Embers Ad Infinitum

The sunlight outside passed through the tied curtains and shone deep into the temple, allowing Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao to barely see the appearance of the person inside the coffin.

He had long black hair and was wearing white linen clothes. He was so skinny that he looked like a corpse that had been embalmed and dried for many years.

In this state, Jiang Baimian couldn't tell what his true appearance was like. It was like a simple skull. Without the help of a computer to restore it, he could only initially tell whether it was deformed or atavistic. He couldn't tell whether he was handsome or not. .

If he could not feel the weak electrical signal and confirm that the other party was still biologically active, Jiang Baimian would only think that this was a mummy that had not decomposed due to the special environment, rather than the so-called sleeping "god".

Vaguely, she even felt a slight smell of preservatives wafting through her nose.

This is particularly scary in light of the current environment.

Jiang Baimian slowly moved his gaze downwards and discovered that this sleeping "god" was wearing a bracelet made of branches on his right wrist.

Her heart moved, and she turned her head to look at Shang Jianyao.

Shang Jianyao wore a monkey mask with a furry face and a pointed mouth, looking directly at the sleeping "god" like a corpse.

"You are here, what are you thinking about?" Jiang Baimian hesitated for a moment, then asked.

Shang Jianyao replied seriously:

"CPR, artificial respiration, non-card injection."

"..." Jiang Baimian once again confirmed that he was in good mental condition and that he was not in the same world as Shang Jianyao.

After a few seconds, she said angrily and funny:

"Didn't the company's precautions say that this so-called sleeping 'god' cannot be touched unless necessary?"

"Just say you can't move." Shang Jianyao's memory has always been very good.

Jiang Baimian said "ha":

"Didn't I just say that? You have to leave a margin and treat it with higher and stricter standards."

Without giving Shang Jianyao a chance to refute, she spat:

"I almost forgot about the business due to your disturbance.

"Don't you think this branch bracelet looks familiar?"

Shang Jianyao had already seen it:

"The branch laurel crown worn by the awakened fishman."

"It seems that his power comes from that laurel crown." Jiang Baimian asked, "You should have touched that laurel crown at that time. Didn't you find anything abnormal?"

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"very common."

"Yes, if it has something strange, you won't keep it." Jiang Baimian lowered his head to look at the face of the "mummy" with only a layer of skin left, and analyzed thoughtfully, "According to Song Warner According to the description, a powerful awakened person who has explored the depths of the 'Soul Corridor' can leave his breath in the 'Soul Corridor' or in the real world, and merge it with objects or even humans... Originally, the breath was integrated into the laurels of branches, But after the fish-man awakener got it, the breath penetrated into his body, making him very powerful? But this also left hidden dangers. At that time, he was just like giving birth to a monster..."

Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian had a sudden thought:

"If we had not forced the shot and allowed the changes to continue, what would have happened in the end? Will this sleeping 'god' wake up?

"But if it were that simple, his former believers could have done it. Isn't it a very reasonable thing to protect yourself with the belongings of the gods?

"Could it be that the premise for the fusion of breath and human body is to be an awakened person in the same field?"

Her speculation is purely divergent and does not have much basis, because there are other explanations.

For example, before this so-called Yama's incarnation fell into a deep sleep, he had no idea that such a thing would happen and did not leave a single word. However, believers were in awe of him and did not dare to touch his body or take away his belongings. .

Regarding Jiang Baimian's speculation, Shang Jianyao proposed a verification method:

"You'll know after you try it."

"...No need." Jiang Baimian suppressed his desire to move.

She knew what Shang Jianyao meant:

He and the fish-men awakened people are obviously not in the same field. Jiang Baimian himself is not even an awakened person. If they take off the branch bracelets and can use them directly, but they are not integrated into the aura, it can explain a lot of things.

But this is very, very, very dangerous.

After exhaling, Jiang Baimian held the gun in one hand, turned his wrist and looked at the electronic watch:

"Nine minutes left."

As soon as she crossed the threshold of the temple, she started timing.

This also leaves a margin and is no longer treated as a quarter of an hour, but as thirteen minutes.

Shang Jianyao took the time to come up with an idea:

"Tell me, can he hear us?

