Embers Ad Infinitum

Upon hearing Spant ask if they had Official Hunter badges, Shang Jianyao—who had also come to the door—revealed a troubled expression. "We do, but…"

Spant didn't sense the meaning behind his words and immediately interrupted, "That would do."

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and signaled for Genava to make way. She then said to Spant, "Let's talk inside."

Spant looked around and saw that there wasn't any commotion from the residents on the same floor. With a quick step, he entered the Old Task Force's suite.

He smiled and praised, "You guys are indeed experienced and careful."

"Those who haven't died after being Ruin Hunters for several years have such vigilance." Jiang Baimian casually patronized him. "What kind of mission is it, and how much is the payment? There's no need to go into detail; we just need you to give us a general summary. We can't agree to your proposal without knowing anything, right? Can you be at ease if we really agreed that easily?"

Those who didn't have a certain level of understanding of the mission and chose to participate were either out of their minds and couldn't care less or weren't concerned about the mission but the client and the other Ruin Hunters.

Spant nodded. "I understand. This mission is actually relatively simple, but there are certain risks. We need to go somewhere in the nearby mountains and cooperate with the client's subordinates to escort a batch of supplies back. On the way, we might encounter bandits or people hired by their competitors. We can't rule out the possibility of a battle.

"As for the payment, it's a total of three Grand Knight gold coins. Although I'm alone and you have four people, this is my next mission. I also have to be in charge of contacting the client and dealing with his subordinates. Therefore, it won't be a problem for me to take one and you guys to take two, right?"

Three Grand Knight gold coins for five people? They also have subordinates? The batch of supplies that needed to be escorted isn't cheap… Yes, there's a high chance of contraband items if they aren't using the White Knights' official channels despite being worried that their competitors will get people to rob them in the wilderness.

/ please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M.

"A very reasonable plan.

"Heh heh, the payment is indeed quite generous. But if this mission takes days, it won't be that attractive."

The Old Task Force's initial plan was to stay in Gesterbourg for two weeks to investigate the Eighth Research Institute and Shang Jianyao's father's team. Once they exceeded two weeks and didn't gain anything, it was impossible for them to continue indefinitely. They would choose to leave and head to Ceningmis to carry out a new round of exploration.

When the time came, they might be able to discover some clues in Ceningmis, resulting in the expediting of the investigation in Gesterbourg.

At present, the Old Task Force needed to eat, drink, and pay for their accommodation and electricity every day. If they were frugal, it would cost them ten Knight silver coins. The payment from such a mission was enough for them to stay on for two weeks with some change to spare.

After discovering some clues regarding the mission regarding the Subhuti figurine and obtaining a certain bounty, Jiang Baimian and the others didn't have to worry about not having enough money to stock up on supplies.

The only problem was that if this mission required them to leave Gesterbourg for a few days, it would mess up their plans, and the cost-benefit ratio would be lowered.

"It will only take four to five hours to go back and forth." Spant didn't mention that cars were needed. As the hotel's receptionist, he knew that the four guests had driven a jeep to Gesterbourg instead of taking the train.

Besides, he could rent a car if he really didn't have one.

"If we hurry, we might even make it back in time for lunch." Shang Jianyao expressed his relief.

He then criticized himself. "That's not right. Doesn't this mean that it saves the client our meal allowance? Lunch is included, right?"

"Yes." Spant had seen many calculative Ruin Hunters, so he wasn't surprised. He added smugly, "I helped everyone get it! We can only fight after we have our fill to deal with any accidents."

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly. "This mission does sound good."

"There's a robot in your team, so this mission won't be difficult at all," Spant interrupted, attempting to secure the participation of these Ruin Hunters.

Jiang Baimian smiled at him and changed the topic. "But we still have other matters to attend to. We might have to wait until the day after tomorrow. Does that work out?"

Spant clearly heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. "No problem. The employer's request is to recruit enough manpower in three days. Shall we register at the guild now?"

"You're still at work," Shang Jianyao reminded sincerely.

Spant blinked. "In the evening then."

Jiang Baimian agreed and sent the Ruin Hunter—who was also a part-time hotel receptionist—away.

Long Yuehong looked at the tightly shut door and said, "Our Hunter Badges have our records. Isn't it inappropriate to have them registered?"

