Embers Ad Infinitum

Shang Jianyao happily walked to the classic-looking building and planned on knocking on the door. He had always been polite.

Just as he approached the door, a slightly sharp female voice sounded from the only lit room in the entire building. "Don't come in!"

This was spoken in the Red River language.

The voice sounded far into the dark and quiet street, bringing out a hollowness to it.

"Why?" Shang Jianyao asked in confusion. He stopped by the street and looked up at the lit window on the second floor.

On the painted glass, a faint yellow light quietly effused, but it didn't outline a figure.

The slightly sharp female voice sounded again, but it became a little calmer. "This is my home. Nobody is allowed in."

"Oh, oh, oh." Shang Jianyao readily agreed.

At this moment, only the street lamps beside him and the building's second floor had light to dispel the darkness.

"Then, can I ask a few questions?" Shang Jianyao made a new request. "I just came here, so there are many things I don't understand."

He was rather honest and didn't hide anything.

There was silence behind the empty window on the second floor. The woman didn't agree or refuse.

Shang Jianyao took it that she had tacitly agreed to his request and asked, "Is this the New World?"

"Yes." The female voice passed through the window and entered the empty and dead street.

Shang Jianyao inquired, "Then, are you a New World-level Awakened or a native here?"

The woman fell silent for a few seconds. "There are no natives here."

"Were they all wiped out?" The honest Shang Jianyao probed.

This time, the woman didn't answer.

Shang Jianyao then asked, "Is everyone here as friendly as you?"

The female voice sounded in the quiet 'night' again. "I'm not as friendly as you think I am if you had barged into this building. In the New World, you have to avoid the starving ones and not broach the topic regarding the price of others."

"I thought the New World doesn't have hunger or diseases?" Shang Jianyao was shocked.

The female voice fell silent for a moment before saying, "You've already entered the New World, so you should know what I mean by hunger."

"But I'm not hungry at all." Shang Jianyao expressed his doubts.

The faint yellow light from the second-floor window flickered, and the female voice said, "It seems like you still have your body. Furthermore, you haven't encountered any Kalendarium or relatively strong Awakened."

"From the looks of it, it's a good thing to keep the body intact?" Shang Jianyao stroked his chin.

"Not necessarily," the female voice replied without going into detail.

Shang Jianyao's thoughts raced as he changed the question. "The core here is that tower?"

"Yes." The female voice paused and said, "The Kalendarium live there."

Her tone revealed unconcealed fear.

"Is that so?" Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. "Then, I have to do my registration at the tower."

The light at the second-floor window didn't flicker, nor did any sound come out. After a while, the female voice anxiously said, "Stop asking. I can't answer any other questions."

"Who said so?" Shang Jianyao retorted. "I also plan to ask if your price is cowardice or vigilance. Don't you know what your price is?"

At the window on the second floor, the lights shook violently a few times, but nobody appeared.

Shang Jianyao didn't seem to realize how unwelcomed he was at all. He continued asking, "Then, why don't you turn off the lights? That way, nobody would know that you are hiding in the room. Could it be that the darkness will devour you without the light?"

The female voice sounded from behind the window. "The light is a manifestation of your mind and consciousness. It will only go out when you die."

Shang Jianyao came to a realization and clenched his right fist to punch his left palm again. "It's no wonder the street lamps light up wherever I go. Everything from before was switched off! I thought the Kalendarium were being hospitable and mindful about energy conservation."

The female voice didn't respond.

Shang Jianyao asked again, "Then, what dangers are hidden in the darkness here?"

"There's no danger." The female voice sounded a little impatient.

Shang Jianyao gave a terse acknowledgment. "Then, is there day? It can't always be night, right?"

"There's no day," the female voice replied quickly.

"Why?" Shang Jianyao was confused.

The female voice sounded sharp again. "I don't know!"

She fell silent, and only the light reflected from the window indicated that she was still there.

Shang Jianyao asked a few more questions, but the other party didn't answer. He could only wave his hand and say, "I'll go to the tower then. Talk to you later."

