Embers Ad Infinitum

The figure separated from Shang Jianyao’s body like a ghost from legends. It was blurry and illusory, making the surrounding temperature seem to drop a little.

DiMarco! Jiang Baimian completely confirmed that there were consciousness lifeforms in this world.

In fact, the existence of Mechanical Monks had already provided proof to a certain extent with the Eternal project’s success.

Before Jiang Baimian could think of anything else, she felt her body turn cold as if her consciousness had been frozen. She then shouted in horror, “No!”

Along with this shout was the figure’s departure. DiMarco instantly overlapped with Long Yuehong. “No!”

“No!”

DiMarco’s illusory figure blinked into Long Yuehong and Bai Chen, making them involuntarily scream in horror.

The owner of the Underground Ark acted like a headless fly. He scurried around the room in horror, constantly possessing and escaping. It was as if nowhere could make him feel safe.

In just a second or two, he completed two rounds of possession at an exaggerated speed. He even planned on using the silver-black smart bot, Genava, as a vessel. Unfortunately, Genava didn’t react at all, nor did he shout ‘no.’

As he blinked, DiMarco’s figure suddenly disappeared.

He ‘jumped’ into a strange room. The room’s walls were pitch black, highlighting illusory faces.

These faces were either hideous or warped as they looked at DiMarco with extremely venomous eyes. It was as though they wanted to rush forward and tear this Awakened at the Mind Corridor level apart.

DiMarco ignored them and pounced on the dark door, attempting to open it. However, the door didn’t budge as if it was just a drawing.

One side of the dark door was vermilion, and there were golden numbers on it. However, black paper was pasted on the door handle and the lock.

They covered the area like barricade tape from the Old World.

“No!” DiMarco let out another cry of indignation and fear.

Over the years, he had been locked in his ‘room.’ Occasionally, he could use other people’s mind worlds to explore the corridor. The reason he was so concerned about Yama Tiger’s condition and the words he left behind was that he wanted to find a solution or a door to the New World to escape this predicament completely.

For powerhouses at DiMarco’s level, although the night pearl—which instantly erupted with all its power—could deal a considerable impact on him, the duration of its effects was still too short. Before long, DiMarco recovered from his Coward state.

He coldly looked around at the faces in the ‘room’ and left.

…

In the real world, Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and the others had completely recovered because of DiMarco’s brief disappearance.

Jiang Baimian immediately shouted, “He’s afraid of electricity and magnetism!”

There was practical proof!

Jiang Baimian had already discovered that the so-called ‘consciousness lifeform’ was closely related to the electromagnetic field. The electric storm she had previously released had greatly disrupted DiMarco’s foundation for survival and destroyed many of his hidden ’embodiments.’

However, this was not enough. In order to completely destroy this monster that had lived in different bodies for years, the electric energy in her biological prosthetic limb was clearly insufficient. Furthermore, the previous eruption had exhausted the energy she had charged up over a long period. At most, she could complete one or two more electric shocks that left a person numb.

Just as she said that, DiMarco’s figure quickly appeared in midair. This monster—who was wearing the Old World black priest outfit and an old bonnet of the same color—was much more illusory than before. He faltered like a weak bubble.

Upon seeing Jiang Baimian raise her left hand and Genava seemingly about to take out a high-performance battery, DiMarco immediately snorted.

With a loud bang, the ceiling collapsed, and large rocks fell.

They seemed to be pulled by an invisible force as they gathered above Jiang Baimian, Genava, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen.

The spot where Shang Jianyao was was as calm as the eye of a storm.

Amidst the rumbling sounds, Long Yuehong saw pieces of concrete smash at him. After hearing his team leader’s words, he subconsciously activated the military exoskeleton before he could think of a countermeasure. He bent his joints as he pounced toward the door.

The situation there was much better.

After doing this, Long Yuehong recalled something. Bai Chen wasn’t far from me. She doesn’t have an exoskeleton, so it’s very dangerous for her to face the ceiling’s collapse.

In midair, Long Yuehong forcefully turned his head and looked back. He saw that the pieces of concrete were about to cover Bai Chen.

His eyes instantly froze, but he couldn’t turn around.

Bang!

