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I shook my head again. “What could she possibly want from Silvia?”

“I swear, I’ll kill her if…”

“Calm down, Pris. We’ll just ask Silvia when she wakes up.”

My gentle tone caused her furrowed brows to relax just a little, but there was still fear in her eyes.

“She’ll wake up, right, Mina?”

I patted her shoulder. “Of course she will.” When I nodded, Pris mimicked me.

She wasn’t the only one who’d developed a soft spot for Silvia. On a planet teeming with so many cruel people, it was impossible not to worry about a sincere girl like her.

“I’d love to see you this eager when she wakes up and insults us,” I said with a laugh, trying to lighten the somber mood.

Prisne actually chuckled softly. “I can’t wait.”

A few hours later, while we were buried in the documents, Prisne left the shop when a voice call appeared on her wrist. Then she waved to me, and I also went out.

Outside, I ran into a tall, strikingly stylish woman standing beside her. When our eyes met, the woman offered me a faint smile. I instinctively returned it with a foolish grin of my own before ducking my head in shame and closing the distance between us.

“Come, Mina, come,” Prisne called softly. “Let me introduce you to Co. She’ll be coming with us today.”

“Where are we going?”

“I’m Coretta,” I quickly shook the woman’s outstretched hand. “And there’s someone who claims to have seen the element. It’d be good if I went with someone to report what happened.”

“She’s the biologist I mentioned,” When Prisne put her hand on the woman’s shoulder, I nodded again. “She’s Raymond’s coworker too. She didn’t know about his situation, but she don’t give a fuck. Do you?” Coretta shrugged, and Prisne laughed. “And she doesn’t care if he’s a wanted criminal or not. Yes, yes. We can trust her. She’s my family.”

Coretta gave her an annoying look. “Family, my ass. Tine keeps asking you. And she defended you to me, saying you were busy with work and stuff.”

“Oh, this woman! I should visit her soon.”

Coretta turned to me with an amused grin. “Stop gassing her up. Look at her—she’s going to forget who the hell she is by tomorrow.”

I giggled before Prisne blurted out, “If I ever got amnesia, I swear the first thing I’d remember would be you and mom Tina.”

“Oh, don’t fuck with me.”

When we finally set off, they were still joking around until Prisne’s phone rang. She stayed behind, and seizing the moment of silence, I turned to the woman named Coretta.

“I guess I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Mina. I’m a reporter on…”

“I know you girl, relax.”

I smiled at the sincerity in her tone. “Pris and I met just two years ago, but…”

“Not her. Raymond. In the past, he talked a lot about you.”

I flinched, my steps slowing. A warmth spread through me, and all the blood rushed to my cheeks.

“R-Right, you’re coworkers.”

“Kind of. We’re assigned to the same projects from time to time.”

When we turned onto another street, I waited for my bright red face to return to normal. I wanted to ask questions, but didn’t want to bore someone I’d just met.

“Are you used to this? I mean, getting news that someone has found the element.”