Embers Ad Infinitum

The guards hiding at Redstone Collection’s entrance recognized the jeep almost at the same time they saw the mask.

Their bodies stiffened for two seconds before they followed the Vigilance Church’s dogma—they retracted their weapons and hid themselves better. They had no intention of making a sound or greeting him.

Shang Jianyao didn’t mind at all; he got into the car again and introduced Genava. “This is the folklore here. Do you want a mask as well?”

Genava couldn’t analyze the pros and cons of the situation and could only answer vaguely, “I’ll consider it.”

“He only needs to wear sunglasses.” As Jiang Baimian drove the jeep into Redstone Collection, she provided her opinion. “He also needs to change his clothes.”

Genava was still wearing the dark-green military uniform. This was a signature of Tarnan’s robot guards.

“Do they sell clothes here?” As Shang Jianyao and the others were wearing masks, Genava didn’t feel that changing clothes was a form of discrimination toward him.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “There’s no need to be so particular. Just take off your coat and wear the shirt inside. We’ll buy a few more sets when we have the chance later.”

Just as she said that, she suddenly had a strange thought: Will Genava ask if he needs to wear pants?

Fortunately, Genava wasn’t puzzled over this question. He moved his metal neck and said, “Alright.”

As he spoke, he took off his coat.

Yes, there are still differences between smart bots and ordinary robots. They won’t ask about everything and require everything to be explained… As Jiang Baimian muttered to herself, she found a familiar parking spot and parked the jeep.

After entering Redstone Collection, Shang Jianyao rushed to an advertising panel from the Old World and knocked on it before Genava could scan the layout and structure.

As the sound echoed, the panel door opened, revealing the town guard holding a submachine gun inside. His mask was raised to the top of his head—a typical Ashlandic.

“You weren’t careful enough,” Shang Jianyao pointed out. He acted like they knew each other well.

The town guard replied aggrievedly, “I can’t breathe if I hide inside here and wear a mask.”

“That’s true.” Shang Jianyao expressed his understanding. He then asked, “Where can I get more high-performance batteries?”

The town guard secretly heaved a sigh of relief. “Mr. DiMarco’s butler, Ulrich, is in charge of the Visa Trading Company’s energy-related matters. Also, Anhebus has channels; he might even have stock.”

High-performance batteries were classified under ‘energy’ in the smuggling business. Although Anhebus had ‘contributed’ a batch of firearms to Shang Jianyao and the others, he was actually closer to an energy merchant. He sold weapons to mountain monsters for the coal business.

“Very good!” Shang Jianyao smiled. He then raised a new question. “Who’s the sheriff and town guard captain now?”

“Captain Tan Jie,” replied the town guard truthfully.

“Oh, him.” Shang Jianyao nodded happily. “I like how he curses without an expression.”

This… Long Yuehong suddenly felt that Shang Jianyao’s performance today was more exaggerated than before. He couldn’t help but mutter, “What’s wrong with him today?”

Jiang Baimian touched her ear and solemnly said, “Maybe it’s the performer, Shang Jianyao, now.”

“Uh…” Long Yuehong was first stunned before he came to a realization. This is all the fault of the Old World drama serials!

“I feel like he’s back home,” Genava commented.

“They’re all his brothers,” Jiang Baimian explained without head or tail.

Bai Chen whispered, “The effects of the Old World’s entertainment…”

At this moment, Shang Jianyao had already changed the topic. For example, did anyone from Mechanical Paradise come over recently?

He finally asked, “Who’s the new bishop?”

The town guard replied, “Bishop Antonella; he looks very strong.”

Jiang Baimian took a few steps forward and asked, “Did he come alone?”

“No.” The town guard shook his head. “There’s also the Terror Bishop—His Excellency Saint Sigmund—and other clergymen. However, they left after they went to Lake Heart Island—the island you’ve been to.”

“Did they retrieve anything? Did anything happen to Lake Heart Island?” This was what Jiang Baimian wanted to ask.

“I don’t know.” The town guard thought for a moment and indicated that he didn’t know. “In any case, we are forbidden from approaching that island in any way or form. What’s there to forbid? With the merfolk around, how would we dare go to Lake Heart Island?”

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian asked about something else and roughly grasped Redstone Collection’s current situation.

Apart from the new bishop’s appointment, the most obvious change was that Helvig’s widow—Mrs. Theresa—had already become a figure with a certain status here.

The previous arms dealer, Lehman, had already left. It was said that his face was ashen when he left.

After the exchange, the Old Task Force went to Kesha Hotel and booked three rooms with canned food, energy bars, and compressed biscuits.

This was much more expensive than the last time they checked in. The hotel owner’s explanation was: “You definitely need to recharge often with that robot of yours. This is the prepayment charge for the electricity.”