Long Yuehong—who was wearing a military exoskeleton—pounced to the door but didn’t roll over.

At this moment, Bai Chen curled up her body with her rich experience. She used her right hand and arm to protect her head, covering all her vital spots.

She didn’t panic; she also observed the environment and took the initiative to hide under the area with the least amount of concrete.

The lesser of two evils.

Bang! Bang!

Her shoulder, back, and arm were struck and grazed.

Bai Chen gritted her teeth and only grunted.

Meanwhile, Jiang Baimian dodged the largest piece of concrete. She used her left hand’s immense strength to push away the ‘attacks’ forcefully.

This left her with only a slight scratch.

As for Genava, not only did he have fast reflexes and strength, but he could also withstand most of the concrete’s impact. Apart from certain depressions in parts of his body, there were some scuffs that required a new paint job.

As they dodged the attack, DiMarco’s figure disappeared in midair.

Shang Jianyao’s eyes turned deep again, and his feet couldn’t move at all.

…

In the Sea of Origins, on the island with mountains, rivers, and sunlight.

DiMarco—who was wearing the Old World priest outfit and an old-fashioned bonnet—appeared in the sky. Compared to before, he was clearly much weaker. It seemed as if he couldn’t last much longer.

He looked down at the Shang Jianyaos and snapped, “Although this body of yours isn’t a suitable vessel, I’ll use it for two years at most. My child will be born soon. I still have a chance to create more new lives! You forced me to assimilate you directly. Can’t you just let me strip you of your consciousness?”

As he spoke, DiMarco lowered his right palm.

Shang Jianyao’s Sea of Origins suddenly boiled, raising waves dozens to a hundred meters tall.

Amidst these massive waves, countless glimmers expanded, revealing scenes.

There was Shang Jianyao, who tottered as he learned how to walk in front of his parents. Shang Jianyao, who listened to his father’s stories of the surface. Shang Jianyao, who won the hide-and-seek competition and captured Long Yuehong. Shang Jianyao, who was curled up in a dark room. Shang Jianyao, who guarded by the white bedsheets. Shang Jianyao, who was focused on studying alone. Shang Jianyao, who signed to be a volunteer without hesitation. Shang Jianyao, who lay on the experiment bed and slowly closed his eyes…

The past appeared again today.

Destiny Connection. Upon seeing the past of all living beings, one realized that Buddhist nature was unique.

You are me, and I am you!

No matter how the Shang Jianyaos used Corny Person, Inference Clowning, or simulated rocket launchers, DiMarco was no longer affected. His figure fused with the illusory wave and the numerous scenes.

Crack!

The huge waves around the island slammed down and drowned the Shang Jianyaos.

…

In the real world, in DiMarco’s room.

After the ceiling was done collapsing, Jiang Baimian—who had guessed whose body DiMarco wanted to occupy—immediately ran toward Shang Jianyao.

Electric arcs emitted from her left hand, but they could no longer zap through the air and land on Shang Jianyao. She could only go close and make direct contact to complete the electric shock.

Jiang Baimian didn’t know how much damage this could do to DiMarco after the possession or if she could force him out of Shang Jianyao’s body. But at this moment, she couldn’t care less.

In just a second, Jiang Baimian ran to Shang Jianyao’s side. Just as she stretched out her left hand, she saw Shang Jianyao—who was wearing a monkey mask—give her a signal with his eyes.

He signaled with his eyes.

Jiang Baimian’s outstretched left hand paused.

…

In Shang Jianyao’s Sea of Origins, on an island with mountains, rivers, and sunlight.

Only DiMarco’s figure and the shimmering scenes in the surrounding waves were left.

The Shang Jianyaos in those scenes seemed to appear a little more sinister.

“Haha!” DiMarco roared with laughter. However, faces of Shang Jianyao protruded out from his face, forehead, and neck. They looked like they were about to tear out from the inside.

“How can this be? How can he not be completely assimilated?” DiMarco shouted in horror. His aura was much weaker than before—much, much weaker.

At this moment, he saw a pair of hands appear at the edge of the island. Right on the heels of that, a figure flipped over.

It was Shang Jianyao in a grayish-blue camouflage uniform.

He smiled at DiMarco. “Because there’s still one more me.”

