Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian couldn’t face dozens of guards alone. All she could do was watch them to prevent anyone from finding an opportunity to blow up Shang Jianyao’s head from a spot he couldn’t see.

In any case, if anyone dared to do anything abnormal, she would use the pistol to ‘point’ them out.

However, this wasn’t a solution that resolved the root cause of the predicament. Her mind raced as she felt like she was walking on a tightrope above the abyss.

After a second or two, Jiang Baimian laughed and loudly spoke in a helpless tone. “This companion of mine has always had a problem with his brain. He has been seeing a psychiatrist for quite some time. To put it simply, he’s mentally ill and a lunatic.

“This time, we came to Weed City to save up money by completing missions. This is so he can find a better doctor. Everyone, I’m not joking. He really dares to press the button; don’t bet your life on a lunatic’s guts. What can a lunatic not do? He even dares to kill himself!”

Zhao Zhengqi and the others saw that Shang Jianyao had good looks, was young, and had a beautiful companion. Thus, they found it unlikely that he was a ruthless person who would risk his life and have everyone in the Council Chamber die with him.

They were just considering exerting some pressure to make him panic and reveal flaws when they heard those words.

Their hearts tightened, and their plans came to an abrupt stop.

This didn’t mean that they completely believed Jiang Baimian, but they were afraid of what might happen.

What if this person was really a lunatic?

He may not want to live, but others wanted to live!

At this moment, Oudick recalled Shang Jianyao’s various actions. Although he was unwilling to admit it, he still reminded everyone, “There really might be something wrong with his brain. This is also our first time working together, but I did feel that he was abnormal.”

Oudick said this because he was worried that the nobles would be too rash and worsen the conflict, causing everyone to be blasted to kingdom come by Little Mushrooms.

Shang Jianyao didn’t feel insulted by such an evaluation. Instead, he smiled and nodded. “Yes, I have a doctor to prove it. I can show it to you later.”

As he spoke, his gaze moved back and forth between Jingnian and Advanced Hunter Oudick. He then smiled and added, “I know that both of you are Awakened and that there might be even more here. But I have to tell you in advance that the faction behind me is very good at making biological prosthetics. There are also auxiliary chips inside. Even if the range is suitable now and you might find an opportunity to control me with your abilities, my finger might still be able to press down.”

As Shang Jianyao spoke, his smile grew brighter. He looked around and said, “I might have been lying or telling the truth. You can guess its veracity.”

Upon seeing his smile, Xu Liyan, Zhao Zhengqi, Francesco, the other nobles, and their bodyguards inexplicably shivered as if they had experienced hidden madness.

The more dazzling Shang Jianyao’s smile was, the more they felt gloom under their skin.

Jingnian, Oudick, and the others knew that Shang Jianyao was very likely lying, but they didn’t dare take the risk and think that he was definitely lying.

In particular, Jingnian had a strong premonition for danger. This made him believe that the lunatic really dared to press the remote control and detonate all the explosives.

The Six Realms of Reincarnation’s Animal realm—which he had prepared—ultimately wasn’t used.

As far as he was concerned, he wasn’t too afraid of such an explosion. Even if his mechanical body would definitely be destroyed, he could be restored in half a month as long as the heavily protected core components remained intact.

Behind Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian resisted the urge to roll her eyes and chuckled inwardly. He even learned this move…

Everything Shang Jianyao said was the truth. Even if the mechanical monk, Jingnian, could mind-read, he wouldn’t have discovered any problems.

The only problem was that their deduction from these words could only be: Shang Jianyao had a biological prosthetic limb and an auxiliary chip. He could detonate the explosives, even while under control!

Jiang Baimian was actually the one with the biological prosthetic limb and an auxiliary chip.

In a sense, this was a large-scale Inference Clowning that didn’t actually use an Awakened’s ability.

Upon seeing that everyone present seemed to be stunned, Jingnian spoke in an electronic voice. “Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti. Patron, why are you doing this?”

“Guess,” Shang Jianyao said with a relaxed smile.

He’s really crazy… Xu Liyan, Zhao Zhengqi, and the others completely believed Jiang Baimian’s words.

