Embers Ad Infinitum

After completing all the examinations, Shang Jianyao waited in the lounge for a while and saw the previous researcher named Liu Shiyan pushing the door in.

"Mei Suo wants to have a talk with you." Liu Shiyan paused and said, "It's almost over after the talk."

"So early?" Shang Jianyao looked surprised.

What do you mean so early? Don’t they all want to leave as soon as possible? Liu Shiyan couldn't follow his train of thought at all and could only look at him with doubtful eyes.

Shang Jianyao stood up and said regretfully:

“I thought you would take care of the food at noon.

"I've never eaten in a cafeteria in an institute like yours, so I don't know how it is."

"..." Liu Shiyan finally decided not to respond.

Shang Jianyao looked around and said:

"I'm going to the bathroom first."

This is available in the lounge.

This is a normal request, and it won’t waste too much time. Liu Shiyan said “hmm” and said:

"I'll wait for you at the door."

Soon, Shang Jianyao came out of the bathroom and walked to Liu Shiyan.

Liu Shiyan led him through the closed doors and arrived at an office with bright but soft fluorescent lights.

Sitting in the office is a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. His hair is thick and slightly messy, and he wears the same white coat as the researchers here.

"Sit." The middle-aged man pointed to the chair opposite the table, "I am Mei Shouan, the person in charge of the 'C-14' project."

"Hello." Shang Jianyao responded politely.

After he sat down, Mei Shouan put his elbows on the edge of the table, clasped his hands and said:

"Let me briefly introduce that the 'C-14' project is mainly related to the awakened ones. You have experienced so many things on the surface, you should know what an awakened person is."

Jian Shang Jian Yao just looked at him with a smile, neither shaking his head nor nodding. Mei Shouan continued:

“We believe that arousal is actually a special aberration of the human body, which will inevitably cause a certain degree of change in a certain part, and this should be able to be detected through scientific means.

"Do you get me?"

Shang Jianyao looked at him with a smile, showing no intention of flinching.

But he still didn't speak.

Mei Shouan kept his posture unchanged, smiled and said:

"Don't feel any psychological pressure.

“The company’s attitude toward distortion and awakening is positive and inclusive, unlike many forces and places that believe that it goes against nature and is a remnant of the doomsday that needs to be completely eliminated before we can welcome the arrival of a new world.

"For the awakened ones, the company has always given them higher treatment and arranged better and more important work. We just need them to cooperate with us in doing some experiments on a regular basis. These experiments are carefully designed and will not make the awakened people feel uncomfortable. Insulted and hurt.”

After he finished speaking, Shang Jianyao frowned:

“I don’t quite understand what you are saying.

"What's the use of telling me this?"

Mei Shouan's dark brown eyes behind the glass lenses looked at Shang Jianyao quietly, and looked at him for nearly ten seconds.

Finally, he showed a slight smile and said:

“That’s it for today’s tracking observations, but there will be more in half a year.”

Shang Jianyao pointed at himself:

"Then I can go?"

"Yeah." Mei Shouan nodded.

Shang Jianyao stood up and waved with a smile:

"goodbye."

After watching him leave, Mei Shouan wrote at the end of a document:

"It is recommended to be transferred to the secret watch list."

After finishing the annotation, Mei Shouan opened his computer, logged in to the corresponding account, and prepared to submit the matter. After all, he would need the cooperation of other departments in the future.

At this time, he found an extra letter in his e-mail box.

And this came from someone with real power whom he did not dare to neglect.

Mei Shouan clicked on the email and found that there was only a very simple sentence on it:

"Completely stop tracking and observing Volunteer No. 32 of the 'C-14' project."

"This..." Mei Shou'an frowned and cast his eyes doubtfully on the document at hand.

…………

After leaving the research area on the third floor of the underground building, Shang Jianyao raised his hands and picked out his ears.

It didn't take long for him to take out a ball of tightly pressed cotton from each side.

"What a pity, I don't understand lip reading, so I don't even know what he said..." Shang Jianyao muttered to himself and stepped into the elevator.

The two balls of cotton were stuffed back into his pockets.

The elevator went up for a long time and finally reached the 647th floor. Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen were all looking at the information in Room 14 and waiting.

"How's it going? What tests were done, and what questions were asked?" Jiang Baimian, who was slumped in the armchair, pushed hard on his waist and abdomen and jumped up.

Shang Jianyao described his experience while closing the door of the "Old Tune Group".

After listening to the general conversation between him and Liu Shiyan, Jiang Baimian laughed out loud and said:

"You will get beaten if you do this!"

"He can't beat me." Shang Jianyao was not straightforward but strong.

