Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 736: Fighting Fire with Fire

Translator: CKtalon

Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Genava understood Jiang Baimian’s meaning immediately, but this didn’t stop their expressions from changing.

Until now, nobody had found any basis for the existence of Awakened before the Old World was destroyed. Therefore, it was impossible for there to be Awakened in Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School, which represented one of the Old World’s scenes.

Under such circumstances, there were very few characteristics that matched Shang Jianyao’s identity as an Awakened in the Master Zhuang domain. There was only one answer: The body that the Kalendaria—Master Zhuang—had used in ‘His’ descent!

“The Du Shaochong played by Hey is the protagonist of the dream and represents the entire year’s Kalendaria, Master Zhuang?” Long Yuehong muttered to himself in a tone of deep reverence and baffling fear.

“It’s the identity used by Master Zhuang when ‘He’ descended into the world,” Shang Jianyao corrected him.

Upon seeing the tense atmosphere, Jiang Baimian deliberately joked, “How do we know that it wasn’t Du Shaochong who dreamed that he became Master Zhuang and not Master Zhuang who dreamed that he became Du Shaochong?”

Then, I’d rather it be the latter possibility. The former means that we are all illusory people in Du Shaochong’s dream… Long Yuehong muttered.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao spread his hands, raised his body slightly, and looked at the sky. “Everything is but a dream. Why so serious?”

After such a comedic routine, Genava took the initiative to say, “I think the possibility that Du Shaochong is Master Zhuang’s body of descent is very low.”

He further explained, “I already brought Hey out of Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School back then, but nothing happened to the dream.”

Bai Chen found an explanation. “Maybe Hey’s role was naturally stripped away when he left Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School.”

Genava still insisted on his opinion. “If Du Shaochong is really Master Zhuang’s body of descent, he will definitely be a key point in the dream. I interacted with him and even jumped off a building with him, but nothing happened. I believe there should be a hidden premise for a match: Choose something with more similar characteristics.

“And between Master Zhuang’s body of descent and Hey, there’s only one similarity—being in Master Zhuang’s domain. It can’t compare to Du Shaochong.”

Jiang Baimian slowly nodded. “It might also imply a premise: ‘I’ am an exception.”

This ‘I’ referred to the source of the dream—Master Zhuang’s body of descent. ‘He’ wouldn’t match with any outsider.

“Yes.” Genava agreed.

Shang Jianyao immediately looked disappointed. “What a pity.”

He seemed to want to experience the feeling of being possessed by a Kalendaria.

Jiang Baimian turned her head and said to him, “Although the probability of Du Shaochong being Master Zhuang’s body of descent is very low, we still can’t ignore this possibility. After all, there are too few clues that can help resolve Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School anomaly. We have to try everything. Yes, what other memories do you have of Du Shaochong?”

This referred to memories that were entangled with the implanted thoughts.

“I forgot most of it.” Shang Jianyao recalled and said, “Apart from what I just mentioned, Du Shaochong seems to have transferred here from elsewhere. Also, I remember where his home in Tai City is…”

“Where was it?”

“Where did he transfer from?”

Long Yuehong and Jiang Baimian asked one after another.

“In Building 6 of Yangliu Residence, Unit 1801.” Shang Jianyao first answered Long Yuehong’s question before shaking his head at Jiang Baimian. “I don’t remember.”

Jiang Baimian made a terse grunt. “Let’s search for Du Shaochong’s house before we head to Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School tomorrow.”

…

“This estate is much higher-end than Harbour Homeland…” The next morning, Jiang Baimian stood at Yangliu Residence’s entrance. She raised her head slightly and looked at the high-rise buildings in front of her.

The facade seemed to be made of marble. Even though it was now covered in dust and water stains, and clumps of greenery grew out of the cracks, it couldn’t hide the original material.

Bai Chen said, “Du Shaochong’s family background seems pretty good.”

“Isn’t this the configuration of a protagonist?” Shang Jianyao said excitedly.

The honest Shang Jianyao then mocked himself. “In the Old World’s entertainment, don’t most protagonists come from poor backgrounds with ordinary qualifications?”

“I’m referring to the male lead in romance novels,” replied the Shang Jianyao that liked to joke in a joking manner.

Then, Du Shaochong’s family background doesn’t seem good enough… Jiang Baimian muttered and rubbed her temples. “Head straight to Building 6, Unit 1801. Let’s get this over with.”

After a series of searches, the Old Task Force was surprised to discover that the people living in Building 6 weren’t Du Shaochong’s family but another unrelated family.

“Did you remember wrong?” Long Yuehong looked at Shang Jianyao.

“The ten of us remember it. There’s definitely nothing wrong!” The Shang Jianyaos shook their heads confidently.

Jiang Baimian thoughtfully said, “If Master Zhuang really descended to be Du Shaochong, ‘He’ will undoubtedly be only a student in the dreamscape of Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School. Subsequently, it will be about ‘Him’ preaching or passing away. In other words, that dream is still many years away from the Old World’s destruction. It’s completely possible for Du Shaochong’s family to move away after he graduated from high school.”

