Embers Ad Infinitum

First City, Senate.

Mor—who had mounted the Hawkeye sniper rifle by the window—looked at the countless citizens held back by the city defense forces with a solemn expression. He was so nervous that his throat burned, and he yearned for water.

He had heard that many soldiers on the real battlefield had been defeated in such a state, but he didn’t think he would be like them. This was because he was a Subhuman.

The abnormality happened in his brain—even his eyes protruded as if he were a monster from an Old World tale. This allowed him to naturally imagine a trajectory with high accuracy when firing. This allowed him to make advanced adjustments to achieve a nearly 100% hit rate.

Such a specialty made Mor’s father and his siblings become relatively famous Demon Eyes in the North Shore wastelands before they were captured by First City’s army.

They firmly believed that they had obtained the Eyes of God. Be it the Demon Eyes or the Eyes of God, they couldn’t be considered Subhuman. It started with Mor’s grandfather, whose lineage split into several large families. Mor had yet to discover any Subhumans with characteristics and talents that were completely similar to his family.

Mor didn’t have any experience in the wilderness because he wasn’t even eight when his family was captured by First City’s army. He had just learned how to use some firearms back then. Now, he was the captain of a sniper team in the Subhuman Guard.

“I hope there won’t be any conflict…” Mor heard his subordinate mutter to himself.

He composed himself, turned his head, and looked at his subordinate with his protruding eyes. “There shouldn’t be any major conflicts. Elder Varro—who the citizens have requested to be severely punished—has actually been abandoned by most of the Elders after numerous accusations. If not for the consul’s persistence, believing that there has to be sufficient evidence and not just two or three people’s testimony, he would’ve long been thrown out of the window. In such a situation, I doubt the consul will continue insisting on his stance.”

As members of the Senate’s designated guard, Mor and the others knew a lot about the various things that happened here. However, not many humans had interacted with them, so they failed to notice this.

The ears of Mor’s subordinate shrank into black holes, and there was a rather lively-looking eye on his forehead. He gulped and said, “I hope so.”

Mor knew that this was what most of the Subhuman Guard thought. Although it was rumored that they could only rely on the Senate who was in power and that they could definitely kill the gathered citizens when push came to shove—which was basically the truth—this didn’t mean that they were willing to let the matter devolve into an irreversible state.

When the time came, it would be fine if they succeeded. But if the Senate faction in power failed, all the Subhuman Guard members wouldn’t be spared.

Mor remembered that his child always asked him: “Daddy, why can’t we leave this community? It seems very lively outside. We want to take a look.”

“Daddy, is it really as the radio and television say? When can we go out?”

Every time, Mor could only tell his children in pain, “We are in a very dangerous job. For everyone’s safety, minors can’t leave the community.”

His children inevitably asked, “Daddy, can we not do this job?”

Mor wanted to tell them that everyone would die if they didn’t do this ‘job.’

Therefore, the Subhuman Guard didn’t want a conflict to happen—they wanted their existence to always be a form of intimidation. This was the only way they didn’t have to be afraid of failure. Only then could they continue protecting their family and survive until their descendants gave birth to lucky people whose appearances no longer had any obvious abnormalities.

Of course, Mor would occasionally have the thought that the Senate would obtain the final victory after a conflict erupted. That way, the Subhuman Guard’s status would definitely be higher. They might be able to obtain authorization to command a portion of the normal human army. They might also be able to obtain more companions, multiply the size of the community, and allow the children to have more places to play in.

In that case, they could look forward to the day when Subhumans could stroll and shop openly on First City’s streets.

But Mor was very clear-headed. Compared to the consequences of failure, he would rather maintain the status quo. He believed that this was also what most Subhuman Guard members thought, apart from the few ambitious ones.

“Punish Varro severely!”

“Punish Varro severely!” Amidst the shouting, some citizens had already tried to attack the city defense forces but were blocked by the anti-riot shields.

At this moment, the snipers—who had the high ground—saw black bulletproof cars drive to the Senate’s side entrance.

The consul is here… The Subhuman snipers heaved a collective sigh of relief. They were afraid that the consul wouldn’t come after a long time.

None of the Elders here were willing to step forward and shoulder the responsibility, causing the problem to drag on. This only served to make the citizens gathered outside increasingly impatient and agitated.

