Early morning in Mei County.
The train stopped at the platform and Hesta got off with her suitcase.
Unlike most passengers who are in a hurry, Hesta walks slowly.
She was in some trouble right now.
The 14th District adjusted some livable area access policies two days ago, and the safety levels of a large number of cities have fluctuated. No one knows exactly what happened, but residents of low-security cities were suddenly barred from moving to higher-security areas.
This caused traffic disruptions in some areas, including the train Hesta was traveling on.
Originally, she was supposed to arrive at Songxuehara Station this evening, but the vehicle was stopped, and Hesta could only get off at Meigun.
This place is more than 40 kilometers away from Songxueyuan. Hesta decided to find a place to call the clerk named Yu Xuekun.
Hesta was walking carelessly on the stone path leading from the platform to the hall. Suddenly, a flash of bright red flashed across her sight - it was a young girl with long hair, wearing a windbreaker and with a slender figure.
Unlike others who have dark red or orange hair, she also has flaming red hair.
Hesta stood there, struck by a novelty she had never experienced before. When she reacted, she immediately pushed aside the crowd and quickly chased after the shadow.
"...Hello!"
Separated by four or five steps, Hesta shouted to the girl not far away in the unfamiliar language of District 14.
The girl did not look back, but several passers-by quickly cast curious glances at Hesta.
Hesta completely ignored the sight of others. She quickly caught up and grabbed the girl's wrist.
"Hello!"
The girl turned back in shock. She stared at the tall Hesta, with a pair of equally blue eyes filled with strong vigilance.
Looking at these equally familiar eyes, Hesta was in a daze again for a moment.
After so many years, she once again saw someone with the same hair color as hers - the other person's hair, eyes, and even facial features all had the unique characteristics of the Hesta people...
"Are you... from Hesta?" Hesta gestured happily. She pointed at the other party and then at herself, "I, I -"
The girl threw away Hesta's hand in disgust.
Hesta was startled, and suddenly realized her recklessness. She immediately took a step back, but her left hand was still waving excitedly, "You, Hesta—"
The girl's eyes were filled with hostility: "Aren't you the same!?"
Hesta was speechless for a moment. She understood what the girl said, but she didn't understand why the other party said that. Just from the tone and expression of the other party, Hesta understood that there must be something wrong with her.
The girl didn't give Hesta a chance to defend. She stared into Hesta's eyes, tightly clasping the chain strap of her shoulder bag with her left hand. After taking a few steps back, she quickly turned around and ran away.
Hesta stood there, looking at the other person's leaving figure with some confusion.
…
Meijun Station is very lively in the morning, and within a few steps there is a small shop soliciting business. There was a middle-aged man holding a sign with red letters in his hand, asking everyone he met if he wanted to stay or take a bus.
Someone also spoke to Hesta, but she was in no mood to respond. On the way out of the station, all the events just now kept swirling in Hesta's mind, and some subtle embarrassments made her a little frustrated.
A bold merchant came to block the road and grabbed Hesta's right arm - but only grabbed her empty sleeve.
"Ah..." The other party immediately let go, "I'm sorry, girl."
Hesta turned around, pointed to her ear, and then waved her hand.
"Can't you hear me?" the other party asked.
"You can listen." Hesta replied, "I don't understand."
"Are you looking for someone?"
"Looking for the phone."
"Over there!" the vendor pointed to a grocery store not far away, "See, the one with the blue sign. Do you want to make a call from outside the area? Their phone charges are cheap... Do you want me to help you carry your luggage? ?”
"No thanks."
Following the direction indicated by the vendor, Hestad passed through the crowd outside the station and came to a glass counter with various cigarettes. After indicating his purpose, the boss handed him a landline phone.
Hesta held the microphone on her shoulder and took out Yu Xuekun's business card.
After dialing the number above, she quickly heard a series of unfamiliar prompts, which seemed to indicate something was wrong.
She hung up and dialed again - but nothing changed. The boss on the side also saw something was wrong and came over to understand the situation.
"It's an empty number, little girl!" The boss only listened for a moment before hanging up the phone. She picked up Hesta's business card and entered it again according to the phone number on it.
"Empty number! Understand, your number does not exist," the boss made a cross in the air with his hand, "This number is wrong!"
"Wrong?" Hesta understood the last sentence, "But it's impossible -"
The boss had already taken Hesta's business card and copied down the name on it, "You are looking for this person, right? I'll ask for you. Come back tonight."
…
Hestad stayed in the nearby cemetery all morning.
The cemetery was very quiet in the morning, and there was still dew on the benches. She wandered past the tombstones one by one, and finally sat down under an old tree.
Many residents come to the cemetery for a walk, and some of them come to sweep the tombs. People bring buckets and rags, go straight to the tombs of their relatives and start working, polishing the already clean marble tablets even brighter.
Hesta watched this scene quietly, thinking about other things.
The nearest workstation is only three kilometers away, so if things get worse, you can go directly for help. It’s just that it’s less than a month since we got off the ship, and it’s only been a week since we parted ways with Si Lei, so the organization seems to be surrendering if it can’t stand it any longer...
Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered the "surveillance" that Miss Chiba mentioned earlier.
If the first three months were a period of intensive surveillance, then there must be a pair of eyes staring at me now.
Hesta looked around and straightened up: "I'm hungry."
The two magpies that had originally walked near Hesta were startled, jumped a few steps to the side, and then flew away.
Hesta waited for a while and saw that there was still no movement around, so he spoke in a louder voice:
"I have no place to stay tonight!"
Her ears perked up.
However, except for an old man who was cleaning tombstones in the distance glanced in her direction, nothing else changed.
Hesta sighed.
If the person being monitored does exist, then this person’s mission probably does not involve helping the person under surveillance solve life problems...
"Hello."
A somewhat childish voice came from above Hesta's head.
"Did you just say that you don't have a place to stay tonight?"
Hesta raised her head. A little girl who looked eight or nine years old was sitting on a branch of a tree, looking down at her.
(End of chapter)
