Embers Ad Infinitum

Father—who was undergoing hypnosis—didn’t expect the other party to make a face at him.

He wasn’t the only one who didn’t expect this; Shang Jianyao himself also didn’t expect this.

Father was first stunned before he nimbly pounced to the side.

With a bang, Shang Jianyao steadily moved the muzzle with both hands, attempting to pull out a firing line to cover the area where Father could dodge. But at this moment, he couldn’t help but raise his hands. He turned the gun around and aimed it at his head.

Body Automation!

Not only did Shang Jianyao not panic, but he also laughed.

This was a brand new experience.

His finger was just about to pull the trigger and fire at himself. However, it suddenly forgot this action and rested on the trigger as though it had forgotten what to do next.

Shang Jianyao used Hands Immobility on himself.

At this moment, he turned his head and looked at Oudick as if he was saying, “It’s your turn.”

Shang Jianyao had never imagined that his shot would hit Father. His goal was to drive Father toward Oudick and decrease the distance between them.

Regarding this matter, Jiang Baimian had an abnormal rapport with him. In a rush, she casually fired a shot to Father’s left—in the direction away from Oudick.

This forced Father to pounce toward the corridor where Oudick was.

Oudick gave up on his designated target. He half-turned, leaned against the wall, and locked onto Father.

Before Father could do a second roll, his eyes lost their luster as his eyelids drooped uncontrollably.

In this intense battlefield, Father actually dozed off and was about to fall to the ground.

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian naturally wouldn’t let go of this opportunity. As soon as their hands recovered, they immediately moved their muzzles and aimed at the tottering Father.

But before they did, a bullet shot from the other side of the corridor away from Oudick.

From this angle, it was impossible to hit Oudick. However, it came with a bang.

This sound jolted their eardrums, waking Father from his slumber.

Father couldn’t be bothered to distinguish the situation. He fell to the ground and continued rolling, randomly choosing a target as he made his corresponding target’s hands raise their muzzle.

Bang! Bang!

Jiang Baimian’s bullets shot into a ceiling lamp, and a large number of glass shards fell.

The surroundings turned darker.

Shang Jianyao’s bullet struck the spot where Father was originally standing, stirring up a spark.

Father—dressed in a black trench coat—rolled into an empty room and stopped. He took out a small glass bottle from his pocket and abruptly threw it at Oudick.

Oudick didn’t dare let the item approach him. He raised his wrist and shattered it with a bang.

The next second, the strong smell of vinegar filled the air.

Oudick’s expression changed. Without thinking, he ran out of the corridor and returned to the middle of the hall, distancing himself from the area. However, he had only taken two steps when he started sneezing.

The sneezes were so intense and frequent that Oudick couldn’t help but stop and bend his back. He couldn’t do anything else.

The tip of his nose quickly turned red, making him look rather comical.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian instantly understood something—the price that Oudick paid was probably related to his nose and sense of smell.

Oudick was allergic to vinegar, and it was a rather serious allergy!

This reminded Jiang Baimian of the first time she saw Oudick. He looked calm and reserved, but his nose was red like a clown’s.

As a result, Shang Jianyao commented that it wasn’t good to have a sharp nose and that it was easy to turn red from the cold wind.

Now that she thought about it, Oudick had probably passed by South Street that day and sneezed when he smelled a little vinegar.

Father had actually accurately grasped the price that Oudick had paid. He had made preparations in advance and crippled this powerful Hunter—who was unafraid of most Awakened—at the most critical moment.

The reason why he didn’t sprinkle vinegar in the hall ahead of time was that Oudick wouldn’t have entered if he did that.

In a flash, Jiang Baimian chose to retreat. She ran and rolled, quickly arriving at the nearest door.

It wasn’t that she wanted to escape and abandon Shang Jianyao, but she wanted to distance herself quickly and strive not to be affected by Father’s Awakened abilities.

As long as she wasn’t controlled, the current distance could only be considered medium range for her. She could have a 100% hit rate.

Her legs stiffened the next second, almost making her fall.

With one hand in his pocket, Father walked out of the room that he had been hiding in and smiled faintly. “It’s useless. The entire building is within the range of my abilities. I mainly closed the distance to control Oudick.”

Father’s pale face looked abnormally sick in such an environment.

Shang Jianyao didn’t move because he was fighting with his hands. If not for the fact that he had used Hands Immobility in time, he would’ve succeeded in ‘committing suicide.’

During this process, Shang Jianyao also transferred his abilities’ effects to Jiang Baimian from time to time to prevent her from shooting herself.

Father constantly changed targets to control the enemy in a one-versus-two situation. This prevented him from doing any more precise actions. For example, making Jiang Baimian ‘walk’ to the wall and commit suicide by crashing into it.

