Embers Ad Infinitum

“You have one?” The unlicensed clinic’s doctor was shocked and almost added another wound to Long Yuehong. Although he had already determined that these people had some background from their looks, bearing, height, and weapons and that it was best not to offend them, he didn’t expect them to have a mechanical arm.

These weren’t common firearms like grenade launchers or automatic rifles. It was very tightly controlled, and supplies were scarce.

Jiang Baimian glared at Shang Jianyao and stopped him from speaking. “Don’t shoot your mouth. We’re undergoing surgery!”

The unlicensed clinic’s doctor composed himself and laughed self-deprecatingly. “Do I look like I can transplant a mechanical arm?”

He had never tried a job that required such high technology and expertise.

Bai Chen immediately said, “There’s an underground workshop on Antanna Street that can transplant mechanical arms. You should know where it is.”

The unlicensed clinic’s doctor didn’t stop moving and muttered, “They might not accept it. How about this? I’ll get my assistant to bring you there. Negotiate with them as soon as possible, and we’ll do the implant directly to prevent any additional damage that comes from carrying out multiple operations. But without an assistant, the surgery will stop. I’m not a Kalendaria; I can’t do two people’s work alone.”

“I’ll help you.” Jiang Baimian took the initiative to go over and take on the assistant’s job. “Little White, you and Hey will follow.”

She originally planned on letting only Shang Jianyao ‘visit’ the underground workshop, but she was afraid that he would screw up and mess things up. Therefore, she got Bai Chen to accompany him.

As for herself, she naturally had to stay behind to keep an eye on the area to prevent the doctor from causing trouble.

In short, this was a plan to ensure that both parties maintained sufficient combat strength.

After Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen followed the unlicensed doctor’s assistant out the front door, Jiang Baimian focused her attention on the surgery.

It would take hours for such a major surgery to complete.

As the unlicensed doctor busied himself, he casually asked, “You don’t look like city guards.”

“We wouldn’t be here if we were with the city defense forces.” Jiang Baimian’s tone was calm.

The unlicensed doctor glanced at the FECA biological agent beside him. “Your first-aid needle is very outstanding. Where does it come from?”

“You won’t be able to buy it even if I tell you,” Jiang Baimian replied without giving away anything.

The unlicensed doctor hesitated for a moment and said, “If possible, can I keep one? It can cover some of the cost.”

“We’ll talk about it when the time comes.” Jiang Baimian didn’t give an affirmative answer.

The unlicensed doctor took a scalpel from her and smiled. “You actually didn’t stop me from speaking. In the past, the patient’s companions would be very unhappy if I joked when I operated on others.”

“Being able to chat and joke means that nothing unexpected has happened. It’s all within your grasp, and you are confident that it will be done well.” Not only did Jiang Baimian have real-life experience, but she was also influenced by the Old World’s entertainment.

The unlicensed doctor nodded in admiration. “I admire smart women like you. Yes, if nothing goes wrong, there shouldn’t be any problems saving him. How long he can live depends on the Kalendaria’s mood and your preparations.”

…

After leaving the unlicensed clinic and walking toward the area near Antanna Street, Bai Chen reminded Shang Jianyao, “Those who can carry out a mechanical arm transplant aren’t simple. They must have a considerable faction backing them, and they might even have the support of a powerhouse. Once a conflict erupts, things will become very troublesome. It’s very likely that it will affect Little Red’s surgery.”

Shang Jianyao nodded. “I know.”

The doctor’s assistant—who was leading the way—looked back at them and muttered inwardly, They know quite a bit…

The Old Task Force was now disguised to be of Red River ethnicity and had deliberately not used Ashlandic.

Bai Chen quickly said, “When the time comes, we have to make friends with the people we meet regardless of whether we have a successful deal.”

First City was still under martial law. Anyone who could produce a mechanical arm would definitely arouse suspicion.

If they were reported by the people from the underground workshop, the Old Task Force might not be ransomed by Pangu Biology. Therefore, making friends was necessary insurance. Furthermore, if they made friends, the other party might agree to carry out the mechanical arm transplant.

“No problem.” Shang Jianyao agreed very quickly, indicating that he thought so too.

The doctor’s assistant—who was leading the way—muttered again, Do you think you can make friends so easily?

He didn’t dare to ask. He led Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen around the alley twice and arrived at an ordinary-looking street shop.

In the shop, an elder with a blond beard was holding a tool and using a magnifying glass attached to his head to repair an Old World mechanical watch.

The doctor’s assistant didn’t disturb him until he put down the things in his hand. He then looked up at the doctor’s assistant. “Conley, they are?”

