Embers Ad Infinitum

A cold night soon descended.

Loannes could only see a portion of the ship’s railing from his room, so he couldn’t confirm the situation outside. He could only say to Shang Jianyao, “Let’s open the door and take a look. I want to know if the current situation is as you described.”

Although he had already accepted the fact that someone from the future had transmigrated to investigate the truth in a bid to find the reason for the Old World’s destruction, he still wanted further confirmation. After all, this concerned his situation for the next few days.

It had to be known that the man from the future had said it wasn’t that he couldn’t change history but that he didn’t dare to change history. If something really went wrong and resulted in the accidental death of survivors who were supposed to live, it would be too late for regrets.

When the time came, all the futures would be reset. There might not even be a scientist who invented a time machine or have an investigator sent over.

Furthermore, the subsequent investigators would definitely maintain a modified history. It was impossible for them to attempt to correct it because this would cause a new round of resets of the future, wiping out the new investigators’ existence.

Due to this reason, Loannes—who still felt a little groggy despite spending nearly half an hour thinking—decided that it was better to figure out their current situation.

Shang Jianyao thought for a few seconds seriously and nodded solemnly. “Alright, but be careful.”

Loannes secretly heaved a sigh of relief and turned around.

Behind him, Shang Jianyao’s expression relaxed and gradually became excited. He also showed signs of eagerness regarding the imminent spectacle.

Loannes—who was wearing a long black T-shirt—walked to the door. He was in no rush to leave. Instead, he turned his head, leaned against the wooden plank, and listened carefully to the commotion outside.

There seemed to be some sounds in the distance, but it was silent nearby.

Loannes carefully turned the doorknob and looked out.

The entire carpeted corridor was empty.

Behind Loannes, Shang Jianyao asked casually, “Everyone should be at the restaurant at this time, right?”

Loannes subconsciously shook his head. “It’s impossible for everyone to act in such a uniform manner. There will always be people going earlier and later.”

Just as he said that, a person walked over from the elevator.

Based on his uniform, this person was a crew member. He ran over in a panic while pushing a food cart, his face revealing horror. From time to time, he would look back as if he were being chased by a terrifying creature.

However, Loannes realized that there was nothing behind this person.

“What happened?” Loannes took a step forward and tried to communicate.

The crew member ignored him and Shang Jianyao as though they didn’t exist. He pushed the food cart to the deck of this floor with a terrified expression.

Loannes completely believed Shang Jianyao’s recount—apart from a few people, the entire cruise ship entered a chaotic state after night fell.

At this moment, the wooden door opposite him opened slightly.

A half-naked Red River man stuck his head out and happened to see the previous crew member turn around. His face was contorted with horror. He then looked at the normal Loannes and Shang Jianyao.

Loannes saw a woman in revealing clothes shaking her head in the man’s room. She was crying and laughing.

Thud!

The man closed the door.

“He’s fine too,” Loannes said in a slightly disappointed tone.

“Who is he?” Shang Jianyao asked curiously.

Loannes exhaled and said, “His name is Sully. He’s also an ability user, the kind that likes to fool with women.”

In this era, the nicknames for Awakened weren’t uniform. Some people preferred to address these people as ability users.

“Are you jealous of him?” the honest Shang Jianyao blurted out a question.

Loannes’s expression darkened. “How is that possible? Is there anything about him that’s worth making me jealous?”

The honest Shang Jianyao tersely acknowledged it. “You have quite a jealous tendency.”

When Loannes’s expression warped, Shang Jianyao—who had switched personalities—stroked his chin and said, “However, there’s really nothing about him that’s worth you being jealous of. You’re the chosen one of an era, one who survived two consecutive encounters related to the cause of the Old World’s destruction.”

Loannes’s expression softened. “Your joke wasn’t funny at all. It’s horrible to question if your companion is lying.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” Shang Jianyao replied.

Loannes restrained his emotions and thought for a moment before suppressing his voice. “Sully is an ability user, and so am I. We haven’t fallen into the chaotic and crazy state you described. Maybe ability users aren’t affected.”

“You didn’t say that you are hypothesizing,” Shang Jianyao pointed out.

While Loannes wore a look of confusion, Shang Jianyao reminded him, “According to my experience, ability users will also be infected once they use their abilities at night, becoming chaotic or crazy.”

