Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 728: Buddhist Fate

Translator: CKtalon

Jiang Baimian carefully picked up the top document with her black-gloved right hand and carefully read it under the dim lighting.

This was a medical agreement. The general idea was that the patient’s guardian was aware of the risks and agreed to allow the patient to receive an experimental type of treatment. They would waive their rights to pursue the matter in the event of any accidents.

The signatories were Li Jinlong and Fan Wensi. The counter signatory was Renhui Hospital’s Vegetative Rehabilitation Center.

In this document, the patient’s name was clearly mentioned: Li Hui. His condition was brain damage.

It was a very ordinary name without any characteristics.

Jiang Baimian placed the agreement on the desk and picked up the other documents in the drawer to examine them.

They were made up of a large number of medical records and medical checkups. They clearly outlined a car accident coma victim’s fruitless experience of seeking medical treatment.

From this, it was obvious that Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong had spent a lot of effort saving their son.

As Jiang Baimian sighed slightly, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. This was because the contents of these documents only confirmed some of the Old Task Force’s guesses; there were no new clues.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao’s voice sounded in her ears. “Namo Hurlow Danaloyeye. Namo Aliyeh…”

Jiang Baimian’s forehead twitched when she heard that. She turned her head and realized that the fellow was facing the right wall and muttering something.

“What are you chanting?” she asked with a frown.

Zen Master Redemption Shang Jianyao pointed at a piece of paper on the wall and said, “Great Compassion Incantation.”

“Great Compassion Incantation?” Jiang Baimian took two steps toward Shang Jianyao and cast her gaze at the spot his finger had touched.

There was a piece of yellow paper stuck to it. The words ‘Great Compassion Incantation’ were written above it.

Below it was the Great Compassion Dharani Sutra. Further down were the scriptures Shang Jianyao had just recited.

Jiang Baimian felt dizzy from reading them.

“Your recital was wrong. I have the original segmented sentences and pronunciation in my database.” Genava—who had come over at some point in time—pointed out Shang Jianyao’s mistake.

Shang Jianyao didn’t mind at all. He spread his hands and raised his body slightly. “Everything is but a dream. Why so serious?”

What a versatile saying… Long Yuehong—who was checking the built-in closet in the room with Bai Chen—muttered inwardly.

Jiang Baimian ignored Shang Jianyao and Genava’s friendly exchange. She stared at the Great Compassion Incantation and muttered to herself thoughtfully, “The small jade Buddha was hidden on Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong’s corpses. There’s also the Great Compassion Incantation stuck here. It means that they had believed in Buddhism for a period of time before the Old World was destroyed.

“Regardless of whether they believed it to begin with or whether they started to seek a crutch after their son—Li Hui—became a vegetable from his car accident, it doesn’t damage the fact that they believed in Buddha for a period of time before they died.”

“Is that why that small jade Buddha is special, causing something strange to happen in Building 4, Room 302 in the steelworks factory’s Residential Zone 2 and making the surrounding area known as a Buddhist Holy Land?” Genava tried to decipher Jiang Baimian’s meaning.

Jiang Baimian nodded and said to Shang Jianyao, “Chant the Great Compassion Incantation according to the correct segments and tone provided by Old Ge. Yes, hold the small jade Buddha while chanting it and see if you can trigger any abnormalities.”

“No problem.” Shang Jianyao couldn’t wait. He even chanted a Buddhist proclamation. “Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti.”

After Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and the others entered a vigilant state, Shang Jianyao held the small jade Buddha in one hand and spun the Six Senses Beads with the other. Under Genava’s guidance, he read the scriptures on the wall as he seriously recited them. He had the bearing of an accomplished monk.

Nothing happened even after the Great Compassion Incantation recital.

Zen Master Redemption Shang Jianyao sighed regretfully.

The rash Shang Jianyao turned around and said to Long Yuehong, “Little Red, climb out the window and look in from the outside.”

This was the method the Old Task Force had used to discover the anomaly in Building 4, Room 302 in the steelworks factory ruins’ Residential Zone 2. They were using the same method now.

“But this is the real Tai City that cloaks the fake Tai City…” Long Yuehong subconsciously said.

There shouldn’t be any similar abnormalities.

“You have to understand that you can stack multiple layers together.” The cheerful Shang Jianyao that liked to joke spoke sincerely.

“We can give it a try.” Jiang Baimian felt that this wasn’t a big deal. It was rather worth it to spend a minute or two to eliminate the possibility of a mistake.

“Be careful,” Bai Chen advised Long Yuehong.

