Embers Ad Infinitum

First City’s management is still much worse than the company… Jiang Baimian nodded and asked another question after hearing Jadi’s answer. “Has anything major happened in the city recently?”

Jadi shook his head like a rattle. “No, everything is as usual.”

“Are all of you citizens?” Jiang Baimian asked.

Jadi glanced at his companions—who had their hands raised. “Yes, but over the years, the citizens at the bottom are living increasingly worse days. It’s not as good as when the emperor was alive. We have a good relationship with some of the city guard captains and company commanders. We rely on them to earn some hard-earned money at the Red River Bridge entrance.”

Hard-earned money… Jiang Baimian nearly chortled from amusement. How can extortion with a gun be considered tough?

Jiang Baimian asked a few more questions regarding First City’s current situation before nodding. “Then, please help us get the soldiers guarding the bridge to make an exception. Money isn’t a problem.”

Jadi controlled the change in his expression and revealed a fawning expression. “No problem. I’ll pay for it. You don’t have to pay.”

Jiang Baimian replied casually, “That works too. Treat it as an apology for offending us.”

Jadi slowly turned around and assumed a posture of leading the way.

With his back facing the Old Task Force, a smile gradually appeared on his face.

As long as I speak to the soldiers guarding the bridge, I can let this unknown team know the consequences of offending me. Bringing heavy weapons and a robot to First City… Are they thinking of causing destruction in the city?

When the time comes, the supplies will be divided equally. The men will be sent to the mines, the women will be sold to the bathhouses, and the robot will be transferred elsewhere!

Just as Jadi took a step, he heard the man—who was sometimes friendly and sometimes fierce—say to his companion, “Look, you guys speak the Red River language, so do I. You have weapons, so do I. So…”

What does that mean? Jadie was a little confused.

The next second, one of his companions shouted in enlightenment, “Quick! Jadi will get the guards to betray you. No, us!”

Jadi’s mind buzzed. For a moment, he didn’t know if he should immediately curse or beg for mercy.

He slowly turned around and saw Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and the others smiling or looking calm. They weren’t surprised at all.

Shang Jianyao walked toward Jadi and smiled. “Think about it. I just massaged your shoulders. You also answered my question. What kind of relationship should we have?”

After clearing the third mind island, the conversational format for using Inference Clowning became more flexible. As long as he satisfied the three-stage structure, he could replace ‘so.’

Jadi’s expression changed a few times as he punched his chest in tears. “I deserve death for betraying my brother!”

Shang Jianyao grabbed Jadi’s hands and said sincerely, “There won’t be a next time.”

It’s getting to his head again… Jiang Baimian turned her head and looked at Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Genava.

She actually didn’t mind sinking Jadi and the others into the Red River. They said that they only mugged and didn’t harm anyone, but in fact, it was obvious to Jiang Baimian that there was no way they would let anyone who resisted off just like that.

The reason she didn’t take action was that this place was too close to the Red River Bridge. The bridge guards were also in cahoots with Jadi and the others, so any commotion would affect them from completing the mission.

Jadi—who had made up his mind to change for the better—wiped his tears and led the way in front of the military-green jeep. His companions retreated to their hiding spots in the riverside ruins.

Upon seeing that the bridge was in sight, the vehicle slowed down. Jiang Baimian signaled for Genava to ‘switch’ the color of his eyes and change some of his characteristics to make him look like an ordinary robot.

At the same time, Shang Jianyao rolled down the window and handed the 20 Oray that Jiang Baimian had stuffed into his hands to Jadi.

“There’s no need! There’s no need!” Jadi waved his hand repeatedly.

Shang Jianyao’s expression turned solemn. “Are you looking down on me?”

“N-no.” Jadi could only take the 20 Oray.

After Shang Jianyao retracted his hand and straightened his body, Long Yuehong lowered his voice and asked, “Why are you still giving him money?”

How can this soothe the grudge if a vile person like him doesn’t bleed a little?

Shang Jianyao glanced at Long Yuehong and smiled. “This way, he won’t realize that he’s missing money when he returns.”

What kind of answer is that? Uh… If he ends up having money missing and was asked by his family and accomplices, Jadi will end up realizing that something is amiss on the spot and render Inference Clowning ineffective. If nobody else mentions this matter, he and the people from before could form a cyclic reinforcement, preventing them from detecting any problems for a long time… Long Yuehong was first stunned before he figured out Shang Jianyao’s meaning by himself.

Jiang Baimian—who was driving—casually asked, “How long can it last?”

“If nothing unexpected happens, it should last at least one month.” Shang Jianyao glanced at Jadi in front of the car.

“No problem.” Jiang Baimian nodded slightly.

This way, it wouldn’t affect the Old Task Force’s operation in First City. Furthermore, they might have to rely on these locals sometime in the future.

