Embers Ad Infinitum

Under the night sky, the entire Sikhara Temple seemed to tremble.

If Long Yuehong didn’t know what was happening and if not for the lack of trembling in the square, he would be convinced that an earthquake had happened. He turned his head to look at the young monk—Danro—and asked, “Is it like this every time?”

Under the dim street lamps, Long Yuehong saw Danro standing in his spot dazedly as he stared at the seven-story Sikhara Temple as if he hadn’t heard him.

“Hey!” he called again.

“Why did you call me?” Shang Jianyao cast his gaze over.

Danro slowly turned around and faced Long Yuehong.

Shadows were fleeting across his face. His eyes were dull, and his expression was wooden. He looked identical to the gray-robed monks that had come down from the seventh floor.

Long Yuehong’s heart sank. He released his grip on Garibaldi and subconsciously took two steps back before drawing his pistol.

During this process, his gaze followed the experience he had accumulated over the months and swept across the surrounding area. He saw the Crystal Consciousness Church monks—who had temporarily sought refuge in the square—turning their faces to him like sunflowers.

They were either bathed in the street lamps’ light or cloaked by the darkness of the night. Their faces were expressionless, looking more like statues than the living. They didn’t appear alive.

These monks were silent as they stared at Long Yuehong, Jiang Baimian, and the others, and the latter couldn’t help but have goosebumps.

Team Leader, this doesn’t seem right… Just as Long Yuehong was about to say that, Jiang Baimian ordered in a deep voice, “Move to the side exit. Don’t run, and don’t turn around in a hurry. Take one step at a time.”

She was afraid that an excessive reaction would spark off a chain reaction.

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong understood Jiang Baimian’s rationale. They held their weapons and half-turned their bodies before taking small steps toward the side exit of the enclosed square.

Outside was the parking lot of Sikhara Temple—the Old Task Force’s jeep was there.

The Crystal Consciousness Church monks stared at the Old Task Force dazedly. They didn’t say a word or stop them.

Upon seeing this, Shang Jianyao—who was in charge of the rear—began to retreat. He didn’t turn his body like Long Yuehong and Bai Chen. Instead, he first raised his left hand and pressed down on his head before extending his right palm and placing it below his abdomen.

After completing the preliminary actions, he moonwalked to the square’s side exit. It was very ritualistic.

This made Jiang Baimian—who was also in charge of bringing up the rear—stiffen. Her criticisms were stuck in her throat.

The monks stared blankly at Shang Jianyao’s dance, maintaining a blank and silent state.

After catching up to Bai Chen and Long Yuehong—who was helping Garibaldi—Shang Jianyao sighed softly. “Sigh…”

“What’s wrong?” Long Yuehong turned nervous.

“They didn’t clap.” Shang Jianyao was very disappointed.

“…” The corners of Long Yuehong’s mouth twitched. “Did you cast Corny Person on yourself again?”

Shang Jianyao shook his head. “This is regarding their manners.”

In the beginning, Shang Jianyao still needed the help of a mirror to use Inference Clowning on himself. In order to allow himself to be affected by Corny Person, the series of actions needed was even more complicated. He first needed to use Inference Clowning to make himself think that he was the same as a certain person before casting Corny Person onto the other party.

When Shang Jianyao could split into nine and each of them became more independent—to the point of being able to see himself—these series of actions could be simplified.

The specific steps were: In the mind world, the nine Shang Jianyaos first voted for the lucky one. They then used Inference Clowning or Corny Person on him and finally pushed him out so that he could control the body.

It had to be said that apart from everyone being more spirited and how he would occasionally offend people and commit mistakes uncontrollably, such a price was still useful. It was comparable to Qiao Chu’s passive charm.

Upon seeing the Crystal Consciousness Church monks standing in their spots like statues with only their blank gazes following them, Jiang Baimian looked at the side exit and issued a second order. “To the parking lot.”

Most of their equipment was in the car and on them. Only the radio transceiver remained in the room on the temple’s sixth floor, but it was a very easily acquired item. The important things were the corresponding frequencies and passwords.

The four Old Task Force members took tactical formation and exited through the enclosed square’s side exit one after another, arriving at the open-air parking lot.

Having rehearsed this hundreds of times in their hearts, they easily found their sapphire-blue jeep and covered each other as they approached.

Suddenly, Long Yuehong was pushed by ‘Garibaldi’ Giuseppe, who he was helping. With his rich experience, he fell to the ground and rolled. He then raised his pistol based on his intuition and aimed at the other party.

