Embers Ad Infinitum

Long Yuehong was especially confused by Shang Jianyao’s solution and asked in confusion, “Your ability seems to only work when a conversation is completed. If we hide the window, you won’t be able to see or sense anything. How can you resist the hidden enemy?”

Furthermore, among Shang Jianyao’s abilities, only Thought Guidance could be enhanced with electromagnetic signals. Literary Hipster and Limbs Immobility didn’t seem to work yet.

Shang Jianyao laughed. “I can also interfere with electromagnetism.”

As he spoke, the unlit lights in the room lit up with a pale glow. Amidst the static, Shang Jianyao’s figure in the video window warped.

All of this quickly subsided.

Shang Jianyao leaned back in his chair in a relaxed posture and smiled. “You don’t have to worry about how it’s exactly done. I have an ace up my sleeve.”

Isn’t that what Team Leader likes to say? Just as this thought flashed through Long Yuehong’s mind, he saw Shang Jianyao turn his head and look to the side.

“Big White, you’re going in the wrong direction!”

With the sound of static, Shang Jianyao’s figure in the video window seemed to distort to a certain extent.

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong looked at each other and chose to believe Shang Jianyao. After all, Jiang Baimian was beside him.

“Alright.” Bai Chen nodded and hid the video call window. This way, only the surveillance cameras and some icons remained on the computer screen.

“We have to be careful ourselves.” Bai Chen turned her body and reminded Long Yuehong, “Read the records every five minutes and examine our memories to prevent ourselves from not realizing that the key memories have been modified.”

Long Yuehong nodded hard. “Yes, yes!”

Before long, the sun was covered by drifting clouds, and the light dimmed significantly.

An intangible ‘shadow’ entered the room and split into two before burrowing into Bai Chen and Long Yuehong’s heads. In their mind worlds and subconscious, scenes from the past appeared again.

Suddenly, the ‘shadow’ noticed the conversation between the two of them and Shang Jianyao. This was the latest memory, something the shadow paid the most attention to.

Hide the chat window and pretend that nothing happened? In a situation where one can use electromagnetic signals to enhance their range of influence, one can clearly only rely on conversation to use their abilities, but he deliberately hid the window… I have an ace up my sleeve? Questions flashed through the shadow’s mind as if he smelled danger.

He suspected that the other party had other methods to monitor his companions’ memories or sense if anyone was exerting influence in the room. If he continued reading the memories and making modifications, it would be equivalent to walking into a trap!

No! I can’t take the risk! The shadow evacuated Bai Chen and Long Yuehong’s heads without hesitation. It was as if the ‘monster’ in the distance had suddenly retracted two invisible tentacles that had stabbed into the target’s head.

The ‘tentacles’ retracted into a rented apartment dozens of meters away.

They belonged to a man wearing sunglasses and a black trench coat with golden-brown hair that was parted in the middle.

To read other people’s memories on a large scale and make the corresponding modifications, he had to narrow the distance between himself and the target to the current level.

The man didn’t dare to stay at the ‘scene.’ He quickly walked out of the room and left.

During this process, he looked back and muttered to himself, “I’ll have to get Lan to take action.”

…

Not long after noon, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao returned to the Green Olive Zone. They didn’t immediately go to Genava and instead entered the room where Bai Chen and Long Yuehong were hiding.

“How was it? Did you feel as though your memories were modified?” Jiang Baimian asked in concern.

Bai Chen shook her head. “No.”

As she spoke, she took out the stack of notes on her. “At the very least, these related matters have never been modified. My understanding of my companions remains normal.”

“I’ll help you see if there are any missing pieces of paper.” Jiang Baimian reached out to take the stack of paper and compared it to the content stored in her auxiliary chip. This was to prevent the enemy from destroying the corresponding notes after altering Bai Chen’s memories.

It wouldn’t be excessive to be careful when facing a Mind Corridor-level Awakened suspected to be in the Last Man domain. Therefore, Jiang Baimian designed multiple verifications.

Meanwhile, Shang Jianyao also took out his laptop from his tactical backpack and checked the key memories Long Yuehong had written down.

He suddenly waved at Long Yuehong.

“What for?” Long Yuehong approached cautiously.

Shang Jianyao suppressed his voice and said, “There’s a problem.”

“What?” Long Yuehong was alarmed. But considering how Shang Jianyao liked to play pranks, he felt that he should calm down.

He bent down and cast his gaze at Shang Jianyao’s laptop screen.

Shang Jianyao came close to his ear and whispered, “You are lacking some key content. Not only is the paper slip missing, but so is the backup on my computer.”

“No way?” Long Yuehong was shocked and confused. This doesn’t make sense! Could it be that everyone was affected before Hey and Team Leader left?

