Embers Ad Infinitum

Nobody could answer Shang Jianyao’s question because not many who had seen the white wolf returned alive. Not one had heard its howl at close distances.

After confirming the order for night duty, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Genava each entered the car. They either laid down, sat down, prepared to sleep, or switch to power conservation mode.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen stayed beside a car and patrolled back and forth. At the same time, they kept a look out for each other’s backs.

Not far from them, a small, tattered, and colorful car with abstract art painted on it wobbled. It alternated between fast and slow, and it took a while for it to settle down.

One of the greatest benefits of this advance base camp was that it had street lamps, searchlights, and a relatively sufficient supply of electricity. After all, the First City troops stationed here had to be wary of the Heartless and mutated creatures’ attacks. Therefore, they were equipped with many diesel power generators.

This also meant that the camp wasn’t pitch-black at night. The areas with street lamps were relatively bright, and the periphery was covered in shadows. This resulted in Long Yuehong always seeing things he shouldn’t see.

He felt embarrassed about this, but he couldn’t hide his curiosity as he stole a few glances.

Suddenly, the back door opened, and a young man with a naked upper body alighted.

He wore loose gray pants and buckled his belt as he smiled at Long Yuehong—who happened to be looking over. “I didn’t expect there to be a kind person helping us keep guard.”

Long Yuehong—who could tell that the other party was joking—politely replied, “We just came back.”

He noticed that the man was relatively young and was about the same age as him. He was only 1.7 meters tall and had brown hair, green eyes, and many freckles on his face.

Long Yuehong straightened his back.

As the two of them spoke, the door on the other side of the car was pushed open. A relatively tall woman appeared.

The woman had one arm across her chest to cover her exposed skin, and the other hand reached for the trunk to make it easier for her to look at Long Yuehong.

Her skin was relatively rough, and her appearance was relatively ordinary. However, she was relatively young, and her hair color was very special—red.

At this moment, she didn’t show any embarrassment and openly said to the man, “You did well. I hope there will be a next time, but don’t let me provide the condoms again.”

This topic is so explosive… Long Yuehong was speechless and could only watch.

The man chuckled and said, “Actually, I brought it. But since you were so proactive, there was no need to waste any time.”

The woman opposite him ignored him and glanced at Long Yuehong. “Ashlandic? Your skin looks better than mine. Heh heh, I haven’t experienced an Ashlandic before. I’m too tired today. Shall we make a date tomorrow at this time?”

She was so direct that Long Yuehong didn’t know how to respond.

Fortunately, Bai Chen helped him out in time and coldly said, “He doesn’t need it.”

“Oh… Your girlfriend? Not bad.” The woman smiled casually. “But don’t you want to have a more eclectic experience? Maybe we’ll die tomorrow or the day after. If we don’t enjoy it now, we won’t have a chance. Different people, people from different regions, and even two people who look similar will give you a completely different experience…”

She didn’t continue because Bai Chen had already raised her Orange rifle and aimed at her.

“Alright.” The woman made a surrendering gesture with one hand and retracted her body. She put on her clothes in the car and walked off into the camp with her weapon.

After Bai Chen patrolled to the other side, the young man—who was still half-naked—sat at the edge of the car. He pressed the open door with one hand and stroked his chin with the other. He suppressed his voice and said, “Your girlfriend is very cool.”

“She’s not bad, not bad…” Long Yuehong replied patronizingly.

The young man smiled and said, “Actually, Aphra’s right. We Ruin Hunters don’t have hopes for tomorrow. Let’s enjoy ourselves while we’re still alive so that we don’t have any regrets in death.”

Upon seeing Bai Chen walk over, his expression turned serious. “How may I address you? My name is Bob.”

Long Yuehong maintained a polite attitude. “Gu Zhiyong.”

“You Ashlandics have such complicated names. I’ll call you Gu, alright?” The freckled Bob smiled. “You guys are new here too? For that white wolf?”

“Yes,” Long Yuehong replied concisely.

“Good luck to you and us.” Bob was a talkative person. “We’re also here for the white wolf. You just can’t ignore the payment.”

As he spoke, he revealed a look of anticipation. “As long as we can complete this mission, the few of us don’t need to be Ruin Hunters anymore. We can get some farmland in First City and settle down. We don’t have to worry about hunger and cold anymore. When the time comes, my parents won’t have to work so hard anymore. My younger brother and sister will also lead a different life.”

Upon hearing that Bob’s parents were still alive and that he had a younger brother and sister, Long Yuehong felt a little closer to him. He couldn’t help but give a warning. “This mission is very dangerous.”

