Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian watched the wanted criminal disappear into the alley diagonally opposite and chuckled. “He also came from the port area.”

“Huh?” Long Yuehong was a little confused. He then subconsciously followed his team leader’s gaze and looked at the ground illuminated by the street lamps.

Left behind on the street where the man suspected to be responsible for the Citizen Conclave explosion ran past and the step between the sidewalk and the motorway, there was some coal residue.

After the matter with the real Father, Jiang Baimian could easily guess where the other party had passed by.

Long Yuehong instantly understood what his team leader’s judgment was based on.

As they spoke, the public security officers chasing him rushed to the street and randomly intercepted the passersby, anxiously asking if they had seen the person and where he had gone.

They also asked the Old Task Force.

“He went into that alley,” Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others replied almost uniformly.

Coupled with the feedback from the other passersby, the public security officers didn’t delay any longer and continued the chase.

“I keep having the feeling that the fellow comes out every few days not to be found but to walk the public security officers.” Jiang Baimian looked at the pursuers’ backs and smiled thoughtfully. “Or is he doing this to show his presence and attract attention?”

“Why do you say that?” Long Yuehong expressed his confusion again.

Genava sorted out the information in his database and deliberated over the analysis results. “He only encounters ordinary public security officers without any abilities every time. It seems too coincidental and seems selected.”

Recalling their previous ‘encounters,’ Long Yuehong nodded slightly. “Indeed.”

He then frowned and said, “But this is logical and reasonable. A large-scale investigation will definitely rely on ordinary public security officers at the grassroots level. The probability of encountering them is much higher than encountering a powerhouse from the Hand of Order.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Jiang Baimian said with a smile before Shang Jianyao could strike his right fist into his left palm and say: “As expected—he’s walking those public security officers.”

“I’m only making a bold assumption based on the coincidences. I can’t verify it.” At this point, she suddenly sighed. “Actually, I rather hope they do something to generate chaos in First City. That way, our chances of cracking the Virtual World will be higher. Yes, I’m just not sure what they wish to do or what their goal is.”

After hearing Jiang Baimian’s sigh, Bai Chen walked forward and calmly said, “We once destroyed an opportunity to throw First City into chaos.”

“Huh?” Jiang Baimian was first stunned before she came to a realization. “You mean the time when the Anti-intellectualism Church teamed up with the Church of Paragon Desire to cause trouble?”

After receiving an affirmative nod, she took a deep breath as if she had a toothache. “That’s true… If we didn’t kill the real Father and didn’t alert the enemy, they might’ve already taken action and created chaos. Sigh, a little impatience will spoil great plans. Back when we locked onto the real Father’s location, we should’ve only done surveillance. We should’ve waited for the chaos to begin before dealing him the fatal blow.”

“But that might not work. In the chaos, Shepherd Bouillon might discover something.” Bai Chen imagined the consequences of such a development and calmly replied.

“Yes, yes.” Jiang Baimian seemed to be waiting for Bai Chen to say that as she grinned. As they conversed, she looked at the silent Shang Jianyao. “What are you thinking about?”

“Thinking of a way to crack the Virtual World,” Shang Jianyao replied seriously. “I already have a plan—I’m just short of perfecting the details.”

“What plan?” Genava asked cooperatively.

Shang Jianyao laughed. “I was just thinking about it. I might need help this time.”

“But Xiaochong doesn’t seem too willing to go out, and it’s not that easy to bump into Du Heng. Besides, he might not want to be involved in First City’s matters.” The first helpers Long Yuehong could think of were only Du Heng and Xiaochong. He felt that among the powerhouses his team knew, only these two could firmly crush the Virtual World’s owner.

“No, no, no. I want to invite another person.” Shang Jianyao raised his finger and wagged it a few times.

“Who?” Jiang Baimian couldn’t think of an answer either.

In this regard, Shang Jianyao’s train of thought was always diverse.

Shang Jianyao laughed. “Wu Meng.”

“…” For a moment, the other Old Task Force members—including the smart bot, Genava—wore blank expressions. Although Wu Meng is strong, he is suspected to be sealed. Also, he’s a monster. How could we negotiate with him for his help? We can’t release this abnormally dangerous existence for our mission, right? Then, the team would really become major villains of the Ashlands!

