Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 804 Volunteer

In Cliff Village’s public office.

Shang Jianyao woke up and silently assumed a sitting posture. “What’s wrong?” Jiang Baimian—who was on the adjacent bed—was still awake. As it was still early, she planned on sleeping after Shang Jianyao finished checking Room 506.

Shang Jianyao suppressed his voice and mysteriously replied, “Room 506’s owner once believed in Master Zhuang.”

Jiang Baimian muttered to herself, “She’s an Awakened in the Master Zhuang domain. Previously, you said that you had become arrogant, but was it actually a kind of corniness? That’s not right. 506 starts with 5, and it belongs to May’s Kalendaria, Monitor. That’s not right either. An Awakened in the Master Zhuang domain can start with any number from 1 to 12.”

The honest Shang Jianyao shook his head in denial. “No, she used a new ability today that can magnify the urge in my heart at that very moment. This is more like the Monitor domain.”

Jiang Baimian tersely grunted. “In other words, she only believes in Master Zhuang. Then, there are two possibilities: First, she chanced upon the Kalendaria deep in the Fourth Research Institute’s laboratory and slowly realized that ‘He’ was Master Zhuang. She secretly believed in ‘Him.’ Most people in the Fourth Research Institute don’t know this secret.

“The second possibility is that she encountered a religion that believes in Master Zhuang outside or that the corresponding religion carried out secret proselytization in the Fourth Research Institute. After becoming a believer of Master Zhuang, she received a warning from the Kalendaria and discovered the Fourth Research Institute’s hidden secret. She confirmed that the person deep in the laboratory was another Kalendaria. It was also because of Master Zhuang’s protection that she survived the subsequent unforeseen events and escaped.”

At this point, Jiang Baimian made a judgment herself. “I’m more inclined to the latter possibility; this can explain several of our previous questions. Master Zhuang exposed the secret of the Fourth Research Institute’s Kalendaria through Room 506’s owner? Is it a manifestation of the New World’s struggle?”

Shang Jianyao didn’t respond but wore a bitter expression.

Under the relatively bright moonlight outside the window, Jiang Baimian glanced at him. “What’s wrong now?”

Shang Jianyao sighed. “The first time we talked about how the owner of Room 506 survived, her dreamscape changed. I suspected that the eyes of a Kalendaria were about to open. Back then, I felt like I would die. However, Xiaochong and I are friends!”

He looked disappointed.

“Xiaochong is only one of the millions of Master Zhuang,” Jiang Baimian consoled. “The other Master Zhuangs might not find you pleasing.”

“That’s right.” Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. “We even woke up Master Zhuang with a call back then. That’s a deep grudge.” What kind of deep grudge is this? Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and said, “The reason we can come this far and investigate so many secrets is most likely because of the battle between the Kalendarium. What are ‘They’ fighting for? What’s the reason for ‘Their’ contest…”

“Who’s the good person, and who’s the bad person?” Shang Jianyao added. Jiang Baimian laughed. “In such matters, the distinction between good and bad is meaningless. We can only view the victory of the particular Kalendarium as how beneficial it is to humans.”

“Those that benefit humanity are the good ones.” Shang Jianyao was still obsessed with distinguishing between good and bad.

Jiang Baimian didn’t say anything else. She thought for a few seconds before saying, “Go to sleep. We’ll rest in Cliff Village for a few days, giving you enough time to go to Room 506. Strive to obtain more information.”

In dreams, humans were unconscious. It wasn’t like Shang Jianyao could obtain the corresponding answer by asking; this required repeated attempts.

Bang!

Shang Jianyao plopped back down.

The next morning, the Old Task Force was invited to the village chief’s house for breakfast. They then followed the village chief to the storage warehouse for supplies.

Long Yuehong walked behind the team and suppressed his voice as he said to Jiang Baimian, “Team Leader, I thought of a question.”

Jiang Baimian turned around. “What question?”

“What do we use to exchange for supplies?” Long Yuehong asked very seriously.

Along the way, the Old Task Force had never explored ruins or traded for other supplies in Weed City. The jeep only had military exoskeletons, bionic artificial intelligence armor, conventional weapons, corresponding ammunition, various canned food, compressed biscuits, energy bars, and a nuclear warhead. Military exoskeletons, bionic artificial intelligence armor, and nuclear warheads were strategic resources. Unless forced into a corner, it was impossible for the Old Task Force to trade them. Even if they really did, Cliff Village might not dare to accept them.