“Okay.” Long Yuehong quickly nodded.

He circled around the bed and jumped onto the old desk. He then pushed open the window and climbed out.

After stabilizing his body with the mechanical arm, he looked inside.

There was nothing abnormal.

After waiting for a few seconds, Long Yuehong returned to the room and shook his head. “Everything’s normal.”

Sigh… Shang Jianyao sighed again.

“Actually, Room 302’s situation seems rather strange compared to the real Tai City.” Genava voiced his opinion after his analysis. “We didn’t discover anything wrong with the fake Tai City when we were outside. Back then, you could see the real Room 302 from the window.”

Bai Chen thought for a moment and said, “Maybe people didn’t find a suitable angle previously. Since it’s fake, there must be flaws. It will be exposed from a certain perspective.”

Jiang Baimian first tersely acknowledged these words before making a guess. “The perspective outside the window isn’t too unique. Over the years, a few Ruin Hunters who go to the steelworks factory ruins will always climb to the building’s outer walls in an attempt to remove the window frames and other metal objects. Didn’t they sense Room 302’s strangeness?”

“This possibility is relatively unlikely. If one can use the main door, why climb using the windows? Besides, which Ruin Hunter who goes to the steelworks factory will follow the rules? When they encounter a locked or broken door, won’t they just break it open instead of going to another room and climbing over from the balcony?” Shang Jianyao stroked his chin. “However, there is also a possibility that a great calamity is imminent. The seal has weakened, revealing some of the flaws.”

Have you watched too much Old World entertainment… Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and waved her hand. “Continue searching.”

After nearly 15 minutes of work, the Old Task Force gained something new: Long Yuehong found a note from a green down jacket hanging in the built-in closet.

The note seemed to contain a phone number, and the number conformed to Tai City’s original country.

“This is a female down jacket, so it should belong to Fan Wensi…” Jiang Baimian observed as she analyzed the situation.” Someone should’ve copied the phone number for her. Otherwise, she could’ve directly recorded it onto the phone. There’s no need to go through so much trouble. Yes, we can’t rule out the possibility that her phone happened to be out of power back then or that she couldn’t carry a phone in the area she was in…”

At this point, Jiang Baimian suddenly paused.

Shang Jianyao smiled coldly. “For example, the place where Li Hui received experimental treatment. Due to confidentiality clauses, you can’t bring a phone when visiting patients.”

Long Yuehong inhaled. “Is this a phone number Fan Wensi obtained from Renhui Hospital’s Vegetative Rehabilitation Center?”

“This points to a certain doctor. Fan Wensi wants to know the details of her son’s recovery from him?” Genava believed that this was the most likely possibility.

Bai Chen—who had been listening for a while—suddenly interrupted. “Maybe it’s a rental number Fan Wensi copied when she first arrived in Tai City. Do you still remember? We previously speculated that Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong went around seeking medical treatment to no avail. They were disheartened and decided to send their son to Tai City for experimental treatment. It was only then that they were willing to pay a sum of money for a new phone.

“In other words, there’s a high chance that they used an old phone when they first arrived in Tai City—the kind that doesn’t work well and was on the brink of dying.”

Jiang Baimian made a terse grunt. “In that case, the details match.”

“Why are you saying so much? Give it a try by calling it!” The rash Shang Jianyao suggested.

Jiang Baimian chuckled. “The Old World’s communications network has long collapsed. This phone number is different from the random code that Avia gave. It probably can’t be dialed anymore.”

“It would be terrifying if it connects…” Long Yuehong muttered softly.

Jiang Baimian laughed and said to Genava, “Old Ge, try it. The others, be prepared for any accidents.”

Without a doubt, the call wasn’t successfully made.

Jiang Baimian then got Shang Jianyao to attempt reciting the medical record and using the small jade Buddha, but he didn’t find anything abnormal.

Due to this, she had to announce that their exploration of Harbour Homeland had come to an end. She would then go to Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School.

In her heart, the Holm Fertility Center was equivalent to Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School, while Renhui Hospital’s Vegetative Rehabilitation Center was equivalent to the secret laboratory in Wasteland Ruin 13. It was obvious which was more dangerous between the two.

According to the map’s directions, the Old Task Force took about 20 minutes to reach the high school east of the city.

It didn’t cover a small area. There were many teaching buildings, two office buildings, two dormitory buildings, a laboratory building, a gymnasium, a soccer field with a running track around its perimeter, and many basketball courts…

Today, this high school was overgrown and abnormally dilapidated.