Embers Ad Infinitum

Startled, Zeng Duo instinctively retreated to the door and pulled out her gun. As a Ruin Hunter who had been traveling and risking her life in the North Shore wastelands all year round, it wasn’t that she had never seen mutated creatures. However, this was the first time she encountered one in First City.

Han Wanghuo’s reaction was about the same as hers, but it wasn’t that big. This was because he saw that October Xue, Zhang Qubing, and the others remained calm. They did what they had to do without panicking at all—they didn’t even spare a second glance.

“Meow~” Slumber Cat meowed again, laid down, and stretched its body.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian’s heart palpitated. She put down the kitchen knife in her hand and walked to the balcony.

She squatted in front of Slumber Cat and deliberated for a few seconds before smiling and greeting it. “You came back from the North Shore wastelands?”

Slumber Cat shot a glance at her without making a sound.

“Which path did you take? Did you not encounter anyone from First City?” Jiang Baimian asked directly. She saw the hope of the Old Task Force, Han Wanghuo, and Zeng Duo leaving First City through Slumber Cat’s unhindered traveling to the North Shore wastelands.

“Meow,” Slumber Cat replied.

“…” Jiang Baimian was stunned and subconsciously smiled awkwardly and politely. Only then did she remember that she had no ‘skill’ to communicate with feline creatures.

Slumber Cat’s previous performance always made her overlook this problem.

Upon seeing this, Long Yuehong turned his head to prevent himself from laughing out loud. When he turned his head, he saw Bai Chen pursing her lips tightly.

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up as he played the game. He prepared to ask for permission to pause the game and help translate.

Whether the translation was accurate or not was another matter.

At this moment, Xiaochong muttered, “It said that it had just returned from the North Shore Mountains. The path it took didn’t have any First City officials.”

He really can translate… But how can a simple meow contain so much information? As Jiang Baimian sighed silently, she quickly looked at Slumber Cat and asked, “Is the path drivable?”

“Meow!” Slumber Cat sounded a little impatient.

Xiaochong replied as he played the game, “Yes.”

Jiang Baimian didn’t hide her joy and asked frankly, “Can you lead us to that path?”

“Meow!” Slumber Cat’s meow became short.

Xiaochong looked at the computer screen and said without turning his head, “Pick a time between six in the evening and six in the morning.”

Upon hearing this, Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and the others—who had snapped to their senses—shared Jiang Baimian’s previous puzzlement.

How is so much information contained in a single meow? Is this cat language?

Uh, Slumber Cat really can understand human language. Xiaochong didn’t even help us translate…

At this moment, Zeng Duo and Han Wanghuo also realized that Xiaochong was abnormal. They now had a certain level of understanding of why October Xue’s team had specially come to cook and clean his place during such a dangerous situation.

Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and replied, “7 p.m. then.”

If it was later, there would be fewer pedestrians on the streets. There wouldn’t be many cars coming and going, making it easy for them to attract attention. Before seven, the summer sun had yet to set completely, and there was natural light.

This time, Slumber Cat didn’t make a sound and yawned in response.

“It said: ‘OK, follow it when the time comes.'” Xiaochong dutifully completed the translation work.

After confirming this matter, Jiang Baimian stood up. She glanced at Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo and smiled. “Don’t just stand there. Clean up the bedroom.”

She deliberately didn’t say, “Rest by the side if you aren’t feeling well.” She only assigned the two of them the easiest tasks.

Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo immediately agreed.

…

When night fell, the Virtual World’s master—Nasis—remained in the building beside the parking lot northwest of Antanna Street. However, he had changed from standing to sitting.

In the room next to Nasis’s, the middle-aged gentleman—Konstanz—asked hesitantly, “Could the Enlightened’s prophecy be inaccurate?”

Theodore stared straight ahead. “Prophecies are always fulfilled in a way that even the prophets can’t predict, so there’s no need to take them too seriously. Furthermore, those monks often only have a vague hint in their prophecies. It’s very normal to make mistakes during interpretation.”

Although Theodore’s previous mistakes would definitely be exposed if they relied on the prophecy to capture October Xue and Zhang Qubing’s team, he still spoke his mind, not letting his expectations affect his judgment.

“It seems like we have to wait here until midnight.” Konstanz looked around. “Bring over all the surveillance footage from before. We might be able to find the details that the prophecy points to. We don’t have anything to do anyway.”

After they ‘took over’ the parking lot because of the prophecy, the Hand of Order mobilized supplies and replaced all the broken cameras with intact ones.

“Alright.” Theodore rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t move his eyes, so it was easy for him to get eye fatigue.

At this moment, the wall-like Sheriff Wall returned to the room.

“How was it? Did you find anything from your line?” asked Konstanz.

Wall nodded. “We can now confirm that the person October Xue and Zhang Qubing saved on the street is problematic. From various feedback, he’s suspected to be an intelligence agent of a particular faction.”

“Caught anyone?” Theodore perked up.

Wall sighed and shook his head. “He appeared this morning, but nobody has seen him since.”

“It seems like he received a warning.” Konstanz nodded slightly.

Wall then said, “However, I found someone who has a complicated background with him. That person’s name is Old K—he has connections with a few Elders and many nobles. On the surface, he’s a merchant who does imports and exports. He has business dealings with the White Knights, United Industries, and the Salvation Army. I don’t know what he’s actually doing for the time being.

“The person October Xue and Zhang Qubing saved is called Giuseppe. He was once Old K’s assistant and won his deep trust. Later, he slept with Old K’s mistress and jumped ship to his competitor, Red Shirt Army.”

“Old K actually didn’t try to kill him?” Konstanz—who roamed the circle of noblewomen all year round—teased with a smile.

Wall laughed. “Why do you think October Xue and Zhang Qubing saved him? Yes, I’ll find him as soon as possible.”

Konstanz nodded. “If we can figure out which faction he works for, the entire matter will become very clear.”

At this point, Konstanz looked at Theodore, who was still observing the parking lot. He raised his right hand and said, “Get something to eat first. We’ll look at the surveillance footage later and wait for the workers who are investigating the vehicle’s source to return. Sigh, I hope we can gain something.”

…

At 7 p.m., the Old Task Force moved all their weapons and supplies to the cars.

In order to express their calmness, they didn’t let Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo separate. Instead, they allowed the other party to drive the dark SUV. They only sent Genava over to help—if not, the jeep filled with all kinds of things wouldn’t have space for sitting.

Jiang Baimian looked at Slumber Cat that sometimes jogged in the shadows of the street and sometimes walked on the roofs of the buildings. She stepped on the accelerator and started the car.

She didn’t let Bai Chen drive because Slumber Cat would often travel through the streets unseen in order to avoid humans. One could only rely on bioelectric sensing and mutated biological consciousness to locate it.

Therefore, only she and Shang Jianyao could take turns driving.

The two cars drove out of the Golden Grain Zone and headed north.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian heaved a sigh of relief. This was because she didn’t know the extent the Hand of Order’s temporary checkpoints had been set up to. She believed that there was a high risk of exposure if they headed in the direction of Antanna Street and the Factory Zone.

Just like that, they passed through the Red Wolf Zone and entered the Green Olive Zone. Finally, under the illumination of the street lamps, they saw a familiar area.

West Port!

First City’s West Port!

At this moment, many ships were docked at the edge of the Red River. Warehouses and containers were stacked quietly in the darkness. From time to time, port guards patrolled the area.

Slumber Cat jumped out of the shadows by the roadside and walked gracefully toward Pier 1 with its proud head up.

Its so-called path is here? This thought flashed across Long Yuehong’s mind.