Embers Ad Infinitum

Being stared at by such turbid, crazy eyes of irrationality, even Loannes, Sully, and the others—who had fled to sea after being chased by a horde of Heartless, having found a way to board this cruise ship—felt a chill run up their spines and straight to their minds.

Without giving them time to think, the crew members infected with the Heartless disease either picked up knives, flashed their teeth, or ran over.

These were all staff who worked in the kitchen; they didn’t have guns.

The group of people at the freezer entrance had managed to survive the Old Era’s destruction, albeit rather abjectly, so they could be considered experienced. Although they were trembling from the cold and had frost on their heads while reeling from the shock the kitchen’s situation gave them, they quickly reacted and raised their weapons.

“Careful with your abilities!” someone shouted.

Loannes snapped to attention and immediately terminated his intent of using Sloth, instantly understanding what the person who had shouted meant.

The reason for the current Heartless disease outbreak was unknown; it might be related to the chaotic and crazy state from the previous few nights. In such a situation, rashly using one’s abilities might cause one to go deranged and even result in Heartless infection!

Bang! Bang! Da! Da! Da!

Shang Jianyao, Sully, and the others pulled their triggers.

A large number of bullets poured out, killing the kitchen crew as they rushed over.

Looking at the splattered blood and the corpses on the ground, Loannes—who didn’t want to be overshadowed—took the initiative to say, “Maybe we have to go out and see what happened. If there’s a chance, leave this cruise ship as soon as possible and get onto the island!”

He didn’t want to stay on this strange and terrifying cruise ship for another moment.

Apart from Shang Jianyao, the others shared the same thoughts as Loannes. They had no objections and rushed out of the kitchen with their weapons.

“You guys can’t do this! You don’t have any tactical acumen!” Shang Jianyao ‘felt pained’ as he ran in the back.

He meant that Loannes and the others didn’t have any division of labor or cooperation. Although they maintained a certain distance from each other, it was very easy for them to be wiped out all at once. They acted like a motley crew.

This wasn’t because Loannes, Sully, and the others were inexperienced; it was purely because they lacked tacit understanding. They fought their own battles and were wary of each other.

Fortunately, there were no Heartless in the corridor outside. It was empty as if it had been abandoned for a long time.

The group of people that rushed out of the kitchen didn’t suffer any attacks or interceptions. They arrived at the small deck of the floor they were on relatively smoothly.

Continuous gunshots drilled into their ears, making them subconsciously slow down and observe their surroundings.

Ta! Ta! Ta!

This was the sound of machine guns firing crazily—it came from outside the cruise ship.

Loannes turned his head and looked at Shang Jianyao. He realized that his companion was already on all fours as he crawled to the edge of the small deck.

After hesitating for a second, Loannes chose to do the same.

Sully and the others looked at each other and were infected by this cautious attitude as they lay on the ground.

They shuffled their elbows forward as they quickly arrived at the edge of the small deck. The first thing they saw was a dense crowd attempting to step foot on land through the gangway on the large deck below.

There were about 1,000 to 2,000 of them. Their hair was of different colors, but their eyes were equally turbid. From time to time, they roared like beasts. The ones with weapons seized the advantageous terrain and fired crazily at the dock.

Heartless disease!

Almost all the passengers and crew had contracted the Heartless disease!

Upon seeing this, the pupils of Loannes, Sully, and the others rapidly dilated. Their bodies stiffened as if they had been struck by lightning.

They were no strangers to such scenes. They had more or less witnessed the Old Era’s destruction!

Amidst concentrated gunshots and constantly echoing screams, the entire scene looked like doomsday had once again descended.

Almost at the same time, Shang Jianyao felt the surrounding atmosphere become oppressive, heavy, and seemingly material. He then experienced the feelings of Room 912’s owner as if he were there.

On the one hand, they were glad that they had hidden themselves in the freezer and hadn’t been infected with the Heartless disease. They felt a little happy from successfully dodging a disaster. On the other hand, they felt lingering fear and terror. They didn’t know why they could maintain their rationality, and they weren’t sure if they would become members of the Heartless below when they encountered such matters in the future.

Under the fog of the ‘unknown,’ nobody could guarantee anything.

Sully turned his gaze to the fortifications on the shore and the armed personnel rushing over. He gulped and said in a deep voice, “Let’s return to the kitchen and hide. We’ll come out when the battle ends.”

