Embers Ad Infinitum

When it was almost time to knock off, the Old Task Force members finally packed their items and prepared to leave.

When Long Yuehong—who was holding his laptop—passed by Jiang Baimian, he opened his mouth but didn’t say a word.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Baimian sensed his abnormality.

Long Yuehong hesitated for a moment and said, “Team Leader, you’ve always insisted on investigating the reason for the Old World’s destruction and the Heartless disease’s origins. This is definitely fraught with danger. Aren’t you—aren’t you afraid of dying?”

Not far away, Shang Jianyao smiled and shouted, “There will naturally be others to take over the mantle!”

Jiang Baimian glared at him and looked at Long Yuehong with a smile. “Of course, I am.”

She paused and added seriously, “But there are always things that need to be done. In the Ashlands, it’s not that you won’t die if you don’t take risks because you are afraid of death. Nobody knows when the Heartless disease will befall them. Compared to dying in a muddled state, I’d rather collapse while searching for hope.”

“Will it give more oomph by saying ‘seek out the light?'” Shang Jianyao asked in a questioning tone.

Jiang Baimian chuckled. “Did you use Literary Hipster on yourself?”

She then smiled at Long Yuehong. “Besides, it’s not like we’ll necessarily die. There’s still a chance of success.”

At this moment, Bai Chen interrupted. “I at least want to continue staying in the team while I’m still able to keep up. The danger our team faces will only increase in the future. When I’m unable to improve myself any further, I’ll take the initiative to quit and not burden everyone.”

“What burden?” Jiang Baimian said in exasperation and amusement. “However, that’s a pretty good idea. In short, do what’s within your means. It’s the same for you and me. If the danger ahead is really too great to deal with, I definitely won’t foolishly rush over. As long as there’s life, there’s hope. If our generation can’t complete the investigation regarding the cause of the Old World’s destruction, I’ll focus my efforts on nurturing the next generation.”

At this point, Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “In any case, don’t be in a rush to make a decision. Little Red, don’t give up on the opportunity out of impulsiveness. You might regret it in a few days. Little White, the same goes for you. No matter what, there are certain risks with genetic modification. You can consider it for a while longer and see if there are any changes in the situation. Nobody knows which will come first—tomorrow or an accident.”

As for Hey, she had long given up on providing him treatment!

Upon seeing that their team leader was being more formal, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong nodded in agreement.

On the way back to the 495th floor, Long Yuehong remained silent while Shang Jianyao argued with himself.

He didn’t persuade him or cheer him on. He waved his hand and coolly walked home.

After returning home, Long Yuehong began to busy himself. He would occasionally go to the ‘kitchen’ to help Gu Hong or go to the room to tutor his sister, Long Aihong, in her homework.

The family had dinner, cleaned up the dishes, and slipped out twice. The two younger family members then took turns playing on the computer while the older three chatted as they listened to the radio.

“Good evening, everyone. I’m Newspoint broadcaster, Hou Yi. It’s 8 p.m. now…

“Today, Director Su Yu went to the surface to visit the employees guarding the surrounding sentry posts. He praised them for their persistence in harsh environments…”

Upon hearing this, Gu Hong turned her head and looked at her eldest son. “Is the environment on the surface really that bad? That’s not what you previously said.”

“It depends on the area,” Long Yuehong explained simply. “Many areas have been seriously damaged during the Old World’s destruction. Extremely nasty weather often happens even today. The weather might still be sunny in the morning to the point people might get a heat stroke from the sun, but then snow heavily in the afternoon—a meter-thick snowfall.”

“The people on sentry duty and the Security Department’s outfield employees sure don’t have it easy…” Gu Hong sighed with emotion.

Long Dayong immediately echoed, “That’s right. If not for their sacrifice, how could we live such a peaceful and stable life?”

Even if supplies were a little lacking, it was still much better than Moat Town or Redstone Collection.

Long Yuehong quietly listened and habitually raised his right hand to touch his cheek.

The cold touch jolted him awake.

…

In the middle of the night, Long Yuehong’s body twitched as he opened his eyes.

He had a nightmare. In his dream, his parents, brother, and sister all contracted the Heartless disease.

He wanted to save them, but he was blasted to pieces by a missile.

Long Yuehong subconsciously raised his hand and touched his forehead—it was cold.

He had habitually used his right palm again.

After switching to his left hand, he realized that his forehead was covered in sweat.

Long Yuehong took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He then decided to use the bathroom to relieve himself and wipe his face.

