Embers Ad Infinitum

Shang Jianyao looked ahead and smiled. “Actually, I have such suspicions as well. Therefore, I want to find him and keep an eye on him.”

“With our team’s abilities, we might not be able to accomplish something like that.” Jiang Baimian didn’t let killing Father get to her head. She solemnly warned him, “If it weren’t for the mysterious powerhouse—Du Heng—scaring Xiaochong away back then, it’s still unknown what kind of outcome we would’ve ended up in.”

Shang Jianyao nodded. “I plan on letting him understand through reasoning while moving him with emotion.”

Are you sure this will work? For some reason, Jiang Baimian’s mind was filled with certain scenes from the Old World drama serials. Among them was a ‘mother-in-law making a scene while wailing for her son to get a divorce.’

Of course, the scene Jiang Baimian imagined was still different from the original episode. For example, the mother-in-law was played by Shang Jianyao while Xiaochong was the son in her mind.

As they spoke, the two of them walked to Ugo Hotel.

To this day, they still had three rooms reserved here—they weren’t stingy when it came to setting up safe houses considering the large sum of money they had for their living expenses.

After passing through the hotel’s door, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian saw that there was nobody at the front desk. The door to the hotel owner’s room behind it was tightly shut.

They were already accustomed to this. They looked at each other and nodded.

Without needing words, they easily understood what the other party meant. One confirmed that there was human consciousness in the room, and the other confirmed that there was a medium-large creature inside.

The two of them approached the front desk and patiently waited.

As she waited, Jiang Baimian heard heavy breathing and a beast-like roar of pain. She touched her metal cochlear implant and looked at Shang Jianyao in surprise.

She remembered that with her hearing, she had to circle around the front desk and walk to the hotel owner’s room before she could hear such sounds. Now, she could hear it from beyond the front desk.

“It’s a little intense this time.” Shang Jianyao’s evaluation confirmed Jiang Baimian’s suspicions.

Jiang Baimian cast her gaze back at the room and muttered to herself worriedly, “Will there be any danger?”

“Shall we go in and take a look?” Shang Jianyao suggested.

If the disease was truly difficult to resolve, the earlier they discovered him and sent him to the hospital, the higher the chance of saving him.

Jiang Baimian’s eyes flickered slightly. “Wait another minute.”

She was worried that rushing in rashly wouldn’t end up saving the life of the hotel owner—Ugo—but expose his secret.

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao circled around the front desk and came to the door of the room. He assumed a posture, prepared to slam open the door when the time came.

Jiang Baimian followed behind him and also made the necessary preparations.

Time ticked by. Not only did the heavy panting and beast-like roars in the room not subside, but they also became more and more frequent and intense as if some kind of horror was brewing.

Crack!

The sound of many things being swept to the ground sounded.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao and nodded slightly. She meant that they could take action.

Although there were still 17 to 18 seconds left before the minute was up, the commotion inside made her feel that they couldn’t wait any longer.

Shang Jianyao—who was prepared—lowered his shoulder and immediately slammed into Ugo’s wooden door, smashing it against the side wall.

With a clang, Jiang Baimian saw the situation in the room.

This was a standard one-bedroom apartment with no additional furniture. Needles, still-burning candles, many ropes, and old knives were scattered on the cement floor.

The tanned Ugo was standing in front of the bed with his upper body naked. There were whip marks on his body.

The whip was in his right hand.

He sensed a commotion at the door and turned around. His eyes were turbid as he lost what made him human. It was as though he had become a beast.

At this moment, the first thought that surfaced in Jiang Baimian’s mind was: Heartless disease! Ugo has contracted the Heartless disease!

The next second, she smelled the thick stench of sweat that filled the air. It was a special smell produced by the burning of candles, the stench emitted by the toilet bowl, and all kinds of odors that wouldn’t be so obvious usually.

Jiang Baimian felt that her sense of smell was almost comparable to a canine’s. This made her feel disgusted, and she wanted to vomit out the remaining food and gastric acid in her stomach.

She then saw Shang Jianyao rush out and charge at the hotel owner, Ugo.

He’s immune to such a state because of his mental problems? Jiang Baimian was a little surprised.

Just as this thought flashed through her mind, Shang Jianyao vomited. Furthermore, due to the close distance, the mixture of yellow and green sprayed all over Ugo.

Ugo—whose eyes were turbid and had a warped face—subconsciously wanted to dodge, but he couldn’t. His entire body seemed to stiffen for a second.

Shang Jianyao seized the opportunity to turn his body and punch out, hitting the spot behind his ear with a bang.

Thud!

Ugo fainted and collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Baimian then smelled the sour stench of vomit. It was so intense and exaggerated that she finally couldn’t control herself. She turned her body and vomited by the door.