A record with a high bounty.

When the time came, the Hunter's Guild staff and Spant might be terrified.

A team with a bounty of tens of thousands of Oray could easily make others tremble even if they didn't say or do anything. It was easy for words like 'extremely fierce, murderous, and capricious' to automatically surface in their minds.

Shang Jianyao replied righteously, "What does it matter? This is the White Knights, not First City."

"I'm worried that our identities will be exposed and attract the attention of the White Knights and the lurking Eighth Research Institute." Long Yuehong didn't mention that perhaps many Ruin Hunters, driven by greed, would attack them.

This was because the Old Task Force was most likely a windfall for them.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Shang Jianyao clapped—

He praised Long Yuehong, "You've considered everything very thoroughly this time."

He spoke as if he were the team leader.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment before saying, "Register a new Hunter identity with our current looks. Then, get Old Ge to hack into the local guild's system, modify our clearance, and upgrade us to Official Hunters so that we can take on subsequent missions."

"No problem." Genava mimicked Shang Jianyao and thumped his chest.

After settling this matter, the Old Task Force members sat down again and looked at the mission information regarding the Subhuti figurine.

After the exchange was over, Bai Chen pursed her lips and said, "There are no valuable clues."

"There's still something." Jiang Baimian smiled. "For example, the people who came into contact with the ascetic monk say that he didn't look too well and that his physical condition was poor. This matches the outcome of him dying while sitting."

"Hmm…" Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and said, "Everyone, let's just do an open discussion and see if we can trigger some inspiration."

Shang Jianyao was the first to speak. He said with a serious expression, "Dying from the illness might be real, but it can also be disguised."

Long Yuehong cited the information. "The corpse has already been cremated. The Gesterbourg sheriff's assistant and the coroner—who were in charge of this matter—were found by many Ruin Hunters. They have always indicated that the deceased didn't have any external injuries, was poisoned, or have any traces of him being murdered."

Bai Chen tersely acknowledged it. "Although there might be one or two Awakened among so many Ruin Hunters and the corresponding words should be true, we still need to verify them personally."

"I mean…" Shang Jianyao quickly corrected himself. "The ascetic monk did die from a disease, but this disease was caused by an Awakened's ability that leaves no traces."

At this moment, a word surfaced in Long Yuehong's mind: Cardiac Arrest.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly. "Regardless of the situation, from the information, the ascetic monk was sick for a while. Could he sense that he wasn't far from death?"

"It's hard to say," Shang Jianyao retorted. "Why would a person not far from death go to the factory in the middle of the night?"

The information indicated that the investigation found no signs of dragging at the scene or any other footprints.

Long Yuehong tried to guess. "Maybe he made an appointment there, and that person didn't show up?"

"That's a possibility, but nobody knows why the deceased went there or who he was meeting. Three years have passed, and there are no clues in the information." As Shang Jianyao spoke, he chanted a Buddhist proclamation. "Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti. Another possibility is that the monk—who knew that he was about to die—took the initiative to pay respects to the steel-refining furnace in the factory area. Before he passed away, he passed on in front of a symbol of Tathagata."

"Very reasonable." Genava felt that he had been convinced.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment before saying, "Let's first assume that this possibility is true. How will a monk—who is about to die of illness—deal with the Buddhist treasure on him?"

As a folklore scholar, she called the Subhuti figurine a Buddhist treasure to show its importance.

"If it were me," Long Yuehong enthusiastically said, "Without any companions, I would hide the Subhuti figurine somewhere in advance and send a telegram to headquarters to inform them of this matter so that they can retrieve it in time. Yes, it was still lost eventually."

Genava moved his metal neck from side to side. "If that's the case, the information provided by the employer definitely would've included that hidden location. This is a very important clue that can be used to carry out a more effective and targeted investigation."

There was nothing about that in the information.

"Then, I don't understand…" Long Yuehong muttered.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao smiled sinisterly. "Maybe the client isn't the monk's peers."

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly. "Also, why did the ascetic monk come to Gesterbourg, which has a harsh climate, near Icefield when he's in poor health and has a Buddhist treasure? Did he want to expedite his death and lose the Subhuti figurine as quickly as possible?"