Embers Ad Infinitum

With a sharp screeching sound, the jeep swerved in a way that almost caused it to flip.

The vehicle didn’t slow down despite the swerving. It zoomed left and stumbled along the bumpy road.

The rocket landed on the ground the next second.

Boom!

A crimson fireball rapidly expanded, illuminating the surroundings. The shockwave that instantly spread out made the jeep windows creak.

Fortunately, the Old Task Force had already switched the glass to bulletproof glass at the Rootless camp.

Jiang Baimian saw the explosion through the rearview mirror and frowned slightly.

Right on the heels of that, Bai Chen turned the steering wheel and made the jeep swerve to the back of a collapsed building. This way, they would completely escape the attackers’ line of sight.

Boom!

Another rocket exploded in the jeep’s former path.

After that, everything returned to silence.

“Stop!” Jiang Baimian shouted.

Bai Chen didn’t ask why. She stepped on the brakes and made the jeep stop behind the ‘natural fortifications.’

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong rolled down the windows at the same time and mounted their Berserker assault rifles to guard against any possible attackers.

At the same time, Shang Jianyao spoke with a look of regret. “They really should hire a shooting coach.”

Not only did Jiang Baimian not retort, but she also nodded. “The assailant doesn’t seem like they really want to kill us.”

“Why?” Long Yuehong maintained the spirit of asking questions on anything he didn’t understand.

Jiang Baimian explained, “Even if I didn’t discover it in advance and the jeep had followed its original trajectory, the first rocket would’ve landed with some deviations.”

Shang Jianyao seriously thought of a reason. “Maybe he predicted your judgment and adjusted it in advance?”

Jiang Baimian shot him a glance. “Unless I’m crazy, I won’t let Little White drive the car into the building. The first rocket exploded at the door of the tall building diagonally ahead.”

“Yes, I understand.” Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. “It’s solely because his standards aren’t up to mark.”

“Then, why would you find such a person to attack us?” Jiang Baimian asked in exasperation and amusement.

Shang Jianyao fell silent for a few seconds before clapping his hands. “To save the damsel in distress!”

“…” Although Jiang Baimian understood Shang Jianyao’s meaning after some thought, she still found his train of thought strange.

As expected of a certified mental patient… She criticized inwardly.

Long Yuehong could roughly guess the theoretical basis behind Shang Jianyao’s guess. In those radio stories!

At this moment, Bai Chen broke the short silence. “It’s probably to scare us.”

“Yes.” Jiang Baimian nodded. “This might be a warning, similar to the previous note. It might also be a trap. They hope it can agitate us and make us deepen our investigation of the arms robbery or Helvig’s death.”

“Then, what should we do?” Long Yuehong asked worriedly. “This place is much messier than Weed City.”

If they followed things strictly to a tee—finding the firearms and completing the mission—it was likely that they would be sucked into a dangerous vortex. However, it was a little dissatisfying to give up and leave Redstone Collection.

Jiang Baimian replied, “Didn’t we know this a long time ago?”

As she spoke, she smiled. “What I want to do now is: Find the attacker and the person who instigated him. Tie them up and fire rockets at their surroundings so that they can have a taste of the same thing.”

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up. “That’s good; that’s good.”

Jiang Baimian suddenly had an ominous feeling and quickly changed the topic. “Let’s return to Redstone Collection and tell Han Wanghuo about this. Let’s see how he reacts before we determine what to do next.”

“Alright.” Long Yuehong heaved a sigh of relief. It was enough to have a dangerous lunatic like Shang Jianyao in the team. It was imperative that the team leader didn’t like to cause trouble!

…

Redstone Collection, Public Security Department.

“Captain Han isn’t around?” Jiang Baimian asked Dr. Weiler.

Weiler remained unshaven and looked very rugged. “He organized a team and went to the lake. They said they wanted to see if there were any anomalies with the merfolk.”

“When will he return?” Jiang Baimian asked.

Weiler shook his head. “It depends on whether the merfolk have really done anything.”

He then sighed. “If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t return to United Industries, I really wouldn’t want to stay in this crappy place. There are Subhumans externally, and there’s strife internally. I don’t see anyone all day long, and I don’t even know what they look like when I see them…”

The flirtatious doctor was clearly vexed about his inability to have romantic encounters. In Redstone Collection, this depended on luck. Before taking off one’s mask and clothes, one couldn’t even be sure if the other party was male or female.

Furthermore, Redstone Collection townsfolk—who believed in Eidolon Nun and advocated vigilance—wouldn’t sleep with people so easily unless their goal was to rob them.

Jiang Baimian didn’t feel uncomfortable with Weiler’s complaints. Instead, she asked with interest, “I’m curious. How do the residents of Redstone Collection get to know and love each other until they get married and have children?”

Weiler sighed again. “A budding romance might bloom when they fight side by side against Subhumans or foreign bandits, when working together in a particular smuggling business, or meeting in a ruin when out hunting.

