Gobelin quickly ran over to this place, first leaned over to help the old man pick up the keys and unlock the door, and then half-supported and half-hugged him to sit down on a soft chair in the theater to rest.
"Qianye." Si Lei whispered again.
Chiba turned around and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"...What does human life mean to you?"
Si Lei slowly raised her head and wiped away the blood spots on her face. The fresh blood eventually turned into long bloody fingerprints on her face.
The blazing spotlights that had been shining diagonally on the stage suddenly began to flicker.
"We...are no longer friends."
Qianye was confused at first, and then suddenly understood like an epiphany. Finally, she looked back and said lightly: "...Are you still a little girl who just entered middle school, Officer Si Lei? Do you need to give an ultimatum before breaking up the relationship?"
Si Lei looked at Qianye's back. She couldn't see Qianye's expression at this moment. The two of them just stood under the lamp.
After a while, Chiba turned around and waved his hand nonchalantly, "Okay."
"I'm disappointed in you-"
"I'm just the opposite, officer." Qianye suddenly turned around. She walked slowly in front of Si Lei and lowered her voice: "As long as you maintain your usual behavior, my friendship with you will not change in any way...
"Do what you have to do."
Si Lei gritted her teeth, her eyes always facing Qianye, without giving in at all.
"Boshanfu!" Chiba took a few steps back, then turned over and jumped off the stage,
Chiba put Si Lei and her gaze behind her and walked quickly to the weary-looking man - after Robbeglier left, he still stood there and waited a little dullly.
"Are we leaving?" the man asked.
"There's someone you know here, why don't you go say hello?"
"I know?"
"Over there, on the side of the stage, push her down, and then we'll walk together."
The man obeyed Chiba's instructions. He walked up the bumpy wooden steps. On the side of the stage, behind the second load-bearing column, he saw a familiar wheelchair.
"teacher?"
Anna turned around and said, "Good evening, Daoping."
…
Late at night, Rico stayed by Hesta's bedside. Neither of them had washed up. Hesta fell on the bed without even changing her clothes.
She hugged her arms tightly and buried her face in the quilt.
Rico knew Hestad wasn't asleep—Hesta's heart rate was frighteningly high.
Rico glanced at his watch. Chiba hasn't come back yet, but his seven hours and eleven minutes of bullet time are almost halfway through. If he can't exit this state within half the journey, the long restriction time will consume the entire night.
The only thing she was thankful for was that there was a ready-made safety cabin here in Chiba, so she didn't need to go too far to spend her restricted time. It's just that she can't leave without a second reliable partner to take over Hesta.
"Jane, let's talk." Rico whispered, "Are you okay? Are you feeling sorry for Zero?"
Hesta on the bed murmured, and the words were stuck together, so Rico couldn't hear clearly. She sat next to Hesta, lowered her head, "What did you say?"
Hesta finally turned her face out of the quilt - the whites of her eyes were bloodshot, as if she had cried, and her forehead was covered with messy hair soaked in sweat.
Hesta clutched Rico's hand like a drowning man grasping a branch stretched out to her.
Rico took out a tissue from the paper box on the bedside and wiped the sweat from Hesta's forehead.
"I'm listening, Jane, tell me again, what did you just say?"
"...Zero is not a human, she is a robot." Hesta whispered, "I have seen her before, I have seen her many times..."
Rico's heart trembled, and an indescribable sympathy and pity swept over her. She took a deep breath and hugged Hesta's shoulders.
"Yeah."
"...Yes, she is a robot, I know."
Li Ge responded worriedly and quietly looked at his watch again - with Jane's current mental state, it seemed that he could not leave here for even half a step before Chiba came back.
Hesta keenly caught Rico's expression, and she struggled to hold up her upper body.
"You don't believe what I say at all..."
Li Ge was a little at a loss, "I don't believe it."
"Then look me in the eyes."
"Jane... I think you are just tired and you need to sleep." Rico's eyes were a little sad, "In any case, what happened tonight is not your fault..."
"Of course it's not my fault! All of this was caused by Anna," Hesta's voice suddenly became excited, "She planned all of this, she let Zero die in front of my eyes... This whole thing, from the beginning In the end...she was the initiator! We were all deceived by her——"
"Jane," Rico squeezed Hestad's hand, "I know you feel guilty, but -"
"I don't blame myself!" Hesta screamed hysterically.
This made both her and Rico quiet down at the same time.
Hesta withdrew her left hand and grabbed her forehead with force. She felt a familiar impulse rushing through her body, and the memories of the underground hospital at the base flashed back quickly. The strong self-loathing was like lava about to erupt, and her bones were stuck in her throat.
"I'm sorry..." Hesta's voice lowered, "I didn't mean to yell at you... I just..."
Li Ge was stunned for a while, and then tentatively approached again, "I understand..."
"...No!" Hesta roared in pain again, "You don't understand——!"
Hesta's surprise made Rico at a loss. She didn't know what to do or what to say. At this moment, Hesta was like a powder keg arranged in disorder. Any spark could make her explode... …
Only silence seems safe.
Rico raised his hands slightly, ready to deal with Hesta's excessive behavior at any time.
A few tears fell in front of Hesta, and she gasped in disbelief: her emotional control reappeared, and she knew exactly what she was doing and what she might do next...but she couldn't control it.
And when Hesta raised her head to look at Rico's face, she felt a sharp pain in her bones again - the worry, concern, and helplessness on Rico's face were exactly the same as those of Turan in the underground hospital.
All of this is sending a signal: everything is like Sisyphus's boulder. When she tries her best to push everything forward, thinking that things will continue to get better, at least the general direction is getting better, there will always be a moment when it breaks. Her fantasy made her find herself back to the starting point again.
She felt like the calf in the song. Even though she was tied up and sent to the market, she still looked at the swallows in the sky, thinking that she might be untied one day.
However, things have not gotten better, they will not get better...
The calf in the carriage has its own destiny - hope is fleeting, but patience is eternal.
7017k
