Embers Ad Infinitum

"But I don't know where they are." Shang Jianyao sighed. "We can infer where Yama Tiger is locked up as long as the New World's spatial structure is normal."

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly. "It's not impossible to infer. Back then, you said that the place where Ceningmis's Kalendaria's Son lived likely overlapped with the tower to a certain extent. With that as a reference, you can determine the café where Flora and Barnard are in the New World.

"Right, the premise is that the phenomenon of overlapping is closer to two pieces of paper stuck together and not another model."

Although Shang Jianyao and Genava didn't see the tower's phantom when they entered Ceningmis for the second time and went to the luxurious apartment where the Kalendaria's Son lived, they only realized that light shone from every floor and every room. However, they could still make a preliminary inference based on their first experience. When they previously entered Ceningmis and sensed the vortex appear and expand, they saw the hazy tower in the direction of the luxurious apartment. In addition, only the tower in the New World had 'lights' on every floor. The other buildings more or less had windows that were mostly ruled by darkness.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and posed a problem, "But Barnard and Flora can't be there drinking coffee all the time."

"We still have plenty of time to wait patiently. Besides, there's still the boss and other customers in the café. You can also try making friends," Jiang Baimian consoled.

Shang Jianyao shook his head. "Many of the New World's Awakened are unfriendly. Some are even starving and want to eat anyone they see."

At this point, he changed the topic. "Even if we want to make friends, we have to wait for someone to be alone to prevent any accidents."

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged it. "Since Flora and Barnard are friendly, the café they frequent should still have some basic order. You can attempt to make contact with the boss. In short, everything depends on your judgment."

She then added, "Try to figure out what to do with your body after your consciousness enters the New World as soon as possible and what to do if you want the latter to enter the New World as well. I've moved your body outside the Eighth Research Institute. I'm afraid things will become irredeemable if there's too much delay."

Shang Jianyao was surprised. "I thought you had already wiped out the zombies."

"They aren't zombies; they're strange Heartless," Jiang Baimian explained helplessly. "Without knowing if there are any Superior Heartless among them and how many there are, I plan on being careful."

At this point, she suddenly came to a realization. "I'm not a deity. I can't finish off so many enemies in just an hour or two by myself!"

"You can do it," Shang Jianyao encouraged.

Jiang Baimian gave up arguing and said, "Figure out the New World as soon as possible and tell me according to the secret code we agreed on."

"Alright," Shang Jianyao agreed readily. He then said worriedly, "What if my body gets hungry?"

"If bad comes to worse, I'll feed you liquid food via intravenous means." Jiang Baimian put on a professional attitude. "Besides, we still have many nutrient shots, enough for you to last for a period of time. This will also compel you to figure out those problems as soon as possible and let me know what to do next…"

As she spoke, she asked in puzzlement, "You can't return to the Ashlands?"

"I can in theory." Shang Jianyao turned around and looked at the pitch-black end of the street. "As long as I return to the place I came in from and pass through the door, I can return to reality. Uh… Those New World powerhouses don't often return to the Ashlands. Perhaps there are some hidden restrictions."

He stroked his chin.

Jiang Baimian nodded.

The Old Task Force had previously guessed that New World powerhouses needed a certain amount of human consciousness as 'fuel' to return to the Ashlands.

Shang Jianyao turned vexed again. "What if my body needs to relieve itself?"

"I'll help you deal with it." Jiang Baimian gritted her teeth. "It's best if you can inform me in advance."

In that case, she only needed to handle the pee and poop without having to frequently change or wash Shang Jianyao's clothes.

The Old Task Force didn't have plenty of resources in this regard when outfield!

"How can I bring myself to burden you with that?" Although Shang Jianyao said that, his face was filled with an expression that said: "I'm counting on you."

Jiang Baimian rolled her eyes and steered the topic back on track. "Can you still enter your mind room?"

"I haven't tried it. I'll give it a try later." Shang Jianyao revealed an eager and impatient expression.

Jiang Baimian asked, "How much have your abilities improved?"

This was definitely not a sensitive topic for the New World. The Old Task Force had previously acquired information on it, so Jiang Baimian asked very directly.

Smack!

Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. "I haven't checked!"

He had actually forgotten about this.

After dozens of seconds, Shang Jianyao raised his right hand and started counting with his fingers. "I've grasped all the abilities in the field of Thought. Apart from the original Inference Clowning and Thought Implantation, there's also Temporary Dementia, Thought Disorder, Extreme Impulse, Mathematical Idiot, Traitor, Moron Halo, Subconscious Thought, and Thought Extraction…"

Subconscious Thought… Jiang Baimian's heart palpitated as she asked, "Subconscious Thought can add a special state to a certain portion of memories, causing the viewer to be unknowingly affected?"

