Embers Ad Infinitum

When the Old Task Force returned to the hotel camp, Lehman was already waiting outside Room 05.

Upon seeing Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others alight, this smuggler—who looked like an honest farmer—went over and smiled obsequiously. “I heard that you entered the Underground Ark and met DiMarco?”

His eyes were filled with anticipation.

This time, he didn’t bring the bodyguards with him and had them wait for him far away. This was because he had already figured out that the team in front of him was stronger than he imagined. Having bodyguards was almost no different from not having any.

He felt that it was meaningless even if he brought over the military exoskeleton that his client had ordered for him for usage. After all, the other party also had one. Furthermore, how could an exoskeleton device withstand an Awakened at close range?

Therefore, it was better not to bring any bodyguards. In Ashlandic terms, this was ‘showing sincerity.’

Upon hearing Lehman’s question, Jiang Baimian teased him in amusement. “You sure have a lot of friends. You have friends in the Vigilance Cathedral too?”

Lehman didn’t deny it and nodded slightly. “How is it? What did DiMarco say?”

“He said that Lars found his true love in the Underground Ark and won’t return to the surface. If you don’t believe him, you can go to the Vigilance Cathedral; he will get Lars to video call you.” When Jiang Baimian replied, she saw Lehman’s expression change uncontrollably.

He seemed a little unconvinced and a little angry, but he eventually fell silent on the fact that he could video call Lars.

This meant that DiMarco wasn’t lying. Very few people would lie in a way that could easily be proven otherwise.

After a long silence, the corners of Lehman’s mouth twitched as if he wanted to squeeze out a smile. “I’ll confirm it. Thank you for your help.”

Although she understood the other party’s emotions and felt some sympathy, Jiang Baimian still asked, “Then, what about the agreed-upon payment?”

“What kind do you want?” Lehman quickly returned to normal.

Before Jiang Baimian could answer, he added, “I previously meant that I would do my best to help you get controlled items, including a military exoskeleton and a T1 mechanical arm. This will expend the favors I’ve accumulated and cause cracks to appear in the relationship I’ve built with great difficulty.

“In other words, the payment refers to intangible but very valuable things like channels and avenues. The items themselves still require you to pay a reasonable price. Of course, I’ll give you a discount—the greatest discount.”

Before Jiang Baimian could respond, Shang Jianyao interrupted. “That’s your lover!”

Lehman smiled bitterly. “From the looks of it, it’s very likely that’s no longer the case anymore.”

So the value of the information fell? Jiang Baimian was amused by this. She realized that Lehman was essentially an unscrupulous merchant. However, she didn’t think that she could exchange for a military exoskeleton or a relatively new mechanical arm with just a few casual questions.

In her imagination, she and the others should’ve braved a rain of bullets and the interference of a few Awakened to force their way into the Underground Ark and extract Lars before they could rightfully take the payment from Lehman.

Therefore, she didn’t feel angry and instead smiled. “Aren’t you afraid that you won’t make it out of Redstone Collection alive by misleading us?”

Lehman’s body froze.

Tsk, the image of us as villains is quite memorable… Upon seeing this, Long Yuehong sighed with emotion and amusement in his heart.

Upon seeing that this development was going to turn into extortion, Jiang Baimian stopped Shang Jianyao’s attempt in time and sighed. “On account of you losing your lover, we’ll just keep it that way. After you return, use your connections to help us get a military exoskeleton and a mechanical arm through your channels. The model can’t be too old. Inform us when the time comes; we’ll gather supplies for the trade.”

Even if her team couldn’t use such controlled items when the time came, they could still earn a lot from selling the items.

“You want both a military exoskeleton and a mechanical arm?” Lehman was a little troubled.

“Yes.” Jiang Baimian didn’t stand on ceremony.

Upon seeing that the great villain had already given in, Lehman couldn’t bargain any further. He could only force a smile and say, “No problem, but it will take a long time. How should I inform you?”

When Jiang Baimian made the request, she had already come up with a mature plan. At this moment, she directly said, “I’ll give you a telegraph frequency and the corresponding password. After you obtain those two items, send us a telegram every night at 8 p.m. for a month. If we don’t reply, you can freely dispose of those two items after a month.”

The electric password she was prepared to give was one of the more common ones in the Ashlands. After all, it was not a confidential matter.

Lehman thought for a moment and agreed.

After sending the arms dealer off, Jiang Baimian looked around and said, “Another matter has been resolved. Next, we’ll go to Redstone Collection to find Mrs. Theresa and ask if Helvig has had any disagreements with anyone in the past month.”

She reduced ‘conflicts’ to the level of ‘disagreements’ so as to prevent any suspects from falling through the cracks.

