Embers Ad Infinitum

Upon hearing Su Yu’s question, Shang Jianyao had a ‘you are someone with ideas’ expression. “I came into contact with his subconsciousness.”

Su Yu burst out into laughter and shook his head. “As expected, the ignorant are fearless. Then?”

Shang Jianyao frankly replied, “He shouted: ‘save me.'”

Su Yu fell silent for a moment before saying, “Any other questions? If not, you may leave.”

Shang Jianyao thought about it seriously and replied, “The Crystal Consciousness Church’s Chief abandoned his body when he entered the New World, but the Buddha’s Nirmanakaya still retains his body. Many Awakened at the New World level are the same. Who’s right, and who’s wrong in these two choices?”

Su Yu fell silent again. After a while, he said, “There’s no conclusion at the moment. Some of the New World powerhouses who chose to preserve their bodies were very regretful when they occasionally woke up, while others felt very lucky. As for the reason, they didn’t mention it.”

Shang Jianyao dragged out a long affirmation before bidding farewell without hesitation and left Room 21.

The moment he returned to the Old Task Force, Jiang Baimian stood up, looked at the door, and asked curiously, “Is the information they gave you valuable?”

“A top-three martial arts manual in all of the pugilistic world.” The current Shang Jianyao clearly admired Director Su’s analogy very much by embellishing it with all kinds of qualifiers.

While Long Yuehong was a little stunned, Jiang Baimian said in enlightenment, “A priceless treasure… Experience from generations of the company’s Mind Corridor-level Awakened?”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao applauded.

“What exactly was included?” Jiang Baimian knew that she had guessed right.

Shang Jianyao didn’t elaborate. “Certain things to take note of, as well as the danger level, the trauma situation, and the solutions to clearing the obstacles.”

After all, that was indeed too much information.

“What a priceless treasure. With such information, you might be able to explore the Mind Corridor’s depths in a year.” Jiang Baimian looked at the door again. “We’ll talk about this later.”

She meant that they could chat about the knowledge related to the Mind Corridor when they headed back to the surface. It could be a training session to familiarize themselves with the bionic artificial intelligence armor or a new mission.

With that said, Jiang Baimian pointed at a folder on the table. “This is the Life Angel necklace; you can take it back now. You can only get the Six Senses Beads through an application the next time we head out.”

It was just like the three military exoskeletons.

The reason for returning the Life Angel necklace to Shang Jianyao was very simple—this was protection for his previous ‘rashness.’ It was used to balance the chaotic auras in his Sea of Origins. Therefore, be it inside Pangu Biology or the Ashlands surface, this item had to be placed in a place he could quickly retrieve. He couldn’t afford to be delayed.

It had to be known that the ‘descent’ of those auras might happen directly in his mind world. It wasn’t something Shang Jianyao could avoid by hiding in the company and not going out.

In that case, it was only right for him to carry the Life Angel necklace at all times. After all, as a Mind Corridor-level Awakened, he was a killing machine. The higher-ups didn’t care much about him having an additional item.

Shang Jianyao immediately walked to his team leader’s desk and grumbled, “Since the company has dealt with it, I wonder if the corresponding negative effects have changed.”

“I think so.” Jiang Baimian pointed at the folder and said, “Minister Xenny told me not to touch it directly.”

“It’s toxic?” Shang Jianyao’s train of thought was always strange. He then picked up the folder and opened it.

Inside was a tightly wrapped plastic bag in layers. It was very difficult to tear apart.

“That won’t do. How can I retrieve it in time at critical moments…” Shang Jianyao evaluated as he turned his head and said to Long Yuehong, “Quick, lend me a hand!”

“How?” Long Yuehong asked cautiously.

“By using your mechanical arm, of course. This isn’t harder than opening canned food.” Shang Jianyao always spoke as though it was a matter of fact.

With Long Yuehong’s help, he quickly removed the layers of plastic and exposed the paper jewelry box inside.

The silver Life Angel necklace lay quietly inside.

Shang Jianyao didn’t mind. He picked it up, weighed it in his hand, and sighed with emotion. “What a pity. It can’t help me fall asleep faster anymore.”

He meant that the original negative effect of drowsiness was gone.

“Do you now feel unwell in any way?” Jiang Baimian asked.

Shang Jianyao sensed for a while before walking to the side. His right leg seemed to have lost its strength; he could only drag it along, appearing abnormally cumbersome. This made him limp.

