Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 806 Who’s the Problem

“Halt!” The voice of the villager at the bridge could be heard relatively clearly from the public office through the amplified loudspeaker.

Shang Jianyao was excited. He came to the window and muttered to himself, “Will there be a fight if they don’t halt?”

“Can’t you think of something better?” Jiang Baimian also came to the window.

“I’ll be useful if there’s a fight,” Shang Jianyao said hopefully. “I’ll mediate and persuade them to ultimately become friends.”

You can make both parties friends without fighting. Why must you go through all that? Long Yuehong couldn’t understand Shang Jianyao’s train of thought, but he didn’t voice his doubts.

As if sensing his thoughts, Shang Jianyao looked at the bridge that spanned the mountain stream and sighed. “I don’t think they will fight… This way, there’s no reason for me to interfere.”

The derelict convoy stopped on the other side of the bridge and followed the rules.

“Whoa, you now need a reason when stirring sh*t?” Jiang Baimian replied in amusement.

The logic is pretty air-tight… Long Yuehong muttered inwardly.

At this moment, the villager guarding the bridge asked through the loudspeaker, “Where are you from? Purpose of visit?” In the passenger seat of the car in front of the convoy, a man in a fur coat stuck his upper body out and replied loudly, “From the north. Here to trade some stuff.”

“North…” Long Yuehong repeated the word.

“North of Cliff Village means Icefield,” introduced the honest Genava. Bai Chen—who was also staring at the bridgepursed her lips and said, “They’re lying. It must still be snowing in Icefield during this season. There should be snow everywhere, but there are no signs of that on their cars.” The villager at the bridge—who was rather familiar with Icefield-asked a similar question. “There’s no more snow in Icefield?”

Shang Jianyao became excited again and muttered, “If this convoy has Awakened, will Cliff Village be unable to stop them from crossing the bridge?”

Not all human settlements had Awakened; it could even be said that most did not.

When encountering Awakened who were good at controlling people, settlements without the corresponding strength would encounter situations that were impossible to guard against, even if they were armed to the teeth. They were like sealed canned food that seemed indestructible. Sooner or later, their hard outer shell could be peeled off by someone with the right tools.

According to the Old Task Force’s observations, the possibility of Awakened existing in Cliff Village was very low. Of course, this didn’t include the Pangu Biology teams coming and going

Jiang Baimian smiled. “As long as they don’t encounter an Awakened with abilities that cover more than 500 meters or an Awakened like you who can remotely exert influence with electronic products and your voice, Cliff Village will still have a certain level of defense.

“Apart from sending people to guard the bridge, there’s also a surveillance room on the top floor of the public office. There are always two villagers on duty, and they are watching the bridge from 300 to 400 meters away. Once they discover something amiss, they will immediately report to the village chief and activate the devices to blow up the bridge.” Jiang Baimian paused and said, “Yes… This can only guard against those who barge in. If an Awakened lowers himself and surreptitiously influences the villagers and the bridge guards one by one, he will sooner or later achieve their invasion goals. However, it will be relatively roundabout.”

Just as she said that, the man who had previously replied to the bridge guard shouted, “We first went south to make some transactions and spent more than ten days there.”

That explains their current situation… Long Yuehong heaved a sigh of relief.

He essentially didn’t like fighting.

The villager guarding the bridge seemed to recall their identities. “You guys… Go to Col Town. Someone will get you later.”

The people in Cliff Village called the abandoned town used for foreigner transactions ‘Col Town.’

“Alright!” The convoy didn’t waste their breaths and went back to the mountain road opposite Cliff Village with great familiarity. “They’re gone…” Shang Jianyao had a look of disappointment.

Before long, Jiang Baimian noticed four residents of Cliff Village walk out of the residence, get into a black mountain car, cross the bridge, and head to Col Town.

More than ten minutes later, they returned to the village and entered the public office. The village chief then led them to the storage warehouse for supplies.

“A transaction.” Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze.

This was one of the most common things in Cliff Village that happened in late spring, summer, and early autumn.

“Lame.” Shang Jianyao shook his head first before becoming excited. “What do you think they will trade? Military exoskeletons, Old World entertainment, New World nodes, nuclear warheads?”.

While the others didn’t know how to respond, Jiang Baimian smiled and said, “Those things can only be traded by teams like us that are responsible for saving all of humanity.”

She was half patronizing Shang Jianyao and half telling the truth.

How could the Old Task Force obtain the nuclear warhead without the open and secret struggles of some high-ranking power?

Shang Jianyao was immediately satisfied.