“I know. We bought some information from the guild, and many Ruin Hunters here. After comparison and verification, we have a mature plan. Heh heh, I can’t tell you the exact details. You definitely know the core point: It’s to maintain a distance and rely on firearms for victory. My marksmanship is pretty good,” Bob said proudly.

Without waiting for Long Yuehong’s response, he continued, “Actually, after completing this mission and obtaining a large piece of farmland, I will still be a Ruin Hunter. However, I won’t go on missions anymore. I will take time out every year to come to a similar camp and use my body to comfort the depressed ladies…”

Long Yuehong was dumbfounded. “Y-you don’t plan on getting married?”

“Why should I get married? Isn’t it good to experience more? There are so many women and different types and flavors…” Bob said frankly. “Besides, I don’t want my child to be born in this era. That would be too painful. If I do well in the future, I might consider it.”

Long Yuehong held it in for a long time before finally asking, “You can find a prostitute. Why do you have to continue being a Ruin Hunter?”

Bob chuckled. “That costs money. Well, that’s actually not the point. The point is that I like it when the other party enjoys it as well, get it? Here, every hug isn’t for money. She’s pleasing me, and so am I. We can obtain satisfaction from each other, relax, and comfort from each other. This makes me feel like I’m needed.”

Long Yuehong couldn’t argue with this theory at all.

Before long, Bob’s companions returned from elsewhere. Two men and a woman—all of them looked satisfied. However, it was obvious that a man and a woman were a couple.

As they took turns resting, Bai Chen took the opportunity when they crossed paths to whisper to Long Yuehong, “This is how most Ruin Hunters are. Only a few aren’t like that.”

Long Yuehong subconsciously wanted to ask if she was like them previously, but he quickly recalled that Bai Chen was considered a lone ranger in the past. She relied on a robot and only occasionally teamed up with others.

“This is the Ashlands,” he replied.

It was both depressing and indulgent.

Bai Chen glanced at Bob’s car and added, “Although what he said is romantic, most female Ruin Hunters require payment in the form of money or supplies unless you are willing to spend time nurturing a little affection through shared experiences, looks, and eloquence. Therefore, male Ruin Hunters are mostly lonely. When they have some money and supplies, they will often stay in settlements with a Hunter’s Guild. It’s more convenient to find prostitutes, just like Weed City.

“As for female Ruin Hunters, the premise of choosing to indulge is often that there are safety measures. However, there are also those who don’t mind. Many of them are actually more willing to develop a fixed relationship with a male in the same team. This will allow them to gain a stable supporter—a trustworthy protector who they can entrust their backs with—and they won’t have to worry too much about safety in that area.”

“Huh?” Long Yuehong was stunned.

As Bai Chen turned around to patrol the other side of the vehicles, she left him with two sentences: “Everything is for survival. Isn’t it good to receive some money, get some supplies, and exchange for a supporter while enjoying yourself?”

…

After comparing many pieces of information, the Old Task Force roughly grasped the white wolf’s activity patterns and chose an ambush spot.

Although it was called an ambush, they were actually using themselves as bait to bait the cunning prey.

When the white wolf circled around and quietly approached them, it would discover that not only were they not bewitched, but they also had a robot with them.

At the same time, Jiang Baimian added a condition when choosing the location both for convenience and safety—it had to be reachable by car.

After leaving the advance base camp and turning into a mountain road, the Old Task Force encountered Bob’s fancy car.

Bob enthusiastically rolled down the window and waved at them. “Good luck! You have to be lucky!”

“You guys have to be lucky too!” Before Long Yuehong could even speak, Shang Jianyao waved his hand in response as if he had encountered an old friend.

The two parties drove for a while before splitting up at a fork. It was obvious that the two parties’ plans and destinations were quite different.

Jiang Baimian looked ahead and said as she drove, “I hope we can finish off that white wolf as soon as possible. This way, fellows like him will stop throwing themselves at death.”

It was obvious that she was reminded of Waite—whose companions had been completely wiped out.

“I’ll try my best to persuade it to be obediently captured by us,” Shang Jianyao said seriously.

“You can speak wolf?” Jiang Baimian asked in amusement. Just as she said that, she suddenly recalled Shang Jianyao’s response—a howl—in the Blackmarsh Wilderness.

Fortunately, Shang Jianyao didn’t do that this time. He thought for a moment and said, “I developed a set of hand gestures. I don’t know if it can understood them.”

“…” Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled.

The mountain road was difficult to traverse. The Old Task Force took almost three hours before they finally entered the designated ambush spot.

They hid their vehicles and got into position. They hid themselves and waited at the spot where the intelligence said that the white wolf would pass by at noon to drink water from a clean stream.