Embers Ad Infinitum

"Really?" Long Yuehong blurted out. He didn't feel surprised; instead, he was shocked.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Shang Jianyao clapped for an unknown person.

Gitis glanced at them, not understanding why they had such a reaction.

They were the ones asking, but they looked like they wanted to stuff their ears when they heard that there were useful clues.

Knowing that this group of people was mysterious and strange, she suppressed her doubts and recalled. "That avatar was the person you encountered on the mountain where you previously helped Aester escort the goods. Back then, he was hunting a beast. He was just about to greet him when he suddenly felt suffocated. His vision turned black, and he was close to suffocation. Just as he was about to faint, this feeling suddenly disappeared—so did the person.

"In the subsequent years, Aester's subordinates also discovered traces of human activity in the forest around the winery. And it happened more than once."

"How are you sure that it's traces of human activity and not Heartless activity?" the honest Shang Jianyao asked.

Gitis replied very bluntly, "It can't be determined."

This prevented Shang Jianyao from finding an opportunity to press on.

"Thank you. This information is very important to us." Jiang Baimian thanked Gitis on behalf of the Old Task Force and ended the topic.

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As they left Gitis's house and walked to the jeep, Long Yuehong looked at Jiang Baimian and hesitantly asked, "Team Leader, what should we do next?"

Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment before replying, "No matter what, we have to search the mountain range which Gitis mentioned. If it were any other matter, I definitely would've made you guys stay as far away as possible and not get involved in these coincidences. However, this involves the company's future and everyone's safety. We have to take this risk."

"That's right." Long Yuehong agreed sincerely. He made a decision before Bai Chen's reaction.

Bai Chen said, "Maybe that's why those coincidences befell us."

"This is fate's arrangement." Shang Jianyao had an expectant expression.

Genava moved his metal neck. "This reminds me of an ancient saying: No matter how many stand in my way, I will forge ahead fearlessly."

This inexplicably made Long Yuehong's blood pump with adrenaline.

After the team came to an agreement, Shang Jianyao and the others didn't delay any further. They took advantage of the fact that it was still early and headed straight for the mine-filled mountain.

After arriving near Aester's private winery, Jiang Baimian pushed open the door and alighted. She then said to her team members, "We'll split into two teams and search the forest. Old Ge, follow Little White and Little Red. Bring FECA along and pay attention to their situation at all times."

"No problem." As a smart bot, Genava wasn't afraid of the Arbiter of Fate's domain ability to affect breathing or the heart.

Qin Ke's identity as an Arbiter of Fate domain Awakened was inferred by the Old Task Force from the End Year City Elder's description and the experiences of Gitis's avatar.

With Old Ge accompanying Long Yuehong and Bai Chen, Jiang Baimian felt rather at ease. She didn't waste her breath and adjusted the auxiliary chip's preset conditions before leading Shang Jianyao—no, following Shang Jianyao—into the forest on the right.

The two of them symbolically held the Berserker assault rifle and walked through the woods.

This place was deep in the mountains. Red pine trees and other cold-resistant plants stood tall, almost blocking out the sky. As a result, it became abnormally dim.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao had outstanding eyesight. As they carefully observed the area ahead, they seriously sensed the surrounding human consciousnesses and bioelectric signals.

In this silence, time passed minute by minute. After half an hour, the two of them discovered some traces of human activity.

As for whether they were normal humans or Heartless, it was unknown.

Following the traces, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao changed their route and walked toward a cliff. It was filled with vegetation, and there were almost no natural paths.

"There are no snakes here." Shang Jianyao kicked the grass in front of him, his thoughts elsewhere.

Jiang Baimian was long accustomed to such a state and casually said, "There might not be any mutated species that are relatively resistant to the cold…"

Before she could finish her sentence, her gaze turned cold as she pointed the muzzle ahead. "There's a cave there."

Behind the array of trees, beside a large number of weeds, and on a vegetation-covered rock wall, there was a black cave.

This place was rather hidden. Not only was it deep in the uninhabited forest, but there were also protruding rocks that prevented line of sight from many directions. If not for the fact that Jiang Baimian believed there was a high chance of finding clues and repeatedly observed the area, she might've missed it.

"There's no human consciousness," Shang Jianyao immediately replied.