At noon, the village chief knocked on the door to the room they were in. “I heard someone singing from the stairwell.” He chuckled and handed over a few pages. “This is the menu. Put in your order, and I’ll get someone to prepare it.” As Jiang Baimian took the menu, she smiled casually. “It seems the village just clinched a big business?”

“It’s alright; they come a few times a year,” the village chief replied frankly. Shang Jianyao curiously asked, “They come from Icefield?”

“Yes.” The village chief nodded. “It’s not like there’s nobody living in Icefield.”

“That’s right,” Jiang Baimian echoed. “Some areas have special terrain, chaotic environments, and a climate similar to the south. Some areas have plenty of geothermal resources that can be properly exploited.”

However, such areas weren’t large. Compared to the entire Icefield, they were like normal islands in the ocean.

“Yes, yes, yes.” The village chief agreed. “Their settlement is in a valley. The climate is alright, and the land is very fertile. It can feed many

people.”

Jiang Baimian tersely grunted. “What’s the name of their settlement? I wonder if I’ve heard of it.”

“End Year City.” The village chief didn’t hide the truth.

He was undoubtedly biased toward Pangu Biology. It was what Cliff Village truly relied on.

Without waiting for the Old Task Force members to ask again, he suppressed his voice and said, “End Year City is quite strong. The teams they send often have Awakened.”

As the leader of Pangu Biology’s relatively important vassal, the village chief was definitely knowledgeable.

“Awakened?” Shang Jianyao had an excited expression.

The village chief said in a hushed voice, “Once, they encountered bandits. In the end, they only looked at each other and spoke a few words before the bandits lowered their weapons and allowed them to do whatever they wanted.”

Last Man’s or Master Zhuang’s domain? Jiang Baimian revealed a thoughtful expression.

Shang Jianyao smiled. “Then, were you affected, resulting in you providing supplies to them for free?”

The village chief quickly explained, “No, no. We check the accounts more than once after they leave; there’s no problem.

“The people of End Year City are still very friendly to us. They probably haven’t used their abilities before, so it’s all fair transactions. They might know that we have a large faction backing us and don’t dare to go too far. Only by being harmonious can business continue.”

A thought flashed across Long Yuehong’s mind: “Only people with strength and foresight can live long in this world…”

After chatting about how people in End Year City mainly exchanged for salt, gasoline, industrial products, and other supplies, Jiang Baimian ordered the dishes on the menu.

After the previous night’s experience, they felt that everything in Cliff Village was average except for the delicious roasted meat.

After the village chief went downstairs and headed to the kitchen, Shang Jianyao suddenly laughed. “The name ‘End Year City’ is very interesting.”

“Oh?” Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Genava looked at him in unison.

Shang Jianyao’s smile became brighter. “End Year means the end of the year. The end of the year’s Kalendaria, Arbiter of Fate, is our Big Boss.”

Tarnan, Serene Dream Hotel.

The lady boss, Aynor, had recently examined the calendar for the umpteenth time. She muttered to herself, “It’s almost been a month. Why aren’t the Clam Dragon Church’s Awakened here yet? I want an Awakened in the Last Man domain who knows Hypnosis, not an Awakened in the Shattered Mirror domain who will get lost. Why would it take so long?”.

It’s not good to have nightmares every day!

ese

Finally, Aynor mustered her courage, changed into her most beautiful clothes, and went out again.

She came to Nanke Convent and saw Zhou Yue. She politely asked, “Abbess Zhou, why isn’t the Hypnosis-capable Awakened from your Church here?”

Zhou Yue looked at this person’s dress carefully and widened her eyes. “Madam Aynor, didn’t you choose to give up back then and adapt to the nightmares yourself? Therefore, I didn’t make the request to headquarters.”

“I didn’t!” Aynor blurted out. “I look forward to it every day! Back then, I only used ‘everything is but a dream; why so serious?’ to comfort myself so that I could survive a month of nightmares.”

Zhou Yue, apart from being face-blind, are you brainless?

“You clearly said to let it be; it’s not like anyone will die,” Zhou Yue replied in confusion.

Uh, I think I might’ve really said that… Aynor seriously thought for a moment and said, “But I didn’t say I would give up completely!” “Forget it, forget it.” Zhou Yue couldn’t be bothered to argue any further. She spread her arms, raised her body slightly, and looked into the void. “Everything is but a dream. Why so serious?”

Aynor almost vomited blood. She kept having the feeling that her memories had deviated from Zhou Yue’s.

It was as if asking for help was a fantasy!

Aynor couldn’t help but look behind Zhou Yue.

There was a shrine there. In the shrine, the dragon symbol formed from shattered mirrors reflected a faint glow.