When the time came, any accidents would be like a spark falling into a barrel of gunpowder.

Beulis—who was wearing the green and brown commander-in-chief uniform—entered the Senate under the escort of guards and security personnel.

“You’re finally here.” Superintendent Alexander nodded at his long-standing political enemy from a distance.

His daughter, Galoran, wore a light, simple, and gray knee-length dress and acted as his secretary.

Beulis silently looked around. Under his blue eyes, most of the Elders present couldn’t help but avoid his gaze.

The dignified commander-in-chief walked to the window step by step and looked at the demonstrating citizens and Gaius in the crowd.

Gaius and Beulis were actually somewhat similar. They had black hair, even slightly sunken faces, exuded rather serious auras, and were rather thin. However, one of them had a hooked nose, while the other had no obvious characteristics. One looked sinister, and the other looked staid.

As their eyes met, an Elder named Carlo approached Beulis and anxiously said, “Your Excellency, you can’t hesitate any longer! All the citizens in the city are on Gaius’s side. Let’s strip Varro of his status as Elder. After all, there will still be a trial and time. We can definitely find evidence to prove that he’s innocent.”

Beulis suddenly turned his head. “You want to betray your position?”

Carlo quickly explained, “No, I just don’t think there’s a need to cause a commotion because of a meaningless reputation…”

This Elder—who was also in his fifties—suddenly stopped. He inexplicably felt that the glow in Beulis’s eyes was rather strange.

“Traitor!” Beulis’s voice seemed to come from the depths of his chest.

Almost at the same time, Carlo curled the corners of his mouth and made a face like a child, but he didn’t stick out his tongue. Instead, it became extremely loose and extended backward, stuffing his throat.

Gasp!

Carlo struggled and fell.

“Beulis!” Superintendent Alexander didn’t expect such a development. But just as he shouted the other party’s name, he saw red blood vessels appear in Beulis’s deep-blue eyes.

His eyes quickly turned turbid.

His back hunched.

His mouth opened as a long drool of saliva dripped down.

The Heartless disease—this consul and commander-in-chief of First City had suddenly contracted the Heartless disease!

All of this happened by the window and was seen by many citizens below. They looked at each other.

At the critical moment, Gaius picked up the microphone and shouted, “The consul has attacked another Elder! The consul is controlled by the Salvation Army! Fellow citizens, we have to stop all of this!”

The present citizens—who were already a spark away from flaring up—instantly burned with emotion. They surged toward the city defense forces like a tide.

Although the city guards had their backs facing the Senate and couldn’t see what was happening behind them, they could still sense some commotion and hear what Gaius had shouted.

They hesitated, and the walls formed by anti-riot shields were torn through.

Upon seeing this, Ducas—who was commanding the scene—quickly asked General Phocas for instructions through his phone.

Phocas fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “Stay neutral.”

When the Subhuman Guards in different positions in the Senate saw that the city defense forces were showing signs of a collapse, their nervousness and fear rose to their limits. This quickly became motivation as the Subhumans pulled the triggers.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Blood and smoke splattered from dozens of citizens as they fell to the ground. Not only did this not scare the other citizens, but it also infuriated them.

Since they had already fired, Mor and the others didn’t hesitate any longer and prepared to create a large-scale massacre.

At this moment, Gaius—who was in the crowd—raised his right hand and placed it between his mouth and nose.

In the blink of an eye, the Subhumans realized that they couldn’t fire. They seemed to have forgotten the skill they had learned!

…

Golden Apple Zone, 15 Emperor Street.

Upon hearing the distant gunshots and explosions, Kanna—who was chatting with the Old Task Force—stood up and smiled. “You can go to Avia now.”

Jiang Baimian frowned and asked, “Are we not going to wait a while longer?”

She hoped to wait until all the Mind Corridor-level Awakened rushed to the Senate when the conflict became more intense.

Kanna smiled and said, “Under normal circumstances, it isn’t that nobody dares to come into contact with Avia because she’s protected by the Virtual World but because other powerhouses in First City will quickly rush over once someone is entangled by the Virtual World’s owner. Their current focus should be on the Senate and not elsewhere. As for the Virtual World’s owner, I’ll help you hold him back.”