Embers Ad Infinitum

“Above the Mind Corridor is the New World…” Jiang Baimian muttered. She turned her head and looked at Shang Jianyao and the others. “Have you thought of anything?”

Shang Jianyao replied with a look of pity, “Poor Yama Tiger.”

Upon hearing the name ‘Yama Tiger,’ Long Yuehong immediately recalled the exploration gains his team leader and Shang Jianyao had shared.

In the forbidden temple on Lake of Wrath’s Lake Heart Island, Yama Tiger—who was sleeping in a coffin—had used his nails to carve out the words ‘A brand new world.’

“So Yama Tiger is saying that he’s trapped in the New World? He has already transcended a Mind Corridor Awakened?” Long Yuehong tried to make a guess.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly. “It’s quite likely. Do you still remember the piece of paper left behind by Yama Tiger? On it were different numbers and the corresponding symbols. Back then, we speculated that this should be Yama Tiger’s exploration record of the different rooms in the Mind Corridor. The ones with ticks indicate that he had already been there and that there were no major problems, nor were there any significant yields.

“The last is the number 102. It’s the only one without a tick. Back then, we believed that Yama Tiger might’ve obtained something related to the New World while exploring Room 102, which resulted in the fatal accident. Now that I think about it, our guess wasn’t bold enough. Yama Tiger might’ve already found the New World’s door in Room 102 and broken through the Mind Corridor’s restrictions. In the end, he encountered an extremely terrifying matter inside and was trapped somewhere. He couldn’t return, nor could he leave.”

At this point, Jiang Baimian added with a solemn expression, “I even suspect that Yama Tiger’s four words—which he used all his strength to leave behind—are a reminder to the future generations that there’s a problem with the New World and that it’s not trivial. This can be confirmed with this sentence.”

She was referring to a paragraph on the screen.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen looked over and saw a simple sentence: “At present, nobody has really seen an Awakened who has entered the New World.”

Shang Jianyao laughed. “Didn’t many Church leaders also go to the New World to serve the corresponding Kalendaria?”

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and asked, “You mean that their current state might be similar to Yama Tiger’s?”

“That depends on whether Yama Tiger is loyal to any Kalendaria,” Shang Jianyao said in a pitying tone again.

Long Yuehong could understand what he meant this time.

In the New World, the treatment might very well be worlds apart if one didn’t come under the auspices of a Kalendaria. Therefore, the various Church leaders should be in a much better state than Yama Tiger.

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged his words. “There’s really a huge problem with the New World in the mind domain… I wonder what the problem is…”

She lacked sufficient information to make a guess, so she could only rationally stop the topic and sigh. “From the looks of it, Yama Tiger was much stronger than DiMarco back then.”

“Not necessarily.” Bai Chen shook her head. “DiMarco should’ve been suppressed by Eidolon Nun. Although we don’t know how he was suppressed, we can imagine that his strength and condition were definitely far inferior to his former state.”

Long Yuehong agreed. “Ever since DiMarco was suppressed by Eidolon Nun, the gap between him and Yama Tiger should’ve rapidly widened.”

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment. “Indeed. This can be indirect evidence that neither the Underground Ark nor the Lake Heart Island had the upper hand in the Chaotic Era.”

After DiMarco displayed Destiny Connection—which exceeded common sense—the Old Task Force suspected that in the area where Redstone Collection was located before the New Calendar, Lake Heart Island and the Underground Ark weren’t strangers who had nothing to do with each other. The premise of non-aggression was that the two parties had already exchanged blows.

After chatting about this, Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze and looked at the computer screen. “Alright, let’s continue reading.”

As her mouse scrolled down, new content appeared. “An Awakened’s abilities are suspected to be related to the 13 Kalendarium’s domains…

“The thirteen Kalendarium are: Subhuti, who controls January; Dawn, who controls February; Last Man, who controls March; Shadow of Distortion, who controls April; Monitor, who controls May; Golden Scale, who controls June; Double Sun, who controls July; Door of Scorching, who controls August; Mandara, who controls September; Eidolon Nun, who controls October; Shattered Mirror, who controls November; Arbiter of Fate, who controls December; and Master Zhuang, who controls the entire year or Leap Month.

“Among them, the Awakened abilities in the Subhuti domain are roughly distributed in the senses and consciousness. The price paid is related to the mental state, desires, and sensory matters. At the same time, there are Awakened in this domain who can’t lie…

“Awakened in the Dawn domain are related to consciousness and dreams. The known price is abnormalities in the five senses, intermittent comas, and schizophrenia…

“Awakened in the Last Man domain mainly affect memories. They are highly dangerous. At the same time, they also show characteristics that cause problems in one’s body. The current known prices are a lack of self-discipline, memory loss, and sleep disorders…

“Awakened in the Shadow of Distortion domain often make people lose their balance, have problems with their muscles, or carry out strange actions. The price they pay is a language problem and a strong desire to fight. The rest is unknown…

