Embers Ad Infinitum

Shang Jianyao’s answer wasn’t at all what Wang Fugui had expected. He was momentarily at a loss for words.

Fortunately, Shang Jianyao had already ignored him. He glanced at the Ruin Hunters beside him and retracted his gaze.

At the same time, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen also took the opportunity to openly size up the people sitting with Wang Fugui while they conversed.

Among them, the one that left the deepest impression on Long Yuehong was a man with long limbs.

He had brown hair and blue eyes. He looked rather muscular and wore a black leather coat that he zipped high up. He was bundled up tightly, but he still appeared to be suffering from extreme cold.

It had to be known that it was already midsummer. Even if the temperature in the mountains was lower than in other places, a normal human wearing a long T-shirt was sufficient.

He’s too weak? He’s previously injured? Long Yuehong muttered to himself.

The other three Ruin Hunters didn’t have any obvious characteristics, but their clothes and expressions were much better than most of the people in the advance base camp. It was obvious that they were doing well.

The other lone rangers that Wang Fugui had mentioned? Jiang Baimian nodded at them, retracted her gaze, and sat at the bar counter.

They came to Coss Bar to settle lunch. This time, they hadn’t brought much food with them.

After Long Yuehong sat down, he suppressed his voice and asked, “Do you think Wang Fugui is an Awakened?”

It was obvious that Wang Fugui had never done any genetic enhancement or attempted any mechanical or electronic modifications. For him to be able to do well as a lone Hunter and be evaluated by Waite as terrifyingly powerful, he should more or less exceed ordinary people.

After eliminating the first two possibilities, there were only two answers—mutation and Awakening. But based on external appearances, the probability of Wang Fugui being a Subhuman wasn’t high.

“If so, what price did he pay?” Bai Chen asked in a whisper.

Wang Fugui’s words and actions were no different from a normal person’s, so it was impossible to tell what price he had paid.

“It might be a price that’s relatively more hidden.” Jiang Baimian offered her thoughts.

Shang Jianyao immediately echoed, “Maybe it’s a sexual deviancy—he likes animals.”

He had a serious expression.

This was clearly inspired by an Awakened from the Rootless caravan. It underwent some changes after considering their current situation of chasing the white wolf.

“No.” Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen shook their heads at the same time.

This was a woman’s intuition. They could sense that Wang Fugui admired and yearned for the opposite sex. However, this lone Hunter was very restrained and polite, which made him less detestable.

As they casually discussed, the four Old Task Force members ate their lunch today.

A certain wild plant’s roots—which were filled with starch—were roasted to a fragrant and sticky state. Many palm-sized fish from a stream were fried until they were crisp and alluring. The oil used came from prey with inferior meat quality. Some relatively common wild vegetables were washed and placed there…

After lunch, Jiang Baimian and the others stood up one after another. They got Genava—who had charged up—and went to the third floor of the castle’s main building.

This was where the survivors previously received treatment.

Fortunately, the white wolf didn’t have any need for coins or food supplies. It didn’t deprive them of their items, allowing them to afford medical help and not be chased out.

At a glance, Jiang Baimian found Roen.

The Ruin Hunter immediately jogged over and asked obsequiously, “Do you need anything from me?”

As his ribs were injured, his running posture was a little strange.

Jiang Baimian nodded. “Have you seen a Hunter named Ferrington?”

This was one of the Old Task Force’s targets—the Ruin Hunter who knew the Mirror Church’s situation.

After Shang Jianyao finished describing Ferrington’s appearance, Roen shook his head. “I saw him before I was controlled by the white wolf. He was also looking for the white wolf, but I never encountered him again.”

Does this mean that Ferrington wasn’t ‘charmed’ by the white wolf and didn’t become an attendant? Jiang Baimian looked around and signaled Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Shang Jianyao to interrogate the other survivors.

After some inquiries, Long Yuehong walked to the antepenultimate target.

It was a Ruin Hunter who had barely survived a gunshot to his abdomen. He lay there, his lips slightly pale. He wasn’t in a good state of mind.

“Have you seen such a hunter? He has gray hair, dark-brown eyes, and likes to use shotguns…” Long Yuehong described Ferrington’s situation in a methodological manner.

The eyes of the Ruin Hunter on the bed flickered slightly. “Yes.”

“When?” Long Yuehong perked up.

The Ruin Hunter subconsciously wanted to say that he needed to pay for the information, but he then recalled the other party’s strength and his situation. Therefore, he corrected himself. “When I was controlled by the white wolf.”

He didn’t want his injuries to worsen and be too injured to be saved.

“Huh?” Long Yuehong was surprised and delighted.

Jiang Baimian and Genava approached.

