Embers Ad Infinitum

Translator: CKtalon

There’s someone?

There’s someone in the secret laboratory ruins at this time?

Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen looked at each other as similar thoughts flashed through their minds.

Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao and whispered a possibility. “Heartless?”

Every night, the Heartless—who were affected by the secret laboratory’s monster—would come to the ruins and loiter around for extended periods?

Shang Jianyao shook his head. “I don’t know. Why don’t I ask?”

He then sang excitedly, “Friend, oh friend. Do you remember me’…”

Forcing friendship? Jiang Baimian realized that ever since Shang Jianyao explored the Mind Corridor’s depths and could use his singing to complete Thought Guidance, he was like a tiger that had grown wings. It was impossible to guard against him.

She thought for a moment and said, “There’s no rush. Let’s sneak over and observe.”

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao was slightly disappointed.

He sincerely said, “Unfortunately, Little Red brought the Blackmarsh Iron Snake, not the Chameleon. Otherwise, he could’ve completed this mission alone.”

That isn’t the case. The Chameleon bionic artificial intelligence armor can’t hide human consciousness either. What if the person over there is an Awakened? Long Yuehong wasn’t stupid.

Jiang Baimian glared at Shang Jianyao. “The two of us will hide our consciousness fluctuations and go over to see what’s going on. Little Red and Little White will provide support from behind.”

“alright!” Shang Jianyao suddenly became excited as he thought of something. He then bent his back slightly and crept toward the laboratory ruins as if he were about to play a prank on Long Yuehong.

Jiang Baimian quickly followed to prevent this fellow from causing any trouble again.

At present, the City Intelligence Network Control Center only restored the power to the entire city ruin. It didn’t turn on the street lights. Therefore, everywhere that the starlight couldn’t reach was dark. It was very suitable for the Old Task Force to approach the mysterious laboratory stealthily.

Before long, they arrived at the periphery of their destination.

They silently entered a building and went up to the third floor. They then sized up the area ahead through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

It was impossible to determine what the laboratory originally looked like. In Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao’s eyes, all that was left was a large pile of concrete blocks and jagged steel columns that extended into the sky.

‘The dust and rocks that spewed out made the surrounding lawn and parking lot spell an obvious disaster.

Further away, the glass windows in the buildings and cars were more or less damaged. Some had even completely shattered.

At this moment, three figures in messy clothes were each carrying a canvas bag. They were using the shovels in their hands to dig up a pile of concrete.

It was obvious that Pangu Biology had long sent people to search this place. There were traces of excavation everywhere, and the three of them had chosen the most periphery where secrets were the least likely.

“They aren’t Heartless.” Jiang Baimian quickly made a judgment. “It doesn’t look like the company’s personnel either.”

‘The employees Pangu Biology sent to Swamp Ruin 1 belonged to a Security Department company. They had their own uniforms, so it was impossible for them to wear anything that kept them warm like these three people. They wore cotton jackets and leather pants, prioritizing warmth.

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up. “Ruin Hunters? What are they digging here at this time?”

Apart from Qiao Chu, Jingfa, Pangu Biology’s employees, and a few others, ordinary Ruin Hunters probably didn’t know that there was a mysterious laboratory here. Therefore, how could they specially come here to excavate?

Compared to this blasted ruin, Swamp Ruin 1 had many places where high-value items could be obtained.

As Jiang Baimian focused, the three of them dug a small but not shallow hole in the concrete pile at the edge of the ruin. They then took off their backpacks and took out some things.

Under the dim starlight, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao—who were a distance away—couldn’t see what they were.

A few seconds later, the three people threw the items in their hands into the pit, picked up the shovels again, and tried to shovel all the surrounding concrete down.

They aren’t here to dig up items but bury something? Jiang Baimian frowned. She immediately said to Shang Jianyao, “Go over and ‘chat’ with them.”

“Alright!” Shang Jianyao couldn’t wait.

He found a window nearby and jumped to the ground in two to three leaps, heading straight for the laboratory ruins.

Before the three of them sensed him, he loudly said, “Don’t be afraid; I mean no harm. I’m just curious about what you guys are doing. I came over to ask.

“It’s fate for strangers to meet. If fate wills it, we will meet despite the distance. When we meet, we will naturally be friends.”