He was afraid that they would be discovered by the Heartless and be tragically surrounded. When the time came, even if there were several ability users in the team, they would definitely be outnumbered. He was also worried that they would be implicated and be accidentally killed by the residents of Spacey Island, so he didn’t want to stay outside.

As far as Shang Jianyao knew, in the era before the New Calendar, the survivors’ understanding of the Heartless disease was even more superficial and nonexistent. They often did all kinds of extreme actions due to uncontrollable fear.

Under normal circumstances, since most people on this cruise ship were infected with the Heartless disease, the remaining lucky ones would definitely be deemed to be carrying a virus. They needed to be eliminated, and they would rather be safe than sorry.

If not for the fact that Loannes, Sully, and the others were Awakened and had unique abilities, Shang Jianyao didn’t believe that they could step foot on the island alive and be quarantined.

As the survivors carefully returned to the cabin, Shang Jianyao felt his surroundings rapidly fade before becoming clear again.

A deck appeared in front of him. The passengers on the deck were in groups of three to five, chatting about the past.

Once again, he returned to the moment he first boarded the cruise ship.

“This isn’t considered a clearing of this psychological trauma?” Shang Jianyao stroked his chin.

His expression quickly turned gloomy. “Definitely not. Since the owners of Room 522 and Room 912 are still alive, it means that they weren’t infected with the Heartless disease back then and successfully landed on Spacey Island. We only activated this hidden ending and figured out what happened in the end, but we didn’t resolve the corresponding fear.

“What’s certain now is that such a terrifying turn of events has become a psychological trauma for two room owners. It makes them constantly worry that they will suddenly be infected with the Heartless disease. It was only later that they slowly overcame this fear. Maybe they won’t dare to board ships again for a long time.”

Shang Jianyao nodded at himself. “If we want to truly clear this psychological trauma, it seems like there are a few directions. The first is to take a few more ships in reality and interact with more Heartless. We can invite the emotions and conditions of not being afraid of a Heartless infection and see if there are any changes. The second is to figure out why the passengers and crew in this psychological trauma can interact with me like I’m real. The third is to investigate the source of the nighttime chaos.”

With that said, he covered his mouth and yawned. “We expended too much energy today. Let’s call it a day; we’ll continue tomorrow.”

…

In the jeep, Shang Jianyao opened his eyes.

He was in no rush to sleep. Instead, he sat up and looked at Jiang Baimian—who was huddled in the front row—under the dim bonfire and starlight outside the window.

In the past few days, Jiang Baimian had used the powerlessness and unease she felt in Wasteland Ruin 13 to stir up her desire to be stronger on the dead silent company mind island in an attempt to escape the fear of losing her family, friends, companions, and current way of life.

She didn’t think she wouldn’t be afraid of losing these. She only tried her best to turn this fear from a stumbling block into motivation to improve.

After repeated adjustments, she gradually got into the groove. She felt like she was about to find the right direction.

Jiang Baimian opened her eyes. She subconsciously looked at the backseat and met Shang Jianyao’s eyes.

Jiang Baimian blinked. “It’s late at night. Can you not be so terrifying… Just as I left the Sea of Origins and was about to sleep, I felt something watching me in the darkness. How was it? Did you gain anything from this expedition?”

Shang Jianyao nodded and briefly explained the process of him finding Room 522’s owner—Loannes—and the sudden change on the last day.

Jiang Baimian listened attentively and gradually frowned.

“In the end, it was actually a Heartless disease that culled the masses…” After Shang Jianyao finished speaking, Jiang Baimian muttered to herself, “Could the chaos from before be a manifestation of the darkness’s corruption? When more and more power from the corruptive force accumulates, the Heartless disease will erupt?”

This was a guess based on the Old Task Force’s current gains and judgments.

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up. “Doesn’t this mean that there might be a node connected to the New World on the cruise ship? Was it this node’s influence that allowed interaction with the humans on the ship?”

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said, “Try finding it next time. Get some sleep now!”

She emphasized the last sentence, worried that Shang Jianyao would ignore his fatigue and try it now.

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao didn’t put on a brave front. He pointed at the door and said, “I’ll relieve myself first.”

“Didn’t you just go before sleeping?” Jiang Baimian was a little surprised. How long has it been?

Shang Jianyao sincerely replied, “I ate and drank a lot on the cruise ship, so it’s a physical response.”

“…” Jiang Baimian was speechless.

Shang Jianyao pushed open the door, called out to Geneva, and walked to the edge of the parking lot camp.

At this moment, he swept his gaze and saw something strange.

Hunters were constantly swinging their arms, while others were vomiting bubbles…