Embers Ad Infinitum

More than one? Amidst Mei Shou’an’s surprise, he suddenly felt countless steel needles under his butt, stinging him so much that he couldn’t sit still.

According to Shang Jianyao, he’s the only Awakened in the Old Task Force. Furthermore, he only found an opportunity to enter the Mind Corridor during First City’s uprising in early August. After that, they recuperated, regulated themselves, and returned. They didn’t have any conflict with anyone else. In other words, their team killed a Mind Corridor-level Awakened earlier—before they had a powerhouse of the same level!

If it only happened once, it can be attributed to luck. The DiMarco that Shang Jianyao had described clearly lost his vigilance in many aspects because of his prolonged stay in an underground fortress. It’s reasonable for him to be caught off-guard.

However, Mei Shou’an couldn’t accept it if more than one was killed by Jiang Baimian’s Old Task Force.

Mind Corridor-level Awakened aren’t garden variety entities that can be encountered and killed at will! Jiang Baimian’s Old Task Force’s strength shouldn’t have inflated to such an extent! As these thoughts raced through his mind, Mei Shou’an’s back gradually felt a chill.

Pangu Biology’s Director Su Yu fell silent for a moment before asking, “Apart from the DiMarco you mentioned, who else was there? How did you win?”

“There’s also a commissioner from the Eighth Research Institute and the Virtual World owner who once protected Marcus…” Shang Jianyao recounted the key points of the two battles.

Although these two matters were mentioned in the report Jiang Baimian submitted, they only described the cause and outcome. She didn’t elaborate, so it was only now that Su Yu and Mei Shou’an figured out the exact details.

Burp… Mei Shou’an wanted to heave a sigh of relief, but it became a burp. He felt that he had been struck to the core, but it actually wasn’t the case.

Kanna had interfered in the battle with the Eighth Research Institute’s commissioner. When dealing with the Virtual World’s owner, Shang Jianyao was actually considered a Mind Corridor-level Awakened. Furthermore, he fully understood the price the other party had paid and had the corresponding ‘tools.’

These were reasonable victories that weren’t worth fussing over.

After Su Yu heard that, he laughed. “It’s no wonder you are willing to submit to Old Jiang’s daughter. She really uses every advantage to the extreme. Your exploitation of the strong against another adversary is also very creative.”

Without long-term mental problems, one really couldn’t come up with that!

“A mental patient has a broad train of thought,” Shang Jianyao said humbly.

At this moment, Mei Shou’an sighed with emotion again at how self-aware this fellow was.

Su Yu didn’t answer and pondered for a moment. “I’ve finished asking about the three things I wanted to know about, and I have a relatively clear understanding of you. There won’t be any more inspections, and your rewards will be handed out in three days. However, you have to cooperate with Old Mei and do more checks. This is also for the company’s sake. If we can further grasp the secret of Awakening, we will have an advantage over the other large factions.”

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao happily agreed and raised a condition. “But they have to open their exclusive canteen to me!”

Mei Shou’an was stunned when he heard that. What kind of request is this?

While stunned, he readily agreed because this request was too simple. He didn’t even have to ask Director Su about it and could’ve just told him in private.

There was no need to be so formal!

Shang Jianyao then looked around hesitantly. “Can we ask two questions?”

A change in personality? That’s quite a change… Mei Shou’an cast his gaze at Su Yu. Whether he could agree or not depended on the director.

Su Yu flipped his wrist and looked at his watch. “There’s still some time. Ask. Actually, there’s no rush. When the rewards are distributed, the corresponding knowledge will be given to you.”

Shang Jianyao ignored the second half of the sentence and asked, “How do we confirm that there’s no door leading to the New World in a Mind Room?”

Su Yu maintained his forward-leaning posture slightly and thought for a moment. “You don’t have to consider this problem for the first five rooms. When you reach the sixth room, the deeper you go, the greater the familiarity you have, and the more likely the door to the New World is there. If one has already cleared three psychological traumas or one dream and hasn’t experienced a similar feeling, there’s no need to go deeper. You can decisively give up on the room.

