Embers Ad Infinitum

To First City, if colluding with the Anti-intellectualism Church was considered an internal struggle for power and that there was still room for compromise, then it would be considered enmity once the Salvation Army was involved. It escalated the situation.

As Jiang Baimian raised her eyebrows, she cast her gaze at Phocas—who was in the armored command vehicle. She saw that the slightly old General ‘Lion’ had a serious and solemn expression as if he were facing a very thorny, troublesome, and important problem.

At this moment, Genava asked in confusion, “Why didn’t they choose to report the matter over the walkie-talkie? Why did they have to do it in person?”

He wanted to perfect his human behavior analysis and simulation mechanisms.

Jiang Baimian laughed. “The point isn’t to say it in person but to do so in front of everyone. Otherwise, it’s very likely that they will become sacrificial victims after the big shots in First City’s Senate compromise. The more people who know about this now, the safer they will be in the future.”

“Is that so…” Genava took note of such situations.

Shang Jianyao clapped and smiled. “What a good show.”

After a moment of silence, Phocas used the loudspeaker on the armored command vehicle to issue an order to Ducas and Cassiel. “Take the Anti-intellectualism Church’s members, Varro’s trusted aides, and the Salvation Army’s people back into custody and interrogate them separately.”

“Yes, General!” Ducas and Cassiel returned a military salute, clearly relieved.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian muttered to herself thoughtfully, “The Anti-intellectualism Church’s true goal is to intensify the internal conflict in First City and tear apart the upper echelons so that chaos will naturally ensue?”

In other words, this entire plan didn’t target anyone in particular. There were no dangerous traps; they only used this opportunity to unveil certain ‘matters.’

The best candidate for the unveiling was undoubtedly General Phocas—who was a Centrist, had a lofty reputation, controlled a portion of the city defense forces, and had great strength.

Shang Jianyao sighed when he heard that. “We became tools.”

The Old Task Force didn’t do much in this matter. Regardless of whether they had seen through the Anti-intellectualism Church’s other motives, it was difficult to change the final outcome. They could only become tools in charge of ‘running errands.’

As he sighed, Shang Jianyao didn’t appear depressed or disappointed. Instead, he looked rather excited as if he had found an opponent.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said, “The real Father, or rather, the Anti-intellectualism Church’s Elder in First City, Shepherd Bouillon, is indeed impressive. We can’t underestimate him.”

At this point, she laughed self-deprecatingly. “Regardless, we at least earned 50 Oray from them.”

Before Genava and Shang Jianyao could respond, Ducas walked over and said in a deep voice, “Come and ID them.”

“Alright!” Shang Jianyao suddenly became excited.

As they followed the two majors into the manor, Jiang Baimian suppressed her voice and asked, “Why are you so excited?”

Shang Jianyao replied without hiding anything, “I’ll be seeing the Salvation Army later.”

Jiang Baimian came to a realization and expressed her understanding.

Shang Jianyao’s slogan for ‘saving all of humanity’ was modified from the Salvation Army’s creed: ‘for all of humanity.’

Unfortunately, Shang Jianyao didn’t get his wish. The Salvation Army and Varro’s trusted aides had already been taken away by another detail and weren’t locked up with the Anti-intellectualism Church members.

The Old Task Force only saw the Zhao family’s second son—Zhao Yixue—and the suspected fake Father, Meng Gang.

Blindfolded, their mouths were gagged, and their hands were tied to their backs.

The first two were rough precautions against Hypnosis abilities, and the latter was a restriction of their mobility.

Shang Jianyao swept his gaze across the room and said disinterestedly, “Target confirmed.”

Zhao Yixue was slightly thinner than his brother. His face was filled with collagen, and his nose was slightly hooked.

Meng Gang looked haggard.

“Bring them back.” Ducas waved his hand.

A few soldiers immediately carried Zhao Yixue and Meng Gang out of the manor.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian exclaimed, “There’s nothing left for us next, right?”

“That depends on your agreement with your employer,” Ducas replied coldly. “There’s nothing from us.”

He then said, “You have to find time to train your muscles and practice your marksmanship. They are essential to our survival in the Ashlands.”

Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Genava didn’t comment.

Ducas then looked at Jiang Baimian. “Didn’t you say you wanted to compete with me in arm wrestling?”

Jiang Baimian smiled. “First of all, no cheating.”

“Alright,” Ducas agreed readily.

With an intrigued attitude, Cassiel became a referee alongside Shang Jianyao.

…

In less than a minute, Ducas walked out of the manor in a daze and muttered to himself, “Impossible; it’s impossible… How can I lose three times in under ten seconds… It must be because I haven’t exercised enough and that my muscles aren’t strong enough…”

Cassiel—who was behind him—looked at Jiang Baimian curiously. “Your strength exceeds my imagination.”

Furthermore, she couldn’t see any exaggerated muscles.

Is this considered cheating… Jiang Baimian fell into deep thought before answering, “It might be a little deformed. Haha, I’m joking.”