This kind of madness and neurosis couldn’t be acted out!

At this moment, Jiang Baimian coughed and stopped Shang Jianyao from ‘provoking’ Zen Master Jingnian. After all, every mechanical monk had a sore spot. Once it was hit, they would go crazy on the spot.

If Shang Jianyao angered Zen Master Jingnian for some reason, he would kill all the nobles present first. Then, there would be no more hostages!

Before Shang Jianyao could speak, Jiang Baimian spoke to the guards outside the door. “The first request is to close the door.”

After closing the door, the guards outside wouldn’t be able to determine Shang Jianyao’s exact location, so they wouldn’t dare to fire rashly. This would reduce the pressure on her when defending.

Just as she said that, Shang Jianyao looked at Xu Liyan and the others and expressed his confusion with a nasal voice. “Mm—?”

Xu Liyan gulped and shouted, “Close it! Close the door!”

The guards followed his orders and assigned a few people to close the door to the Aristocratic Council Chamber slowly.

Only then did Shang Jianyao raise the explosives, carry the pistol, and walk to the long table.

“Have a seat. Have a seat. There’s always room for negotiation.” Shang Jianyao enthusiastically invited the aristocratic councilors, who were huddled in different spots.

As she walked beside Shang Jianyao and helped him monitor Oudick, Jingnian, and the commotion at the door, Jiang Baimian only had one comment: He’s going overboard!

She even suspected that this fellow really had a mental spasm.

“No, no, it’s fine. We can hear you.” Zhao Zhengqi forced a smile onto his face and replied to Shang Jianyao’s invitation.

Xu Liyan took the opportunity to say, “There’s always room for negotiation. It’s fine if you want weapons, ammunition, food, gold, oil, coal, or marijuana!”

He was still young and had only been Castellan for a few years. He didn’t want to meet his ancestors today.

Shang Jianyao slowly sat in the chair at the end of the long table and awkwardly said, “I’m wondering how many pieces all of you will end up in after I press the switch to blow you up. Sit, have a seat. I can’t have others say that I’m rude, right?”

Upon seeing his persistence, Merrick didn’t dare object any further. He retreated bit by bit and sat down.

With him taking the lead, Zhao Zhengqi and the others walked to the meeting table and returned to their seats.

Their bodyguards and attendants stood behind them, staring at Shang Jianyao’s finger.

“You c-can voice your request now, right?” Xu Liyan tried his best to lower himself.

Shang Jianyao smiled and looked around. “After we repel the wilderness nomads, everyone will donate any excess food and medical supplies. Gather the survivors and help the city’s citizens. You have to stabilize Weed City as soon as possible and revive it.”

This request… Is he Weed City’s Castellan, or am I Weed City’s Castellan? Xu Liyan almost doubted his ears.

This only served to deepen Zhao Zhengqi and the others’ belief that Shang Jianyao was a lunatic.

On the other hand, Oudick thoughtfully looked at Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian. He no longer intended to take the risk of using the ability to force him to sleep.

After a few seconds of silence, Xu Liyan asked, “Do the targets—which aid is to be provided to—include those wilderness nomads?”

Shang Jianyao replied without hesitation. “Yes.”

While all the nobles were a little stunned, Jiang Baimian added, “Gather them up and interrogate them separately. Those who have killed before will swap positions with the slaves in your manor. With so many people dead, be it the city defense forces or the Castellan Guard, they will definitely need replenishment.”

Xu Liyan’s gaze flickered slightly as he asked, “Any other requests?”

“Yes.” Shang Jianyao smiled and nodded.

This answer made Zhao Zhengqi and the others heave a sigh of relief.

They didn’t believe that anyone could sacrifice their lives to save the refugees and drag the nobles toward death. This was definitely a request in passing.

At the end of the day, it had to benefit himself.

“Yes… Let’s finish this first before talking about the rest.” Shang Jianyao smiled at the fat Zhao Zhengqi. “Let’s start with you; call your trusted aide.”

Without waiting for Zhao Zhengqi to speak, Shang Jianyao smiled and asked, “What do you think they will do if I tell them: ‘This person is up to something, and I want to blow up his head? If you choose to help him, I’ll press the switch.'”