“A customer who wants to do a mechanical arm transplant.” The doctor’s assistant, Conley, didn’t say that he had been coerced. Although there was nothing hard jabbing at his waist, he felt like a gun was aimed at him.

The elder with the blond beard frowned. “Mechanical arms need reservations. There’s definitely nothing available if you come all of a sudden.”

Shang Jianyao immediately said, “We’ve prepared one ourselves.”

The elder fell silent for a while, appearing rather hesitant. “What model is it? I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it. Small workshops like ours only know how to transplant a few models.”

“T1,” Shang Jianyao replied frankly.

“T1?” The elder’s eyes lit up. It was obvious that he was very interested in such a mechanical arm model.

He deliberated for a moment and asked, “Who wants the transplant?”

“An injured person,” Bai Chen replied simply.

The old man wasn’t surprised by this answer because the person leading the way was the unlicensed clinic doctor’s assistant, Conley.

He thought for a few seconds. “The patient can be sent over after the surgery. Our equipment isn’t easy to move.”

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao smiled. “Look, we have a mechanical arm, and you do mechanical arm transplants. We were introduced by the doctor, and you and the doctor are acquaintances. Therefore…”

The elder stood up, smiled, and stretched out his right hand. “Don’t worry. Anyone who makes the right payment is a friend.”

Conley was stunned.

The conversation from before confused him. He didn’t understand what it meant.

Shang Jianyao then turned to him and smiled.

After leaving the underground workshop and returning to the clinic, Bai Chen suddenly sighed with emotion. “Little Red’s luck is pretty good.”

The first unlicensed clinic doctor they found could carry out such a major surgery. The first underground workshop they were introduced to was also interested in the T1 mechanical arm and was willing to take on the job, reducing the risk of their ‘making friends’ being seen through.

“It seems like all his usual luck was accumulated for today,” Shang Jianyao said very sincerely.

…

In the area behind the unlicensed clinic, Jiang Baimian retreated to stand between Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen after Conley took over. She simply asked about the matter and heaved a sigh of relief. “Not bad.”

She then asked, “How much Oray does the other party want?”

Bai Chen was stunned for a moment. “We didn’t ask.”

Don’t you know how much Oray the team still has?

She thought that her team leader was prepared to ‘pay the bill’ with a gun.

It would indeed be a little troublesome for the underground workshop. They definitely had a considerable faction backing them, but didn’t they already make friends? They could write an IOU first and get the company’s intelligence network to raise money to pay the bill.

This should be considered a work injury that could be reimbursed, right?

As an employee who had joined Pangu Biology for more than a year, Bai Chen had already mastered the terms ‘work injury’ and ‘reimbursement.’

Jiang Baimian took a deep breath. “It shouldn’t be cheap…”

“Yes, yes.” Shang Jianyao strongly agreed.

The doctor from the unlicensed clinic—who was carrying out the surgery—quickly said, “I won’t charge you any surgery fees, but you have to pay for the equipment, drugs, and blood used. 200 Oray, nothing lower. The transplant over there will cost about 500 to 600 Oray. If you don’t have enough money, you can use these first-aid needles as payment.”

He had previously tried his best to chat with Jiang Baimian. This was not only because chatting with a beautiful woman was pleasant in both body and mind for a man and helped him maintain his condition, but he had also taken this opportunity to figure out Jiang Baimian’s personality and attitude so that he could adapt to any situation.

Although Jiang Baimian’s mouth was sealed and didn’t reveal any information, the doctor had already discovered that their group didn’t seem like bandits who would wantonly kill. Therefore, he dared to ask for payment.

Who wasn’t smart if they could survive and do business on Antanna Street all this while? Of course, this was excluding those with absolute strength.

“The total cost is about 800 Oray…” Jiang Baimian felt a little troubled.

After a period of expenditures without any revenue, they didn’t have much money left.

…

Red Wolf Zone, Senate.

The remaining Elders had yet to obtain permission to leave.

Superintendent Alexander saw his daughter, Galoran, walk back and asked in a deep voice, “How’s Master Zennaga?”

“Not too good.” Galoran shook her head.

Alexander was just about to arrange for the best doctor to treat him when he heard a Reformist Elder’s phone ring.

After the Elder picked up the call, he heard the other party report, “They’ve found Asus.”

Gaius had gone elsewhere to deal with the important aftermath. The Senate was handled by this Elder.

“Where is he?” the Elder asked anxiously.

“In an apartment near the bridge with Christina from the Hunter’s Guild,” the other party introduced in detail. “They’re all dead—shot dead by the city defense forces.”

“City defense forces?” The Reformist Elder was surprised. “Which elite team did it?”

Asus and Christina were no weaklings.