Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian felt a double sense of exasperation, but it didn’t affect her condition. She only sighed slightly; her heart and mind had already been tempered sufficiently.

She then instructed Genava, “We can take this piece of paper and do further research when we return.”

With that said, she looked down at her watch. “There’s not much time left. We have to hurry.” Jiang Baimian meant that she had to quickly check if any of the few items in the room were worth taking the risk to bring away.

Genava didn’t delay. He shook the thin blanket, knocked on the pillow, and lifted the blanket, but he didn’t find anything else.

During this process, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao sensed with all their might, but they didn’t discover any abnormalities.

After Genava put away the piece of paper and stretched his silver-black metal palm toward the small luminous pearl that emitted a yellowish-green glow, Shang Jianyao suddenly said, “It moved, it moved. The fetus moved.”

“…” Jiang Baimian realized that her heart and mind weren’t resilient enough.

She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

The Life Ritual parish was indeed the first religious organization Shang Jianyao had joined. It had left a clear mark on him.

Of course, Jiang Baimian also knew why Shang Jianyao said that. Just as Genava’s finger touched the luminescent pearl the size of a fish eye, the item’s yellow-green glow flickered weakly. Furthermore, an extremely difficult-to-detect bioelectric signal flashed and disappeared.

Shang Jianyao continued, “A very weak human consciousness was fluctuating within. It’s gone now.”

This is the product of combining the auras left behind by powerhouses that have explored the Mind Corridor’s depths with real items? This might come from Yama Tiger himself, or it might also come from his gains from a room in the Mind Corridor… Jiang Baimian kept track of the time and didn’t say anything else. “Put it away first; we’ll study it when we get back. We should leave.”

Genava took out the rubber gloves he had long prepared, stuffed the yellowish-green luminous pearl in, and wrapped it up.

The three of them quickly and calmly left the room and switched off the flashlight.

After Genava pushed the coffin back to its original spot and blocked the basement entrance, Shang Jianyao raised the coffin lid again and closed it tightly.

“I think Yama Tiger might not like you doing this.” Jiang Baimian kept track of the time as she watched Shang Jianyao busy himself.

Shang Jianyao raised his hands slightly, half-raised his body, and looked into the void. “Everything is but a dream. Why so serious?”

Jiang Baimian wanted to retort, but time didn’t allow for it. She could only take the lead and leave the temple named Yama Hall.

…

In the hotel camp, in a room with a dim, yellow light bulb.

All the Old Task Force members were gathered around the coffee table that served as a dining table, staring at the yellowish-green night pearl.

Jiang Baimian broke the silence and said, “We have to test what effects this can produce.”

Her gaze turned to Genava.

After dinner, they had already studied the piece of paper and didn’t discover anything special.

Genava stretched out his silver-black metal palm, picked up the night pearl the size of a fish eye, and rotated it a few times. “How?”

When he picked up the night pearl, Jiang Baimian sensed the faint electric signal again. But apart from this, there was nothing.

“Try to imbue your spiritual…” Jiang Baimian shut her mouth before she could finish speaking. It was obvious that smart bots didn’t have spiritual traits. It was still unknown if humans had them!

She deliberated for a few seconds and said, “Use an electric current to stimulate it?”

She was a woman of action, so she immediately said to Genava, “Hold it. I’ll give it a try.”

Long Yuehong subconsciously shrank back and tried to distance himself, but when he saw Bai Chen and Shang Jianyao—who remained motionless—he felt that he had been too timid. Therefore, he forcefully returned to his original posture.

Looking at the yellowish-green night pearl in Genava’s palm, Jiang Baimian raised her left hand and pressed down.

A silver-white electric arc sparked out, crossed a relatively short distance, and struck the target’s surface.

The yellowish-green light emitted by the night pearl clearly trembled. The weak electric signals hidden inside surfaced again, becoming messy.

However, everything quickly returned to normal. Nothing happened.

“It didn’t work…” Long Yuehong said in disappointment or relief. He didn’t think he was affected by any abilities.

Jiang Baimian nodded indiscernibly and thought about a new plan.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao said, “Let me give it a try.”

Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and said, “Be careful. Yes, put on the gloves first.”

She then said to Genava, “Watch him. If anything goes wrong, separate him from the night pearl.”

“Don’t! It’s true love between us!” Shang Jianyao replied in a tone that others couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

He then picked up the glove made of latex and wore it on his left palm. After that, he stretched out his hand and pinched the yellowish-green night pearl in Genava’s palm.

Just like before, Jiang Baimian sensed a weak electric signal flash.

