Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 814 New Friends

1-100? Then, why were you counting? We’d have already encountered those people before you finished counting! Even though he had joined the Old Task Force for several years, Long Yuehong still couldn’t completely adapt to Shang Jianyao’s style. This was because the other party often came up with new antics.

“Nearly 100 people?” As Jiang Baimian signaled for Bai Chen to slow down the car, she frowned and muttered to herself, “Why would such a large team appear in Icefield?”.

“We’ll know by asking.” Shang Jianyao had an expression that said: “What’s there to worry about?”

These words were written all over his face: If you have any questions, just consult the person involved. How simple is that? We have brothers everywhere!

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “Let’s find a place to observe from afar before considering making contact. Hey, take out your loudspeaker and be prepared to say something. Old Ge, monitor the others’ conditions. If there’s also a Mind Corridor-level Awakened among them, us heading over won’t be able to hide from them.” “Alright!” Shang Jianyao replied excitedly before volunteering. “Old Ge, drive. I’ll sit in the passenger seat; this will make it easier to observe and react.”

Jiang Baimian said in relief, “That’s a good idea, but why must we drive over? Hide the jeep somewhere nearby and let Little White, Little Red, and Old Ge guard it. Wouldn’t it be better for you and me to hide our consciousness and sneak over?”

“That’s right!” Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm.

Jiang Baimian quickly ordered, “Little White, stop the car by the side.”

The Old Task Force quickly split into two teams.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao put on their military exoskeletons, concealed their consciousness, and headed for the target area. They didn’t take the main road and used the snow-covered alleys to circle around to the place where a large number of human consciousnesses had gathered.

Before long, they entered the third floor of a building and looked down.

The first thing they saw were ice stalactites hanging from the half-open windows. Following that was a cleared square without much snow.

There was a memorial monument and a human statue in the square, but they had been seriously eroded. This peppered their surfaces with deformed holes, making them look extremely terrifying.

Around the monument and the human statue were heavy trucks. They had anti-slip tires and surrounded a camp with many RVs.

The plastic cloth used to shelter them from the rain and snow on these trucks had been removed, revealing the empty cargo hold.

In the camp were many RVs and a few SUVs. They were of different colors—black, white, brown, and red-as if they were holding an expo.

At this moment, 50 to 60 humans were gathered around a few bonfires. Their expressions were blank, and they looked at each other silently as if their souls had been extracted.

There were also 30 to 40 people distributed across the different cars based on what Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian sensed.

Every car had people.

“This way of setting up a camp…” Jiang Baimian revealed an expression of reminiscence.

Shang Jianyao was rather excited. “My brothers, Rootless!” Rootless lived in RVs and were accustomed to wandering. Their customs were different from ordinary human ethnicities. Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged it. “This is a little different from the Hometown caravan we’ve seen before. Hometown mainly employs RVs, while this team’s RVs and trucks are evenly split. Besides, Hometown is basically Ashlandic. Most of the people here are of Red River ethnicity.”

“Cousins.” Shang Jianyao corrected his words. He then said in concern, “These Rootless seem to have encountered something and lost their

goods.”

This was his judgment from the empty trucks.

Without waiting for Jiang Baimian’s response, he continued, “As a group that mainly transports goods and does trading, losing their goods means losing their credibility. They could only come to Icefield to search for a quiet place to collectively repent and decide if they should commit suicide…”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Jiang Baimian forcefully interrupted his guess.

It was getting more and more ridiculous!

She looked at Shang Jianyao and chuckled. “I know. You want to go over to ask what happened and show your concern for your cousins.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” Shang Jianyao admitted frankly.

“The problem now is that it’s difficult to determine whether the Rootless are friend or foe.” Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “Take out your loudspeaker and express your kindness.”

The ‘kindness’ of becoming friends.

After obtaining permission, Shang Jianyao immediately took out his blue and white loudspeaker from his tactical backpack.

He had previously tested it before. When exerting influence, the loudspeaker module attached to the military exoskeleton wasn’t as effective as using an independent loudspeaker directly. It seemed like too many turns and complicated circuitry resulted in excessive loss. Of course, this decline was only about 10%. At this distance, it didn’t affect Shang Jianyao from using Thought Guidance on the group of people suspected to be Rootless. He only found it more interesting to shout through the loudspeaker.

“Good morning, everyone.” He politely greeted them in the Red River language. The group of people suspected to be Rootless instantly reacted. They came to their senses one after another and went their separate ways in search of cover. “I know the Hometown caravan and am brothers with Ferlin. They are also Rootless and are active in the vast lands between Weed City and the Gold Coast.” As Shang Jianyao shouted, Jiang Baimian used the binoculars to pay attention to those people.

