Embers Ad Infinitum

"I'm interested too." Shang Jianyao expressed that there was nothing strange about this. "It's just that those books look very professional. I'll study them when I'm free."

Jiang Baimian didn't care about his response at all and continued, "Combining the information we gathered previously, I suspect that the awakening of humans and the forbidden zone of gods are products of the Old World's scientific studies pertaining to the mysteries of consciousness.

"Yes, the Eighth Research Institute's true research direction is very likely to be the mystery of human consciousness, not how to awaken it. The latter is a side result. Lin Sui has been confirmed to be a young scientist from the Northern Company, a member of a major project committee. Her name appeared in an academic lecture at the Holm Fertility Center on the cutting edge of genetic research. She was ranked alongside Teacher Du Heng, who is suspected to be the Eighth Research Institute's president. She's very likely one of the core researchers of the Eighth Research Institute.

"I originally suspected she was one of those amongst Vice President, Charlie, and Doctor, who lived near that tower. I didn't expect you to actually find her home on the street—away from the core—and see her photo."

She didn't mention 'Professor Li' because Lin Sui's surname was Lin. Even if she wanted to use a code name, she would at most use 'Professor' and not deliberately add a fake surname.

"Not necessarily," the honest Shang Jianyao retorted. "Perhaps this compound doesn't belong to Lin Sui. The owner is another researcher in the Eighth Research Institute who has a crush on her."

He partially agreed with Jiang Baimian's guess.

Jiang Baimian thought seriously and said, "It's not impossible."

Shang Jianyao immediately said smugly, "When the Old World was destroyed, the owner of the compound died, but his crush and obsession with Lin Sui kept him alive. He became a ghost and lingered in his home in the New World. The slight movements I heard were from him!"

"But didn't you say that the sobbing sounds came from a woman?" Jiang Baimian asked.

Shang Jianyao was stunned for a second before saying, "Who says women can't have a crush on women?"

He spoke righteously.

Jiang Baimian was speechless.

At this moment, his thoughts jumped, and he changed the topic. "I think that even if Lin Sui is really still alive and is one of the few New World powerhouses in the Eighth Research Institute, she can at most be chosen between Charlie and Doctor. The rest can be eliminated."

The other 'New World' experts of the Eighth Research Institute only advanced many years after the Old World was destroyed.

"Why do you rule out 'Vice President?'" Jiang Baimian asked.

Shang Jianyao replied confidently, "'Vice President' should be Oak. He's the vice president of the Northern Company and co-principal investigator of the major project."

The relationship between the Northern Company and the Eighth Research Institute was self-evident.

Jiang Baimian nodded and stopped discussing this topic that was void of clues for the time being.

Considering her mental expenditure, she said to him, "Next, I want you to help me take a look at two places."

"Which two places?" Shang Jianyao didn't act like Jiang Baimian was instructing him to do it, but as a result of his volunteering.

Although Jiang Baimian was directionally challenged, her memory was quite good. With the help of the auxiliary chip and the military exoskeleton's system, she quickly conjured the streets and buildings she had explored and observed tonight.

Of course, she couldn't help but have some confusion during this process. After all, she had lost her way in many places and couldn't be sure. However, there were complete records from the auxiliary chip, military exoskeleton, and even the night photos she had taken when she was high above.

She pointed to a spot. "Go to the corresponding location in the New World and see what buildings are there and what abnormalities are inside. When I wanted to use its wall to jump to the roof, I actually went straight through that wall…"

Jiang Baimian briefly explained her encounter, including the building that eventually turned corporeal.

Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up when he heard that, and he looked regretful that he didn't experience it personally.

"Alright, I'll take a look later," he agreed readily.

Then, she pointed to another location. "This is the lamp on the outermost edge of the tower in reality. Go to the corresponding place in the New World and investigate who lives there or what buildings are there."

Shang Jianyao acknowledged it twice and seriously remembered the exact location of those two locations as he compared them to the New World's layout.

When he finished this job, Jiang Baimian ended the exchange.

Shang Jianyao immediately walked to the two bookshelves, took out all the books that involved human consciousness, and quickly flipped through them.

