Embers Ad Infinitum

After Long Yuehong heard the recording pen's content, he switched it off and casually stuffed it into his pocket.

Just like that, he and Bai Chen busied themselves with other matters until two to three nights later.

After watching an Old World entertainment program, Long Yuehong sat in front of the computer and sorted out different documents. During this process, he found the recording pen and handled the content stored in it.

In the beginning, Long Yuehong quickly deleted the words he, Little White, and his team leader had said in the recording, leaving only Shang Jianyao's voice. Therefore, the recording became a bunch of nonsense.

"I have something very serious to tell you—about—uh, Big Boss.

"I'm wondering if Big Boss will participate in the marriage assignment. Who has the luck to become the boss's husband?

"So what if they hear it? Even if—uh, Big Boss is—is a Kalendaria, haven't we blasphemed the Kalendarium enough?

"The first one we encountered was Arbiter of Fate. Later, there were Eidolon Nun, Shattered Mirror, Subhuti, and Master Zhuang…

"The board of directors aren't shepherds who obey 'Their' orders. Why should I be afraid?

"In the Old World's ancient legends, there was a deity. 'His' or 'Her' clergymen were called shepherds because we're 'His' or 'Her' flock.

"The Kalendarium used to be legends. Yes, yes. My take on this is what enters is human consciousness, not the body…

"I'm wondering: what do New World residents have as a feast?

"Many clues point to the New World. This is the origin of the Heartless disease.

"Our role is to complete this matter.

"No, one has to have confidence. Maybe I will take Big Boss's role one day. I can't say things like 'we might one day become food, as sustenance for the Heartless.'

"Everyone, though death befalls all men alike, it may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather…

"This is really a problem that requires serious consideration. The closer our investigation is to the New World, the more dangerous it is. Danger is ahead, and a disaster might be imminent."

"I have many guesses. For example, the Heartless disease will erupt en masse again, or the New World will shatter, bringing about the destruction of the Ashlands… You guys have to take the opportunity to improve yourselves as much as possible.

"When the time comes, don't hesitate to escape and return to the company if you really encounter danger that you can't resist."

"I naturally want to save all of humanity before returning to the underground building. When that happens, we will completely escape the threat of the Heartless disease. The board of directors will probably elect me to inherit Big Boss's position.

"This is one of my goals after I retire. As a human, you have to understand and control yourself."

"Everyone, let's work hard together and run toward dawn and hope! A beautiful life is right in front of us!

"Then… Quickly find an opportunity to escape!"

Long Yuehong then deleted some words with obvious gaps between them. After that, the meaning of the entire recording changed greatly.

"I have something very serious to tell you. Big Boss is a Kalendaria, Arbiter of Fate. The board of directors aren't shepherds who obey 'Their' orders. Called shepherds because we're 'Her' flock.

"The Kalendarium used to be legends. My take. Human consciousness. Have as a feast. This is the origin of the Heartless disease. Our role is to become Big Boss's food, as Heartless.

"Everyone, danger is imminent. The Heartless disease will erupt en masse again. You guys have to take the opportunity to improve yourselves as much as possible. Don't hesitate to escape the underground building. We will completely escape the threat of the Heartless disease, Big Boss's control.

"Work hard. A beautiful life is right in front of us!

"Quickly escape!"

After this was done, Long Yuehong put on his earphones and listened as he deleted the details, hoping not to erase the core content.

After he sorted it out, the recording's original form slowly appeared: "I have something very serious to tell you. Big Boss is a Kalendaria, Arbiter of Fate. The board of directors are called shepherds because we're 'Her' flock.

"The Kalendarium take human consciousness as a feast. This is the origin of the Heartless disease. Our role is to become Big Boss's food.

"Everyone, danger is imminent. The Heartless disease will erupt en masse again. You guys have to take the opportunity to escape the underground building; escape Big Boss's control.

"Work hard. Dawn is right in front of us!

"Quickly escape!"

The recording echoed in Long Yuehong's ears. There was a pause that wasn't in line with normal people's habits—it was like someone saying something as they found the words to express themselves. It occasionally sounded staccato, but it didn't affect the overall meaning.

The power contained in Shang Jianyao entered Long Yuehong's brain and completed the corresponding Thought Implantation.