Just as he arrived at the door to the small bathroom at home, he saw a dim light shining through the door.

“Who’s inside?” Long Yuehong asked.

“Me.” Long Aihong’s voice sounded.

Long Yuehong asked, “Still awake?”

Long Aihong laughed awkwardly. “Bro, don’t tell Mom and Dad. I-I’ve been on the computer until now.”

“Don’t you have school tomorrow?” Long Yuehong was peeved and amused.

“No,” Long Aihong replied confidently. “It’s the weekend tomorrow.”

I forgot about that… Long Yuehong thought for a moment and said, “Even if I don’t say anything, you won’t be able to hide it from them. Our energy allocation is limited. How can Mom and Dad not discover that you’ve used so much?”

“I-I happened to discover that there was a lot more energy allocation at home when I came back today. I just squandered it a little, and it’s almost the end of the month. It would be a waste if I didn’t use it.” Long Aihong asked in confusion, “Bro, do you know what’s going on?”

Long Yuehong hesitated for a moment and said, “It’s probably the energy allocation corresponding to my promotion.”

“Y-you’ve been promoted again?” Long Aihong was surprised and delighted. “D6?”

Long Yuehong said in embarrassment but yet a little smugness, “It was just confirmed. D7.”

He had yet to tell his parents about this, and Shang Jianyao didn’t publicize it today.

“Wow!” Long Aihong praised sincerely. “Brother, you’re amazing! Seriously, do you want to consider my classmates? Several of them idolize you.”

She had clearly learned a lot from the Old World’s entertainment.

Long Yuehong cleared his throat. “How much longer will you take?”

Long Aihong did some estimation. “Wait a little longer—five minutes. I need to get in the zone again after chatting with you.”

Long Yuehong thought for a moment and said, “Forget it, forget it. I’ll do it outside.”

Five minutes was more than enough.

He wrapped himself in a thick cotton coat and left the house with a flashlight before walking to the nearest public bathroom.

After relieving himself in comfort, Long Yuehong shrank his body and illuminated the road ahead as he walked back step by step.

He was long accustomed to the cold after lights out. He knew that most of the precious geothermal energy was directed to the Production Zone with the help of certain technology. The daily necessities provided by the Energy Zone naturally needed conservation at night.

As Long Yuehong walked, a black figure suddenly jumped out from the side and pounced at him.

This… Long Yuehong could be considered experienced in combat. Upon seeing that he couldn’t dodge in time, he quickly raised his right arm and blocked it in front of him.

Almost at the same time, his arm sank as the black figure pressed down on him.

Long Yuehong saw the attacker clearly with the flashlight’s help. It was a slightly familiar face—probably one of the neighbors nearby.

At this moment, his expression was warped, and his eyes were turbid and bloodshot.

Heartless disease… Someone has contracted the Heartless disease again… Long Yuehong’s heart tightened as his right palm suddenly turned red.

This was his subconscious reaction, but he quickly controlled his instincts and gave up on using the laser launcher. This could penetrate walls or floors, easily injuring others accidentally!

As his thoughts raced, Long Yuehong’s steel-like right arm trembled and threw the Heartless out. He then stomped his feet, pounced forward, clenched his steel hand into a fist, and swung it out.

Thud!

The Heartless’s head caved in, producing an exaggerated wound.

Long Yuehong was a little shocked by the mechanical arm’s strength as he watched the enemy slowly collapse. He—who had just recovered from his serious injuries—had actually finished off a Heartless so easily…

The strength of this fist wasn’t much weaker than his team leader’s biological prosthetic limb. Its hardness definitely exceeded hers by leaps and bounds!

After being in a daze for more than ten seconds, Long Yuehong turned to the Order Supervisory Department.

…

The next morning, in Room 14 on the 647th floor, in the Old Task Force’s office.

Bai Chen finished her work and prepared to go to the training room as she asked, “There was a Heartless occurrence again last night?”

She had heard about this from the morning broadcast, so she asked the well-informed native employees—Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong.

Shang Jianyao looked at Long Yuehong.

Long Yuehong tersely acknowledged it. “I encountered him.”

“Are you alright?” Bai Chen asked.

“I’m fine.” Long Yuehong smiled. “It was resolved relatively easily.”

Bai Chen changed the topic and asked, “Has the company’s Heartless disease outbreak frequency increased this year?”

“We don’t know.” Shang Jianyao shook his head. “We have to get Big White to investigate.”

At the mention of Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong realized that their team leader had yet to arrive. She was 20 minutes late for work.