Why it never ends

Chapter 1194 Result
Hershta briefly recounted her experience in District 14 last year. She still remembers many details, such as how she used a business card and a ballpoint pen as cover to throw the red pen into the "chelate's" eye socket, and then, with the help of a running start, used the pen to shatter the monster's frontal lobe.

Hester had caught a glimpse of the monster's other eye; it had a silver outer edge that only appeared after a mercury needle entered bullet time.

Victoria froze for a moment—she hadn't yet taken Hershta to see the Mercury Needle Infected prisoners held underground in Avad Prison, but Hershta had already mentioned the most important distinguishing feature…

The two fell silent again, and at that moment, Hershta finally sensed that Victoria was also becoming nervous.

"...Have you come into contact with chelates since then?"

“No,” Hersta said.

"We...we'll go out first." Victoria walked out. "Let's draw blood first, I'll handle the rest—"

"Wait a minute, I have one last question. Is the consequence of this virus curable? Or—"

"Draw blood first!" Victoria interrupted Hester's question. "Don't think about anything else for now."

Hersta adjusted her breathing.

Victoria didn't answer her question... but that response itself pointed to the answer.

The two left the S-class laboratory and entered the chemical shower room, still wearing their pressure suits. Victoria solemnly instructed Hersta to be fully focused on carrying out all the following operations—in all past records, 90% of laboratory infections occurred during the unloading process.

To prevent cross-infection, each person has their own room in the unloading area, so Hershta must complete all the actions alone. However, Victoria will monitor Hershta's unloading process in real time via video to ensure that the procedures are in compliance with regulations.

Hesta tried to focus his attention on Victoria's orders, temporarily ignoring his frustration and the consequences of infection. He simply turned his body slowly to ensure that the hypochlorous acid solution covered every inch of the protective suit.

After the chemical spraying ended, she officially entered the disassembly area. Under Victoria's guidance, Hersta first removed her outer gloves, then disconnected the air supply hose, confirming that the internal air circulation was shut off—this step was crucial; otherwise, opening the hood would cause unnecessary gas flow, potentially leading to danger…

Perhaps it's pointless to do any of this now.

Perhaps they are already infected.

A string of dangerous thoughts suddenly popped into her head, causing Hersta to cough in annoyance. She refocused and forced herself into battle mode.

Isn't this a battlefield?
Don't let these thoughts mislead you; calm down and focus...

She began to remove her boots, take off her hood, and unzip her protective suit, avoiding any inward bending or upward movements that might cause airflow. When she was finally asked to remove her last layer of gloves and begin washing her hands, face, and eyes, Hester knew it was almost over. She followed the signs to the safe zone to wait for Victoria.

Sitting on the waiting chair, Hershta sighed deeply. Now she could finally look back and seriously consider the consequences of all this—she and the Mercury Needles who had come to the farm had been inseparable during this time. They had chatted, gone on business trips, argued, and spent many hours together in cramped train and airplane carriages... They had even shared a cup during their visit to Boheng.

Hesta scratched her head in frustration, thinking of Rigo and the others...

If they get infected, then all of them will probably have to face the same consequences.

Hershta tried to convince himself that it wasn't anything serious; the virus was just a cause of chelation disease in mercury needles, not an immediate death.

Besides, aren't all ordinary people in these habitable areas immune to chelation disease? Many of them probably wouldn't even think about it all year, and everyone would be perfectly fine. If they got infected, they could just get treatment...right? Of course not, that thought didn't comfort her. If this virus were so common, it wouldn't be here.

Perhaps, the consequence of infection is a permanent departure from the battlefield...

The moment this possibility arose, Hershta trembled all over.

“Let’s go.” Victoria walked up to Hersta. “Go get your blood drawn.”

"How long do we have to wait?"

“We’ll do two batches of tests,” Victoria whispered. “The rapid test takes four hours to get the results. The more sensitive results will need to be incubated overnight, for 24 hours.”

……

Five hours later, Victoria reappeared before Hershta, her hair completely soaked with sweat, her face expressionless. Hershta refrained from asking any questions and simply waited quietly.

Victoria finally spoke: "No infection."

Hester let out a long sigh of relief; the instant sense of relief felt tangible, like a stinging itch on her skin. She finally relaxed, even wanting to tease Victoria about her initial nonchalant attitude when discussing the virus and infection… However, the feeling of surviving a close call overwhelmed her, making her want to smile for a moment.

"You scared me to death..." Victoria finally relaxed her tense expression, shaking her head. "You really—such a big thing—didn't you report it back then? How could you keep it a secret until now—"

Before Hershta could refute her, Victoria had already proceeded with her own deductions.

"It's not necessarily that you hid it. Even if you wanted to, you might not have been able to. It was during the handover between District 14 and us, and many workstations' processes were probably paralyzed... But even so, it's impossible, isn't it?" Victoria muttered to herself, "Once the autopsy results came out—"

“The body has been replaced,” Hersta said.

"what?"

“There’s a Mercury Needle in District 14 named Farn. When I first arrived, she was mainly responsible for monitoring my daily activities,” Hester said. “Later, she helped me get the autopsy report from the Mayshire Station’s chelate attack—it didn’t mention at all that the chelate’s eyes had the silver edge of a mercury needle after bullet time, so the body must have been replaced.”

Victoria frowned: "Where is this person now?"

“I don’t know,” Hester said softly. “I know she was arrested, and…”

Hershta's voice suddenly stopped.

"And what?"

Hershta didn't answer immediately. The last time she heard news of Faen was from Yu Xuekun, who said that Faen had been taken to Pingjing for questioning for some unknown reason...

She remembers it very clearly, and the case was later transferred to Chiba.