Shang Jianyao seriously explained his ‘train of thought.’ “In the beginning, I was thinking that the Virtual World is really troublesome. If the owner had the ability, try replicating the Dao and Electrical Appliance Repairs radio station and broadcast Wu Meng’s voice. Unfortunately, the gladiator fights aren’t held at night, so we can’t make it in time for the Dao and Electrical Appliance Repairs radio station’s broadcast. Otherwise, we can see if Wu Meng’s influence gets filtered out or if the Virtual World’s owner gets affected…”

As he spoke, the excitement on his face gradually showed as if he found this very interesting.

“That’s right. Gladiator fights are usually held in the afternoon. Besides, Wu Meng’s influence might not be the kind we want.” Long Yuehong roughly understood Shang Jianyao’s plan.

The latter wanted to bring a radio into the aristocratic VIP room and broadcast the Dao and Electrical Appliance Repairs for everyone!

Shang Jianyao smiled at him. “We can pretend to be enthusiastic listeners and ask Wu Meng how to make a person take the initiative to go to the bathroom. We can then use a recorder to record his answers and play them in the aristocratic VIP room.”

This… You are spending so much effort just to make Marcus go to the bathroom? According to this train of thought, wouldn’t it be fine if Wu Meng directly affected the Virtual World’s owner and made them give up on protecting him? Long Yuehong was momentarily at a loss for words. Should I scold Shang Jianyao for going an entire circle just to get Marcus to pee and have diarrhea, or should I praise his strange train of thought?

Jiang Baimian quietly listened and slowly spoke as she strolled forward. “There are a few problems with that. First, it’s unknown if there will be any effects after Wu Meng’s voice is recorded, but this can be verified in advance.

“Second, you don’t have the Dao and Electrical Appliance Repairs radio station’s phone number. How are you going to pretend to be an enthusiastic listener and ask Wu Meng? Are you going to send a telegram directly to that frequency and use a code?

“Third, it’s impossible that First City doesn’t know Wu Meng. He might be sealed by the Eternal Time Church’s Sage. I’m afraid that the Virtual World’s owner will make connections and respond the moment you turn on the machine and broadcast Wu Meng’s voice.”

“Therefore, there are still many details that need to be perfected.” Shang Jianyao sincerely indicated that these problems existed.

As for how to record it, it was relatively simple. The frequency could be set in advance, and everyone would evacuate, leaving only one recording device to do all the work.

Furthermore, in First City—which was far away from Wasteland Ruin 13—the smart bot, Genava, wasn’t within Wu Meng’s immediate range. Thus, he shouldn’t be affected.

He had previously been fine monitoring the Dao and Electrical Appliance Repairs radio station in First City.

Jiang Baimian nodded. “We can put this in the follow-up plan. Yes… Even if it really doesn’t work, we will benefit as long as Wu Meng’s recorded voice can still produce an effect for a certain period of time.”

As she spoke, Jiang Baimian revealed a cunning smile. It’s simply a great joy in life to be able to fleece the enemy!

This meant that the Old Task Force could borrow Wu Meng’s strength in a sense. Even if it couldn’t be used to crack the Virtual World, it was still effective against other enemies!

Long Yuehong was stunned when he heard that. He finally realized that it was actually feasible.

It might not be the case for others, but the chance of Wu Meng—who could influence electronic products—having an effect with his recorded voice was rather high.

Long Yuehong wanted to say that there was no time to lose, but he flipped his wrist to look at his watch and realized that it was already past the Dao and Electrical Appliance Repairs radio station’s broadcast time.

“We can only wait until tomorrow night.” He sighed.

As they spoke, the Old Task Force quintet turned into another street.

At this moment, a man walked over.

He was about the same height as Long Yuehong. He carried a paper bag and wore a slightly mottled leather coat. His black hair was long and messy, and his eyes were jade green. His facial features weren’t deep, making him appear mellow.

Jiang Baimian glanced at him and retracted her gaze. She pretended to look at the shop by the street and suppressed her voice. “The wanted criminal.”

“Huh?” Long Yuehong also saw the man, but he didn’t think that he was any similar to the Citizen Conclave explosion suspect who had been running previously.

Yes, apart from the fact that their eyes were green and that they were of the same height, they had nothing in common. Most importantly, his mouth didn’t show any deformities!

Jiang Baimian looked at the ground and said, “He didn’t change his shoes. When I was looking at the coal residue, I noticed that his shoes were black and strapless. They were very old and had scratches. Yes, the scratches match.”

As Long Yuehong’s eyes widened, Bai Chen slowly exhaled. “He’s really walking those public security officers.”

Jiang Baimian smiled and turned to look at Shang Jianyao and Genava. She asked with interest, “Want to have a chat with him?”