Chapter 42: Severed Limbs

"Yes, I know." Hestia nodded.

"Then I have nothing else to say," Turan said, stepping back. "Get some rest."

"By the way, Miss Turan, why didn't you join the main group for training tonight?" Hestia asked suddenly. "...Is it because you were taking care of me?"

"Haha, not at all." Turan turned back with a smile. "That kind of physical training is meaningless to me now. If I want to improve my bullet time... I'll have to find other ways."

Hestia didn't quite understand, but she said softly, "I wish you success."

"I hope so." Turan flashed a thumbs-up at Hestia with a grin, then strode off toward her room.

Hestia watched her go. This evening, she had truly come to know the brown-haired, green-eyed Katra girl.

...

In the following days, even with Liz away, Shawn did not come to cause any more trouble.

Achieving a good result on her first proactive attempt brought Hestia some genuine joy. She had intended to tell Qianye about this change in person as soon as possible, but strangely, Qianye did not show up for several days in a row.

During these days, the person who came to pick up Hestia for shooting practice in the city center was an elderly man in a suit. He would always appear during the gaps in Hestia's schedule to take her out of the base.

The old man's hair and mustache were silver; his mustache was groomed with meticulous precision. He wore a crisp white shirt beneath a black vest, topped off with a perfectly tailored black morning suit and trousers.

His eyes were narrow. When he wasn't smiling, he looked like a gentleman, but once he did, those eyes would crinkle into slits, making it hard not to associate him with a cunning fox.

Molly seemed to know the man, as she showed no surprise when she saw him picking Hestia up instead of Qianye.

When they greeted each other, Hestia heard Molly call him "Mr. Elu."

Hestia listened to their conversation; Molly asked if Qianye's health had recovered, and the old man replied indifferently that she was "just about there."

"Is Miss Qianye ill?" Hestia asked.

Neither of them answered her.

Another week passed before Qianye finally appeared, though this time she was in a wheelchair.

A bandage was wrapped around the left side of Qianye’s face, covering her entire left eye. Elu pushed her from behind, remaining as silent as before.

As they got into the car, Hestia noticed that the left sleeve of Qianye’s jacket and the left leg of her trousers were empty. Only then did Hestia finally understand what Molly had meant by asking if she had "recovered"—it seemed Qianye had suffered a grave injury, severe enough to require the amputation of two of her limbs.

After boarding the vehicle, Qianye didn't mention her condition at all. Hestia glanced at her several times, only to find Qianye resting with her eyes closed.

She was indeed quieter than usual today, but as soon as they entered the shooting range, the vibrant Qianye returned. She had prepared special targets for Hestia—the circular targets at 25 meters had been replaced with human silhouettes, each depicting a hostage held at gunpoint by a criminal.

The "criminal" only showed an arm and half a head, with their body completely hidden behind the "hostage."

During the training, Hestia’s gaze kept drifting behind her. Miss Qianye was standing there on one leg, leaning on a cane.

Hestia was distracted for most of the afternoon. She was truly unsure if it was impolite to ask "How did you lose your hand and foot?" when the other party hadn't brought it up herself.

Just as she was agonizing over this, Qianye’s cane struck Hestia’s back unexpectedly.

"Don't slouch!"

The slender cane felt like a whip, leaving a burning sensation on her skin. Hestia snapped back to reality, only to realize she had hit the "hostage" again.

Qianye sighed.

Hestia looked at her. "I'm sorry."

Qianye suddenly smiled. "That... is also a way of thinking."

Hestia detected a hint of sarcasm in Qianye’s tone but didn't quite grasp it.

Qianye held the cane with one hand and hopped forward. "When you actually encounter a kidnapper in the future, just shout, 'Listen, criminal inside, I've already shot the hostage, so come out and surrender now'... what villain wouldn't just give up?"

Hestia’s face flushed bright red.

She took a deep breath. "...Let me try again."

Qianye didn't commit to an answer. She stared at the newly erected silhouette target, lost in thought—she could sense that Hestia had something on her mind today, but she hadn't expected Hestia’s shooting performance to drop so drastically under these circumstances.

"Focus," Qianye said sternly. "No matter how many things have distracted you, when you are holding a gun, put all your thoughts into your target—if you still want to stay alive."

Mr. Elu wore earmuffs the entire time, standing straight to the side with a professional, kindly smile on his face.

On the return trip, they went to the "White Ship" bakery again. This time, Qianye only ordered two canelés, while Hestia tried a different fruit tart. The shopkeeper brought a cup of hot cocoa as usual, which she finished in one gulp.

That night, while showering, Liz noticed a cane mark on Hestia’s back. She immediately asked if any training officer at the base had violated regulations and subjected Hestia to corporal punishment.

Hestia tried to change the subject, but Liz was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Seeing she couldn't bluff her way out, Hestia had to improvise, claiming that she had performed a heroic act on her way out with Qianye that afternoon, knocking down a robber, and happened to take two hits from his club.

Liz, who was rubbing soap into her hair, stopped instantly. "And Qianye just let you handle the heroics on your own?"

"She helped too, it was mostly thanks to her," Hestia added, trying to patch the story. "It’s just that I rushed out first, so..."

Liz sighed. "When I went to see Rico today, I found out that Qianye had scheduled a surgery at the base this week... Is she sick?"

Hestia was silent for a moment. "Maybe... she was injured."

Liz let out a thoughtful murmur amidst the steam, then said softly, "It’s quite rare for active-duty Mercury Needles to schedule surgeries at the reserve base anyway."

"Why?"

"Even though our underground hospital is advanced, it’s still inferior to the Core City. After all, the Mother City is located within the Core City, and some equipment isn't easily transported remotely," Liz said quietly. "I heard the doctor performing Qianye's surgery this time was sent here temporarily from the Core City."

Hestia thought back to the Qianye she saw today. "I see."

...

That evening, Valenti finished her work, immediately changed her clothes, and hurried to the base's underground hospital.

The clock pointed to nine o'clock, two hours since Qianye had finished her surgery. This was well past visiting hours, but Qianye’s room was always an exception. At any time, all visitors would be announced to Qianye by a nurse, and she would decide for herself whether to see them.

Valenti waited outside for only a short while before the nurse told her she could enter.

In the white hospital room, Qianye was not asleep.

She was sitting there wearing a spare pair of glasses, her long hair uncharacteristically loose. She held a red pen between her middle and ring fingers, rhythmically tapping it as her fingers moved.

The bed was cluttered with various paper documents, some marked with brief red annotations. Nearby, Elu silently organized the old manuscripts on the nightstand.