Embers Ad Infinitum

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“The amount of nuclear pollution in the water here isn’t that serious. It’s within the purifiable range.” The silver-black robot, Genava, squatted beside a stream that flowed across the black lands and completed the test.

The weeds grew densely here and were long, and the color green almost filled the area as far as the eye could see. But compared to the areas with more severe nuclear pollution, they weren’t considered exaggerated. In those places, the grass was often nearly half the height of a person. It wasn’t rare to see wild onions growing nearly three meters tall.

Although such an environment wasn’t a key criterion for judging pollution, it could help Ruin Hunters make preliminary judgments from a distance and reduce the difficulty of the screening.

“Finally…” Long Yuehong heaved a long sigh of relief after hearing Genava’s words.

During North Shore wasteland expeditions, the most serious and realistic problem was the acquisition of water resources. Here, many water sources were severely polluted, exceeding the limits of the water filter chip’s normal operating range. If one just drank the filtered water, one might not be poisoned, but there was a high chance that they would be plagued by subsequent diseases or even mutation.

It was precisely because of this that Ruin Hunters who came to the North Shore wastelands not only carried weapons and food, but they also prepared water filter chips and learned of the distribution of lightly polluted water bodies.

The Old Task Force was wanted, so there were many places they couldn’t go. They could only rely on Zeng Duo’s experience, Jiang Baimian’s knowledge, and Genava’s pollution tests to find new water sources.

With not much potable water left, they finally gained something after repeated failures.

Amidst these wistful feelings, Long Yuehong, Shang Jianyao, and the others filled the corresponding containers with the stream water and relied on the water filter chip to process it.

Taking this opportunity, Jiang Baimian looked around and said, “From the looks of it, there are about two companies of First City troops guarding Early Spring Town. They usually take turns patrolling the surrounding area in platoons, pretending to be conducting an exercise to prevent Ruin Hunters or wilderness nomads from approaching Early Spring Town…

“Preliminary speculation is that one company stays behind while the other patrols…”

The Old Task Force had learned about the time, location, and details of First City’s army from the Ruin Hunters who had entered the North Anheford area during this period of time by disguising themselves as ‘friends.’

With this information, it was much easier to analyze the enemy’s situation. For example, it was determined that there were only two garrison companies because the Ruin Hunters kept encountering the same people, finding them familiar after a few times.

“They have at least two tanks, two armored vehicles, six drones, heavy machine guns, single-man rocket launchers, and grenade launchers. As for Awakened and genetically modified humans, it’s impossible to tell from the surface, so there’s no way to speculate…” Jiang Baimian briefly explained the situation and said, “Based on this level of understanding, I don’t think it’s a good idea to take action now. What we need to save is a town. Once we get trapped and surrounded without the corresponding contingency plans, us being wiped out won’t be a joke.”

Her words made Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo fall silent. This wasn’t because they felt that October Xue—whose nickname was Big White—was wrong. On the contrary, it was just too right.

It left them somewhat depressed.

Genava had already analyzed the outcome and probed, “Old Han, what was your previous plan? Tell me for reference. Perhaps it will bring about some inspiration.”

Jiang Baimian and Long Yuehong almost facepalmed themselves. They had forgotten to stop this robot with his worrying EQ.

Han Wanghuo’s lips quivered as he said awkwardly, “I haven’t had the time to formulate a plan.”

Wasn’t his goal to sneak into the vicinity of Early Spring Town and take advantage of the night to launch a surprise attack? Then, by coordinating from the inside and outside, he could escape the encirclement and head to the Land of Hope that Zeng Duo had chosen? If it didn’t succeed, he wouldn’t be able to live for long anyway. All he needed to do was use his life to cover his teammates’ retreat.

As the former sheriff and town guard captain of Redstone Collection, it wasn’t that Han Wanghuo didn’t know that this plan was riddled with loopholes. But with the resources and strength he had, this was all he could do.

To prevent Genava from inquiring further, Long Yuehong asked Zeng Duo, “Does Early Spring Town have tunnels?”

Just as he said that, he heard Shang Jianyao’s laughter. His heart skipped a beat as he felt that he had probably neglected something and was about to be mocked.