After vomiting, she realized that her sense of smell had returned to normal. Although the smell of vomit was still ever obvious, it was no longer unbearable.

“He became a Superior Heartless?” Jiang Baimian frowned and approached Ugo—who was covered in vomit. The Heartless disease has begun erupting in these streets again?

Shang Jianyao fell silent for a moment before saying, “Very similar.”

“But what’s with the whip in his hand and the marks on his body?” Jiang Baimian looked confused. After a careful inspection, she discovered bloody needle holes, burn marks covered in a layer of wax, and old knife scars on Ugo’s body.

Shang Jianyao said seriously, “He wanted to light candles to make clothes, but he’s too clumsy.”

“Can he be so stupid that he covers his entire body in injuries?” Jiang Baimian muttered. “Does he have masochistic tendencies?”

“He’s using pain to suppress something?” Shang Jianyao immediately made the connection.

This time, Jiang Baimian didn’t retort and nodded slightly. “That’s possible.”

She paused and said, “Don’t be in a rush to find the sheriff. Let’s wait for Ugo to wake up and see what changes will happen.”

She felt that she could deal with a single Superior Heartless, not to mention that she had Shang Jianyao with her.

Shang Jianyao agreed tersely as if that was an idea he came up with.

More than a minute later, under the duo’s ‘help,’ Ugo’s eyes twitched twice as his eyelids slowly opened.

To Jiang Baimian’s surprise, the pair of light-blue eyes she saw was no longer turbid, only a little bloodshot.

The focus in Ugo’s eyes quickly returned. His eyes reflected the disguised Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian.

He suddenly sat up. Ignoring the filth on his body, he anxiously asked, “Who let you in?”

Jiang Baimian didn’t answer; instead, she asked, “Did you just contract the Heartless disease? You completely lost your mind and wanted to attack us.”

She used this sentence to hint that Ugo had opened the door himself. This wasn’t to deceive him but to lighten the mood. In any case, Ugo would know the truth when he checked the door later.

Ugo’s expression gradually turned gloomy. He didn’t answer immediately and slowly crawled to his feet.

Ugo looked down, observed his condition, and fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “This isn’t the Heartless disease; it just resembles it a little.”

“It’s more than a little.” Jiang Baimian mercilessly poked holes in Ugo’s excuse.

She originally didn’t want to do so, but Ugo’s condition resembled the Heartless disease in almost every way. As the Old Task Force’s team leader, she felt the need to ask about it in the interests of her personal and collective goals.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao suddenly said in a whimsical tone, “Is this your price? You used the Heartless disease to exchange for abilities?”

“I’m not a fool.” Ugo denied his guess.

He fell silent and looked around. Upon seeing that Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao had no intention of retreating, he could only add, “Since you’ve seen it, I won’t have to hide anything. I’m an Awakened. The price I paid was ‘rationality.’ This resulted in me occasionally showing signs of only having biological instincts. It makes me look like I’ve contracted the Heartless disease. I was previously able to control myself to a certain extent and quickly relieve the situation. However, I might’ve suppressed it too many times. This bout was especially intense.”

Shang Jianyao curiously asked, “Why did you choose rationality?”

Ugo glanced at him and coldly said, “This world is filled with pain, and so is life. What’s the point of being rational?”

“Impressive.” Shang Jianyao clapped.

What a ruthless person… Jiang Baimian added inwardly. She then thoughtfully said, “Could this be the Heartless disease’s essence? The brain that’s responsible for rationality goes awry, leaving the person with only biological instincts. The difference is that your rationality is only suppressed and can be recovered while theirs has completely disappeared.”

“It’s not just about having biological instincts, but they also suffer from atavism. Their physiques, skills, and talent are enhanced.” Ugo didn’t answer and only raised something that Jiang Baimian’s hypothesis couldn’t explain.

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged his words and fell into deep thought.

At this moment, Ugo looked down at the vomit on his body and in the room. He calmly said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take a shower first.”

As a citizen who grew up in First City, the habit of washing things that were dirty was ingrained in his genes.

Jiang Baimian smiled apologetically and led Shang Jianyao out of Ugo’s room.

Thud!

The door closed in front of them.

Shang Jianyao looked at the wooden door with a pained expression. “What a pity. All that food I ate at noon was for nothing.”

Jiang Baimian didn’t continue the topic that would easily make her nauseous. She thought for a moment and said, “Ugo always says that there’s pain everywhere. The world is filled with pain, and life is also filled with pain. It sounds a little religious. He’s a member of a secret religion?”

“Dawn’s Morning Star?” Shang Jianyao immediately raised a possibility. This was a guess made from Ugo’s abilities.

“It doesn’t feel religious.” Jiang Baimian shook her head. “The focus of Dawn’s Morning Star is to fear and utilize dreams.”