He continued along the dark and silent street. The street lamps followed his footsteps, lighting up one after another before extinguishing one after another. Only one lamp remained lit the entire time.

On the second floor of the building behind him, the dim yellow light quietly illuminated a small area.

Shang Jianyao looked at the tower after taking a few steps, his thoughts unknown.

Suddenly, he clapped his hands and muttered to himself, "I still remember what the tower looked like from where Yama Tiger was locked up… We should be able to determine which floor of the building he's on through some analysis… Should we visit Yama Tiger first and hear how he describes the New World?"

Shang Jianyao was very proactive and did whatever came to his mind. He immediately changed his route and walked in the general direction.

…

On the mountain road outside the Eighth Research Institute, Jiang Baimian parked the jeep in a hidden spot beside the road. She then looked at Shang Jianyao in the passenger seat and considered what to do next.

The most important thing now was that she had to establish a connection with the New World's Shang Jianyao as soon as possible and obtain the corresponding feedback. Without the information, it was very difficult for her to determine her future plans.

As for how to 'contact' Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian had already come up with a plan. Back then, Shang Jianyao had communicated with the sleeping Yama Tiger to a certain extent!

Jiang Baimian exhaled, stretched out her mind, and connected with Shang Jianyao's consciousness.

Her vision abruptly turned pitch-black, and only a faint glow flickered in the distance.

The faint light gradually lit up and condensed into a street lamp. Shang Jianyao—who was wearing a gray camouflage uniform—stood under the lamp.

"Save me!" Shang Jianyao waved his right hand happily.

Jiang Baimian was shocked. "Why are you shouting that?"

Perhaps it was because there was a thick barrier between the two parties, but her voice sounded very soft. Therefore, she repeated it loudly.

Shang Jianyao smiled. "I'm imitating Yama Tiger."

"…" Jiang Baimian fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "You still seem to be in a good mental state."

She didn't waste any time and immediately asked, "How is it? Was our guess true?"

She didn't mention the exact matter, worried that it would trigger any 'sensitive words' from the surveillance and cause Shang Jianyao to be harmed.

The Salvation Army powerhouses who tried to reveal the New World's secrets didn't end up well.

"Yes." Shang Jianyao nodded seriously.

In the New World, Awakened could absorb the target's human consciousness to supplement themselves.

Jiang Baimian couldn't help but sigh and ask, "Are there Heartless in the New World?"

"Haven't encountered any," Shang Jianyao replied truthfully.

From the looks of it, those undead Heartless belong to the real New World? Then, I can only infiltrate and investigate by myself in the future… Jiang Baimian frowned slightly. "Where do you think the New World's secret is most likely hidden?"

"That tower! The Kalendarium live inside!" Shang Jianyao replied excitedly.

The Kalendarium live in the New World's tower… What about the tower in reality? Jiang Baimian's thoughts raced without stopping.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao rambled, "This place is still quite different from reality. The tower is very tall, and there are lights everywhere. The architectural style isn't that uniform either. There are classical buildings with the Red River style, compound buildings like those in the ancient Ashlandic style, and high-rise buildings from the Old World…"

The small city in reality had the style of the buildings a decade or two before the Old World's destruction, but it didn't have many skyscrapers.

"Hmm." Jiang Baimian didn't know what to make of this.

Shang Jianyao took the initiative to say, "Every lamp here represents the corresponding Awakened's mind and consciousness. They won't go out unless they die."

At this point, he clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. "I get it! Back then, Yama Tiger only had a faint glow. It was as if he was lying in the darkness because his consciousness was almost gone!"

So that's how it is… Jiang Baimian nodded as well.

Shang Jianyao continued, "I plan on finding Yama Tiger first and visiting him to see what he has to say."

Jiang Baimian frowned again. "Yama Tiger was locked up. Aren't you afraid of infuriating the person who imprisoned him? That might be a Kalendaria."

Without giving Shang Jianyao a chance to find a reason, she suggested, "Find Flora, Barnard, and the other friendly New World powerhouses first and figure out the corresponding situation before considering what to do next."