Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao—who had gotten back into the car—and heaved a sigh of relief. “Ducas is here? We can try using our relationship to pull some strings.”

With an acquaintance present, everything was easy. Although the muscular man, Ducas, didn’t seem easy to talk to and wasn’t too approachable, they had Shang Jianyao on their side.

If the situation wasn’t suitable or convenient for the usage of Inference Clowning, he could goad Ducas into another round of arm-wrestling.

At this thought, Jiang Baimian didn’t turn the car around. She continued following the car in front and slowly inched toward the inspection point.

Upon seeing that the armored vehicle blocking the road was already close, the soldiers in charge of inspection surrounded them. Jiang Baimian signaled Shang Jianyao with her eyes.

Shang Jianyao immediately rolled down the window, stuck his head out, and waved at Ducas with a smile. He was wearing a black wig and didn’t disguise himself. He wasn’t afraid that Ducas wouldn’t recognize him.

When Ducas saw the familiar figure waving his hand, his eyelids twitched. He subconsciously turned his head, pretending not to notice.

How could Shang Jianyao permit this? As he waved his hand, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Ducas! Ducas!”

Are we that close? The blood vessels on Ducas’s forehead throbbed, and his body stiffened. He was in a dilemma whether to respond or pretend not to hear him.

On the other side, the soldiers—who were attempting to inspect the Old Task Force’s two cars—were momentarily at a loss as to whether to continue or hold back when they heard the other party shout their superior’s name.

As the scene became awkward, Shang Jianyao pushed open the door with great initiative and walked straight to Ducas.

The soldiers turned their bodies and cast their gazes at their commander, awaiting his instructions.

Ducas opened his mouth but didn’t say anything in the end. His expression just didn’t look good.

Shang Jianyao easily walked past the soldiers, passed through the inspection point, and came to the armored command vehicle that Ducas was sitting in.

“Long time no see.” He completely ignored Ducas’s expression and greeted him with a bright smile.

Ducas took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “It hasn’t been that long.”

Their interaction amused Jiang Baimian, who was a distance away.

A reserved, silent, and cold person would really suffer when facing Shang Jianyao. If one was strong, they could beat Shang Jianyao up. The most terrifying thing was when both parties were on the same level or when one was weaker than Shang Jianyao.

“Who are you looking for?” Shang Jianyao asked casually.

Ducas glanced at him and returned to his original coldness. “You don’t need to know.”

Shang Jianyao touched his chin and mimicked Jiang Baimian’s tone. “I’ve already asked around. The person you’re looking for is the accomplice of the assassin at the colosseum. He’s also the person who caused the explosion at the Citizen Conclave.”

Ducas made no comment.

Shang Jianyao continued, “I heard that the assassin at the colosseum is a believer of Shadow of Distortion, and ‘His’ believers are widely distributed in the army.”

Ducas’s eyelids suddenly rose, and he saw a smile on Shang Jianyao’s face.

Shang Jianyao smiled and raised two questions. “There are also Shadow of Distortion believers in First City’s army, right? Furthermore, it’s not the minority, right? The colosseum assassination attempt has deepened the Senate’s suspicion of certain military factions, so you have to prove your innocence?”

Ducas didn’t answer and asked, “Are you leaving the city?”

Shang Jianyao exaggeratedly revealed an ‘I understand.’ He chuckled and said, “We took on the mission to capture the white wolf in the North Shore Mountains. You should know very well that we have to find some insurance for ourselves when entering the wastelands. We have some heavy weapons, so it’s not too convenient for them to be inspected.”

He spoke clearly as if they were good friends.

Jadi—who wasn’t far away—was stunned. He never expected his brother to have such wide connections.

Ducas gave Shang Jianyao a side-glance. “You actually exposed yourself. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll detain you?”

“At this distance…” Shang Jianyao deliberately cast his gaze at the empty area between the two parties.

The two of them were less than a meter apart.

“What are you trying to say?” Ducas had never been amenable to reason or coercion.

Shang Jianyao smiled. “I mean that at this distance, many people around me can hear me if I shout.”

“What would you shout? Help?” Ducas sneered.

Shang Jianyao chuckled. “I’d shout ‘Ducas lost an arm-wrestling match to a woman.'”

“…” Ducas was momentarily speechless.

Shang Jianyao ‘threatened’ further, “I also have a loudspeaker and a small speaker. Do you want this matter to spread throughout First City?”

Ducas exhaled heavily. “Are you still underage? Will I let you off because of such a threat?”

