemed to be roaring from the dark corner, pressing towards her heart, pressing down on her heart. It left her breathless.
"Is there any other way? How to go to the front line." Hesta asked in a low voice, "Your bullet time is enough, there should be some room left?"
Liz shook her head, "It won't work. The problem in this matter is not with others, but with me."
Hesta looked at Liz. At this moment, she really wanted to say something, but she really didn't know what to say.
Liz wiped away her tears and smiled again.
"If you ask me, a true hero will shine with her own brilliance no matter what position she is in." Liz whispered, "Whether it is in the combat troops or in the rear, I will not let myself be buried. Yes... you are right, Jane, the livable place is also very good. I will go to Wulian first. If you want to come here in the future, then we can work and live together."
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