Embers Ad Infinitum

On Antana Street, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen walked forward step by step.

The two returned to the safe house. After Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao returned, they discussed for a while and continued to work separately.

This time, Gnawa drove a gray jeep and was waiting outside Antana Street to respond.

——After killing "Priest", the "Old Adjustment Team" returned the red off-road vehicle to the car rental company, then found another one and got a new one.

Antana Street is full of illegally built houses. The originally spacious street is squeezed into a space that can barely accommodate two cars, and it is quite dark.

Long Yuehong just glanced at it casually, and through her glasses without lenses, she saw the extended balcony, the bamboo poles where clothes were hung, the attached rooms that blocked the crosswalk, and the man strutting past with weapons in hand.

——He bought the pair of glasses on Rabe Street. They were picked up by a relic hunter from the ruins of a certain city in the North Shore Wasteland. Only the frame was left, and they were very cheap.

Anyway, for Long Yuehong, who has pretty good eyesight, this is just a disguised prop and doesn't need to be too good.

"Just passing by, I really can't tell that this is a black street where you can buy everything." Long Yuehong looked away and sighed.

Although there are also gun shops, bars, casinos and other things here, they are not illegal in the original city. As long as they do not sell heavy weapons, psychotropic drugs and alcoholic beverages produced by non-designated companies, and do not illegally detain debtors, they are It will not be seized by the "Hand of Order", and at most it will be an extra hard fee paid to the Sheriff.

——In the years before the New Calendar, in order to ensure food supply, the "First City" promulgated a prohibition on alcohol and strictly enforced it. In the past, countless gangs fought for the channels of privately brewing spirits, and fought and merged with each other from time to time. However, in the past decade or so, the Prohibition Act has been relaxed a lot, allowing designated companies to purchase grain and brew alcoholic beverages.

Bai Chen pulled the thin scarf around his neck:

"It's a sign of respect for the peace officers who are responsible for the surrounding neighborhoods."

Long Yuehong nodded, pointed to the shops on both sides and said:

"Are we going to ask questions one by one?"

Both he and Bai Chen carried printed portraits of Han Wanghuo.

This was created after Gnawa scanned Jiang Baimian's portrait of Han Wanghuo and revised the details. It is almost identical to the real person.

Bai Chen shook his head and explained simply:

"Here, if you don't find the right person, you won't be able to ask anything, and you may even become the target of blackmail and deception by some people."

"That's it..." Long Yuehong learned something again and felt that if Shang Jianyao were here, he would definitely say "Isn't this a good thing?"

You can make a fortune again!

He followed Bai Chen all the way to a gun shop that didn't even have a sign.

The owner of the gun shop is an old man with a gray beard who is carefully maintaining a "United 202" pistol.

"Old Reggie, are you still alive?" Bai Chen switched to the state of the ruins hunter he once was.

Old Reggie raised his eyelids slightly, glanced at her and said:

"Maybe you are dead and I am still alive."

Bai Chen took out Han Wanghuo's portrait and slapped it on the table:

"Have you ever seen this person?"

Old Reggie said "ha":

"Next time you ask this kind of thing, I'll charge you."

That means it’s still free this time? Long Yuehong suddenly felt a little happy.

Old Reggie glanced at the portrait and shook his head:

"never seen it.

"The characteristics are not so obvious, who would remember them?"

Bai Chen didn't ask any questions, put away the portrait and walked out of the gun store.

"Does this mean the features are not obvious?" Long Yuehong looked back and couldn't help complaining.

In addition to the yellowing of the whites of Han Wanghuo's eyes, there are two horizontal and vertical scars on his face.

"What he means is that I have never met anyone with similar appearance on the road, and I have never tried to buy heavy weapons." Bai Chen said calmly, "Old Reggie is an underground guild launched by the weapons dealers on Antana Street. Commander, if he said no, it means that Han Wanghuo's purpose here is not weapons."

"Maybe Han Wanghuo was just working nearby and happened to pass by." Long Yuehong raised another possibility.

Bai Chen shook his head:

"With Han Wanghuo's vision and knowledge, he will know that this street is not simple and has big problems after passing by it once. If there is nothing that needs to be done on Antana Street, he will definitely choose to take a detour."

It must have been a long time since Han Wanghuo arrived in the First City, and it is unlikely that he passed Antana Street for the first time during this period.

Then, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong went to bars, casinos, black markets and other places together, and asked different people the same questions.