When he saw Giuseppe’s condition, he felt as if he had sunk into an ice lake—he felt cold.

Garibaldi’s delicate face was slightly distorted, and his eyes were dull. Under the dim moonlight, his entire face seemed to be covered by a shadow.

Unlike the silent monks, Giuseppe opened his mouth and said, “Holm…”

Just as he spat out this word, Shang Jianyao took a step forward, raised his right fist, and smashed down.

Bam!

Giuseppe’s eyes rolled as he fainted.

Shang Jianyao caught his collapsing body.

“Get in the car first!” Jiang Baimian didn’t waste her breath and issued the third order.

Shang Jianyao carried Giuseppe as he ran. He opened the car door and threw the other party in.

Bai Chen had already used the electronic key to unlock the doors.

The other Old Task Force members got into the car one after another and got into their positions.

Long Yuehong’s mind went adrift for a moment as he watched Bai Chen start the car and drive to one of the exits in Sikhara Temple’s open-air parking lot. Are we about to escape the Crystal Consciousness Church’s headquarters?

He had previously thought that Sikhara Temple would definitely have tight security internally with relatively relaxed security on the outside—that would give them no chance of escape. But now, they were just one step away!

Although this was related to the anomaly on the seventh floor, Long Yuehong still felt like it was a dream.

It felt surreal.

Bai Chen—who was driving—looked at the parking lot entrance and frowned. “Isn’t this too much of a coincidence?”

The situation in First City had just changed, and Zennaga was forced to leave the temple to coordinate matters. It was too much of a coincidence that something abnormal happened to the devil suppressed on the seventh floor.

Admittedly, this was an occurrence that happened a few times a year, making it nothing surprising. But for it to happen at this moment made it seem strange.

“Was it not a deliberate attempt by that devil?” Shang Jianyao had an expression that indicated it was a question that wasn’t worth asking.

Clearly, he believed that the devil had deliberately created an abnormality to allow the Old Task Force to leave Sikhara Temple.

Jiang Baimian—who was in the passenger seat—nodded slightly. “Giuseppe said the word ‘Holm’ just now, which means that the entire matter had the devil involved. But the question is: Why make us leave now when we can leave in a few days? Why did he create the abnormality? Even if we ultimately decide to go to the Holm Fertility Center, we won’t be going in such a rush. We have to observe First City’s situation no matter what, and that will take us about half a month.”

“If we don’t leave now, we might not be able to leave…” Shang Jianyao replied in a sinister tone.

This made Long Yuehong shudder. He only hoped that Bai Chen could successfully drive the jeep past the parking lot exit.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and instructed Shang Jianyao, “Hey, wake Giuseppe up and ask him how he felt.”

Shang Jianyao immediately tried many methods that he usually didn’t have the chance to use, including but not limited to pinching the philtrum, scratching the armpit, stabbing with sharp objects, and shaking him forcefully.

Soon, the jeep drove out of the parking lot and onto the street outside.

Giuseppe woke up, and he looked at Shang Jianyao in shock, anger, and fear. “Why did you hit me?”

Shang Jianyao’s eyebrows twitched. “Because you were possessed…”

Giuseppe was shocked. “I didn’t feel anything. I saw you rush over and punch me…”

Jiang Baimian turned around and asked, “Don’t you remember what you said?”

Giuseppe shook his head violently. “I didn’t say anything.”

He actually didn’t believe Shang Jianyao when the latter said that he was possessed by a ghost, but Jiang Baimian—who seemed very reliable—shared a similar attitude. He had no choice but to believe it.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly. “From the looks of it, you don’t have any memories when affected. Yes, the premise is that this influence only lasts for a very short period of time.”

She then consoled him. “Don’t worry. It should be fine now.”

“That’s right, that’s right.” Long Yuehong heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Giuseppe had returned to normal.

At this moment, they heard a loud explosion.

Boom!

A terrifying explosion occurred somewhere in First City. The billowing dust rose up like a gigantic mushroom cloud.

Amidst the rumbling, planes flew past the city at low altitudes and dropped bombs.

These bombs surrounded the sapphire-blue jeep the Old Task Force was in—their target seemed to be the Old Task Force!

Right on the heels of that, a flurry of precision-guided missiles—fired from an unknown location—descended, attempting to swallow Jiang Baimian and company.

This threw Long Yuehong into despair. He didn’t believe that there was any chance of dodging.