The Ruin Hunter paused and continued, “The white wolf made us guards to watch the different areas. I remember I was guarding the cave that night. At an intersection, I saw this person trying to enter secretly. I-I fired at him and tried to kill him. He was so scared that he ran into another path. He didn’t appear again after that.”

Jiang Baimian quietly listened and asked, “In other words, he was never controlled by the white wolf?”

“Yes.” The Ruin Hunter gave a very definite answer.

Jiang Baimian then asked, “How did you see him in the cave?”

“There were fire torches,” replied the Ruin Hunter. “We used flashlights in the beginning, but the battery ran out.”

At this moment, Shang Jianyao got an answer from a survivor which described a similar situation.

He had been guarding another intersection.

Combining the duo’s descriptions, Jiang Baimian preliminarily judged that Ferrington had entered the cave from another entrance. He was then discovered by the ‘guards’ and rushed into a fork in a panic.

Nobody knew where the fork led.

After returning to the parking lot, Jiang Baimian sighed with emotion. “It seems like we have to make a trip into the cave after all.”

She deliberated for a few seconds before looking at Genava. “On the one hand, we want lone Hunters like Wang Fugui to ‘help’ scout the way. On the other hand, we have to make some preparations. For example, we can first reconnoiter using homemade, simplified drones and remote control vehicles before exploring deeper. This way, we can better prevent the collapse caused by the previous explosion.”

“Yes, I’ll try my best to gather the electronic components and attempt to do something with the equipment I have.” Genava spread out his right hand. “But you have to give me enough Oray.”

As a law-abiding smart bot, was he to rob a person without paying for it?

“I’ll help.” Shang Jianyao was very interested in this and looked eager.

…

Night fell again, and a bright moon appeared in the sky.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao—who were on duty—patrolled one side each. They saw many vehicles shaking under the street lamps’ light, and they heard faint or hoarse moans coming from all directions.

A phrase suddenly surfaced in Jiang Baimian’s mind: “Carpe diem.”

At this moment, she saw Shang Jianyao stop and look at the moon in the sky before opening his mouth.

Don’t tell me he wants to imitate these people? Isn’t that too embarrassing? Jiang Baimian thought in confusion and amusement.

The next second, Shang Jianyao cried out, “Howl!”

This howl traveled very far in the forest pregnant with silence as if the white wolf had already infiltrated the advance base camp.

In an instant, all the moaning stopped. All the shaking subsided, leaving only the damped oscillations.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. To the people in the advance base camp who had yet to sleep, the wolf howl now was completely different from the previous howl. It was clearly close and required vigilance.

“…” Jiang Baimian was speechless. She wanted to turn her head away and pretend not to know the fellow.

Unfortunately, after the battle with the white wolf, the Old Task Force had already made a name for themselves in this advance base camp. Everyone knew that they had four members and a robot and that they were very strong.

“You’ll get beaten up for that!” Jiang Baimian quickly stopped Shang Jianyao from letting out a second howl.

Although Shang Jianyao was unwilling, he still chose to obey orders.

Flashlight beams appeared and shone everywhere, but they didn’t discover any dangerous wildlife. After this, the moans and shaking vehicles reduced in number.

After the alert was completely removed, Jiang Baimian suppressed her voice and asked Shang Jianyao, “Why did you suddenly howl like a wolf?”

Shang Jianyao replied seriously, “I’m mimicking the white wolf’s howl to see if I can seduce the Nightmare Horse over.”

Seduce… Jiang Baimian’s expression froze, and the corners of her mouth twitched unconsciously.

“Do you have Bewitchment abilities?” she asked in exasperation and amusement.

“No,” Shang Jianyao replied honestly.

“Then, isn’t that the end of it?” Jiang Baimian ended the conversation without hesitation.

The moon gradually rose as time passed, and all kinds of commotion slowly disappeared.

Jiang Baimian looked around and finally felt the extreme serenity of the night.

Serenity… She suddenly frowned.

In the advance base camp, Ruin Hunters would leave people on night duty. The First City troops stationed here would also send soldiers to patrol the area and prevent dangerous creatures from entering. Therefore, it was impossible for extreme serenity to exist.

Something happened? But I didn’t sense anything… Could it be that something happened to me? Th-this is a dream? The Nightmare Horse really came? No, the Nightmare Horse can only make the dream realistic and prevent people from sleeping! Could it be Slumber Cat? The Nightmare Horse’s companion, Slumber Cat, is also here? Jiang Baimian’s thoughts raced as she began considering how to wake herself up.

At this moment, she felt the ground tremble visibly, and the entire mountain range shook violently.

At this moment, it was as if doomsday had arrived.

As she swayed, Jiang Baimian heard the commotion around her and saw Shang Jianyao’s face.

He grabbed Jiang Baimian’s shoulders and excitedly said, “Nightmare Horse and Ghost Cat are here!”