This sentence hit the Old Task Force’s sore spot. They had many high-performance batteries awaiting replenishment!

Genava only had one spare battery to use at the moment. The military exoskeleton hadn’t been worn ever since Long Yuehong took it off last time.

…

In the hotel camp.

Jiang Baimian distributed the electronic cards. “I’ll share a room with Shang Jianyao, while Little White and Little Red will share a room. Old Ge, you’ll have a room to yourself.”

Long Yuehong and the others were already accustomed to this plan and didn’t object. Only Genava hesitated and asked, “Are you two couples?”

“Cough…” Long Yuehong choked on his saliva and coughed.

Jiang Baimian looked at Genava and laughed. “Why do you think so?”

“Why would the opposite sex stay in the same room if they aren’t a couple?” Genava raised his doubts.

Shang Jianyao smiled as he patted Genava on the shoulder. “Old Ge, your point of view is too pedantic. There are many combinations among humans; it’s not only men and women who can be called couples. There are also woman-woman couples, man-man couples, androgynous couples, and transgender couples…”

Jiang Baimian glared at Shang Jianyao as he started to veer off track.

“In addition,” Shang Jianyao changed the topic. “How we share our rooms for our Old Task Force depends on pragmatic requirements. Think about it; which of the two of them can restrain me? They might not even notice that I slipped out in the middle of the night and did something bad.”

Whoa, you’re pretty arrogant? Jiang Baimian was exasperated and amused.

Genava thought for a moment. “I understand that.”

He then asked, “Why do you have to sneak out in the middle of the night to do bad things?”

Shang Jianyao thought for a few seconds and solemnly replied, “A brain spasm.”

Without waiting for Genava to ask what this meant, Jiang Baimian smiled and said, “Old Ge, it’s very rude of you to ask directly if we are couples. Look, you made the two of them so uncomfortable.”

Clearly, only Long Yuehong felt uncomfortable. Bai Chen had a calm expression and didn’t take it seriously.

Genava’s slightly synthetic voice revealed a hint of sincerity. “Actually, I know that this isn’t too polite, but didn’t you say that companions don’t have to care so much? I also want to improve my understanding of human society and you carbon-based humans as soon as possible. I want to build a good foundation for my future personal survival and solo operations. You also taught me this—observe more, ask more, listen more, and experience more.”

Jiang Baimian smiled. “That’s right, but you can use a more polite method. For example, ask me in private and don’t do it in front of them.”

“Is that so…” Genava replied in a tone of having learned something again.

They then returned to their rooms and rested for a moment before gathering to prepare dinner.

Among them, Genava’s ‘food’ was a high-performance battery that was charging.

At this moment, they felt a commotion on the other side of the hotel camp.

“What happened?” Long Yuehong cast his gaze out the door in confusion.

Shang Jianyao even put down the things in his hand and walked out.

Under the setting sun’s illumination, they saw a group of people gathered in the distance. It was unknown what they were doing.

“I’ll go take a look.” Shang Jianyao notified his companions and curiously approached.

Jiang Baimian, Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genava looked at each other, closed the doors, and walked over.

After shortening the distance, they saw the situation opposite them clearly.

There were 40 to 50 young men and women over there. Their faces were relatively clean, and their clothes were tattered.

Long Yuehong looked over and even saw old cotton shoes with toes sticking out, as well as down jackets with several large holes.

These men and women ranged in age from 15 to 24. Around them stood seven to eight people with guns and better attires in comparison.

The man suspected to be the leader of the gunmen said loudly, “I know that you guys have suffered a lot in the past. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been sold to me and become slaves. But now, your good days are coming!”

The 40 to 50 young men and women listened numbly, but they also seemed to be looking forward to it.

The slave merchant continued, “Think about it. If I didn’t find a good place for you, would I have let you stay in a hotel? Redstone Collection is filled with abandoned houses. Can’t I stuff you somewhere?

“Heh heh, in two to three days, you will be able to enter the Underground Ark. Even the lowest-ranking servants there will be able to eat their fill. There will be free clothes, and you can sleep for at least six hours a day. There will also be doctors to treat you if you are sick.

“Although you will always live in the underground castle, you don’t have to worry about the plague. You don’t have to worry about bandits, troops, or other nomads. You also don’t have to be afraid of being attacked by beasts. If you perform well, you might even become a steward and be sent to the ground to do things… In short, you have to undergo training well and strive to become Lord DiMarco’s servant…”

Upon hearing his explanation, the faces of the 40 to 50 men and women gradually lit up. Some kind of glow seemed to flicker in their black and white eyes.

The toes protruding out of their cotton shoes and their swollen fingers subconsciously twitched.

At this moment, only one sentence echoed in Long Yuehong’s mind: “DiMarco is a very violent person.”