Long Yuehong didn't mind at all because the content itself was the truth—something he knew. Furthermore, he and Bai Chen had been implanted with thoughts that would appear after receiving the hint.

Back then, Jiang Baimian had designed such a deception and fabricated such a play according to everyone's personality.

After repeated corrections, she sorted out the words that Shang Jianyao needed to augment with additional powers and labeled where he should pause.

Shang Jianyao completed the recording with the manuscript in hand. After that, the four of them 'stitched' the redundant words and words into the corresponding pauses with Genava's help, resulting in the discussion that Pangu Biology's reviewers had heard.

During the 'discussion,' one couldn't hear any additional pauses in the relatively smooth sequence. There was a slight pause in the relatively difficult-to-connect areas, but this was often the case when ordinary people spoke.

As the power-imbued words were separated into parts that lacked completeness, a single sentence or one or two words had no practical meaning. Therefore, the reviewers listening to the original recording would be interrupted every time they showed signs of having their thoughts implanted. Hence, they were unaffected.

This allowed the recording pen to be 'smuggled' into Pangu Biology's underground building smoothly.

The reason Jiang Baimian's plan worked was that she knew that such inspections were mainly to find abnormalities, not to check if the recording was faked.

After hearing it again and confirming that there were no errors, Long Yuehong took off his earpiece, put away the recording pen, and sat back beside Bai Chen.

The two of them didn't discuss this matter, nor did they smile. They knew that there were still many difficulties in the future.

The most obvious point was that even if Shang Jianyao entered the New World and provided the corresponding support, his recording could only affect a few thousand people at most, not more than 10,000.

Pangu Biology had hundreds of thousands of employees.

…

Eighth Research Institute, behind the tunnel door.

Jiang Baimian had recently used the Heartless outside small cities to experiment with her abilities and roughly grasped the range and number of people affected.

Among them, Mirror Dimension—which had been upgraded from Spatial Hallucination—had a range of 240 meters. This was also Jiang Baimian's perception limit.

The number of people affected was 30.

The maximum effective range of Item Agnosia was 160 meters. It could affect 15 people at once.

Stimulation Disorder could affect ten targets within 120 meters and modify one of their related reactions at the same time. If it was only targeted at a single target, it could modify three related reactions.

Directionally Challenged had the same range as Stimulation Disorder, affecting the same number of people as Item Agnosia.

The basic ability grasped by Mind Corridor Awakened in the Shattered Mirror domain was Electromagnetic Interference.

…

When only one lamp in the café was lit, Shang Jianyao—who was sitting by the street opposite—walked in.

He went straight to the boss, Liu Chuan, and grumbled, "Can you tell me now?"

Liu Chuan touched his cheek and said, "I'll briefly explain the matter."

"Speak." Shang Jianyao nodded.

Liu Chuan exhaled and said, "According to our experience, there will be chaos in the New World every once in a while—this emanates from the tower. During the chaos, the barriers between the New World and the Ashlands are the weakest. As long as we enter the tower, we can leave this place and return to reality without using the Kalendarium's powers. Yes, it doesn't matter if you still have a body.

"It's not easy to break into the tower. This requires the collective forces of many people like you and me. Do you understand?"

"I see!" Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. The next second, he curiously asked, "Can't we leave the way we came and return to the Ashlands through the door we came in from?"

Liu Chuan said seriously, "If things were that simple, would we still be trapped here?"

"I thought the Kalendarium were preventing everyone from returning to the Ashlands. When the chaos begins and 'They' are unable to divert 'Their' attention, we can return the way we came." Shang Jianyao spoke with conviction.

"That door has already disappeared." Liu Chuan seemed to regret going off-topic and resolved the problem concisely.

Shang Jianyao didn't argue and asked, "How long until the next chaos?"

Liu Chuan replied cautiously, "In the next few days, tell me where you live. I'll inform you in advance."

"I live…" Shang Jianyao was a little troubled. He had been 'walking about' recently and resting wherever he was tired.

After some thought, he found a unique building. "There's an Ashlandic compound in that direction. I live…"

Upon hearing this, Liu Chuan's expression changed abruptly in horror.

Shang Jianyao quickly added, "Next door."

"…" Liu Chuan's expression returned to normal. "Got it."

Shang Jianyao curiously asked, "What's strange about that compound?"