Shang Jianyao then placed the Life Angel necklace on the table, and his actions returned to normal.

After he used his left palm to pick up the item again, his left arm suddenly sank, almost dropping the necklace to the ground along with his arm.

Thud!

The five fingers on his left hand lost their strength as he allowed the item to fall.

Shang Jianyao was in no rush to pick it up as he stroked his chin. “It seems to paralyze some of my limbs, and it’s random. The results are different every time I pick it up.”

Jiang Baimian analyzed the situation in detail. “In other words, the Awakened’s corresponding price is partial limb paralysis. It can’t be avoided, thus fixing the price in an immutable manner that’s non-random. This is proven by the item created by their aura.”

As she spoke, she began to recall who at the management level had a mobility problem with one of their limbs disabled. Gradually, she locked onto four targets.

There were definitely normal people sitting in wheelchairs due to ailments among them, so Jiang Baimian couldn’t narrow the scope any further.

As for the Life Angel necklace’s effect, it was still Cardiac Arrest.

Shang Jianyao placed the item back into the jewelry box and filled it with paper. He then tried to pick up the jewelry box and place it in his pocket.

Shang Jianyao took it in and said truthfully, “Such isolation is about enough.”

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “It won’t be a problem for you, but it likely won’t work for ordinary people. At least two to three more layers of separation are needed.”

This was because Shang Jianyao had already entered the Mind Corridor. His tolerance for the negative effects of various items had clearly increased.

After discussing this matter, Shang Jianyao glanced at Bai Chen. “Have you guys narrowed down the genetic modifications?”

“We haven’t completely decided.” Bai Chen didn’t hide the truth.

Jiang Baimian explained, “I suggest choosing a biological prosthetic limb first before matching based on its functions. We should try to create synergy among ourselves. However, the general principle is to use something with the lowest risk, not the one with the best effects.”

“Yes, yes. Don’t take risks,” Long Yuehong interrupted.

Upon hearing him speak, Jiang Baimian glanced at him and asked with a smile, “Have you finished writing your transfer application?”

Long Yuehong stammered, “N-Not yet.”

Shang Jianyao immediately laughed, leaned over, and patted his shoulder. “It seems like he can’t bear to part with us!”

Long Yuehong’s face flushed red, and he was speechless.

Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen looked at him with rather soft gazes. One smiled obviously, while the other only had a faint smile.

They had been through life and death for more than a year, and they had deep camaraderie. It was normal for them to be unwilling to part with each other, so there was no reason to mock him over this.

After Long Yuehong composed himself, Jiang Baimian smiled and said, “In short, consider it carefully. There’s no rush to make a decision. We should still be on break for a long time. After all, Little White needs to recover for a period of time after the surgery.

“As you know, our subsequent missions will become more and more dangerous. It’s very likely that we will enter Wasteland Ruin 13 again. The life everyone wants to have is different. We fully respect your choice.”

“Alright.” Long Yuehong nodded.

Shang Jianyao quickly started a new topic and recounted what he had experienced in the ruins last night. He emphasized the Iron Mountain Daily and Renwu Magazine.

Jiang Baimian’s expression gradually turned solemn. “Iron Mountain City was a very famous ruin in the Chaotic Era. Many large factions gained a lot from there, but that doesn’t include us. Besides, you should still remember that one of the Crystal Consciousness Church’s Five Great Holy Lands is in Iron Mountain City.”

Iron Mountain City’s Second Food Company!

Long Yuehong couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “Room 522 is very valuable.”

The room owner had clearly been to the Iron Mountain City ruins in the middle and late Chaotic Era. The existence of numerous Heartless was proof of this.

This also meant that the room owner wasn’t young—they were at least in their seventies.

“There’s also the genius scientist, Lin Sui. She’s worth paying attention to,” Jiang Baimian said as she sat down.

She got on the intranet and searched for information related to the Old World. After a while, she looked up and said to Shang Jianyao, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong, “There’s no such person.”

At the very least, Pangu Biology had nothing on this piece of Old World information.

“That’s interesting.” Shang Jianyao stroked his chin.

Jiang Baimian quickly reminded him, “Rest for two nights first and rest up before going.”

Shang Jianyao had been injured during his first exploration of Room 522. Although it wasn’t serious, there were still some effects that required time to recover.

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao didn’t put on a brave front.