Embers Ad Infinitum

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the jeep of the "Old Tune Group" drove on that familiar street, hanging or missing at "Hairstyle", "Supermarket", "BBQ", "Foot Bath", "Hot Pot", "Convenience", "Second Sister", etc. The characters move slowly between the signboards.

The vehicles on the road were parked haphazardly, covered with traces of rain and wind, which seriously hindered traffic, but did not really make it impossible for the jeep to pass.

"It's still the same." Shang Jianyao, who moved to the back row, sighed in a sighing tone.

For some reason, a sentence originating from old world entertainment material naturally appeared in Long Yuehong's mind:

"He lit up a cigarette and talked about the past..."

Bai Chen, who was driving, looked ahead and said:

"It's getting dark, where can we camp tonight?"

"Of course it's the place last time!" Shang Jianyao answered before Jiang Baimian, "With feelings!"

That's where his little speaker came from.

Who has feelings for this damn place? Jiang Baimian muttered silently, nodded and said:

"It's still the same place, at least it's familiar."

Bai Chen said "hmm" and turned the jeep to the left, entering the community called Heyangheyuan.

They immediately got out of the car, packed their belongings, turned into a unit in the first building on the right, and reached the sixth floor skillfully.

After opening the door to the deepest room, a stale smell penetrated their noses.

"The layout is no different from when we left." Shang Jianyao looked around as if he didn't smell anything.

The coffee table, TV cabinet, dirty cloth sofa, green water cup, round table, armchair and other items are all in their place, almost frozen in time and have not been moved again.

Jiang Baimian nodded:

"It seems that no ruin hunters have come here yet."

She immediately gave the order:

"Check the room and eliminate hidden dangers."

The four members of the "old tune team" immediately divided into two teams. One team went to the toilet, and the other team arrived at the end of the corridor and opened the door of the children's bedroom.

Jiang Baimian glanced around and saw a person lying quietly on the bed.

The man was covered with a blue quilt with golden stars, and the exposed parts had turned into white bones, leaving only a bunch of white, messy hair.

Shang Jianyao was silent for a few seconds and said:

"Let's change places."

"Okay." Jiang Baimian could understand his feelings.

The corpse in front of them should belong to the original owner of the room, the little girl named Nannan in the photo album.

She became a "careless person", growing up and getting older year by year, but she never forgot where her home was. Whenever the lights came on at night, she would come back to rest and look through her photos.

And when the power goes out, she will turn into a cruel "careless person" and go out hunting.

More than two years later, when the "old tune team" encountered her again, she had turned into a corpse.

After briefly explaining the situation to Long Yuehong and Bai Chen, Jiang Baimian led the team members to move to the same room on the eighth floor.

That's also where they stayed.

"I didn't expect that she was already dead..." After settling down, Long Yuehong sighed with emotion.

"It's normal." Bai Chen comforted him and said, "There are not many ordinary 'unintentional people' who can live to the age of forty. They were able to survive until a few years ago because they were protected by Xiao Chong."

After the last incident, Xiao Chong was frightened away by Du Heng, "Pangu creatures" took over part of the area, many ruin hunters came and went, and the "environment" of this place was completely changed.

This gave Jiang Baimian a subtle feeling that he and others had become villains.

Shang Jianyao sat by the floor-to-ceiling window with guardrails, looked outside, sighed and said:

"It would be better if there were no 'unintentional diseases'."

"This is the mission of our team." Jiang Baimian replied jokingly, trying to adjust the atmosphere within the team.

Long Yuehong then looked out the window and said "Hey":

"It's already dark, why haven't the lights been turned on yet..."

Before he finished speaking, he closed his mouth.

The reason why the ruins of Marsh No. 1 can call at night and reproduce the bright night view of the city is because the nearby hydropower station is still under "maintenance" and is still working. It is because Xiao Chong is in the underground computer room of the "Urban Intelligent Network Control Center" Play games nearby and electrify the entire city from time to time.

Nowadays, there is no Xiao Chong, and there are no more high-level "unintentional people" with a certain IQ.

Bai Chen also came to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the scene outside.

She sharply discovered:

"There's a light over there."

At the edge of the reinforced concrete forest, there are clusters of yellowish or pure white lights shining.

There are definitely not many of them, but they are quite eye-catching at night when the sun has set.

Jiang Baimian took a breath and said:

“That should be where one of the company’s garrison troops stays.

"They must have been to the 'Urban Intelligent Network Control Center' to keep this ruin always powered."

Yes, having electricity and not having electricity are two completely different concepts, both for garrison and life... Long Yuehong suddenly realized.

At this time, Shang Jianyao got up excitedly, rushed to the restaurant area, and pressed the switch with a snap.

The pure white light then turned on.

"Sure enough, there is electricity!" Shang Jianyao was very happy.

Jiang Baimian rolled his eyes:

"Turn it off, it's too conspicuous at night."

