Embers Ad Infinitum

When the Autumn Tiger was raging, the "Old Investigation Team" and the three intelligence agents who had returned to report their work arrived at the entrance area of ​​the "Pangu Creatures" underground building.

Like last time, they must undergo strict security checks.

Although her right hand was an iron-black machine, Long Yuehong, who was equally flexible, took out the items on her body and put them into the wooden basket, while looking sideways at Shang Jianyao.

At this sight, he almost shouted.

Shang Jianyao actually took out the "Six Senses Pearl" and the "Angel of Life" necklace, and obviously did not transfer the breath left by the awakened person who explored the depths of the "Soul Corridor" contained in them.

——The surfaces of the two items looked moist, as if they had been coated with patina, and were reflecting a certain amount of light.

Didn't you agree to hide it somewhere outside and not let the company know? Long Yuehong had strong doubts in her heart, but she didn't dare to speak at this time.

Shang Jianyao seemed to hear his thoughts and said to him with a smile:

“The person I am today is not the person I was yesterday, and the person I was yesterday is not the person I was the day before yesterday.

"Now it's honest Shang Jianyao."

"..." Long Yuehong opened his mouth half-open and almost forgot to close it.

After a while, a word flashed through his mind:

"Scam!"

Jiang Baimian resisted the urge to raise his hands to cover his face.

She was tired, so it didn't matter. Anyway, for the current "Old Tune Team", this was not a big deal. After all, they had completed many tasks during their outing this time, including very difficult ones. Your contribution is definitely very high and you are not afraid of being deducted.

Moreover, Kangna knew about the fact that they captured the special correspondent of the Eighth Research Institute. Who knows if she had reported to the company what props Kaa suspected of having.

Bai Chen quickly calculated how many contribution points she might have left in the end, which was related to some of her future choices.

After passing the security check and parking the vehicle, the "Old Adjustment Team" and "Garibaldi" Giuseppe entered the elevator.

"You should go to the 649th floor." Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully.

"Yes." Giuseppe nodded, "They said it just now."

Jiang Baimian helped them click on the 649th floor, and then selected the 647th floor where his group was located.

After the elevator went down for a while, the three intelligence officers waved goodbye and disappeared before their eyes.

When the sedan door closed, Long Yuehong suddenly sighed.

"What's wrong?" Bai Chen asked.

Long Yuehong said with emotion:

"We have met many people along the way and have traveled with many people, but now there are still only four of us left."

Before Bai Chen responded, Shang Jianyao looked at Long Yuehong suspiciously:

"I don't remember ever using the 'Literary Youth' ability on you."

At this time, the elevator stopped at the 647th floor.

Jiang Baimian didn't give Shang Jianyao a chance to change the subject, and took the lead to step out:

"Let's go."

They returned all the way to Room 14. The furnishings here were slightly different from before they set off, but they were generally the same because someone would come to clean up the dust every once in a while.

"Huh..." Jiang Baimian threw his body into the back chair that represented the team leader, and leaned back comfortably.

She sighed with satisfaction:

"It's still comfortable at home!"

If it weren't for the team members staring at her, and the bed where she had slept since childhood was not there, she would have wanted to roll on her back to express her feelings.

"Yes." Long Yuehong also sat in her seat.

Shang Jianyao dropped his tactical backpack and raised his hand to touch his stomach.

Gulu, Gulu.

The sound came as expected.

When Jiang Baimian saw this, he laughed:

"First disinfect, take a shower, change clothes, and then go to the cafeteria for dinner. I'll treat you!"

"Long live!" Shang Jianyao shouted with no shame.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen looked at each other with the same expectation.

Immediately afterwards, Shang Jianyao made a request:

"I want braised pork."

"I want beef brisket roasted with potatoes." Long Yuehong couldn't help but swallowed.

"I want three delicacies." Bai Chen hesitated for a moment and then said.

Jiang Baimian cursed angrily and funny:

“What we eat doesn’t depend on what we want, it depends on what’s available in the cafeteria!”

After saying that, she waved her hand in disgust:

"How can I open a small stove for you if you haven't reached the management level?

“Even if it’s a small stove, it still depends on what ingredients are available that day.

"Okay, let's go disinfect, take a shower, and change clothes!"

In fact, when they entered the underground building, they went through a round of disinfection, dust removal and sterilization, which is now an additional insurance measure.

…………

After dinner, the four members of the "Old Tune Group" paralyzed in their positions with bulging bellies.

After a while, Jiang Baimian straightened up and said:

"You can go back. I'll hurry up and make a draft of the report. I'll revise it slowly tomorrow."

"Okay." Long Yuehong was the first to stand up.

After being thrown between life and death this time, he missed his family very much.

Jiang Baimian watched him, Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen walk out of the room, picked up the phone, hesitated for a long time, and finally dialed a number.

"Dad, I'm back." She faced the phone with a relaxed smile.

Jiang Wenfeng was pleasantly surprised:

“I’m finally willing to come back!

"I heard that you did a lot of great things in the First City?"

"We are just soldiers..." Jiang Baimian acted coquettishly and complained, "I will tell you in detail when the confidentiality level is determined."

She moved her eyes away from the phone, looked at the opposite wall, and said in silence for a while:

"Dad, I want to have cochlear implant surgery."

"Ah?" Jiang Wenfeng felt that the sun must be rising from the west today.