“Experience?” Loannes asked in confusion. However, he quickly expressed his understanding. This might not be this man’s first attempt at time traveling. It’s very likely that he had previously been infected by the chaotic state due to his rash use of his abilities and was forced to return to the future.

“Are you still going elsewhere to take a look? The situation in the restaurant should be very exciting,” asked the Shang Jianyao that sought novelty in a slightly egging tone.

Loannes shook his head without hesitation. “I’ve confirmed what you said; there’s no need to verify anything. In the next few days, we will hide in the cabin at night and not go out. We will do our best during the day. We also have to change hiding spots from time to time. If you’re hungry, sneak into the kitchen and get some food. Don’t go to the dining room.”

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao was a little disappointed. He then clapped. “You’re really careful!”

After receiving the praise, Loannes’s expression became increasingly normal.

Just like that, he and Loannes arrived at the last night after Shang Jianyao entered and exited a few times.

Upon hearing the chaos and noise outside, the two people hiding in a corner of a dark kitchen tried their best to remain silent.

After a while, Loannes—who seemed to have been in thought all this time—opened his mouth and slowly said, “I don’t think we can continue staying here. Can we really last until this terrifying and strange matter ends and safely arrive at our destination by hiding?”

“I don’t know,” Shang Jianyao replied truthfully.

Loannes was surprised. “Didn’t you know me in the future? Didn’t you ask how I ultimately escaped this disaster?”

“You refused to tell me.” Shang Jianyao boldly pushed the problem to the other party.

“I refused?” Loannes fell into deep thought and muttered to himself. He appeared to be trying to reverse-engineer the strategy he should adopt from his future self’s unwillingness to tell Shang Jianyao about his escape.

It was very easy to come to a conclusion: If it was just hiding until the last day and holding out until the cruise ship docked, there was nothing to hide!

Loannes stood up and cast his gaze at the kitchen door. He then deliberated for a moment and said to Shang Jianyao, “You said that only a few people survived to the end. Although the people outside have fallen into a chaotic and crazy state, they will definitely return to normal by dawn. The cruise ship will dock tomorrow. W-what terrifying thing did they encounter in the end that resulted in nobody surviving? Will such a thing happen to us?”

Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and sincerely replied, “I don’t know.”

Loannes paced back and forth before saying, “I want to go to the captain’s cabin to take a look. He’s the owner of this cruise ship. If such abnormalities exist to begin with, he should know a little about the situation.”

“It’s your call.” Shang Jianyao controlled the change in his expression and added, “I can’t interfere with history.”

Loannes made up his mind. He tightened his clothes and walked to the kitchen exit.

Perhaps because it was winter, so it was still freezing at night even though they were in relatively southern waters.

Shang Jianyao followed behind Loannes and randomly grabbed a piece of cloth to drape over his body to resist the evening cold.

With the ability to sense human consciousness, the two of them circled around the passengers and crew that had fallen into a chaotic and deranged state, especially those with aggressive tendencies.

Finally, they arrived at the captain’s cabin.

The door was tightly shut, and loud shouts sounded from inside intermittently.

“The captain has also gone deranged?” Loannes muttered to himself in disappointment.

This meant that he might not be able to gather anything. He might even be attacked.

He didn’t hesitate for long before attempting to turn the doorknob.

The door didn’t budge.

“Let me do it!” Shang Jianyao was eager to kick the door open.

“I thought you can’t interfere with history?” Loannes turned to look at him in surprise.

Shang Jianyao replied confidently, “Are you going to give up if I don’t open the door?”

“That’s true.” Loannes accepted this explanation.

History didn’t change.

Thud!

Shang Jianyao raised his right foot and kicked open the door.

Loannes immediately saw the situation inside.

A man in his forties that was relatively rotund—testimony that he could ensure his basic meals in this Chaotic Era—was kneeling on one knee with a white bedsheet draped over him.

He ignored the door being kicked open and only looked at the ceiling as he then sang, “Oh, my goddess! Please accept my love!”

Another lunatic… Loannes turned to look at Shang Jianyao and deliberated before saying, “Let’s search around. Maybe there are some clues hidden in this room.”

Shang Jianyao didn’t respond to his suggestion. He looked at the captain and kindly reminded him, “Your goddess isn’t here.”

The captain suddenly turned around, his face filled with obsession and zeal. He replied loudly, “She’s in my body!”