Embers Ad Infinitum

The black market merchant smiled and said, “No rush. Come with me to draw some blood and do a checkup. Come over every few days to see if there’s a successful match. If there’s none, wouldn’t it be rather awkward to meet a volunteer donor now? Furthermore, it’s easy to leak my sources.”

“Alright.” Han Wanghuo didn’t think there was a problem. He wasn’t too worried that his Subhuman identity would be exposed because, in a sense, the black market merchants, unlicensed doctors, and arms dealers on Antanna Street treated everyone equally.

In short, it didn’t matter if one was a normal human or a mutated Subhuman. They were welcomed if they had money, supplies, and strength. If they didn’t have any of those, they were unwelcome. As for those who had money and resources but lacked strength, they could only work in cahoots with each other.

The organ merchant led Han Wanghuo to a room behind him and casually said, “Let me introduce myself. Yan Miao. I’ve been very talkative since I was young, so don’t take offense. How should I address you?”

Han Wanghuo cautiously glanced at the black market merchant and didn’t answer.

Yan Miao laughed. “I just want to be friends with you. Although a good person like you is almost extinct in the Ashlands and I have no intention of developing to be one, it’s great to be friends. Do you understand Ashlandic? Yes, you are likely one who’s willing to sacrifice yourself for your friends.”

His last sentence was changed to an Ashlandic idiom.

Han Wanghuo looked ahead and walked at a moderate pace. “You think too highly of me.”

“In any case, I don’t lose anything from making friends. At most, I’ll give you a discount.” Yan Miao chuckled. “At critical moments, friends can be used to block a gun—no, save lives.”

He acted like he only wanted to make friends.

For some reason, Han Wanghuo thought of someone. Although that person was completely different from Yan Miao, they said the same things.

…

“What a huge fish!” Shang Jianyao exclaimed as he looked at the fish skewered over the grill.

This fish was about the length of Long Yuehong’s arm.

At this moment, the five Old Task Force members followed Du Heng to a restaurant in the Red Wolf Zone that specialized in roasted fish.

Du Heng smiled and introduced, “This comes from Lake Arna in the middle of the Taiwei River. Before First City’s expansion, nobody had set foot there for decades. The fish were fat and huge, and there were very few pollutants. Originally, it was only people in the Green Olive Zone who liked to eat fish. Now, the Red Wolf Zone and the Golden Grain Zone have such customs.”

At this point, he added meaningfully, “After all, it’s relatively cheap and easy to obtain.”

His habit of being a teacher hasn’t changed… Jiang Baimian was rather gratified. This meant that they might be able to obtain a lot of important information later.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong’s attention was on the grill as they watched the chef flip the large fish from time to time and smear the condiments.

“It seems like you’ve experienced a lot.” Du Heng’s gaze swept across the five Old Task Force members and sighed with emotion. “You’ve grown quite quickly.”

Jiang Baimian glanced at the chef in charge of roasting the fish. “That’s right.”

The meaning behind her words was that it was a pity that there were outsiders here. Otherwise, they could share their experiences during this period of time.

“Can’t you just use Ashlandic?” Du Heng smiled. “Besides, he can only hear what I want him to hear.”

He still spoke in the Red River language, but the cook ignored him as if he were the only one left in the world roasting fish.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao clapped for the mysterious expert, Du Heng.

“Your performance reminds me of an old friend.” Du Heng smiled without any surprise. “But I can’t remember who he is.”

The price he paid is related to memories? Jiang Baimian muttered inwardly. She then roughly recounted their experiences in Weed City, Redstone Collection, and Tarnan.

Although she focused on sharing the different characteristics of the local folklore, she still mentioned Yama Tiger’s condition, the New World, Jiang Xiaoyue’s problem, Room 503, and DiMarco’s actions. This included the portion of information that the Old Task Force had yet to report to Pangu Biology.

Jiang Baimian knew the principle of ‘in order to take, one has to give.’ She knew that it was best to be open and make an ‘equivalent’ exchange since she wanted to obtain key knowledge from Du Heng without offending him.

The parts she mainly hid were the changes in Shang Jianyao’s strength and the equipment obtained by the Old Task Force—including the two exoskeletons, the Destiny Pearl, and the Ring of Blindness.

During Jiang Baimian’s recount, Shang Jianyao was very cooperative. He often interrupted and rambled on about some unimportant details. Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genava also echoed from time to time in a bid to create an open and harmonious environment for communication.

Du Heng maintained his state of occasionally asking a few questions. He waited until the Old Task Force finished sharing their experiences before nodding and smiling. “If it weren’t for the fact that I’m not old and muddle-headed, I would’ve suspected that the last time we met was a few years ago. You guys have been having such a wonderful time.

“A few details of your experiences are still useful to me. It makes me believe that the path I’m taking now might be the most correct one. Tell me, what do you want to know?” He looked like he had seen through Jiang Baimian’s thoughts.