“I think the investigation will be very difficult.” Bai Chen voiced her opinion. “According to DiMarco, just a few jokes can trigger a murderer’s malice. In daily life, jokes are something that happens every day. Nobody can remember them clearly, just like how Long Yuehong can’t say how many times Shang Jianyao strikes him down every day.”

Long Yuehong opened his mouth and realized that he really couldn’t say anything.

“What if he can say it?” Shang Jianyao asked, misplacing his priorities.

Bai Chen pursed her lips and didn’t answer.

Jiang Baimian smiled. “That means he takes it to heart.”

Without waiting for Long Yuehong’s response, she added, “Fortunately, our Little Red is optimistic and positive.”

“It’s nothing.” Long Yuehong immediately felt a little embarrassed.

Upon seeing this, Shang Jianyao smiled and said, “You even wet your bed when you were five.”

“F*ck off!” Long Yuehong blurted out in anger.

…

In Redstone Collection, in the Gunfire shop, the Old Task Force met Mrs. Theresa again.

She was still wearing the thick black dress and a hat with a long, black veil hanging down.

“Any progress?” Theresa asked calmly. Compared to before, she seemed less terrified, excited, and uneasy. She felt a little more confident.

“Here’s the thing. We’ve preliminarily investigated Mr. Helvig’s list of enemies. but none of them are suspects,” Jiang Baimian lied blatantly. “We want to obtain more information. For example, who has Mr. Helvig had an unpleasant encounter with in the past few months? Or who has he joked in a nasty manner with?”

Theresa thought for a moment and said, “There are too many of them. He likes to mock others very much. If we use excessive jokes as a standard, most people in Redstone Collection are suspects.”

How annoying is this Mr. Helvig… Jiang Baimian opened her mouth slightly, finding it funny and helpless.

Shang Jianyao sighed. “What a pity…”

“What’s the pity?” Long Yuehong asked in support.

“It’s a pity that I didn’t get to see the living Mr. Helvig.” Shang Jianyao raised his hand to touch his monkey mask. “Otherwise, we can compete to see who will anger the other first?”

Theresa didn’t bother with the conversation between Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong. She fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “Let’s end this mission here.”

“You’re not investigating anymore?” Jiang Baimian asked with a premonition.

Theresa nodded. “I can tell that the chances of this matter being successfully investigated are very low. Furthermore, it will involve most people in Redstone Collection. I have to consider mine and my child’s future. In any case, he has offended enough people. I was already prepared for his sudden death.”

That wasn’t what you said previously… Jiang Baimian silently retorted.

She suddenly understood why Theresa had changed her attitude. When Helvig died, Theresa was worried that the firearms business would be snatched away. She was worried that her subordinates would change employers, so she naturally showed how important her husband and this matter was to her.

Now, she seemed to have stabilized a small faction and established a friendship with Lehman and the others. She was no longer plagued by internal and external problems. Therefore, how Helving died was no longer important to her. After all, she and Helvig no longer had any feelings for each other.

Maybe she was one of the people who wanted Helvig dead.

Upon seeing that the Qian Bai Team’s four members were silent, Theresa misunderstood their request and quickly added, “I won’t ask you to return the corresponding payment. You guys have truly helped me greatly by finding that batch of firearms in a short period of time.”

Helvig sure is a failure when it comes to being a human… Jiang Baimian sighed inwardly and nodded slightly. “That’s it then. You can just go to the guild and cancel the mission.”

After exiting Gunfire, Jiang Baimian looked around, composed herself, and smiled. “Let’s go to Poisonless Restaurant to buy some ingredients. We’ll roast meat tonight to celebrate!”

They were to celebrate having settled most of the matters during their team’s stay in Redstone Collection.

“Sure, sure!” Long Yuehong’s eyes lit up as he replied.

Jiang Baimian chuckled. “Get some spices and coal later. I’ll let you experience Chef Jiang’s secret roasted meat.”

“Want to compete?” Shang Jianyao asked excitedly.

“Fine, let’s compete!” Jiang Baimian believed that her culinary skills were good enough. With that said, she suddenly became vigilant and asked, “What are we competing in?”

“Competing to see who eats more.” Shang Jianyao was very calm.

Jiang Baimian spat and ignored him.

…

In the evening, at the hotel camp, the Old Task Force placed the cured meat on a temporarily assembled grill.

At this moment, Pangu Biology replied with a telegram.

Jiang Baimian quickly translated the telegram and reduced the company’s reply into two lines: “First, there’s no need for further exploration of Lake Heart Island’s temple. Second, observe Han Wanghuo for a while longer.”

After reading the telegram, Jiang Baimian cursed in exasperation and amusement. “Observe a little while longer? He’s about to leave, so how can we observe him? Seriously!”