"If I play a song, will he appreciate it? Is there a song that will make him stand up from his coffin and dance to it?"

With you, no matter how weird, eerie or terrifying the scene becomes, it will become weird and even funny... Unless you happen to want to scare people... Jiang Baimian first saw the body in the coffin covered in white linen. "Mummy", she was still a little scared, but now, she didn't know what kind of expression she should have towards the target.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Baimian responded:

"You can try talking and singing, that's it, no need."

Shang Jianyao sighed regretfully, took a step forward, looked inside the coffin and said:

"Can you hear me? If you can just blink."

He spoke once in both Huitu and Honghe dialects.

The skinny, sleeping "god" in white linen didn't respond at all.

Shang Jianyao suddenly increased his volume:

"Your hat was taken away!"

Refers to the laurel crown.

The sleeping "god" like a mummy still seems to have been dead for many years.

"It seems useless." Jiang Baimian made a judgment.

Shang Jianyao still refused to give up and shouted again:

"Your wife ran away with someone!"

? This radio dares to broadcast anything... Jiang Baimian forced to hold back his smile.

The sleeping "god" lying quietly in the coffin remained unchanged.

When Shang Jianyao tried again in Honghe dialect, Jiang Baimian sighed:

"If you hadn't confirmed that he still had human consciousness, I could also sense weak electrical signals. I couldn't believe he was still alive.

"He has been sleeping for at least thirty or forty years, right? His body still retains a certain amount of activity. This is incredible. Is there anyone else who injects him with glucose and nutrients regularly?"

Even if humans recover the hibernation ability hidden in their genes, they still won't be able to do this.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said:

"Cryonics."

Jiang Baimian was not unfamiliar with this term. He pondered for a moment and said:

"You mean, he used some kind of ability or something to put his body into a state similar to deep freeze?"

Obviously, this was definitely not a real deep freeze. Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao just felt a little cold when they stood in front of the coffin.

"You have to wake him up to be sure." Shang Jianyao raised his hand and touched his chin.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Jiang Baimian:

"look……"

"Stop! What are you looking at?" Jiang Baimian was instantly alert, "What do you want to do?"

Shang Jianyao answered calmly:

“I want to try using the Awakener ability on him.

"Look, think about it, my awakened ability can be used on creatures with human consciousness, and he still has human consciousness."

Jiang Baimian already understood Shang Jianyao's thoughts without the help of the "reasoning clown".

Needless to say, she really felt that this had practical value and the possibility of success.

"The company just said that the body of this sleeping 'god' cannot be moved unless necessary. My additional condition is that it is best not to even touch it..." Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully, "The impact and contact on the spiritual level are not something to pay attention to. Inside."

Upon hearing this, Shang Jianyao suddenly became excited and even took off his mask to do his best.

Jiang Baimian immediately added:

“No, ‘reasoning clown’, he shouldn’t be able to hear what you say.

"'Pretentious person' and 'Loss of two-hand movements' are both theoretically possible, but I recommend using 'Loss of two-hand movements' because the former will directly produce a pretentious effect and may cause unnecessary accidents, while the latter will establish a connection first. , and then affects his hands, well, his hands cannot move to begin with, so there will be no obvious changes in the whole process, which can minimize the risk."

Jiang Baimian didn't want to see this "mummy" suddenly sit up.

"Okay." Shang Jianyao had no objection.

Jiang Baimian immediately took off the rubber glove on his left hand and moved his fingers.

She smiled and said:

“I won’t touch anything here, but I can give it to you.

"I will monitor your condition closely later and wake you up if anything goes wrong."

As she spoke, a trace of electricity came out of her left hand.

Shang Jianyao glanced at her and turned his attention again to the sleeping "god" in the coffin.

His thoughts quickly extended and connected with the other party's consciousness.

Suddenly, Shang Jianyao's eyes turned dark.

It was as if he had returned to the "Sea of ​​Origin" and could only see a little light.

With the help of these glimmers of light, he discovered a window, and far away outside the window stood a hazy tower that reached into the clouds.

Under the window, there was a figure crawling in the darkness, making no movement at all.

Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at Shang Jianyao.

There was a strange light in his eyes, and he made a weak voice:

"help me!"