As Jiang Baimian almost laughed dryly, Shang Jianyao directly asked, “Teacher, how should one defeat oneself at the Sea of Origins’s end?”

Teacher? Whoa, aren’t you trying to establish ties too quickly? Jiang Baimian found it funny.

Long Yuehong had a similar thought.

On the other hand, Bai Chen and Genava didn’t care about this at all. They were mostly looking forward to Du Heng’s answer.

Du Heng looked at the grilled fish that was gradually changing color and waved his hand with a smile. “I don’t take in disciples. I can’t afford to be called a teacher, but you can add my name and call me Teacher Du Heng. This is an honorific form in the Old World.”

You clearly look like you’re enjoying it… Jiang Baimian shut her mouth, afraid that she would accidentally voice out her criticisms.

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao to say it again, Du Heng cleared his throat and said, “The final self in the Sea of Origins is often the extreme you. This might come from certain matters, experiences, or pain. It might also come from the other side that you have always been repressing. It’s very difficult to defeat oneself. Most people choose to reconcile, accept, and control them to a certain extent.

“I’m not you. I can’t make a choice for you, but you can make an attempt from two directions.

Shang Jianyao fell into deep thought. It was unknown what strange plan he was planning.

Jiang Baimian took the opportunity to ask, “Teacher Du Heng, what’s the meaning of the room numbers in the Mind Corridor? What do they represent?”

Uh, Team Leader has also started calling him Teacher Du Heng… Don’t you feel embarrassed? Long Yuehong was a little speechless.

Du Heng stroked his beard and said smugly, “You’ve asked the right person. Many Awakened at the Mind Corridor level have explored for decades, but they might not have figured out the pattern of those door numbers.”

He really knows… Bai Chen—who quietly ‘listened’—muttered inwardly, not daring to divert her attention away.

Du Heng looked at Shang Jianyao—who had come to his senses—and smiled. “According to my research, the first number of each door number represents a different Kalendaria and reflects the months ‘They’ control.

“Is that so…” Jiang Baimian had actually made similar guesses, but she had too many scattered thoughts in this regard. She imagined even more answers, but she lacked effective clues, preventing her from analyzing further.

“503 represents the third room in the domain of May’s Kalendaria, Monitor?” Bai Chen asked after some deliberation.

This was Jiang Xiaoyue’s room. It was very likely the room that infected the Clam Dragon Church’s Dream Protector with the Heartless disease.

“Yes, but the room order is actually irregular. We can’t assume that 501 directly represents the Monitor’s dream,” Du Heng explained.

“What about Master Zhuang’s? 13 or 0?” Shang Jianyao asked.

Du Heng shook his head and chuckled. “Master Zhuang might be 1, 2, or any number between 1 to 12. Yes, to put it simply, 503 doesn’t necessarily represent the third room in the Monitor domain. It might also be a room in the Master Zhuang domain.”

“Is this the uniqueness of the Kalendaria of the entire year?” Jiang Baimian came to a realization. “From the looks of it, Yama Tiger’s last room might not be from the Subhuti domain. It might also be from the Master Zhuang domain.”

The last room Yama Tiger explored was 102.

At this moment, Genava—who had finished analyzing—raised his question. “Then, what’s the door number that represents an ordinary person’s room? Isn’t the domain only determined based on the price after Awakening?”

“An ordinary person doesn’t have a door number, nor will their door lead to the New World,” Du Heng replied simply.

“Then, Jiang Xiaoyue—a vegetable from the Old World—eventually became an Awakened?” Jiang Baimian acutely grasped the main point. Even though this Awakened might not have really woken up…

Du Heng didn’t answer and only nodded slowly.

The five Old Task Force members fell silent for a moment because of the tremendous amount of information they had to process.

After a few seconds, Shang Jianyao asked curiously, “Teacher Du Heng, have you already entered the New World?”

How direct… Long Yuehong was shocked by Shang Jianyao’s straightforwardness.

Du Heng laughed. “How should I put this? I’ve always believed that if we can’t simultaneously find the New World’s door in the real world, entering the New World’s door in the Mind Corridor won’t lead to true success. One might end up like Yama Tiger.”

In other words, you found the door but didn’t dare to push it open or enter. You’re still working hard to find it in reality? Jiang Baimian speculated thoughtfully.

At this moment, the fragrance of roasted fish gradually spread, making Du Heng sniffle.

“I’m hungry after saying so much.” He laughed self-deprecatingly.

“It seems like it still needs a little more roasting.” Jiang Baimian glanced at the grill.

The fish was too large. Not only did the chef need to make many cuts in it, but the cooking also took a long time.

Shang Jianyao asked in concern, “Teacher Du Heng, did you come to First City to find Xiaochong?”