Embers Ad Infinitum

A figure appeared at the door. He was a man, of medium height, wearing a black windbreaker, with brown hair and green eyes, rough skin, and appeared to be in his thirties.

He looked like an ordinary Honghe man, but his eyes were severely squinted, as if he had severe myopia and had forgotten to wear glasses.

As soon as the man entered, the chandelier in the bar became much brighter, and then he saw Shang Jianyao.

After a brief pause, he made a deep voice:

"Who are you?"

As the sound reverberated, the air in the bar suddenly solidified, and there were faint electric sparks flickering.

Shang Jianyao showed no sign of weakness, his eyes gradually lit up, getting brighter and brighter, and finally turned into two balls of lightning.

This operation made the man who just came in obviously stunned, and instinctively turned his head to the side, not to look at this guy.

Jacob finally came to his senses and said weakly:

"He meant no harm."

The one who liked to squint nodded.

The solidified air then returned to normal, flowing freely, and the flickering electric sparks disappeared.

Jacob turned to Shang Jianyao and said:

"My old customer, Hendrick."

Shang Jianyao said "Oh", put away his electric eyes, and introduced himself:

“My Red River name is Doug.”

Hendrick ignored him, walked to the bar, pulled out a high stool, and sat on it.

"A glass of lemon margarita." He squinted his eyes and looked at Jacob.

Jacob began to mix wine skillfully.

Shang Jianyao didn't feel Hendrick's rejection at all, and asked familiarly:

"Are you a regular customer here?

"Does this mean you no longer have a physical body?"

Sweeping the floor, Hendrick turned his head and looked at this guy, a dangerous light flashing in his narrowed green eyes.

Shang Jianyao said with relief:

"Relax, this is just normal reasoning, just like you can reason that I am a rookie who has just entered the 'new world'."

Hendrick didn't know how to respond to such honesty.

Seeing this, Shang Jianyao asked with perseverance:

"Why did you lose your body? Did you die of old age naturally, or were you deceived and gave up on your own initiative?"

Hendrick's forehead twitched visibly twice.

At this time, Jacob answered for him:

“Hendrik is the unluckiest one.

"He did not give up his body and entered the 'New World' less than twenty years ago. It was only because of the disaster that he became a pure spiritual life."

"Disaster?" Shang Jianyao has always been professional when it comes to supporting others.

Perhaps knowing that Jacob was in poor health and weak, Hendrick did not let him do the work for him anymore and said:

"A big earthquake scattered my subjects and my body was buried in the rubble."

"What a misfortune." Shang Jianyao felt the same.

This is a natural disaster, and no one can do anything about it.

Jacob placed the cup of green lemon margarita in front of Hendrick and sighed:

"Had Hendrick been in Ashes, the problem wouldn't have been as serious. The ability to interfere with matter should have saved his life if the building collapsed."

"This is fate." Hendrick and Shang Jianyao said in unison.

The two immediately looked at each other, the former looking slightly surprised, and the latter looking surprised, as if he had found his half-brother.

"I have a question." Shang Jianyao said with concern, "How do you pay for your drinks? With the number of residents in the 'New World', there shouldn't be a mature currency system, right?"

Jacob sighed and said:

"I don't need to pay for drinking here. It's just that the amount of human consciousness you get each time is limited, so you have to exercise moderation, and it's not available every time."

Bang bang bang, Shang Jianyao clapped his hands.

He praised in an aria:

"You have noble feelings that only benefit others but not yourself."

Jacob smiled:

"I also have benefits. If I encounter an attack, Hendrick and the others will definitely help me without hesitation. Otherwise, they will lose a stable source of human consciousness."

Shang Jianyao said "Oh" and said honestly:

“Discussing this topic always makes me feel like we are the devil trading human souls.”

"In a sense, that's true." Jacob didn't hide anything.

Hendrick squinted his eyes, took a sip of lemon margarita, and said expressionlessly:

"We are devils who abide by order and rules, but some are devils who are unscrupulous."

Shang Jianyao's mind has jumped to another place:

"Is the 'New World' very chaotic, with various attacks often happening?"

