Embers Ad Infinitum

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In the room that originally belonged to the mayor of Early Spring Town, Malov looked at the three dispirited bandits in front of him and asked in puzzlement, “Who gave you the courage to launch an attack here?”

In this major’s eyes, even the most powerful Nois bandits in the wastelands didn’t dare to challenge First City’s army. Furthermore, the troops guarding Early Spring Town were clearly better than the average troops!

One of the bandits replied in frustration and fear, “Sir, w-we were deceived. We felt that your men had low morale after the long deployment in the wastelands, and we believed that you had nothing but equipment. One touch, and it will shatter.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Our boss also said that you are arrogant and careless. A single surprise attack will throw you into chaos. You won’t be able to organize any effective resistance and can only hand over the spoils of war,” another bandit hurriedly echoed.

Malov and the soldiers in the room didn’t have their questions resolved. Instead, their faces flushed red.

This was because what the other party said actually matched the actual situation!

Their team had been guarding Early Spring Town for two to three months, and most of the residents here were suffering from malignant mutations. They had nowhere to relieve their desires and had long been extremely frustrated. They only wanted to end their tour early and return to First City to rest.

Coupled with their powerful equipment and First City’s reputation, they were certain that they wouldn’t be attacked. Be it their usual training or daily patrols, they gradually let down their guard and only maintained an empty shell.

Therefore, the sudden attack by the Vulture bandits during the night really threw them into chaos. If not for that existence, they might not have had the time to reorganize their defense and launch a counterattack.

As the leader of this unit, Malov felt that each of the captives’ words were like slaps that constantly smacked his face. It made him want to pull out his Red River pistol and fire a few shots at these fellows.

Thankfully, nothing really happened. Otherwise, I would definitely be court-martialed… Malov took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Who told you all this? No, who deceived you?”

“A man and a woman. They found one of our strongholds,” said a pale-faced bandit who had lost a lot of blood as he recalled.

“What do they look like?” Malov pressed.

“I didn’t see them clearly.” The bandit who answered first shook his head. He had a shaved head that was covered in dry black soil.

Another bandit helped explain, “It was nighttime, and it was raining. We didn’t have many torches in our stronghold, nor did we have many flashlights. Apart from the few who communicated with them face-to-face, probably nobody saw what they looked like.”

“None of you saw them?” Malov frowned slightly.

The bandits shook their heads in unison.

Is this a coincidence? The bandit leader must’ve communicated with those two people face-to-face, but he’s dead… Malov reined in his puzzlement and asked, “How did they convince you, uh—convince your leader, and how did your leader convince you?”

“They just said what we just told you…” The pale-faced bandit answered in puzzlement, “I don’t know why I believed the boss, uh—Yass back then. Someone will almost definitely raise questions during any major developments…”

Malov acutely sensed the problem. “How long did that man and woman talk to your leader for?”

“Less than five minutes. Definitely less than five minutes!” The bald bandit hesitated before confirming it.

“They didn’t show anything. It was just a conversation?” Malov followed his guess and raised a new question.

“None at all,” the bandits answered one after another.

Malov glanced at the soldiers in the room and paced back and forth. “Did the man and woman do anything when your leader started convincing you?”

“They were at the edge of the stronghold, hiding in the shadows. Only when our boss, uh—Yass convinced us did they provide us with your patrol routes, the drones’ surveillance patterns, and information on the surrounding terrain,” the pale-faced bandit answered truthfully.

Malov paced a few more steps and said to the soldiers in the room, “Watch them. I’ll be back soon.”

He quickly walked out of the room, followed the corridor to the other end, and knocked on a dark-red wooden door.

“Mr. Press, the current situation is…” He summarized the captives’ answers and gave a rough description.

After he finished speaking, a male voice that seemed to be restraining something came from the room more than ten seconds later. “Ask them what happened before the man and woman arrived.”

“Yes, Mr. Press.” Malov turned around and returned to the room. He stared at the captives and repeated Press’s question in a deep voice.

The bald bandit recalled and said, “They used a loudspeaker or boombox to inform us that we’re ‘surrounded.’ Then, they explained a bunch of baffling principles.”

“What kind?” Malov questioned.

The pale-faced bandit summarized the content based on his memories. He talked about humbly seeking advice when faced with something he didn’t understand, about not blindly resisting, about learning, understanding, and accepting…

Malov was confused. After repeatedly confirming this piece of information, he once again went to the outside of Press’s room and told him the information he had obtained.