Bai Chen pursed her lips and said, “Du Shaochong’s trail seems broken.”

“Sigh…” Long Yuehong sighed in agreement.

Jiang Baimian—who was standing in Unit 1801—thought for a moment and asked Genava, “Do you have Du Shaochong’s photo?”

“No.” Genava shook his metal neck. “In yesterday’s dream, Du Shaochong probably skipped class and didn’t come to school. The exact reason is unknown.”

Jiang Baimian paced back and forth before suddenly turning her head to look at Shang Jianyao.

Shang Jianyao immediately took a step back and raised his hand to cover his face.

Ignoring his overreaction, Jiang Baimian asked everyone in a questioning tone, “If Hey enters Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School again, gets matched to Du Shaochong, and plays this role, will he grasp more memories?”

“Definitely,” Genava, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen replied in unison.

The remaining characters’ memories in the four carbon-based Old Task Force members’ minds came from the thoughts implanted. Most of those thoughts naturally dissipated when they left Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School and were jolted awake by someone to find themselves. This resulted in them only being able to recall a few things.

If the entire set of thoughts was implanted again, the inseparable memories would definitely be injected into his mind again. Of course, the premise was that Shang Jianyao didn’t leave Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School and that it would still be Du Shaochong.

Shang Jianyao lowered his palm and said to Jiang Baimian with abnormal sincerity, “Perhaps it’s better to slap my face.”

Jiang Baimian shot him a glance. “We’re talking business now!”

She quickly restrained her expression and said seriously, “I have a plan. Hey and I will enter Tai City’s No. 1 Senior High School again and make him become Du Shaochong once more to obtain the other party’s memories, train of thought, and behavioral traits. Then, I’ll find an opportunity to ask him face-to-face. At the same time, Old Ge will listen in and record the answers.”

Long Yuehong revealed a confused expression. “But Team Leader, you will become Xu Qiao after you enter. How will you remember to ask Du Shaochong certain questions…”

“Yes.” Bai Chen indicated that it wasn’t entirely feasible.

The corners of Jiang Baimian’s mouth gradually curled up. “This requires implanting a certain level of thought in advance.”

Fighting fire with fire? This phrase suddenly appeared in Long Yuehong’s mind.

Jiang Baimian looked around and explained with a smile, “Du Shaochong is also a third-year student. His grades are very good, so Xu Qiao definitely knows him. However, Xu Qiao is introverted. It’s impossible for her to speak to Du Shaochong under normal circumstances.

“If we follow the train of thought implanted in the dream, it will be very difficult for the two of them to intersect. However, we can add some details that benefit us without violating that train of thought.

“For example, Xu Qiao is introverted, but she’s still a little curious about Du Shaochong—who has good grades and is sporty. One day, they might suddenly encounter each other in an empty place—uh, a place that resembles a rooftop. That’s when Xu Qiao impulsively asks Du Shaochong a few questions.

“As long as Xu Qiao doesn’t have a crush on anyone, this thought process won’t have any conflict with what the dream gives. Even if we implant it in advance, it won’t be covered and replaced—it will be activated under specific circumstances. To put it simply, we should add some of the content we want in advance in the places where the dream isn’t detailed enough.”

This was similar to Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong showing some of their characteristics when they played the corresponding roles. Now, they could only replace some of their characteristics with the corresponding thoughts that had been implanted in them in advance. The only thing they needed to pay attention to was that this didn’t conflict with the identity they played.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao clapped

Genava nodded in agreement.

They then began to resolve how to let Du Shaochong and Xu Qiao meet in a deserted place.

After some discussion, Shang Jianyao implanted the idea ‘I don’t want to go to class today and want to relax on the rooftop’ in advance. Jiang Baimian, on the other hand, was: ‘Xu Qiao is too introverted and doesn’t have many friends. Her senior year is rather stressful, causing her some problems. Therefore, she plans on taking a breather on the rooftop after finishing one lesson.’

This way, Du Shaochong and Xu Qiao would meet on the rooftop. The premise was that Genava helped ‘eliminate’ the factors that affected their corresponding actions.

Before implanting the question, Long Yuehong curiously asked Jiang Baimian, “Team Leader, what are you going to ask Du Shaochong?”

“Where did you transfer from? Where’s your hometown? Do you know Li Hui, Fan Wensi, Li Jinlong, Lin Sui, Oak, Richard, Du Heng, and the others…” Jiang Baimian gave a bunch of questions in one breath.

After Shang Jianyao heard that, he clicked his tongue and shook his head. “With my understanding of Du Shaochong, he will only reply with ‘are you a toddler who keeps asking questions?'”

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment. “That’s true. Then, I’ll only ask the first three questions—uh, the first two. Only if it works will we do it a second time.”

Shang Jianyao then smiled at her, and his eyes turned deep and dark.. His voice sounded magnetic. “When you believe you’re Xu Qiao…”