Embers Ad Infinitum

On Antanna Street, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen walked forward step by step.

The duo returned to their safe house and waited for Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao’s return before having a discussion. They decided to continue splitting up.

This time, Genava drove a gray jeep and waited outside Antanna Street. He was in charge of receiving them.

After killing Father, the Old Task Force returned the red SUV to the rental car company. They then found another company and rented a new vehicle.

Antanna Street was filled with houses that didn’t meet the building code. The originally spacious street was squeezed to the point that it could barely accommodate two small cars side by side, and it was rather dark as well.

Long Yuehong casually scanned the area with his lensless glasses a few times and saw extended balconies, bamboo poles with clothes hanging on them for drying clothes, an attached room that blocked the sidewalk, and a swaggering, armed man.

He had bought this pair of glasses at Labe Street. A Ruin Hunter had picked it up from a city ruin in the North Shore wastelands. Only the frame was left, and it was very cheap.

In any case, this was only a disguise for Long Yuehong—who had good eyesight. There was no need for it to be too good.

Long Yuehong retracted his gaze and sighed with emotion. “I really wouldn’t be able to tell that this is Black Street that sells anything if I were just passing by.”

Although there were gun shops, bars, and casinos here, they weren’t illegal in First City. As long as they didn’t sell heavy weapons, psychedelic drugs, or alcohol drinks produced by non-designated companies or illegally detain debtors, they wouldn’t be shuttered by the Hand of Order. At most, they would give the sheriff an additional fee to reward him for his hard work.

In the first few years of the New Calendar, First City issued a ban on alcohol and strictly implemented it in order to ensure food supplies. Back then, countless gangs fought over the supply chains for private hard liquor and fought every few days. In the past decade, the ban on alcohol had relaxed significantly, allowing designated companies to buy grain and brew alcohol.

Bai Chen tugged at the thin scarf around her neck. “This is a form of respect for the sheriff in charge of the surrounding blocks.”

Long Yuehong nodded and pointed at the shops on both sides. “Shall we continue asking?”

He and Bai Chen had brought along printed portraits of Han Wanghuo.

This was the result of Genava scanning Jiang Baimian’s portrait of Han Wanghuo and revising the details. It was almost identical to the real person.

Bai Chen shook her head and simply explained, “Here, if you don’t find the right person, you won’t be able to get anything out of them. You might even become the target of some people’s blackmail and deception.”

“Is that so…” Long Yuehong learned something again; however, he felt that Shang Jianyao would definitely say: “Isn’t this a good thing?”

He could make another killing!

He followed Bai Chen all the way to a gun shop without a shop sign.

The gun shop owner was an old man with a white beard. He was focused on doing gun maintenance of a United 202 pistol.

“Ol’ Reggie, not dead yet?” Bai Chen switched to her former character as a Ruin Hunter.

Ol’ Reggie looked up and glanced at her. “Might outlive ya.”

Bai Chen took out Han Wanghuo’s portrait and slammed it on the table. “Have you seen this person?”

Ol’ Reggie chuckled. “I’ll charge you for asking such questions next time.”

Does that mean that it’s still free this time? Long Yuehong suddenly felt a little happy.

Ol’ Reggie glanced at the portrait and shook his head. “I’ve never seen him before. If the characteristics aren’t obvious, who will remember them?”

Bai Chen didn’t ask any further. She put away the portrait and walked out of the gun shop.

Long Yuehong looked back and couldn’t help but grumble, “How can this be called non-obvious?”

Apart from his white eyes and blond hair, Han Wanghuo also had two scars—one horizontal, one vertical—on his face.

“He means that he hasn’t encountered him on the streets and that people resembling him have never tried to buy heavy weapons,” Bai Chen said calmly. “Ol’ Reggie is the underground guild president supported by the weapons merchants on Antanna Street. If he says no, it means that Han Wanghuo’s goal in coming here isn’t for weapons.”

“Maybe Han Wanghuo is just working nearby and happened to pass by.” Long Yuehong suggested another possibility.

Bai Chen shook her head. “With Han Wanghuo’s judgment and knowledge, he will know that this street isn’t simple and that there’s a huge problem as long as he passes by it once. If it weren’t for the fact that something needs to be completed on Antanna Street, he would definitely choose to take a detour.”

It had probably been a long time since Han Wanghuo arrived in First City. It was unlikely that he had only passed Antanna Street for the first time during this period.

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong then went to bars, casinos, black markets, and other places to ask the same question to different people.

