Why it never ends

Chapter 1259 Questions
However, before Wilsin could speak, the masked man standing to her right suddenly said, "It's too late, Wilsin, they're coming—either kill them all now, or we retreat. There's no way we can escape with a single hostage."

Wilsing raised his hand and gestured for his subordinates to retreat. The four masked men vanished like dust in the night wind.

“Officer,” Wilsing’s voice carried a hint of amusement, “when your friends arrive, please be sure to ask them one question.”

Si Lei's throat moved slightly, but he didn't speak, his gaze towards Wilsin becoming even more profound.

"Why did Zoe fight alone here for so long, even putting her life in danger, without any Mercury Needle coming to her aid?"

Zoe began to hurl insults, but Wilsing turned and walked away, disappearing lightly down the steps leading into the castle.

As all the anchors disappeared into the night, Simona hugged Zoe tightly, tears streaming down her face, apologizing profusely. Zoe didn't let her guard down; she remained vigilant, watching her surroundings closely, until she heard the familiar sound of a runaway horse in the distance—

Si Lei followed Zoe's gaze downwards, and Enda and Teresa came into view. Si Lei immediately waved his hand vigorously. Although the two were moving swiftly, Enda and Teresa still accelerated further after locking onto their positions.

"Zoe!" Enda was the first to scale the wall, climbing the castle with her bare hands to check on her best friend. Teresa looked around, then returned to the crowd about a minute later.

“They’re all gone,” Teresa said. “There are no more speeding reactions nearby.”

Zoe instantly withdrew from bullet time.

“Victoria sent us. She said you must be in trouble,” Teresa said. “And to prevent any diversionary tactics, she and Susie are with the children, just in case… How are you, Zoe?”

Zoe couldn't speak, but her gaze was lowered, gesturing for Enda to watch her lower left abdomen. Enda immediately began unbuttoning and unzipping Zoe's outer garment. When she touched her inner garment, she felt a dampness; a large amount of blood had soaked through Zoe's undergarments. When she finally lifted the fabric, Enda saw a broken metal thorn piercing Zoe's abdominal cavity.

“We need to get him to the hospital immediately,” Teresa whispered. “Is he breathing well? Does he feel nauseous? Okay, it’s alright, don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.”

Clara watched in amazement as Theresa engaged in a one-sided conversation with Zoe—Zoe barely answered any of the questions, yet Theresa seemed to hear the answers one by one.

Enda gently laid Zoe's body flat and placed a bag and clothes under her knees. At the same time, Teresa took out a gauze she carried with her and gently raised the metal spikes inside Zoe's body, suspending them in the gauze so that the spikes would maintain their intended angle and not be further agitated by Zoe's breathing.

Then, Si Lei gave a brief and concise account of everything that had happened that night.

“You did the right thing.” Theresa glanced at Sire. “At times like these, even gaining a few seconds can change the entire course of the battle—thank you.”

“They asked me to ask a question before they left,” Si Lei said. “May I ask it now?”

"You say."

"Why has Zoe been fighting here for so long without any support?" Si Lei whispered. "I remember Li Ge—I'm not really familiar with your battle plan, but I remember when Ms. Li Ge attacked a parolee in the Third District, reinforcements arrived quickly? Is today's situation caused by the evacuation of the main body of the Twelfth District AHgAs?"

Theresa and Enda exchanged a glance.

“…We can’t say for sure,” Teresa replied. “It’s so strange. Normally, if Mercury Needle were to enter combat mode—especially if it were one of our own—we would be notified immediately. But if it weren’t for Victoria today—”

“A notification? Who sent the notification?” “Office 2,” Theresa said. “Sometimes we also get direct messages from the mother city.”

……

About an hour later, Zoe entered the operating room of the Emmanuela underground base. The group arrived in an ambulance and a car rented by Siley. When Zoe was out of danger and taken to the intensive care unit for observation, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It was already 3 a.m.

Most people are now exhausted and have returned to the waiting room, where there are seats, reading shelves, and capsule beds for people to stay overnight.

Clara was chatting enthusiastically with the circles on the wall, and considering everyone seemed to be in low spirits, she deliberately went to a corner near the restroom. Curious but also wary, she didn't talk about anything work-related, but in less than half an hour, she had naturally shared her entire childhood and turbulent adolescence with the flashing circles on the wall.

“Amazing,” Clara said thoughtfully, gazing at the circle of light before her. “Where are you now? Inside this building?”

Yes, I am right in front of you now.

“I mean you in person,” Clara said. “Are you in a broadcasting studio right now? If you know the location, could you come over here now—or I can come to you.”

“I am right in front of you now, Clara,” Aura replied playfully. “I don’t have the ‘physical entity’ you’re thinking of—if you still think there’s a real person behind me.”

"But--"

Just as Clara was about to speak, she suddenly felt an alarm bell ring in her mind. A certain professional instinct made her immediately look warily in another direction down the corridor.

Clara's expression changed. She held up a finger, gesturing for the circle of light on the wall to be silent. She heard a strange noise, as if something was approaching her.

She approached the corner, took out a small mirror, and observed the activity in the other corridor—she saw a tall, red-haired man staggering along the road, heading in her direction.

"The Inspector?" Clara put away her mirror and leaned forward. "It's you?"

Hershta was clearly not in a good condition; she was covering her forehead with one hand and her steps were extremely chaotic.

Clara frowned. Although she didn't have a good impression of Hersta, she quickly stepped forward and took Hersta's arm: "Have you been drinking or...?"

"Where's Silei?" Hershta's voice sounded very weak. "She should be here now that you're here..."

“Yes, over in the waiting room, everyone’s resting,” Clara replied. “Zoe is badly injured, her abdomen was—”

"Did you have surgery?"

"Yes, but we're still observing—"

“Then it’s alright,” Hersta said. “Take me…to see Silei.”