Before Malov could finish his sentence, Press’s slightly shocked voice sounded from behind the closed door. “Wu Meng?”

…

First City, Red Wolf Zone, 19 Rosta Street, Hand of Order headquarters.

The wall-like Sheriff Wall met his immediate superior—Red Wolf Zone’s Orderly Officer, Trevis.

“The military has sent some feedback.” Trevis picked up a piece of paper in front of him.

After Wall took it, the Orderly Officer of the Red Wolf Zone simply said, “They have troops carrying out a secret mission in the North Anheford area.”

“Isn’t this too much of a coincidence?” Wall—who hadn’t flipped through the information—asked in a deep voice.

What he meant was that after October Xue and Zhang Qubing’s team fled to the North Shore wastelands, they showed interest in the North Anheford area instead of escaping First City’s sphere of influence as soon as possible. Was this related to the military’s secret mission?

“It’s quite a coincidence, which is why I got you to take a look at this information.” Trevis sat behind his desk and nodded slightly. “Have a seat and read it slowly.”

Wall didn’t pretend to be polite. He sat down and quickly scanned the document in his hand.

Upon reading about the bewitched bandits and the voice that made one lose their guard, Wall’s expression gradually turned solemn.

He looked up at his superior. “When we were investigating how October Xue and Zhang Qubing’s team escaped the city, we obtained certain clues. They seem to have ‘convinced’ a group of smugglers in the form of a broadcast.”

This was very similar to the bandits’ encounter.

“You mean that October Xue and Zhang Qubing’s team are targeting the military’s secret mission?” Trevis nodded slightly.

“Yes. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be such a coincidence,” Wall said confidently. “The man and woman who ‘convinced’ the bandits match October Xue and Zhang Qubing in height. Although they disguised themselves and killed all the witnesses, these coincidences are enough to betray them.”

Trevis tersely acknowledged his words. “They definitely have their own motives for staying in the North Shore wastelands, and this matter also involves a certain dangerous existence.”

Wall didn’t ask which dangerous existence it was. Since Trevis didn’t say it directly, it was temporarily beyond his pay grade.

He planned on visiting his father-in-law—the newly promoted Elder and authoritative military figure, Gaius—to see what was going on.

After chatting for a while, Trevis heaved a sigh of relief. “I’ll submit the clues you found and your theories to the higher-ups.”

…

North Anheford, in a city ruin.

“Early Spring Town’s defenses have become even tighter.” Han Wanghuo mentioned his observations.

Jiang Baimian nodded and turned her head to look at Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Genava.

“There are new troops heading this way from First City,” Bai Chen said calmly.

In order to obtain this information, she and Long Yuehong wore military exoskeletons.

As Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo wore solemn expressions, Jiang Baimian smiled. “That’s a good thing.”

“That’s right, that’s right.” Shang Jianyao mimicked Long Yuehong.

Upon seeing Zeng Duo’s puzzled look, Jiang Baimian smiled and said, “First City should’ve already figured out that we were secretly instigating the Vulture bandits. From the looks of it, they aren’t too stupid. They didn’t disappoint the grand act we put up.”

“Why?” Han Wanghuo asked in puzzlement.

This would only cause the defenses of Early Spring Town to rise, making it impossible to rescue the locals.

Jiang Baimian smiled. “I’ve already provided the analysis. There’s almost no hope of saving Early Spring Town by ourselves unless we can wait until winter, and that’s just a guess. In that case, why don’t we get First City to send more elite teams and Mind Corridor-level experts to raise their defenses and pursue us? As for us…”

Jiang Baimian wiped the smile from her face. “We’ll return to First City.”

“Huh?” This time, Long Yuehong couldn’t understand his team leader’s train of thought.

Jiang Baimian chuckled. “First City’s situation is very delicate to begin with. It’s on the brink of chaos, and it isn’t easy for them to maintain the balance. After they deploy a large number of people and some powerhouses over, there’s a high chance that the balance will tilt. When the time comes, we will step in and find an opportunity. When First City is in chaos, most of the powerhouses and troops guarding Early Spring Town will be transferred back. When that happens, the defenses here will be empty.”

Upon seeing Long Yuehong, Zeng Duo, and company’s pupils dilate, Jiang Baimian smiled and added, “This is called a diversion attack.”