Shang Jianyao looked at the night pearl in his hand and seriously reasoned with it. “You should’ve heard of a term that goes: ‘pearls covered in dust.’ As a night pearl, you have been in the basement for decades. Nobody appreciates or praises you. Don’t you feel lonely? Now, you have a chance to bloom with your own brilliance…”

Long Yuehong found Shang Jianyao’s drivel funny and terrifying. The funny thing was that this fellow really seemed to think that he could communicate with a night pearl. He was terrified that this fellow would actually succeed in communicating with the night pearl.

Bai Chen—who had been quietly watching—was also shocked by Shang Jianyao’s actions. This reminded her of the mentally deranged wilderness nomads she had encountered in the past.

Of course, Shang Jianyao was no different from them. He only had an additional doctor’s certificate.

After communicating for more than a minute, Shang Jianyao sighed helplessly. “It refuses to speak.”

It can’t speak… Jiang Baimian had just finished criticizing when she saw Shang Jianyao hand the yellowish-green night pearl to his right hand.

That hand didn’t wear any latex gloves.

Jiang Baimian opened her mouth but didn’t stop him in the end. She only signaled Genava to be prepared with her eyes.

Genava took more than two seconds to figure out what the look meant.

Shang Jianyao gripped the yellowish-green night pearl with his right hand, and his dark-brown eyes suddenly turned deep.

Jiang Baimian sensed the weak electric signal inside the night pearl the very next second. It spread and grew, becoming very complicated as if it was bearing the descent of a certain thought.

Long Yuehong stood up with a whoosh and rushed out of the room, trembling. He rushed to the room next door, lay on the bed, wrapped himself in the blanket, and curled up.

“This…” Jiang Baimian was a little confused at first before she came to a realization—the night pearl had taken effect!

Shang Jianyao lowered his head slightly and looked at the night pearl in his palm. He smiled and said, “It seems to make others timid; let’s call it Coward. It can target only one person or affect all humans in a range, but the effects will be much worse.”

Jiang Baimian’s eyes lit up. “This ability is very strong, and it’s very suitable for this operation.”

The greatest fear for Operation Beheading was that it would be intercepted midway or that they would be unable to find the person in question. With this night pearl, the defenses around DiMarco would be useless as long as they attacked first. Even DiMarco himself would be affected.

Shang Jianyao continued, “The maximum distance is about 120 meters. It can now affect the underground mall on the other side of the camp and Redstone Collection.”

“Yes, this definitely can’t compare to a real Mind Corridor powerhouse, but it should be able to affect them.” Jiang Baimian made an inference based on the information she currently knew.

At this moment, she acutely discovered a problem. “Has the night pearl’s glow dimmed a little?”

“Yes.” Genava compared the two sets of data and gave an affirmative reply.

Shang Jianyao nodded. “This is the same as eating candy. It’s a little less every time you use it; there’s no way to restore it. You can also instantly release all its strength, and the effects will be stronger.”

As they discussed, Long Yuehong—who was next door—finally came to his senses. He got off the bed in frustration and walked back.

Jiang Baimian glanced at him and smiled. “Not bad. You can recover so quickly despite being affected by an item at the Mind Corridor level.”

“He’s not timid enough to suffer from incontinence,” added Bai Chen. She originally wanted to use the term ‘peeing his pants,’ but she realized that it meant prodding at Long Yuehong’s scab. Therefore, she changed the term to be more literary.

Long Yuehong’s heart was immediately comforted. He sat down and asked about the night pearl’s abilities.

After Jiang Baimian finished speaking, Long Yuehong looked at Shang Jianyao’s right hand curiously. “Can ordinary people like us, who aren’t Awakened, use it?”

“Truth comes from practice.” Shang Jianyao laughed.

Long Yuehong recalled his previous cowardly side and mustered his courage. “Then, I’ll give it a try.”

Shang Jianyao then handed over the yellowish-green night pearl.

Jiang Baimian also wanted to know the answer to this question, so she quickly said to Genava, “Be careful of any accidents.”

“No problem.” Genava’s blue-light-emitting eyes locked onto Long Yuehong.

Long Yuehong took the night pearl and found that it wasn’t as cold as he imagined. Instead, it was closer to body temperature.

He tried to focus and gather his spiritual energy, but he failed to trigger the Coward effect despite trying many different methods.

“No luck…” Finally, he shook his head in disappointment.

At this moment, a wind blew in the hotel camp, producing howling sounds.

Long Yuehong’s ears twitched, and his body trembled. He suddenly threw down the night pearl and hid behind the sofa—behind Bai Chen and Jiang Baimian.

After a few seconds, he exhaled and stood up.

Upon seeing Shang Jianyao and the others look at him at the same time, Long Yuehong’s face flushed red. “I-I don’t know what happened either. I suddenly felt very scared and felt that there was something wrong with the wind…”

Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully. “Not only are non-Awakened unable to use such a mystical item, but they will also be slightly affected.”