Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian pulled a table over and nimbly jumped up. She then used her left hand to dismantle the ventilation duct’s railing.

Behind the duct was indeed a person in black—a dead person.

She slowly dragged the corpse out and placed it on the table.

Long Yuehong looked over and saw a bald head, a chubby face, and round, dark-green eyes. He compared the corpse to the photo and blurted out, “Helvig—it’s really Helvig!”

Jiang Baimian jumped off the table and calmly made a judgment. “It’s been a while since he died. The fetid smell has dissipated, but the corpse hasn’t decayed.”

She sighed, looked at Long Yuehong, and laughed self-deprecatingly. “I knew such a lucrative mission wouldn’t go smoothly.”

The employer was already a corpse shortly after they began!

Of course, Jiang Baimian wanted to sigh with emotion about how unlucky they were, but she changed her words after considering Long Yuehong. In order to prevent Shang Jianyao from ‘spouting nonsense,’ she instructed, “Get the person in charge of Redstone Collection’s public security here.”

Although they had long heard that Redstone Collection was messier than Weed City, they still believed that there were armed personnel here to maintain order.

For such a town to be maintained, there had to be a certain order and the corresponding organizations.

“Where can we find them?” Long Yuehong recalled that most of the people here were hiding. Who knew where the person in charge of public security was?

What a magical but exasperating place!

Shang Jianyao’s expression didn’t appear troubled at all. He smiled and asked, “Haven’t you played hide and seek before?”

With that said, Shang Jianyao rushed out of Gunfire, came to the glass railing, and shouted ahead, “Someone’s dead! Someone’s dead! Gunfire’s Helvig is dead!”

Shang Jianyao’s voice was like rumbling thunder that echoed through the entire underground building.

Long Yuehong listened dazedly and muttered to himself in confusion, “What has this got to do with whether we’ve played hide and seek?”

“What did you say?” Jiang Baimian touched her cochlear implant.

Bai Chen repeated it on behalf of Long Yuehong. “I think he means—” Bai Chen said after some thought, “—when we played hide and seek when we were young, we might shout, ‘time for meals; it’s time to go home.’ Then, the people that are in hiding might come out.”

Long Yuehong’s expression changed slightly as he recalled the past. He felt like he had probably been duped in such a manner.

Not long after Shang Jianyao shouted, an iron suitcase behind the glass railing opposite him—used to showcase the shop’s layout—suddenly opened. A man holding a Short Neck submachine gun walked out.

He walked around and asked Shang Jianyao, “Helvig’s dead?”

“Maybe he can still be saved,” Shang Jianyao replied sincerely.

For example, make every second count and upload his consciousness to turn him into a mechanical monk.

The man looked at the corpse inside Gunfire and took out a walkie-talkie. “Captain Han, something happened in Gunfire. Helvig is dead.”

…

At the lowest level of Redstone Collection, in the Public Security Department diagonally opposite the Hunter’s Guild.

Jiang Baimian and the others met Redstone Collection’s sheriff.

“Han Wanghou,” he introduced himself.

Han Wanghou was a tall, thin man. Of course, his tallness was only based on the average height in the Ashlands. He was about Long Yuehong’s height.

His hair was black, and he had a buzz cut. His eyebrows were messy, and he looked very fierce. There were two scars on his face—one horizontal and one vertical. The most eye-catching thing about his facial features was his eyes. The whites of his eyes were a little yellow, and his eyes were pure black, not dark brown.

After Jiang Baimian introduced herself, she asked, “There’s nothing else needed from us, right?”

“Although we haven’t carried out the autopsy, we can determine from the current situation that Helvig died before you entered Redstone Collection.” Han Wanghuo had no intention of charging random people for the crime.

“How are you sure about this?” Shang Jianyao asked curiously.

Han Wanghuo—who had two pistols at his waist—pointed at the other man beside him. “Weiler, a doctor. At the same time, he’s also the coroner of our Public Security Department.”

Weiler was of Red River descent. He was about the same age as Han Wanghuo. He was in his thirties, and he had blond hair and blue eyes. His skin was rough, and his eye sockets were deep. He also had a full beard.

“Education persists here? You are even training doctors?” Jiang Baimian asked with interest.

Han Wanghuo shook his head. “Weiler comes from United Industries.”

Weiler spread his hands and said in Ashlandic, “My superior never had a child, and I tried to help him. My enthusiasm ended up almost having me thrown into prison and tortured to death.”

“The way you helped was wrong,” Shang Jianyao criticized solemnly.

“Huh?” Weiler was a little stunned.

Shang Jianyao gave a perfect solution. “You should’ve done an organ transplant, a neural reconstruction, and install an artificial uterus to help him give birth to a child. This way, not only will he not send you to prison, but he will also develop feelings for you.”

“…” Although the words the other party said were relatively unfamiliar, as a medical student, Weiler easily understood what he meant.

“I’m not. I’m…” Weiler suddenly didn’t know how to explain. He was clearly mocking himself, but the other party was so serious.

Faced with such a serious person, Weiler was embarrassed to say that his real goal wasn’t to help his superior give birth to a child but to covet his superior’s young wife.

Long Yuehong glanced at Weiler sympathetically and didn’t say anything.

Jiang Baimian held in her laughter and nodded at Han Wanghuo. “Then, can we leave?”

“Sure,” Han Wanghuo gave an affirmative answer.

Jiang Baimian then flipped her wrist and looked at her electronic watch. “Is there a hotel or something similar here?”

