Embers Ad Infinitum

Facing the dream-like mist behind the door, Shang Jianyao walked in without any hesitation.

What greeted his eyes was a small room—it appeared to be a meeting room. There was a long white table in the middle and more than ten chairs from the same set around it. On the left was a white wall and a brown door, and on the right was a row of windows. However, it was pitch-black outside, and nothing could be seen.

As Shang Jianyao looked around, a figure appeared on every chair.

Their faces—both men and women—were blurry. In front of them were portable computers or notebooks with fountain pens.

"A meeting…" Shang Jianyao walked over happily and tried to join.

At this moment, a man stood up and walked to the front of the conference table, projecting the content on his computer to the screen. The next second, he said in Ashlandic, "We can see that these two chiral molecules exhibit completely different biological activity…"

Shang Jianyao was stunned. He opened his mouth but failed to interject.

For the rest of the meeting, the figures took turns speaking and engaged in intense discussions. However, Shang Jianyao—who had always been eager to participate in such activities—seemed to turn into a wooden dummy as he stood beside the long white table in a daze.

After an unknown period of time, he screamed and rushed to the door of the meeting room. But no matter how he slammed or kicked, the door didn't budge. It was as if it was welded to the wall.

Meeting with failure, Shang Jianyao retreated a distance and conjured a grenade launcher before pulling the trigger at the door.

Boom!

In the violent explosion, the door of the conference room remained intact.

The more Shang Jianyao fought, the braver he became. He tried all kinds of methods, but he failed to break out.

Throughout the entire process, the figures around the conference table didn't react at all. They continued to discuss academic issues.

Shang Jianyao panted heavily and covered his ears as he left Room 205 via the original route he took.

…

The next morning, Jiang Baimian asked Shang Jianyao while preparing breakfast, "Did you explore Room 205 last night?"

She didn't avoid mentioning this in front of Du Heng. Instead, she wanted to use a frank attitude to exchange for a chance to fleece him—no, seek guidance.

"I've explored it." Shang Jianyao had a pained and terrified expression. "It was horrifying—extremely horrifying. It's the most horrifying room I've ever seen!"

"What did you encounter?" Jiang Baimian found him active as usual—he didn't seem to have suffered any serious negative effects.

Shang Jianyao replied as if he had seen a ghost, "Those people in the dream were having an academic discussion!"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Jiang Baimian asked in confusion. Could it involve some terrifying, bloody, and cruel experiments?

Shang Jianyao's face was filled with grief. "The terrifying thing is that I don't understand it at all! They spoke Ashlandic, and it's the more common kind, but I didn't understand anything at all. I couldn't participate!"

Horrifying, absolutely horrifying!

The corners of Jiang Baimian's mouth twitched indiscernibly. "Can you repeat what they said? Whatever you still remember."

"I don't even understand anything, so how can I remember the content?" Shang Jianyao looked troubled. "I only remember chiral molecules, left-handed chirality, right-handed chirality, polarized light, biological activity, drugs…"

He described the overall scene in the meeting room as well.

Jiang Baimian nodded in thought. "This is biomedical content. It's normal for an electronics major like you not to understand."

Before she could continue, Shang Jianyao looked at Du Heng, who was sitting on a rock and waiting for breakfast. "Teacher Du Heng, how do you think we should clear or explore such a dream?"

Du Heng smiled and said, "How can you be sure that it's a dream and not a psychological trauma?"

Because it's a Kalendaria's room… Jiang Baimian muttered inwardly.

Shang Jianyao didn't have any trouble explaining as he directly said, "Just treat it as a dream."

Du Heng's question seemed to be a passing remark in which he didn't care for an answer at all. He smiled and said, "According to the scene you described, there are only two ways to clear or continue forward. You either find a way of opening the door or joining the discussion and pointing out the mistakes in the academic exchanges; otherwise, help them solve their problems."

"I tried, but the door couldn't be opened!" Shang Jianyao revealed a horrified expression. "And I don't understand what they were discussing!"

Since he didn't understand, he definitely couldn't find a mistake or help resolve the problem. To Shang Jianyao, this was equivalent to being blind.

"This isn't something I can resolve. I only know the words you mentioned just now," Du Heng consoled. "At most, I'll change rooms. There aren't many things in the Mind Corridor, but there are rooms everywhere."