‘The three men stopped filling up the hole and looked at each other. Their expressions gradually relaxed and became less vigilant.

‘They were all Ashlandic. Their hair was messy and greasy, and their faces were covered in stubble, preventing one from seeing their true appearances.

‘This was the standard image of wilderness nomads—perhaps Ruin Hunters as well.

“What are you guys burying?” Shang Jianyao calmly walked to the three people’s side and peered into the hole in front of him.

Jiang Baimian followed closely behind.

At this moment, the concrete blocks had yet to fill the hole. Through the cracks, the two of them vaguely saw what was buried.

‘They were white bones—human bones!

“Hiding a corpse after a murder?” Shang Jianyao stroked his chin and looked at the three men with bright eyes.

At this moment, he was like a professional detective.

The tallest of the three men quickly defended himself. “Someone told us to bury these bones here.”

“Someone?” Jiang Baimian pressed.

She was very certain that the three men definitely didn’t kill the person. This was because the corpse had rotted to the point that only bones were left—it clearly hadn’t died recently.

If one wanted to kill and hide a corpse, throwing the corpse into the swamp was much better than coming to this ruin in the middle of the night to dig a hole.

‘The man who had just spoken glanced at Shang Jianyao. “We took on a Hunter mission. Back then, I found it strange why we had to carry these bones to Swamp Ruin 1 and bury them in this baffling place. He also gave us a route and a way to bypass the guards; furthermore, the payment was too much.”

For some reason, Jiang Baimian suddenly recalled Shang Jianyao’s random idea: “Deliberately make a ‘Dajiang City’s Elite Middle School’ sign and randomly hang it outside a school to mislead people who come to explore.”

Could it be that someone is really trying to create a replica in an attempt to mislead subsequent excavators? Jiang Baimian gazed at the three men and asked in a deep voice, “What does the person who hired you look like?”

The three men assumed a posture of recalling something. Their expressions then tured pained.

“I don’t remember.”

“L forgot.”

“He looked very ordinary; I don’t have any impression of him. In any case, we’ve already received one-third of the payment, and the rest is escrowed in the guild. We just need to take a few photos and bring them back to receive payment.”

The tallest man patted his backpack; there was a digital camera there. This was lent to them by the Hunter’s Guild.

“There’s indeed something fishy.” Shang Jianyao was very happy.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and picked up the walkie-talkie to get Long Yuehong and Bai Chen to come over. She then said to the three men, “Take photos now. Dig out the items for us to see later.”

“That’s right. You came here, dug a hole, buried the item, and took a photo. This is equivalent to completing the mission. Any subsequent developments have nothing to do with the mission.” Shang Jianyao guided them patiently.

He made sense, and the three men agreed one after another.

After taking the photo, they swung their shovels and removed the concrete blocks again.

By the time Long Yuehong and Bai Chen arrived, the three of them had already picked up the bones and placed them outside the hole.

‘Without needing to observe carefully, Jiang Baimian could tell at a glance that this wasn’t a complete corpse.

Ignoring everything else, the skull wasn’t here.

After seriously distinguishing for a while, Bai Chen said, “An adult. Only half a corpse.”

The three men replied in unison, “It’s none of our business!”

“That’s all the bones we had when they were given to us.”

“That’s all we got!”

An incomplete corpse… Why did they bury an incomplete corpse in Swamp Ruin 1’s laboratory ruins? As Jiang Baimian thought, Shang Jianyao suddenly pointed at a certain spot in the crater and asked, “What’s that?”

Under a pile of concrete was a palm-sized, black, rectangular object.

‘The tallest Ruin Hunter glanced at it and said, “It was given by the employer. He told us to bury it with the pile of bones. We forgot to pick it up.”

Shang Jianyao quickly looked at Long Yuehong and said with abnormal anticipation, “Go get it.”

Will it be different if I get it? Long Yuehong criticized inwardly.

This was business, so he didn’t refuse. He jumped into the hole and bent down to pick up the item.

Under the dim starlight, he realized that it was a name tag made of soft plastic.

He then flipped over the name tag and looked at its front.

Under the transparent plastic film was a yellow identification document. On the identification surface was a name: “Du Shaochong.”