It was getting late. If they were to take on another mission, they would have to consider their accommodation for the night.

Han Wanghuo pointed at the ceiling and said, “On the other side of the entrance are a few rows of simple houses. You need to go to the Kesha Hotel on the fourth floor and exchange your supplies for an electronic card before opening the door. If you attempt to force your way in, you will soon see me again.”

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and smiled. “Thank you.”

Weiler glanced at her and volunteered, “I’ll take you there. Have you guys not had dinner yet? It’s on me. I’m not bragging, but I’m very good at finding people in Redstone Collection. I won’t make you wait too long.”

“Not for the time being.” Jiang Baimian rejected him without hesitation.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao asked excitedly, “How good are your hiding skills?”

Weiler didn’t hide his regret and shook his head. “I’m not as neurotic as them; I won’t hide for no reason.”

“Aren’t you a parishioner of the Vigilance Church?” Jiang Baimian asked.

“No.” Weiler turned to look at Han Wanghuo. “Neither is Captain Han.”

“Having the sheriff hide is not conducive to maintaining order. Therefore, Redstone Collection specially hired me,” Han Wanghuo explained simply.

Jiang Baimian thoughtfully asked, “Aren’t you from Redstone Collection?”

Han Wanghuo tersely acknowledged it. “I was originally a wilderness nomad and a Ruin Hunter for many years.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Baimian turned her head to look at Bai Chen as if she was using her eyes to say that he was similar to Bai Chen.

The only difference was that Bai Chen ended up joining a large faction, Pangu Biology. In contrast, Han Wanghuo could only become a member of a smuggling node, Redstone Collection.

After bidding Han Wanghuo and Weiler farewell, Jiang Baimian left the Public Security Department and led Shang Jianyao and the others into the Hunter’s Guild diagonally opposite them.

“With Helvig dead, will our mission automatically be invalid?” she asked the female employee in the tiger mask.

After the mission became invalid, there would be no restrictions for them to take on subsequent missions.

The employee in the tiger mask quickly said, “There’s no rush. Helvig still has family, so the mission of retrieving the firearms might very well continue. Besides, you might also receive a new mission from the Public Security Department about helping to investigate the cause of Helvig’s death. It can be accepted together.”

“Is that so… Then, when can we have a definite answer?” Jiang Baimian naturally couldn’t bear to give up on this lucrative mission.

In particular, they had yet to be officially involved. They didn’t even know the bandits’ general situation.

The employee in the tiger mask replied, “Tomorrow afternoon at the latest.”

“Alright.” Jiang Baimian waved her hand and prepared to leave.

At this moment, the employee in the tiger mask spoke with a slightly trembling voice. “Everyone, it’s better if you buy some masks. It’s very dangerous for you to walk around showing your faces. Just seeing them makes me afraid. Helvig must’ve been killed because he didn’t hide well.”

Although Helvig’s murderer might not have found Helvig and wouldn’t have killed him if Helvig had hidden himself better, by saying that, you give me the nagging feeling that a person who fails in ‘hide-and-seek’ will silently die… Jiang Baimian inwardly criticized before nodding, having fully accepted the customs. “Thank you.”

“Then, where can I buy a mask?” Shang Jianyao asked with bright eyes.

“Aren’t you guys going to Kesha Hotel? You can exchange for masks while getting the electronic cards,” said the employee in the tiger mask quickly.

“Alright!” Shang Jianyao replied happily.

After leaving the Hunter’s Guild, Jiang Baimian glanced at him. “Doing as the Romans do?”

“Don’t you think it feels good to play music on a speaker while wearing a mask to deal with the enemy?” Shang Jianyao tried his best to describe the scene he imagined.

“It’s a little like the Old World’s masquerade ball…” Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “As for the feeling, it depends on what song you play and the mask you wear.”

After the ‘ball’ in Castellan Manor’s Aristocratic Council Chamber, she confirmed that Shang Jianyao had many strange songs stored in his speaker. It was unknown if they came with the speaker or if he had obtained them from the Rootless caravan.

In short, she didn’t dare to recall those scenes because she was afraid of corrupting herself.

As they spoke, they returned to the parking lot and took a box of supplies. They then went to the fourth floor and found the Kesha Hotel.

Without a doubt, there was no one here either.

They entered to see a row of chairs that seemed to be used for waiting. The room didn’t reach deep in. At the end was a wall, and there was a window-like metal door on the wall.

On both sides of the metal door were notices in Ashlandic and Red River language: “Please knock on the door.”

Shang Jianyao whizzed over, bent his finger, and rapped on the metal window—which was called a door.

After a few seconds, the loudspeaker in the room sounded. A deliberately modified female voice sounded. “How many rooms do you want? How many nights are you staying?”

“Impressive,” Shang Jianyao praised sincerely. He could sense that the hotel owner was behind the wall, but there were at least three thick obstacles between them.

In other words, apart from Awakened, nobody could attack the hotel’s owner in a short period of time. This was a way of hiding.

Jiang Baimian shook her head. “Crude. Wouldn’t it be safer to get some surveillance cameras from Mechanical Paradise and lay out a few wires so that they can hide outside Redstone Collection and operate it remotely?”

The loudspeaker in the room sounded again. “Ma’am, yours is a hiding method for the rich. You need a robot’s help; the robot has to be in charge of collecting supplies and distributing electronic cards. Without money, this is all I can do.”