Jiang Baimian muttered:

"There are too many dangers out there. I feel that I cannot allow this weakness to remain. I cannot let my fear affect the safety of the entire group. Oh, if you don't agree, I will retreat. Hurry up and stop this thought." think!"

"Okay, I'll make arrangements now." Jiang Wenfeng had a sense of urgency.

Jiang Baimian gritted his teeth and his voice became softer unconsciously:

"Also, I want to participate in experiments on awakening."

Jiang Wenfeng was silent for a few seconds and said:

"Are you sure? This is quite risky."

Jiang Baimian looked at the opposite wall, exhaled and said:

"Sure."

Without giving Jiang Wenfeng a chance to say anything more, she smiled and said:

"Dad, do you still remember my dream when I was a child?"

Jiang Wenfeng recalled it and smiled bitterly:

"Remember...at that time, you were only in your early ten years. You listened to me talk about the destruction of the old world, the horror of 'unintentional disease', and the tragic situation of Huitu in the past and its current appearance. You clamored to investigate the reasons for the destruction of the old world and' The origin of the disease was unknown until I graduated and entered the laboratory.

"I was really relieved at that time. Who would have thought that after all the detours, you would still be on this path."

The smile on Jiang Baimian's face became more and more obvious:

"You said you would support me in pursuing my dreams."

Jiang Wenfeng was silent for a while and said:

"All right."

Jiang Baimian then hung up the phone.

She immediately clicked on the music player on her computer and found a song that suited her current mood - one of the songs she copied from Shang Jianyao.

The beautiful singing voice soon sounded:

"Do you still remember the dream you had when you were young?

"Like a flower that never fades

"Accompany me through the wind and rain

"Look at the impermanence of things in the world.

"Look at the vicissitudes of life

"The price paid for love..." (Note 1)

Hearing this, Jiang Baimian frowned. After some operations, he only played the first five lines of the song and repeated it:

"Do you still remember the dream you had when you were young?

"Like a flower that never fades

"Accompany me through the wind and rain

"Look at the impermanence of things in the world.

"Look at the vicissitudes of life..."

………

Somewhere in the corridor on the 647th floor, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen were walking side by side.

When he reached the corner, Bai Chen pointed to the other side and said:

"I'm home."

She lives on the 622nd floor, which is not in the same area as the elevator used by Shang Jianyao and the others.

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong to respond, Bai Chen pursed his lips and said again:

"When the rewards are released, I plan to apply for biological prosthetic limb transplantation and genetic modification."

"This is very dangerous." Long Yuehong frowned.

He was referring mainly to genetic modification.

Bai Chen said calmly:

"I have decided."

I don't want to give up on my companions and leave by myself... She added silently in her heart.

"Okay." Long Yuehong never felt that she could persuade Bai Chen, she only hoped that the team leader could do it.

After the petite companion walked out of their sight, Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao went to another area and entered the correct elevator.

He looked at his figure reflected on the metal compartment wall and asked a little uneasily:

"Does my face look okay?"

Of course, such a serious injury cannot be completely healed in a few days or weeks. It was only recently that Long Yuehong got rid of various sequelae and was completely cured. However, his body is still relatively weak and needs to be recovered through subsequent exercise.

He is now mainly worried that his family will see that he has been seriously injured and will feel sad.

As for the mechanical arm that cannot be concealed, he has already thought of an excuse, and Shang Jianyao helped him think of it:

"It's so cool and powerful that even a man can't stand its temptation!"

Shang Jianyao looked Long Yuehong up and down:

"As long as you don't fight with people, you won't be seen as a problem."

"I'm not stupid." Long Yuehong muttered.

How can I fight with someone in my current physical condition?

Besides, for so many years, I, Long Yuehong, have always strictly abided by various regulations and never violated them!

Shang Jianyao added seriously:

"I mean, people will see how strong this robotic arm is."

"..." Long Yuehong breathed out slowly.

Soon, the elevator reached the 495th floor. Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong waved their hands in disgust at each other and walked home.

Shang Jianyao shook the brass key and walked slowly on the "street", greeting the neighbors passing by from time to time.

They were all very interested in this young man who had returned from duty, but they could tell that he had just returned and they were embarrassed to disturb him now.

Not long after, Shang Jianyao returned to room 196 where he lived.

He pushed the door open and saw the narrow and cramped room in his eyes.

The bed placed horizontally in the deepest part, the red lacquered wooden table and armchair on the left, and the stove and washbasin on the right are all squeezed into a space of only six square meters.

Shang Jianyao didn't clean up immediately, so he went into the room and closed the door, walked to the bed and lay down.

The room was unusually quiet, and he was alone again.

Shang Jianyao immediately raised his right hand and pinched his temples.

He came to the empty spiritual room and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, he divided it into three parts and began to transform the place with his thoughts.

He separated two rooms, one large and one small, and also made a very narrow bathroom.

Then, he revealed the furniture in his memory such as the red lacquered wooden table one by one, including the clothes that he could no longer wear.

At the end of the transformation, Shang Jianyao fixed the cloud representing the "Sea of ​​Origin" on one of the walls in the small room, turning it into an "LCD TV."

After finishing all this, he sat down and looked at the room silently.

(End of Part 4)

Note 1: "The Price of Love", Li Zongsheng.