“Awakened in the Monitor domain can control a target’s hobbies and awaken their instincts. The price paid also seems related. For example, permanent changes in one’s sense of aesthetics and hobbies, a lack of fear, or uncontrollable charm…

“Awakened in the Golden Scale domain mainly affect bodies, including paralyzing them. The price they pay is often that their bodies show imbalances, such as a limp or a reduced lung function…

“Awakened in the Double Sun domain mainly interfere with vision and physical abilities. There are also cases where they induce strange reactions in people. The price paid is highly related to sex fetishes, forgetfulness, hair loss, blindness, fear of light, degeneration…

“Awakened in the Door of Scorching domain often show characteristics that affect muscles and minds of others. They also have abilities that give people dementia. The prices paid include very strange situations that they can’t help but dance when they hear music, as well as relatively ordinary situations like muscle weakness, fear of the cold, drowsiness during winter, and unstable emotions. The rest are unknown…

“Awakened in the Mandara domain control desires; they have very strong instincts. The price is often related to two aspects, such as alcohol addiction, sexual addiction, obesity, loss of desires, and loss of feelings…

“The Awakened in Eidolon Nun’s domain mainly affect a target’s emotions. At the same time, they often show signs of being able to sense the other party’s hostility. The price they pay is facial paralysis, hormonal disorder, excessive sensitivity, and can infuriate others when they speak. This is because they are too vigilant. This is all that is known at the moment… (Note: Talking to infuriate others might also be an ability)

“Awakened in the Shattered Mirror domain are good at creating illusions; they can also cause cognitive abnormalities. The price paid is eisoptrophobia, photophobia, hydrophobia, prosopagnosia, and being directionally challenged… (Note: Prices have been revised based on the latest information obtained)

“Awakened in the Arbiter of Fate domain control hearts and breathing. They are highly dangerous. The known price is eye abnormalities and limb paralysis…

“Awakened in the Master Zhuang domain generally affect one’s thoughts and wills. Some can also interfere with the target’s actions. The common prices paid are abnormal thoughts, personality changes, mental problems, psychological diseases, and so on…

“The abilities and prices described above more or less overlap to a certain extent. It can’t be entirely used as a basis for judgment. For example, there are a small number of Awakened who have mental disorders like personality dissociation and bipolar disorder in the Subhuti domain and the Master Zhuang domain. Whether their origins are the same remains to be verified. Perhaps different prices might lead to the same outcome to a certain extent at deeper levels…”

After reading this part, Jiang Baimian turned her head and looked at Shang Jianyao. “I now suspect that you are an Awakened in the Master Zhuang domain.”

Although there was more than one domain where Awakened could exhibit signs of jumpy thoughts or a split personality, the domain most compatible with Shang Jianyao’s abilities was undoubtedly the Master Zhuang domain.

Shang Jianyao nodded, hugged his right fist with his left hand, and said loudly, “The Perfected Man has no self; the New World is before us.”

Good heavens, he’s already joined the Eternal Time Church… Jiang Baimian secretly scoffed.

She couldn’t be bothered with such matters.

At this moment, they had already flipped to the end of the information provided by the brass.

Jiang Baimian retracted her hand that was holding the mouse and nodded slightly. “I’ll print it out later. Everyone, read it a few more times and memorize it. This can save your lives at critical moments.”

Although the corresponding abilities and prices in this information were relatively general, it was still very valuable.

After lunch, the four Old Task Force members spontaneously gave up on today’s training. They hugged the information and huddled in their seats, reading, memorizing, and discussing it seriously.

They even worked overtime because of this and stayed on the 647th floor until almost 8 p.m. before returning home.

495th floor, Zone B, Room 196.

Shang Jianyao pushed open the door that couldn’t be fully opened because of the blocking stove, allowing the street lamps’ light to flow in.

He took off his coat and casually closed the door before lying on the bed that could barely allow him to straighten his legs.

As usual, he didn’t turn on the lights and allowed himself to be hidden in the silent darkness that the street lamps couldn’t illuminate.

In the darkness, he heard a slightly childlike voice. “Good evening, everyone. I’m Newspoint broadcaster, Hou Yi. It’s 8 p.m. now…

“At 10 a.m. this morning, the company’s board of directors and vice-president—Ji Ze—inspected the Energy Zone and praised all the employees for their efforts in providing sufficient supplies during the Lunar New Year…

“According to surface weather observations, the climate has stabilized this year…

“At 9 a.m. this morning, the Water Conservation Committee announced that the development of the new generation of water filter chips has been completed. It will more effectively reduce all kinds of pollution in water sources…

“At 6:46 p.m. today, a malignant assault happened on the 532nd floor. It’s suspected to be related to a card game debt dispute. Order Supervisory Department Minister, Song Feilong, is urging all employees: Small amount of gambling is entertaining, but excessive gambling harms not only the body, but it also ruins families…

“The Entertainment Department has begun the 47th Annual Reform Survey on radio programs. All employees are requested to enthusiastically fill out the forms…

“The spring table tennis tournament is in full swing…”

A familiar voice echoed in the dark room, and Shang Jianyao’s expression gradually relaxed.