At this moment, Jadi walked back to the jeep that was inching forward and spoke to Jiang Baimian, who had rolled down the window. “It’s better if you get someone else to drive. You’re too beautiful, and your figure is too good. It’s very easy to get into trouble. If you were of Red River ethnicity, those guards definitely wouldn’t dare to do anything with you, worried that you might be the child of some noble or official, but you are Ashlandic…”

“Whoa.” Jiang Baimian didn’t know whether to be pleased or angry. She had always had a sense of the overall situation and readily said to Long Yuehong in the backseat, “Little Red, do the driving. Little White, wear your sunglasses as well.”

As she spoke, she also wore her sunglasses.

She then saw Shang Jianyao take out his sunglasses and put them on the bridge of his nose.

Jiang Baimian stopped the car and switched seats with Long Yuehong as she asked in amusement, “Why are you wearing them?”

Shang Jianyao replied seriously, “What if they like men? Boys should also be careful when out.”

Jiang Baimian controlled the urge to grab her hair and regretted indulging him in obtaining the Old World entertainment back then.

At this moment, Genava also asked, “Do I need to wear sunglasses? They previously said that many people want to capture a robot.”

Jiang Baimian glanced at Bai Chen, who seemed to be holding in her laughter. She opened the car door and sighed. “Whether you wear sunglasses or not can’t hide your heroic bearing…”

Shang Jianyao—who was squeezed to the middle of the back row by Jiang Baimian—quickly suggested, “You can wear a cloak!”

Genava ignored him. This was because the Old Task Force had no cloak but a sack.

It was more suspicious to wear a sack.

After a while, the Old Task Force’s jeep finally drove to the gap.

Jadi leaned forward and skillfully greeted the bridge guards with a hug. During this process, he handed 20 Oray to the other party.

The bridge guards looked at each other before getting the driver, Long Yuehong, to roll down the window and open the trunk.

They casually glanced into the car and flipped through the items behind. They ended the inspection without even opening the wooden crates containing the military exoskeletons.

As for the eye-catching, single-man rocket launcher, they tacitly pretended not to see it. For this, they conveniently took a few cans of food as compensation.

“You may pass.” The bridge guards made way in satisfaction.

The jeep slowly drove into the Red River Bridge. Shang Jianyao relied on the strength in his waist and abdomen to force his body across the empty space in front of Jiang Baimian. He stuck his face out the window and waved at Jadi.

Jadi was so touched that tears welled in his eyes, and he felt that his brother had indeed forgiven him.

“Isn’t it squeezy?” Jiang Baimian grumbled.

Of course, she believed that this action was necessary. This could effectively enhance the effects of Inference Clowning.

However, she wasn’t sure if Shang Jianyao did this with this goal in mind or if he had already gotten into character and really treated himself as a brother of Jadi and the others.

After the jeep passed the second checkpoint and drove out of the bridge, First City became increasingly clear in the five Old Task Force members’ eyes.

This place was really similar to the large cities of the Old World, but there weren’t that many skyscrapers. Low-rise buildings were everywhere in various styles.

Just from their line of sight, certain buildings in certain areas had seriously damaged the streets, making the originally wide road narrow.

“West is the Green Olive Zone. The residents are all lower-class citizens.” Bai Chen gave a simple introduction and got Long Yuehong to stop the car and change seats with her.

She was the only person in the Old Task Force who had come to First City and knew the way.

Genava was quite regretful about this. He had the opportunity to download the map of First City secretly drawn by Mechanical Paradise in the past, but he didn’t do the corresponding academic research when he thought that it was useless for his defense of Tarnan.

Now, he was disconnected from Mechanical Paradise’s intranet.

As the jeep drove into the city, many people in tattered clothes appeared on both sides of the road. They were mainly Red River people and Red Coasters. Some of them held paper signs with the words ‘Guide.’ Some were very young, and they were dirty. Their expressions were rather numb, and only their eyes kept following the cars.

Bai Chen didn’t stop the car. She drove straight through the area and turned into a street in front.

The houses here weren’t tall, and they seemed to belong to the Green Olive Zone.

Jiang Baimian turned her head to the window and sized up the street houses with different styles.

“There are many bathhouses here…” she sighed with interest.

As Bai Chen drove, she said, “Back when First City was first established, the citizens here believed that the Heartless disease and plague came from uncleanliness, so they developed the habit of building public bathhouses to shower.

“Later, there were too many people here, and water became a rare resource. The water purifying system couldn’t handle it either, so a large number of bathhouses closed down. Many of the bathhouses that still exist today are part-time brothels. Men and women are welcomed.

“…”

During Bai Chen’s introduction, the other four people from the Old Task Force showed sufficient interest in the topic.

After driving for about ten minutes, the jeep stopped in front of a yellowish-brown building that was only three stories tall.

A signboard hung by its door. On it were words written in Red River language: “Ugo Hotel.”