Embers Ad Infinitum

After breakfast, the five Old Task Force members did some simple disguise before heading out and getting into the gray SUV.

They planned on going to the rental outlet to swap a car so that it wouldn’t be on the Anti-intellectualism Church’s radar.

Long Yuehong—who was sitting left of the backseat—subconsciously looked out the window and realized that cars were coming and going on the road. The surrounding shops were all operating normally.

“I thought the military would take over today and that there would be armed soldiers patrolling everywhere.” He didn’t hide his perplexity.

“Have you watched too much of the Old World’s entertainment?” Shang Jianyao—who was sitting beside him—smiled.

Although Long Yuehong didn’t want to admit it, he had to admit that he had made that judgment based on Old World entertainment.

In the passenger seat, Jiang Baimian laughed. “Do you think Phocas will quickly take action after capturing members of the Anti-intellectualism Church and the Salvation Army in Varro’s manor? That he would contact other Elders, mobilize the army, and control Varro’s faction?”

“Shouldn’t such matters be done at lightning speed to prevent the other party from being prepared?” Long Yuehong voiced his thoughts.

Jiang Baimian smiled. “Every situation calls for its own analysis. It’s possible that Phocas hasn’t found sufficient support, and it’s possible that he doesn’t want to launch a coup. It’s also possible that he really has nothing to do with the Anti-intellectualism Church. He feels that he can’t do as the cult wants and chose a safer method that would be less prone to causing chaos.”

Bai Chen—who was driving—also said, “Without sufficient information, any judgment is inaccurate.”

“That’s true.” Long Yuehong admitted that he had indeed been led astray by some of the Old World’s entertainment.

At this moment, Genava suddenly asked, “Don’t you take umbrage at this? Everyone repeatedly denies your views.”

“Isn’t that normal…” Long Yuehong was suddenly at a loss for words. He then smiled and said, “Nobody can guarantee that their opinion is correct.”

“But you can…” Before Shang Jianyao could finish speaking, he saw Jiang Baimian cast her gaze over.

Genava moved his metal neck up and down. “I see.”

He seemed to be building a new sample for human behavior.

The car drove at a moderate speed, turning from a street the Old Task Force had never been to into the Green Olive Zone.

This time, they switched to a dark-red but tanky SUV.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Jiang Baimian immediately saw the blond-haired, slightly wrinkled boss, Ugo, sitting at the front desk. He was eating rye bread with clear water.

“Don’t you get sick of eating something similar every day?” Shang Jianyao asked curiously.

Ugo looked up at him and replied emotionlessly, “It’s pretty good if most people in the Ashlands have food.”

Shang Jianyao didn’t mind and said with a smile, “And you aren’t most people.”

Ugo’s gaze swept across Bai Chen and the others. “I was.”

He succinctly expressed his meaning—this was a habit formed from his previous suffering.

Jiang Baimian didn’t let Shang Jianyao continue the topic and asked casually, “Were there any Heartless cases in the past few days?”

“No, you can move back,” said Ugo calmly.

In other words, the Heartless outbreak stopped after nearly ten cases in just a few days… Jiang Baimian sighed and got to the point. “Mr. Ugo, do you remember when we last came back?”

“I remember.” Ugo didn’t say an additional word.

Jiang Baimian asked seriously, “Then, did you notice that someone was tailing us back then?”

“Yes,” Ugo tersely replied again.

Yes… Long Yuehong was immediately pleasantly surprised. We really found clues through Boss Ugo!

Bai Chen—who was most familiar with Ugo—asked, “Did you see what kind of person they were?”

Ugo glanced at the door. “The stalker didn’t get out of the car. He drove a modified, dark-green SUV. After you came in, he parked the car a distance away. Once you left and got in the car, he started the car again and followed behind.”

“A distance away… How did you discover it?” Long Yuehong asked curiously.

According to his team leader and Shang Jianyao, Boss Ugo had been at the hotel’s front desk back then. He could only see the area corresponding to the door.

Ugo glanced at him. “I installed surveillance cameras at the door.”

“…” Long Yuehong didn’t expect this answer.

“Technology changes lives.” Shang Jianyao praised as he clapped.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Genava strongly agreed with this and clapped.

Jiang Baimian resisted the urge to cover her face and made a request to the hotel owner. “Mr. Ugo, can we take a look at the surveillance footage?”

Ugo was just about to answer when his expression suddenly changed. The muscles on his face vaguely twisted.