Previously, there were only eight Shang Jianyaos on the island.

“You!” DiMarco shouted in anger, but he didn’t do anything.

Shang Jianyao smiled and said, “After discovering that you could invade other people’s minds, I figured out something. Every previous Underground Ark owner should’ve been you. You can occupy another person’s body after your current body deteriorates and continue living. The Ark owner always has a large number of mistresses and many children because you want to choose the most suitable vessel.

“There’s a very interesting detail in this. When the previous Ark owner was seriously ill, the servants rioted, causing your family to lose a large number of members. This resulted in you not being able to find a suitable vessel after DiMarco’s body failed, pushing you to the brink of madness. It was only when Lars appeared that you saw hope.

“You are a powerhouse at the Mind Corridor level. You shouldn’t have let such a problem arise and put yourself in a predicament. Therefore, I came to a conclusion: Every time you assimilate others and occupy a body, you are at your weakest. You can’t even control ordinary servants and guards. The fact that you deprived me of my consciousness the moment you came here and didn’t directly occupy my body proved my guess correct.”

DiMarco’s eyes gradually turned fierce as if his most important secret had been exposed.

Shang Jianyao continued smiling. “Therefore, I hid and kept waiting for this opportunity. Now that you have fallen into the process of assimilation and haven’t completed it, you are in your weakest state. I remain as the owner of this mind world.”

DiMarco could no longer suppress the anger in his heart and blurted out, “Was everything you previously did all an act?”

He had been deceived by the Shang Jianyaos’ performance and thought that this was their limit. Of course, the matter’s development and the changes in the environment ‘urged’ him to obtain a body immediately.

“No, no, no. All of us are doing our best. We can’t place our hopes on a single person,” Shang Jianyao explained with a smile.

DiMarco was speechless. After a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and roared, “You’re really a lunatic! Why did you obey the Vigilance Church to deal with me? What benefits did they give you? I can agree to anything!”

As Shang Jianyao walked toward the tottering DiMarco, he smiled and said, “We have nothing to do with the Vigilance Church.”

“Then, why are you attacking me?” DiMarco was shocked and angry.

Shang Jianyao looked at him and replied in a normal tone, “For the innocent lives that you killed, for those pair of eyes that went from hope to despair.”

DiMarco almost doubted his ears. “Just for this? Why?”

He asked ‘why’ again because he couldn’t believe that someone would take a huge risk to deal with him for the lives and future of a group of slaves.

“Why?” Shang Jianyao repeated the question and looked around.

On his sides, in the huge waves that had frozen in midair, a few of the shimmering scenes had become much larger and emitted sounds.

It was the large number of nomads who had frozen or starved to death outside Weed City. It was the streets and squares filled with blood. It was a customer that almost broke down and went crazy because they couldn’t bear to part with the last mouthful of noodles:

“We’re humans too; do we deserve to starve to death?”

It was a scene of a battlefield filled with corpses. There were humans, merfolk, and mountain monsters. It was a map with a circle with the words ‘home.’ It was the amber scales on Han Wanghuo’s arm. He laughed indignantly.

“Yes, I’m a Subhuman. But compared to most people in this town and this world, I’m more like a human!”

It was the silence when faced with the question: ‘Do you still treat yourself as a human?’ It was the old figure that jumped down from a tall building. It was a smile that said, ‘Everything is but a dream. Why so serious?’ It was a question that Genava couldn’t understand or accept that he had to retort: “Are we not a type of human?”

It was an incomplete corpse in a short mountain cave. It was a female figure hugging her child tightly. It was a helpless question from the recording pen: “Are they going to kill us just because we’re sick?”

They were the pairs of eyes that had suffered many hardships but carried a glimmer of hope. They were corpses that had been placed in sacks. They were round eyes that silently stared at the sky filled with horror and despair as if they were asking the heavens.

As these scenes surrounded him and the questions echoed, Shang Jianyao looked at DiMarco’s confused and slightly terrified face. The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing two rows of white teeth. “Because I’m human!”

He smiled and stretched out his right hand toward DiMarco.

The frozen waves around the island—along with the scenes from before—slammed down, drowning the figure in the Old World black priest outfit and bonnet of the same color.