Jiang Baimian said with a calm expression, “In the early days, this was a good idea. However, First City has been in control of Early Spring Town for months. With their resources and abilities, it’s unlikely that they don’t know of such a situation. Choosing the tunnels is almost equivalent to walking into a trap.”

As Long Yuehong muttered to himself after he realized his foolishness, Zeng Duo answered his previous question: “There are no tunnels. To us, the town is our last bastion. It’s even more dangerous without it, so there’s no need to dig tunnels.”

In the North Shore wastelands were many Heartless and mutated creatures. It wasn’t safe to instate the tunnel’s exits randomly. In comparison, it was better for the entire town to retreat in batches in times of danger.

“Is there a river around town? Are there mountains nearby?” Bai Chen joined the discussion.

“What do you want to do?” Shang Jianyao had a look of ‘fear.’

Bai Chen didn’t hide her thoughts. “Artificially triggered natural disasters create opportunities.”

“There’s only a small river and stream around the town. It’s at the edge of a hill, so there aren’t any mountains.” Zeng Duo’s answer made Bai Chen’s suggestion fail before it reached the refinement stage.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly. “It’s very difficult to control the damage caused by an artificially triggered natural disaster. It’s not that there’s no other way. Try not to make such attempts.”

At this point, she suddenly sighed. “The most important problem now isn’t how to save Early Spring Town. This is something that needs to be considered in the future. We can only formulate an effective plan after figuring out First City’s military situation. What I’m most worried about is that this matter has a Mind Corridor-level Awakened or an aberration at the corresponding level presiding over it. In that case, the level of trouble will rise exponentially. Besides, those two companies might have a few military exoskeletons or artificial intelligence bionic armor.”

With the Old Task Force’s equipment and the strength displayed by the garrison at Early Spring Town, they didn’t dare to say that they were confident. At the very least, they had a high chance of succeeding with the night raid.

However, the problem was that the other party might not have revealed all their strength.

Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo—who had been informed of what the Mind Corridor was by the Old Task Force—had rather solemn expressions.

If First City’s experiment in Early Spring Town wasn’t that important, Jiang Baimian’s worry wouldn’t be a problem. But if that experiment covered many aspects, it was almost guaranteed that a powerhouse would preside over it.

“But how do I figure out the situation? I can’t contact the people in town.” Zeng Duo didn’t hide her worry.

Just as she said that, Shang Jianyao sighed. “It’s all those Ruin Hunters’ fault for being cowards.”

“Huh?” Long Yuehong wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand. Han Wanghuo, Zeng Duo, and company were also confused.

Jiang Baimian smiled and explained, “What he means is that the Ruin Hunters will retreat the moment they encounter First City’s army and will have no intention of continuing deeper. That way, there won’t be any conflict. If there’s no conflict, it means that there’s no opportunity for the First City troops to showcase their true strength. Yes, if there’s a Mind Corridor-level Awakened, they will definitely stay in Early Spring Town and monitor the surrounding hundreds of meters. They won’t go out to patrol…”

If I were a Ruin Hunter, I wouldn’t get into a conflict with people from large factions if I didn’t have any stake in the matter… Besides, those troops are in units of platoons. With 30 to 40 people moving together and with excellent weapons and equipment, how would ordinary Ruin Hunters dare to offend them? They will only be worried that they will be forcefully accused of being bandits and plundering… Long Yuehong muttered inwardly.

“Shall we try fighting a patrol team?” Han Wanghuo suggested.

Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and smiled. “That’s the idea, but there’s a better solution. It’s best if we don’t appear personally to prevent alerting the enemy.”

Without waiting for Han Wanghuo to ask further, she looked at Zeng Duo. “Are there any powerful bandits in the North Anheford area and the surrounding area? Where do they often appear?”

“You want to instigate bandits to attack the army?” Han Wanghuo asked in enlightenment. “But why would they do such a thing…”

Han Wanghuo’s voice gradually softened as though he had recalled something. Long Yuehong’s inner mutter was the same.

“They’re easy to get along with and persuade.” Shang Jianyao revealed a friendly and amiable smile.

Jiang Baimian laughed as well. “Sometimes, it’s not up to them.”

For some reason, Zeng Duo silently mourned for the bandits. She then quickly snapped to her senses and tried her best to find a possible target from her memories.

This made her feel like she was choosing some unlucky bastard.