Hesta walked slowly down the dark metal stairs. The scene in front of her suddenly reminded her of the time she went to the gun club underground with Chiba to practice shooting with Chiba many years ago.
The scenes of the past are so vivid, as if they happened yesterday.
"Need help?" At the corner of the stairs, Zero looked back at Hesta who suddenly stopped.
Hesta shook her head, and her eyes continued to fall back to the ground. Her hands tightly grasped the handrail, and she stepped firmly on each step.
Zero watched for a while, then suddenly ran down with her wheelchair in large strides. Amidst her "bang bang bang" footsteps, the entire metal staircase began to tremble. Immediately afterwards, Zero flew up three or four steps, and in the dim yellow light, she quickly returned to Hesta.
"Shall I carry you down?"
"No," Hesta handed her half of his right arm, "Can you hold my hand?"
Zero quickly followed suit, adjusting to Hesta's pace of going downstairs, only to find that the other person had stopped again.
Zero raised his head and found Hesta staring closely into his eyes.
"What's wrong? Why don't you leave again?" the girl asked.
Hesta withdrew her gaze. She looked down at the road under her feet again, going down step by step.
"I was wondering if we had met somewhere before," Hesta replied.
Zero said nothing.
"I've had this feeling before," Hesta continued, her voice low, "Although it's the first time I've met him, I feel that the other person is very familiar."
Zero made a slight noise in response.
"Is he your friend?"
"Yes...but I didn't ask."
The two quickly arrived at the entrance to the negative floor, and Hesta's wheelchair was placed beside the door.
Zero walked to the right side of the metal door. There was a code plate similar to the cabin door, but it had more symbols and was more complicated.
After passing the double insurance of password and fingerprint lock, the iron door retracted toward the inside of the wall. Only then did Hestad notice that the door panel of this door was about eight or nine centimeters thick, almost comparable to the emergency barrier wall of the base's underground hospital.
She followed Zero through a short and narrow entrance hall, and the view in front of her suddenly widened.
Rather than saying this is a "room", it is better to call it a "pavilion". It has the same staggering height as the deck where Bishop's restaurant is located. Four rows of three-meter-high wooden display cabinets divide this huge space into five fronts. path.
The light all around was soft and bright, and Hestad almost felt that this was the carefully designed natural light in some museum buildings.
She sat back in the wheelchair and let Zero push her forward. Countless animal bones passed her by, and she could barely make out some wolf and hyena skulls. Through the glass, she saw bone birds living on fake branches in the distance, some fossils, and some small rodents... Even though they had been made into skeletal specimens, they were still arranged in various ways. Action, including even a pair of running antelope and wolf.
"...Is this 'luggage'?" Hesta was a little surprised, "Anna brought a museum with her..."
"This is already a streamlined look. This time back to District 14, Anna donated most of her collection to the museum, leaving only about 1/6."
At the end of this room, the road splits into two, with a large road leading to the upper right and a smaller path leading to the lower left.
Zero pushed Hesta directly to the left.
"The place we are going to now is Anna's study, she is now-"
"Pause."
Hesta raised her hand, her eyes completely attracted by the photo walls on both sides. These photos are all mounted in various frames. Some of the pictures are colorful, and some are very old. There are even traces of potion left on the scenery or characters in the corners to remove mildew.
From the inaccessible plateau snow-capped mountains to the mosquito-infested rainforests... There are few people in the picture, but a left hand often appears. Sometimes it points to a dead tree entangled with ivy, sometimes it points to an ant and the person being swarmed by it. Grazing aphids, sometimes clutching a queen bee with a white line on its tail.
Each photo has the month and date in the lower right corner, but none has the year written on it.
"...These," Hesta looked at Zero, "are these all Anna's work?"
"No, it's just a hobby."
"Hobby?"
"Because Anna's research direction is related to forest microorganisms, and she is a forest scientist." Zero replied calmly, "These photos, and most of the collections outside, have nothing to do with her research... She just likes these things .”
Hesta stared at the photo of a dead drone in the wet mud. It was stuck under the photo of the queen bee. If it weren't for the dark yellow hair on its back, Hesta would have almost mistaken it for a huge bee. fly.
"Do you like these photos?" Zero asked.
Hesta nodded and she sat back in the wheelchair again, Zero pushing her forward.
"Do you always follow her when she goes to these places?" Hesta asked.
"No," Zero shook his head, "Those photos should have been taken a long time ago. After all, Anna has been staying in the Third District these years."
"Has she only explored the forest in District 3 these years?"
"No." Zero replied softly, "It is isolated in the third area."
Only then did Hestad recall the electronic shackles on Anna's feet again - yes, of course she was not an ordinary forest researcher.
Not long after, behind a heavy wooden door, Hesta finally saw Anna. She was resting on a recliner, with a thin book in vertical rows spread out on her knees.
The white cat named Myshkin was sleeping at Anna's feet. When it opened its eyes and cast a lazy glance at Hesta, Hesta immediately remembered that she had forgotten something important this morning - —
"Zero, could you please help me run?"
"What?"
"Call the medical office for me and ask them to bring a rabies vaccine... I don't remember the phone number of the medical office."
Soon only Hesta and Anna were left in the room.
Hesta looked around the study room, which almost immediately reminded her of Ava's underground library - there were bookshelves full of books everywhere, arranged in an arc like ripples on the surface of a lake. , and the desk where Anna works is in the center of the water pattern.
Hesta looked at the row of bookshelves closest to her. She didn't recognize the words on the spines of the books at all. She got up and took down a few books and flipped through them. It felt like the language used by some mountain people in the 6th or 4th District. , judging from the illustrations, seems to be telling local religious and mythological stories.
"Is this also a hobby?" Hesta murmured softly.
After walking around for a few times, Hesta sat back in her seat. She took out the "Origin" wrapped in brown paper from the storage bag next to her wheelchair, lowered her head and flipped through it.
A few minutes later, Hesta also dozed off.
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