Why it never ends

Chapter 1012 Identity
For a moment, Bo Heng felt that Hesta's gaze towards him had changed. He couldn't tell what it was, but he vaguely felt that the distance between him and the other person was getting farther. He didn't continue to speak, but remained silent in confusion, silently looking into Hesta's eyes.

Hesta looked away. "What's the name of the organization you belong to?"

"The Devout Youth Front."

"Are you NDM-1?"

As soon as the words fell, Hesta felt Boheng's facial muscles twitched slightly. Even though he immediately adjusted his expression and movements, the panic of having his secret discovered still prevailed.

Bo Heng blinked several times in succession. He didn't know where Hesta got the news from. Maybe she already knew it and just wanted to tell him the truth to test his reaction and see if his old friend would be honest. But maybe Hesta didn't know anything at all and was just testing his guess...

But at this moment, Bo Heng knew that his reaction had already given the answer, and there was no point in hiding it anymore. However, he suddenly felt it was absurd - even if Hesta didn't ask, he would still find a chance to introduce himself to her. Why was there any need to hide this matter?

...It can only be said that in this fast-paced conversation, Hesta's sudden questions were like a spear that suddenly stabbed at people, making them feel daunting.

"Yes," Bo Heng said softly, "It's me."

"What does this name mean?" Hesta asked.

"...It's the name of an enzyme." Bo Heng answered awkwardly. He was once again surprised by Hesta's reaction. He thought Hesta would ask some questions related to the Devout Youth Front, but she suddenly turned her attention to the origin of the name. "This enzyme can make almost all antibiotics ineffective and turn ordinary strains into super bacteria... It was a code name we came up with a long time ago. I thought it was cool at the time, so I never changed it."

"No wonder," Hesta said, "It doesn't feel like a human name."

"Yes, it's a code name." Bo Heng answered self-deprecatingly. After a while, he found that Hesta had been looking at him, so he continued: "Although it sounds a bit strange--"

"I've thought about what you would do if you were still alive," Hesta whispered. "Maybe you could be a doctor, a teacher—"

"I am indeed a teacher." Bo Heng said, "In the mountains, I am responsible for teaching the children the common language."

Hesta nodded: "The little girl who called you 'teacher' is also your student?"

"Yes, I brought Akira back from the wasteland. She has the ability to resist chelates just like us."

Hesta nodded and started to walk back. Boheng read from her reaction that she wanted to end the conversation, so he followed her.

"Will you stay in Emanlia or go back?" Hesta asked.

"I will continue to stay here for a while." Bo Heng replied, "But I may not stay in Emanlia permanently. I will also go around nearby."

"How can I contact you when I need you?"

"...wait until tomorrow," Bo Heng said, "I will give you an address tomorrow. You can go there to find the corresponding person. When I am here, he will pass your message to me."

"it is good."

Hesta climbed over the balcony and was about to open the door when he heard Boheng say behind him: "Jane."

"Ok?"

"You just said that you thought about what you would do if you were still alive," Bo Heng said, "My choice... my choice to stay in District 12 was completely beyond your expectations?"

"...A little bit." "If you continue to stay here, you will understand me. District 12 is a place that has been rotten for a long time, but it is also a place of real hope, because everyone here is doing their best to change it - after all, this is a world we can only live in once, and we can't let ourselves regret it."

Hesta nodded calmly. She looked at Boheng and said, "This is indeed a world we can only live in once... but this is also the world that Eleven and Qiqi will live in. It is the world they will face when they grow up."

Bo Heng was a little puzzled. He couldn't hear any contradiction between the first and second halves of the sentence, which required the use of "but" to make a transition.

"Yes," Bo Heng agreed, "So even for them, we should shoulder our own responsibilities."

"Go and have a rest." Hesta opened the door and disappeared behind the curtains of the living room. Boheng stood alone in the garden, recalling the last conversation somewhat at a loss.

……

Hesta returned to the room and was about to turn on the light when she suddenly found Theresa lying on the bed. Hesta took back her hand to turn on the light and was about to go around to the other side of the bed when she found Rico sleeping on the floor with his blanket spread out.

She squatted down beside Rico's head and looked at him for a while, then suddenly leaned over. Rico was startled and sat up suddenly, and their heads collided with each other, making a dull "bang".

Theresa on the bed groaned and turned over.

Rico and Hesta both fell to the ground with their heads in their hands.

"What are you doing..." Li Ge gasped, "In the middle of the night..."

Hesta grimaced in pain: "I wonder if you are pretending to sleep..."

They each adjusted themselves for a while. Hesta wiped his eyes, crawled over Rico's body, and slept on her other side.

"Don't you want to sleep in bed?" Rico asked in a low voice.

"I sleep on the floor." Hesta also replied in a low voice.

Rico took out half of the pillow and sent it to Hesta. In the darkness, Rico heard the sound of Hesta's hair rubbing against the pillow. This fragmentary sound made her suddenly feel as if she had returned to the reserve base.

"You've all finished talking, is he the real person?" Rico asked softly.

"It's me." Hesta sighed, "But you still have to be careful."

"I've already said what I need to say. We haven't been in touch for so many years. If you suddenly come to visit me, it's definitely not good news." Li Ge whispered, "Just know it in your heart."

"When you were about to come back after sending Sahame away, didn't anyone stop you?"

The last conversation with Pascal came to Rico's mind again. She almost opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly remembered that the question might be a trick, so she forced herself to hold back all the words.

"…I said I wouldn't talk about them."

"It's okay to talk about this," Hesta said, "Tell me about it... You also met them, are they still the same as you remembered them?"

In the darkness, Rico's breathing suddenly stopped.

"...They are still the same as I remembered them," Rico whispered, "but it seems as if... we have never really known each other."