“Yes, I heard that the Vigilance Church also organizes activities to gather believers who want a partner but don’t have a suitable target. Uh, they will be divided into groups. The men will be on one side, and the women will be on the other. They will draw lots to determine who will be hiding. The seekers have a single chance to be with whoever they find.

“They believe that this is Eidolon Nun’s revelation and don’t dare to violate the results.”

That works? Long Yuehong’s mouth fell open when he heard that. He felt that there was no end to the wondrous things in the world.

“Interesting custom.” Jiang Baimian didn’t give a good or bad evaluation.

Shang Jianyao asked, “What if they don’t find anyone?”

“That means the Kalendaria thinks you’re not suitable for marriage for the time being,” Weiler casually replied.

“The Kalendaria must be busy,” Shang Jianyao said with emotion.

“Phew…” Long Yuehong heaved a sigh of relief. He imagined that Shang Jianyao would take the opportunity to mock him and say, “Long Yuehong is doomed to be unable to find a partner.”

Jiang Baimian—who had learned a little about the local folklore—was satisfied and reminded Weiler, “When Captain Han returns, get him to look for us at the hotel camp. There’s something important.”

“Alright.” Weiler was rather vigilant and didn’t ask what it was about.

…

At the hotel camp, the four people from the Old Task Force—who had parked their car—walked toward Rooms 05 and 06.

Before they reached their rooms, Jiang Baimian suddenly turned her head and glanced at Shang Jianyao.

Shang Jianyao didn’t immediately respond. He took a few steps forward before nodding. He then swung his tactical backpack in front of him and took out his small speaker as he shouted, “You’ve been surrounded!”

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong had already drawn their pistols. After spending so much time together, they could easily guess that Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao had discovered an intruder in the room.

After a brief silence, Room 06’s door creaked open.

A man in an iron-black mask walked out. His flaxen hair was messy as if he hadn’t tidied it in a long time. Upon seeing the black muzzle aimed at him, he quickly took a step back and suppressed his voice. “I’m Baz.”

“Huh, what did you say?” Jiang Baimian asked loudly.

Baz fell silent for two seconds before raising his voice. “I’m Baz, Helvig’s subordinate. You guys came to look for me before.”

“The one who likes to dig tunnels?” Jiang Baimian had actually long recognized Baz from his characteristics.

“Yes.” Baz nodded heavily.

“Why did you come looking for us?” Jiang Baimian walked over, seemingly relaxed.

Baz looked around and said in horror, “Someone wants to kill me!”

Jiang Baimian—who was wearing the elegant monk mask—immediately replied, “Let’s talk inside.”

After entering Bai Chen and Long Yuehong’s room, Jiang Baimian was in no rush to inquire. As she got Shang Jianyao to guard the door, she smiled and asked, “How did you get in?”

“The electronic lock here is very easy to crack.” Baz took out a white card and waved it twice.

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged his words and smiled. “Shouldn’t you take off your mask? Otherwise, how can I be sure that you’re Baz?”

“But you guys have never seen my face before…” Although Baz said that, he still took off the iron mask obediently.

Baz had a slightly square face and flaxen eyes. His beard was shaved relatively clean, and he had many freckles on his face. He didn’t seem too old, probably not over 30.

“Tell me what happened.” Jiang Baimian finally returned to the topic at hand.

With a flustered expression, Baz said, “You didn’t say that Helvig was dead when you came looking for me.”

“That’s not the point,” Jiang Baimian replied thoughtfully.

Baz’s tone became anxious. “That is the point! I can guess who killed Helvig; he still wants to kill me!”

“Who is it?” Jiang Baimian was rather cooperative.

Baz’s expression darkened. “Here’s the thing: That batch of firearms wasn’t lost at all. It was all a farce.”

Jiang Baimian and the others smiled at the same time. Unfortunately, Baz couldn’t see their smiles.

Baz continued, “This batch of firearms was originally to be sold to the mountain monsters. If we hadn’t disposed of it that way, we would be hated by the others in the team. Helvig found Anhebus to cooperate and got his people to pretend to be bandits and snatch the firearms.

“He then found an opportunity to send them to the mountain monsters. After that, Helvig forged clues and returned to town to issue a mission. He wanted to direct the blame to the Ashlanders or the Underground Ark to accumulate everyone’s dissatisfaction. I-in the end, he actually died!”

Jiang Baimian asked in a timely manner, “Who’s Anhebus?”

“He’s a very high-ranking Red River resident in town, and he mainly smuggles energy. He has a partnership with Helvig,” Baz described. “The mountain monsters control a few coal mines and have conducted many transactions with him.”

At this point, Baz became angry. “It’s definitely him! He killed Helvig, and he wants to swallow that batch of firearms! I was attacked this morning. If not for the fact that I dug enough tunnels, I would’ve died! If I died, nobody would know about this.”

After Jiang Baimian heard that, she turned her head to look at Shang Jianyao—who was at the door.

Shang Jianyao knew what she was getting at. He took off his monkey mask and slowly walked toward Baz with a friendly smile.

Baz immediately became vigilant and took a step back. “W-what are you trying to do?”