Why it never ends

Chapter 1261 Possible
Sire let out a short, dry laugh. Hershta's words suddenly reminded her of her last conversation with Anna on the Awakening.

Is it true that a person standing in the middle rarely deviates? Through Hester's assertion, Si Lei suddenly understood how Anna saw himself—neutral, upright, and perhaps predictably regular.

She couldn't help but think of Anna, especially after that very night when she had played another game of trial and error at Mrs. Brownbo's castle. Sire felt certain emotions rising uncontrollably within her, and her first instinct was to hide them. So, after adjusting herself, she deliberately glanced in Herstal's direction. Fortunately, the young man was still intently moving his limbs, seemingly oblivious to her earlier reaction.

Si Lei couldn't tell whether she felt relieved or even more annoyed. She closed her eyes for a moment, then turned and walked back to Hersta's side.

“If you’re feeling alright right now, we can talk about everything that happened at Mrs. Brownbo’s last night. I have a lot I’d like to discuss with you…”

Sire's tone was calm as she tried to suppress her current frustration and resentment, attempting to bring her thoughts back to the present. She spoke of the phone call she made at the castle that evening, which Hesta hadn't answered; the scepter brooch on the old man's body; the damaged elevator; the sudden appearance of the Deep Anchor; the operation to abduct Simona; and Zoe's delayed arrival during the fierce battle…

Throughout the narration, Hester repeatedly confirmed the details of the "abduction of Simoya," and Sire described all the scenes in her memory, how persistent these deep anchors were, and how Zoe stubbornly held onto her last line of defense.

“Interesting.” Hershtar’s voice fell into a hollow indifference. Her eyes were half open, as if a sudden thought had taken over her mind.

Hester's focus left Silei somewhat bewildered—Zoe had paid such a heavy price, yet Hester had only asked about her injuries in a simple way. When Silei described them truthfully, she didn't seem to care much, simply nodding and saying, "That's good, it sounds like it's not a big problem."

"...Sometimes the cold-bloodedness of your mercury needles is truly astonishing."

Now it was Hester's turn to be surprised: "She was immediately taken to the underground hospital, officer, and this underground base looks more advanced than others. Zoe will be fine; at most, she won't be able to run around for a week. Turan was—"

“Enough with this nonsense, tell me your thoughts,” Si Lei said. “Anna’s shadow is everywhere in District Twelve, she must have some kind of plan!”

Hershta did not respond immediately, and the conclusion was obvious.

Sire continued his analysis, trying to connect all the existing clues to see which pieces of the puzzle could be pieced together to reveal new possibilities, but Hester showed little interest. She felt that Sire seemed to have some path dependency issues—Sire was trying to glean Anna's intentions from the smallest details, even predicting her next move to intervene in the end, which was a standard "assassin-police" modus operandi.

Hester has played in both positions, so he is very clear about the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. If things really continue like this and get bogged down in the investigation, then Anna will truly be in a position of advantage.

Just then, Hershta's gaze suddenly caught sight of a figure in the distance—it was Victoria.

"How's Zoe?" Victoria jogged toward them from a distance. She also looked like she hadn't rested at all, and her eyes showed a kind of excitement unique to those who had stayed up all night.

"Where are the children?" Si Lei asked.

“They’re all in the car,” Victoria said. “The car is outside right now. I came to check on Zoe, and then I’ll take them back.”

"Let's go, this way."

Si Lei led the way, but after a few steps he realized Hesta hadn't followed: "Are you going to stay here?"

Hershta nodded and waved goodbye to the two of them.

Once again, Hester was the only one left on the entire reserve base's parade ground. She stood up and walked along the red track towards the reserve base's exit, keeping the buses full of Kasyapa and the farm workers in her sight. Hester found a flower bed and sat down, still pondering what had just happened.

Yes, as Siley said, Anna's shadow is everywhere in District 12. A few months ago, they were like road signs scattered throughout the city; now, these shadows are actively approaching. Anna has used so many methods to assert her presence, all pointing to one unmistakable command:
Come find me, or make me appear.

It was all a smokescreen. Anna's absence meant that the important thing hadn't happened yet. Hester could almost picture Anna's current state—how this woman, skilled at orchestrating from behind the scenes, was now observing everything from the shadows, from above, and enjoying the feeling.

Hershta narrowed his eyes slightly, and the face of Kenda suddenly appeared in his mind.

Perhaps, it all can begin with "wiping out this group of deep anchors that are always active in the city of Emmanuela."

……

This trip to the city left a bright mark on almost all the children's hearts. Even after returning to the farm, they were still chattering about what they had seen and heard the day before. Everyone was talking about how Eleven and Qiqi had teamed up to win the championship. They intentionally or unintentionally omitted the crucial five points that Gahodore had scored at the end—no one understood why Gahodore had run away crying at the end, and such public crying made the children feel a kind of embarrassment that should not be discussed in public.

Stella walked through the children, her face haggard. She deeply regretted not finding a hotel nearby the night before—the windward pole of her tent had somehow slipped off its joint in the latter half of the night, the tent fabric slapping against her face with a rapid flapping sound, forcing her to crawl out and re-secure the guy lines in the dark, then grope for the loose tent pegs. She wasn't very good at this, but thankfully Victoria hadn't slept for some reason, pacing back and forth near the campsite. She went to get Victoria's help, and by the time she finished, she was fully awake.

Right now, she desperately needs sleep.

However, before she could even get back to her room, Hersta patted her on the shoulder from behind.

“Ah,” Stella exclaimed, turning around. “Oh…you’re back.”

"Yes, I came back with Victoria. I was on her train."

“Oh,” Stella yawned, “What’s up?”

"I'm thinking about a question."

"Ok?"

"Theoretically, as a party leader, I am eligible to run for prime minister of the twelve districts, is that right?"

Hershta threw out her question, and Stella felt something slippery sliding across her cerebral cortex.

She looked at Hersta and sighed softly in confusion: "...Huh?"

"May I?"

"...Am I still half asleep, or have you gone mad?" Stella frowned. "What are you thinking? Of course not!"