“Then, we can compete again. If you lose, you have to let us out of the city.” Shang Jianyao didn’t answer Ducas’s question at all. His thoughts skipped as he suggested a new idea.

Ducas did a short recall, and his face suddenly turned livid. He realized that he still didn’t have the confidence to win!

The moment he recalled the terrifying strength, he felt that it wasn’t something humans could achieve.

“You can also choose to compete with me.” Shang Jianyao provoked him with a teasing tone.

Ducas fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “For a team like yours, it’s better to leave the city now than stay in the city. However, we still have to conduct the inspection. I’ll do it myself. Don’t worry; I won’t open your boxes. We’ll only see if there are any fugitives.”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao clapped in congratulations.

This instantly filled Ducas with regret. He didn’t wish to acknowledge what he had just said.

Shang Jianyao then changed the topic. “Does the person you’re looking for have brown hair, green eyes, and is known to always use a scarf to cover his mouth?”

Ducas nodded and didn’t deny it.

This was no secret. After the Citizen Conclave explosion, the sheriffs had been searching for this person everywhere.

“Maybe the scarf is just a deliberate feature.” Shang Jianyao raised his hand again and rubbed his chin. “Even if there are obvious traces around the mouth, there are other ways to hide it.”

Ducas didn’t respond but revealed a thoughtful expression.

Shang Jianyao chuckled again. “Final question: What are those people trying to do? What goal are they trying to achieve?”

Ducas fell silent for a moment before saying, “The person who was captured came from the Eastern Army and is a retired officer. He wants to assassinate all the Conservatives and push for a new round of expansion.”

The commander of the Eastern Army Corps was the leader of the Reformists—the newly promoted Elder, General Gaius.

“Is that so…” Shang Jianyao was a man of his word, so he didn’t ask further.

He returned to the cars with Ducas and accompanied him to open the doors and trunks to examine every spot where a person could be hidden.

Awakened could screen their consciousness and prevent their peers from sensing them unless they had already made contact.

After confirming that the crate containing the military exoskeleton wasn’t problematic, Ducas followed his promise and didn’t remove the lid. He only drew a thin military bayonet and inserted it into the cracks in the cardboard box. He stabbed it a few times and stirred it for a while.

Upon seeing that there was no sensation of hitting a human body, nor was there any blood flowing out, Ducas put away his military bayonet and said to the soldiers, “There’s nothing wrong with these two cars.”

The soldiers immediately opened the checkpoint and allowed the Old Task Force quintet to drive out of the bridge.

During this process, Shang Jianyao rolled down the window, turned around, and waved at Ducas to express his gratitude.

Ducas didn’t feel gratified at all. This fellow’s performance made everyone around think that I’m biased!

With a livid expression, he turned around and walked back to the armored command vehicle.

In the Old Task Force’s original jeep, Jiang Baimian chuckled. “For Ducas not to flare up on the spot and beat you up, it means that he has good control over his temper.”

Jiang Baimian was actually prepared for Ducas to turn hostile suddenly. She was prepared to force her way through the obstacles here.

“I thought we had already established a friendship.” Shang Jianyao had a ‘surprised’ expression.

Jiang Baimian didn’t continue the topic and revealed a thoughtful expression. “The assassin at the colosseum actually served in the Eastern Army. The undercurrents of First City are really becoming muddier. Heh heh, it might be a fabrication, or it might be a secret collusion that the Shadow of Distortion’s Church is using in an attempt to go alone. In any case, I don’t believe that Gaius—who has finally found the Conservatives’ weakness—will get someone to do such a thing at this moment.

“Yes, the assassin’s accomplice was also the one who carried out the explosion at the Citizen Conclave. That gathering was convened by Gaius…”

“Maybe Gaius’s brain isn’t normal,” Shang Jianyao explained.

As the two of them spoke, Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Genava remained silent.

To Long Yuehong, there was no need for him to deliberately find a topic to talk about when interacting with his companions to prevent the atmosphere from becoming awkward. He could enjoy peace as much as he wanted and not worry about anything.

He subconsciously looked out the window and glanced northeast—Ruin No. 13 was there.

After Genava’s repeated monitoring and measurements from different locations, the Old Task Force finally confirmed that the Dao and Electrical Appliance Repairs radio station was really in that ruin and that its location had never changed.

This made Long Yuehong feel like he was in a ghost story.

Fortunately, we’re going to the mountains this time… Long Yuehong didn’t dare to voice his wistful emotions out loud in case it happened.