As for canned food, compressed biscuits, and energy bars, the Old Task Force had already eaten two-thirds of them; there wasn’t much left. Furthermore, they wanted to replenish such supplies, so it was meaningless to exchange using them unless they only wanted to change the variety.

The Old Task Force didn’t prepare many conventional weapons and corresponding ammunition. They had just enough for their own use.

Jiang Baimian laughed when she heard that. “We swiped cards when we entered the village. We can naturally use contribution points to trade supplies here.”

“D-didn’t you say that they only give them a sealed data pack that can only verify the electronic card’s authenticity and the employee photo?” Long Yuehong expressed his confusion.

Jiang Baimian smiled. “That’s right. Payment here won’t use your original contribution points; instead, it will generate an extra debit charge. When we return to the company and submit the report, the higher-ups will verify the corresponding expenses and help you zero them out.

“Cliff Village will receive the corresponding credit. This can be used as contribution points to buy supplies from the company’s caravans.”

“I see.” Long Yuehong finally understood.

Although the equipment in Cliff Village didn’t have the right to extract most of the data in the electronic card, new data could be written into

it.

At this moment, Bai Chen had a question. “There are also people in Cliff Village who know computers and programming. Without supervision, aren’t they free to write however many contribution points are needed?”

This allowed them to fleece the company.

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up as if he wanted to do so.

In order not to expose his identity, the Old Task Force’s specialist in this area-Genavakept wearing a robe and shoes and didn’t dare to speak.

“No.” Jiang Baimian shook her head. “Any team that uses contribution points to complete the transaction here has to keep a tab. When they return, they’ll submit it to the higher-ups, which will be used to compare with the data in the electronic card. After the company tabulates the contribution points, they know how many contribution points we’ve spent in Cliff Village. If it’s excessive, the company will definitely send someone to investigate.”

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao to raise a question, Jiang Baimian added, “However, this can’t prevent the teams that come to Cliff Village to resupply and the people here from colluding with each other to chalk up fake figures and obtain some benefits. But you can’t expect too much of it. With Cliff Village being far away from the company, it’s impossible to avoid all the problems with the current technology. It can only be said that they will be exposed and investigated collectively. Also, many teams will forever stay in Icefield after resupplying here. The data can’t be sent back to the company…”

“Louder.” Shang Jianyao had an expression that said: “I didn’t hear you clearly.”

Jiang Baimian glanced at the village chief walking in front of her and ignored him.

After 20 to 30 years of stable development, the population of Cliff Village increased significantly. The originally empty scenic area gradually became filled. It took the Old Task Force a while to reach the storage warehouse.

“The upper floor is a standard warehouse, and the bottom floor is the cold storage.” The village chief pointed at the building in front of them and said, “The supplies list is in the lobby. Feel free to select the items yourselves.”

“Alright.” Jiang Baimian took a few steps forward and stood beside the village chief.

The village chief then pointed at the middle-aged man who was enjoying the breeze at the warehouse’s entrance. “Old Zhao used to be a volunteer like you. After he returned, he was given a relatively easy job according to the company’s rules.”

Old Zhao looked about the same age as the village chief, but his hair was much sparser. The wrinkles on his face were also relatively obvious, and he was wrapped in a thick cotton coat.

In a place close to Icefield, the weather was still a little cold even in April.

“What project did you participate in?” Shang Jianyao didn’t hide his curiosity at all.

Old Zhao had heard that people from Pangu Biology had come to the village last night, and the people in front of him were handsome men and beautiful women. Therefore, he easily guessed the Old Task Force’s identity.

He stood up and smiled. “Something about human resistance to the cold.”

“Why does the company keep doing such experiments?” Shang Jianyao looked like he was ‘knowledgeable.’

Jiang Baimian smiled. “What was your experiment like?”

Old Zhao revealed a reminiscing expression. “They brought us deep into Icefield the first time. They only gave us a single layer of clothes, and I almost froze to death. Fortunately, we were rescued…

“They gave us thick clothes the second time, but I still couldn’t take it. It was so cold…

“On the third trip, we went further south. The temperature increased significantly. They tried giving us single-layer clothes, thick clothes, and the kind of cotton jacket I’m wearing, but it didn’t work either. People still suffered problems from the cold…”

Old Zhao rambled on, making Jiang Baimian and the others confused.

What’s the company’s goal in this experiment? Is it really to test human resistance to the cold in various situations?