Why it never ends

Chapter 369 The Darkest Hour
Anna didn't answer, she turned the handle of the variable speed wheelchair and drove towards the depths of the bookshelf.Hesta then turned the rollers on both sides of the wheelchair and followed closely behind her.

"Ava is a very good friend, she can always easily arouse strong love and hate in other people's hearts," Anna said softly, "Some people love her, some people hate her, but no one can ignore her."

Hesta looked at Anna's back, "When did you meet?"

"It's very early."

"How early?"

"That's not important." Anna raised her head and looked at the folder on the top. "Time is the least important thing in a friendship."

"What is the relationship between Zero and you? Who does she obey?"

"She is free."

"Freedom to obey whom?" Hesta asked, "You, or Ava?"

"Freedom, Jane, how do you understand the word?"

Anna pressed a row of buttons next to the bookshelf, and the display layer at the top of the bookshelf slowly moved out and sank until it landed at a position convenient for her to read.Anna brushed the folder label in front of her fingertips, obviously looking for something.

"I hate this charade." Hesta moved the wheelchair and slowly came to Anna's side. "I always thought that she had received Ava's instructions to help me, but it seems...she is always carrying out All your orders."

"Don't be nervous." Anna comforted softly. She took out several folders and pushed them back intact. "I know that nothing will threaten your safety."

"I know."

"You know?" Anna glanced at Hesta with great interest, "Then do you believe it?"

"Do you still need to answer this question? I'm already here alone."

"But that's not because you trust me," Anna said softly, "but because the person who sent you here is Qianye?"

"...that's certainly part of the reason."

"Quite a part." Anna laughed again, "Let's put these things aside for now, let's look at some really interesting things."

Hesta looked at the file folder in Anna's hand, which was spread flat on Anna's lap, and the four metal iron rings on the spine of the case fixed hundreds of pages of documents.They are stored in A4 transparent plastic envelopes, each page is vacuumed.In this way, these papers can be preserved for a longer period of time.

"what is this?"

"Some documents."

This uninformative answer made Hesta slightly raise her left eyebrow, and she looked at Anna solemnly, "It turned out to be a document. If you didn't tell me, I would have thought it was a menu."

This teasing without warning suddenly made Anna laugh out loud, and Hesta was a little puzzled by the laughter. She habitually folded her arms in both arms, and didn't realize that she hadn't put on her right hand until the left hand was empty. .

When the laughter stopped, Anna finally let out a sigh of relief, "Are you hungry, Jane?"

Hesta expressed hesitation: "...I was just joking."

Anna patted the armrest of Hesta's wheelchair, still with a smile in her tone, "Ah, good boy...you really have a knack for witty words."

As she spoke, Anna handed the folder in her hand to Hesta's arms. The page number was about 1/3 of the way.

"You are from Hesta, you should be able to understand?"

"I learned a little bit when I was a kid."

Hesta pointed to the huge title on the top of the document, and said word by word: "...close the door...life...?"

"The Ministry of Commerce and other 11 departments have issued a notice on several measures for the production and consumption of civilian humanoids." Anna's mouth sank slightly, "You will soon be living in the [-]th District. You must not be familiar with common words."

Hesta ignored it and just continued reading: "...January 3674, 1."

She looked up, "About 140 years before the blackout period?"

"Yes, in 3812, the blackout began." Anna said softly, "This can be regarded as the last afterglow of the golden age."

"...Zero appeared at that time."

"No, earlier than that." Anna said softly, "Flip back?"

Hesta turned a few pages back, and most of the files contained in the folder were explanatory materials - the Ministry of Commerce issued four documents in a row to guide and promote production, and the large number of export of humanoids brought a considerable sum of money. Profit...and so on.

Documents are more important than official words, which makes it more difficult for Hesta to understand, but she can understand some data and use them to infer the gist of the material.

After reading a few pages in this way, Hesta's hand stopped, and she saw that there were four miniature announcements.

"About... what... notice?"

"It's not difficult for you, let me tell you." Anna took the file back, "These are four criminal cases, all of which happened in April 3676, in the Southern Zhou Dynasty—now the South Fourteenth District, Some young students found corpses scattered in the field during the field training, and each of them was mutilated.

"The students reported the case immediately. The police followed up and found that the dead were all women. After DNA comparison, the police quickly found that three of them were the young people who disappeared in the urban area..."

Anna stopped talking suddenly, and she noticed some changes in Hesta's face.

"Are you all right, Jane?"

"...I'm fine."

"What's wrong with you?" Anna blinked, "You are showing a surprised expression now...Did I say something unbelievable just now?"

"...Golden Age," Hesta's throat moved, "Golden Age, there will be such a thing?"

"Why not?"

"But that was...the golden age?" Hesta frowned. "In that era, everyone was free to travel, live affluently, and explore outward and inward. Has reached its prime, soon someone will bring a new dawn—'"

"Who told you all this?"

"...Isn't that so?"

"To be honest, I've never seen the kind of human being you're talking about." Anna gently propped her face sideways. "From beginning to end, human beings have maintained the same appearance, but there are various masks."

"but--"

"The name 'Golden Age' itself is a great irony of that era. To me, it should be the darkest moment in the entire history of human civilization. At least I have never seen any era where human beings were enslaved so thoroughly. As for the chain, it has become an indispensable part of everyone.”

For a moment, in the gap between the bookshelves, the air condensed.

Hesta digested these sudden violent remarks, her fists clenched unconsciously.

"...What about the evidence, what is your evidence?"

"You sound a little angry." Anna stared at Hesta's face, "Can you tell me what I just said that angered you?"

Hesta's chest was indeed heaving violently, but she clenched her teeth and didn't say a word.

"Or," Anna mused, "my... words accidentally shattered your Gensokyo?"

(End of this chapter)