"...Where did she go?" Rico was even more puzzled, "It's so stormy tonight and the boat didn't get close to the land -"
"I don't know, but what she said to me at night was like goodbye."
"What did she say?" Hesta asked.
"She said," Si Lei paused, "I hope I will still be happy in the future."
Rico laughed out loud, "...what?"
"That's what she said!"
"Let's go," Hesta looked at Rico, "We'll tell you the details on the way."
Several people tied Jacqueline to the bed and used restraints to stop her self-mutilation. Then Li Ge trotted out with Si Lei on his back.
Si Lei lay on Li Ge's back and recounted all his experiences tonight.
"Before I fell into coma, I heard Anna say with my own ears that she had committed sedition and crimes against humanity——"
"It's not surprising, there are thousands of lives lost in the 'Supreme Praise'," Rico continued, "And we don't know if she has done anything else. This crime... is too normal."
"I'm not talking about the highest praise, I'm talking about what happened in recent years. Haven't you noticed that Anna's feet are shackled? Isn't it possible that she has been wearing the same shackles for more than a thousand years?"
"Definitely not from the past," Hesta agreed, "Remember, Anna worked as a natural history teacher at the base before, which means that at least at that time, she had no criminal record."
"Do you still remember when exactly she started coaching?"
"I don't know. I have to ask Miss Chiba, or check the base files." Hesta looked at Si Lei, "Can you really bear such a bump? Your burns -"
"It's all healed." Si Lei rolled up his sleeves and showed Hesta his scars, "Look."
"……How did you do it!?"
"I can't tell clearly," Si Lei replied with a frown, "Anyway, there is something fishy about this ship."
Under Si Lei's guidance, Hesta and Rico quickly arrived at the last meeting place between Si Lei and Anna.
As soon as he stepped into this place, Hesta frowned: "The smell of blood is so strong..."
"Is there any?" Si Lei tried his best to smell it twice, "I didn't smell it."
"Just believe her," Rico said softly. She looked at Hesta, "Which direction is the source of the bloody smell?"
Hesta took a few steps forward in the darkness, then stopped, "...it's everywhere."
…
On the other end, Putina pushed Anna into the elevator. She was about to press the -2 button when Anna suddenly spoke.
"We're not going to the meeting place now."
"Aren't you going yet?" Putina was a little surprised, "Are you planning to-"
"Go to deck seven. I also want to go to the Navigation Museum."
"Now!?"
"It's enough for me." Anna gently pushed Putina's back with her cane, "Go out, and don't let anyone follow you."
"How could I let you go out alone now! It's raining so heavily outside-"
"I have an umbrella, go out."
"Absolutely not!"
"Get out," Anna straightened her hair in the mirror beside her, "Where are the threats on the ship now?"
"But--"
"Don't waste my time." Anna looked into Putina's eyes, "I have to go."
The two faced each other in silence in the narrow car. Finally, Putina withdrew. She watched Anna disappear behind the closed metal door with a complicated expression. The orange glow clock jumped slowly and finally stopped at the number seven.
"Don't worry," Zero's voice sounded, "Anna will be safe, she is not alone."
"Is anyone else on deck seven right now?"
"Yes, Ms. Chiba."
…
The elevator door opened on the seventh floor, and the heavy rain, accompanied by lightning and thunder in the distance, hit Anna head-on. She frowned and reluctantly held up a big black umbrella. However, in the strong wind, her umbrella was swept away by the strong wind before she could walk half a meter.
Anna exclaimed and could only watch the newly opened umbrella spinning and disappearing into the dark rainy night.
The wheelchair under her seat immediately turned and headed towards the museum gate not far away. The tires firmly grip the ground, no matter how the rain washes away or the hull bumps, the wheelchair will never be affected. Anna grasped the armrest tightly with both hands, closed her eyes tightly, and let the wind and rain pour into her collar and cuffs.
By the time she entered the museum gate, Anna was already soaked to the skin. She wiped the rain off her face in embarrassment and wrung out the water on her clothes with a grunt. However, all this was of no use. The rain was still dripping down her pants. The sound landed on the footpad, and a gust of wind came from behind, making her shiver involuntarily.
She sat at the exit for a while, until her eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, and then she went deeper.
At this time, all the exhibition lights in the museum had been turned off, and Anna could barely see the road clearly with the light of night coming in from the window.
Her wheelchair moved very slowly, almost at the slowest speed. Anna looked ahead until she saw a flickering spot of fire in the darkness, and then she smelled a familiar smell of smoke. .
"...How did you know I was here?" Qianye put out the cigarette, "Did Zero tell you?"
"No one told me, and I didn't know you were here..." Anna replied softly, "I just wanted to come here for a visit."
Chiba laughed, "Really? What a coincidence."
The two of them fell into silence at the same time. After a while, Qianye lit another cigarette - a small flame suddenly shot up, then quickly extinguished, and a bright spark appeared again in the darkness.
"Have you finished processing your documents?" Anna asked.
"Not bad at all. I'm not good at this kind of paperwork," Chiba replied. "During this period, I hired Bo Shanfu to do the preliminary screening, and he was pretty efficient."
Anna smiled and said, "That's good."
The fire spots in the darkness began to move slowly, and at the same time, the sound of Chiye's footsteps was heard. She walked aimlessly around Alecto's booth without saying a word.
Anna lowered her eyes slightly, "Back then——"
"It's all over," Qianye shrugged lightly, "Although you didn't come, I still had a lot of fun on that trip... I found that I quite like taking a boat."
"Really." Anna smiled, "Did Ava make things difficult for you later?"
"Of course she taught me a lesson," Chiba also laughed. "The mercury needle reserve sneaked out of the base. Under the circumstances at that time, it almost met the conditions for shooting on the spot... She wanted to calm down this situation. It took a lot of thought.”
"terribly sorry……"
"Need not."
Although Anna couldn't see Qianye's face clearly in the darkness, from the subtle changes in her voice, she felt that Qianye turned around and was looking at her.
"I understand more or less now," Qianye's voice was still smiling, "You didn't come, but you shouldn't have come in the first place...it's good."
(End of chapter)