Jiang Baimian said "poof":

"And how do you know that yours is different from others? Do you have a reference?"

As an employee of the Security Department who has been on field duty many times, although she has no experience in this area, she has long developed a thick skin and is the type who can joke with those veterans.

Of course, when meeting the practical Bai Chen, she still often didn't know how to answer the other person's words, or she was poked at her weak point and had to forcefully change the subject.

As soon as Jiang Baimian said the words "reference object", his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

As expected, Shang Jianyao turned his attention to Long Yuehong.

Long Yuehong didn't know whether to refute or get angry.

Fortunately, Jiang Baimian promptly stopped what Shang Jianyao might say next:

"Have you met Mei Shouan?"

"Well, I chatted with him for a while after the inspection." Shang Jianyao nodded.

"What did you talk about?" Jiang Baimian asked.

"I don't know." Shang Jianyao shook his head calmly.

? This answer made both Long Yuehong and Bai Chen a little confused.

Jiang Baimian asked angrily and funnyly:

"Didn't you say we chatted for a while?"

Shang Jianyao took out the two balls of cotton:

"Before I went to see him, I blocked my ears and couldn't hear what he said."

Long Yuehong was dumbfounded and asked curiously:

"You, why did you plug your ears?"

Shang Jianyao explained sternly:

“Since he is a scientist who studies the mysteries of the human body and directs the ‘C-14’ project, I can reasonably suspect that he is also an awakened person.

"By plugging my ears, I don't have to be afraid of the 'reasoning clown'. I won't simply become friends with him and tell him everything."

Jiang Baimian nodded slowly:

"Too."

She had to admit that although Shang Jianyao's approach was a bit strange, it really had a certain meaning.

At this time, Bai Chen was also a little curious:

"How did you communicate with him when you blocked your ears?

"Didn't he notice?"

Shang Jianyao showed a smile as bright as the sun:

"Most of the time I just listen without speaking. When I think he's finished, I say, 'I don't know what you mean by telling me this.' When he shows an expression that he's done, I ask, 'Is it okay to go?'"

Jiang Baimian imagined the scene of the chicken talking to the duck at that time, and found it funny for no reason:

"You are such a genius at chatting!"

Old world entertainment materials and original Jiang Xiaoyue-related documents gave her a richer vocabulary.

Long Yuehong laughed twice:

"Aren't you afraid of missing key information?

"Maybe if you communicate more deeply, he will say something valuable."

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said:

"I don't think he would have made that mistake as a scientist in charge of the C-14 project."

That's right...I know how to speak properly this time...Jiang Baimian just sighed with emotion when he heard Shang Jianyao add:

"You can't always judge others by yourself."

He said it facing Long Yuehong.

Long Yuehong felt insulted, and then saw Shang Jianyao eagerly asking:

"Are you trying to say, 'You can insult my character, but you can't insult my IQ, let's go out and fight'?"

Long Yuehong weighed it and decided to keep her mouth shut.

Jiang Baimian's eyes quietly turned upward, and he walked back and forth a few steps:

"I think the company may have suspected that you are an awakened person. After all, we have done too many things that are beyond the level of a normal four-person team, and you have also shown mental problems, which is consistent with the characteristic of paying the price.

“Afterwards, they are likely to make some secret observations on you, so you have to pay attention.

"But, I think you can take this opportunity to expose your identity as an awakened person to the company. You have experienced so many things outside, and you should be very clear that major forces either openly or covertly support awakened people. The company does not I will treat you as experimental material, well, just keep other things confidential."

"We'll see what happens then." Shang Jianyao obviously didn't care too much about whether the identity of the awakened person would be known to the company.

He returned to his seat and looked through the information he had not finished reading before.

When it was almost noon, Jiang Baimian turned on the computer and checked his mailbox as a habit.

She then said "Huh":

"Vice Minister Xi Yu sent us an email."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Baimian clicked on the email and said while reading:

"Part of the information about the Awakened is based on what we can understand now with our authority."

Hearing these words, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen all stood up, ran or walked to get behind Jiang Baimian, and looked at her computer screen together.

What is shown there is:

“Based on the analysis of all the intelligence collected so far, awakened people can be roughly divided into four levels:

“The first is the ‘Hall of Stars’, the second is the ‘Sea of ​​Origin’, the third is the ‘Corridor of the Soul’, and the fourth is the ‘New World’…

"The 'new world' level is just our reasonable guess. No one has actually seen an awakened person entering the new world, but those strong people at the 'soul corridor' level believe that there is such a door in the 'soul corridor'. Leading to the 'new world', and many sects claim that their leaders have entered the new world and serve the corresponding leaders..."

PS: Ask for monthly tickets during the double period~