The answers they obtained were ‘never seen him.’ This meant that Han Wanghuo didn’t come to Antanna Street to gather information, buy contraband, drink, or gamble.

Of course, these choices were only a preliminary elimination. It was very likely that something had been missed.

“We’ll go to the unlicensed clinics and ask them next,” Bai Chen said methodologically.

“Alright.” Long Yuehong thought for a moment and felt that Han Wanghuo had a high chance of seeking medical assistance here.

After all, even if Han Wanghuo didn’t become a Ruin Hunter, it was very likely that he would engage in other risky professions. Considering his Subhuman status, it was reasonable for him to choose an unlicensed clinic once he was injured.

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong soon entered a clinic that also didn’t have a signboard.

The doctor in the clinic wore golden-framed glasses. He leaned back in his chair and flipped through a newspaper that was from ages ago.

“Feeling unwell somewhere?” He glanced at the two of them.

Bai Chen didn’t waste her breath and directly took out Han Wanghuo’s portrait. “Have you seen this person?”

The doctor looked at it carefully for a few seconds, put down the newspaper, and smiled. “I have professional ethics.”

Bai Chen took out a 5-Oray note and placed it in front of him.

“Ahem.” The doctor cleared his throat and said, “He came to me a few days ago. As you know, I’m best in the business in Antanna Street.”

Professional ethics? What professional ethics is there to talk about when you’re running an unlicensed clinic?

“Was he injured?” Long Yuehong asked in concern.

The doctor nudged his glasses and shook his head. “No, it’s a heart problem. You should know that while Subhumans have abnormalities, they often have certain flaws. Therefore, they rarely live past their prime even if they aren’t killed. This person was born with a problematic heart. As he grew older, the problem became more and more serious. It has already reached a very obvious level. Unless he can find a suitable heart and undergo surgery to replace it, he won’t be able to live for more than two years by simply relying on drugs.”

This… Long Yuehong suddenly sympathized with Han Wanghuo.

He had endured for so many years and worked hard for his identity as a human. But after his dream shattered, he realized that there was a major problem with his body—a major problem stemming from being Subhuman.

Bad things often happen to people who were already unlucky.

Upon seeing Bai Chen and Long Yuehong remain silent, the doctor took the note and added, “It’s very difficult for Subhumans to find a suitable heart that doesn’t reject the host. If he’s the only one left in his race, there’s almost no hope.”

After a few seconds of silence, Bai Chen asked, “Do you know where he lives?”

The doctor shook his head. “Which doctor in Antanna Street would ask this? To pass on their inheritance? Yes, the medicine I prescribed for him can last a month. It’s been a few days.”

Bai Chen quietly listened and simply replied, “Thank you.”

…

Ugo Hotel, in Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao’s room.

“How tragic. It even feels like the wheels of fate.” Jiang Baimian sighed sincerely after hearing about Han Wanghuo’s situation.

Shang Jianyao immediately asked, “Can the company treat him?”

Jiang Baimian recalled and said, “If it were an ordinary human, it wouldn’t be a problem. Even without a suitable heart, the company can artificially create one. But regarding Subhumans, I’ve been away from scientific research for too long, so I’m not sure of the current state-of-the-art. Yes, it should be possible in theory. However, it will take time to analyze his genes, and the risks won’t be trivial.”

“There’s another way! Get Old Han to upload his consciousness and become a mechanical monk to escape his mortal coils!” Shang Jianyao suddenly became excited.

He began to address Han Wanghuo as ‘Old Han.’

Bai Chen also said, “First City seems to have mechanical heart technology, but it’s not that mature. Furthermore, it’s very expensive.”

“Yes, we’ll talk about it when we find Han Wanghuo.” Jiang Baimian ended the topic.

The five Old Task Force members discussed Xiaochong again.

“If we were to search every building in that area, it might take more than half a month with our numbers to complete it.” Jiang Baimian revealed the results of her discussion with Shang Jianyao. “Let’s see how Xiaochong—who can’t play games—will react after a power outage.”

“I wonder when the next power outage will be…” Long Yuehong muttered softly.

“It seems like there will be a power outage tonight.” Shang Jianyao was rather pleased.

Long Yuehong was already numb to this and didn’t even have the mood to retort. Naturally, he also knew that the possibility of a power outage tonight was quite high because water and electricity often stopped in the Green Olive Zone.

Water and electricity often stop… As his thoughts raced, Long Yuehong had an idea and blurted out, “If I were Xiaochong, why would I choose a place that often has power outages?”