Nathaniel walked a few steps forward, his face pale. He grabbed 013's collar and dragged him up from the ground.
"Where is Hesper? Where is she?!" he shouted.
"She's dead," 013 replied, grinning proudly like a kid. "It wasn't me who did it. It was Juniper."
Nathaniel punched 013, sending him to the ground before turning around and looking at the raging fire in a daze. It was not hard to imagine what happened there, so had Hesper really died?
Despite having experienced numerous deaths throughout his life and being well-acquainted with the pain of separation from loved ones since childhood, he had never felt as disoriented as he did at this moment. Additionally, he had been responsible for causing the deaths of many people, but it was only now that he felt truly adrift.
"Hesper is dead. It's useless for us to stay here."
013's voice rang out beside Nathaniel's ear. "Now Matthew and his men are busy putting out the fire, so we still have a chance to run away. Think about your parents. Think about Daybreak. Do you want us all to die with Hesper? Do you really want that to happen?"
Nathaniel looked at the fire in front of him and adjusted his glasses. He closed his eyes as if he was bidding a final farewell to Hesper and said, "Let's go."
*
Rickard fell into a long dream. In the dream, Rickard ran alongside Hesper under a night sky filled with the sounds of firecrackers, holding her hand. When the fire finally ceased, Hesper turned towards him and smiled at him. "I forgive you."
"Delay it for now. It's better for him not to know about these things," Matthew rubbed his aching forehead and asked, "Is there still no news about Hesper?"
Silence hung in the air as Benji shook his head. Since the accident a week ago, both the Duvals and Lanes had been tirelessly searching for Hesper. However, she seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace or clue, and the search had proven futile so far.
Unsurprisingly, Matthew closed his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. Benji hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "The doctor said that Mr. Duval can wake up, but he chooses not to... This suggests that he might not know that Ms. Lane might still be alive. After all, you were at the scene, so you knew what happened."
The wound on Rickard's body was inflicted by himself rather than by other people. They did not know what happened, but they assumed that the situation must've been out of his control.
"Alright, stop. I don't want to hear anything about it now," Matthew said, turning his back and putting up a wall of resistance to further communication. Benji could only enter the ward without saying anything more.
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