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a missing copy on Shang Jianyao’s computer.

Shang Jianyao sincerely said, “We lack your opinion and feelings for Little White…”

“Stop!” Long Yuehong’s face suddenly flushed red. “I only wrote something simple; it’s not that detailed. Yes, nothing is missing.”

“Is that so?” Shang Jianyao glanced at him suspiciously. “Do you still remember that you like Little White?”

Long Yuehong’s mind buzzed as he felt his face heat up, and smoke seemed to be emitting from his head. The next second, he quickly turned his head and looked at Bai Chen and Jiang Baimian.

He then realized that the two ladies didn’t hear him because Shang Jianyao had kept his voice very low the entire time, almost to a whisper. Therefore, they didn’t pay attention to the commotion.

Long Yuehong heaved a sigh of relief and prepared to glare angrily at Shang Jianyao. But he was afraid that the other party would take the opportunity to expose the matter, so he could only change his attitude and beg softly, “D-don’t say anything.”

“Got… it…” Shang Jianyao opened his mouth and replied very softly, but he enunciated the words very clearly. “I’m relieved that you didn’t forget.”

He looked gratified.

Is that some kind thought of yours? Long Yuehong couldn’t tell if it was the Shang Jianyao that liked to joke, the absolutely honest one, or the one who valued relationships.

After a series of confirmations, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao confirmed that Long Yuehong and Bai Chen’s memories hadn’t been tampered with.

As for whether they had been flipped through, there were no clues.

“Could it be that the target isn’t a Mind Corridor-level Awakened in the Last Man domain and can’t flip through the memories of others to make the corresponding modifications? Did the person who walked to the wrong floor really walk to the wrong floor?” Long Yuehong asked in confusion.

Bai Chen was still relatively persistent. “It shouldn’t be that coincidental.”

Jiang Baimian nodded. “I’m actually more inclined to believe that the target is really a Mind Corridor-level Awakened in the Last Man domain.”

“Why?” Long Yuehong blurted out a question. He then looked at Shang Jianyao. “Could it be that our memories weren’t modified and that your solution played a role?”

“From the looks of it.” Shang Jianyao nodded in relief.

“What’s your solution?” Long Yuehong was curious.

Shang Jianyao laughed. “An empty fort strategy.”

“…” Long Yuehong’s mouth fell open, and he almost forgot to close it.

“In other words, the hidden chat window was actually meaningless?” Bai Chen was a little stunned.

Shang Jianyao smiled brightly. “It has meaning.”

He immediately added, “It scared him!”

Upon seeing the confused Bai Chen and Long Yuehong, Jiang Baimian helped explain. “Shang Jianyao only pretended that he had a solution. This might not work for others, but it’s a targeted solution for that person. A timid and weak person is definitely suspicious and careful. Upon flipping to Shang Jianyao’s words, there’s a more than 99% chance of him suspecting that he has a solution and had set up a trap. He would rather be safe than sorry without advancing rashly.”

Bai Chen thought for a moment and asked, “Timid and weak?”

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged her words and recounted her and Shang Jianyao’s gains and speculations at Oudick’s house.

She then smiled and said, “Doesn’t the meaning of Last Man in the Old World include lowly, muddle-headed, mediocre, and slave-like? Among these words, lowly and slave-like can point to cowardice and weakness to a certain extent. Therefore, the price is that the timid and weak one is most likely in the Last Man domain.

“Oudick—who has been infected with this negative influence—looks irritable and fierce, but he doesn’t dare to use his abilities on others. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but he doesn’t dare!”

This resolved Jiang Baimian’s first puzzlement when she heard about Oudick’s condition in the mental hospital.

Long Yuehong ran through the entire matter and nodded slightly. “This does string everything together, giving them a reasonable explanation.”

Jiang Baimian then looked out the window. “We have to move as soon as possible and consider setting up traps.”

“Why?” Long Yuehong subconsciously asked.

“What will a timid and weak person do when they discover a problem with the target?” Shang Jianyao asked with a smile.

Long Yuehong was just about to speak when Bai Chen replied, “Find helpers and companions!”

…

In an old building.

The man in sunglasses pushed open a door.

Before he could observe the situation in the room, he heard his companion’s cold voice. “Go straighten your hair—it’s not symmetrical enough. You should know very well that I don’t ask for much precision. If you can’t do it, I don’t mind making you bald.”

As the man in sunglasses walked to the full-body mirror on his left, he said, “Target spotted.”

Behind him was a similar full-body mirror.

In the room, a female voice sounded again in an empty area. “I’ll inform Doctor now.”

“Oh?” The man in the sunglasses asked in confusion.

His companion replied erratically, “Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit.”