Embers Ad Infinitum

“Why?” Long Yuehong couldn’t understand.

Jiang Baimian didn’t answer him directly and smiled. “After leaving a message for Chen Xufeng, I’ll go to the Hunter’s Guild and report that Lin Feifei might be the gunman’s accomplice.”

Long Yuehong was stunned. “Won’t everyone know then? We will lose any advantage…”

It was precisely because they had such information that they pulled ahead of all Ruin Hunters in this regard. They could discover the matter related to the organization that promoted the notion that knowledge was toxic in the shortest time possible.

After a pause, Long Yuehong added, “Won’t this alert the enemy and cause unnecessary accidents?”

Why do we have to make everyone know about the investigation, which could’ve been secretly carried out?

Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen and realized that one’s thoughts were a mystery, while the other nodded thoughtfully and smiled.

“This isn’t something that won’t happen if we don’t do it.” Upon seeing that Long Yuehong was still a little confused, she further explained, “Lei Yunsong’s team has been to the Hunter’s Guild and visited a certain higher-up. It’s very difficult not to come into contact with the employees during this process.

“With their looks and bearing, although they might not be the focus of attention wherever they go and attract additional attention, they will definitely leave some sort of impression on others.

“In addition, Chen Xufeng also got people to help him search for traces of Lei Yunsong and the others in the city. These people also know that Lin Feifei is Lei Yunsong’s companion and have even encountered the suspected target.

“After Lei Yunsong was seen and his sketch was produced, it won’t be long before someone remembers the companions he had.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Chen interrupted. “The Hunter’s Guild will also scan the gunman’s sketch into the computer to see if it matches a Ruin Hunter’s appearance. This is a common method of theirs.”

Lei Yunsong and his team had left a trail in the Hunter’s Guild.

Upon seeing that Long Yuehong had come to a realization, Jiang Baimian smiled and said, “Since this matter will be known sooner or later and our advantage might not last beyond today, why don’t we report it and earn some money?”

Long Yuehong was momentarily speechless.

After a few seconds, he hesitated and said, “I keep having an odd feeling; it’s like I’m betraying a companion…”

Jiang Baimian laughed and shook her head. “This is called reasonable utilization. In the Ashlands, we can’t have moral mysophobia. We even need to have a flexible bottom line when it comes to certain matters, even though it’s true that we have to insist on some principled fundamentals.”

She then sighed and added, “Since there is no concealing the truth, it’s better to spread the relevant information now and use a large number of Ruin Hunters to find Lei Yunsong, Lin Feifei, and the others as soon as possible, snatching time away from the lurking dangers.

“After the gunman was seen, those people should’ve been mentally prepared for this. They won’t overreact.”

“Indeed…” Long Yuehong was convinced.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao said seriously, “Also, the most important thing is: Those Ruin Hunters are free. We don’t need to pay them.”

The remuneration was paid by Weed City’s City Defense Command!

Although Shang Jianyao’s incisive point deviated from the main point, be it Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, or Bai Chen, they all nodded indiscernibly.

Who wouldn’t like free labor?

“Besides, we don’t have many supplies left. Who knows how long we’ll have to stay in Weed City.” Jiang Baimian looked around and said, “It’s definitely good if we can take the opportunity to earn some living expenses.”

With that said, she ordered, “Let’s split up.”

…

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen returned to South Street and walked back and forth near Red Silk Alley to observe the Ruin Hunters.

The people who had just accepted the mission surveyed the crime scene again. The people who had already questioned the witnesses held two sketches and asked the residents around them in succession, hoping to find new witnesses. When they reached the rooftop, the few people who found the corresponding traces entered Red Silk Alley and went door to door to ask if they had seen anyone suspicious…

As he scanned the area, Long Yuehong saw the boss sitting behind the cash register in Old Clothing Bazaar at the alley’s entrance, dozing off.

In the shop, a man in a thick black coat was picking out old clothes.

This man looked to be in his thirties. He had black hair, blue eyes, and a high nose bridge. He seemed to be of mixed blood.

Long Yuehong sighed with emotion when he saw this. She’s sleeping even when there’s business… Did she wake up too early?

At this moment, the man picked out his clothes, walked to the cashier, nudged the boss, and woke her up.

After they completed the transaction, Long Yuehong looked elsewhere.

…

At the edge of Central Square, on a wooden bench.

Jiang Baimian held a fountain pen and used her thigh as a writing surface. She scribbled on a piece of paper: “The gunman in Liu Dazhuang’s murder is suspected to be Lei Yunsong. We used this fact to find someone suspected to be Lin Feifei in Red Silk Alley. We locked onto her residence, but she has already moved.

“She seems to have joined the organization that promotes the idea that knowledge is toxic. Please report to the company immediately and request the corresponding information.