Shang Jianyao paid attention to his and Jiang Baimian’s condition and kept using his abilities. He was rather excited as he laughed and said, “Villains always die from talking too much. Don’t you know that?”

Father—who wore a black trench coat and looked like he had just recovered from a serious illness—smiled. “Didn’t I say so much because I can’t do anything else? While using one ability, one can’t use a second ability unless they have already entered the Mind Corridor and obtained some special items. As an Awakened, you should know very well that you can’t use any other abilities now.”

In other words, Father wasn’t afraid of being caught unaware.

Father then looked around and smiled. “Besides, I also have two servants.”

Just as he said that, a person appeared on both sides of the corridor. They quickly approached and revealed their appearances.

One wore a baseball cap and had eyebrows that resembled swords. He looked good, but his eyes gave off the feeling that he hadn’t fully opened them. The other had her hair tied up; she had gentle facial features and a gentle bearing. There was a black mole at her eyebrow.

Lei Yunsong and Lin Feifei!

The two—who had disappeared for nearly two months—had eyes that were slightly blank. At the same time, they raised the guns in their hands and aimed at Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian.

At this moment, Father’s smile became obvious. “Oh right, I forgot to tell you. I didn’t go around the city to enhance the hypnotic ritual’s effects. The reinforcements you are looking forward to might not make it in time.”

…

While Oudick, Shang Jianyao, and Jiang Baimian tracked Father down and drove north, countless wilderness nomads remained kneeling or sitting. It appeared as if they were corpses that had lost their souls outside the city walls.

It was especially cold today, and it seemed as though it would snow at any moment. Very few people left the city—the people willing to buy slaves and all kinds of junk had already bought enough.

A man with a beard—who hadn’t shaved for an unknown period of time—sat beside a dugout. He stared blankly at his wife and child, who were about to faint from hunger.

At this moment, a man in a tattered cotton coat walked over. He was also dirty and had a beard.

“Ah Cai, we have to think of something,” said the man to his companion beside the dugout.

Ah Cai slowly turned his head, looked over, and spoke weakly. “Li Tou, what can we do?”

Li Tou grinned hideously. “Storm our way in! Everyone shall storm in! If we don’t, we won’t be able to survive tonight once the snow comes down. If we do this, we’ll at least have a chance of survival!”

“How can we storm in? It’s not like we haven’t tried it before…” Ah Cai looked at his wife and child and was a little tempted.

Li Tou said solemnly, “We were too rash and not ruthless enough back then. We can first infiltrate the group near the city gate and find an opportunity to kill the guards there. Then, we can get everyone to storm in together! No matter how many guns there are on the city walls or how many bullets there are, can they have more people than us?”

As Li Tou spoke, he pulled up his clothes, revealing an old revolver.

“You didn’t sell the gun?” Ah Cai was a little surprised.

The corners of Li Tou’s eyes twitched. “They are probably stuffed from ‘eating.’ Nobody has come out to purchase anything recently. Sigh, I can’t sell it even if I wanted to. I know that many people are in similar situations. If we organize them, there will be dozens or over 100 guns. Why should we be afraid that we won’t be able to charge in? This might be fate.”

“I wonder how many people will die…” Ah Cai slowly stood up.

“What’s there to be afraid of? We might not even make it through the night, so why should we be afraid of death?” Li Tou’s expression turned abnormally gloomy. “If we really can’t storm in, we can overrun the nearby manors. They have fewer people, fewer guns, and more food. If this won’t do, won’t all the dead corpses satisfy your appetite?

“Ah Cai, I don’t want to go this far either. It’s all because of the darned heavens! Do you want to see your A’Xiu and Tianniu starve to death? Do you want to wait until they can’t take it any longer? We’ll exchange children; we’ll eat Tianniu, while your family eats my Xiao Erhei. This is just in case you can’t bring yourself to do it.”

Ah Cai’s expression changed slightly as his expression gradually turned ruthless. “Alright! I’ll do it with you! There won’t be all these darn matters if we’re dead!”

Li Tou said in satisfaction, “You haven’t sold that crappy loudspeaker of yours, have you?”

“No.” Ah Cai shook his head and said, “It can still be used.”

“Alright, give it to me later. I want everyone to hear me.” Li Tou took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “To be honest, everyone will really die if we don’t unite and risk our lives!”

Ah Cai had no objections, and he anxiously asked, “Is there anything else you need me for? Who else do we need to rope in?”

“There’s no need. I’ve already contacted the first batch of people.” After saying that, Li Tou turned his head to look at the city gate. His gaze gradually turned fierce, and his eyes suffused slight redness.

Ah Cai and many people around him also looked over with the same gaze.