Embers Ad Infinitum

The images of the corpses were recorded one after another by Gnawa's main module, and were quickly compared with the database of Shang Jianyao's father that had been established long ago.

After about ten seconds, Shang Jianyao turned his head to look at his fellow intelligent man and asked in a slightly deep voice:

"How's it going? Is there any result?"

Gnawa's eyes flashed red for a few seconds, he raised his hand and pointed to the bones in the center of the living room and said:

"It should be that one."

With a clang, Shang Jianyao jumped directly over with the help of a military exoskeleton device.

He knelt on his knees, stretched out his right hand, and searched for personal belongings in the gray camouflage pocket of Bai Gu's body, as if he wanted to find corresponding evidence.

As for whether he wanted to confirm or falsify deep down, Gnawa was unclear.

Shang Jianyao first dug out a few poorly packaged candies and chocolates, and then found a palm-sized black notebook from the inner pocket of his camouflage uniform.

He was stunned for a moment, as if he had forgotten what to do next.

"Is it your father's?" Gennava came closer and asked while alert.

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"no."

Gnawa wanted to say that this was a good thing, but then he thought that similar items might have been accidentally picked up while out exploring and kept on him for later use.

Then, Shang Jianyao flipped through the notebook.

Gnava watched in all directions and listened in all directions. While on alert, he did not forget to pay attention to the contents of the notes:

"The fruit rat is an aberrant creature in the northeastern part of the Black Marsh Wilderness. It is larger than a normal rat, and its meat is similar to chicken. The most suitable cooking method is roasting until the skin turns yellow and the fruit-like aroma overflows.

“However, it carries a lot of viruses and bacteria, and protection needs to be taken when catching and handling it.

"In several settlements of the White Knights, raising fruit rats is their industry and their largest source of meat."

This was all recorded on the first page, and Gnawa was confused.

He originally thought it was key information recorded by the old team member who was suspected of being Shang Jianyao's father, or the mood changes of his long-term adventure outside. Who knew it was more like a food record.

As expected, the first few pages had similar content, but Shang Jianyao quickly turned to something different:

"Hester is a rather special settlement within the 'White Knights'. The people here push the two chivalrous spirits of 'temperance' and 'self-discipline' to the extreme.

“They wake up, eat, and sleep at a fixed time every day, day after day, never changing, and they always like to say things like ‘Self-discipline is a human, indulgence is a beast’.

“They will always only eat seven percent full, even if the babies and children cry for it, they will not get more.

“This is simply against human nature.

"According to our investigation, we found that people here quietly believe in a sect called 'Self-disciplined Heart'. They believe that there are too many bad things in people's innate genetic tendencies, so they cannot enter the new world and can only use strict methods to Only by using self-discipline and moderation to fight against these tendencies and change yourself can you finally gain salvation.

"Such a view overlaps with the chivalry spirit of the 'White Knights'. Therefore, the knights here have also been convinced and are abiding by the corresponding laws. However, the senior knights who came to patrol found it difficult to find the abnormality. They just thought that Hayes What the special residents did was a little extreme, but it was still good in nature. They were practicing the two chivalrous spirits.

"This has also led to Hester having many strange rules. For example, a hug cannot last more than three seconds. Parents can only kiss their children on the cheek once a day. When going to bed, uh, this cannot be written. It will teach bad children...

“When I was about to leave Heist, I finally couldn’t stand the fact that a few children were starved, and I got into a fight with their parents and the sheriff here. Haha, my teammates are all very good.

"What I didn't tell them was that I secretly fed those kids some food."

Why has this become a custom again? After careful analysis, Gnawa found a suitable positioning for this notebook:

Travel notes!

But as a travel diary, it is too simple, closer to a memorandum. It is full of content that can help the owner recall what he has eaten, seen, and experienced.

So far, what the notes show is consistent with a judgment Gnawa made before:

Members of the old team cannot record mission-related records privately.

Shang Jianyao did not stop and continued to flip through his notes, but his flipping speed was obviously slower than before.

“The pollution in Gerstburg is so serious, not from the destruction of the old world, but from its own industry.

“The workers here are so miserable. The harsh environment and high-intensity labor result in people dying in the factory every day. I can’t help but want to organize them to resist such treatment.

"Unfortunately, this is the industrial base of the 'White Knights', with strong men stationed here, and we still have our own tasks.

"Yes, I eventually became timid and backed down. I had my own concerns and people I cared about, so I couldn't stand up for strangers without hesitation.

"The genetic modification medicine of the 'White Knights' is different from ours. It only adjusts for each ability of the human body.

“This works equally well for adults and hopefully companies can learn from it…

“The residents of Gerstburg are wild and impatient in character. They do things quite simply and roughly. They often rely on muscles instead of brains...

"The food here is nothing memorable. Only the meat of a kind of deformed beef left a little impression on me. Well, I was mainly surprised that it was not much different from ordinary beef..."

After Gerstberg recorded this, the old team entered Konimis:

“We came to a city called Cornimis, which retains quite complete old-world customs, with melodious singing echoing everywhere, and you can even see musical fountains in the square.

“The people here show inner peace and happiness, and the psychological trauma and real-life hardships left by the destruction of the old world cannot be found here at all.

“Although it is a city that belongs to Honghe people, I still feel at home here.

“This comes from all kinds of graffiti on the walls, from walkers and performers in the square, from people walking through various old buildings...

"Civilization belongs to all human beings."

Shang Jianyao turned another page and revealed new content:

“Today we are going to visit a gentleman and convince him to tell us something.

“He is very old, and Konimis also lacks medical treatment and is in very bad health.

“This also allowed us to find a breakthrough, because we have excellent doctors and good reserves of medicines and preparations in our team.

"Maybe there will be an operation soon."

This was the last content of the note. Shang Jianyao, who had pushed up his mask at some point, lowered his head and looked at it without making any move for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Gennava asked concerned.

Shang Jianyao raised his head and said with sobs:

"Every time my dad comes back, he will tell me what he ate outside, what he saw, and what fun things he did. He always tells me to be a kind person and a real man..."

His face was already covered with tears, and he was crying very ugly.

Gnawa wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right template or sentence.

At this moment, he seemed to understand the subtleties of human emotions.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Baimian's voice rang through the communication system embedded in the military exoskeleton device:

"Can you hear me?"

"Okay." Gnawa replied immediately.

Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Are you on the top floor?

"Hey, how are you?"

"His father's body was found on the top floor." Gennava answered truthfully.

Jiang Baimian was silent for a few seconds and said:

"Give him space to vent his emotions. Check the surroundings and look for any clues."

"Okay." Gennava analyzed it and told Jiang Baimian the last note from Shang Jianyao's father.

Jiang Baimian wondered to himself:

"They want to perform an operation on that 'Zhi Sui' son' in exchange for some information?

"There was an accident during the operation?"

"That's what it looks like at the moment." It was Shang Jianyao who answered this time.

He wiped the tears on his face with his sleeves, his voice low and hoarse.

Jiang Baimian did not say condolences, nor did he mention his father's affairs. He specifically reminded:

"Pack up the items you want to take away as soon as possible, as the overlap may occur again at any time."

"Yeah." Shang Jianyao, who didn't stand up, took off his backpack and picked up the bones one by one.

Seeing that he could no longer hold it, he transferred other things to Gnawa.

After finishing this matter, he stood up again, looked around and said:

"Let's find the operating table first. There may be important clues there."

Judging from the current situation, the operation should have taken place in this penthouse suite, because the bones of the members of the old team were scattered here, on the stairs, and on the ground floor.

Of course, we do not rule out the possibility that the "patient" may have an accident before the operation can be carried out.