“We will pass this clue to the Hunter’s Guild and claim that we were previously employed by someone to search for these people. If possible, give us a ‘trustworthy’ employer that won’t implicate you. If not, we will claim that we are upholding professional ethics…”

After giving her brief instructions, Jiang Baimian put away her pen, folded the paper, and stood up. She then spoke to Shang Jianyao, who was excitedly observing the passersby. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Are you going to the library?” asked Shang Jianyao suddenly.

“Gosh, don’t expose me. Let me maintain my professionalism.” Jiang Baimian’s expression froze slightly.

Although she knew the excuse of going to the library and her attention on the library’s fire made it difficult to keep it a secret from Shang Jianyao—who had been following her—she still felt a little embarrassed when he said it out loud.

Shang Jianyao shut his mouth and raised his hand to zip it horizontally.

Jiang Baimian smiled and inserted her hands into her pockets. She then walked into Weed City’s public library at an adequate speed and pulled out the book, Internal Revenue Code, from the familiar corner.

This time, the first page of the book was folded.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian raised the book and shook it a few times.

A folded piece of paper fell to the ground.

Jiang Baimian bent down and picked it up. She unfolded it and realized that it was a notice from Chen Xufeng.

“Liu Dazhuang was shot to death. The murderer is suspected to be Lei Yunsong.”

He learned of this pretty quickly, Jiang Baimian muttered to herself. She then stuffed her piece of paper into the book, unfolded the first page, and folded page 650.

After doing this, Jiang Baimian pushed the book, Internal Revenue Code, back into its original spot.

She then walked out of the library and returned to Shang Jianyao.

“Let’s go to the guild.” She thought for a moment and added, “You can speak now.”

Shang Jianyao immediately beamed and quickly ‘unzipped’ his mouth.

After arriving at West Street and entering the guild, Jiang Baimian scanned the area and went straight to a kiosk by the corner.

At this moment, not many Ruin Hunters were in the hall. Most of them were still gathered in front of the machines that allowed them to browse and accept missions on their own. They weren’t near the circular platform. Therefore, Jiang Baimian did not need to line up and came in front of the employee named Su Xiaoman.

“I’m here again.” Jiang Baimian greeted her with a bright smile.

Such a tone and such a smile were things that immediately cheered people up.

Su Xiaoman subconsciously smiled back. “What’s the matter this time?”

“I have new clues regarding Liu Dazhuang’s mission,” Jiang Baimian said directly.

Su Xiaoman blurted out in surprise, “That fast?”

It had been less than an hour since the mission was issued!

“We were lucky,” said Jiang Baimian with a smile. “We previously took on a search mission. Back then, we weren’t Guild Hunters. One of the few people we needed to find seemed to resemble that gunman as I kept staring at the sketch.”

As she spoke, she handed the photo of Lei Yunsong to the window.

“Why does this look like the guild’s identity photo?” Su Xiaoman felt that the photo was taken during hunter registration. She quickly pulled up Liu Dazhuang’s mission and compared the photo and the gunman sketch in her hand.

Su Xiaoman looked up and said in surprise and joy, “They really look alike!”

Jiang Baimian pushed the remaining four photos over and suppressed her voice. “These are the other people we were looking for back then. We just asked about this person. She appeared at the place where Liu Dazhuang was shot; she was in Red Silk Alley.”

Jiang Baimian pointed at Lin Feifei’s photo.

As she spoke, Jiang Baimian did not control her voice well. Many Ruin Hunters nearby looked over, knowing that she had found useful clues. This made them envious and jealous, but they were also filled with anticipation. They hoped that the new clues would lead them in the right direction and give them a share of the pie.

Su Xiaoman took the photo and didn’t dare to dawdle any longer. “I’ll report it immediately. Give me your and your companion’s Hunter Badges.”

She deliberately concealed the photo so that no one around could see it so as to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation.

After submitting this clue, Su Xiaoman heaved a sigh of relief and looked up at Jiang Baimian. “I’m not sure how long it will take to review the clue’s effectiveness or if others have already submitted it. However, this is an emergency mission. It should be quick. There might be an answer in a short while. We can only know how much Oray I can give you when the time comes.”

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly. “It’s fine. We can wait.”

After taking back her and Shang Jianyao’s Hunter Badges, she smiled and added, “Remember to return the photos to me. I still need them to question others.”

“No problem.” Su Xiaoman had just realized that these photos came from the guild, so they could print as many as they wanted.

Walking to the edge of the lobby, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao sat down and waited for the new clues to be announced.

Less than 20 minutes later, a person suddenly walked in front of them.

This person wore a thick, black coat. He had black hair, blue eyes, and a high nose bridge. He was none other than the Advanced Hunter, who had previously been treated with respect by the guild’s employees.

Upon seeing Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao look at him at the same time, he asked in a deep voice, “Did you find anything in that woman’s room?”