“Let me use the bathroom first,” he said quickly. As he spoke, he had already stood up and rushed to the room behind the front desk. He didn’t wait for Jiang Baimian and the others to respond.

“Yes, when you gotta go, you gotta go.” Shang Jianyao expressed his understanding. He then asked loudly, “Do you need my help to watch the place?”

Bang!

Ugo opened the door and rushed in, and the only response was the heavy thud of the closing door.

Jiang Baimian, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong looked at each other in confusion.

The next second, Jiang Baimian recalled the panting sounds she had heard from the room in front of her back then—the beast-like gasps.

“A recurring disease?” she muttered to herself.

Of course, her muttering was enough for Shang Jianyao and the others to hear her clearly.

“Maybe he really couldn’t hold it in any longer,” Shang Jianyao argued for Ugo.

Upon thinking that Ugo was in the room behind the front desk, Long Yuehong gave up on arguing with Shang Jianyao.

After two to three minutes, the tightly shut wooden door opened.

Ugo slowly walked out. His blond hair was a little moist, likewise for his old linen shirt. His face was a little pale, and he didn’t look well.

“There’s something wrong with my digestive system,” Ugo explained casually.

“I knew it.” Shang Jianyao had a look of relief. He then suggested, “Do you need medical treatment? Do you need special medicine?”

Ugo shook his head. “It’s a chronic disease; it’s fine.”

Jiang Baimian didn’t say a word and quietly watched. She realized that Boss Ugo’s condition was improving at a visible speed as if it had just been an interlude.

“You can watch the surveillance now.” Ugo took out a rather old portable computer from under the counter and skillfully connected the wires before switching it on.

After finding the surveillance footage, he placed the computer on the wooden board at the front desk and turned it, letting it face Jiang Baimian and the others.

On the screen, a dark-green SUV followed Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao’s gray SUV into the surveillance area and maintained a certain distance from them.

“Yes, we drove the gray car back then. It was also the one Little White and Little Red drove when they were providing support.” Jiang Baimian found another connection.

As she spoke, the clearly modified, dark-green car approached the street as the gray SUV stopped outside the hotel.

There seemed to be a dark film adhered to the car’s sides, preventing anyone from seeing who was inside.

However, the surveillance cameras captured the windshield. They could make out a single person in the car; he wore a baseball cap very low and black clothes.

After Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao left the hotel, they started the gray SUV and drove forward for a distance. The car also started up again and followed behind.

“There’s no car plate.” Long Yuehong thought of the Old World’s mature car plate system and felt a sense of pity.

If there were car plates, the Old Task Force would be able to follow the clues. Unfortunately, there were many Ruin Hunters coming and going in First City, and the number of vehicles that were scrapped was very high. Not only was it troublesome to manage traffic by issuing car plates, but it also wasn’t pragmatic. Therefore, the administration didn’t force the use of car plates.

It was purely voluntary.

As for what would happen if a person without a license violated the traffic rules, First City’s answer was to equip the Public Security officers in charge of transportation with adequate firepower. Whoever dared to do anything rash would be met with the following: a warning first, followed by a warning shot, before bombardment finally.

Of course, similar bills were often tabled in the Senate. For example, every foreign car had to pay a certain fee to enter the city and receive a temporary license. However, the problem was that it wouldn’t establish a connection with the car owner. It lacked practical significance since many foreign car owners weren’t First City citizens. They had no identities here, so even if they gave their names, nobody could prove their authenticity.

The easiest way to do this was to cooperate with the Hunter’s Guild and obtain the corresponding registration information. However, First City’s Senate had always refused to bow their heads.

To them, this matter was often tabled because they could use this opportunity to collect a sum of money. It was equivalent to a disguised city entrance tax.

After carefully watching the surveillance footage, Jiang Baimian temporarily didn’t discover any useful clues. She could only look up and ask the boss, “Mr. Ugo, can we copy this video?”

“I’ll take it as payment for the few nights you weren’t staying here.” Ugo nodded.

Genava immediately stepped forward and began the process.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao asked about something else. “How’s Ma’am Mary now?”

Jiang Baimian immediately added, “The one whose child contracted the Heartless disease.”

Ugo calmly replied, “I saw her the day before yesterday, but she’s vanished for the past two days. In Green Olive Zone, it’s a little difficult for most people to support themselves. A crazy woman can’t last more than a few days.”

He paused and said, “I hope she left this painful world in a relatively easy manner.”

Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and the others immediately fell silent.