The answer they got was "I haven't seen it yet."

This shows that Han Wanghuo did not go to Antana Street to collect intelligence, buy contraband, drink or gamble.

Of course, these options are only tentatively ruled out, and there are likely to be omissions.

"Now go to those black clinics and ask." Bai Chen said step by step.

"Yeah." Long Yuehong thought about it carefully and felt that it was quite possible that Han Wanghuo came here to find a doctor.

After all, even if Han Wanghuo had not become a relic hunter, he would probably have engaged in other risky professions. Once he was injured, it was natural for him to choose a black clinic based on his status as a second person.

Soon, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong entered a clinic that also had no signboard.

The doctor in the clinic wore gold-rimmed glasses, leaned back in his chair, and read a newspaper that was out of date for an unknown period of time.

"What's wrong?" He glanced at the two of them.

Bai Chen didn't hesitate and directly took out Han Wanghuo's portrait:

"Have you ever seen this person?"

The doctor looked at it carefully for a few seconds, put down the newspaper, and said with a smile:

"I have a professional ethics."

Bai Chen took out a 5-ore note and put it in front of him.

"Ahem." The doctor cleared his throat and said, "He came to see me a few days ago. As you know, on Antana Street, my medical skills are second best, and no one dares to be first."

Professional ethics?

What kind of professional ethics do people who run illegal clinics talk about?

"Is he injured?" Long Yuehong asked with concern.

The doctor pushed up his glasses, shook his head and said:

“No, heart problem.

"You should know that when subhuman bodies are deformed, they often have certain defects, so even if they are not killed, they rarely live past their prime.

"This man was born with a heart defect. As he gets older, the problem becomes more and more serious. Now it has reached a very obvious level. Unless a suitable heart can be found and surgically replaced, he will not be able to live for more than two years relying solely on medication."

This... Long Yuehong suddenly sympathized with Han Wanghuo.

After working hard for so many years, working hard for the identity of a human being, after the dream was shattered, I discovered that there was a big problem with my body, a big problem from the sub-human being himself.

Misfortune often befalls those who are already unfortunate.

Seeing that Bai Chen and Long Yuehong were silent, the doctor took the banknotes and added:

"It's very difficult for people to find a suitable, non-rejecting heart. If he is the only one left in their clan, there is almost no hope."

"Do you know where he lives?" Bai Chen asked after a few seconds of silence.

The doctor shook his head:

"Who among the doctors on Antana Street would ask this? Are you ready to receive the inheritance?

"Well, the medicine I prescribed for him can last for a month, and it has been several days now."

Bai Chen listened quietly and responded simply:

"Thanks."

…………

Ugo Hotel, in the rooms of Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao.

"It's really miserable, even a bit fateful." Jiang Baimian sighed sincerely after hearing Han Wanghuo's current situation.

Shang Jianyao immediately asked:

“Can the company be managed?”

Jiang Baimian recalled:

"If it's an ordinary human being, it won't be a big problem. Even if there is no suitable heart, the company can artificially create it, but it is related to humans. I have been away from the field of scientific research for too long, and I am not sure about the current results. Well, in theory it should be possible. , it just takes time to analyze genes, and the risks are not small."

"There is another way for Lao Han to upload his consciousness, become a mechanical monk, and get rid of the shackles of the physical body!" Shang Jianyao suddenly became excited.

He started calling Han Wanghuo "Lao Han".

Bai Chen also said:

"'Prime City' seems to have mechanical heart technology, but it's not that mature and it's very expensive."

"Well, we will tell you how to do it specifically after we find Han Wanghuo." Jiang Baimian ended the topic.

The five members of the "Old Tune Group" discussed Xiao Chong's matter again.

"We are searching that area one building after another. With the number of people we have, it may take more than half a month to complete." Jiang Baimian told the results of his discussion with Shang Jianyao, "Now we will see what happens after the power outage. How will Xiao Chong react if he can't play the game?"

"I don't know when the next power outage will be..." Long Yuehong muttered softly.

"It seems there will be a power outage tonight." Shang Jianyao was quite pleased.

Long Yuehong was numb to this and didn't even think about refuting.

Of course, he also knew that the possibility of a power outage tonight was quite high, because there were frequent water and power outages in the Green Olive District.

There were frequent water and power outages... As his thoughts turned, Long Yuehong had a flash of inspiration and blurted out:

"If I were Xiao Chong, why would I choose a place to live where there are frequent power outages?"