"Keep calm...keep calm!" Chiba repeated these four words irritably, "then will things get better in any way——"
"Chiba! Don't be like this... There really isn't much we can do now, but at least, we can try to find the reason why Hesta is irritated?
"We talked to Sean last week. Sean said that the two brothers met Alvira by chance in Clark Square two months ago. It happened that their mother had the same hair color as Alvira. Most of the reason why Ervin took the initiative to join the 'Murder Photography' was because of Alvira, so now that Alvira is dead, Calvin will be sad - this is the crux of the matter.
"What about Hesta? Why did she suddenly become like this... She has always trusted you. Do you know the clues?"
Chiba had a sullen face and did not answer.
There was a sound of footsteps at the end of the corridor. Valenti looked up and saw the nurse at the reception desk walking towards them with a letter, "Ms. Chiba, there is your letter."
Chiba took it silently and quickly opened the letter to read. Valenti deliberately looked away, but glanced at the envelope with some curiosity - it had the postmark of Core City printed on it.
Chiba's expression became more gloomy as he read.
"...What's wrong?" Valenti asked, "Who sent it?"
"It's Ava."
"Ava?" Valenti blinked, "What did she say to you in the letter?"
"It's not a letter..." Qianye put his elbows on his knees and supported his forehead with his wrists. His breathing became very slow. "It's a notification of Ava's critical illness..."
"...critically ill?" Valenti frowned unbearably. After a moment of silence, she suddenly realized something, "...why was Ava's critical illness notice sent to you?"
Chiba's throat twitched, "Because she used to be my assistant officer...and guardian."
Valenti's eyes slowly opened wide - she and Chiba were friends who grew up together, but she knew nothing about this matter.
Qianye suddenly became very quiet. She sat motionless in her seat. The critical illness notice was tightly held between her fingers, covering half of her face.
Valenti wanted to say something, but every word that came to her mouth felt inappropriate. She had never seen Qianye so depressed. Some of the vitality disappeared from her eyes, replaced by a deep tiredness.
"Masaki..."
"I have to go to the core city." Qianye whispered.
"...You go ahead and leave this place to me."
Chiba looked sideways at Valenti, "Can you bring back the old Jane?"
Valenti smiled bitterly, "I can only... try my best not to make things worse."
"Okay." Chiba lowered her head and covered her eyes with her palms for a while. After a while, she took a quick breath and stood up again, "That's very rare... If you need anything, call me anytime. I Come back the day after tomorrow.”
…
It was already early in the morning when the train arrived in the core city. Chiba walked alone through the brightly lit underground passage and followed the automatic track from underground to the entrance of the Mercury Needles' apartment.
In the core city, most of the buildings belonging to ahgas are mainly underground. Chiba's room is on the 26th floor underground. She has not been here for a long time.
As the time approached four o'clock, the curtain wall of the corridor turned from the dark night to the light blue dawn, and some faint birdsong sounded one after another - even though this is underground, the interior of the building simulates natural changes to the greatest extent.
She sat alone in the room until six o'clock. A brand new mercury needle uniform was spread on the bed. Chiba looked at it, put it on and took it off several times.
At a quarter past six, the alarm clock rang when going out. Chiba stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself for the last time, and changed into a camel trench coat.
She came to the lobby and followed the core city guide to the hospital where Ava was located. After going through a series of complex identity verification and security checks, she finally arrived at Ava's ward.
Chiba looked at the clock. It was seven-thirty-five, which is usually Ava's breakfast time - although her current physical condition should no longer allow her to eat.
The door of the ward retracted smoothly toward the inside of the wall. Chiba saw Ava sitting on the hospital bed and reading attentively. The electronic screen keenly captured the old man's sight and turned the next page at the appropriate time.
After about a few minutes, Ava finally looked at the door and said, "You're here."
Chiba then walked to the ward.
There was an empty chair by Ava's bedside, but Chiba didn't sit down there immediately. She stood aside with her hands on the back of the chair, her eyes glancing at some greeting cards placed on the bedside table, and suddenly said, "This year's Did you personally judge the Ava Morgan Award?”
"Of course." Ava's tone rose, "I can't do this kind of thing to others."
"Really," Chiba's tone was noncommittal, "It's hard for me to imagine that you would award the medical award to midwifery injections...Are you confused by your illness, Ava?"
Ava laughed twice. She looked at Qianye meaningfully and said warmly: "What should I say? A seventy-two-year-old woman occasionally has some new insights into life... This kind of mood, some of which may happen in succession. Young people who won’t live past the age of fifteen probably really can’t understand it.”
Chiba pulled the chair back a few centimeters and sat down. "What are your thoughts? Tell me about it."
"Staying alive is the first priority."
"That's it?"
"That's it." Ava leaned back slightly, and the hospital bed behind her immediately changed the inclination angle according to her posture, "Eleven thousand dead great men are no match for a slave in chains, as long as this As long as the slave is still alive, she is better than all the heroes in the past..."
"Why?"
Ava withdrew her gaze and turned to look at the wall showing the mountains. She took a deep breath, and the brilliance of birth gradually emerged in her eyes.
"A living slave, even if she is chained and her mouth is covered, she still has her own hands and feet and her own voice... They can deconstruct everything, overthrow everything, and rebuild everything, because the shackles of death are always replaced by life. People break, and dead history always comes to life in the hands of newcomers - life creates its own history all the time, and only by living can it be possible to share this privilege.
"And a dead person can no longer exist as a human being anyway, because from the moment of death, all her self has disappeared, and she will be completely reduced to an 'object' that can be interpreted by future generations—— Her enemies slandered her, but she could not refute it, and her successors misunderstood her, and she could not defend her... Her ideals and beliefs, at the moment of her death, would be completely shattered along with her short life.
"She will lose all opportunities and be forced to give herself to all who come after her, allowing them to... embellish it."
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