Cassiel shook her right hand and smiled. “Your appearance confirms that you aren’t a Subhuman.”

Broadly speaking, I’m really considered a Subhuman after obtaining inhuman abilities through genetic modification. It’s just that I don’t show it physically… Jiang Baimian muttered silently.

Shang Jianyao helped her explain, “It’s actually an abnormal talent.”

“Yes, it wasn’t obtained through painstaking training.” Jiang Baimian widened her eyes and spoke the truth. She then smiled and said, “I think Major Ducas suffered quite a blow. It might affect his mental state in the future. Please help me speak to him on my behalf and say that every human is different, all with their limits. There are many situations that can’t be made up for through training. If he really wants to defeat me, he can only say, ‘I’m not going to be human anymore.'”

Cassiel looked at the zombie-like Ducas in front of her and chuckled. “These two statements might agitate him more.”

After they left the manor, they happened to see the city defense forces evacuate in batches. Jiang Baimian then obtained General Phocas’s approval and took their leave.

The subsequent matters weren’t something the Old Task Force could participate in. They only hoped the ensuing chaos would bring about an opportunity.

…

The military-green jeep drove along the tundra road in the suburbs, toward the southern entrance.

As Jiang Baimian drove, she habitually sized up the situation on both sides.

Suddenly, a fiery glow flashed in her eyes. It was the scene she was familiar with—the launching of grenades, rockets, and shells.

Enemy contact! Jiang Baimian turned the steering wheel without a second thought and floored the accelerator.

Amidst the simulated revving, the jeep swung out and turned to the other side of the road.

Boom!

Behind the vehicle, an explosion arrived as expected, stirring up a large amount of dust.

Amidst the dust, a fireball burned brightly.

The jeep accelerated forward in an attempt to escape the area. However, the ground it was on suddenly expanded.

Boom! Boom!

Mines exploded, sending the jeep flying. It landed with a thud and rolled a few times.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian only had a few similar thoughts in her mind: Is that reasonable? This doesn’t make sense! This road is considered to have heavy traffic. How could the enemy accurately plant land mines for our vehicle?

The jeep’s rolling stopped. Jiang Baimian—who was in an inverted state—made a prompt decision. She released her safety belt, opened the door, and abruptly jumped out.

Shang Jianyao did the same and rolled to the side of the road. At this moment, he saw a pair of brightly polished riding boots.

Panning up from the riding boots was a tall and thin man. His eyes were like dark vortices that seemed to suck away Shang Jianyao’s soul.

Shang Jianyao was confused at first, but he soon became stunned. His thoughts raced and jumped as he changed his personality. He immediately shouted, “Old Ge!”

Genava pounced over with a mighty leap, appearing as if a mountain was crashing down.

When the thin and tall man saw that he couldn’t hypnotize Shang Jianyao immediately, he quickly turned around and prepared to escape.

At this moment, he suddenly felt aggrieved and angry. He was unwilling to give up and admit defeat. Therefore, he stayed in place and turned around to continue ‘hypnotizing’ Shang Jianyao.

Genava pounced on him and raised his bowl-sized iron fist.

Bang!

The man was knocked unconscious, but the scene in front of Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao instantly shattered like glass that crashed to the ground.

Jiang Baimian shivered. Having snapped back to her senses, she realized that she was still in the jeep and driving. Shang Jianyao was sitting beside her, showing no difference from before.

Genava—who was in the back row—suddenly shouted anxiously, “Quick, brake!”

Jiang Baimian realized that she had driven the jeep off-road and was rushing toward the surging Taiwei River.

The braking sound dragged on for a long time before the jeep finally came to a halt.

“What just happened?” Genava asked in confusion.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao and muttered to herself, “The real Father’s attack?”

Their previous experience was very similar to Xu Liyan’s encounter in Weed City’s Hunter’s Guild.

They had all fallen into a mass hallucination.

The Genava in the illusion came from Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian’s understanding of him, not something that truly existed.

Shang Jianyao replied in a rare serious tone, “The real Father used this method to test Zen Master Jingnian’s abilities. He should now know that I have Corny Person. The price can reduce the effects of hypnosis to a certain extent.”

Jiang Baimian exhaled and sensed the area for a few seconds before saying, “He also knows that we have Old Ge, a weapon that can deal with most Awakened. There are many electric signals around us, but I can’t determine which one is the real Father. It’s also possible that none of them are. After all, the range of this ability is unknown.”

She then turned around and told Genava about her encounter. Finally, she exhorted, “After you discover that we are in a dazed and adrift state, wake us up or knock us out. You can do anything.”

Genava nodded solemnly. “Alright.”

Jiang Baimian looked around again and slowly reversed the jeep back onto the main road.

As she drove, she sighed. “Sigh, I wonder if the real Father will give up or plan an attack that targets our traits… Let’s rendezvous with Little White and Little Red first.”