"That's one of the applications," Shang Jianyao replied truthfully.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said, "From the looks of it, Teacher Du Heng is an Awakened in Master Zhuang's domain…"

At this point, she couldn't help but sigh. "Was the Teacher Du Heng we encountered real or fake? Or is Teacher Du Heng's essence actually an illusion, a manifestation of a portion of some consciousness?"

"I don't know." The honest Shang Jianyao chose to shake his head.

"What about the range of your abilities?" Jiang Baimian forced herself not to consider Du Heng's problem for the time being.

Shang Jianyao shook his head again. "I'm not sure; I've never tried. But I feel like I'm being suppressed in the New World. Apart from some of my abilities that are still effective in places where sound can clearly reach, and I can rely on radio stations to expand my range, the others don't seem to exceed ten meters. It's like I'm back at Star Cluster Hall.

"I'll tell you the exact number after I have a target and give it a try. Hmm, if it were in the Ashlands, it would definitely be in units of kilometers."

Jiang Baimian replied thoughtfully, "The New World should be under the Kalendarium's control…"

That was why there were all kinds of restrictions.

At this point in the 'chat,' Jiang Baimian felt that communicating in such a manner had exhausted her mentally. She could only end the conversation and schedule a communication in the evening.

After retracting her extended consciousness, she exhaled, rubbed her temples, and leaned back in the driver's seat.

After recovering a little, Jiang Baimian muttered to herself, "After it turns dark, I shall hide my human consciousness, wear the military exoskeleton, and use the night vision system to explore the New World in reality."

She wasn't worried about the high-performance battery consumption for the time being because the Eighth Research Institute still had power.

…

Pangu Biology, underground building, 495th floor, Room 11 Zone C.

After the inspection, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen changed into casual clothes and knocked on their parents' door with fruits bought from the Supplies Allocation Market.

After getting married, Long Yuehong no longer opened the door and entered like before.

"Who is it?" Gu Hong's voice sounded. At the same time, she opened the door.

The next second, Gu Hong's gaze froze.

This only lasted for a short period of time. She raised her right hand, wiped her eyes, and smiled. "You guys finished the mission?"

"That's right," Long Yuehong replied with a smile.

Upon hearing his voice, Long Dayong, Long Zhigu, and Long Aihong—who happened to be at home—stood up and walked to the door.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, where did you go this time?" Long Aihong asked with great interest.

After sizing up her eldest son, Gu Hong glanced at her daughter and said angrily, "Ask after they enter the house. Why are you blocking the door?"

Long Aihong ignored her and took two steps forward with a smile before grabbing Bai Chen's hand. "Sister-in-law, sit beside me!"

After they took their seats, Gu Hong signaled Long Dayong with her eyes.

Long Dayong immediately cleared his throat and looked at his son. "You don't need to go out into the field anymore, right?"

Upon seeing his parents' expectant expressions, Long Yuehong smiled and said, "More or less. It's considered semi-internal duty now. We only need to patrol the area outside the company at fixed intervals."

Phew.

Gu Hong immediately heaved a sigh of relief. She had also heard of such missions—they basically weren't dangerous, just mundane.

She couldn't help but smile. "That's good, that's good."

Long Aihong took the opportunity to ask, "Brother, Sister-in-law, will you be promoted again? How many contribution points can you get?"

"They just returned. How can the company give out the rewards so quickly?" Gu Hong replied on her son's behalf.

The atmosphere became lively as the Long family discussed this problem.

Long Yuehong listened quietly with a smile. He didn't interrupt and only felt peace and joy in his heart.

He turned his head to glance at Bai Chen and realized that his wife was in a similar state.

If only those things didn't exist… Long Yuehong couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

…

New World, under the street lamps.

Shang Jianyao tried to enter his mind room. With a whoosh, his figure disappeared from the dark street that only had one street lamp and appeared in a modified Room 131.

I can return directly… Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up as he walked to the door.

He stretched out his right palm, grabbed the handle, and tried to open the door, but the door didn't budge.

It's sealed? Only by returning to reality and entering the room can it be opened? Shang Jianyao stroked his chin.

He didn't waste any time. He returned to the New World and continued walking along the dark and silent street.

After arriving at an intersection, he saw a beam of light ahead.