When Shang Jianyao turned off the lights, Jiang Baimian looked around and said:

"Tonight's plan is: eat first, then rest for an hour, and then walk to nearby neighborhoods to find bookstores and other places to determine whether this is Dajiang City."

"Are you going to search for written information tonight?" Long Yuehong blurted out in surprise.

You have to take a breath even if you hang yourself.

Jiang Baimian smiled:

"We should operate at night and rest during the day, otherwise we will easily run into the company's team exploring the ruins, and we will always have to worry about drones flying overhead.

"You don't want this, right?"

"Yeah." Long Yuehong nodded without concealment.

He still hoped that Shang Jianyao's discovery was a misunderstanding, and that he and others were still loyal employees of "Pangu Biology".

Bai Chen said:

“If you’re traveling at night, it’s best to plan your route in advance.”

"Yes, yes, otherwise Dabai would easily get lost." Shang Jianyao agreed.

Jiang Baimian grinded his teeth and said:

"We are heading towards the bombed secret laboratory, bypassing the 'City Intelligent Network Control Center' on the way and not getting close to it."

The bombed secret laboratory has long been of little value after being excavated by "Pangu Biology" in the past few years. However, the "City Intelligent Network Control Center" is of great importance and will most likely be guarded by the company's team.

"Okay." Long Yuehong and others did not object.

…………

At eight o'clock in the evening, the "old tune team" started taking action as planned.

In order to reduce the noise, they did not drive, but Bai Chen and Long Yuehong wore military exoskeleton devices and "Black Marsh Iron Snake" bionic smart armor respectively. If something happened, they dragged Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao. When running at full speed, it will not be slower than a Jeep and is more flexible.

Shang Jianyao held the "Berserker" assault rifle and walked cautiously forward along the street relying on the dim light of the stars high in the sky. Jiang Baimian didn't know for a moment whether to praise him for not being careless, being cautious enough, and always doing things according to the tactical manual. , still ridiculing him for doing unnecessary things and loving acting.

——With the current sensing capabilities and detection level of the "Old Tune Team", there is really no need to follow suit like this.

Bypassing the "City Intelligent Network Control Center", the "Old Tuning Team" came to a street behind it, leading to the secret laboratory.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao turned his body sideways and shouted in one direction:

"Stop!"

As his voice echoed, a figure jumped out of the street window.

This is a male "unintentional person" with messy hair, cloudy eyes, and stooped body. He is about thirty years old.

He originally wanted to pounce on the "Old Tune Team" and complete the hunt, but at this time he stopped there, motionless.

Shang Jianyao walked over and asked politely:

"Do you know what city this is?"

The "unintentional one" let out a low growl, and his bloodshot eyes were alert and filled with hatred.

Shang Jianyao is not discouraged:

"You said: 'This is Dajiang City.'"

The "unintentional one" moved his mouth and made a difficult and strange sound from his throat:

"This is Dajiang City."

"Sure enough, it's Dajiang City!" Shang Jianyao patted the side of the "Berserker" assault rifle.

Is this a different kind of submission? Long Yuehong muttered.

Shang Jianyao immediately waved his hand and said to the "unintentional person":

"you can go now."

So, the "unintentional person" walked away obediently.

The next second, Shang Jianyao looked at Jiang Baimian and asked curiously:

"You didn't say anything about me."

Jiang Baimian rolled his eyes:

"What you did just now reminded me of something."

"What happened?" Shang Jianyao asked.

Jiang Baimian said "hmm":

"Do you still remember the strange things we encountered here?

"After the lights were turned on, all the 'careless ones' seemed to have returned to normal people, doing their own things and no longer attacking humans."

"Remember." Bai Chen and Long Yuehong nodded.

They were extremely impressed by this.

Jiang Baimian took a breath and said:

“I thought this was unbelievable at the time, but now that I think about it, I think it might be the effect of ‘thought implantation’.

"And this is most likely done by Xiao Chong."

Xiao Chong implanted different thoughts into every "unintentional person" in the ruins of this city, so that they can act according to the corresponding thoughts after the lights are turned on? The more Long Yuehong thought about it, the more she felt that the team leader's guess was close to the truth.

Shang Jianyao snapped another picture of the side of the "Berserker" assault rifle:

"Xiao Chong is indeed in the field of 'Zhuang Sheng'!"

What's there to be happy about... This is scary, okay? Long Yuehong cursed while guarding her surroundings.

As his eyes moved, he suddenly saw the words on a plaque on the street illuminated by the starlight breaking away from the dark clouds:

"Ojiang City..."

Long Yuehong was surprised and happy. She pointed at the plaque and said:

"Team leader, there is a marked place name there!"

This is really Dajiang City!

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw clearly the entire content of the plaque:

"Oe City Yingcai Junior High School"

This... Long Yuehong's pupils expanded instantly, and his whole body seemed to have been struck by lightning.