At night, Hestad lay under the reading lamp on the bedside, flipping through the book "When the Forest Sings" attentively.
When Rico came out of the bathroom wiping her hair, she glanced at the clock on the wall - it was already half past eight in the evening.
"...Aren't you still asleep?"
"not sleepy."
"It's so rare." Rico walked to Hestad. When she found that Hestad was already reading the last chapter, Rico was very surprised: "Why did you almost finish the book? Didn't Mantel say this?" It takes a week to read this book?”
"I read it while dancing."
"How do you feel? Is it interesting?"
"It's... quite amazing," Hesta raised his head, "Do you still remember when instructor Arnold took us into the forest for training?"
"Remember, he likes to preach so much." Rico sat down next to Hesta. "Every time he leads the team, I get very annoyed."
"I just thought of Arnold's preaching in the past. At that time... I remember that he always liked to point to some small trees in the forest and said, look at these trees. Because they are short, they can't enjoy any sunlight. They can only stand in the cracks. They can barely survive, but as long as the big trees around them are blown down or broken, the best among them will appear to compete for the sunshine and the new order."
"...I have an impression," Li Ge raised his head, "During that time, he seems to have been upset that he failed to obtain the rank of senior colonel before retiring, so he touched the scene everywhere."
Hesta lightly shrugged: "The situation described in this book is completely opposite to what he said."
"What?"
"In fact, the connection between trees is much closer than what we see. Their roots exchange information underground - carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, water, hormones... and even defense signals."
"How did you do it?"
"Through the mycorrhizae of some fungi." Hesta gestured, "The hyphae growing out of the tree trunks produce mycelium, which infects the roots of the plants, so the fungi are like several railways, connecting the trees with each other. Together. And because the fungi cover the entire forest and extract nutrients from every soil particle, the network tends to be very large...
"If we regard each tree as a node of material exchange, then the taller, older trees - those with the most and deepest root systems - will become the busiest exchange nodes in the forest. These trees are called 'center trees', or - 'mother trees'."
Hesta opened the page again and read softly:
"'The central tree will transfer excess carbon elements to the seedlings in the understory through the mycorrhizal network, which can increase the survival rate of the seedlings by four times.'
"'In a forest, a mother tree can establish relationships with hundreds of other trees.'
"'We planted mother trees with their babies, as well as some unfamiliar seedlings, and it turned out that they knew their babies. The mother trees covered the area where their children were with a larger mycorrhizal network, and underground, they gave Children send more carbon away. They may even reduce competition between themselves and other tree roots to create more space for her children'.
"'When a mother tree is injured or about to die, they will also pass on wisdom to the next generation of seedlings - she will leave behind carbon elements and defense signals, both of which can increase the resistance of the seedlings. Coping with future stress…”
Hesta's voice dropped - she suddenly thought of Ava, and a strong sob rose in her throat.
Hesta bowed her head in silence at the right time, until the uncontrollable emotion gradually subsided. She closed the book and put it on the bedside.
"It's not like what Arnold said at all," Hesta whispered, "He always only sees himself..."
There was a knock on the door. Hesta and Rico looked up at the same time. Chiba's voice came from outside: "Can I come in?"
"Please come in," Rico replied.
Chiba poked his head in, "It's so late, why aren't you sleeping?"
"Jane is telling me about a book, which is very interesting."
Chiba entered the house and closed the door.
"what book?"
Rico held up the cover, "Written by Ms. Anna,"
"...Where did you get it?"
"Ms. Mantel, she seems to be a loyal reader of Ms. Anna."
Chiba picked up the book and flipped through two pages at random. "If it's interesting, wait until tomorrow to read it. Don't stay up late."
Hesta raised her head, "Is it okay outside this afternoon?"
"It's not very peaceful. One person was emotionally unstable. He drew his gun and hit the crew member who passed behind him... But you don't have to worry about it. Let them go."
"Where is Officer Si Lei?" Rico asked, "Is she okay?"
Qianye put the book back and said with a smile: "You, Officer Si Lei, are always full of energy... Go to sleep, I will keep vigil for you tonight."
Rico jumped on the bed and quickly pulled up the quilt, "Okay!"
Hesta was also lying down, but suddenly she hit the ground again, "...I haven't brushed my teeth yet."
"Go quickly." Chiba urged. She dimmed the lights in the room, but when Hesta stood up, she still keenly caught a small golden object falling out of Hesta's pajama pants pocket.
Before Hesta leaned over, Chiba had already picked up the key on the ground. She held the key handle and turned it around on her fingertips, as if she was admiring it, or as if she was lost in thought.
"A flagpole key." Hesta said softly, "We found it in the navigation museum yesterday."
"Flagpole key?" Rico also looked over, "It turns out that a key with this shape also has a special name."
"I also heard what Miss Valenti said last fall." Hesta looked at the key in Chiba's hand. "It was said that it was popular in the Bronze Age. Later, because its anti-theft properties were not very good, it gradually became popular. No."
Chiba didn't say anything, but just handed the key back to Hesta and said with a smile: "It looks pretty, keep it."
Hesta looked at Qianye. She wanted to say something for a moment, but she couldn't. After a moment of silence, she asked in a low voice: "Will Miss Qianye stay here tonight?"
"Well, I'll be working on some materials outside your room."
"good."
…
The time points to one in the morning.
Hesta listened to Rico's breathing in the darkness. Although she had her eyes closed, she was not sleepy at all. Many people and things were spinning in her mind, and all her thoughts eventually pointed to Anna's study.
Next to him, Rico was already asleep, and Hesta sat up quietly.
Opening the door to the room, it was dark outside - everything in front of him was just as Hesta expected, and Miss Chiba once again left a gap.
Hesta left the room with ease and walked quickly towards the familiar destination.
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