“Although continuing can still temper your consciousness, enhance your mental fortitude, and magnify your abilities, it means that you will be closer and closer to the room owner’s consciousness, making it easier for them to sense you. When the time comes, there might be a fierce battle. From a risk-benefit vantage point, it’s completely imbalanced. There’s no need to do so.”

Upon seeing Shang Jianyao listening very seriously and was just short of taking notes, Su Yu further explained, “From the situations we’ve understood so far, not only is that door related to the New World, but it’s also closely related to the Awakened themselves. Therefore, the closer you are to it, the greater the sense of familiarity you will feel. Regarding this, other people’s experiences aren’t too valuable as a reference since different people find the New World’s door in different rooms.”

“It seems like the company has several Awakened who have entered the New World and have interacted with many people outside.” Shang Jianyao ‘came to a realization.’

Su Yu didn’t respond and asked, “What’s your second question?”

Shang Jianyao didn’t hide his curiosity. “Have you encountered a sudden change in the door number of a room neighboring yours?”

Mei Shou’an shook his head, and Su Yu confirmed the details. “How sudden?”

“It was one number yesterday, but it changed today,” Shang Jianyao replied.

Su Yu furrowed his thick eyebrows tightly. “If the door number suddenly disappears, and a new door number appears after a period of time, the room’s original owner should be dead. It was later assigned to a new Awakened who just entered the Mind Corridor. However, the gap of a day is too short. It shouldn’t be that coincidental.”

“Is there any other explanation?” Shang Jianyao’s current tone was closer to ‘I’m not asking; I’m just answering you.’

Only when there are questions can there be an answer—a back and forth was needed!

Su Yu fell silent for a moment before saying, “There’s no definite explanation, only some guesses. Although such situations are rare, there are certain examples over time. The most mainstream guess now is that it’s related to the Mind Corridor’s owner. Only the Mind Corridor’s owner can adjust rooms. Many people suspect that Star Cluster Hall, Sea of Origins, and Mind Corridor were built by the Kalendarium.”

Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. “Fortunately, I didn’t go in!”

Upon seeing Director Su Yu and Mei Shou’an cast suspicious gazes at him, he quickly ‘explained.’

“I haven’t explored any rooms in-depth. I just walked along the corridor.”

“You have to be careful when exploring,” reminded Su Yu. He then stood up and offered his right hand to Shang Jianyao. “Go back and wait for the rewards to be distributed.”

At this moment, Shang Jianyao was very polite. He stood up and shook the director’s hand.

This handshake made him feel like the other party had just pulled his hand out of a hot water bag.

“Are you running a fever?” Shang Jianyao asked humanely. He was now someone who valued relationships.

Su Yu sighed. “A little.”

“Drink more warm water,” Shang Jianyao suggested sincerely.

…

Not long after Shang Jianyao returned to Room 14 on the 647th floor, Bai Chen and the others returned one after another.

“How was it on your side?” Jiang Baimian asked in concern.

Shang Jianyao immediately replicated the previous conversation with his other selves. They even simulated Su Yu and Mei Shou’an. The remaining few took turns replicating his own words.

Of course, they didn’t have a perfect memory, so they couldn’t completely reenact it. Only the meaning was relatively well expressed.

Jiang Baimian praised, “It seems like the rumors are true. Director Su’s military style is rather broadminded in many aspects.”

She believed that such broadmindedness was a treatment that Mind Corridor-level Awakened should receive. After figuring out the other party’s request, he would try his best to satisfy it to a certain extent and maintain a good relationship between both parties before finding an opportunity to intimidate them. There was no point in a review, especially when Shang Jianyao was an employee born and raised in the company.

Even if he colluded with some outside faction, he would slowly change his inclination as long as the company didn’t treat him unfairly and satisfied him to the greatest extent.

How could the massive Pangu Biology not be able to keep someone in check?

Unless Shang Jianyao has already become a pious believer of a certain Kalendaria and is willing to risk his life to complete a secret mission in the company… However, the chances of discovering this even with an Awakened or item with special abilities are very low, much less an ordinary review… If the other party dares to send someone like this, they definitely have a certain level of confidence in eluding detection… A few thoughts flashed through Jiang Baimian’s mind as she said to Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Shang Jianyao, “There shouldn’t be any problems with the review. Go back and rest early today. I have a feeling that the rewards will be issued tomorrow.”