Facing the smiling face, Zhao Zhengqi swallowed his saliva with difficulty. “You can hear everything I say; I definitely won’t dare to play any tricks.”

Zhao Zhengqi had no intention of insinuating anything else with his words. If he didn’t do a good job and was seen through, the conflict would immediately escalate. Thus, he was prepared to use an open and aboveboard method.

Zhao Zhengqi quickly took out his phone and called his trusted aide. He issued out orders one by one according to Shang Jianyao’s instructions.

The entire process was flawless. However, his trusted aide was outside and knew that he was being threatened. Therefore, he definitely wouldn’t do it immediately; he had to wait and see.

After making the aristocratic councilors make their phone calls, Shang Jianyao slowly stood up and said, “The second requirement will be different for everyone. We’ll do it one by one.”

He carefully retreated to a corner far away from the long table and loudly called out to the mechanical monk. “Zen Master, you first.”

Jingnian gained his boldness from his capabilities. There was nothing he couldn’t abandon, so he didn’t hesitate and walked over.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao handed the black remote control to Jiang Baimian and smiled at everyone. “She also has a biological prosthetic limb.”

Jiang Baimian cooperatively made electric arcs spark from her left finger.

The ironclad truth made Xu Liyan and the others rejoice that they hadn’t been rash or taken any unnecessary risks.

After controlling the scene, Shang Jianyao looked at Jingnian—who was almost two meters tall. He stared at Jingnian’s blinking red eyes and asked with a suppressed voice, “Zen Master, do you know Master Jingfa?”

This way, the nobles at the long table couldn’t hear what was being said.

“He’s my junior brother,” Jingnian replied frankly.

Shang Jianyao then said, “Look, I know Master Jingfa and have heard him preach the Buddhist Dharma. I also helped stop the Castellan from blowing himself up, helping you complete your mission. So…”

The red glow in Jingnian’s electronic eyes flickered faster before quickly returning to normal. He then chanted a Buddhist proclamation and said in an electronic voice, “Since you are an ally of the parish, this Penniless Monk is willing to help you.”

“Thank you, Zen Master.” Shang Jianyao stretched out his hand again and shook Jingnian’s hand. “You can go back now.”

After watching Jingnian return to Xu Liyan’s side, he shouted at Oudick, “Mr. Ou, you’re second.”

…

The guards waited for nearly 20 minutes outside the Aristocratic Council Chamber before they finally saw the door open slowly.

Shang Jianyao, Xu Liyan, Zhao Zhengqi, Francesco, and the others came out with their arms around each other’s shoulders. They were all smiling.

Zhao Zhengqi looked around and found his trusted aide. He laughed and said, “The misunderstanding has been cleared. Do as you were instructed. My brother’s business is my business!”

As the guards stared in disbelief, Jiang Baimian—who was following behind—took the opportunity to take out Wei Yu and the others’ photos. “Quick, search the vicinity for these three people.”

Since the Anti-intellectualism Church wanted to shift the blame, the remaining Old Task Force members had definitely infiltrated Castellan Manor.

…

In a study in Zhao Manor.

The second son of the Zhao family—Zhao Yixue—stood by the window, holding his phone as he talked to someone.

On the other end of the line, a slightly hoarse voice said with a smile, “Listen carefully later. The sound of the explosion will be a salute to your becoming of Castellan.”

“Explosion? Then, what about my dad and brother?” Zhao Yixue was rather stunned.

On the other end of the line, Father chuckled. “They will, of course, go to Paradise together. Think about it. If they were still around, you wouldn’t become Castellan, even without Xu Liyan and the other nobles. I know you can’t bring yourself to do it, so I’ll help you. You’re welcome.

“Don’t worry. With First City’s support, the rest won’t be able to stir up any waves.”

Amidst Zhao Yixue’s silence, his trusted aide walked into the study and leaned toward his ear to report the situation.

On the other end of the line, Father smiled and asked, “How was it? Did you hear the explosion?”

Zhao Yixue replied with a strange expression, “There was no explosion… Th-they are currently dancing in the Council Chamber…”

“Dancing?” Father asked. He didn’t say anything for a long time.