Hendrick looked at the cocktail in front of him and said in a deep voice:

"Unless there is massive unrest, the executive will not care what we are doing.

"It's like a place of exile for consciousness, where chaos and disorder are the main themes."

Jacob then said:

"Only by finding suitable companions and joining forces can we achieve a stable life. Otherwise, we may be defeated and imprisoned by others and become a battery for getting what we want."

When he said this, he glanced at Shang Jianyao, as if he was assessing whether this guy was suitable to join his team.

"Battery?" Shang Jianyao clapped again, "This description is very accurate!"

He laughed for a few seconds, then suddenly became filled with righteous indignation:

“The rumors about the ‘New World’ in the dust are all false!

"It's all false to say that the earth here is fertile, that the sun is bright, that children are happy, that adults are happy, that there are no desolations, monsters, infections, deformations, and all kinds of dangerous things!"

In fact, every antiquities scholar, relic hunter and historical researcher who has not yet entered the "soul corridor" believes that the new world is illusory and does not exist at all. It is just a good expectation of people.

"I suspect that the rumors of the 'New World' are spread by the elders, so that every awakened person who can enter the 'Soul Corridor' will make coming here their life goal." Hendrick's expression was not very good.

He gulped down the lemon margarita, as if trying to forget the pain of the past.

"Then he was exiled and imprisoned." Shang Jianyao helped him finish the rest of the sentence very cooperatively.

At this point, he said "Ah":

"I almost forgot to ask something.

"How to return to the dust? I remember that many people in the 'New World' can go back occasionally."

Hendrik's face became more and more gloomy;

He kept his mouth shut and didn't answer.

Jacob glanced at him and said slowly:

"While your body is still there, you can pray to a certain person to obtain the projection of the gate and return briefly."

"Short-lived?" Shang Jianyao asked.

Jacob nodded and explained weakly:

"Essentially, it is a complete return, but the Zhi Sui who answers your prayers will leave a mark on your consciousness. If you refuse to come back beyond the application time, you will be forcibly dragged into the 'new world' and become the Zhi Sui food."

"Then which one should I pray to?" Shang Jianyao showed a troubled expression.

There are so many choices on the Heavenly Blessing Chart!

Jacob was quite candid:

"Personally, I rely on the power of 'Bodhi', who is the most compassionate and merciful."

"Oh." Shang Jianyao suddenly thought, "Then can I apply to return for five days every time, once a week?"

Hendrick was almost amused. He took another sip of lemon margarita and said:

"The premise for the executives to respond to you is that your application has sufficient reasons."

"I thought there was a bug that could be exploited." Shang Jianyao sighed, making no secret of it.

Without waiting for Jacob and Hendrick to respond, he asked quickly:

"Other than the missing Cass, who else has entered that tower and come out alive?"

Jacob had said before that he was unclear, but Hendrick showed a hesitant expression.

After a few seconds, he squinted his eyes, looked at Shang Jianyao for a while and said:

"I heard that those who live near the tower have been in it, many times."

"What do you mean?" Jacob seemed to remember something.

Hendrick nodded:

"'Vice Dean', 'Charlie', 'Professor Li', 'Doctor' and the others."

"Old friends!" Shang Jianyao excitedly clapped his hands, "I'll visit them when I get back."

"They're not friendly," Jacob reminded.

"Then let them be friendly." Shang Jianyao was full of confidence.

Jacob and Hendrick looked at each other and chose silence at the same time.

Shang Jianyao didn't give them a chance to enjoy the silence and asked instead:

"Do you know Wu Meng?"

"This man..." Jacob hesitated.

"What's wrong with him?" Shang Jianyao asked.

Hendrick finished the lemon margarita, closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a few seconds and said:

"He is dangerous, more dangerous than normal residents of the New World like us."

"I doubt he has found the secret of the governors, although he should not have entered the tower." Jacob added.

Shang Jianyao said "Oh":

"What about 'truth'? Have you heard of it?"

The expressions of Jacob and Hendrick changed at the same time.