When they heard ‘Hometown’ and Ferlin, they clearly paused. Some even revealed thoughtful expressions. According to this, Jiang Baimian determined that these people were indeed Rootless. Even if they weren’t, they were closely related to the Rootless.

Shang Jianyao held the loudspeaker and continued, “I like the Rootless very much and am willing to become friends with every Rootless and become siblings…”

After he finished his ‘ramblings,’ the people relaxed. Apart from those who stayed in the cars, the rest gathered by the bonfire again and waved at Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao with a smile.

Shang Jianyao put down the loudspeaker in satisfaction.

“Let’s go over.” Jiang Baimian didn’t say anything else.

The two of them—who were wearing military exoskeletons-easily jumped down from the third floor and arrived at the camp in a few jumps. “How should I address you?” Shang Jianyao pushed up the helmet visor, stretched out his hands, and enthusiastically shook the convoy leader’s hand.

Jiang Baimian—who also propped up her visor -slowed down her breathing because the strong smell of gasoline and diesel greeted her.

“Smith,” replied the Red River man in his fifties with a head full of frost. “What about

you?”

Although he was tall, he was only 1.75 meters tall. But compared to most surface people, he was considered quite tall.

“Zhang Qubing.”

“October Xue.”

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian skillfully gave their aliases in the Red River language.

The blue-eyed Smith asked in surprise, “Zhang Qubing and October Xue—who are wanted by First City?” You Rootless are really well-informed. As expected of nomads who live in vehicles and wander around… Jiang Baimian muttered inwardly. “That’s right. We’re very valuable,” Shang Jianyao replied proudly. The people around him nodded in unison.

They were indeed very valuable, and being valuable often meant that they were very powerful or very dangerous.

Shang Jianyao asked in confirmation, “Are you really Rootless?” “Yes,” Smith admitted frankly. “We just encountered Fer’s Hometown caravan in the Orange Company’s sphere of influence last

year.”

Shang Jianyao nodded. “What’s wrong with you guys?” He pointed at the empty heavy trucks.

Smith revealed a confused and blank expression. “We got a transport job. The cargo owner requested that we transport a large number of supplies to this Ice Ruin, and someone will receive them.

“In the end, we realized this morning that all the supplies were gone—there were plenty of supplies! The people on night duty have no impression of this at all! Neither do we!”

How could a thief casually steal from 20 to 30 heavy trucks and RVs filled with supplies? It was impossible to do so without a convoy with the same number of loading capability.

Furthermore, even with such a convoy, the transfer of supplies took time and effort. It was impossible for the Rootless not to notice.

Therefore, Smith and his people were at a loss for a long time. The only thing they were thankful for was that the vehicles they treated as family and loved ones weren’t lost.

“Oh…” Shang Jianyao first felt sympathy before asking excitedly, “Did you guys all have the same dream?”

You suspect that these Rootless were forced into sleep? Jiang Baimian thoughtfully waited for an answer.

Smith and the others matched it and shook their heads. “The people on night duty remember that they didn’t sleep,” Smith emphasized.

Jiang Baimian thought for a few seconds and asked, “Are you sure the cargo owner wanted you to complete the transaction here?”

Who would come to Icefield to make such a large transaction? Apart from it being well-concealed, it was very inconvenient!

“We’ve confirmed it repeatedly,” Smith replied.

OWI

Shang Jianyao asked in concern, “Did the cargo owner pay you? That’s the point.” “50% down payment. We’d be paid the rest upon returning.” At this point, Smith suddenly revealed a pained expression. He frowned and heaved. “I-I don’t remember the cargo owner’s looks, identity, and address…”

Jiang Baimian’s heart palpitated. “Something actually happened last night, but all of you have forgotten? The corresponding memories were deleted en masse? Besides, this might be what the cargo owner meant by taking ‘receipt.’

Smith and the others looked at each other, unable to answer.

Jiang Baimian didn’t rush him and thought about it. According to our experience dealing with the Anti-intellectualism Church, large-scale memory erasure is an ability only available at the Mind Corridor. Furthermore, it affected nearly 100 people at the same time without leaving any traces. This means that it’s at least the kind that has explored the Mind Corridor’s depths…

A mysterious and suspicious transaction of large supplies… Both parties didn’t want to expose their identities and used very high-level powers… It involves some sensitive supplies, people in sensitive positions, or… At this thought, Jiang Baimian suddenly had a suspect.

That faction was clearly located in Icefield, but it had never made transactions or replenished supplies from the outside world. This resulted in nobody knowing their exact location. Eighth Research Institute!