Why it never ends

Chapter 1196 Grave
Boheng looked up and recognized Ximoya and Zoe.

Zoe had completely forgotten that Boheng even had such a name… She couldn’t even remember Boheng’s real name. These District 14-style names were not only increasingly difficult to remember, but also had very strange pronunciations. Zoe couldn’t pronounce “Heng” at all, and “Qizhen” was even more of a hellish challenge—every time she called out Lü Qizhen’s name, Zoe felt like an angry kettle, puffing and steaming.

Boheng glanced quickly toward the subway entrance—Vera was no longer there.

We're afraid we'll lose track of them.

Zoe glanced at the subway station, following his gaze with some concern. Simona stepped forward and said, "What a coincidence, what are you doing here?"

Boheng gave a polite smile.

Meeting Zoe and Simoya here almost convinced him that Hersta was in Emmanuela right now... Perhaps Jane was at some club not far away, waiting to meet Vera.

"I've come to take care of something," Boheng replied. "And you?"

“We also came here to take care of some business,” Simona said with a smile. “Now that we’ve finished, we’re heading back.”

Boheng glanced at their handbags, which contained posters, postcards, and decorations—all trinkets they had just bought at the souvenir shop.

"It's fine... I have something to do, so I'll be going now. Goodbye."

“You’re busy,” Simona said.

Boheng nodded and immediately turned to walk towards the subway entrance. Zoe stood behind Ximoya, watching Boheng's retreating figure with her.

“He looks like he’s stalking someone,” Zoe said.

"Really? Why?"

“I have a feeling,” Zoe replied, “that was it when he was standing there fiddling with the postcards…and this guy was keeping an eye on the subway entrance over there.”

Simoya said thoughtfully, "It is quite strange. This person... I should tell Jane about it when we get back."

"Ah."

……

Hersta watched as Victoria tried to contact Office 2 using the communication equipment in the Avad underground prison, but there was no response.

Although Hershta found Victoria's trust in Office 2 to be absurd, she didn't ask any further questions—their conversation there was unlikely to be private, even though Hershta hadn't found any cameras in the area or any "You have entered a monitored area" signs.

Unable to establish real-time contact, Victoria wrote a brief report of the dangerous incident reported by Hester and sent it to Office 2. Throughout the process, she kept muttering things like "This is so strange" and "What's going on?"

Hester was getting a little impatient: "They're probably busy, there's no one here."

“I’ve never encountered this situation before,” Victoria said.

“…Huh?” Hershta’s expression changed slightly. “Do they respond immediately every time you contact Office 2?”

“No, we’re practically inside the Mother City now—though on the very periphery,” Victoria said. “Calling Office 2 from here is the highest priority.”

Hershta nodded and hummed in agreement—if Victoria's relationship with the higher-ups was truly that close, she really needed to reconsider their relationship.

Victoria turned around: "You don't know?"

“I don’t know,” Hester said casually. “You didn’t pay attention to the code of conduct when you went to the Mother City, did you? The guides always emphasize that,” Victoria looked back at the screen, her fingers flying across the keyboard, “Any call within the Mother City will be responded to immediately by offices 2 through 6. Don’t waste resources unless absolutely necessary—”

"I have never been to the mother city."

"What?" Victoria pressed the send button, turning back with a surprised expression. "You? Never?"

“I’ve only been to the core city of the Third District a few times, during the awarding of medals,” Hersta said softly. “I’ve only seen it from afar a few times.”

“…Perhaps your previous missions were all focused on the wasteland,” Victoria thought for a moment, “and you didn’t have a need to go to the mother city.”

Have you been there many times?

“Many times,” Victoria said, “I’m very familiar with the mother city of the Third District. I lived there for more than four months one year…”

"Is it fun?"

“It’s very special.” Victoria looked at her. “It’s a pity you’ve never been there, otherwise I could tell you more details.”

“…You could say, absolutely,” Hestal pulled up a chair and sat down. “Aren’t we right inside the Mother City now—though on the very periphery?”

Victoria chuckled. She didn't speak immediately, but her fingertips continued to gently rub the tabletop.

“What do you know about the Mother City?” Victoria asked.

"There must be a lot of undiscovered ancient technology here, like a warehouse." Hesta hugged the back of the chair, using it as a horse. "I remember that the technologies shared by the mother cities of different regions were not quite the same, for example—"

“I felt like I was in a tomb.”

Hershta narrowed his eyes slightly.

“When I first entered the core city, I felt it was like a tomb, but when I entered the mother city… I found it was even more like one,” Victoria said.

Hester thought for a moment: "That makes sense, the Mother City is, after all, a relic of the Golden Age—"

“That’s not what I meant,” Victoria said, her smile fading considerably. “A grave, in a way, is a warehouse… just storing different things.”

"Deep Anchor, you probably want to create a tomb like that too."

This last sentence sounded like Victoria talking to herself: Suddenly, Hester felt a little worried that Victoria would continue—this was probably not a suitable place to discuss these topics—but at the same time, she was genuinely curious about the deeper meaning of the so-called "grave." She looked at Victoria silently, leaving the decision to her.

“Speaking of deep anchors,” Victoria stood up, “let’s go, we still have things to do today.”

“If you’re going to take me to see the infected mercury needles, then no need,” Hershta said in a low voice. “I’ve seen them before… those protective suits are so uncomfortable to wear.”

“You don’t need to wear protective gear to see her.” Victoria’s voice sounded a little tired. She glanced at the time; it was already past four in the afternoon. “If you don’t want to see her, then don’t… Anyway, everything’s already messed up today.”

“…Such a big thing, and you didn’t tell me anything.” Hesta said with a hint of reproach, “Who told you not to tell anyone? Don’t tell me you forgot.”

“I only found out about a week ago; Isore sent me an email,” Victoria said. “I didn’t know she was so weak until I suddenly received news of her passing last night. I learned that her last message was a request for me to come in person; she wanted to share the new sample with me—”

“New sample!” Hershta’s voice rose slightly. “There’s another new sample—you still haven’t told me what happened with that crematin sample.”