Jiang Baimian nodded. "There are no bioelectric signals that match human characteristics either."

As she spoke, she held the Berserker assault rifle in her left hand and made her free hand remove the flashlight hanging from her belt.

She was in no rush to enter the cave, nor did she stop Shang Jianyao from jumping in. She stood seven to eight meters away from the cave entrance and looked inside.

More traces of human activity were found in the area illuminated by natural light in the cave. Jiang Baimian approached step by step and switched on the flashlight, illuminating the darkness deep inside.

Suddenly, she stopped. She saw a white skeleton sitting against a stone wall deep in the cave.

The corpse wore a tattered black robe.

"Could this be Qin Ke?" Shang Jianyao asked.

"We can't rule out that possibility," Jiang Baimian replied rather cautiously.

Shang Jianyao immediately raised his voice. "You died a tragic death! We came late!"

Jiang Baimian ignored the noise beside her and directly ordered, "Let's go in and check."

Shang Jianyao couldn't wait any longer and jumped into the cave with a whoosh.

Jiang Baimian slowly followed behind him, guarding against any possible accidents.

"Dead for more than two years…" Shang Jianyao came to the corpse and squatted down.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and didn't interrupt his feedback.

"There's no sign of broken bones…" Shang Jianyao reported word by word.

Finally, he picked up something from the rock beside him. "There's a recording pen."

A recording pen… Jiang Baimian's forehead twitched. This made her thoughts run wild.

"The item itself doesn't contain an Awakened's power. As for the contents, we can't be sure." Shang Jianyao dutifully checked.

Jiang Baimian nodded. "Let Old Ge listen to it later."

After searching the cave for a while and not finding any other clues, the two of them informed Genava, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen to meet up at the cave.

Genava's autopsy results were similar to Shang Jianyao's, but he confirmed that the deceased was Ashlandic.

The probability of encountering Ashlandics in the White Knights' sphere of influence was very low to begin with, so there was no other possibility for an Ashlandic corpse to appear in this deep forest. According to this, the Old Task Force preliminarily determined that this was the person Gitis's avatar had encountered back then.

That person was suspected to be End Year City's former Grand Elder, Qin Ke.

Jiang Baimian got Shang Jianyao to hand the recording pen to Genava. "Old Ge, walk in front of the team later and listen to the recording pen's content. Tell us if there's any hidden power when we return to the car."

"No problem." Genava never declined.

Just like that, the Old Task Force left the forest one after another and returned to the jeep.

After sitting back in the car, Genava returned the recording pen to Jiang Baimian. "I didn't discover any abnormal fluctuations. I've already transcribed the corresponding content into my storage module."

Genava paused, and the red glow in his eyes flickered violently. "The words recorded are a little like a lunatic's ravings, but they also reveal very important information that can resolve your doubts."

Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Shang Jianyao straightened their backs.

Jiang Baimian took a deep breath and quietly nodded at Genava.

Genava began to play his transcription—this was definitely safe.

The empty portion that was mixed with static quickly passed when a slightly hoarse male voice sounded. "I'm Du Heng. There are some things I have to record: None of the Kalendarium can be trusted!"

1

As the Old Task Force members' eyelids twitched, the sound came to an abrupt end. Following that was a long stretch of seemingly endless silence.

"There's more." Genava quickly gave a hint to prevent Shang Jianyao from losing patience.

After another minute or two, the male voice sounded again. "I'm Du Heng. I know some very terrifying things…"

At this point, the sound disappeared again. Only the static proved that Genava didn't stop broadcasting.

Jiang Baimian looked up at Genava beside her.

Genava explained, "My analysis tells me that Qin Ke—who calls himself Du Heng—wanted to record it time and time again but was interrupted by something. What you heard was actually made up of several recording sessions."

Just as Genava had said, a few subsequent recordings that didn't sound like a lunatic's ravings were played. "I'm Du Heng. I might not live long…"

"I'm Du Heng. The apocalypse has never ended; the Old World's destruction is only the beginning!"

"I'm Du Heng; I'm not Du Heng…"

Just as Long Yuehong was considering rushing Old Ge to fast-forward, the slightly hoarse male voice sounded in fear. "I'm Du Heng. The Ashlands I see is a large ranch, and what's reared here is food for the Kalendarium! The Kalendarium feed on human consciousness!"