"No." Shang Jianyao shook his head firmly. "That room is very important."

Jiang Baimian deliberated for a moment before saying, "I have some knowledge in biomedical research. Why don't you listen in every day and memorize the corresponding content? Pass it to me, and I'll see what they're discussing."

"What if the content of their conversations is different every time?" Shang Jianyao asked.

Jiang Baimian frowned. "Having different biomedical questions every time? Do you think Room 205's owner is a three-year-old who keeps asking why?"

Furthermore, why would February's Kalendaria, Dawn, dream of such a scene? Before the Old World was destroyed, his body of descent was an expert in biomedical science?

With Du Heng beside her, Jiang Baimian didn't directly mention that it was Dawn's room.

At this moment, Du Heng smiled and said, "My experience is that the corresponding dream in the Mind Room is different every time because everyone's encounters are different every day. But if it's a long-term dream, its content will be repetitive and circular. You don't have to worry about hearing different academic discussions the next time you enter. After a few times, it will loop back to the beginning."

An expert who had entered the New World and was in a deep sleep in reality would have dreams that continued for a long time.

Shang Jianyao said sadly, "What if I can't tell if it's repeated? It's not like I can understand anything! Moreover, I can't remember so much at once."

This was the sorrow of being 'illiterate.'

Jiang Baimian exhaled and said, "Do it one step at a time."

"Yes, take it slow. There's no rush," Du Heng suggested.

After breakfast, Jiang Baimian asked Du Heng, "Teacher Du Heng, can you drive?"

"Yes," Du Heng replied. "But sometimes, it's easier to walk than drive."

Jiang Baimian smiled. "I'll have to trouble you to drive later then, Teacher Du Heng. I'll navigate so that he can catch up on his sleep."

The 'he' was referring to Shang Jianyao, who had been on duty for the past few hours before dawn.

"You do the navigation?" Shang Jianyao had a terrified expression.

Jiang Baimian gritted her teeth. "I'm only telling Teacher Du Heng the target's location and the corresponding coordinates. As for how to drive, it's up to Teacher Du Heng."

"No problem." Du Heng smiled and ended the argument.

In the following week, the jeep drove very slowly. The distance it traveled every day was limited.

As for Shang Jianyao, he entered Dawn's dream time and time again. He 'memorized' the content of the discussion bit by bit and brought it into reality.

His luck wasn't bad—that dream kept repeating the same academic question.

Seeing that the Eighth Research Institute's headquarters wasn't far away, Shang Jianyao finally completed his mission.

While resting, Jiang Baimian—who had obtained the last piece of the puzzle—held the stack of paper and nodded slightly. "I already know what problem they're discussing. They were developing a drug that could penetrate the blood-brain barrier. I suspect it's for the treatment of some chronic neurodegenerative diseases, and they were stumped at that point. The point involved is…"

"Oh, oh, oh." Shang Jianyao nodded repeatedly with an expression that said: "I understand completely."

Jiang Baimian hadn't discussed professional matters in a long time, so she spoke to her heart's content and gave a long speech. Finally, she concluded, "The company has actually done research on this problem, and it has been resolved. Although there's still a long way to go before the successful development of that medicine, this trivial problem has indeed been resolved."

She then took out a pen and wrote a few pages on the paper in her hand. Then, she looked at Shang Jianyao and said, "Memorize it and tell the people in the dream."

"Ah?" Shang Jianyao revealed a rare troubled expression.

After a grueling education and relying on the results of genetic enhancement and the combined efforts of ten people, they confidently entered the Mind Corridor and opened the door to Room 205.

He was afraid of forgetting the answer, so the moment he entered the meeting room and saw the figures appear, he immediately began reciting.

After he finished reciting, the meeting room fell into a strange silence.

Everyone broke out into their own activities—they either launched software or used pen and paper to busy themselves with their own matters. They didn't communicate as frequently as they did previously.

After an unknown period of time, they—who had never paid attention to Shang Jianyao—all turned to look at him.

"This idea seems feasible…" said more than one person.

Shang Jianyao was immediately delighted. "There's a reaction, there's a reaction!"

He then praised Jiang Baimian. "Knowledge is indeed power!"