He didn't look at the content in detail. He only checked if there were any notes stuffed inside or if there were any notes written in the margin of a page.

This took him nearly half an hour, but he didn't discover anything.

He turned to the other rooms and began a careful and meticulous search. Although this was most likely useless, he was astonishingly patient at certain times.

Finally, he left the compound without finding anything. He identified the direction and searched for the first location Jiang Baimian had given him.

Shang Jianyao—who was never directionally challenged—circled around a few streets with more lights and arrived at the corresponding location before long.

What appeared in front of him was a small square with elegant stone pillars and statues with their own characteristics.

Those statues belonged to the sages of the Old World. There were Ashlandics and Red River people. Shang Jianyao had seen them in textbooks and entertainment materials, so he wasn't mistaken.

After weaving through the pillars and the stone pillars umpteenth times and reaching out to touch their surfaces, Shang Jianyao muttered to himself in disappointment, "There's nothing strange…"

The ruthless Shang Jianyao sneered at his companion. "Wouldn't others beat us to it if the secrets of the New World were so easily discovered?"

"That's right, that's right," Shang Jianyao echoed.

They noted down the situation here and went to the second location Jiang Baimian mentioned, which was the street corresponding to the light at the outermost area of the tower in reality.

Just like before, he walked in the darkness and tried his best to stay away from places with lights, lest communication slow down his probing speed.

After an unknown period of time, he finally circled to the entrance of that street and looked at the target location.

A grayish-blue four-story building stood there, and its overall style was rather ancient. A bright fluorescent lamp was 'switched on' on the top floor of the building, but there was no figure reflected in the window.

"There are lights here too…" Shang Jianyao muttered to himself as he retreated.

The rash Shang Jianyao asked unhappily, "Why not just go there?"

Because of what happened at the compound, he suffered a joint suppression by the others.

"Who knows if the person living inside is a friendly person like Jacob or a devil who wants a few more batteries? We have to observe carefully before making a decision," the ruthless Shang Jianyao replied angrily.

The calm and rational Shang Jianyao stroked his chin. "Let's find a house that allows us to see the situation at the target location's entrance, but we can't get too close lest we get noticed. Then, observe the visitors and determine the identity of the owner."

"How can we confirm?" the Shang Jianyao who valued relationships asked in confusion. "We might not know those visitors."

The ruthless Shang Jianyao chuckled. "Observe if the visitor is alone when he leaves. If he's alone, find a chance to follow him and become 'friends' with him to get him to verbally confirm the owner's identity."

"But how can we follow them without being discovered?" The honest Shang Jianyao pointed at the street lamps above them.

All the Shang Jianyaos fell silent at the same time.

In the end, the rash Shang Jianyao made the final decision. "Let's observe first!"

They observed the terrain and entered a high-rise building that was ruled by darkness at the end of a street. They went up to the sixth floor.

The fluorescent lights in the corresponding window lit up.

Shang Jianyao stood in hiding and observed the target location diagonally opposite through the glass window.

He tried to hide his human consciousness, but it didn't work.

…

Jiang Baimian stood up and looked at Shang Jianyao—who was lying against the wall—and the crate containing the nuclear warhead. Thoughts flashed through her mind.

Soon, she made a decision: She planned to move all the supplies in the jeep here. This would effectively save her time traveling between the tunnel and the jeep, allowing her to devote more energy to explore the small city.

At the same time, this could directly reduce the number of times she got lost.

"Phew…" Jiang Baimian exhaled and laughed self-deprecatingly in her heart. Actually, there's no need for me to take the risk to explore. I should wait for Hey to gain something and for the fog of war to dissipate before making an attempt. However, I really don't want to be a burden. Moreover, there's a high chance that the abnormalities and clues found outside will help Hey…

After convincing herself for a while, she walked out of the Eighth Research Institute while dressed in the exoskeleton.

After getting lost time and time again, she moved all the supplies to Shang Jianyao and the nuclear warhead and hid the jeep in a hidden spot outside.

After doing all this, she found a place to charge and sat against the wall before entering the Sea of Origins.

In the shimmering sea, she continued swimming into the distance.